Finding the badger's stripe

Ruth Badger, runner-up in the BBC business programme, The Apprentice, is interviewed by Sharon Garfinkel

The badger has metamorphosed into a cash cow. A very likeable cow. At 28 she has achieved the kind of success and probably earned the amount of money that countless others can only dream about. Inevitably her accomplishments mean that she never fails to bring out the green-eyed monster in many she encounters.

Of course, I am speaking about Ruth Badger, the runner-up in last year's BBC2 business programme of The Apprentice, a reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for a £100,000 a year job as an apprentice to Sir Alan Sugar of Amstrad fame.

Although 'The Badger', as she is affectionately known, lost, she won a cult following as a no-nonsense but driven and somewhat ruthless businesswoman. Those suffering withdrawal symptoms from her recent television absence can catch up with her in May as she embarks on her latest business programme Badger or Bust which is appearing on Sky One.

On International Women's Day, she was the keynote speaker at ACCA's Northern Business Lecture in Leeds. To a captivated and packed audience of almost 200 businesspeople she asked: 'How do you define success?', and then responded: 'You define your own'. With glistening eyes and a winning, know-it-all, don't mess with me smile, you know she possesses the answer to success. She then outlined what she believes to be the three key elements to success: attitude, attendance and ability.

She attributes her meteoric rise to these critical building blocks. As an anecdote, she recalls how, when she was six years old her headmaster cautioned her for 'dealing' in the school playground. It transpires that with her pocket money she was buying erasers for 50p which she then sold to classmates for £1. Clearly, the entrepreneurial spirit was with her from a very young age. Her parents were not angry with her, as they taught her 'to make my own decisions and stand on my own two feet'.

Wolverhampton-born Ruth possesses a trait common to numerous successful businesspeople, the ability to create opportunities. She dropped out of full-time education at 16 to join a youth training scheme (YTS) in the Civil Service and her first break came when she got a job working for a local financial services company. She made an excellent impression on her new employer and was quickly promoted through the ranks to the position of team leader, and within weeks managed to turn an underperforming team into one of the most successful in the division. She was awarded the accolade of company employee of the year but refused to rest on her laurels. The rest, they say, is history. After her stint on The Apprentice she set up the Ruth Badger Consultancy. Based in Manchester, the organisation offers sales, motivation and training services to a range of companies.

A week before the lecture I interviewed her and inevitably we discussed her appearance on The Apprentice. Does she regret losing to Michelle Dewberry? She replies philosophically: 'I never play the "if only" game. Things happen for a reason. I have no regrets and never look back. I am grateful I did not get it. I got what I wanted from it which was to work with Sir Alan.'

She laughs when she tells me how she is always recognised in the streets and how on occasion people have literally rubbed her shoulders in the hope that they too will make money.

To what extent has the programme changed her? She told me: 'What I do on a day-to-day basis has changed, but I have not changed. I am still a very grounded, normal woman. I am not a celebrity and do not go to celebrity parties and would never appear on programmes such as Celebrity Big Brother. I have always been a businessperson. The Apprentice was a fantastic programme as it took business into television in a way that had never been done before. Children are now interested in business.'

It is this attraction which Ruth is keen to foster and after the Northern Business Lecture she freely gave her business cards to those who asked. She often has young people shadowing her on work experience programmes and sees this form of mentoring as a positive way of helping them on their own careers, as 'I really wish someone like me would have talked to me when I was 14.'

Of her own career, her maxim is 'Under-promise, over-deliver'. She explains: 'If I ask for a pound, but then give you back 20p, you are my customer for life.'

Developing her own business has not been easy and there have predictably been pitfalls. She realises that 'business is about people, not money' and that performance management is essential. She adds: 'If staff feel acknowledged, motivated and rewarded, performance triples.'

When setting up her own constituency, her 'biggest shock' was going from an employee where she was surrounded by a human resources department, accountants and other invaluable work-place components to ensuring that these functions are fulfilled herself. Nonetheless, she is acutely aware that 'full accountability' for the company rests with her, as 'if something goes wrong people will blame me'.

Within the functions she has acquired she totally values the significance of accountancy, and says: 'The reason I can sleep soundly is because I have a good accountant' - incidentally ACCA. She adds: 'I cannot rate my accountant enough and this is the person I trust the most in the company. I went from being a sales director to being all people in one. My accountant comes along with his wand and ensures everything is in order.'

Despite her rise, she is keen to point out that she is no entrepreneur, explaining: 'I do not like that word. It is bandied around too much. I am not an amazing example of an entrepreneur and it is a sad fact that I am a figurehead. I never compete with anybody, because I am too busy competing with myself. Yet am happy to do anything I can to inspire and promote women.'

In doing so, this slick operator inevitably never fails to promote herself. At one point in our conversation, I ask the oh-so-very-fast-talking woman to sell herself in one sentence: She says: 'I am a hardworking, self-motivated, definitely very self-critical focused young woman who is still to reach her peak.' Without stopping to draw breath, she asks: 'Can I have two sentences?' I pause and the badger's off: 'I am a straight-talking, hard-hitting performance machine.'

Asking her where she sees herself in five years time is a bit like asking any of the major political parties whether they intend to create a manifesto in time for the next election. I still ask the stupid question. 'I know exactly where I want to be. I want to have a consortium of businesses, but still be the same Ruth Badger. My focus and commitment won't drop and I will still work 14 hours a day and my attitude is such that there is nothing below me I won't do and nothing above me I don't think I can achieve,' she says.

Despite oozing self-confidence, you cannot help but believe her. As her career goes from strength to strength, it is apparent that 'The Badger' will not become yesterday's news. She is no stranger to achieving success and with her business acumen it is likely that this badger will ride again and again.

Sharon Garfinkel is a writer in ACCA's communication division.