The founder of the North East-based business support consultancy 5 Circles answers our questions
Maxine Fox of 5 Circles.(Image: 5 Circles)
Maxine Fox is the face of 5 Circles – a firm launched in 2025 to provide strategic support across people, marketing, finance and operations.
What was your first job and how much did it pay? My first job was in the shop in the village where I grew up in East Yorkshire. I worked there for years — all the way through secondary school and when I was home from university. I loved it. It was my favourite job of all time! It was a small village so everyone knew everyone, which was great from a community point of view. It wasn’t so great when you were up to no good and everybody knew who your mum was. When I started, I got paid £1 an hour and I seem to remember getting really excited when it went up to £1.10 per hour. This was a long time ago!
What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? Establish boundaries with your time. Running a business is all-consuming and I learned very quickly that it was eating into my time with my family and affecting the things I enjoy doing outside of work. Whilst I don’t always adhere to the advice, I am getting better at knowing where I should devote my time and when to down tools for the day. When I first started, I was working seven days a week and into the evenings. That’s simply not sustainable — either health-wise or in terms of being happily married! When you’re running a business your time is the most precious commodity and it needs to be used wisely.
What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector and what are the challenges you’re facing? I’ve only been running 5 Circles since December 2025 so it’s difficult to provide a wider view. The main change is that I’ve introduced services that weren’t part of my original business plan. I’ve been able to adapt to meet the demands of the businesses I work with and that’s been a positive thing. The main challenge I face is that my time is finite and I just need more of it.
What would your dream job be? TV Script writer. When I was a kid I used to enjoy writing plays and sometimes I added a music score too.
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? Have a trusted circle of people that you know will understand what you’re going through and how lonely it can be. People that you can run ideas past and people who’ll give you honest answers are like gold dust.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? The community. I’m not originally from the region but moved here in 2002. People from the North East are proud to be from here and I like that. In my experience, the business community wants to help one another.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? Very important. When businesses are successful and attuned to their communities, the knock-on benefits reach across all aspects of society from the economy to health and education.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? I have a pretty good knowledge of pop knowledge from the 60s to the 90s. I recently won the Radio 2 pop quiz — 10 to the Top with Vernon Kay.
Who would play you in a film about your life? Amy Adams
Which three people would you invite to a dinner party, and why? My best friend Sam from home, my best friend Juliet from university and my sister Gem. We don’t get chance to catch up as much as I would like and nobody makes me laugh as much as those three do.
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