It is a fact of life that critical decisions regarding your career have to be made at a relatively young age. The choice that is made while still a teenager can affect the course of your life and perceived wisdom is to seek as much advice as possible before embarking on a particular route.

Carolyn Lloyd-Davies was no exception. Having received training from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art while at school, a career on treading the boards seemed to be her destiny.

But she admits worried parents and teachers managed to influence her away from such an uncertain path and she became a primary school teacher in London, before starting a family. It seemed her early dreams would remain just that.

Then husband John started his own software firm and Mrs Lloyd-Davies decided to help him, and underwent training in management consultancy and project management.

In the 1990s, the couple then started a bespoke management consultancy, LDA Consultants in Newbury, specialising in public sector work, in strategy in areas such as IT.

Mrs Lloyd-Davies said: "We worked with clients on the application of new systems and changing work processes, making them more efficient in the use of technology and exploiting areas such as flexible working."

In 2003, the company was acquired by facilities management giant Mouchel Parkman - now called Mouchel.

It was at that point, at the age of 57, that Ms Lloyd-Davies decided to finally follow her vocation and go to drama school.

She was thrilled' to be accepted into the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in Wandsworth, which is part of the Conference of Drama Schools, where she took a postgraduate course. Despite there being a variety of ages, she was the oldest on the course, but found it did not matter at all.

"Everyone was wonderful and would socialise. The tutors said you are responsible for your own body' and so while I was pulled and stretched, I made sure I did not go too far."

After graduating, Ms Lloyd-Davies managed to find an agent in London but rapidly realised she did not want to make the kind of sacrifices expected of a young actor fresh out of drama school.

"I had been married since I was 17 and my agent wanted to put me on a three-month theatre tour in Europe but I did not want to be away from home."

It was then that she had the eureka' moment - combine her years of experience in management consultancy with her love of drama and performance to form Acting for Change, a company which would go into the workplace and address specific issues using trained actors to play out different scenarios.

One of her key initial tasks was to build up a database of actors, and she called upon the services of some of her fellow drama school graduates to help.

Now there is a group of 14, depending on the job, and for them Acting for Change offers paid employment away from the often erratic world of the stage and screen.

One client has been St Barnabas School, where the team worked with teachers, helping them through different situations with parents, governors, or colleagues.

Others have included Oxford-based Darbys Solicitors and local authorities such as the London boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham and Barnet.

The feedback has been excellent with participants being helped through a number of scenarios based on the workplace.

The process is always tailored to the individual client, so a meeting is arranged in advance to establish specific objectives and needs before a proposal is submitted outlining the approach to be taken. The session can then involve one-to-one role play where a participant is coached individually; performance theatre, where the actors perform a semi-scripted scene, or forum theatre, where the actors perform a scene and participants offer feedback.

Mrs Lloyd-Davies added: "You are trained as an actor to see beyond appearances and to walk in with a blank sheet of paper."

The early success of the business has been tinged by a major setback for Mrs Lloyd-Davies, as her husband has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. But she is determined to carry on, helped by the support of her partner in the business, David Trevaskis, and the fact that her office in Oxford's Lion Brewery development is yards from her home.

"I always try to see the positive side of life. I was faced with the choice of closing the business, or letting the team carry on with the projects we were working on.

"They did a brilliant job and that was a defining moment. It was no longer just me running the company, it really became a team effort."

Meanwhile, Mr Lloyd-Davies is receiving chemotherapy.

Mrs Lloyd-Davies added: "John wants life to be as normal as possible and he loves me doing well with the firm.

"My role is to win the contracts and then I write the scripts and scenes that are needed. David then directs the rehearsals and carries out the session on the day. It seems a very good structure. And I have had to adapt to change myself."

Ms Lloyd-Davies is also confident about the future of the firm.

"Given the calibre of people we are working with, we can certainly plan five to ten years ahead.

"I have run two successful businesses and there is no reason why this one can't perform as well. And when I get to the stage where I have to slow down, David can take it further as my logical successor."