As the UK and US celebrate Womens Enterprise Day today (17 Nov), it seems like a good opportunity to celebrate women in business and highlight the need for more support for female entrepreneurship. When we started Active Marketing & Design in 2006, we were fortunate to benefit from start-up help from organisations like the Womens Enterprise, Education and Training Union (WEETU) and Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE), but their resources are sadly limited by continued funding cuts. Other organisations like Enterprising Women have offered free business support to women in Norfolk in the past but now charge an annual membership fee. As part of Women in Rural Enterprise, we were recently invited to make a representation to the Enterprise Minister, Mark Prisk MP, to showcase the success of women in business and highlight the types of support that we need from organisations such as WiRE.
According to BERR statistics, only 15% of the UK's 4.7 million enterprises are female-led. With commentators suggesting that public sector redundancies will hit women hardest as their (commonly) part time roles are first to be axed, this presents an excellent opportunity for women to start up a business with the right support. In my experience, women starting up in business need significant support to boost their confidence and encourage them to take the plunge. One to one advice, training and networking certainly helped us to believe in our abilities to run our marketing company. In the long term, female-led businesses are often more sustainable as we tend to have more conservative ambitions for growth and therefore are less likely to risk losing it all in the pursuit of financial success. Yet it is very difficult to quantify and recognise the contribution to the economy of the numerous female-owned microbusinesses, especially if they are home-based and fall beneath the VAT threshold.
We have supported a number of Norfolk's female-owned businesses to start up and grow through marketing activities such as branding, web design and advertising. Some examples of our successful female clients include:
Igloo Shoes
Karen Eason
Dare To Fly
Care Motoring
Adepta
The Retreat
Make it Count
We have to keep highlighting the importance of female entrepreneurship and can only hope that our current Government will recognise the importance of supporting women to make the first steps into business as part of the bigger economic picture.
Active Marketing & Design is a full service marketing & design company with offices in West Norfolk & Broadland. We specialise in supporting growing businesses in the rural economy through high impact design for print, cost-effective social media strategy & web design.
Showing posts with label women in business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women in business. Show all posts
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Shouting Success from the rooftops!
Mary Jane Kingsland wrote an excellent Women in Business column in the EDP on Weds 31st March filled with insightful observations about the challenges of being a “successful” woman in business.
I was recently fortunate enough to reach the finals of the East of England Young Businesswoman of the Year Awards. Now I guess what I should say rather than fortunate was that I was “successful enough” or just plain good enough to be recognised amongst these other outstanding ladies, but I’m a woman and shouting about my success doesn’t come easily. In the run up to the finals, every time someone congratulated me on my nomination or introduced me as “potential businesswoman of the year” I blushed and made some kind of derisory comment about having no chance of winning and it all being some kind of mistake. I was interviewed on local radio but couldn’t help feeling like something of a fraud as my slot came straight after a heart-wrenching discussion about coping with terminal illness and I almost felt I should apologise for being there. All that despite the fact that over the last 4 years, I have worked jolly hard with my business partner, Claire, to establish our marketing and design business from scratch but until recently we have never shouted our success from the rooftops because its simply not our thing.
I ended up missing out on the young businesswoman award but it ignited a competitive spirit which means we intend to enter an EDP Business Award and may also have a stab at the Future 50 too. With words of encouragement from inspiring ladies like Mary Jane I hope that we won’t be the only women putting ourselves forwards.
I was recently fortunate enough to reach the finals of the East of England Young Businesswoman of the Year Awards. Now I guess what I should say rather than fortunate was that I was “successful enough” or just plain good enough to be recognised amongst these other outstanding ladies, but I’m a woman and shouting about my success doesn’t come easily. In the run up to the finals, every time someone congratulated me on my nomination or introduced me as “potential businesswoman of the year” I blushed and made some kind of derisory comment about having no chance of winning and it all being some kind of mistake. I was interviewed on local radio but couldn’t help feeling like something of a fraud as my slot came straight after a heart-wrenching discussion about coping with terminal illness and I almost felt I should apologise for being there. All that despite the fact that over the last 4 years, I have worked jolly hard with my business partner, Claire, to establish our marketing and design business from scratch but until recently we have never shouted our success from the rooftops because its simply not our thing.
I ended up missing out on the young businesswoman award but it ignited a competitive spirit which means we intend to enter an EDP Business Award and may also have a stab at the Future 50 too. With words of encouragement from inspiring ladies like Mary Jane I hope that we won’t be the only women putting ourselves forwards.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Where are the female role models?
I recently read a brilliant article making astute observations on female role models. It cited the less than superb examples set by women like Jordan and Cheryl Cole who live their lives in the public eye and are regularly cited as Woman of the Year or Mum of the Decade.
Its a topic which I feel really passionate about as a woman trying to make my way in business - fours years after setting up Active Marketing & Design, I am still looking for a truly enterprising female role model who I can relate to and aspire to be like but its been a pretty tough search. And I know what I'm looking for - imagine if you are a young teenage girl with a relatively restricted view of the world and I certainly don't think good female role models would cross your path very often. The media has a part to play in promoting these role models of course and is certainly not guilt-free when it comes to pushing dubious examples forward for the plaudits based largely on their attractive appearance or their "illustrious" private lives.
In fairness, we have had tv shows like The Apprentice which has pushed some savvy businesswomen into the limelight a little (anyone still remember Michelle Dewberry or Ruth Badger?) but has also created some horrors like Katie Hopkins who famously fluttered her eyelids and failed in the stern face of Sir Alan Sugar. High profile shows like Big Brother have also created supposed role models like the late Jade Goody who didnt always set the best example for smart women. I was recently approached to audition for Big Brother out of the blue - it turned out that my name was put forward as i was a finalist for a young businesswoman award and they were looking for some "real" role models. I declined the offer for the sake of my sanity but was intrigued by the approach that this tv company was using.
Historically there were some stunning examples of savvy women - sterling ladies like the late Anita Roddick or Emmeline Pankhurst - and how we desperately need more of them to triumph over the false celebrity women in the future!
To read the article which inspired this post click here:
Its a topic which I feel really passionate about as a woman trying to make my way in business - fours years after setting up Active Marketing & Design, I am still looking for a truly enterprising female role model who I can relate to and aspire to be like but its been a pretty tough search. And I know what I'm looking for - imagine if you are a young teenage girl with a relatively restricted view of the world and I certainly don't think good female role models would cross your path very often. The media has a part to play in promoting these role models of course and is certainly not guilt-free when it comes to pushing dubious examples forward for the plaudits based largely on their attractive appearance or their "illustrious" private lives.
In fairness, we have had tv shows like The Apprentice which has pushed some savvy businesswomen into the limelight a little (anyone still remember Michelle Dewberry or Ruth Badger?) but has also created some horrors like Katie Hopkins who famously fluttered her eyelids and failed in the stern face of Sir Alan Sugar. High profile shows like Big Brother have also created supposed role models like the late Jade Goody who didnt always set the best example for smart women. I was recently approached to audition for Big Brother out of the blue - it turned out that my name was put forward as i was a finalist for a young businesswoman award and they were looking for some "real" role models. I declined the offer for the sake of my sanity but was intrigued by the approach that this tv company was using.
Historically there were some stunning examples of savvy women - sterling ladies like the late Anita Roddick or Emmeline Pankhurst - and how we desperately need more of them to triumph over the false celebrity women in the future!
To read the article which inspired this post click here:
Monday, 7 December 2009
Women mean business in Norwich
I came back with some really strong and inspirational messages from today's launch of the WEETUnetwork at Dunston Hall. It was fantastic to see sparky TV presenter Trisha Goddard complete with big new hairdo fighting fit and well on the road to recovery after battling with breast cancer. Never one to mince her words, Trisha had plenty to say about inspiring our daughters to be the businesswomen of the future, and talked passionately about instilling a work ethic in young people, just as her parents made her work hard for her pocket money as a child. I'm really keen to support young women into business and self employment and to give them the opportunity to consider enterprising ambitions in the future, and it seemed that Trisha would be an excellent role model for them to aspire to.
Trisha referred fondly to memories of her grammar school headmistress who had every day instilled a sense of self-belief in her pupils through rousing school assemblies, something I think is lost in most modern schools since the demise of the daily assembly.
She spoke of how her eldest daughter is currently working her way through university, despite her "privileged" upbringing, and how she encouraged her daughters not to feel the need to conform but to cherish their individuality. It seemed that she was suggesting that this unique selling point in each of our personalities is key to our success as individuals in work and life, a point which resonates closely with my thoughts on successful marketing which is so much easier when your business is distinctive.
Trisha also spoke from personal experiences about the critical importance of balancing health and work, firstly in her own battle with a mental breakdown and of course more recently her cancer diagnosis. She suggested that women usually work harder than men in managing both the home and work and we need to learn to give ourselves a break. These thoughts were echoed by the second speaker, Jane Trippett-Jones (Mayor of Diss) who raved about the benefits of a regular massage to simply reduce tension and stress. Both speakers highlighted the importance of voluntary work as key to building self-confidence and as an ideal route to pave the way for women to return to work.
WEETUnetwork is a new venture from the established Womens Employment Enterprise and Training Unit for "women who mean business". With the room bursting at the seams for the first event and Norwich North MP Chloe Smith notable amongst the audience, it was clear that WEETU mean business with their aim to become the recognised voice for women in the Eastern region and I hope the network continues to grow.
www.weetu.org
Trisha referred fondly to memories of her grammar school headmistress who had every day instilled a sense of self-belief in her pupils through rousing school assemblies, something I think is lost in most modern schools since the demise of the daily assembly.
She spoke of how her eldest daughter is currently working her way through university, despite her "privileged" upbringing, and how she encouraged her daughters not to feel the need to conform but to cherish their individuality. It seemed that she was suggesting that this unique selling point in each of our personalities is key to our success as individuals in work and life, a point which resonates closely with my thoughts on successful marketing which is so much easier when your business is distinctive.
Trisha also spoke from personal experiences about the critical importance of balancing health and work, firstly in her own battle with a mental breakdown and of course more recently her cancer diagnosis. She suggested that women usually work harder than men in managing both the home and work and we need to learn to give ourselves a break. These thoughts were echoed by the second speaker, Jane Trippett-Jones (Mayor of Diss) who raved about the benefits of a regular massage to simply reduce tension and stress. Both speakers highlighted the importance of voluntary work as key to building self-confidence and as an ideal route to pave the way for women to return to work.
WEETUnetwork is a new venture from the established Womens Employment Enterprise and Training Unit for "women who mean business". With the room bursting at the seams for the first event and Norwich North MP Chloe Smith notable amongst the audience, it was clear that WEETU mean business with their aim to become the recognised voice for women in the Eastern region and I hope the network continues to grow.
www.weetu.org
Monday, 30 November 2009
Feminomics: feminine values
I was wowed by Erika Watson MBE on Friday at The Forum. A pioneer for women's enterprise issues, Erika left her role as CEO of Prowess earlier this year to explore new challenges and is in the process of writing a book.
I have to be honest, I wasn't completely sure what to expect, and was a teeny bit worried that it might descend into a man-hating, bra burning kind of debate. But Erika did a great job of presenting some key facts about the role of gender values in the recession and the wider economy to the gathered audience of Women, Research and Enterprise Forum (WREF) members and friends, which allowed us to draw our own conclusions. My conclusions were:
1. The UK has a huge distance to travel to reach anything close to gender equality in the workplace. As the discussion was focused on the circumstances of the recession, we looked specifically at the financial services and banking industries where the gender pay gap is the largest of any industry sector at a whopping 55%. Similarly women earn only 20% of the bonuses of their male counterparts.
2. Self employed women do far more unpaid work than any other group. This includes caring for family, voluntary work and contributing to the community. Therefore encouraging more women into enterprise has a massive, unrecorded wider impact.
2. I learnt a lot about the concept of feminine values - it doesn't mean everyone hugs each other and eats chocolate at board meetings - far from it. The difference between feminine and masculine values can be seen clearly when it comes to measuring success. In masculine terms, a country's economic success is measured in GDP, that is cold hard cash. If you use feminine values (which interestingly are being adopted in France and have been mooted by our own David Cameron), success is all about quality of life, sustainability and environmental impact.
Achieving success in terms of masculine values could come at the expense of all of the above.
Read Erika's blog: http://enterpriseandequality.wordpress.com/
I have to be honest, I wasn't completely sure what to expect, and was a teeny bit worried that it might descend into a man-hating, bra burning kind of debate. But Erika did a great job of presenting some key facts about the role of gender values in the recession and the wider economy to the gathered audience of Women, Research and Enterprise Forum (WREF) members and friends, which allowed us to draw our own conclusions. My conclusions were:
1. The UK has a huge distance to travel to reach anything close to gender equality in the workplace. As the discussion was focused on the circumstances of the recession, we looked specifically at the financial services and banking industries where the gender pay gap is the largest of any industry sector at a whopping 55%. Similarly women earn only 20% of the bonuses of their male counterparts.
2. Self employed women do far more unpaid work than any other group. This includes caring for family, voluntary work and contributing to the community. Therefore encouraging more women into enterprise has a massive, unrecorded wider impact.
2. I learnt a lot about the concept of feminine values - it doesn't mean everyone hugs each other and eats chocolate at board meetings - far from it. The difference between feminine and masculine values can be seen clearly when it comes to measuring success. In masculine terms, a country's economic success is measured in GDP, that is cold hard cash. If you use feminine values (which interestingly are being adopted in France and have been mooted by our own David Cameron), success is all about quality of life, sustainability and environmental impact.
Achieving success in terms of masculine values could come at the expense of all of the above.
Read Erika's blog: http://enterpriseandequality.wordpress.com/
Monday, 21 September 2009
EDP Future 50 - Women in Business
Last week the bible of Norfolk life, the Eastern Daily Press (EDP) published their Future 50 list of East Anglian entrepreneurs to watch over the next 12 months. Disappointingly only 2 women featured in the ones to watch and I felt compelled to write the letter below which was published in the EDP on Saturday 19th September:
Congratulations to the EDP business team on your excellent Future 50 project. Its fantastic to see the local media supporting local businesspeople in this way and sending out a positive message to readers in spite of the surrounding economic doom and gloom. I was however disappointed to see that only 2 enterprising women (Claire Martinsen and Kate Gaskin) made it into the list. This mirrors the pattern of last year’s Power 100 list in which I recall we were similarly sparsely represented. I’m sure that a balanced, high quality publication such as the EDP is not specifically discriminating but moreover that there are simply not enough women in business in Norfolk who are shouting about their success.
We have recently completed some research into female enterprise skills in association with the UEA and this identified that women still lack confidence in asserting and fulfilling their enterprising ambitions. As a result, a programme of training and support will be rolled out for women as part of Global Enterprise Week in November. Lets hope that after this many more women will be confident in their enterprising abilities and apply for the Future 50 in 2010.
Yours faithfully
Kate Elliott
The letter seems to have got everyone talking and I now have the ear of the EDP Business Editor which I hope to bend with my further thoughts! Watch this space...
Congratulations to the EDP business team on your excellent Future 50 project. Its fantastic to see the local media supporting local businesspeople in this way and sending out a positive message to readers in spite of the surrounding economic doom and gloom. I was however disappointed to see that only 2 enterprising women (Claire Martinsen and Kate Gaskin) made it into the list. This mirrors the pattern of last year’s Power 100 list in which I recall we were similarly sparsely represented. I’m sure that a balanced, high quality publication such as the EDP is not specifically discriminating but moreover that there are simply not enough women in business in Norfolk who are shouting about their success.
We have recently completed some research into female enterprise skills in association with the UEA and this identified that women still lack confidence in asserting and fulfilling their enterprising ambitions. As a result, a programme of training and support will be rolled out for women as part of Global Enterprise Week in November. Lets hope that after this many more women will be confident in their enterprising abilities and apply for the Future 50 in 2010.
Yours faithfully
Kate Elliott
The letter seems to have got everyone talking and I now have the ear of the EDP Business Editor which I hope to bend with my further thoughts! Watch this space...
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Access to finance for rural start ups
Research recently published by the Commission for Rural Communities has identified a worrying problem with the lack of access to financial advice in rural areas, a particularly pertinent issue in the current economic climate. Its not the first time that this theme has reared its head, and yet there is still limited recognition of the real issues or specific services to meet the needs of rural people and their businesses.
A lack of access to finance was one of the key findings of ground-breaking entrepreneurship researcher Izzy Warren-Smith back in the mid-nineties. Her work identified that in many cases women were the driving force behind the surge in farm diversification projects for struggling rural agricultural businesses. Yet these enterprising women were coming up against significant barriers in their quest to build a sustainable business, and lack of access to finance was a big issue. Farmer's wives/daughters/sisters would go to the bank with a decent business plan, but they were more often rejected. On the back of her pioneering work, Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE) was established to offer support to these women, and is now a thriving national organisation which helps women to grow and develop their rural businesses.
I recently attended the WiRE annual conference at Harper Adams Agricultural College, which was buzzing with enthusiastic women in rural business. One of the key messages which came across was the tendency for women to stereotypically be more conservative with money (when running a business, not when shopping for shoes!) which puts us in a more recession-proof position and perhaps less in need of financial advice than men in rural areas.
A lack of access to finance was one of the key findings of ground-breaking entrepreneurship researcher Izzy Warren-Smith back in the mid-nineties. Her work identified that in many cases women were the driving force behind the surge in farm diversification projects for struggling rural agricultural businesses. Yet these enterprising women were coming up against significant barriers in their quest to build a sustainable business, and lack of access to finance was a big issue. Farmer's wives/daughters/sisters would go to the bank with a decent business plan, but they were more often rejected. On the back of her pioneering work, Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE) was established to offer support to these women, and is now a thriving national organisation which helps women to grow and develop their rural businesses.
I recently attended the WiRE annual conference at Harper Adams Agricultural College, which was buzzing with enthusiastic women in rural business. One of the key messages which came across was the tendency for women to stereotypically be more conservative with money (when running a business, not when shopping for shoes!) which puts us in a more recession-proof position and perhaps less in need of financial advice than men in rural areas.
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