Resilience in the construction industry – and in life – is everything, Veatu Flooring’s remarkably resilient marketing manager tells CFJ.
EMMA Taylor was recently on a rooftop bar in London when she happened across Akon, the American-Senegalese singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to global fame in the mid-2000s.
‘I started talking to him about something on his jumper,’ she recalls. ‘I had no idea who he was at first. Then someone came over and asked for a photo, and the penny dropped.’
When his identity became clear, she remained, characteristically, unfazed. ‘I think he found my ignorance quite funny,’ she says.
Rather than retreating into starstruck silence, she steered the conversation towards the subject she spends much of her time promoting.
‘I ended up talking about flooring,’ she laughs. ‘I told him to look at the flooring when he went into the O2 that night. He just looked at me like – why?’
The reason was simple. Veatu had just completed the back-of-house VIP area at the O2.
‘So when he went in that night,’ says Emma, ‘I like to think he looked down at the floor he was walking on, smiled, and remembered that random woman on the rooftop who started talking about herringbone flooring.’
Her children were less impressed.
‘They were like, Mum, only you. You’re obsessed with flooring now. What’s wrong with you?’
However, ask Emma what resilience means and she’s quick to challenge the common perception that it’s simply about being tough.
‘In commercial construction, programmes change, specifications evolve and unexpected challenges are part of the job,’ says Emma. ‘Resilience isn’t simply about overcoming obstacles; it’s about helping clients and colleagues adapt, solve problems and keep projects moving forward. In business, if you’re not able to evolve and keep up with the times, you’ll get left behind. The same applies in life.’
Looking back, Emma traces that outlook to her childhood and, in particular, to her mother. Originally from Serbia, her mother arrived in Britain as a student with no family support network and, as an orphan, had already learned the value of independence and determination.
‘My mum – who was very glamorous, a bit like Brigitte Bardot – taught me resilience,’ Emma says. ‘To come to another country on your own and build a life takes real strength.’
Her mother went on to establish her own fashion business while raising Emma as a single parent. Her father was a sound engineer with a background in live music who worked with some big bands, including The Jam.
Music and creativity were a constant presence during Emma’s upbringing, and her father’s career even brought her into contact with figures from Britain’s music scene. One story in particular stands out: when Paul Weller’s father arranged a private flight to ensure her father could return from tour in Scotland in time for her birth.
‘He literally flew him down so he could be there when I was born,’ she says. ‘It’s a bit of a surreal story really.’
Growing up around famous musicians and public figures gave her an unusual perspective from an early age.
‘I’ve always had a healthy disinterest in famous people,’ she says. ‘My dad used to say that: people are just people.’
Life for Emma’s family was good until the ‘80s when economic turmoil proved devastating. The fashion business was hit by successive recessions and eventually failed.
‘Not only did my mum lose the business, we lost our home as well,’ Emma recalls. ‘It caused a complete reset of my world.’
The family had been living in Chiswick, one of west London’s most desirable neighbourhoods, but almost overnight life changed dramatically. For a period, they found themselves living in temporary accommodation before being rehoused on a council estate. For a teenage girl in the middle of her GCSEs, it was a jarring and often frightening experience.
‘It was a real culture shock. The environment was completely different and I was travelling an hour and a half each way to school every day while trying to study for my exams. I didn’t know that environment. I had to change the way I dressed, the way I spoke, even my body language. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been safe.’
Yet it was during those difficult years that some of the foundations of her character were laid.
‘You don’t really have a choice. You have to adapt and get on with it. It taught me resilience, but it also taught me empathy.’
When life throws you lemons,’ Emma adds, don’t just make lemonade. Make the best lemonade anyone has ever tasted.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN SEPTEMBER CFJ
