Savvy Women Issue 4

SAVVYwomen ISSUE No 04

in business

INSIDE

TOP ADVICE

TIPS

inspiring STORIES Q&A’s all from savvy women COVER STORY Marketing professional

caroline micallef-wragg

Is your business ready for Growth?

HEALTH │ WELLBEING │ STYLE │ BEAUTY │ CREATIVE │ HOME │ FOOD DRINK │ ENTERTAINMENT │ LEISURE │ BUSINESS │ FAMILY │ MONEY

The personal support, expertise & roadmap to get your health where you want it.

“Before trying this nutritional system I was exhausted, stressed and living with constant brain fog. I believed that my healthy balanced diet was giving me all the nutrition I needed, but I was really struggling with my health and unable to do the exercise I wanted to do. I couldn’t be the mum, wife, daughter or friend I wanted to be” Kathryn

I’m Heather Atkinson and I can help you take control of your health and stay there Call: 07507 493 299 Email: heather@healthy-success.co.uk Visit: healthy-success.co.uk

residentsavvywomen Thank you to all the savvy business women who regularly feature in SAVVY WOMEN

CAROLINE MICALLEF-WRAGG

MARIA HANSON MBE

BUCKSO DHILLON - WOOLLEY

heather atkinson

CLAIRE R. ZWOZNY-BESTWICK

CLAIRE SAXTON

NICOLA READ

ANNABEL WARD

KATHY MASLOWSKI

JUSTINE OLDFIELD

fiona caldecott

julie Anne Hart

karen chappell

pam bailey

jo peirson

vicky stanton

laura goodsell

su bramley

Nicola Reynolds

RUTH CHUBB

Savvy Women - Leading the way Savvy Women Magazine was launched to give women in business the opportunity to celebrate their story as a business owner You could Share tips, advice, and much more in a fabulous interactive Digital Publication, linking to your website, social media platforms, and video

JOIN OTHER WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND Reach out to a broader audience online FROM JUST £19.50 PER PAGE For enquiries on how to become a resident please e-mail : info@savvywomen.uk

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 3

welcome to

A COLLECTIVE OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS

contentsinside HEALTH/WELLBEING 5 Buckso Dhillon-Woolley 8 Retreat by Design Team 10 Karen Chappell - Stress Management & Chronic Pain Specialist 11 Jo Peirson - Intuitive Health & Wellness Warrier 12 Pam Bailey - Changes Ahead 13 Kathy Maslowski - Brightflower Therapies

BEAUTY/STYLE

14 Justine Oldfield - Seeds of Success 16 Suzanne Suthers - Image Consultant & Personal Shopper

CREATIVE/HOME

18 Claire R. Zwozny-Bestwick - CRZyBest

food/drink Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Savvy Women As a business owner, the last few months have taken me through a range of emotions and i can imagine that all of the women that run a business have faced one of the most difficult periods in their lives, both during the pandemic lock down and now the easing of the lock down to a new normal way of life.

We are now hopefully starting to see things changing for the better, but how do we recover from the impact Covid 19 has left us in?

In this publication, some of our clients have spoken about the changes they have had to make to adjust and the impact it may have had which I am sure you will find interesting and inspiring.

As for the team at Savvy Women, we too have taken the time to reflect on our own business model and how we can continue supporting women in business online and in this publication.

We have created a new website so business owners can post their blogs, giving them another platform to promote their brand with an ever growing audience. We have also joined a digital publication platform to encourage a wider audience to look at the inspiring business women that we support across the midlands and further afield across the UK over the next few months.

20 Ruth Chubb - Three Bears Cookery Club 22 North Bar and Kitchen

entertainment/leisure 26 Annabel Ward - Fancy Entertainment

business/money/FAMILY 28 Maria Hanson - Me & Dee Charity 30 Nicola Read - Babbl Social 31 Nicola Reynolds - Pixie Box 32 Claire Saxton - Saxton Marketing 34 Su Bramley - 1 For All Accounting Angels 35 Laura Goodsell - Anchor Online Designs 36 Fiona Caldecott - 3 Degrees Social 37 Vicky Stanton - The Business Success Coach 38 Vicky Stanton - The Athena Network

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We hope that the improvements we have made will help grow your business over the coming editions and due to the impact that Covid 19 has had, we have created a pricing structure that will help businesses of any size take advantage of our publication to promote their business.

Don’t forget, we are more than just a magazine. Until the next time!! Stay safe and well.

Susan

HEAD OF business development susan Bradbury susan@savvywomen.uk

savvywomen.uk

cover story

/savvywomenuk

CAROLINE MICALLEF-WRAGG

disclaimer All Rights Reserved. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions relating to editorial content or advertising. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from the publisher. Savvy Women Magazine is owned and published by Savvy Women Ltd.

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This meant that, apart from the selfemployment loan that was given, no money whatsoever was coming through for Buckso.

But that wasn’t going to mess up her plans, as she then decided to finally put her Coaching qualification to use and so, during lockdown, created her own 121 and group coaching platform.

“I wasn’t prepared to just sit by and watch who and what would come to help because that would mean having no control, so by creating my program, moving online, I’m now going to be in a better position going forward. The need to be present online is even more important NOW than it’s ever been, that’s why THIS publication really WILL come into its own, raising

profiles

and

increasing

brand

awareness for all those women in business ALL over the UK,” explains Buckso.

She continues” My Acting roles and Voiceover work will start up at some point this year but in the meantime, I’m offering my skills out as The Resilient Confidence Coach, for all those that are feeling knocked back through recent events and haven’t the courage or direction they

STANDSTILL Well that’s definitely what happened for Buckso as the entertainment world took a massive blow from the pandemic and immediately ceased to run.

need, to get going again. My 121 program will guarantee you get BACK on course, to where you were heading or, even change direction altogether.”

You can get hold of Buckso via her website: www.bucksodw.com facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/ getconfidentgetresilient/ email: bucksodw@gmail.com phone : 07742 265282

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COVERFEATURE

Marketing your business in a Crisis

Is your business ready for Growth?

Marketing professional Caroline Micallef-Wragg shares with us today the importance of keeping positive during these very sticky times.

Marketing with a difference is so important today especially with the whole world in turmoil. How have you been coping?

Is business good for you, have you been able to adjust working more from home and adapting to online meetings and video conferencing solutions to just keep going?

How are you coping?

Maybe you have been suffering with fatigue and mental health issues, I am not surprised, all of this has an effect on our mindset and ability to perform proficiently with our work, never mind the ongoing corona virus epidemic!

What is happening with the world is affecting every single person, being and business owner everywhere!

It’s disgraceful what has happened to George Floyd. The world has reacted quite rightly so. I felt I needed to mention this. Humanity has gone mad. What world are we in?

It’s the violence and destruction of wonderful things of beautiful people that I really can’t comprehend, especially as we have enough hurt and illness to contend with.

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by CAROLINE MICALLEF-WRAGG

Get on Track We might have digressed a little, but I’m addressing what is topical right now and what can actually have an impact on the way people live and work and how relationships are built and re-built.

Getting back on track is where we can help businesses, regain that focus and direction. Offering help and advice in these turbulent times.

The Market Opportunities When you are out there looking for new customers and clients for your business, you know your stuff, you know your business really well and the fact is people will buy from you if they like you and can trust you. Whether you are a small independent business owner to a large corporate branded organisation. Trust is the key factor, reliability and recognition.

But this is going into another subject about trusted brands and why people buy from different places – the psychology of this I’m not going into today.

There are many opportunities for business even right now during this crisis. Coping through a recession does mean adjusting and re-focusing what you do or have been doing.

Adapting to change does not come easy for many people.

But with good heart and a great attitude, reskilled or upskilled, you have the solution to help many others too.

Feel Good about Selling So back to marketing your business! How can we? Do you feel pressurised to sell and feel bad about it? It’s really a different world and important to look within. Enabling yourself to feel good about you. Your state of health does have a massive impact on how you work and the work you are producing that is being prepared to share with the world.

Whenever I hear of a social media post “going viral” it makes me shiver. Not because of the fact that it’s awesome reach but the terminology today connecting with the actual Virus that has infiltrated everyone’s lives.

So let’s flip this onto a more positive note.

What message are you sending out to people, clients, customers and all those who you want to reach?

Let’s raise the positivity and create those successful vibes that everyone wants. What is your number one message to your clients and prospective clients right now? How are you making them feel? Have you been in touch with them during the last 3 months? It’s ok if you haven’t, it has been a difficult time for many.

Relationship marketing is at the heart of this current time. There are things you can do to pick up the pace and to get your business visible again and making money.

There is nothing wrong with that either! The social media platforms are filled with tons of FREE stuff! What message is that giving out? Who can people trust? There we go, that trust thing again.

To trust and then to deliver…. Well we are going one step further to after the sale and involves building and maintaining those relationships using the various platforms and channels of communication that are relevant to that client.

Right now, you need help to get your sales up, to bring new clients in, to grow your business. Remember when we talked about getting marketing right and your sales will follow? Well, there is a process to that and it doesn’t happen overnight.

Rev up your Business and Marketing We have developed a special programme in line with working from home that absolutely gives you all the tools you need to market your business right now. It’s our Rev up Business and Marketing Programme, slightly tweaked adding a crisis management and support system to help you get on the right tracks. It includes strategic marketing, planning, getting to the core looking at core values, mission, vision and values. We work on mindset and clarity, giving you total visibility so you know you are on the right track.

It’s a 4 month programme done in a small group with live sessions and 121 time as a bonus.

If you would like an information pack that tells you a bit more, please contact me.

Caroline@starflowercompany.co.uk Special offer For all Savvy Readers and members Starflower are offering a free no obligation Discovery Session that looks at your marketing strategy, future business and income stream plan. Get in touch so we can help you to Shine out Loud and be Seen and Heard.

See you soon. Caroline x

www.starflowercompany.co.uk Tel: 07970 830423 caroline@starflowercompany.co.uk

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We are experiencing an external force of change 8 - SAVVY Women ISSUE 4- savvywomen.uk

HEALTHWELLBEING pivotal to leading a new way. The wave brings an igniting of the spirit so that we understand ancient knowing and law that is beyond our current awareness. Our minds will work to come together from a pure humanist perspective. A place that promotes the potential of everyone. To support human potential as a form of productivity. To promote a sense of belonging. Congruent with what supports the whole.

Business is evolving rapidly, and old structures will not fit. They will crumble. The push for more is indeed the crush. A crush on what is important and a priority, A crush of identify. Of emotions. Of health.

As the role of the leader changes so does their accountability and responsibility. An economic response is coupled with an ecoresponse to others, to purpose and to planet. New structures will not allow you to be “out for yourself”. For the way the wave moves is governed by a higher force, a force that will bring the governance externally.

Businesses will struggle to survive on their own. They will have to join forces. Therefore, elements of collaborative support will have to be understood and integrated. Honesty, openness, and a return to Trust are the vital components for certainty. These vital components are not open to falseness of one’s own agenda or personal gain or gratification.

We will all have to learn how to truly give knowing that the thriving of another is the road to more personal and professional fulfilment.

Learning how to lend more of a hand of kindness in a bigger way.

How to create a sense of family and friendship more than ever before.

Success lies in an ability to Relate. Leaders will be the education of a new way. But it requires a new you. Survival means opening your heart. Survival means giving, sharing, and caring beyond your current levels of awareness.

This new wave of illumination means we will have to pay consideration to the follow points.

1. External factors will lead to a transformation in priority – building potentiality to create certainty.

2. Personal and professional issues will have to be addressed. Within the realms of the workplace/business and profession. Development is the new productivity and profit.

3. All business relations will have to develop beyond the current structures of intellect. A values-based approach creates the loyalty to succeed in uncertain times.

4. It is no longer feasible or sustainable or ethical to have a sole profit driven approach. It simply will not accommodate the dynamics of multi-level wave in consciousness.

5. Leaders must become congruent with their own health and wellbeing. Paying attention to Professional and personal development is a priority.

It is not going to be as simple as we all think. No one can escape these intense times of deep transformation. This process may be painful and uncomfortable, but indeed a breakthrough. The complete knowing and acceptance of our own shortcomings requires us all to look, learn, and respond to ourselves and our business in a completely different way.

This wave of change brings a new structure for growth and potential.

Our development on all levels will have to be addressed. A profit driving approach in business will no longer sustain or maintain.

There will be a movement in human desire to be more emotionally and spiritually healthy. A desire to be more mindful in all business structures. Placing priority on what is important.

6. Leaders will have to support human potential as a form of productivity. To promote a sense of belonging and to integrated values and sustainable resources.

7. Business is evolving rapidly, and old structures will simply not fit.

8. Current structures will crumble, and new structures will be built on the psychology of potential. An open doorway to potential for all not just a few.

It is a rocky road for sure. A road that with grace will lead to a true understanding of the greatness of the human spirit. It means one thing. Change!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Retreat By Design. A unique team that have specifically collaborated to give you all the ingredients you need to take a 360-degree movement to awaken and to integrate your new Diamond Dynamic of potentiality.

The spirited desire leads to a yearning to feel beyond the 5 senses to know one’s depth of purpose. A place where all relationship and communication dynamics support the good of all. Economic forces create a surge of change. Old fashioned long forgotten values of respect and honour will have to be implemented to sustain a new way. Individual top leaders much be more congruent in their professional dynamics to relate.

Please do take a look at www.retreatbydesign.com and please email us if you have any questions.

This kind of awakening is a positioning. The role of the ego has no place at all. All that does not serve will be illuminated to those

We look forward to our paths crossing.

Take good Care from all at the Retreat By Design Team

We are currently adapting our design to accommodate the current times by creating an online space to access the guidance, support, knowledge, and wisdom bespoke to your own personal, professional and spiritual needs.

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 9

Hi, I’m

Karen Chappell

Stress Management & Chronic Pain Specialist

Are you sitting on Zoom meetings all day, 9-5?

Have you started to seize up because you’re working from home and not moving enough throughout the day?

Introducing my Morning Mobilisers!

People stiffen up but don’t realise how much until they go to tidy up after their children, make the bed or do something simple like reaching across the desk or table.

I recently started working with Andrea, a social media coach. She was sitting at her desk all day and suffering from shoulder pain. She struggled to sit at the computer at home for any length of time even typing was extremely uncomfortable, until she started doing my Morning Mobilisers!

Morning Mobilisers are helping many people in lockdown to increase their range of movement and become pain-free.

Another of my clients, Caroline, felt a pain that she’d had before but thought had gone away. Caroline couldn’t wash her daughter’s hair because it hurt her lower back so much.

Are you feeling pain during lockdown?

If you are sitting for hours, feeling stiff and not moving enough, download my Morning Mobilisers and select which Mobiliser suits you to release specific joints.

Many clients over the past 15 years have benefitted from my unique Bodylogiq approach. It is a gentle way of helping people to be pain-free without pills.

Photo: Ursula Kelly @ Studio Softbox

GREAT NEWS! I am committed to helping you alleviate pain and freeing you up to move easily.

During lockdown I opened my Bodylogiq clinic ONLINE so that I can continue to support you to become pain-free in your own home.

My clients are thrilled with the results.

Success stories

“I’m so pleased with the results. My sitting position has improved and back and shoulder pain has gone.” Lynda “There was a noticeable improvement of my low back pain after only 3 sessions online.” Janet “I loved that Karen gave me gentle exercises to do at home that didn’t hurt but helped to ease muscle tightness and realign my posture.” Felicity

If you want to be a success story and pain-free again contact me to book your no obligation consultation Karen Chappell, 07917 410770 karen@karenchappell.org www.karenchappell.org

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HEALTHWELLBEING

Soul Sustaining

Practises

No one can deny that we’re living in strange times.

We’re all handling lockdown in our own unique way.

For most of us it’s virgin territory. Never have we had to stay home to this extent. Muddling our way through to discover what coping strategies work best for us, adjusting as we go, like course correcting a ship from point A to B, except we don’t really know where point B is. All of this is unsettling.

Below are some of the coping strategies (daily practises) I use to help me navigate life and that have been invaluable the past few months: 1. Meditation – I’ve started meditating twice daily, morning and evening. I’ve also upped the length of my meditations so in total I’m doing nearly an hour a day.

This practise helps relax and focus your mind. Especially if you use a visualization meditation as you can focus on what you want your future to look like, reminding you that this too shall pass.

by Jo Peirson 4. Oracle Cards – If you’re into oracle cards and they’re sitting in a box, consider pulling a daily card for yourself.

When shuffling the cards, ask what you need to know for the day ahead. Keep the card with you during your day or place it where you will see it often.

This practise reminds you you’re never alone; Universal help and support are immediately to hand if you ask.

5. Grounding – With so many more demands on our energy, grounding and protecting our energy is even more important. For protection, I wear a Smoky Quartz crystal point (downward facing) every day to protect me from energy vampires. For grounding, the best way is to get outside and get your feet on the grass or earth. When the weather’s nice, you could even lay on the grass and cloud gaze as you enjoy plugging into Mother Gaia. If getting outside isn’t possible, picture yourself standing like a tree with your roots going deep into the ground.

Standing strong and firmly attached to the earth.

This practise literally recharges your battery and keeps it topped up.

6. Fun and Laughter – As my son is at home, we’ve been having lots of fun together playing games, blowing bubbles, dancing, singing, watching funny TV programmes/movies and basically being silly at every opportunity. This time is a blessing as he’s growing up so fast.

This practise is good for our mental and physical health as it’s boosting our immune systems and flooding our brains with all the happy hormones like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, along with giving us an endorphin boost.

I invite you to try these practises for yourself if you’re not already doing them. I’d love to hear how you’re getting on with them so please let me know. Alternatively, if you’ve any practises you think I’d find useful, please share those with me too.

2. Journaling - Getting all your busy thoughts out of your head and onto paper stops your head ‘exploding’ from too much information crammed in there. Processing all the additional information we’ve been exposed to recently can be overwhelming, not to mention all our fears and the continued uncertainty.

This practise helps order it and keep it in perspective.

3. Gratitude - Amid the chaos there’s always something to be grateful for. Even the smallest of things can be a blessing when you’re having a hard time. Writing them down daily reminds you of this. Idea: you could even keep a journal just for these. This practise helps you notice more and more things to be grateful for. Plus, you also have them to revisit if you’re having a wobble and need a little boost anytime.

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HEALTHWELLBEING

The Rise of the

Post-Menopausal

Leader

by Pam Bailey

It is worth noting at this point that sickness and absence costs the UK economy over 14 billion pounds a year, £554 pounds per employee. Any wellbeing service should be focused on providing one that is functional for the individual, rather than one that just ‘ticks a box’.

What is required in our society, is more knowledge, more information, more understanding, more discovery, and more teaching to understand the menopause and how this important phase in a woman’s life affects her, and those around her and to help to re-enforce how pivotal she is to the workplace diversity and how important all of her life’s rich experiences are.

S

pring 2020 and Covid-19 lock-down has been the time when many of us have found ourselves living a different ‘normal’. But it has also given us space to slow our pace of life down and do some self-reflection.

Reflection on our lives in general, reflection on ourselves and our position in the world, reflection on whether we want to ‘go back to the life we had’ as we slowly emerge tentatively into the world beyond our own front doors.

With a woman’s average life expectancy currently at 81 years of age and the average age when she goes through menopause as being 51 years of age, women are easily spending a third of their lives being postmenopausal.

Current retirement age in the UK has also risen to 67, and who knows, it may rise again, and we could find ourselves working well into our ‘70’s and 80’s and even beyond.

In 2016, the employment rate for women in the UK of nearly 70% was among the highest since records began in 1971. Over the last four years the number of women over the age of 50 in work, has also increased: a trend predicted to continue – (taken from the guidance on menopause in the workplace).

We still have some way to go though, and whilst women are certainly working longer these days, are staying in employment longer, entering into promotions, and entering into leadership positions more than ever before the numbers are still low compared to their male colleagues:

• 17.3% of FTSE 100 directorships and 13.2% of FTSE 250 directorships are held by women.

• 34% of board appointments on FTSE 100 since 1 March 2012 have been women.

No longer is a woman’s career thought to be the first half of her life, and organisations will need to understand that in order to keep the crème-de-la-crème, and the best of the best of their employees, the wellbeing services they provide, especially for their female employees going through menopause transition, will have to be even more people centred than they have been.

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A survey conducted last year by Well-being of Women revealed that 25% of women going through menopause were still considering leaving work because of their experiences during this phase of their lives.

Time and again, my own Clients are telling me that they didn’t want to share with anyone at work that they were going through menopause as they felt they would be seen as part of ‘the aged population’ who were now near to retirement and shouldn’t be considered for any advancement, or if they did have the confidence to approach their manager, the conversation was awkward or were told to just get on with it .

With the World Health Organisation recently stating that “wellbeing has been severely impacted by the Corona Virus crisis and leaders need to make the wellbeing of Colleagues a priority’’, we would do well to keep reflecting on the lessons of this time and how as working women, we would want our new horizon in the world of work to support us as the rise of the post-menopausal leader begins A Bit About The Author Having worked in the corporate world since leaving school, it was being made redundant in 2009 that spurred Pam onto starting her first coaching and therapy company.

Pam had an innate knowing that she needed to niche her business, but it wasn’t until she experienced her own, very early and very problematic menopause, that she had her ‘Aha’ moment and evolved her work into specialising in helping women leaders and entrepreneurs who are struggling to cope with work, life and relationships due to their menopause.

Now, through her company Changes-Ahead, Pam has her own unique programs that are based on a holistic approach to healing the mind, the body, emotions and spirit, focusing on the miracles that this phase in a woman’s life brings forth.

Contacts: Email: Pam @changesahead.co.uk Phone: 07966802735 Website: www.changesahead.co.uk Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/changetherapies LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/im/pambmenopause

the lockdown

turning a negative into a positive

by Kathy Maslowski

T

his time Kathy talks about her experience during the lockdown and turning a negative into a positive and how it took her to be attuned to animal Reiki.

This lockdown has certainly been an experience as I’m sure it has for a lot of people.

Introspection has been needed and this time in history will forever change the world as we know it. It is a time when the world more than ever needs a spirituality shift.

My Animal Reiki journey I had seen the email for the animal reiki course a while ago but at the time had thought I’m not sure if I want to do this or not. Then I looked at it again before signing up & wondered is this right for me and would sleep on it. Now I’m a big believer in receiving signs from the universe so asked the universe, give me a sign if it’s the right thing to do. Now that evening my neighbour was putting up cat deterrent spikes around the fence, which was upsetting & distressing for me as I have a cat, he did ask if I wanted them on the fence bit I had put up and I said no.

I went inside & thought I’d watch a film to take my mind off things so I went onto Netflix and this film came up that has never done before and it was called ‘The healer’, So as you can imagine I was a bit surprised (sign 1) so I thought, ok I’ll watch it, as I was watching it the healer character was then being followed by animals (Laugh out loud, sign 2) was a great film by the way. After the film finished, I went onto youtube just to have a look and I couldn’t believe it, again something came up that I’ve never been on before and it was a true documentary called Healer (sign 3).

When morning came and I looked out on my garden seeing those spikes just made me feel anxious and was still upsetting me. It made me more empathic for the furry creatures around and I knew then I had to do this course, after all I’m a healer anyway and felt I need a new journey and want to learn more.

So as frustrating as it is, I can thank my neighbour for actually inspiring me to take what action I could to change my thoughts/circumstance. I feel this is a valuable lesson to all, if you don’t like what’s happening around you just pause, breathe and reframe it.

If you or someone you know has a pet that needs healing or would like your pet on my healing wall, please contact me, absent healing is also available.

‘When I look into the eyes of an animal I do not see an animal, I see a living being.

I see a friend. I feel a soul’

*Kathy is also training to be a spiritual life coach and has completed a hairdressing course during lockdown. *Never stop learning*

TEL: 07429 996201

E-MAIL: kathybrightflower@gmail.com

WEBSITE: www.brightflower.co.uk

FACEBOOK: @brightflowertherapies

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beautystyle

Seeds of Success

in SoS Lingerie The business I have created in my home studio is all about offering ladies a unique and enjoyable experience.

After launching sos lingerie in January, momentum was really building up as we headed into March.

The ladies that visited really did enjoy the experience.

Feedback and recommendations were excellent.

>>

Initially in March, as clients requested to postpone appointments, before lockdown was announced, I was ready to face a quiet period. Then followed the announcement!

by Justine Oldfield - Seeds of Success

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I had been building an in person, personal business, which up until that point had been promoted on a post code dependent basis. Looking at options of how I could maintain my business, keeping it personal, the core of what I have created, so I looked at and launched new services.

•

Coffee in the studio – a free 15-minute video call, to get to know me and learn about the brands I work with.

•

Lingerie Consultations – £25.00 for a 25-minute zoom call.

Your current bra fit is reviewed, issues around comfort and fit are discussed and solutions proposed.

•

*The £25.00 fee is redeemable against any purchases made from SoS Lingerie, either during the call or at a visit to the studio in the future.

•

Gift vouchers and a Gift Box Services - With people unable to leave their house we created our gift vouchers as an alternative for those celebrations that were being missed.

The gift box service allowed people to call, video or even WhatsApp in and have an input into what went into the box. With a selection of cards also available we were able to create some lovely surprises, with personal hand-written messages for the recipient.

Because the studio is located in my home I have been able to be there for my clients, when they needed me. With everybody’s schedules changing being available and willing to help with a flexible approach really was something that was appreciated.

Behind the scenes, the website was created and launched, www.soslingerie.co.uk.

All in all the last three months have certainly not been what I had planned, they have been so much more for me My vision has become reality much earlier than I had anticipated, my clients have been wonderful and I cannot wait to be able to host ladies in my special space again in the near future, after all the things we need to keep safe are in place.

Zoom networking and social media have been a big part in my weekly schedule and have resulted in new customers, not only locally but nationally and internationally. I am not the post code dependent business that I thought I was!

In April I made an enquiry with Moments Candles Co about purchasing their candles for the gift boxes. Those conversations led to co-branded products being launched on the 3rd June.

We now have Beautiful You by SoS Lingerie; candles, diffusers, melts and scent spray available in the studio and on-line www. soslingerie.co.uk/scent-collection Beautiful You products are beautifully scented with Oriental Poppy, Orange Blossom and Patchouli.

For more information on any of the above or to book an appointment please feel free to get in touch.

Email:Justine.privateoffice@gmail.com Call/Text: 07814 518 170 www.soslingerie.co.uk.

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 15

beautystyle

LEARNING TO

LOOK GOOD

During lockdown I discovered this photograph of me twenty odd years ago and was shocked to see how frumpy I looked. When I was young I wanted to be like one of those stylish girls at school but didn’t know where to start.

A

s I grew up, looking good was a hit and miss affair depending on whether the latest fashions suited my body shape. After a few years I became a single Mum and went to work in fashion retail which I really enjoyed.

I liked helping ladies to find the clothes that suited them but noticed that women often disliked the way they looked and focused on the negative areas.

My client below sent me her two photos with an email reading ‘You pointed out who was hidden in there – I knew she was in me but couldn’t get her out. I love that I now have the confidence to wear what I like and what suits me and don’t have to wear baggy stuff!’

When I receive a message like this I know that I have done my work and empowered another woman to become her own beautiful, confident self!

I wanted to help them see the fabulous woman I could see and when it was suggested that I trained to be a Personal Stylist I jumped at the chance. This was when my style journey really began. I was shown the colours that made me look brighter and my wardrobe became more varied and interesting. I also learned to wear the clothes that flattered my body shape and I actually started to feel good about the way I looked. I was in my forties and for the first time was feeling attractive and confident.

As a Stylist I have been sharing my knowledge with clients for the last twelve years and realise that we don’t have to be born stylish; we can learn these skills just like any other subject. I believe that all women can be attractive if they learn what suits their colouring, body shape and personality. I help ladies discover how they want to look and fine-tune their own natural, unique style. When we know that we’re presenting the best, authentic version of ourselves, we feel good and take on a new air of confidence.

Suzanne Suthers x

www.suzannesuthers.com

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are you in the

hair beauty make up fashion style industry ? share your advice tips news and more! join savvywomen today and feature in our next issue

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creativehome

Keeping creativity going during Lockdown!

by Claire R. Zwozny-Bestwick

Whilst we have been unable to get together in person during the last few months, I have been lucky enough to have some amazing people around me that have come together virtually and by post to support each other, keeping the small business love going.

Photography Credit: FoyeTography Some of these lockdown days have been hard to get through, most however have been full of creativity, planning and pivoting, coming up with ideas about how to keep our businesses in the public eye, whether we are still able to work or not. As CRZyBest, I feel that I have been extremely lucky that I made the business decision to build my own studio, affectionately know as my ‘CRZyBest Shedquarters’ at the end of my garden. My only slight bother was that I hadn’t finished painting the interior when lockdown started, nothing compared to some of my fellow creatives who had to leave their creative spaces behind as places of work were shut down and we were told to work from home! I was lucky enough to be ‘working from home’ already, so I continued to do so. I cheered up my unpainted walls, by purchasing some cheery postcards from Carla of Love Lalaland and showed my support by making sure that I wrote a review to state how happy I was with my purchase, one of the best free things you can do, to show your support for a small business.

If you have purchased something lately, worked with someone or used their services, make sure that you tell people how great that experience was, by taking a minute to write a testimonial where others can see it, perhaps on their website, Etsy shop, Facebook or a Google review.

Towards the start of Lockdown the talented Adele from Fly on the Wall Photography, with whom I had been lucky enough to work with at the start of this year, asked if I might send her some of my smaller more easily postable pieces, so that she might be able to experiment with some photography ideas. I was blown away with

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Adele’s results and she even created an experimental video starring my jewellery. Check out my tiny silver camera earrings, that Adele is wearing in this photograph and keep an eye out for future Fly on the Wall/CRZyBest collaborations.

Photograph Credit: Fly on the Wall Photography

In another pivot during lockdown, a couple of collaborations with hairstylists have been created and evolved over the last few weeks. I have been posting my CRZyBest hair accessories, with the pretence of giving others who cannot continue with their professional work something to be creative with, whilst practicing and developing their hair styling skills. I say ‘pretence’ as during lockdown one of the most important things these collaborations have done, is to give us all something to post and share on our social media, keeping our work out there, whether our businesses were still trading like mine or put on hold, as in Hania and Moira’s.

Photo by Hania McIntyre

It’s been great to work with two wonderful hairstylists at different stages of their styling careers: Hania McIntyre is an award-winning Make-up artist based in Scotland, who has been branching out and developing her hairstyling skills, to add to her repertoire as Makeup

As I mentioned at the start of this, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to keep on creating, although with many of my events postponed from Spring to Autumn and even to next Spring, lockdown has been a time to make sure that my online presence has been as visible as possible.

by Hania. Hania has been tagging me in her social media posts as she has experimented with my CRZyBest accessories, helping us both to expand our social media following, which in turn should lead to more traffic to our websites. Take a look at this Steampunk hair comb.

Moira Borg who not only has her own established hairdressing business with which she has worked all over the world, now also runs a new Nottingham Venue Meadow Vale Weddings with her Fiancé. Alongside looking after both her wedding businesses and family, Moira has been experimenting with a few of my sparkly hair accessories, sharing social media stories and giving me a shout out in any of her posts that include my creations. I have also taken part in a great virtual wedding fair for Meadow Vale Weddings, that was organised as a collaboration between them and the lovely Linzi of Unconventional Wedding.

Photographs by Moira Borg

After learning and doing so much while being stuck in the online world, I am looking forward to getting out there again and collaborating with people offline. Keep a look out for the images from what promises to be an awesome styled shoot, that I’m putting together with help from a fantastic team of suppliers and if you see me at an event, come say ‘hello’ I’m the one with the pink and blue hair!

Photography Credit: FoyeTography

Photographs Credit: Bailey & Roo I have already mentioned that a great way to do this is to collaborate with others and shout about each other on our social media!

Another way has been to make sure that my website is as up to date as I can possibly can get it, I realised that a great many of my smaller ready to buy pieces were only known about by people that had come over to take a look at my display during wedding and craft fairs. I needed to start listing more of my products and making sure that people could find them and get out of the ‘people will find me if they look hard enough’ perception.

I spent time listing more of my products and even creating new lockdown specific categories, such as a filter for ‘letterbox gifts’ and a free UK postage code ‘LockdownLife’. The free postage code, served to not just attract customers, but also meant that I could post more purchases in my local post-box using a 1st class stamp, saving me the trip to my, not so local post office, consequently supporting my social distancing efforts. That CRZyBest free postage code is valid until the end of July 2020 if you’d like to take advantage.

CRZyBest, Derbyshire TEL: 07813 931390 www.crzybest.co.uk claire@crzybest.co.uk

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FOODDRINK

baking with

kids…

I think we all as parents have this ideal dream in our heads what baking with children is like, then this turns out not to be the case… please be reassured you are not alone!

Recently I put out on our social media a question to our parents to understand what is their main stresses when cooking with their kids, I’m going to share a couple with you and my top tips for these.

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The squabbling begins!

The younger sibling causing chaos!

If you have more than one child, we know this situation very well! They both or in my case all 3 want to join in, they are arguing who is doing what and you find yourself thinking why I have done this to myself! Well, there are two ways you can tackle this situation:

The younger sibling who is at that age where they want be involved with everything their older brother or sister is in too and then causes chaos because you spend all your time battling with them as they tip all the flour on to the floor! Don’t despair! Try these tips:

1. The most important thing that I find is to lay down the rules from the start! Ask who would like to do some baking? They generally all say yes. Then I start to lay down the ground rules; a. We are going to make this recipe today between us so we are going to decide now what jobs you are going to do and we are going to take it in turns to help. You can all decorate cakes at the end. b. If they are a bit younger & you think they may not stick to a plan like that then you could split the recipe so you still make it but split the ingredients in half and put them together at the end. c. Or, we are going all make this recipe today and we are going to freeze half of each batch for another day.

They are so excited I have no idea what is going in the bowl!

This normally applies to younger kids, they don’t really understand what is going on and they think its fun that mummy has got all these ingredients out and they are just want to put everything in the bowl at the same time!

1. Explain what you are going to do with them, what you are going to make and what they need to do to make it.

2. If they start to tip all of the flour in, calmly say just wait we need to weigh this out first. Show them what you mean and let them spoon the flour on to the scales. Don’t worry if it goes everywhere.

3. Tell them each step of the recipe, get them to guess the ingredients and use hand actions to show them what they are going to do, get them to do the hand actions.

4. Turning it into a fun game with carefully laid out instructions will lead to a calmer bake!

Importantly remember to be calm they will respond much better and keep the ingredients out of arms reach.

1. If they are still in a highchair put them in it and give them some interesting ingredients in plastic bowls to play with, so for example bowl and spoon they can bash! Flour and some butter to play with and they can feel their textures between their fingers.

2. Sit next to the younger sibling with your older child on the other side of you, that way you can give attention to both.

3. Have all the ingredients out ready to go but away from the younger one’s reach.

4. Explain to the older sibling what you are going to do and how you are going to keep the younger one occupied. Let the younger one join in so for example, we are now going to mix our butter and sugar together get them both to do it. It does not matter that the younger one may not have the right ingredients, he does not know that, but he will feel a part of what you are doing it.

5. If you want to do it to spend some bonding time with your older child, then you can plan to do it during the younger one’s nap time.

Above all remember the importance of cooking with your children, it develops and encourages them to be independent, it develops their creativity and fine motor skills. Reading the recipe together and measuring out the ingredients develops their reading and maths skills.

Do not worry about the mess, it can be cleaned up and importantly they need to learn that cooking isn’t just about the fun stuff, you need to tidy up too!

It does not matter if it’s not perfect, if they have enjoyed themselves and are smiling ear to ear then it is all worth the while in my book!

If you found these tips useful then please do head over to our latest blog which is about developing independence and I also have a top tip sheet for download to cover off more of these stresses. You will find them on our website www.threebearscookeryclub.com Why not join us for our weekly Online Cookery Clubs? You can find all the info on our social channels.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/threebearscookeryclub Instagram: www.instagram.comthreebearscookeryclub Twitter: www.twitter.com/3bearscookery

RUTH CHUBB, OWNER OF THREE BEARS COOKERY CLUB

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FOODDRINK

North 42 OUR STORY Background of Sally and Joanna

Joanna has worked in Hospitality for over 15 years and has travelled UK and Internationally as a Hospitality Manager and Chef and has a great passion for food.

She has an eye for interior design, and design which you can see in the design of North Bar & Kitchen and the North42 branding.

Sally has always worked in the Health & Sports arena, particularly in community regeneration through sport for which Sally works in project scoping, funding and project management.

Together, Sally & Joanna’s combination of creative flair and entrepreneurialism gave birth to both North Bar & Kitchen and to North42 Gin which arose out of their combined passion for eating out and the love of gin.

The start of North In 2014 they found and purchased a restaurant shell, that needed a complete re-design & refurbishment – the perfect project to combine their skills and passions. North Bar and Kitchen was born and opened on Feb 4th 2015!

Situated at No.42 Hinckley Road, Leicester, Joanna and Sally’s playful nature led them to a number game – they would stock and sell 41 of the highest quality most Gins chosen from their travels around the World and only sell a 42nd Gin when they could make a world class gin themselves and they would call it North42.

The first cocktail they ever made - the Rhubarb Tumble – was inspired by Sally’s love of rhubarb, and Joanna’s ability to come up with perfect food pairings.

From 2016, North Bar & Kitchen gained an East Midlands reputation for stocking the finest Gins and offering sensational food which paired well with different gins.

They then went on to win Best New Business 2016 and Best Restaurant in 2017 at the Niche Awards

Rhubarb Tumble

In 2017, Sally and Joanna develop their love further, by producing gin tasting boards. These boards were created for their customers to taste and try different gins with mixer pairings that they recommended.

This was all collected together from their tasting experiences from their travels and love for gin. The best-selling cocktail was Rhubarb Tumble which was certainly gaining a reputation among customers – and even among other cocktail mixologists who sent “spies” to the restaurant to find out how it was made.

In 2017, Sally and Joanna develop their love further, by producing gin tasting boards. These boards were created for their customers to taste and try different gins with mixer pairings that they recommended.

This was all collected together from their tasting experiences from

their travels and love for gin. The best-selling cocktail was Rhubarb Tumble which was certainly gaining a reputation among customers – and even among other cocktail mixologists who sent “spies” to the restaurant to find out how it was made.

Sally and Joanna know then that their testing of the market had paid off, when at the end of 2017 North won Best Restaurant of the Year at the Niche Awards 2018 saw the arrival of 5 Course Tasting Menus paired with wines from favourite wine regions Sally and Joanna had travelled to.

Each tasting evening included talks from invited winemakers.

Joanna also developed a Vegan Tasting Menu and won a PETA award for the vegan culinary skills.

All the while customers & friends kept on saying the reputation you have for pairing gins, and it seemed natural that now was the time for North42!

Crowdfunding On the 4th anniversary of North, Sally and Joanna announced to customers and friends their intention to launch their own gin. They would fund it through Crowdfunder and asked customers & friends to buy the gin in advance to support the launch of the product.

At the same time, to fund the project, Sally and Joanna launched their creation of a 5 Course Tasting menu paired with North42 and a gin afternoon tea that will also include the gin.

On the 14th February 2019, the crowdfunding campaign launched.

Their target for the campaign was to raise £10,000 and within 24 hours they had raised £4225. (that number 42 kept showing up – like an omen!!).

One month later, the campaign had raised an astonishing £12,365 from over 103 supporters – in just 28 days. It was exciting and a little bit overwhelming, but Sally and Joanna could now produce their first batch of North42 Gin. Sally and Joanna quickly became near-celebrities in the Crowdfunding world and the Crowdfunder organisation invited them as guest speakers at the launch of a Nat West Bank initiative ‘Back Her Business’ to promote Women Entrepreneurialism.

North42 was born...

In 2019, Sally and Joanna started the journey to create their own gin. It was the year of the restaurants 4th anniversary, with now in its 4th year, they were now becoming more established & Sally then felt she needed yet again another new project….

They wanted to create a world class gin, with 100% natural ingredients that would taste great and pair well with food. They started to mix ingredients using Joanna’s expert palate with Joanna developing kitchen-based recipes and then working with an award- winning distiller for their gin expertise and production.

After Alison Rose, CEO of Nat West Bank who wrote the government paper, had welcomed the delegates, a nervous Sally stood in front of 600 women to tell her and Joanna’s story. Sally, half-jokingly said in her speech, that she wanted only premium retailers to stock her product and she wanted to start with Selfridges or Harrods.

Unknown to Sally, Sam Watts the General Manager of Selfridges Birmingham was in the room and immediately offered to stock North42 and do a pop-up event in Selfridges Birmingham.

They worked through hundreds of iterations of the recipe, continually tweaking the ingredients and mix until they had something they were proud enough to call North42! – a 42% ABV Gin, the 42nd Gin to be served at North Bar & Kitchen on 42 Hinckley Road! They also say the meaning of life is 42…

Joanna with her creative side also worked with a design company to create the bottle and brand design. After months of process, the gin was finalised in flavour & the bottle design was created

All this without even tasting the product – all on the strength of Sally and Joanna’s story and passion! It was an amazing piece of serendipity – on such strokes of luck, great businesses can be built!

With two weeks, Sally and Joanna launched a second Crowdfunder with a £5000 target to help fund the pop-up shop in Selfridges, and from a Cross Productions Expo Business Event, they raised £1,000 to achieve the £5,000 target. This was then matched by NatWest Business to fund a further £2,500. They successfully raised £7,811 with 53 supporters in 42 days (that number 42 again!).

North42’s grand launch was on 28th May 2019 – Sally and Joanna invited all their supporters. It was a great celebration at the restaurant with over 100 supporters attending the event to collect their gin with inviting local press to taste the gin too. This week they also launched their 5 Course Tasting Menu paired with gin at the restaurant.

North 42 AT SELFRIDGES

North42 launched in Selfridges Birmingham on October 1st 2019.

Sam Watts, the General Manager was first to purchase a bottle, who else would it be?

Supported by a Pop-Up bar, the product sold out in the first weekend of being in store. Selfridges quickly wanted the product listed in the Manchester and London stores as well as online.

This was mind-blowing as it was selling higher than other brands in the store.

Throughout this North42 started to gained coverage in local and regional press and retail and drinks industry publications. There were many articles celebrating two creative and driven women in business who have realised their passion in the creation of North42.

On Boxing Day 2019, North42 was shown on ITV Central news with Sally and Joanna sharing their story nationally which gained even more attention and exposure.

Sally and Joanna then created their first promotional video.

2020- The success of North 42 Gin in Selfridges A new year, a new success for Sally and Joanna as Selfridges purchased North42 Gin gift boxes to be exclusive in all stores and online for Valentine’s Day. Selfridges gave them pride of place with a main display stand in their London store in Oxford Street. Sally and Joanna travelled to London tell their story and sell their product.

All the while Sally and Joanna were building their distribution in premium restaurants and bars in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. They are currently listed in more than 500 establishments.

In April, Sally got accepted on the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme. She started the programme to develop her skills and learning further. For herself, this is an exciting opportunity as a business entrepreneur.

North42 Gin turned a year old in May 2020. Much has been achieved to establish the brand throughout a year but so much more remains to be done.

North42 Gin went live with Prosecco and Gin Festival on 23rd May for their first Virtual Gin Festival. Over 300 people took part in a live Facebook event where Sally and Joanna shared their story of North, tastings of North42 and how to create one of their North42 cocktail creations‌Atomic 42.

www.north42gin.co.uk www.facebook.com/north42gin www.instagram.com/north42gin twitter.com/north42gin hello@north42gin.co.uk tel: 0116 225 5961

are you a

savvy FOODIE ?

publish your FEATURE here in the next issue info@savvywomen.uk

‘NO DIVAS

PLEASE!’

Being a professional in the performing arts industry is quite simply hard work It’s an industry which cannot be just stumbled upon or fell into as it is can be a mental and physical rollercoaster of uncertainty and dream-quashing which no normal person would endure. However, performers are not ‘normal’. Our creativity and passion for entertainment pushes beyond the rejection, tedious jobs and ‘maybe next times’ and looks ahead to the upcoming starring roles and jazzhands on the other side! This is my 11th year being a professional actor and it’s been 11 years of taking the rough with the smooth but ultimately succeeding at my favourite thing in the world performing.

I didn’t take the conventional approach beginning my career. I developed my love for drama at school with the guidance of an inspiring drama teacher.

I studied performing arts at college and was lucky enough to train with some leading industry professionals at the National Youth Theatre and some incredible tutors closer to home in Nottingham. As an 18 year old, my strategy to become a big star was simple - audition for drama school, graduate to a leading role in the West End and become rich and famous. This didn’t go to plan. I experienced my first rejections; something every actor is used to but will never be numb to. So, my bruised ego and I decided to spend time gaining as much experience as

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possible on student film sets, in local plays and small gigs, I would then go on to achieve my drama school dream.

My auditions led to my first professional theatre tour, with Nottinghamshire theatre in education company Pintsize Theatre. I performed in many of their productions addressing important issues such as teenage pregnancy, CSE and childhood obesity. I was working along side an influential director and a team of remarkable actors - most of whom had already trained at drama school! I developed my own style of performing, found my strengths and worked hard on my weaknesses. One audition led to another and I gained the best training possible by learning and working simultaneously, picking up valuable lessons not only about different genres of theatre, but about being the person a director wants to work with.

Now a fully fledged, proficient performer with my own performing arts company Fancy Entertainment, I hold regular auditions to support my expanding business and to invite like-minded, talented individuals into my creative family. I want to share some valuable tips inspired by my work experiences and what I look for when hiring for my elite Fancy team.

I will always hire the person behind the character. Yes, I need a confident and versatile performer who can switch from straight faced realism to full blown clowning; but no amount of skill matters to me unless the actor is a likeable person. I’ve worked with many performers who never stop acting and are constantly wondering if the person sitting behind them at Starbucks is a huge casting director ready to offer their big break. Reality is, they’re probably not.

They’re most likely freaked out by this weird guy and just want to drink coffee. I’ve never met an actor who isn’t an eccentric; but when a meeting starts with an explosion of madcap energy before the audition even begins, I am immediately put off. I look for down-to-earth, friendly performers who are willing to learn and save their acting for the actual show!

An audition is memorable for the right reasons when a balanced and controlled applicant enters the space and shockingly delivers a show-stopping performance riddled with creativity and chaos!

The perfect applicant for me is someone who turns their ‘crazy’ on and off as easy as turning on a light switch.

ENTERTAINMENTLEISURE

We have a very specific audition process for Fancy Entertainment, developed through our core performance style: improvisation. After getting to know an applicant’s background and personality, we interview them as characters from our productions. It’s not only an opportunity to see a performer’s characterisation capabilities, but is a window into how they deal with the unexpected whilst remaining true to character. No matter how big or small, serious or silly a character, the actor must deliver their act truthfully or risk loosing their audience to a half-hearted, insincere performance.

I love an actor who transforms and gets lost in a character; it’s always a huge tick in my book. Its also a great way to get an idea of how much homework an actor has done in preparation which translates to how much they genuinely care about joining your company. We always allow our applicants to prepare to audition by assigning well-known characters to portray and encouraging research. Whilst we don’t want a complete rendition of a character’s backstory, it is immediately obvious when a performer knows their character well enough to answer any question asked truthfully and in an entertaining manner.

I’m always grateful for my first professional role and the chance that was taken on me despite my lack of acting degree.

experience blowing us over with an astounding audition!

Here at Fancy Entertainment, my inbox is open for CVs. I’m always excited to be introduced to new performers, particularly local talent. Fancy Entertainment is now also proud to be working with a young actress that saw me perform at her school and has since taken on the same roles herself! The response to our recent online auditions was huge, we’ve met many new exciting performers via Zoom.

When Coronavirus allows and the current restrictions lift, I am eager to introduce the world to the newest faces of Fancy Entertainment who without a doubt will bring a fresh, dynamic energy to the team. If you are interested in being adopted into our incredible Fancy Family, contact me! I’m always excited to meet you.

For actors, I’ve been inspired to offer opportunities based not entirely on a CV. Acting can not be delivered via a piece of paper. I am more than happy to welcome new actors and proud to offer some their first professional gigs.

My favourite moments have come from fresh-faced actors with no previous

TEL: 07814 661968 info@fancyentertainment.co.uk www.fancyentertainment.co.uk FB:@fancyentertainmentandevents

FAMILY

COVID 19

AFFECTS ALL LIVES IN SOME WAY BUT HOW HAS IT AFFECTED ME&DEE?

I received as many congratulation messages for the Governments announcements of millions of pounds of support for small charities to warrant a wedding announcement. The reality is – this did not happen for me&dee. However, we do need to keep fully supporting our vulnerable families, those facing short and uncertain futures.

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me&dee charity

Maria Hanson MBE

We are unable to provide our holidays in our Lodge in Sherwood Forest.

This is where our vulnerable families will go for a last holiday as a family or couple together and make their many needed memories together. So, what can we do in the interim? What we are doing is keeping in touch with all 17 families on our waiting list and very sadly, two children and one young parent have died. We think very carefully about siblings and how their lives are affected by the loss of a brother or sister, a parent who is no longer with the family. My phone is on 24/7 and it is not unusual for me to sit with a cuppa in the early hours of the morning for a parent who just needs an ear, someone to talk to, cry to, shout out loud to for their situation, especially in this time of isolation.

are facing short and uncertain futures. We also have been unsuccessful for any of the business-based grants as our office does not have a ratable value, we pay an inclusive rent. We do not qualify for any grants that we have applied for to cover overheads.

So where does this leave us? Despite theories that we have a big team, for the actual 7 day running of me&dee, there are just myself full time unsalaried and Mark my partner, as our one full time member of staff. We had to let our admin support go in early March to cut whatever costs we can. We run on a low administration cost in any case, so that supporters can see exactly where there fundraising is going – to the heart of me&dee and our families.

Mark is furloughed and that just leaves me at the helm for running the office, the charity, all of our legal work, fundraising, dozens and dozens of emails and phone calls daily, and looking after our many families to offer them support.

It is a very heavy load to carry and especially in light of my dad dying of Covid 19 and another very close family member leaving her 16 year old son.

How can you help? There are many ways and a starting point is by looking through our website, www.meanddee.co.uk

We are sending packs out to the children every week. These are craft packs, toys, little indoor tents with blankets and cushions to give a little memory holiday at home in a sense, nicer food packs to supplement those given from the government and flowers. This communication, the knowledge that we are there, the knowledge that at some point, even if it becomes a bereavement holiday rather than a memory holiday, this will still happen, it is still something to look forward to.

You could make us your charity of the year, your preferred charity, hold a fundraiser, offer a service or gift voucher to a family to use when appropriate for a bit of a treat, you can share out our social media posts – this take seconds and would help so much, you can drop me an email for further information.

70% of our income is from events and in a nutshell, there are not any. We are not a charity who raises so much money, and then that goes into a pot and is used for xyz, we have commitments. Why don’t we match the criteria for grants? I don’t feel this is something that we can blame on the government, it’s far too easy to do this. Let us start with the allocation of the millions of pounds of funds from them. This is distributed from the government to the National Lottery, to local organisations who then further distribute it to successful grant applications.

To date, we have not received one single grant. We have tried for 11 and been turned down for 11.

One, because we are a registered charity, others because we do not deal with poverty, don’t provide food banks, are not a community interest charity and that list goes on even though all of our families @MeandDeeCharity @MeandDeeUK

www.meanddee.co.uk maria@meanddee.co.uk

meanddeecharity

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 29

BUSINESSMONEY

How to make social media work for your pre-school or kids club.

by Nicola Read of Babbl Social

Using social media for any business can be successful, but first you need to work out where your ideal clients are and ensure that’s the platform you prioritise. We manage social media for all types of businesses, and we specialise in the nurseries and kids clubs market. For these businesses the number one platform is Facebook, it generally hits the right target market, it’s very much community driven, and it’s still the social media platform of choice for people who need recommendations and information.

o Where are you based? Are you on a popular commuter route? How many minutes are you from a big housing estate or large industrial site with lots of employees?

So with this in mind, these are our top tips to make your Facebook page a valuable asset to your business.

· Ask for Reviews. There is simply no better publicity than word of mouth. Ask for reviews on your Facebook page and then use these reviews as posts on your page. They really are invaluable.

· That leaves 20% of content which can be more direct selling in nature, with a clear call to action. An example of this would be; ‘We have spaces available for funded 2 and 3 year olds.

Contact us now, by clicking the Message button at the top of the page, to arrange a FREE trial day’

· Make sure you are keeping an eye on local community pages such as local mums groups and community Spotted sites. We watch all of these for our clients and recommend them at every opportunity. Some people won’t even know you exist and it often leads to other people commenting and recommending you too. · Respond to every comment that people make on your posts, even if it’s a simple thank you, it helps the pesky Facebook algorithms see your page and prioritise it if there is regular activity on it. · Make sure the photo’s you are using for your profile picture and cover video are the right size, not ‘made to fit’ and are professional. Company logo is always advisable for the profile picture, and did you know you can use a video for your cover photo? · Make sure you include as much information on your profile as possible, we live in an age where people want the information instantly; opening hours, location, do you accept funded places, do you offer after school clubs? · Don’t post content which is constantly ‘selling’ to people.

Ensure about 80% of what you post is interesting and useful to your reader, here are some examples; o Let them see sneak peaks inside the setting, such as what’s for snack today, what activities are lined up? Are there any new displays, toys, equipment? o What events do you have coming up? Any trips to the park, teddy bears picnics, dress up days, fundraisers? o Information in the news about funding, EYFS, studies which show why a pre-school environment is great for children, why you should read your child a story at bedtime and that kind of thing.

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We have had tremendous success, when working with pre schools and out of school kids clubs. Increasing one nursery’s turnover by 120% in just five months, done simply by applying all of the above to the pages we manage. We’re confident you can too, but if it’s not your strong point, or you don’t have the time, then talk to us about our management packages or our new DIY Childcare Content Pack; we supply the content and you can upload it all yourself by simply copying and pasting.

FACEBOOK@BabblSocial 01332 899409 hello@babbl.co.uk www.babbl.co.uk

I’ve found very little difference in my demand during this time of crisis

by Nicola Reynolds

A

s a web solutions based business, I’ve found very little difference in my demand during this time of crisis. Referrals come in as usual, the requests are a little different to the norm as I would expect. However, I’ve seen an increase in clients wanting membership or course orientated sites. But that doesn’t always fit the needs of everyone.

One thing I am noticing as I move around my networking circles is the ability of small businesses to utilise the client or potential client information they are collecting in a safe and effective manner.

becomes a stressful chore each time you embark upon a new newsletter release rather than it just be like any other office task.

Are you fed up of having to learn a multitude of different platforms and software packages to get a simple job done?

Do you lose hours of valuable times scratching you head in front of a screen?

Can simple tasks become frustrating and trying to find time to sit and watch that tutorial when dinner is cooking, the dog needs walking or the kids are fighting; it just doesn’t go!!

My conversation often wanders from their websites to their mailing lists and how easy they find to populate the lists, fill them in and create a reasonable looking newsletter and unsurprisingly the responses I get no longer shock me.

The solution – reduce the software! Minimise the systems you need to learn to fulfil your tasks. Speeding up your workflow allowing quicker processing, managing your time more effectively and enable you to then spend time doing the things that really matter.

Social media is a fantastic tool for engaging with potential clients but has limitations to how you can interact away from the original platform. Mailing lists are great but can be tiresome to create and keep up to date; and the software is often so rarely used it

I have over 10 yrs software training experience, both in industry and working one to one with my clients, I have developed a training course to enable you to integrate a Client management system into your daily work routine.

My Hubspot Business Booster course is designed to assist to you take a new approach at the way you work and streamline the volume of software packages you work with; and re-focus with your client at the core of the system. Afterall without clients we aren’t in business!

Over the course of 5 weeks, you will gain step-by-step knowledge on how to work seamlessly with the Hubspot system to enable you to complete the tasks. Enabling you to achieve and gain confidence in creating your own mailshots and newsletters to both your existing and newly acquired clients, create basic integrations to enable you to collect new leads and appointments as well as create advanced client profiles with little effort.

If you want further information on this course please visit my website at: Pixie-Box. co.uk or email me with any questions: info@ pixie-box.co.uk pixie-box.co.uk info@pixie-box.co.uk 07917 411 549

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 31

“This award means so much to me and I am so honoured to be recognised.”

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Multi-millionaire celebrity businessman selects a Derby mum as part of an award to showcase Britain’s best small businesses.

Former BBC 2 star of Dragon’s Den Theo Paphitis has awarded Ripley based Claire Saxton of Saxton Marketing, the prestigious Small Business Sunday Award.

The award, run through Twitter and known as #SBS, singles out small businesses who show passion and determination in their industry. They were created by Theo as a way of supporting small businesses and include ongoing support and networking opportunities to help independent businesses flourish.

BUSINESSMONEY

Derby mum picked out by TV star and multi-million pound retail giant Claire, who is a mum of two, set up her business in 2014 to help SMEs see the true potential social media can bring to their business. Since then she has helped clients win 49 social media awards as well as increasing their business reach and improving engagement and followers.

Collecting her award from Theo, who owns High Street retailer Rymans Stationery, at an award ceremony at the ICC in Birmingham Claire said: “This award means so much to me and I am so honoured to be recognised.”

“As a working mum of two little ones Saxton Marketing helps me realise my dream of running a business and following my passion for supporting SMEs with their social media.

“For me marketing and social media are such an important part of any business that I want to make sure that I help as many people as possible to see the true possibilities social media and marketing can bring.”

The event is designed to help entrepreneurs to gain the support they need to grow their business and features first hand guidance from leading business people including specialists from Google on how to maximise your business’ digital visibility, free legal advice and even a chance to catch up with fellow Dragon’s Den star and crafting entrepreneur Sara Davies.

One of a series of accolades for the awardwinning marketer Claire was chosen for the Women in Business award #WOW in 2019 which is run by female entrepreneur Jacqueline Gold CBE, who owns Ann Summers.

Talking at the time about why she chose Derby based Saxton Marketing from the multitude of nominees, Jacqueline Gold CBE said: “Saxton Marketing helps businesses shatter their marketing barriers and reach their full potential. Claire’s experience in the marketing industry puts her in good stead and her honest and professional manner makes her the prime person to help fellow businesses realise their opportunities for growth and further development. I wish her every success in the future.”

Claire gained a BA Hons Tourism with Marketing and CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing from the University of Derby before going on to work at local building societies providing marketing support for 12 years.

In 2014 Claire set up Saxton Marketing and now helps businesses to boost their sales through marketing support either by maximising their marketing strategy, using social media to increase their presence, win awards and meet new clients or by offering expert advice on creating a strong digital presence for businesses.

The Derby entrepreneur has also been awarded the Smart Social Twitter award and Queen of True Potential title in the Queen of awards celebrating successful female entrepreneurs.

For more information on Saxton Marketing and how Claire helps to support businesses through social media please go to www.saxtonmarketing.co.uk

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 33

Su Bramley

of 1 For All Accounting Angels

Coronavirus has hit us all hard.

Coronavirus has hit us all hard. What can we claim? what do we do? Is it taxable? Is it repayable? These are just some questions that have gone through every business persons mind.

The lockdown also came with thinking space. For people to reevaluate what they want from their lives. Their businesses and their accountants.

So, what do you want?

beforehand so that the client knew what to expect in their payment. We then helped our clients make the claim rather than leave them to it.

How much extra did we charge? The simple answer is nothing.

At 1 For All Accounting Angels Ltd, we believe that clients needed our help more than ever and so took on average extra a collectively 60 hours a week work to achieve this.

•

Have You been given an outstanding service from your accountant during the pandemic?

At 1 For All Accounting Angels Ltd, we pride ourselves in being every business woman’s ally and every business man’s dream.

•

Have there been communication barriers?

•

Have you had to chase your accountant for answers, or has the advice come freely?

So, what is it, that you want from your accountant? And…are you getting it?

•

Have you had to pay for the extra work involved?

At 1 For All Accounting Angels Ltd, we have simply put ourselves in the shoes of our clients. We have communicated with all of our clients by email and telephone on a daily basis with further news of help available and any changes that have occurred to the legislation. We have calculated and claimed furlough payments CBIL and BBL applications, SBGF, RHLG and Discretionary Fund applications.

We have bombarded our local Councillor and Local MP with plights for those clients who have struggled with financial help until they have received it and we calculated all SEISS grants

34 - SAVVY Women ISSUE 4- savvywomen.uk

Call us now to discuss how we can help you.

0115 9640760 / 07791976305 29 Watnall Road, Hucknall Nottingham NG15 7LD www.1forallaccountingangels.co.uk

BUSINESSMONEY

Is your business visible?

In the current climate I’m finding a lot of small business owners are looking at other ways to help with their visibility, one tool that most already have but gets under used, is their website, it often gets over looked in view of Social Media platforms.

But what if Facebook was to crash tomorrow or Instagram has a black out? do you have a back up? would your business still be visible? This is where your website comes in.

You have full control over the design and branding on your own website, what you promote and how you do it. With Social media platforms you are at the mercy of their design and choices.

So I have put together an ebook on my top 20 tips to implement into your site, help with visibility and keep you going through this unusual time.

It can be downloaded for FREE here: https://www.anchoronline. co.uk/resources/ Below are my top three tips that are included within the ebook for you: 1. Having A clear Navigation.

Your website menu should be clear, simple and easy to access, usually at the top of the page, with names that represent the content well. Don’t be tempted to add in a hundred pages (slight exaggeration here) Between 5-8 pages on your main menu is enough, if you really need more then add them in as links on the relevant pages for the content.

2. Using White Space.

This links with the minimal menu pages, white or clear space helps to declutter a page, too much on one page will confuse a visitor and they will leave. White space is clean and clear, it’s easier for a visitor to navigate your website and find the products/ services/information they are looking for.

3. Your Contact Details.

These need to be easily visible on your home page, an email address and phone number placed above the fold is best.

Adding your full contact details in the footer also works as it will then appear on each page and is accessible for any potential customers/visitors to contact you. If you hide your details away you will find visitors leaving your page before they find them, and possibly getting frustrated.

I really hope this has helped and you find some really useful tips in the ebook, again it can be downloaded for FREE here: https:// www.anchoronline.co.uk/resources/ Laura Goodsell www.AnchorOnline.co.uk www.facebook.com/ anchoronlinedesigns https://bit.ly/linkedin_lauragoodsell Helping you to create through Canva and Wordpress

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 35

BUSINESSMONEY

ROUTINE MATTERS

YOUR DAILY

If you have good habits, time becomes your ally.

All you need is patience – James Clear James Clear wrote Atomic habits. He talks about habit stacking – linking habits together to help make them automatic. I know this works – my morning routine is feed the cat, yoga, cup of tea, gratitude, affirmations, plan my day, visualise my day and start work.

Today, I had a busy day so I skipped yoga and my routine went to pot – so instead of feeling prepared, I was on catch up all day. Don’t mess with the routine!

It also resonated on a business level.

Fiona Caldecott – LinkedIn Coaching and support at 3 degrees social.

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Spending time every day on LinkedIn building connections, sending messages and nurturing relationships is far more productive than a big blast once a month.

Developing the habit of capturing leads from LinkedIn and other sources and feeding into your CRM, then to your diary, or newsletter will serve you well – systemise it and make it automatic. It saves you time in the long run, because you don’t lose vital phone numbers – have you done that? Come on be honest.

If you have good habits, time becomes your ally. If you don’t? You find yourself working at 9pm instead of relaxing with your family.

If you need help with your LinkedIn habits and systems, book a call in my diary here

www.calendly.com/fionacaldecott

and let’s see how I can help you best. #dailyroutines #goodhabits

New LinkedIn Mastery course for SME businesses.

If your profiles not complete, you’re not sure how to connect and engage with people, or what to post, and what about hashtags….I will take you through all this and more.

Fiona Caldecott - LinkedIn Strategist 07770584521 Call me and let’s turn your LinkedIn up a degree or three www.3degreessocial.co.uk/fionacaldecott

Be like Marmite and a Rubik’s Cube

Some people won’t like you - FACT! Think for a minute what people who really like you say about you or what you’d want them say about you. Maybe write them down.

Now have a think of reasons people might not like you. Think about both of these from a personal and business perspective.

Think about why your clients do work with you and those who don’t engage or don’t choose to work with you, don’t.

If you look at the two lists you will see that lots of the words or phrases you will have used will be opposites. So maybe in my case those who like to work with me – I am direct and no nonsense Those who may not – too direct, not sympathetic. So you see sort of opposite phrases/words.

So in order for those people who don’t like you and wouldn’t want to work with you, to do so, you’d have to change who you are, what you stand for and what your beliefs are.

It really is time to stop trying to convince them to ‘be in your gang’ because do you really want to change who you are and how you show up? If you do fine but know that you will turn away those already attracted to you. Maybe that is the right thing. Only you know the answer to that.

you want to finish ( your definition of success) It’s all about knowing and doing the steps. No short cuts but consistently applying the moves to achieve the outcome and of course focussing on what you are doing. Putting your whole effort into the task you are occupied with. No multi-tasking, as it doesn’t work, contrary to the fact that we as women are supposed to be excellent at it. Single minded, attention to what you are doing is the key to getting stuff done, in a timely manner.

So the thing is, we are all nearer to the success we are working towards than we actually think.

If you need help on getting clarity about your business, what’s keeping you stuck, or how you get focus on the right stuff, then get in touch for a complimentary strategy session.

I look forward to connecting with you.

Vicky Stanton The Business Success Coach www.vickystanton.com www.facebook.com/Vickystantonbizsuccesscoach

Instead, put your energy into building relationships with those who actually like you and what you do and what you stand for right now. They are the people who may become your clients, they may become your friends and they are more likely to support what you do and shout about you to their community. It’s these people who become your raving fans and biggest supporters.

You cannot be all things to all people. Decide what is important to you and stand true to your values. If you do this in business, then people know what they are getting. They understand what they are buying into, metaphorically or in reality. Yes, there will be some who don’t buy into what you do or how you do it but that’s OK because we really wouldn’t have time to work with everyone - now would we?

So to end where I started, I really don’t like Marmite at all. Puzzles and my Rubik’s cube though, a different story. Now I am old enough to have had an original Rubik’s cube. The number of hours I spent on the school bus trying to solve it were ridiculous. Chatting to my friends, whilst we all fiddled with those colourful cubes, getting excited when one bit was all the right colour , to flip it over to find no , not solved yet!

Well at a recent networking meeting I learnt that apparently there is such a thing known as God’s Number. This number is 20 and it is the number of moves it will take to achieve the solved Rubik’s cube. Yes amazingly, there are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different combinations of the cube ( I googled this bit), but from wherever you are, 20 moves is all it takes - mathematically proven too!

It made me wonder though, those hours and hours with my friends chatting and turning, why didn’t it work? Why did I not manage to solve it until someone gave me the sheet with the moves on? Well there it is .. the 20 moves are in fact specific moves, applied to each face of the cube depending on where you are starting from. Focus on those and you will succeed.

So a bit like growing your business then really? A series of steps to move you from where you are starting from, to get you to where

Vicky Stanton

The Business Success Coach

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 37

Connecting

Who would have predicted the unusual times we are in right now? For those of us in business, Monday 23rd March was a day of huge uncertainty.

We could no longer meet our friends, our family or our clients. Some business owners had to close their doors overnight, others went into a wobble.

Of course there were some for whom it was business as usual as far as their business went.

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BUSINESSMONEY

Still the same but different For those of us running any form of networking or business club where face to face connection was paramount, what did we do now?

Well I have to say that at The Athena Network we immediately pivoted our business We already had plans to move the business (in part) to a virtual model so we did just that. With no break in service to our members we held our next meetings on line, same meetings just different.

However, there was huge uncertainty.

I’d just launched 2 new groups here in Nottinghamshire (Long Eaton and Langar) Would those women in business still want to belong now we would be a virtual business club for the foreseeable future? Would members engage and would the vibe still be as strong as it is when we meet in the room together.

The answer to all those questions was a resounding yes!

What have I learnt as a business owner and network business club leader, that I can share (although to be fair I know we have all learnt lots about our businesses and ourselves in the last 3 months) *Have confidence in your brand and your clients.

*Care about your clients.

I was acutely aware that lots of my members had been catapulted from knowing what they were doing one day to the next to suddenly having uncertainty, having partners at home, home schooling, worrying about elderly parents and so on. They needed an outlet, a support mechanism where they could just off load or someone who just jumped on a call if I saw they were not their usual self and this was reciprocated. *Be honest and keep your clients informed.

All the way along, I have shared what I know about the future plans of the club. Just to keep their confidence in what we are doing. Often its been sharing that I don’t know, especially when we are likely to meet face to face again. *See and take the opportunities.

A huge amount of opportunities have come from these crazy times. There will be parts of The Athena Network Nottinghamshire that remain virtual. (not our monthly meetings) For trainings especially, it makes them so much more accessible to all my membership. No travelling so saving time and money.

I am sure there are lots more learnings that will come from this time but one thing for sure is that there has never been a more important time to be and remain connected with business contacts.

If you have treated your clients well they will stand by you as you ride the storm together.

If you’d like to come along and experience a virtual meeting in July then please get in touch

*Ensure the value that you usually offer is maintained or enhanced.

vicky.stanton@theathenanetwork.com or give me a call on 07818 086939

We have added so much into our membership packages over the last 3 months, members have had so much more value.

www.theathenanetwork.com/vickystanton We look forward to meeting you soon.

By Vicky Stanton - Regional Director of The Athena Network Nottingham

SAVVY Women ISSUE 4 - savvywomen.uk- 39

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Feature in this interactive digital magazine shared to thousands of people on Social Media Link your videos, images and contact details and drive customers to your website and social media via this interactive publication You can feature just once or become a member for as little as £9.99 and get huge discounts on features and advertising Don’t miss out on featuring in the next issue and join other Savvy Women share their stories, tips advice and more from just £19.50 Contact us: info@savvywomen.uk

Savvywomen.pdf 1 11/12/2019 13:52:57

me & dee charity MAKING SPECIAL MEMORIES

C

M

Y

M

MY

Y

MY

K

we wear our heart on our sleeve