Women's Business Magazine Winter 2016 by Women's Business Club

Winter 2016 £2.00

FASHION

Melissa Antonious

Success with a Suitcase and a Sketchbook.

STORIES The Woman Behind The Business

Enduring all odds to build a great business.

Woman In A Man’s World

From hard hat to high heels.

SENSATIONAL Cyndy & Jan

Starting a business at 60! How these two women did it.

FINANCE

Implications of the new dividend tax for small businesses owners.

SOCIAL

Meet the winners of the Maximise Women’s Business Awards 2015.

Empowering, Equipping and Inspiring women executives and entrepreneurs

Women’s Business Magazine

Editor-in-Chief Angela De Souza

Creative Director Lorah-Kelly Beard

Copy Editor Eric De Souza

Advert Editor Samuel Beard

Welcome Letter Happy New Year. I wish you all a blessed and prosperous 2016. We have a lot planned for you this year and some great features and interviews in each issue of the Women’s Business Magazine. Looking back over last year though, I personally overdid it, I worked too much and spent too little time with my children. This year we have the exciting new addition to our family, Emily, Lorah’s first child and my first grandchild. I am really excited about all that this year holds both professionally and personally but I am more determined than ever to find the balance between my family and work life. I hope you too will discover and fight for what is important to you this year and enjoy every area of your life more than ever before.

Angela De Souza hello@womensbusiness.club twitter.com/wombizclub facebook.com/wombizclub Women’s Business Magazine - Print and Online FOUR EDITIONS DELIVERED TO: Bath, Bristol, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Monmouthshire, Southampton, Swindon, Tewkesbury, Wimbledon. www.womensbusiness.club (c) 2015 Women’s Business Club All images and text subject to copyright. You may NOT reproduce, in whole or in part, any of the pages from this magazine or quotes of no more than two or three sentences with full credit attached to quote. If you wish to reproduce more than this, please contact the editor-in-chief. While endeavouring to make sure that all published information is accurate, the publishers cannot be held responsible for mistakes or omissions. The Women’s Business Club cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions or endorse companies, products or services that appear in this magazine.

Table of

Contents

FEATU R E D STO R I E S

So Sensational Starting a business at 60! |Page 04

Woman in a Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World Angela Fumpson |Page 16

Woman Behind the Business Clare Holland |Page 18

B U S I N E S S FAS H I O N

Success with a Suitcase and a Sketchbook |Page 10

SoSensational: The shopping site for grown up women |Page 12

Getting Creative With Your Clothes |Page 14

FEATU R E D ARTI C LE S

Ask The

Expert Business Office |Page 08

Ask The Expert |Page 09

Finance |Page 20

Food & Recipes |Page 24

Social News |Page 26

Quality Systems |Page 30

Health |Page 40

Business Growth |Page 40

Social Media |Page 34

Web Design |Page 22

Education |Page 32

Directory |Page 61

So Sensational

Feature & Cover photography By Adrian Pope

Starting a business at 60! How these two women did it.

Cyndy and Jan are two super cool ladies who started a business when they were around 60 years old! Yes it’s important that we mention their age as it can be an inspiration to many who are ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’ about whether or not they can start something in the later years of their life. We popped up to Jan’s home in London to find out more about their clothing website SoSensational, the fashion and beauty shop for grown up women! We were utterly blown away by their story and could not wait to share it with you all and inspire all ‘grown up women’ to take the leap, as it’s never too late to live your dream. Read their fantastic story which will leave you inspired to start working on your story too!

So how did it all begin Jan? Cyndy and I have been friends for well over 20 years, probably closer to 30. Her background was originally business then she became an image consultant. My background is journalism, including fashion journalism, and we were constantly being asked by friends and acquaintances where they could buy great clothes. There was a perception that the clothes on the high street were designed for under 25’s and they were always asking us where they could buy this or that, items for special occasions or just weekend wear. We thought about how we could make it a business. Initially we talked about doing seminars or a book but then came up with the idea of doing it as a website. We launched our first website in 2009 as 60&Sensational but quickly realised that there was a resistance to the age so we became SoSensational. We refer to it as fashion and style for grown up women as that covers choosing clothes and seeing how to style them.

How do you make your money? We knew absolutely nothing about technology or anything like that but we knew about fashion and styling and that a website was the obvious thing to create and we have literally learned as we have gone along. The business has three income streams - online shopping via affiliate marketing, brand advertising and tenancies. All the clothing on our website is edited and curated, so that when older women come to our website they know they can find clothes and accessories from high street and high-end brands that have been carefully selected for them. We are not a transactional site. The upside is that we don’t have to carry stock but the down

side is that we get a relatively small percentage on each transaction. However we do sell a lot of clothing. We have a fantastic range of brands on the site, including High Street giants such as M&S, Debenhams, Jigsaw, Karen Millen, Reiss, Hobbs and Ted Baker, as well as really upscale ones such as Hugo Boss, Liberty and Joseph, and budget brands like River Island, New Look and F&F. We cater for all budgets as there is the need for that.

Is there anything that defines the clothing you feature? The cut and styling can sometimes be quite different for older women and even if you don’t have weight issues, the skimpy little dresses that you wore when you were 25 don’t necessarily suit you when you are 45 or 55. And there is also the question of sleeves - after age 50 or so, no matter how much you work out at the gym, your arms tend to go... We are also aware that a lot of women over 45 have weight issues so we feature a lot of brilliant Plus Size brands. But we are also aware that, regardless of their dress size, they don’t want frumpy, old-lady clothes. Not even old ladies want old-lady clothes. The reason why we are so successful is because retail fashion has forgotten about and ignored women over 50, yet women over 50 have both the money and the appetite for fabulous clothing and accessories. We feel our role is to show our demographic that there are plenty of gorgeous things out there for them. We show them how and where to find them. We have thousands of products on our website. The clothing is all set out in categories that include workwear, partywear and mother-of-the-bride outfits. There are also sub-categories such as dresses with sleeves, knee length skirts, and that kind of thing. We have tried to anticipate the needs of our demographic and help them find what they want easily and quickly. People love reading our style tips and blogs and about how to style their clothing, so we offer lots of that, too.

How did you get these brands to sign with you? There are affiliate marketing companies that we work with. But now we are finding that brands are coming to us more and more because they know that this is a demographic that has largely been ignored in retail fashion and SoSensational is the best way to access this demographic. In the UK, the older market is worth billions and in the States it is worth trillions. It is the demographic with the 5 largest amount of disposable income.

Have you come across a technical challenge with the demographic you are targeting? It is a challenge but more and more people are going online. The long-term future of shopping is online. Women, including older women, are now buying much more online. Many of our site visitors are still working so they look at the website during the lunch hour then they go home and order. Sure, there are women who will look at the website for research and then go to the shop to buy, but that’s just how it is. That is why a lot of brands advertise with us because they know that this is how the market works right now. But we can use that to our advantage.

Do you have any plans for the future? We just want to keep growing. Our Facebook following is now 26,000 and Twitter has grown substantially. We also have more than 50,000 women signed up to our newsletter. In time we hope to expand into the US market. We have just completed a series of makeover videos and they are very popular. Our four models were all different shapes: one was petite, one was a pear shape, one was an apple and one had very broad shoulders. We showed them how to dress for their challenges, and how fabulous they could look. That is something that we will be continuing with for other body shapes and styling issues.

What age were you when you started this Cyndy? I was over 60 and Jan was 59. Our peers and friends were starting to retire or at least cutting back on work. Both Jan and I have always worked and have had interesting careers. Sure, we both did a lot of juggling of roles when our children were young (we each have two – all 4 now married with kids), so neither of us were Ladies Who Lunch; it is not our thing to do nothing... We were both up for a new challenge!

What advice would you give to a woman around 60 who wants to start a business? Do it! If you have a passion for it and if you have got an idea at any age, do it. You don’t want to get to 70 and think I really wish I had done that. We have never considered our age as any kind of barrier. With SoSensational, our age is an advantage because we understand grown up women. So we’ve had a few birthdays. It’s all just dates on a birth certificate. What counts is if you can make it work. We can because we are able to ‘talk’ to our demographic because we are part of it.

Are there any big mistakes that you have learned from? Fortunately there have been no big mistakes, as we have done everything very slowly and have grown organically. However, we should have been more savvy about the development of our new website, when the developers said it could be done in three months. It actually took closer to nine months, and in total, a year by the time it was out of beta stage. That was a killer. But it is an absolutely beautiful site now, so we don’t regret the investment of time and money in the development, but it would have been better to have been more realistic about that time frame.

What is your proudest moment? We were nominated for a Times Business Award and won! It’s very exciting and feels like at last, there is recognition that grown up women still want to look gorgeous and wonderful – and they absolutely can!

What do you do for fun? Well Jan has 11 grandchildren and I have 5, so we keep busy with them. We love to walk and keep active and have a healthy social life.

SOSENSATIONAL WINS READY BUSINESS MENTOR COMPETITION!

Against very stiff opposition, we won! It is a prestigious business competition called Ready Business Mentor, run by The Times newspaper, in conjunction with Vodaphone. We are one of five winners and our prize is a month’s mentoring from Sophie Cornish, the very clever (young) woman who created Notonthehighstreet.com. We were short-listed from 100-or-so businesses which entered the competition and then were whittled down to 10. On Friday, October 23rd, Cyndy went to deliver SoSensational’s presentation to Richard Fletcher, Business Editor of The Times, Jonathan Kini, Head of SME Business, Vodafone UK, Tony Crabbe, a Business Psychologist and, of course, Sophie Cornish herself. Jan, though recovering well from brain surgery in 2014, is still a bit too poorly to give a presentation, so the burden fell on Cyndy, to try to impress the judges. It was important to let them know that we felt it was ironic that when it comes to older women, the fashion industry discards us so early when we still have the money and the appetite to invest in our appearance. Fortunately, they laughed in all the right places – that we had shoes older than some of the people we work with in affiliate marketing and web design – and just because we may have a bus pass, it doesn’t mean we’d fallen off the planet! www.sosensational.co.uk

Take a Peek Into... Pink Sky Creative Design & Marketing Agency

Pink Sky is a wonderfully creative, award winning design and marketing agency headed up by the inspiring Naomi Turner. Naomi started her company 6 years ago in Cheltenham and has seen it grow from strength to strength even through a recession! To which Naomi says, “It did teach us to be lean and to do things in different ways, which is the essence of creativity!”

Not everyone takes the leap into getting an office, so I asked Naomi how she got to where she is today.

It seems that creativity is the driving force behind Pink Sky, and that is very evident in thier office! “I wanted the studio to feel like a nice place to come to each day. The light and bright walls and natural light create a positive working environment that hopefully doesn’t feel too much like an ‘office’.”

“For me it was very important to ‘go to work’ each day, so that my motivation remained high. When you have to pay office rent and bills, you have to get the work in to cover it, so you focus. There were some demoralising times, but from adversity comes your greatest strength and from humility and service, come the ability to lead. You have to go through these times to learn the value of what you are fighting for.”

I absolutely love the Pink Sky office! The colourful bunting and bits and pieces of lego, books and toys really do make for an inspiring environment and just gives the office a bit of a personality which I am sure makes a huge difference in the teams work! “Of course, we have a lot of pink around the place and people tend to recognise us for this! We are all about branding, after all!”

Pink Sky is also the proud co-founder of The 100 Project. The aim is to make portraits of 100 people who are beating cancer and ask businesses to support three brilliant charities by sponsoring a photo. Visit www.the100project.net and get involved!

Lorah-Kelly

Creative Director

Ask The Expert For this reason keeping up the momentum is a key part of marketing and PR, and it should be seen as a long-term part of your strategy, rather than a stopstart approach. For most people PR is synonymous with media relations and coverage in the press, so I’ll focus on that Some practical steps:

In this issue we are chatting with our expert Catherine Dhanjal from TheAnswer Ltd, Professional & Passionate about PR. Wendy Murphy Asks: How do I decide where and on what to focus my PR budget (and how to decide what’s “safe” to allocate to PR as part of my business). I know PR is one of the last things that a business wants to spend money on and often the first thing to go when things are tough. I’m at the “where to start” stage, apart from a bit of rather laywoman social media self-promotion and reliance on word of mouth and repeat orders. Louise Craigen Asks: I’ve just started up a business offering Social Media advice to Small Businesses and at the moment I have no budget for PR. Do you have any tips for free PR at all? I’m using Social Media to help and of course, that’s free but I was wondering if you could add anything to that? Catherine Says: Firstly thanks for the questions. I think that knowing when to bring PR into your marketing mix, what constitutes PR in the digital world and how much time or resources to allocate to PR are questions which businesses often ask themselves. I would say one of the main drivers for PR should be what it can do for you in terms of grabbing people’s attention, then their Interest, building a Desire to purchase and helping to move them to Action. As we know from research, people often can’t pinpoint where they first heard of a product, or what was the trigger which made them interested in buying it, and it’s often only the last interaction that they’re even consciously aware of.

1. Review your key target audiences and identify the top three priority segments 2. Think about hard news coming up over the next year (e.g. product launches, exhibitions) 3. Think about the challenges potential customers are facing and how you could help. 4. Which are the top three messages you want to get across to each sector? Identify them in short, snappy sentences which you can build into all your communications. 5. Research key online and offline media and platforms which will cover your three priority segments – for example, magazines, newspapers, radio, TV, blogging sites, e-news. Some publications will only take news from you if you take out an advert or advertorial – do you feel that the outcome will be worth the additional payment? 6. Draw up a timetable of actions month by month for the next year – there’s a sample model on my blog which you can download. 7. Check that your news releases, articles or interview opportunities are tailored to the publication you’re targeting for best chance of success. Remember PR can be a slow burn and it can take a while to establish relationships and credibility with press. If you’re paying a PR consultant to work on your PR, you could budget anywhere from £400 a month to £2000, depending on the scope of work and how it fits into your overall marketing strategy. Catherine is based near Bristol and works with clients nationwide.

catherine.dhanjal@theansweruk.com www.theansweruk.com 07941669925 | 08009987990

FA S H I O N MELISSA ANTONIOUS Cheltenham Fashion Designer Melissa Antonious tells us how she created a successful fashion business, producing beautiful hand crafted one of a kind pieces, with nothing but a suitcase and a sketchbook. My story started off with quite a sad event. After being a full time mum for eight years my exhusband and I decided to part. I had no job and knew I had to pay my mortgage, food, car and care for my children. Unfortunately all my money was tied up in assets and I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touch it. I had to find a way to survive. So after having an interview at a local recruitment agency and being told that I was too old to get a job, at the age of 42, I went ahead with a bit of fury in my blood and decided that I would be in charge of my own destiny. Sitting at home I saw an old suitcase in the corner of my room, found a sketch book and started sketching some ideas. I then started talking to some couture seamstresses who would be willing to work with me on an adhoc basis. I told them that it could be one jacket, one coat or two million! I had no idea at that point but asked if they were willing to give it

a go and see what happened. One lady took the leap and has been with me ever since! So five years on, we have one design called the Hatherop. All my designs are named after different places in the Cotswolds and they all come with a story of where I have created my ideas. That one particular jacket has sold over a thousand pieces of bespoke couture. So it really has worked locally in the Cotswolds. Back to the beginning of my story, after creating a few pieces, I put them in my suitcase determined to sell them. I started to wear my own designs, walk about and model them in different places and would attract business. People would stop me and ask where I got my jacket from and I would give out my business cards. A week after I would sit down with them, sketching and designing for them.

My philosophy of my designs is that I have to like it myself. If I like it and I can wear it then I know I can go out and sell it. We are now a micro business designing for the luxury fashion market. We hit a demographic profile of 45 plus of very savvy ladies who know what they want, love to buy but also want a statement piece to make themselves feel very, very different from just being on the high street. We do all our own manufacturing in a studio out in the Cotswolds where we have couture seamstresses working on designs as we speak. I can’t even sew on a button! My field is my creativity, my passion and my vision. That’s what draws me forward and into this business, making it a success. We are game to take on any couture from concept to completion, that’s what we can offer. Our men’s wear has recently launched. Men are such strange beasts when they shop. A really good example of a male client is that he will come in, look around for 15 minutes, be measured up and buy six of the same items. Then I won’t see him again for a year! That’s pretty much my male client.

I also feel that our brand is bringing something to the market that is accessible. Twenty five years ago you would never have thought that Savile Row in the Cotswold would ever exist but that’s what we’ve been described as, a place where you can go in, get a beautiful outfit tailor made, choose your fabrics, your linings and accessories then suddenly you can go out with something amazing. This is what we do and we have made it affordable and accessible nationally and internationally.

www.melissaantonious.com

From SoSensational The shopping site for grown up women When it comes to online fashion shopping, SoSensational recommends being a Basket Bimbo or a Cart Tart – i.e. forget loyalty to a single fashion brand and just go with the brand which has something gorgeous that you want right now. And how do you find the something gorgeous that you want right now. Why, by looking at the SoSensational website, www.sosensational.co.uk , of course. Cyndy and Jan, who are the founders of SoSensational, the fashion website for older women, look at all the fashion brands, both high end and High Street they do the hard work, filtering out the old-lady styles and the styles your daughter would wear – though some styles are what your daughter would wear, but SoSensational shows older women how to wear the styles in a subtly, but crucially different, way so they don’t look as if they are actually wearing their daughter’s clothes. Because, Cyndy and Jan are older women (both of them are in their 60s) they really understand an older woman’s fashion needs. Because, Cyndy and Jan are older, their bodies are also showing a bit of wear-and-tear. But because they have been in the fashion world all their lives (Jan as a fashion writer and Cyndy as an image consultant) they know how and where to find the fabulous and on-trend clothes that older women want to buy. And their website can also show older women the clever styling tricks that make all the difference between an outfit looking “okay” and an outfit looking “sensational”.

Dresses are the biggest challenge of all because even if we regularly work out at the gym and still wear a size 10, we inevitably have saggy bits and bumpy bits – it just goes with the number of candles on the cake! So no matter how many press-ups we do and how many times a week we go to Pilates or Yoga, there comes a point when our age shows on our body. SoSensational was created to show older women that, despite the sags and bumps, there are gorgeous and on-trend clothes out there at every price point. SoSensational shows older women how to carefully select the gems from every brand not just one. And this is vital because while the UK fashion industry is, somewhat belatedly, beginning to realise that older women have not fallen off the planet, they still continue to make much of their collection (and then market it) to a younger demographic - a fact clearly demonstrated by the young models on whom they photograph their clothes even when the clothes are clearly designed for an older audience. SoSensational will continue to help older women to find all the gorgeous and ageappropriate clothes they need because the clothes are out there... And it is SoSensational’s pleasure to help older women to find them.

Written by Jan & Cyndy www.sosensational.co.uk | 020 8500 5916

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Getting Creative With Your Clothes How creativity can help you in your business so you get you noticed for the right reasons! I recommended she changed the buttons for neutral ones to blend with the jacket and now she has worn it a load of times (so now the jacket was worth the purchase which is good!). Same with a dress I have that doesn’t go well with jumpers because of its material – when I thought creatively about it I realised the best thing would be to layer up under it with a long sleeved top and put it with knee high boots. These things are small tweaks but they allow you to use more of what you have and avoid spending more. Perhaps this gives you some creative food for thought on some little tweaks you could make? I‘m Hazel Robinson, Image and Style Consultant helping women look their best so they feel confident about how they look, dress the part for every opportunity, for their target market and business and save time, money and effort knowing what suits. One of the reasons I love what I do, apart from wanting women to feel more confident is because it allows me to be creative. Even my logo (a hazel nut) and business name being a play on words of my first name are all the result of allowing my creative mind to play. Recently I haven’t been feeling very creative for various reasons and because it is such a huge part of me and of my business it didn’t feel good. After having a coaching session with a good friend of mine (Cindy Davis-The Feelgood Coach) and getting out onto the hills which I love (nature being the most creative force of all) it was like the creative blood started to run through my veins. Creativity is key in what I do – seeing how colours, clothes and accessories go together or having light bulb moments about how a garment/accessory that isn’t quite working could be tweaked to become one you wear all the time and love. Recently I was at a client’s home doing a style consultation and she showed me a great jacket she had – nice fit but it had gold buttons and when she put it on with long boots it shouted ‘Dressage!’ at me! (not literally else we would have a talking jacket on our hands!!). If you aren’t off riding then the jacket wouldn’t work, or would it?

This also brings me onto my next point which is if you are in a creative industry is it evident from how you dress? Since having this breakthrough about creativity I have decided to be more creative in what I wear and my makeup – to let the real me out to play a little more. I’m not working for local government anymore so it’s time to get that across! My question to you is what do you wear to show you are in a creative industry or are different from your competitors? Do you have a bold signature colour because you are an artist who paints great colourful pieces or teaches women how to be confident? Or do you wear the jewellery you make? Do have a bespoke name badge that you wear that shows off some graphic design you do? Or a funky business card that’s like a playing card because you’re a magician? (My business card has hole drilled in it like a clothes tag). Another example would be of a client I saw the other day that has some really unique 40’s brooches she wears that would get people talking. What could be your thing? (These are all marketing tools if you are out networking or anywhere in fact!). It’s important to have a connect with what you do so people can see that you are in a creative industry and are walking the walk and so they can get a feel for you as a person and what you could do for them. Contact Hazel on 07882617730 or visit www.nutsaboutstyle.co.uk to get your FREE Busy Woman’s Cheat Sheet full of style shortcuts!

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things” Henry Miller

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A Woman In a Man’s World. Angela Fumpson From hard hat to high heels. Engineer Angela Fumpson, recent winner of ‘Business Mum of 2015’, has wowed the Women’s Business Club with what one woman can do. Angela runs a successful business called White Tiger, which specialises in systems and quality management, as well as being a family woman.

When did you know that you wanted to be an engineer? From a very young age I was fascinated about how things worked and can remember watching my nan take things apart that had broken. She would work it out, find a way of fixing it and put it back together. I also had a love of cars so that influenced me too. It wasn’t until I was older that my mum told me a story about how I went missing at a family wedding when I was little; they eventually found me outside watching the car being fixed.

What pressures do you face as a woman working in a man’s world? Even though things have moved on there are still attitudes in industry that haven’t changed and we need to work hard on changing this culture. My biggest battle was always having to prove myself and even now I have walked into an industrial unit to sell my White Tiger business and been told everyone thought I must have been the local politician. I can remember having to take a male

director to one of my biggest customers on each visit, then one day their only option was me. I solved an issue on the shop floor and was asked for every time after that, great but it shouldn’t need to be proven first.

What is the best lesson you have learned from being a woman in a man’s world? To have a sense of humour and not take other people too seriously. There will always be situations that you do not feel comfortable with or actions you don’t like, don’t take it to heart. Accept what is happening at that moment, and then take time to choose an action to put it right for the future. It is far too easy to let emotional baggage or ego make that instant response for you. Sometimes you create your own barriers. Just be yourself, follow you own heart and intuition, but most importantly have fun while you do it.

What is the biggest mistake you have made being a woman in a man’s world? Looking back to my very early days one of my biggest mistakes was trying too hard to fit in to a man’s world. I can even remember in my first position turning up to work some days in a shirt and tie, not my best fashion moment! You are an individual and need to shine!

Give us your best tips for women in the same situation as you. Don’t focus on the barriers or what others are doing, have confidence in your own abilities and invest in yourself. Link up with others that have experience in your field or sector, find a willing mentor. This is especially key if you are newly qualified, it’s not easy being a pioneer or having to prove yourself so always accept help and support along the way to ensure you succeed in your goals.

What dreams/goals to you have for the future? My personal goal is to develop my spiritual side; be confident in my affirmations and always stay grateful. My aim is to continue to enjoy a great work life balance and enjoy travel and adventures with my family. From a business point of view I want to grow White Tiger and watch companies benefit as they adopt Quality principles at the heart of their strategy. My long term business goal is to see a centre of excellence in Bristol for Quality and be involved in teaching. www.white-tiger.co.uk 07745482426 | afumpson@white-tiger.co.uk

The Woman Behind The Business ...... Tell us a little bit about your business? My business, Keith Holland & Associates, is an independent Eye-care practice situated in central Cheltenham. Some might call us Opticians, some Optometrists (which is what my qualification is). Although the practice started back in 1989 in the dining room or our house in Charlton Kings to assess children with whose reading and learning wasn’t taking off as well as might have been expected, we now cover all areas of eye care such as adult eye exams and eye health screening, fitting and after care of contact lenses and prescribing and fitting the best lenses and spectacle frames for each person. We even have an in-house vision therapy clinic, and a laboratory for making up the spectacles on site.

What would you say has been key to getting to where you are today? The keys to getting where I am are team work, innovation and always being prepared to think outside the box. For instance, most people would imagine an Opticians practice being in a High Street shop, but we work over five floors of a beautiful Regency town house, with lovely spacious rooms and a real sense of calm. Most patients come by recommendation so we don’t need a big shop front.

under 6 ½, so most of my time in the first couple of years was taken up with them. Then I started doing one day a week, then two and built it up gradually.

Do you still feel as passionate about your business as you did when you first started? Why? We both felt very passionate about the work we were doing, especially when you saw a child six months or a year after their initial assessment and heard about their improved confidence and new found desire to read! And yes, that passion remains to keep moving on and try to provide the best service in each area. Sadly, Keith died last year after a brave and dignified fight against cancer, and my biggest challenge was to keep going after that, which I couldn’t have done without my fantastic team, who work hard and are such an encouragement.

What is your biggest success to date? Our biggest success was in the people who return and recommend us to their friends, but we have also won awards as Children’s practice of the year, and an accolade for our work in fitting children and teenagers with contact lenses. We were even Britain’s Best Loved Opticians two years running!

What would your top tip be to How have you managed juggling a business women? family and a business right from the early days until now? If you want to run your own business, my advice My husband, Keith Holland, was the real pioneer with the vision related learning difficulty work and when the practice started, we had four children

would be to have a passion and work to make it your livelihood, and build a great team around you. Clare Holland | Keith Holland & Associates www.keithholland.co.uk

FINANCE Implications of the new dividend tax for business owners. In the run up to the end of the tax year on 5th April, many of our clients running Limited Companies have asked us what the effect of the changes to dividend taxation announced in the July budget and coming in from 6th April 2016 will mean to them.

A couple of examples

It is definitely something worth thinking about now as in many cases the amount of tax shareholders of limited companies pay on the dividends they receive will increase from April, so thought needs to be given to planning what profits can be distributed in the form of dividends before then.

2016- 2017 tax year - £1,000 of the dividends would be tax free (due to the income tax threshold of £11,000 from April 2016), £5,000 would be tax free due to the dividend allowance and the remaining £22,000 would be taxed at 7.5% resulting in a tax liability of £1,650.

A summary of the changes

Under the existing rules, no tax liability would have arisen.

The current rules in force until the end of this tax year mean that you only pay tax on dividends you receive from a company if you are a higher or additional rate taxpayer. Tax would be payable at 25% on the dividends paid above the higher rate tax threshold. With many Limited Company owners paying themselves only a basic salary to ensure they are covering National Insurance and personal tax thresholds (so ensuring they are entitled to benefits such as the state pension) and receiving any additional income in dividends, this has meant that business owners have been able to award themselves around £28,000 in dividends tax free if they had no other income. Of course the company itself will have already paid corporation tax of 20% on its profits before dividends are paid. Effective from April 2016, there will be a £5,000 dividend allowance for all tax payers but beyond this £5,000, basic taxpayers will need to pay 7.5% tax on dividend income with this rising to 32.5% for higher rate tax payers (over the higher rate tax threshold) and 38.1% for additional tax payers.

Scenario 1: A company director receives a salary of £10,000 and is awarded £28,000 in dividends. He has no other income.

Additional tax is payable of £1,650 under the new dividend taxation. Scenario 2: A company director receives a salary of £10,000 and is awarded £40,000 in dividends. He has no other income. 2016-2017 tax year - £1,000 of the dividends would be tax free due to the income tax threshold of £11,000, a further £5,000 would be tax free due to the dividend allowance and of the remaining dividends £27,000 (up to the higher tax threshold) will be taxed at 7.5% and £7,000 at 32.5%. The total tax liability will therefore be £4,300. Under the existing rules a tax liability of £2,575 would have been payable on a salary of £10,000 and dividends of £40,000. Additional tax of £1,725 is therefore payable under the new dividend taxation.

Is there any good news? Whilst the changes in dividend tax will in most cases reduce a business ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s income after tax, this will be at least partly mitigated by ongoing increases in personal allowances. Additionally, barring any other tax changes, the reduction in the rate of corporation tax to 19% in 2017 and 18% by 2020 will also help limited company directors. Are Limited Companies still a tax effective way to run a small business? Whilst these new rules mean that the level of financial benefit gained by operating as a Limited Company verses being Self Employed will be reduced, in the majority of cases the financial benefits will still outweigh the negatives - not least as the business owner will not be paying as much in National Insurance (currently at 9%). The financial benefits are small though where company profits are lower, and those who are

currently self-employed and have profits of less than around ÂŁ40,000 may find the extra admin involved (particularly if they are not using an accountant) outweighs the benefit. However it is worth remembering that there are the other benefits of incorporating such as limited liability and the fact that certain businesses will only work with Limited Companies. So, what next? The new changes will come into force from April 2016. So the main thing you need to do is to make sure that you have considered your own specific circumstances and if you have one, have discussed them with your accountant in plenty of time before that date - not least as it is likely you will want to maximise the dividends from the business in this financial year to minimise your immediate exposure to the change in rules.

Any further questions about the dividend tax? Give Kevin and his team at Eden a call on 0117 977 4478

What Goes into Making a Website Many people think that building a website from scratch is pretty easy. There are loads of simple drag-and-drop builders out there; so how can it be that hard? A builder like Wix or Weebly can produce a good looking website when a lot of time is put into it but there are still some fundamental things that websites need to work well. In order for a website to do well against the thousands of competitors out there, it needs to be built in a specific way. It needs to be easy to find on a search engine like Google or Bing. It needs to load up fast so the user doesn’t get bored waiting. And a website needs to be accessible to as many people as possible for as many devices as possible. Here are a few practices that a professional web designer will use to build a website that others may not take into account. The User Flow Your website has a goal. Whether it is to get users to sign up to a newsletter, buy a product or contact you; there is at least one main reason that you need a website. When a website is designed, before any coding is done, a web designer will consider your main goal. he site needs to be designed in a way that guides users to this goal quickly and with little distraction. Many web designers will design a website, not by drawing up each page but with a flowchart. A flowchart helps visualise the journey a user will take on your website. They will start on the homepage and scroll down to read the information there. Where does the user go from there? A call to action is needed to progress them to the next step of your site. If you want users to contact you for more information or to order a product, then a big button to your contact page may be the best thing to put here. If you have a lot of products or services to offer, maybe some big, beautiful links to these is the next step for a user. Then on each of these pages will be a link to your contact page. A user flow can be a straight forward page-topage-to-page flow. Or it can be more complicated;

taking in to account your demographic (younger men tend to want more information before committing than others) and other goals you want your site to achieve. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Search engines like Google have over 200 factors they use to decide where a website is ranked. So adding some meta data and a few keywords isn’t going to compete with the big sites who take into account many more of these 200 factors. The best way to get a website just how Google or Bing likes is to consider SEO from the ground up. Page load speed can’t really be improved on a drag-and-drop builder so they will fall behind on the rankings. Some other factors search engines use are: mobile friendliness, keywords in the domain name, keywords in particular locations and how frequently the site is updated. Hosting Hosting can be a nightmare for people who don’t fully understand it. Not so much for a small and simple website expecting a small amount of visitors each day. But when large amounts of people are using your website each day and are using it for long periods of time, a site may go down frequently due to overload. This can be remedied with dedicated servers and someone on hand to fix things if they should break. These are just a few things that are taken into account by a professional web designer when building a website. In essence, a web designer or developer is your internet ambassador and partner that can put your business in front of millions of potential customers with their expertise and experience.

Samuel Beard Director at Strawberry Studios www.strawberrystudios.net

Bring life to your business through beautifully thought out photography & design.

www.strawberrystudios.net | contact@strawberrystudios.net

FOOD

Here are my healthy eating & lifestyle tips to help jump to the next level: • Set a clear concise outcome for your ideal health and shape. Be specific on how you look and feel, the impact it has on you, your lifestyle and your loved ones. • Avoid diet extremes. Focus on creating balance and eating more foods in their natural state. Avoid relying on willpower, it always runs out. Seek some expert guidance if you need to. • When you go to bed, take a couple of minutes to review your successes from that day. Success creates success - however large or small it is, they all count! • Avoid giving yourself a hard time if you slip up. Instead refocus on your ideal shape and get straight back on track. • Avoid mindless eating. Switch off the TV and instead savour the experience of eating. Notice how your food looks, tastes and smells. An increased awareness will help you enjoy your meals more as you naturally make better food choices.

The Healthy Girl – New Healthy You Resolutions We’re fresh into a New Year and I’m sure many of you may be working on new diet resolutions. I hope it’s going well for you. Sadly most goals set at this time of year end up as wishful thinking. Most people revert back to their old habits in a few short weeks. To avoid falling into that category I help my clients make a strong decision to create more balance, to focus on healthy eating and avoid YoYo diet extremes. I recommend making regular ‘bite-sized’ changes to improve what you eat, as you introduce more health and wellness into your life in general. In a relatively short time you could easily enjoy the many benefits from doing so.

• Get more active in general. Take the stairs and walk up escalators. Jump off the bus a stop early to walk, use the time to be mindful and visualise your ideal shape goals. • Focus on what you can eat, not what you can’t. Eat protein and plenty of green leafy vegetables with each meal, plus a serving of healthy fat such as avocado or nuts and seeds. Resolve to take steps daily to celebrate your successes and eat more mindfully, as you keep focused on your health and shape goals. Small steps taken daily very quickly add up to massive success with your shape, health and ultimately your happiness! www.thehealthygirl.co.uk

Chia Chocolate & Raspberry Superfood Smoothie It’s nutty flavour is perfect for adding to smoothies. Chia seeds are one of the richest plant-based sources of Omega 3 fatty acids. They can help you feel fuller for longer because the combination of protein, fibre and the gelling action of the seeds, when mixed with liquid, create their satiating effects. They make this smoothie into a meal!

I love smoothies, they’re so versatile, easy to make, easy to take with you if you’re out and about. They’re delicious and nutritious so what’s not to love! I’m always testing new taste and ingredient combinations and here’s my latest super-nutritious Superfood smoothie recipe for you. The raw cacao contains nearly four times the antioxidant power of your average dark chocolate and more than 20 times that of blueberries! Maca is a nutritionally dense Superfood containing high amounts of minerals, vitamins, enzymes and all of the essential amino acids. It’s also known to help balance our hormones.

Recipe – serves 1 300 ml milk (I use homemade raw almond milk, but you can use your choice of cow, sheep or nut milk) 1 heaped teaspoon of raw organic cacao powder 1 heaped teaspoon of raw organic maca powder 2 heaped teaspoons of organic chia seeds ½ cup of raw spinach leaves ½ cup of raspberries Pour all the ingredients into a blender. Blend on full speed for 2 minutes. Pour into a tall glass. Garnish with a fresh raspberry and sprinkle of cacao powder. Savour and enjoy! info@thehealthygirl.co.uk www.thehealthygirl.co.uk facebook.com/healthygirluk twitter.com/healthygirluk

SOCIAL 2015

“I enjoyed a very full day at #Maximise2015 on Friday, thanks to Angela Women’s Business Club and all the wonderful people I met and chatted to.” – Sue Kelso Ryan Copywriter “Had an awesome time at the Women’s Business Club #maximise2015 event yesterday and met a lot of lovely people and cannot wait for #maximise2016” – HotinGlos “It a really fun day for all of us and great for business! We’ve been very busy following up with businesses who need websites and photos ready for the new year :) Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to showcase and launch our new business.” – Lorah-Kelly Beard, Strawberry Studios

Women’s Business Awards 2015

Abi Howell Business Woman of 2015

Angela Fumpson Business Mum of 2015

Carol Aplin Best New Business of 2015

Zita Alves Healthy Business of 2015

Kristi Flower Young Entrepreneur of 2015

Marian Buckmaster Mature Business Woman of 2015

“Maximise Women’s Business Conference was a fabulous event, full of inspiring, positive and authentic women, encouraging each other to move forward with their businesses. Thank you for this great opportunity of sharing.” – Carol Aplin , Pink & Green Skincare

Bookings for next years Women’s Business Conference & Awards are now open at www.maximiseconference.co.uk

Photos by Capture this Moment Photography | www.capturethismoment.co.uk

And the winner is...

Emma Skipp Excellence in Business of 2015

Lorah-Kelly Beard Creative Business of 2015

Bev Jones Speaker of of 2015

Samuel Beard Man of 2015

Alison Dunevein-Gordon Host of 2015

Hazel Robinson Member of 2015

“What a lovely day yesterday at Maximise Women’s Business Conference! It was interesting and inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and learned few tips and information.” – Irena Stojchan Song, Armelia Fashion Get nominating for next years awards at www.maximiseconference.co.uk

Photos by Capture this Moment Photography | www.capturethismoment.co.uk

Dragoness’ Den 2015 Winner

Prize £100 cash prize kindly donated by Natwest Bank 6 networking event tickets worth £150 from Business West “I enjoyed every moment at Women’s Business Conference & Awards 2015... Meeting lovely lady’s and their businesses during the day and really enjoyed the events, specially the speed network. It was also great to have the oportunity of showing my work and talking about my business. The day went fast and without even realising it was my time to present my ECO Amor business to the audience in the Dragoness’ Den competition that I end up winning!… Couldn’t have had a better day! A special thank you to Angela and Gloscol Student Union for making my presence possible in this event. Looking forward to enjoy more Women’s Business Club events :)” Claudia Raquel of Eco Amor, Dragoness’ Den Winner of 2015

Silver membership worth £250 from Women’s Business Club ‘Dress for Success’ Style Package worth £250 from Nuts About Style Business photography worth £450 from Strawberry Studios Enter next years Dragoness’ Den at www.womensbusiness.club/maximise/ dragons-den

Image by istock.com/julief514

Focus on the Opportunities not the Barriers to Women in Engineering Growing up I was inquisitive. How did things work? Could I take them apart and fix them when they didn’t? I also loved cars an unusual love you might say for a girl, but that’s where it all goes wrong at an early age the stereotypes are still there. When I was in school girls were encouraged to do cookery, art and textiles while the boys got the woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing. Although I feel that things are moving on thankfully and the encouragement into technology has improved I do not believe it starts early enough. Unfortunately when I got to University the boys were far ahead of me in Technical drawing and I faced “go home girls don’t do this subject” that is when I became more determined than ever to achieve what I wanted,(I also gained support from fellow students and got a distinction). That is also why I want to become more involved in getting role models out there for women, these issues of behavior, expectation, society and even selfesteem are ever present but faced together the confidence will grow and young women will feel more comfortable going into these roles. Women are a major source in our society and could be a huge force in shaping the role of Engineering in the Technology revolution. They are experts at multi-tasking, building strong teams, nurturing the important factors in society, therefore inherently practicing effective management and leadership styles. I am not stating that every woman is a born leader I just want this massive source of skill used effectively by companies. It may force a rethink in the reasons why women are not chosen e.g we will get married, have children and leave, women aren’t interested in engineering, women do not fit in with the culture.

Don’t focus on the barriers. After stating all of this I do feel that there is too much focus on the negative barriers to women in Engineering, if we dwell too much here we will miss all the brilliant opportunities out there. I don’t think that the Engineering community can change this outlook alone we need to engage in the help of media, education, mentors, government, and visibility in the accomplishments of engineering in society. Women want satisfying careers, and full lives, and in demanding this they are recognising and contributing to the important issues facing us today. It is the attitudes that will impact on how effective this is both from individuals and of the inspiring new graduates that we need to seek out and mentor. I would like to share something I read from Sheila Widnall (Former secretary of the air force & professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) who I came across quite by chance, I feel it highlights why sometimes women don’t persevere; she states: “We must recognize that women are differently affected by a hostile climate. Treat a male student badly and he’ll think you’re a jerk. Treat a female student badly and she will think you have finally discovered that she doesn’t belong in engineering. It’s not easy being a pioneer. It’s not easy having to prove every day that you belong. It’s not easy being invisible or having your ideas credited to someone else.” I think it’s the constant battle that affects our careers and stifles our drive. For this reason we need the ongoing women communities and support to succeed.

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EDUCATION A day in the life of business & economics students from Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls. A day in the life of Georgina Fry and Helena Sherwood - Year 13 students of economics and business studies at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls. It is Wednesday the 2nd of December, two weeks after we helped to organise the Women’s Business Breakfast at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls. We have been able to dedicate our time to our prefect position and the tasks that it entails. Our days are nothing like we imagined but we have enjoyed them so far. We study business and economics during lessons, and the Young Enterprise scheme gives us the opportunity to support the Year 12 students as we took part last year. After registration and assembly we headed to our first lesson, economics. Our lessons are always focused on theory and supporting diagrams, but Mr Evans ensures that every class is interactive. We often have in-depth class discussions and use individual whiteboards to answer questions; whilst highlighting answers on the interactive board, along with timed essays, multiple choice and short answer questions deepen our understanding of the topics. Today we started the class by marking our answers to a perfect competition multiple choice question which we had been set for prep the day before. After that we carried on studying the benefits and detriments of monopolies. Due to the amount of diagrams that can be used, we had to come up with our own ideas of the benefits and detriments and support them with the correct diagram. Some took us longer than others, but we got there in the end. At 10.20 am break begins. This gives us an opportunity to check the news on the TV, chat with friends and get a coffee. Business lesson starts at 10.35 am after first break. This term we have studied how businesses develop different strategies, taking into account the impacts of the external environment on business behaviour and success. In today’s lessons we discussed topics

in the news which enhances our ability to apply current affairs to our academic work. This makes us more aware of the business world and how the economy affects companies. We also used ‘tutor2u’ resources to identify financial and management problems in case studies, so that we are able to suggest solutions and analyse the effects. After second break we had a study period, which gave us time to complete some of our prefect duties. We were able to read articles from multiple broadsheets, The Economist and the BBC. We then proceeded to design the business and economics department display board; this is a task we complete weekly to keep the board full of current information. We were also able to organise next week’s Keynes Society discussion group called ‘In the News’, which was a success on its first try. Lunch finishes at 2.15 pm and Young Enterprise begins which is an enrichment activity at HMSG. This is the UK’s leading enterprise and financial education charity aimed to empower teenagers to harness their personal and business skills. This year we have two companies running which are both at the exciting point of creating products to market. Both teams aim to make as much profit as possible to donate to their chosen charities at the end of the trading year.

HABERDASHERS’ MONMOUTH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS GIRLS 7 - 18 boarding from 7

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A life-changing education is closer than you think OPEN MORNING 16th January 2016 11+ ENTRANCE TEST 30th January 2016

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SOCIAL MEDIA What Does Planning Your Social Media & 60 Minute Makeover Have In Common? Hi I’m Sofia from Increase Your Social Reach and I’m your “No-Limits” Social Media Strategist. I help businesses leverage social media marketing and integrate it into their business goals and objectives. When you work with me, we’ll follow a 3 step system to reduce the overwhelm and time “suck”. Join us on a journey for the rest of the year to find out what planning your social media and 60 Minute Makeover has in common! Planning is the essence for any project and it is crucial that you are planning your social media marketing journey too. What does planning your social media have in common with 60 minute Makeover TV series program? Have you watched the TV series before? It’s the one that a team of designers, craftsmen and women work together to transform several areas of a home in just 1 hour. Crazy right? It is definitely possible when you have a plan in place and all in your team are working towards one End Goal. So, let’s look at the common parts between the two:

Why do you need to be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and so many others? Is it because your competition is on it or is it because it’s where your current customers and prospects are hanging out? Similarly in 60 minutes Makeover, a loving son or daughter wants to give something special to their parents and secretly arranged for nice surprise to take place. 2. Set Your End Goal for each social platform. Establishing your End Goal for each platform should be the first thing you should do. Having in mind your business objectives how does social media can be integrated into it. Working backwards from your end goal, break it down into SMART objectives using the formula Specific, Measurable, Attainable, realistic and Timely. At 60 minute makeover they use a sign that says “Keep Me” for those features in the room that they want to keep and everything else can then get changed. They assess how many rooms need transforming, what is going to change, what atmosphere is required for each room to achieve a balance in the home, what colours are best? Who is doing what by when and where. That’s all we have time for in this issue! Make sure to get the next issue of the Women’s Business Magazine to continue on this journey.

1. Start with the WHY? Sounds simple but finding the WHY should always be the root of any project. It enables an understanding of what’s to come and how you will deal with it.

www.increaseyoursocialreach.com

Flaxen Hare Designs - Home of Harriet Hare Flaxen Hare is a new innovative business that embraces family activities by enjoying and valuing the simple things in life through the character Harriet Hare. When you embrace Harriet Hare you enter a world that is far more than a knit or craft kit. Here you will find regular stories to read and activities to try or fun things to cook. All you need to do is follow Harriet Hare’s pages on the website at www.flaxenhare.co.uk. New things are added regularly. The activities to make and do with your children are fun and educational and will allow for treasured memories to be shared. Ultimately Flaxen Hare values what modern technology can do for us whilst still embracing traditional crafts. Take a giant step and view the complete package that is on offer here. It is new and innovative offering traditional skills to take forwards to the next generation through a modern platform that children have grown up with and are fluent with. Granddad’s Allotment After lunch things were almost quiet in the Hare Household. Harriet’s big sister and her friend were doing aerobics, wearing black leggings and tee shirts with their ears all tied up with ribbons. The occasional thump made the kitchen ceiling rattle. The twins sat next to each other at the kitchen table swinging their legs. They were all scrubbed up ready to go to Peter Vole’s birthday party wearing new sandals, clean grey shorts, white shirts and their ears brushed and shining. They eyed each other from time to time, but knew that if there was

any mischief there wouldn’t be any jelly and icecream or birthday cake. Harriet and Holly were off to the allotment with Granddad. He’d been waiting for ages for ‘the first crop’ and today was the day. “The carrots are ready for pulling girls” said granddad. “ You can come and help me if you like” “Yes, yes please” they said, “can we be carrots?” “Don’t be silly” said Granddad, who was VERY serious about the allotment and carrots. “You can carry the basket and trowel, I’ll get the fork and spade and then we can be off.” “Hey, Holly,” whispered Harriet, “Have you got your carrot dress and green top?” “Yes,” said Holly, “in my bag, how about you?” “ Me too, shush.” Granddad, Harriet and Holly piled into his little old car and got to the allotment, which was a nice piece of ground covered with plants. Granddad waved to his chums who were doing things with hoes and forks, or having a rest having a cup of tea. Granddad opened up the shed with a big rusty key and told the girls to wait there with the basket until he was ready. “Right”, said Harriet, “Let’s get our carrot costumes on PDQ while he’s gone.” “What’s PDQ,” said Holly, “Oh for goodness sake,” said Harriet QUICK............................ Read the rest of the story at www.flaxenhare.co.uk

Mortgage Broker Swaps Maths for a Mythical World of Adventure. News from Swindon member Jane Forey A SWINDON mortgage broker has fulfilled a dream by publishing her first children’s book about a mythical world Planet Zee. Jane Forey (52) who lives in North Swindon, launched the first in a series of seven adventure books - ‘Planet Zee – Journey to the Zamazonian’ - with the help of children from Westlea Primary School in Langstone Way, Swindon (Nov 26). Jane is an active member of the Swindon Women’s Business Club and did a presentation and book signing at the meeting on December 9. The youngsters from Westlea School were the first children to see the book based on the magical world Planet Zee where the only inhabitants are animals, plants and strange creatures. This book will be one of a series of seven following the adventures of a group of animals. Two of those characters are based on Jane’s own dogs Fozzie and Rottie.

Jane, who has run her own mortgage broking business for the last five years, said: “We had a lovely time with the children who all embraced the stories of Planet Zee and really wanted to find out more about it. They loved the fact that some of the characters were based on my own pet dogs and wanted to see pictures of the ‘real’ dogs too.” The launch of the Planet Zee series will be the first in a series of events across the south west. In creating her first book, Jane has chosen to work alongside local businesses including Callisto Green, run by another creative entrepreneur Vicki Watson and media consultant Fiona Scott - both fellow members of the club. To find out more visit www.planetzee.co.uk or if you would like to speak to Jane directly email jane@planetzee.co.uk

I Did It In My Pyjamas There is no recipe for business success. Too often I get asked about the rules …. but I honestly believe that there aren’t any rules. If we all followed the rules there would be no creativity, no innovation and no fun! So this book doesn’t tell you how to do it but simply my story of how I did it. Enjoy!

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

Your Nose ‘knows’ more than you think! Having studied Aromatherapy since the age of 7 it still surprises me the amount of myth and fiction that goes around this wonderful therapy. Even Doctors have little knowledge around the topic in the UK and so the public make dangerous and disappointing assumptions about the effects of this powerful healing tool.

I have come to use these wonderful oils in all aspects of my life both personally, on my toddler and in business. Although these oils are highly effective, they also come with a huge a warning… some of the oils can be very dangerous if used incorrectly or on someone with existing health issues such as high blood pressure.

A show earlier this year called ‘Trust Me I’m a Doctor’ did a very small experiment with some essential oils. The Doctor helping to run the experiment admitted that his assumption before the trial was that it was all a bit of hocus pocus and that it was placebo with a nice smell. However following the tests he transformed this opinion and was shocked at the results. It just goes to show how we can very easily push these ancient therapies to the side without really giving them a second look.

The Spirit Sanctuary run Aromatherapy Workshops called ‘Natures Apothecary’ to teach you in a fun and informative way to incorporate aromatherapy into your life and move from treating symptoms with scientifically lab created medicines/skin products to using naturally powerful plant medicine to not only treat but to prevent.

Aromatherapy has a very real physical effect on the body like a medicine as well helping emotional and psychological issues. You won’t see my potion of frankincense and bergamot (to focus the mind and lift my mood) far from my laptop whilst I write this article and my blogs.

Jennifer Hall Complementary Therapist at The Spirit Sanctuary

Check out the related blog to find out more at

www.womensbusiness.club/yournoseknowsmorethanyouthink

Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Contact Jennifer Hall Contact jennifer@thespiritsanctuary.co.uk 07859068752 Jennifer Hall www.thespiritsanctuary.co.uk jennifer@thespiritsanctuary.co.uk 01373 823 992 www.thespiritsanctuary.co.uk

Aroma image courtesy of lemonade at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Aroma image courtesy of lemonade at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Zita Alves is a health and fitness coach who is passionate about helping women over the age of 40 to feel healthier and happier. Zita offers 1-1 personal training in Somerset, group outdoor exercise classes in Bath via Zest Bootcamp plus online programmes for weight loss and fitness www.zita.co.uk

Personally I use a jar and scribble down on a piece of paper something that made me smile or feel happy whether it is.. The great song that came on the radio whilst I was driving that took me back to my teenage years and all the fond memories. • Being able to do one more press up this week than I could do 2 weeks ago. • Enjoying a great meal in a new restaurant.

I’m So Grateful

• Seeing my parents laugh and have fun.

When was the last time you sat down and thought about all the things you are grateful for?

• Watching a beautiful summer sunset.

Not something we do much but why not get a gratitude journal going or even use a jam jar! In a busy world where we often focus on what we haven’t achieved or what we don’t have it is time to focus on what we do have. Why not start to look at all the positive things around you every day – I guarantee it will lift your mood. It might even show you where you need to put some more effort and focus. For example if you never mention things you do for yourself then why not start looking at what makes you happy. Maybe you need to start some exercise so that you feel motivated and energetic to do the things that you really want to do but you’ve just lost your mojo to do. My challenge to you is to get a book and each day write 3-5 things that you are grateful for or that make you happy.

• The car park space when I was pushed for time. • Seeing the happiness in my clients faces when they lose weight and feel fitter and more alive. • Getting my nails done with a lovely new colour. • A clean car. • Helping someone lost in the city find where they are going. • A colourful bunch of flowers someone gave me as a gift. • Feeling fit and strong walking up the stairs in the car park whilst everyone else waited to take the lift. I could go on forever but I think you get the idea so go write something down :) Taken from the Women’s Business Club Blog www.womensbusiness.club/blog

Women’s Business Club and Safe From Slavery Unite Against Modern Day Slavery.

Women’s Business Club is pleased to support several charities in 2016, including Safe From Slavery, a local charity with international outreach whose aim is to fight modern day slavery and protect, heal and restore victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. WBC Regional Coordinator, Angela De Souza and SFS Chief Executive, Sue Carter met at Maximise Conference in 2015 and discussed the potential of a strong collective of business women using their intelligence, ingenuity and business savvy to help the fight against the injustice and exploitation of people trapped in slavery. Human Trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world. According to the United Nations statistics on Human Trafficking and Slavery there are more than 32 million victims of modern day slavery. Sex trafficking is commonly controlled by devious organised criminal gangs who prey on vulnerable women. While victims’ stories are varied, the common element used by traffickers is one of violence and death threats to victims and their families to force compliance. Every day vulnerable British and foreign women are trafficked for repeated sexual exploitation. Safe From Slavery’s advocacy informs, influences and helps to raise awareness of the devastation of slavery to victims and their families, as well as working with law enforcement, social services and medical providers to help vulnerable women who have escaped or been rescued from slavery.

In July 2014, Safe from Slavery opened the first UK long-term after care house for adult female victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. Set in beautiful and peaceful surroundings, Naomi’s House recovery and restoration programme provides residents safety, security, medical attention and trauma therapy in a love-filled environment. The programme duration is between12-18 months, depending on each woman’s individual needs and recently two of the initial residents graduated and are now living independently. Having received job training and opportunities as part of the programme, they are working full-time and building toward the life they envisaged beyond sex slavery. Through the love, care and support of a team of dedicated volunteers, counselors and programme directors, the women who live in Naomi’s house learn to value and love themselves again and begin to imagine and work towards a more functional and whole life. In April 2016 Women’s Business Club will launch an awareness and fundraising campaign in conjunction with Safe From Slavery that all members can join to help raise awareness and raise money to help support the SFS restorative programme. We look forward to seeing all the creative ways you can engage in and support the fight against modern slavery!

Human Trafficking is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest growing crime. Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. Due to the hidden and illegal nature of human trafficking, gathering statistics is difficult. Approximately 27 million are trafficked every year, 1.2 million are children. Left is a breakdown of detected victims of trafficking in persons, by age and gender based on 2011 figures from UNODC elaboration on national data. We MUST do something about this ladies! Why? Because we can!

Business Women Against Human Trafficking is not the answer to the problem but it is a small part of the solution. Join us as we do the best we can to end this atrocity.

Become an abolitionist by:

www.stopslavery.womensbusiness.club

Struggling to read, write, spell and simply concentrate? We all know that dyslexics can make the best entrepreneurs, however there is no need to hang on to the painful symptoms that it brings. Keep your skills and lose the pain at the Alison Lawson Centre. “Ever since I can remember,” says Isla, “My mum Amy seemed almost crippled with a condition known as dyslexia. To simply see her struggling to read, write, spell and simply CONCENTRATE was quite upsetting for all of our family, especially when we were young children and could read stories to her quicker and easier than she could read them to us.” “The frustration must have been immense when after reading a couple of lines she would fall into a deep sleep – almost a stupor. There was no question about her helping with our homework – as much as she may have wanted to – because she simply wouldn’t have been able to do it.

As it was, before she started baking, a recipe had to be read to her a couple of times before the method sunk in and she was able to concentrate on it. Numerous ‘trial runs’ for writing in cards took place before the pen touched the paper: not only would she have made spelling mistakes but her train of thought would have been lost and the sentence – or phrase – would have appeared nonsensical. Not that she used to write in many cards – her handwriting was nearly illegible, and the more she tried to neaten it up the worse it seemed to get!” “The thing was, underneath it was obvious that she was very switched on. Very few would have guessed she suffered from dyslexia, but I knew personally that the condition forced her levels of confidence to be shallow and she was often too scared to speak out in fear she had ‘got the wrong end of the stick’, or what she said wouldn’t even make sense.”

“Her mind somehow needed disentangling.”

some of the exercises that would be executed during the 10 days of treatment. It was visible, even after this short hour, how much “We first heard about the Alison this would help Mum in the long Lawson Centre, through friends and run, as even then she seemed to be Mum was all for it from the start. At somehow more relaxed.” first, I was somewhat reticent about “Throughout these 10 days, Mum the effect it had, but when we looked was very tired physically and the it up on the internet it seemed like homework given seemed to me nothing in its field could better it. to take a long time. At the time it Children with the condition were didn’t seem real – but as the days clearly reaping its benefits, sailing went on it was visibly easier for through homework and overall Mum to write neater and straighter, enjoying their new lease of life and she seemed more proficient in at school. But would it work on spelling, just to mention a few areas. someone older, someone over 50? Through the eye exercises, we…” And would it be worth it?” “From the moment Mum enrolled to go to the Alison Lawson Dyslexic Centre, we have never, ever looked back. Firstly she was given an Initial Assessment – to verify what the course would entail and to present

Scan to read the rest of Amy’s Story

The quick & effective Alison Lawson eye training, which is appropriate from age 6-80, has been used for over 20 years. The team have had first-hand experience in giving numerous people a brand new start in life with the Alison Lawson eye training and have a burning desire to pass these benefits to so many others. **Bonus** - Eye training can often be claimed as a training expense and therefore put through your business.

Contact Jessie Shedden

Visual Dyslexia Therapist The Alison Lawson Centre 01935 403260 www.alisonlawson.com

Three Ways Businesses Kill Their Revenue A new year! A chance for a fresh start. How will your business do this year? Time for a reality check. Was your business as successful as it should have been last year? Was revenue growth as strong as you deserve? Or were you frustrated by the results? Over the past 15 year I have consistently guided clients across the UK and overseas to double or even triple revenue and profit. Majority of firms blame external circumstances for weak revenue growth or poor profit margins but often they create the biggest barriers to their own success. Is your business suffering from any of these three barriers? 1. Fog For a minute please put yourself in your clients’ shoes. Those clients need good suppliers to help them achieve what they want but . . . they cannot find the right ones because they all look so similar. Office suppliers, web developers, IT suppliers, telecommunications firms . . . . . it is not clear what a single one stands for – let alone how they are better. If you removed their logo – could you really tell them apart? Are you sure that, to your customers, your firm shines out amongst the fog of your competitors? Magnetism is the opposite of fog. Can you think of a company that attracts customers in droves? Apple a few years back? Amazon maybe? A favourite local restaurant? These few companies have worked out what their customers really want and need. Then they pulled out all the stops to provide outstanding value. The result? Their customers do not want to go anywhere else. Are customers flocking to your door in droves? 2. No clear direction Whether your company is large or small, unless you have a clear direction, your efforts dissipate fast. Only when you are clear where you are headed will you gain real traction, with everyone pulling

together in the same direction, to leave your competition standing. Yet most firms only have a vague idea what they really want to create, leaving a legacy they are proud of and making all the hard work worthwhile for everyone involved. How clear are you where your business is headed in 2016 – let alone in three years? 3. Muddled thinking One of the biggest barriers most business leaders face is not thinking through clearly “how” they will achieve their aims. A client of ours proved this powerfully a couple of years ago. After just two coaching sessions they became so enthusiastic and clear that they won six more big clients in three months – increasing revenue by 237%! How clear are you about how you will achieve your aims? From tactical aims e.g. how to communicate with your customers effectively to selecting growth strategies. I hope you have enjoyed this article. Thank you for reading it. So which of these barriers in getting in your way? How determined are you to remove them so you can enjoy more success in 2016? My “6 weeks to results programme” will speed up your progress. See the advert in this magazine. Jane Bromley, Strategenic Ltd. strategicplanningforgrowth.co.uk/6-weeks-results Tel: 01672 861767

6 weeks to the business results you want? What is holding your business back? • Are you focused on the best opportunities? • What barriers are getting in the way?

Our 6 weeks to results programme:

Pinpoints the fastest way to better results. Then coaches you become laser clear how to remove the barriers and achieve the results your business deserves

Three examples of client results

• Company increased profit by 287% in 3 months • Small company doubled revenue in 6 weeks • Large firm - from no growth in 5 years to 12% pa

Find out more

Visit http://strategicplanningforgrowth.co.uk/ 6-weeks-results/ Or call Jane on 01672 861767 today to find out how we will partner with you

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