This month sees a triple celebration ahead! Firstly, I completed another year of my life and gained a year of becoming older and wiser. Several days after we celebrate International Women’s Day and, towards the end of the month, Mothering Sunday. That’s a whole lot of awesomeness. The last wee while I have been lucky enough to feel awesome.
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At the beginning of the year, I was enrolled into a group of female business owners and entrepreneurs who I have admired from the side lines for many years. I am now officially Ambassador for Women’s Enterprise Scotland commonly known as WES. WES is the community interest company which works to ensure women have access to the gender specific support they need to start-up and thrive in business. Women-owned businesses in Scotland are just 14% of SME employer businesses[1], down from 20.6% in 2017.[2] This statistic alone filled me with sadness not pride. Why am I a minority reaching the employer status? Considering nearly half of business start up owners are female, there is a very large drop off. So, at WES, I have made it a personal mission to share my story and support other females on creating their own business story. |
I am thrilled to be recognised nationally for something I truly believe in. It is essential to allow and inspire women to start their own business journey and fulfil their full potential which of course directly impacts a positive effect on the Scottish Economy.
In 2020, WES launched the Women’s Business Centre, the first freely accessible digital platform of its kind which supports women as they start and grow their own businesses. The platform has had over 10,000 visitors since its launch and membership is currently well over 1,000 and growing daily.
Love Scottish is in its 5th year and set to continue to grow with the expansion of our workshop in Hawick, offering a retail outlet and coffee shop. I am so excited about 2022!!
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[1] Small Business Survey Scotland 2017
[2] ONS 2015