EVERY day Karen Hill jumps out of bed at 6.30am sharp, rushes downstairs, makes breakfast for her husband and nine-year-old twins, showers, dresses, drives the children to school and is behind the desk of her million-pound company by five-past nine. As MD of Tecseal Limited, distributors of sealants, adhesives and plastic building products, the 37-year-old high-powered executive expects her company's sales to top £1 million pounds this year. With a staff of seven, she leads the firm formed by her father in July, 1995, and says it's growth is down to the high level of customer service.

Karen's expertise comes from sheer hardwork and an inquisitive business mind and not, perhaps, the more traditional path of a company executive.

She didn't go to college or university and, by her own admission, learned her trade at grass roots level. Her father had always been in business and was, she says: "an extremely hard task master."

Back in January last year she was appointed MD at Tecseal and has seen the company, based at Unit 4, Dunscar Industrial Estate, increase its sales in 1997 over 1996 by 150 per cent.

Her job is "hectic, demanding and time consuming" but she unfailingly makes time for her twins, Emily and Matthew, and successfully manages to juggle both career and family life.

Sitting behind her office desk, she smiles: "I suppose the fact that I'm the sort of person who never sits down anyway helps me get through the day.

"I'm up at 6.30 every morning and have the whole 'getting ready' system planned with military precision.

"My husband, Graham, sorts himself out and I concentrate on myself and the children.

"I do the school run and, because I've got it down to a fine art, I'm at my desk for just gone nine."

Then her day begins again. A non-stop run of checking accounts, meeting clients and customers and generally overseeing the day-to-day running of the company takes Karen through until 3.30pm-ish, with a quick break for lunch if she's lucky.

She says, "I always try to make sure I'm back at school to pick up Emily and Matthew. I may bring them back here while I finish up or my mum takes them home.

"I get home around six and then start again, cooking dinner and whatever.

"My working week includes Saturdays and Bank Holidays but Sundays are family days. We all go for long walks together and it's the only day I try not to think about work."

Although Karen admits to successfully juggling a demanding career with bringing up her children, she is keen to point out that she is only doing what thousands of other working mums do each day.

"I don't think I'm any different from all the other mums out there, the only difference is I'm lucky enough to be able to manage my time myself.

"If I worked for someone else, then they would be responsible for my working hours.

"But a job and a family is something thousands of today's mums combine very, very well." KAREN'S ROUTE TO THE TOP LEFT school at 15 and went straight into employment as a commercial trainee for a company in Horwich.

Became a secretary for her father's company in 1983.

A couple of years later her father bought her a computer and she learned accounting 'parrot fashion' from the company auditor.

From then on Karen was solely responsible for all the company accounts.

July 1995 started working as chief accountant for Tecseal, started by her father.

January 1997 became MD of Tecseal Ltd

Current salary ''undisclosed !''.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.