Joanna Streames, managing director at Velvet, tells Health & Protection about how Sir Alan Sugar’s boardroom reality show was integral to her entry into the protection sector.
Almost thirteen years ago, Stella English was crowned The Apprentice champion, but few people know one of her competitors to get on the show was the health and protection sector’s Joanna Streames.
That process triggered a “broken-hearted” Streames to change course into the health and protection sector after her estate agency boss reneged on a promise of a stake in the business she was working for at the time.
Picking up the story Streames (pictured), who is now managing director of Velvet Mortgage and Insure Services, revealed how she decided to apply for the show and the impact it had on her career.
“I watched the finale of the previous season and thought it was so good I wanted to go on it in the future,” she told Health & Protection.
“I’m pretty sure at the end of the finale they said if you want to be on The Apprentice to apply, and so on the spur of the moment I did my application there and then with not much thought whatsoever.”
Steames’ day job was at an estate agency – set up at the height of the financial downturn where she worked very long hours and had to contend with bad weather and going to “not the most salubrious” houses.
However she loved her role and became successful as she went “all out” for her clients.
But Streames was invited to enter the process for The Apprentice and successfully negotiated the six rooms of challenges set before her on the first day.
While Streames did not tell her boss about entering the show initially, as she progressed further into the process she felt it was the right time to do so.
The news was met with shock from her boss, who was worried she would win the show and never return to the business, so consequently began discussions on offering her a stake in the business to entice her to stay.
‘Not allowed out of the house’
But her boss was not the only person worried about Streames winning the show.
“I was thinking that I’ve got three young children, but I wouldn’t even be allowed to see them [during the competition],” she said.
“If you get right through to the end of the process and get through the rounds you’re not allowed to leave the house. You’re only allowed to go out with the crew. You’re not even allowed to go to the corner shop or something and buy a pack of biscuits.
“For 12 weeks I wouldn’t see my family and you’re only allowed one 15 minute call home per weekend, that was really tough for me because I’m super close to my children anyway.
“So, I was really struggling with that internally while thinking ‘oh my God, this is a really amazing opportunity’.”
So the night before being told whether she had managed to get on the show was a sleepless one.
“I was petrified I was going to be told I’d got in,” she said.
“I was convinced I was going to get in and onto the show and the next thing would be all the psychological assessments and everything.
“But then the production team rang me to tell me I didn’t get in – Stella English got in.”
Heartbreak and let-down
While English would go on to win the show, Streames revealed she was then “broken-hearted” at not being chosen.
Her heartbreak was intensified by the offer of a stake in the estate agency failing to materialise, leaving her feeling that she could not go back to the business.
However, for Streames the story has a happy ending as in a twist of fate another shareholder ran a protection business in which she was offered a role.
Despite initially being very reluctant to take on the role, it turned out to be a perfect opportunity.
“I started learning about protection and I did it really begrudgingly. I thought ‘I do not want to do this job – this is not where I was meant to be’,” Streames continued.
“But they had a great training programme and we literally sat in a room for two to three months just learning what this all meant, what the company does, learning all the ins and outs and practically speaking to people about it.
“And after a very short time, I thought ‘Oh my God – this is going to be amazing’.
“As cringey as it sounds when someone says, ‘it all happens for a reason’, that is definitely what happened to me and it never would have done had I not applied to go on The Apprentice.
“It became my calling and now look at me; I don’t make the most money out of advisers in this country but that’s because I care about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.”
