Nayanee provided outstanding guidance and support while leading our group of women business owners in the Growth Masterminds Program through the Surrey Women’s Entrepreneurship Network (SWEN). Her exceptional energy and insight fostered a truly collaborative environment, and by the end of the program, each of us had developed a comprehensive action plan and gained more confidence needed to drive our businesses forward.

Nayanee is an incredibly wise and giving individual, who brings her passion and inclusive values to everything she does. She has been an informal mentor to me unknowingly through her leadership and many thoughtful discussions about the opportunities we have co-created. These include the roll out of the Surrey Women’s Entrepreneurship network for which she is part of the steering group, and the Mastermind initiate within that network, where she not only facilitated the first cohort but also guided the development of the programme.

It’s been a pleasure to work with Nayanee because she is so reliable, organised, inspiring and hard-working that you know for every ounce of effort you commit, she will commit the same right back, a true grafter and someone you just want on your team, in every sense of the phrase. Nayanee is also hugely committed to sustainability and her academic work is as impressive as her philanthropic efforts and business acumen. No matter the project, Nayanee is a huge asset and a pleasure to work with.

Nayanee Silva’s presentation on Change Management was brilliant and very timely. Silvermill Group had to implement Change Management to review products that are profitable and introduce management practices that would help the company stay competitive in a challenging market place. This talk preceded the implementation of a new Performance Management system. Nayanee’s presentation to the Head Office staff – managers, factory workers and engineers took real world examples of companies that had successfully implemented change and contrasted these with those that had ignored change.

She was able to present suggestions for management and workforce to work together in a positive and proactive way in a manufacturing environment. We appreciated her insights from her business experience and requested the material for review after the talk and for those who could not attend. 

To say that Nayanee was helpful would be an understatement. Nayanee's help was nothing short of pivotal in paving the way forward for my future. I was admittedly ambivalent about what I wanted the next step in my life to be, then Nayanee came into the picture. The counsel she gave me throughout the year not only enabled me to approach opportunities more pragmatically but also fostered my self-confidence, something I really needed amidst everything that was and still is happening in the professional world. Thanks to her support I am now about to start a masters degree in Digital Marketing at my first University choice. Really grateful for a our correspondence over this past year and could not recommend Nayanee highly enough.

I contacted Nayanee to receive advice regarding an Assessment Center for one of my summer internship applications. She was extremely helpful and spoke to me about what I should expect and how to prepare for tests and the interview. She also directed me to many resources I could use to practice for tests that could appear at the AC. In addition to helping me with the AC she also helped me to improve my CV and directed me to more opportunities that I could apply for. The help she gave me was really invaluable as many of the questions we had discussed did come up in the interview and being prepared for them is what allowed me eventually secure the internship. I am really grateful for all her help throughout the process.

We can’t recommend Nayanee enough. She is truly professional and caring with her clients. We did not recognize the differences in evaluations and approaches when moving studies or residences across countries. Nayanee’s assistance to both our sons in navigating the transition from Graduates of a USA university to post graduate studies in the United Kingdom has been invaluable. Her guidance regarding resumes , assistance with preparation and interview processes has been extremely insightful and knowledgeable.

Since quitting my full time job in the charity sector I was drawn to starting something of my own but I lacked confidence and I felt unsure of the idea and this where Nayanee stepped in. With every weekly call, she bolstered my confidence, helped me set goals, and was available for questions no matter how stupid they were. Within a matter of weeks of being coached, I launched my site and I thank her for her support throughout. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely road, so it is great to have someone I can discuss ideas with, ask for help in areas I don't have much knowledge or skills in, and to have a weekly chat about the general challenges/progress in my business. Nayanee is at once a coach and an exemplary mum I can look upto because she has successfully juggled work/ her own businesses with raising her sons who are two accomplished young men now. I am grateful for her role as my business coach and highly recommend her to other entrepreneurs who need support to get their business off the ground.

Nayanee at Smarter Lives was essential to my process of finding a summer internship. Through weekly calls and frequent emails, she guided me along the entire application experience from touching up my CV and helping me to craft individual targeted cover letters to selecting relevant summer opportunities from desirable companies. She gave me a range of relevant opportunities to pick from, and gave advice on every application.

For successful applications, she was able to advise on any psychometric tests, directing me to resources where I could practice questions for each type of test, proving very helpful for the real tests.  I’ve just been offered the internship due to positive feedback from every stage of the assessment centre, and I would not have either known about the opportunity nor been able to make such a strong application without the help and constant support of Nayanee.

Nayanee is a very positive, friendly and lovely lady. Nayanee is very professional and made me feel very comfortable during our sessions, her advice is invaluable to me, it definitely helped me find my confidence in my new role. Thank you Nayanee for your time, it was like sitting with a friend chatting over a cup of coffee.

After graduating from an American University and moving to the UK, there were several things done differently that made it harder to get a job offer. This brought me to Nayanee and she refreshed my CV while walking me through what changes she recommended and why. I noticed an almost immediate effect in my job search and felt a lot more confident. Additionally, Nayanee helped search for interesting job roles that I did not come across that were well suited to my aspirations on a weekly basis.  As a graduate I really appreciated everything Nayanee did for me and if there are any graduates reading this who are in a similar position to me, I could not recommend Nayanee highly enough. She has impeccable knowledge about the UK employment and I am confident that she could help anyone looking for guidance in this subject area.