Joanna Riley
A brief introduction to Joanna Riley
Rose from humble beginnings to corporate success with her business
Place an enquiry about Joanna Riley »
Joanna Riley's biography
Apprentice contestant Joanna Riley left the programme at episode 11 with her head held high and words of regret from Lord Sugar ringing in her ears.
The businesswoman and mother who runs her own cleaning business was told by Britain's toughest boss that she should feel proud of her achievements on and off the screen. He even advised her to expand her business and said he was confident she would do well as a boss herself after nearly reaching the finals.
“I was fortunate enough to do all the tasks, unfortunately Lord Sugar could not see where I could "slot" into his organisation. He told me to be proud of myself and said that I am a hard worker and to leave the process with my head held high. He regrettably fired me. In fact, he didn't point his finger at me.
“I am going to take Lord Sugar's advice and continue to grow my business. I have proven to myself and others through hard work and sheer determination that anything is possible.”
Joanna has had a bumpy ride on the road to success. The 25-year -old won a place on the BBC hit business programme by impressing producers with the corporate success she has achieved despite humble beginnings and lack of experience.
She grew up in Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire with her mother and admits that she never knew her father and had little direction in her life in the single parent household.
After leaving school at 16 with little formal qualifications she settled for hum drum work in a call centre until she became pregnant at 21. This was the catalyst to make her want to achieve more.
“To give them the life I never had I needed to work harder than I ever have. I thought deeply and came up with starting my own cleaning company. I was excellent at cleaning and great at picking up the phone and speaking to people. I had learned that, with working at call centres. I picked up the yellow pages and called every local business and arranged meetings with companies.”
The budding businesswoman knew she had to dress for the part and bought two new suits for the meetings. With little experience of what to say or do, she found the courage to excel and was pleased with the results – two contracts with large businesses in Leicester.
Initially she did the cleaning herself and eventually had the confidence to hire others. That's when she had the inspiration to apply for a place on the programme and beat 37,000,00 others for a coveted place on what some regard as the interview from hell. Typically Joanna says the experience was a learning curve and describes it as “the best business boot camp” imaginable.
“I went in the competition with people from all different backgrounds it really was fantastic to work and learn with all the 16 candidates. Initially I was told by Lord Sugar that I was too aggressive. I took it on board and decided I needed to find a way to channel my feedback to others in a different way. However I was still true to myself. Through all of the tasks I learned so much."
In the tough semi finals she found herself in the interview hot seat and although it was not easy, she impressed all of Lord Sugar's advisors who admired her strength of character and determination.
Joanna believes she still has much to learn about business but is confident that her personal story will inspire others to think big.
Call the Apprentice Speakers on 08707 602 813