What does the business that you currently own do?
Sure, so I run a virtual assistant company, it's called CB Virtual Assistant, and I've got a co-founder called Natalie, and what we do is we provide operational and business support to directors, business owners, and founders to just kind of free up their time so they can focus on working actually on their business rather than in their business, because I think a lot of business owners get caught up working in the business and they don't have time to be able to scale and grow because they're just so trapped inside it, so we provide day to day admin, workflow management, implementing different tips and tricks and hacks to help them become more efficient.
Nice. You pitched a different business on The Apprentice though, is that something that you're still hoping to launch?
Yeah, I've had some investors get in touch about wanting to take my idea forward to the next steps, so I'm open to conversations and I'm having conversations, but my current focus is on my current business.
Going actually onto the show now. Obviously on TV we only see really small clips of a much longer interview at that stage, but overall, who would you say grilled you the hardest in the interviews and were there any where you felt like you didn't have to worry as much?
Err no, they're all grilling you, there is no taking a step back on any of the interviews, but I would say I had two most challenging interviews. One was Linda, and I think you saw a little bit of it from the actual show, she just wouldn't let me get a word in edgeways! So it was really hard to be able to try and convince her or try to justify myself because I just felt like I couldn't even speak. Every time I tried to speak she would just talk on top of me so I think that was hard, because I feel like I can't really get across what I'm trying to say because I don't have an opportunity which made it difficult, and I would say Claude is probably really difficult as well because he had already made up his mind before I'd even sat in the chair that he didn't think my business was viable so I think that was an uphill battle because he had already decided that he wasn't a fan of this idea and he was just like, you can try and convince me otherwise, but he'd already made his mind up so that was tough.
So, I've always wondered about this, are your business plans completely pre-written before the show or are you allowed to adapt them at all before the interview stage?
No, so they're all pre-written before the show. What happens is once we make it onto the show they let us know everything that we're going to need to prepare and the turnaround is probably about three to four weeks before we go into the house, so during that time you have to sort out all your checks, your references, your medical checks etc. You have that time to write or sort out your business plan. Some people have business plans already and they just modify them but for some of us you write them from scratch and you only have three weeks. And then on top of that you're sorting out cover for your business, you're sorting out getting outfits, you're sorting out all the logistical side of things, so technically speaking you don't have a big turnaround in them telling you that you're on the show to submitting your business plan but once you submit it, it's a few days before you go into the house and you can't make any adaptations to it. And also, you submit it before we go into the house and then you don't see your business plan again until literally that day before you go into the interviews.
No wonder there are so many times that people are unsure on their numbers!
Of course, because imagine you've been doing tasks that are not centred around your business for however long it's been, and then all of a sudden it's like okay, now you're at the interviews stage and it's all about your business and you don't really have that much time with it to prepare so yeah, it's tough.
Yes, you spoke about the tasks there, do you have a favourite moment from filming that didn't make it on the final edit?
Me, Frederick and Liam, on the first day in Turkey we went to go and visit the tour, and so obviously the guy took us around, and at one of the final stops on the tour the tourguide taught us this thing called the Eagle Dance, and it's something that they do to celebrate, so we were dancing and there was a guy playing a guitar and it was just such good vibes, up in the mountains, us three dancing, doing this Eagle Dance, and I wish that had made it on to the edit.
That sounds very fun. During the show we saw you shine in a variety of things from yodeling to song-writing to clothing design, what kind of things do you enjoy doing outside of the business world when you're not working?
I love playing netball, I love going to the gym, I love to travel, I try and get out of this country quite a lot to visit and explore different parts of the world. I also can't get enough of a little spa day! And then just spending time with my friends and family.
It was mentioned in one of the interviews that you did nursing at the beginning of your career, so what was it that inspired you to move from that into starting your own business?
I think I'd always loved the nursing side of things, I'd always loved helping people I think is probably what was at the core of me, so anything that was to do with helping others I've just always loved and I think that's probably why the business that I actually ended up going into is a business where we support other business owners and founders and directors because we're helping them essentially gain that time back so they can grow and scale their company. I've worked at Nando's and I went from shop floor to regional trainer which is a head office position, and during that time I think I really got exposed to the business world, and how things work, and that really got me excited about business, and then I finished my nursing degree but I still felt like I wanted to be able to do more even after I was doing my nursing. So I think from the bit of exposure I had from within Nando's to the fact that I had been working as a nurse for a year, and I wanted to do more, but I didn't necessarily want to go down the traditional management route, I then went back to Uni to do my MBA and then obviously ended up going down the business route, but it was that shared love of wanting to help people but also that early exposure when I worked in Nando's head office at such a young age, that really inspired me as well.
I've seen on your Instagram that you've spoken openly about your faith - I wondered if there's a particular Bible verse or way that your faith has helped you, either throughout this process or life in general?
Yeah, I go to church on Saturday and faith has been a big part of my journey but also I think it's played a big role in the person that I am today, the confidence that I have to be able to speak in front of people, to remain calm yet still assertive. I think that's all because of the lessons that I have learnt from going to church and the opportunities that I've had in church to speak and to present and to sing, there was so much that I got involved in from such a young age and so I think it's been instrumental into the person that I've become and the character that I am, and the traits that I have. I guess one Bible verse in particular that's one of my favourites is Proverbs 3:5 and 6 which says 'trust in the Lord with all your heart, and in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight'. I think between those two verses, not leaning on my own understanding and trusting in the way in which God is trying to take me, is something that I always try to refer back to, even when times are hard, because life can throw its many different challenges and hurdles our way and so it's easy for your faith to waver, but I think that verse has always been something that I like to keep close to my heart.
Final question, what was your favourite task on the show?
Do you know what, I think it had to be the fashion task, so task ten. I think it's a combination of one, I love fashion. When I said I believe that between myself and Amber Rose we were the fashionistas of the season, I still stand by that, and I love to create fits and put different pieces together so I think being Project Manager in a fashion task, the task before Final Five, and then winning as Project Manager and taking our team straight through to the Final Five, a combination of all of those things made it the best task for me.
You can watch Chisola in Series 19 of BBC's The Apprentice on BBC iPlayer.
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