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Business tips from female entrepreneurs at our latest networking event

Being a woman in business comes with its challenges. Sharing your experience and learning from your peers can help with navigating difficulties. Our managing director, Siobhan Stirling, hosted the latest Make It Your Business event at The Finance Hub on The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells, with a panel of incredible speakers. Here we sum up the insightful advice from the morning.

Don’t be invisible

Our keynote speaker, Deborah Turner, Federation of Small Businesses’ National Policy Lead for Women in Enterprise, Consultant Chartered Surveyor and much more, learnt the hard way the value of investing in yourself and embracing who you are.

She says: “As a woman of colour, when I first started out working as a surveyor (historically, a majority white, male field), I was constantly trying to blend in, hiding my personality and ended up missing out on promotions. I realised that to be taken seriously, I needed to invest in myself and my personal brand to really achieve success, which meant bringing my femininity and personality to work!”

She emphasised the importance of building a network of people around you who will support you, and nurturing those relationships is vital.

You’ve got nothing to lose

Gemma Farina of GF HR Consulting, set up her HR consulting business after the arrival of her first child, having worked in HR since graduating. She shared that building the right foundations in your business is what’s important:

“My first role was in Grosvenor, which was very much old school when it came to having a strong ethos of honesty and integrity. Recognising people and their values is key to a strong workforce and so a lot of what I want to be doing when I work with companies is not just reacting to situations, but going deeper and trying to solve the issues which are causing problems to arise in the first place.“

Find the right balance for you

Debbie Waite, founder of Stronger Inside and Out life coaching, draws on a lot of her own experiences when speaking with her clients. She worked in training for The Savoy and Claridge’s before moving to leadership and management training at AXA. But it was after having children that Debbie realised she couldn’t do everything:

“I have always been ready to work super hard, and after having children, I was ready to continue working hard, until I began to feel that I was being pushed too far. I was expecting too much of myself, and needed to acknowledge there are only so many hours in a day, so I couldn’t have my corporate job, do CrossFit training on the side and be a mother: something needed to give. I decided to take control of my life. I decided I didn’t want to play the corporate game anymore and realised I could use my experiences to help other women struggling to balance corporate ambition with a happy home life. The only way you can reach your full potential is by focusing on yourself, so that is what I help women to do.”

Don’t feel you have to go it alone

Claire Passos, founder of Caracol Glamping had a vision from when she was young to set up a glamping site. She eventually decided to take the leap and leave her role in marketing. She shared her experience, saying: “Having a team supporting you helps to make it less isolating, because the commercials of running a business can be hard. My advice would be don’t pretend you have to know or do everything yourself, use experts to guide and assist you if you can.

The key takeaways from the event were:

  • Invest in yourself
  • Being vulnerable can build your resilience
  • Nurture your relationships within your support network

All four of our panellists were incredibly inspiring and we are already looking forward to our next Make it Your Business event in October.

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds Communications offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

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Sharp Minds 2.0 – our rebrand explained

Kent 21st May 2024-PR and marketing specialist, Sharp Minds Communications, has evolved its brand to reflect an increasingly sophisticated and tactical approach to communications, as the agency bids to go national.

The venture, which includes a new logo and website, is part of the company’s mission to showcase its ambitions to attract new clients and highlight its purpose of providing tactical award-winning comms at significantly lower rates than bulge-bracket, London-based agencies.

The rebrand aligns with a refocused direction, with the agency expanding its reach outside of the South East, after bolstering its client base by winning national and blue-chip companies.

Sharp Minds Communications, which is based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, has spent eight months examining every aspect of the business in preparation for the relaunch. Managing Director, Siobhan Stirling, said the move was about ‘resetting the company’ to reflect servicing larger companies with a national and international reach.

“Our previous brand identity served us well, but no longer reflected where we are now as an agency, both in terms of the scale and ambition of our clients and the value we add for them. The rebrand now brings our visual identity in line with our exciting proposition of bringing our powerful and intelligent communications to market, competing on service levels with London agencies, but at rates that reflect our lean, agile approach,” said Siobhan.

Mark Foxwell, Director and Head of PR, said: “We want to be the go-to for small to large brands that are looking to earn media and reputation to build their brands and their futures, but at significantly lower rates than bulge-bracket agencies that historically overcharge.”

Sharp Minds Communications’ recent wins include Dootrix, a tech disruptor working with Heathrow, GRIDSERVE and Confused.com, leading South East law firm Thackray Williams, and national crisis communications for the care sector.

Last year Sharp Mind Communications’ thought leadership resulted in one of its proudest achievements since the company was founded in 2016. The agency managed to compete with 2,000 entries from 60 countries from EMEA global brands and communication agencies, such as Virgin Media and Edelman, to become a finalist in the highly regarded SABRE Awards EMEA 2023. After months of hard work researching, creating, designing, and distributing a world-first report, the agency delivered a global audience of more than 230 million people – increasing website traffic and sales for its client, an internationally renowned steel manufacturer.

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds Communications offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

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Inspiring Tunbridge Wells female entrepreneurs

The National Policy Lead for Women in Enterprise for the Federation of Small Businesses will be inspiring female entrepreneurs at Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells on 14 June.

Deborah Turner will be the keynote speaker at the event at The Finance Hub on The Pantiles. A chartered surveyor with over 30 years’ experience, she is also an Advisory Board Member of the University of Kent Business School MBA programme.

Joining Deborah in sharing their business stories will be the director of GF HR Consulting, Gemma Farina; the founder of Stronger Inside & Out coaching, Debbie Waite; and the founder of Caracol Glamping in Groombridge, Claire Passos.

The event will be chaired by Sharp Minds Managing Director, Siobhan Stirling, the Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells champion.

“As always, our panellists bring rich personal business stories, as well as a willingness to share the key lessons they’ve learnt along the way with the audience to inspire them on their own business journeys,” commented Siobhan.

“The Make It Your Business events are always our favourite to host as the buzz is incredible, but anyone wanting to come along needs to book their tickets quickly on Eventbrite as we normally have a waiting list,” advised Gillian Palmer, founder of The Finance Hub.

Make It Your Business was founded by businesswoman and broadcaster Alison Cork to inspire female business owners and those considering starting their own business. It is the fastest growing female entrepreneur network in the UK.

The June Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells is taking place 10.30am to 12.30pm on 14 June at The Finance Hub on The Pantiles. Tickets can be booked through Eventbrite

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds Communications offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

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Leading Tunbridge Wells businesswomen inspire peers

The value of authentic relationships and enjoying the journey were key themes from speakers at Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells on 19 January. As it stands, two million women are currently thinking of starting their own business and 25% say they are held back as they lack networking opportunities and confidence, making the stories and advice shared by our speaker and panellists invaluable. Here are our key takeaways from the event for any women who are making their way in the world of business.

Sold-out event for Tunbridge Wells businesswomen

Chaired by Sharp Minds Communications’ Managing Director, Siobhan Stirling, the latest Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells sold out well in advance. Founded by Alison Cork MBE, the aim of Make It Your Business is to provide inspiration for female entrepreneurs and those thinking of setting up their own business.

Siobhan has been the Tunbridge Wells champion since 2019, and this was our ninth event, and the sixth that we have held at the vibrant Finance Hub on The Pantiles, thanks to ongoing support from founder Gillian Palmer.

Building a network who will support you

Our Keynote Speaker, Katie Keith, currently has a portfolio business career, as CEO of Currency UK, Executive Director at Global Chamber London and consulting and leading the B2B Partnerships division for Currencies Direct.

Katie Keith’s career journey certainly hasn’t followed a straight path, from starting out working in banking in Australia, to moving to the UK to change both her life and career. Katie credits her success to the people she has formed relationships with along the way, who have supported her as she transitioned between careers.

Katie’s mission is “to make the big world small, one relationship at a time”; she shared how this can be achieved: “It takes a village, lean on your authentic relationships and when you need to, ask for help and be persistent.”

She also highlighted the importance of finding and defining your purpose; her advice is to “always stay true to who you are and your brand: you can wear many hats but must be clear about your messaging so people can pin you down”.

Take the chance when you have it

Alison Hazell, who owns and runs the highly successful chocolate business Temper Temper has also had a wide-spanning career, ranging from setting up a nursery when she was 19 years old as she wanted to be able to spend time with her new-born daughter, to working for a black empowerment company in South Africa. Alison has successfully managed to seize business opportunities which have been thrown her way whilst simultaneously keeping family central to her life.

Alison strongly believes solidifying a “good reputation” for your brand can drive its success and she also noted the value in supporting your employees. Especially relevant to the event, Alison’s advice is “If you can give women the support they need, for example when they need to fit in childcare, you will get more out of them”.

The value in sharing your responsibilities

Tara De Linde and Angie Pool, Co-Directors of Atelier De Linde, an outstanding architecture practice based in Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks, were brought together through a chance encounter at a print shop. Both previously had long successful careers in their own rights, but having a business partner has allowed brought many benefits.

They shared how the business “thrives on the fact the two of us are different but hold the same qualities: drive, passion and ambition” and that, for them, successfully co-directing the company is “not about control, but about communication and collaboration and having each other means we have a safety net and someone to share the responsibilities of the business with, from its highs to its lows”. Angie was keen to hammer home that it works because they “always put kindness first and when a difficult decision has to be made we can talk it though and collectively make the decision for the greater good”.

Riding the waves

Claire Jarvis, Founder of Work in Harmony has had a varied career, rising from a secretary to ten years as  Director of Communications for Siemens Plc. She had a challenging midlife career pivot but has managed to come out the other side of it by sticking to her passion, which is working with people.

Over the course of her career, Claire shared that she has always ensured she “built good relationships with her peers” which were extremely valuable to her when she was in her most senior roles, and she also advocates for a “supportive leadership style”.

She shared how it is important to “stick with your gut feelings and learn about yourself so that you can achieve what you desire” as well as sharing some advice she was once given which helped her navigate career difficulties: “don’t get too attached on the outcomes, sometimes you just have to start, you can worry about where you’ll end up later”.

The key themes to emerge from the speakers were:

  • The value of building authentic working relationships
  • Learn what your passions are and build your career around them
  • Trust the process – the journey may have bumps along the way, but you can thrive despite them

The next Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells will be on 14 June, 10.30am-12.30pm at The Finance Hub on The Pantiles. Tickets will be available through Eventbrite.

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds Communications offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

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Sharp Minds reflects on 2023, achieving recognition on a global scale

As we look back at 2023, Sharp Minds reflects on winning three awards, becoming finalists at the world’s most recognised PR awards programme, competing with global brands by creating powerful and original  thought leadership with a reach of 230 million, moving into new offices to cater for continued growth and being featured on the front cover of SO Magazine.

Never be afraid to ask for help

This year was particularly difficult for some of our clients due to market volatility, the mortgage rate crisis and interest rates. However, we used our experience and the expertise to devise intelligent, cost-effective solutions for our clients. But more than that, we provided strategic counsel, finding and advising on new opportunities, devising plans around specific pain points and market conditions and helping our clients through the impact on their business structure of pursuing different income streams or scaling in a different way.

The degree of creativity that we apply to our marketing and PR strategies meant that we punched above our weight this year. We delivered results for our clients by devising cost-effective, lean strategies so they too punch above their weight, growing their brand reputation and engagement, to generate more – and more valuable – enquiries and improved conversions.

The Power of Thought Leadership: Finalists at the world’s biggest PR awards programme

A brand that invests in thought leadership and does it well will earn trust from its customers and prospects.  It can make it easier for companies to engage with customers and prospects, spark new conversations, and ultimately generate new relationships and sales. And as, over time, customers grow to expect insightful information from that company, brand recognition increases and making prospects even more open to being contacted. What’s more, thought leadership can build on existing relationships and brand recognition and become an essential element of a company’s marketing arsenal.

Sharp Mind’s thought leadership this year resulted in one of our proudest achievements since the company was founded. We managed to compete with 2,000 entries from EMEA communication agencies and global brands in 60 countries to become a finalist in the highly regarded SABRE Awards EMEA 2023. After months of hard work researching, creating, designing, and distributing a world-first report, we managed to gain a global audience of more than 230 million people – increasing our client’s website traffic and sales.

Despite only having a modest team of nine people, Sharp Minds found itself in the final amongst some of the world’s leading PR agencies and brands, such as Virgin Atlantic, Unilever, Samsung, Lego, Heineken, Adidas and MasterCard.

The Penn  Elcom Global Parcel Theft Report 2022, on behalf of our Hastings client, Penn Elcom, a globally recognised British steel manufacturer, generated more than 82 pieces of key news coverage across four territories, including The Telegraph, Independent, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, Good Housekeeping and The Wall Street Journal, reaching a global audience and catapulting Penn Elcom into the international spotlight as a leading expert in secure parcel solutions.

Outstanding Service: Going above and beyond

The Sharp Minds team have been hard at work over the last year. From consistently delivering our client’s ongoing outputs to an exceptionally high standard and going the extra mile to help them achieve their business goals, we won two awards at The Times of Tunbridge Wells Business Awards 2023.

We won ‘Creative Business of the Year’ and ‘Outstanding Business of the Year’, demonstrating the best combination of growth, ambition and quality of management.

Sharp Minds also won the SME News Business Elite Award for the ‘Most Strategic Marketing & PR Agency – South East’. Having been reviewed against so many other strong creative agencies, it is a true reflection of our dedication to our clients and always looking for ways to add value and step outside of the brief.

New offices: Sharp Minds continues to expand after continued growth

This year the Sharp Minds team moved into new premises in Southborough to accommodate the expansions plans of the business. The significantly larger premises have enabled us to scale up our team nimbly by 50% when needed.

Our new offices allowed Sharp Minds to host its first summer party, with more than 60 clients, friends and introducers celebrating our recent office move in our newly refurbished garden. Among the guests were Andrew Mann of Clarity Home and Commercials; Jan Johnson from 55Plus; Amanda Redman of Amanda Redman Financial Planning; Tara de Linde, Angie Pool and Dominika Mazur of Atelier de Linde; Gillian Palmer of The Finance Hub; and Jess Gibson founder of The TN Card.

This year we continued to provide opportunities for apprentices to nurture local talent, as well as returning marketers who are willing to trade a London salary for flexibility and a supportive culture, alongside developing staff to facilitate internal career progression.

SO Magazine: True measure of great communications is integrity

As marketing and PR professionals, we always lay emphasis on integrity while undertaking our professional duties. It is vitally important to work towards gaining and maintaining the trust of clients, the public and colleagues, leading to a positive reputation in the industry.

This year Sharp Minds was featured on the front cover of local media title SO Magazine. In the article Sharp Minds was able to inform readers of our strategy of combining our communications intelligence with integrity. We never sell a service to a client, just because it’s something that we offer; we are completely honest and act with integrity at all times. If we suggest to a client that we think they should be adopting a certain strategy, it’s because we believe it will deliver on their business goals.

It’s been a great year here at Sharp Minds and we are looking forward to the challenges and successes 2024 will bring.

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

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Turning a crisis into an opportunity; key client highlights of 2023

There’s no denying that 2023 has been a challenging year on many levels for businesses. Thriving in an unpredictable economy can be challenging, but with the right strategies, businesses can not only navigate the challenges more effectively but also thrive.

At Sharp Minds we tend to think outside the box and look for ways to turn a crisis into an opportunity. This has been the case for many of our clients for whom we introduced tactical PR and marketing strategies to boost brand awareness, protect brand reputation and help continue to drive revenue, despite volatile markets. As we all begin the countdown to Christmas, Sharp Minds reflects on 2023 and some of the key highlights for our clients.

55Plus: Rebranding and strategic marketing and PR to meet national ambitions

Background: This year the equity release market contracted hugely, 450 specialist brokers lost their jobs, and the big brokers abandoned business plans, halted marketing, and shrank operations. Despite one of the most challenging years for the equity release market, later life lending specialists 55Plus were one of only a handful of companies that not only survived the past 12 months but grew in size and turnover. This year Sharp Minds implemented a mature marketing and communications strategy at the beginning of the year to help the company navigate the difficult market and turn a market in crisis into an opportunity for 55Plus.

Rebrand: Our starting point was a complete rebrand for 55Plus with a new website to build a more mature and dynamic brand that reflects its national ambitions, captures more clients and appeals to introducers.

Tactical PR: The relaunch was followed by a carefully targeted and tactical PR campaign in the national press, with 55Plus becoming the leading authority on later life lending, helping to educate the general public about the benefits of equity release. This included multiple stories in The Telegraph, Financial Times, Daily Express and a front-page story in the Sunday Telegraph. The PR success was picked up and praised by the Equity Release Council.

Employer brand: Building a more modern brand  and boosting brand awareness helped to attract an additional 16 advisors, enabling the company to meet its goal of going national.

Strategic digital marketing to clients and introducers: Sharp Minds built a strategy for 55Plus to have a more targeted and collaborative way of working with its clients/introducers and provide initiatives for feedback. This included a fortnightly newsletter sent out to introducers, helping to improve engagement and feedback. Two blogs a month to help educate its introducers and clients on equity release and reactive/proactive social media strategy to improve customer engagement and service. 55Plus has also begun analytic deep dives to make sure content is personalised and being shared with introducers to improve and enhance 55Plus’s referral network.

Award success: 55Plus was a finalist in the Mortgage Introducer Awards last month and is also in the running to win the Equity Release Awards in January.

Dootrix: Helping a start-up transition to a mid-size business

Background: Dootrix, a national tech cloud disrupter, had a relatively unknown brand despite having built successful long-term partnerships with household names, such as Confused.com, Gridserve and Heathrow. The company wanted to progress its reputation from a start-up to an established, medium-sized business and brought in Sharp Minds to help towards the end of 2022.

Strategic messaging and communications review: Sharp Minds immediately conducted a thorough communications and messaging review, helping to align messaging with desired new direction of travel. We then implemented and aligned marketing and PR strategies to showcase Dootrix’s key points of difference and help establish the brand as a disruptor, outpacing global tech giants. Sharp Minds helped develop the key messaging for the business as specialists tackling the complex challenges of innovative organisations.

Tactical PR: A tactical PR campaign around Dootrix’s work with GRIDSERVE, whereby the firm built a powerful data platform that allows it to process information and take payment in seconds for EV charging sessions across the country, generated more than 16 articles across the UK. This catapulted the brand into the media for the first time, receiving praise and recognition within the cloud industry. Dootrix also implemented a new board and COO after a 74% surge in revenue, which was featured in 6 articles in the tech press.

Award success: Building brand awareness and the right messaging has helped support Dootrix on its upward trajectory and the firm was a finalist for the Tech Business of the Year Award in the prestigious Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards 2023, a testament to its resilience, innovative spirit, and entrepreneurial acumen.

Loch Associates Group: Increasing brand credibility through PR

Background: Whilst having received accolades and recognition within the legal sector, law and HR business Loch Associates Group was an unknown brand nationally, despite having a strong team of dedicated solicitors. The company wanted to progress its reputation from being a law firm, to a multi-service Law and HR medium-sized business. Earlier this year Sharp Minds was appointed immediately following a corporate rebranding.

Media strategy: An internal and external audit was carried out as part of the discovery process, as well as a thorough SWOT and competitor analysis. This was followed by the design and implementation of a clear media strategy to promote the new branding and the corporate division of the law practice.

Media roadshow: A tier-one and trade media roadshow was conducted to highlight new and updated messaging that reflected Loch Associate Group’s new direction, building active relationships with leading business, national and regional press in Kent, Sussex and London.

Expert messaging matrix: A leadership team was formed as go-to commentators on relevant topics, to share media responsibility away from the founder.

Media coverage: Over 70 media articles were generated in the past 12 months, including tier-one publications, such as The Financial Times, The Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.

Waterlodge: Strategy support and marketing to grow partnerships

Background: An innovate start-up founded five years ago, Waterlodge have grown their portfolio over the past two years to broaden their reach in the holiday park and marina industry sector and to individual customers interested in floating accommodation on inland waterways or coastal marinas. The brand is leading the way with its luxury floating lodges, and throughout 2023 gained new Partnerships with the likes of the largest Marina owner, AquaVista, as well as Liverpool Marina and Yarmouth Harbour Commissioners. With further partnerships in the pipeline and a busy exhibition and trade fair calendar, Waterlodge continue to use Sharp Minds as an extension to their business for help with their marketing strategy and tactical marketing and PR campaigns.

Marketing strategy: This year, Waterlodge were facing an increasingly difficult market, due to the general UK economic situation. They have continued to adapt their portfolio to appeal to the UK staycation market, offering innovative options that need communicating to a niche industry and consumer market. Sharp Minds reviewed past activity and produced a strategic marketing and PR plan that can be implemented into next year to leverage Waterlodge as an industry leader and specialist in their field.  

Exhibition support: Ongoing advertising review and advice given, plus exhibition support material for product or stand display and marketing literature, adapted and/or developed for new ranges at several large shows in the UK and Ireland, such as Ireland on the Water, Boatlife 2023 and the Southampton International Boat Show 2023. Advising on lead generation and post-show marketing.

Tactical marketing: An ongoing monthly tactical marketing communication plan is created and executed by Sharp Minds through e-newsletters, social media and supported by a robust SEO strategy. Ad-hoc communications were created to promote new partnerships, the two AirBNBs at Yarmouth Harbour and for advertising opportunities.  

Award success: Waterlodge was a finalist at the New Forest Brilliance in Business Awards 2023, for the Royal Lymington Yacht Club Award for Marine and Maritime, selected for their commitment to excellence, innovation and sustainability within the New Forest economy.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds Communications offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

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Kent female entrepreneurs inspire local businesswomen with their stories

Friday 29th of September marked another successful Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells event of 2023. Businesswomen from all across Kent gathered for the occasion to share their motivating business stories and advice. Teresa Wickham, Director of Convent Garden Market Authority, the largest Flower, Fruit, and Veggie Wholesale Market in London, served as the keynote speaker for the event, which was hosted and planned by our very own Siobhan Stirling. The top takeaways and key insights from Teresa and our amazing panellists are shared below.

Never be afraid to ask for help

Teresa Wickham spoke with Make It Your Business attendees about managing and developing complex areas of business, primarily in the food, agribusiness and the retail sector.

A great tip she shared with the room is: “I put my success down to three things: passion, networking and mentors. Passion in what your doing is very important, networking helps build credibility and drives you forward, mentors are there for guidance – never be afraid to ask for help!”

She also said: “There is always an element of luck involved in business but it is all down to how you treat that luck, make sure your creating opportunities for yourself.”

Networking is a must!

Lucy Emes, the founder of Smartist Social Media, a business which helps a range of SME’s stand out from the crowd online, shares her tips and ideas for success.

“Networking is a huge part of building a client base, make sure you get yourself out there. It can be daunting at first but making business connections will really help your business excel,” says Lucy.

She urges the room to: “Remember that you can’t always do everything yourself and that’s okay. Reach out to freelancers when you need extra support. I also took on a work experience placement which I learnt a lot from!”

Empower your employees

Jane Bennett has worked as a solicitor for 25 years and for the last 11 of those, she has been building a niche specialist firm acting for vulnerable clients. Her business, JE Bennett Law, helps clients have lost mental capacity to manage their own affairs. She shares her business advice with the room:

“Make sure you empower your staff, it’s so important. I always wanted to run a business where my employees felt trusted and supported. After working with some people in the past who were the opposite, I knew for my business to be successful, I must do that. Treat your employees well and they will return the favour!

“Running a business is hard work and that is okay to say. Allow yourself to share the difficulties and problems you’re facing with people,” says Jane.

Treat your clients how you would want to be treated

Lynne Gadsden, an award winning Chartered Financial Planner and director of Grovewood Wealth Management lets us in on her secret for success:

“Show your clients you care. I truly believe the reason why the business has been a success is due to the care my husband and I show. Treat your clients how you would like to be treated and remember little gestures go a long way. During the pandemic, we called all of our clients to see how they were, something as simple as that can go a long way.”

The key takeaways from Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells

  1. First and foremost, you must have a passion for what you are doing
  2. Strive to create the right work/life balance – reach out for support through networking and mentors
  3. Care for your clients and your staff – build trust and support
  4. Turn adversity into a positive

Another successful Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells event fulfilled! Thank you to The Finance Hub for hosting the largest group of attendees so far for this event. We loved hearing the inspiring stories and business advice from our local female entrepreneurs – bring on the next one!

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds Communications offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

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Bringing inspiring local businesswomen together

Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells goes beyond female networking with lots of people: it’s about building a community to share ideas, help solve problems, and to create opportunities for one another. That’s why we are delighted to be back with our third event of the year. On the 29th of September, The Finance Hub in Tunbridge Wells, will be filled with inspiring businesswomen, sharing their stories. Read on to find out which fantastic female entrepreneurs will be joining our very own, Siobhan Stirling, this time…

Food, Agribusiness & Retail Sector Specialist as keynote speaker

Teresa Wickham, Director of Convent Garden Market Authority, the largest Flower, Fruit and Veg Wholesale Market in London, will be the keynote speaker this month at Make It Your Business Tunbridge Wells. She will share her insights and key tips for success in the challenging world of business.

Teresa has over 50 years’ experience of managing and developing complex areas of business, primarily in food, agribusiness and the retail sector. She is a regular television and radio broadcaster on  supply chain issues and is a Co-Founder of the Women’s Farming Union, set up to revive the British Top Fruit Industry which she built into a National Organisation with 3,000 members.

In addition, Teresa has been the First Woman Director of Safeway’s Store, an Adviser to Sainsbury’s Store plc Board on their £1 Billion CR Programme, a Governor of the Royal Agricultural University and also Chief executive of TWA Communications, a Business Development and Communication Consultancy. Teresa also mentors a number of SMEs in the food sector.

Start your business off right by taking advice from the pros

Teresa will be joined by three Tunbridge Wells businesswomen who will be sharing their inspiring stories.

Lynne Gadsden

Award winning Chartered Financial Planner, Lynne Gadsen, of Speldhurst based Grovewood Wealth Management Limited, helps to guide families through the heady world of personal finance. As a Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, Lynne has been involved in all aspects of wealth management for over 30 years, specialising in retirement and investment planning, Inheritance Tax planning and Care fees advice.

Jane Bennett

Jane Bennett has worked as a solicitor for 25 years. For the last 11 of those, she has been building a niche specialist firm acting for vulnerable clients, recently relocating to Tunbridge Wells in 2022. JE Bennett Law acts for catastrophically injured clients and the elderly. In many cases, the clients have lost mental capacity to manage their own affairs. Jane specialises in Court of Protection Law, Power of Attorney, Personal Injury Trusts and Wills and Probate. 

Lucy Ames

Lucy had a career in IT as a Business Analyst and then, following redundancy, set up a business based on her passion for art. Having run that business for 10 years selling paintings to private clients and corporates such as Hoopers and Brewin Dolphin, she realised that the skills she had learnt in social media to promote ‘Art by Lucy Ames’ were in demand. Lucy now runs The Smartist, which provides her SMEs clients with full and part time management of social media services, helping their brands to stand out from the crowd online.

Join us!

Starting your own business is no easy task and hearing first hand from those who already have thriving businesses is extremely useful – so this is why we are delighted to bring female entrepreneurs together to inspire each other with their stories and business advice.

The event will be taking place on Friday 29th of September from 10:30am – 12:30pm at the Finance Hub, which is located on the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells. Tickets are FREE and some are still available, so be sure to grab yours before they sell out. We can’t wait to see you there.

Want to get your brand noticed? Get in touch

Based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Sharp Minds Communications offers brand development, digital marketing, offline marketing, and public relations to businesses across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Greater London.

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