I recently became a WES Ambassador, although I’ve been aware of the programme since its inception in 2014. When I was approached at the time that the programme was kicking off, my response was “oh no, not me, you need really well known people who can raise awareness of your goals” along with the perpetual issue of “I couldn’t give it any time” and so I didn’t join. And over the years, I’ve watched the announcement of friends and well respected acquaintances sign up and it’s niggled me…..where are my priorities? When the call came out this year once again for new Ambassadors to join the programme, my immediate reaction “I’m running a start up, I cannot give time to this”. I then received no

Plant n Grow currently ships to Europe on both a business to business and business to consumer basis. So, in the midst of the current uncertainty, it seems like a good time to talk about how best, as a small independent retail brand, we can prepare / navigate the chaos we are faced with, whilst staying focussed on opportunities that Brexit may present us with. What can we change / influence about our business to better prepare us in the event of a no deal Brexit? Parliament may have voted against leaving the EU without a deal, but who knows what will happen? I’m pretty sure we’re all now getting fed up with the endless coverage on Brexit, not that it’s not critically important, but if negot

Women’s Enterprise Scotland, the community interest company which focuses on the contribution women's enterprise makes to the Scottish economy, is announcing an expansion of its WES Ambassador Programme with the appointment of an additional 22 new Ambassadors. Research undertaken by WES in early 2017 showed that accessible role models were seen by business advisors as valuable in supporting women led businesses to overcome challenges. The WES Ambassador programme seeks to inspire, motivate, engage and connect with women-led start-up and growth businesses, by providing a network of accessible role models leading businesses throughout Scotland. The new intake of Ambassadors takes the WES Ambas

In 2017, I founded the Business Book Awards, to celebrate the best of business writing and publishing. I picked a Judging Panel of ten female and ten male authors, publishers and business experts, who did a sterling job assessing the 150 books entered in our inaugural Awards. Our category winners, the winner of an additional Judges’ Choice Award, and the winner of the overall Business Book of the Year Award were all experts in their field and great writers; their books were top quality. The author of every single one of our eleven award-winning books, including three co-authored books, was a white man. As a lifelong advocate of women, I couldn’t let this lie, so as well as making changes to

Women’s Enterprise Scotland, the community interest company which focuses on the contribution women's enterprise makes to the Scottish economy, is calling for urgent action from the Scottish Government and finance industry leaders to address the barriers faced by women starting and growing businesses. The call, on International Women's Day, comes in the wake of the newly released Rose Report, commissioned by the UK Treasury and conducted by Royal Bank of Scotland executive Alison Rose. The report for the first time demonstrates the scale of the barriers facing women who want to start their own businesses, revealing that female entrepreneurs typically have to start businesses with only half

WES has been unveiled as the official media partner for the Women in Finance Awards 2019. The Awards return on 26th June 2019 at the Grosvenor House London. Organised by GrowthBusiness and What Investment Magazine, the event will reward the exceptional achievement of women across a range of financial sectors, from the world of venture capital and banking to accountancy and corporate law. Nominations are open now and the deadline is 14 March 2019. You can find out more and nominate here. Nominating for the Women in Finance Awards is free, and easy to do. Simply refer to the category and criteria on the nominations page that is most relevant to yourself, a colleague, or a friend. Submit a

I’m incredibly excited to have been selected as a Women’s Enterprise Scotland ambassador and having just completed the induction day I’m fired up and ready to go (I also committed to four activities a year, so I’m getting ahead of myself for once with a blog on day one!). Here are ten things I took away from the induction day. Some context Whilst the gender pay gap and equal pay regulations have been high on the political and media agenda for several years now, the case for equality in enterprise has not benefited from the same level of policy and stakeholder support. This is not a Scottish issue, it’s a global one, but by taking small steps and working together to champion the cause we can