Inspiring Women 2020

In the week of International Women’s Day, the annual celebration of the contribution women make to the world, St Andrews Business Club held its third annual Inspiring Women event, this time in conjunction with Fife Women in Business.

 

As in the past two years it welcomed two more inspiring women who have achieved much to date in their careers and lives.

Rachel Weiss shared how after studying mathematics at Oxford she began her career as a school teacher before becoming a counsellor and coach, founding Rowan Consultancy in Perth in 1997. It now has a network of counsellors from London to Inverness, together with coaches and trainers throughout Scotland, helping people to live more satisfying lives.

In 2017, she also founded the Menopause Café charity which coordinates pop-up events worldwide, where people gather to drink tea, eat cake and talk about menopause. It also runs the world’s only Menopause Festival – #FlushFest2020 will be held in Perth on May 29 and 30.

Rachel spoke engagingly about her fascinating journey, the setbacks she’s faced and how she’s overcome them.

Rachael Jayne Nixon explained how she began her career as a children’s nurse. Her interest in millinery came after she moved back home from a spell living in Saudi Arabia, where she’d bought a large and expensive ‘hatinator’ to attend a race day organised by the British Embassy.

On her flight home, the hatinator was accidentally destroyed by another passenger. As she had several weddings to attend that year, Rachael, who’s been into crafts since childhood, ended up making a replacement herself because she couldn’t find any she liked and matched her outfits.

Her Chanix Millinery business began when she posted a photo of the hatinator on Facebook and got two orders for more! Since then she spent three years teaching herself the traditional millinery skills before studying it formally at Glasgow Clyde College .

She went on to share how in a short time she has become an international award-winning milliner, including first place at the Lincoln International Millinery Competition, Best Hat at a Melbourne Cup event in Australia and Winner of Amazing New Business Innovator in No1 Magazine’s Amazing Women Awards 2020. Rachael spoke movingly of how she’s gained confidence through overcoming barriers.

Thanks to both women for inspiring everyone!

For more photos, go to the Album on our Facebook page.

NEXT EVENT: The Club’s next event is April 22: Business Communications, when Eugene Clarke will help you achieve your goals through effective communication.

• Posted on March 5th, 2020 in Business Advice, Business Events, International Women's Day, Member blog, Networking, Social Events

Inspiring Women 2019

By Sanaa Sachdev

Some of the most successful businesses are run by women who’ve worked hard to pursue their goals and witness their dreams come true.

 

However, it’s not the person’s gender, but a great idea, dedication, optimism and perseverance that can differentiate a successful business model from a struggling one.

In the Club’s second annual Inspiring Women event to celebrate International Women’s Day, Kirsty Thomson, Founder and CEO of Circle Scotland CIC, ACK CIC and Saltire Fellow, shared her story on how she started her social enterprise after having gaining experience understanding the models of another social enterprise when her sister was supported by it due to her disability.

Her presentation included an online interactive quiz for attendees and was enjoyed by all.

For more information about The Circle Dundee, visit its website at www.thecircledundee.org.uk

Angie Foreman, Programme Director & Founder of Coca-Cola 5by20 and CEO of Women’s Business Station, shared her Top 10 tips she’s learned over the years which helped her achieve success in life and business.

Her wit and confident delivery had attendees in fits of laughter.

For more information about the Coca-Cola 5by20 Dundee initiative, go to https://www.dundeeandanguschamber.co.uk/144_Coca-Cola5by20Programme.html

For more photos, go to the Album on our Facebook page.

NEXT EVENT: The Club’s next event is April 3 Business Breakfast – Reverse Engineer a Successful Business Exit, when Ewan Menzies, Director of Castle Strategy, Mount Parnassus Partners Concord and CTA Global, will explain how to plan a successful business exit strategy.

• Posted on March 7th, 2019 in Business News, Club News, International Women's Day, Local Business News

Inspiring women to share Inspiring women to share their stories at St Andrews event

Two inspiring award-winning female entrepreneurs will share their stories and advice in the second annual St Andrews Business Club event to celebrate International Women’s Day.

 

In the event, to be held at the Old Course Hotel from 5.30pm on March 6, Angie Foreman and Kirsty Thomson will inspire attendees from all backgrounds.

In her 25-year career, award-winning businesswoman Angie Foreman, Programme Director & Founder of Coca-Cola 5by20 and CEO of Women’s Business Station, has worked mainly in the third sector and is mostly recognised for her empowerment work with women.

She has created award-winning social enterprises, community empowerment models and impactful corporate social responsibility programmes for Coca-Cola, all of which have benefited hundreds of women. Last year Angie won the Change Catalyst award at the Women Enterprising Scotland Awards and ‘Women of Inspiration Award’ from the Association of Scottish Businesswomen.

Award-winning

Kirsty Thomson is an award-winning serial social entrepreneur who’s set up and runs two Community Interest Companies over the past seven years – ACK Third Sector Consultants CIC (formerly Along Came Kirsty) and Circle Scotland CIC (The Circle).

Kirsty has a wealth of knowledge and experience working in and with charities and social enterprises over 20 years to secure more than £13 million in funding. She is a Saltire Fellow through Entrepreneurial Scotland, in 2017 was recognised as a Women of Inspiration by the Association of Scottish Businesswomen and is on the NatWest Wise100 2018 list, which recognises the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven businesses in the UK.

Anyone wanting to learn from them, as well as network, is asked to book via Eventbrite.

A full list of this season’s events can be found at http://bit.ly/StABCEvents.

• Posted on February 1st, 2019 in Business News, International Women's Day, Local Business News, Speakers

Inspiring Women

 

Professor Sally Mapstone, Principal of the University of St Andrews, joined an award-winning businesswoman in sharing her story and talking about the University of St Andrews women who inspired her in our event on the eve of International Women’s Day.

 

Attendees gained inspiration, as well as the chance to question both Prof Mapstone and Nicola Dames, in the well-attended ‘Inspiring Women’ event at the Old Course Hotel.

Professor Mapstone, who gave the keynote at the event, has been Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews since September 2016. Before taking up the role, her academic career was spent at the University of Oxford. Earlier in her career she worked as an editor in the book publishing industry.

She talked about the female role models who inspired her in her career, including several connected with the University of St Andrews.

First woman student

In 1862 Elizabeth Garrett became the first woman to matriculate there. Sadly, she was later removed from the list of students and prevented from attending medical classes.

She nevertheless went on to become the first woman to qualify as a physician in Britain, co-founding the first hospital staffed by women, and becoming Dean of the London School of Medicine for Women.

Her determination paved the way for other women, including Agnes Forbes Blackadder – who in 1895 became the first woman to graduate from St Andrews – and Margaret Fairlie, who in 1940 became the first female professor in Scotland after being appointed Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University College, Dundee, then part of the University of St Andrews. It was a long time till the next.

Despite diversity and equality at St Andrews moving on greatly since – now a fifth of its professors are women and 44% of research students are female – Prof Mapstone said she felt “we are still not there yet”. Which is why she’s started several initiatives to improve that, including a mentoring programme for women in senior roles named after Elizabeth Garrett.

Finally, Prof Mapstone said she felt the most inspiring women are those who push for change not just for themselves for those who will follow them.

Nicola Dames shared how her life changed forever when she started to suffer with Ulcerative Colitis while a nurse in her 20s working in London. After surgery to remove her large colon, she found underwear available for women with stomas lacked femininity.

So she created her company, Vanilla Blush, in 2008 to provide attractive underwear for women like her. She now designs, makes and sells that and swimwear for all genders and is about to extend the range into sportswear.

In 2011, Vanilla Blush had its first range listed as a Class 1 Medical Device and in 2014 was named Post-Surgery Brand of the Year. In June 2016 Nicola secured £50,000 in Scottish EDGE funding. In December last year, she was included in Lingerie Insight’s Power List 2018.

Both speakers answered questions on their advice for women and who inspired them. Prof Mapstone named Michelle Obama, whom she’s met. Nicola Dames nominated her namesake, Nicola Sturgeon.

They were warmly applauded by the large number of attendees.

For more photos, go to the Album on our Facebook page.

NEXT EVENT: The Club’s next event is March 28: Members-Only Problem-solving & networking lunch.

• Posted on March 8th, 2018 in Business News, International Women's Day, Local Business News, Women