International Women’s Day 2023 - my 4 pillars
Meet the women who make up my 4 pillars of business - they have been instrumental in my own growth as a businessowner (and as a human) so far, and helped me navigate the landscape of self-employment.
If you are looking for a great community, a photographer, or a tech expert (front of house or backend), these are your people!
Community
Meet Jess Hellens, Founder of Wild
With over 15 years of experience in marketing, and having launched her own successful business in 2016, Jess has been there for me, building me up and showing me the way through business, confidence, self-worth, and self-compassion. Without her, and the whole Wild community, I wouldn’t be where I am today - I’d be somewhere, I’m sure, but the road would have been even harder, much longer, and so incredibly lonely.
Wild has been there for me since 2019 (I actually met Jess right on launch day at Frome Town Hall - one conversation later and I knew she’s got the vision and energy I had to keep close!), has seen me through 2 job changes, a redundancy, and finally my jump (headfirst dive?) into self-employment.
Would recommend to any female or non-binary folk with either: an entrepreneurial dream or already in business. Wild offers a safe, inclusive and no-bs space.
“What is Wild?
…a space for feeling less alone whilst working from home, or your local cafe… maybe the library? At Wild you can connect with other freelancers, founders, sole traders, directors and dreamers.
We’re a hybrid: a virtual coworking community with some in-person meet-ups.”
P.S. Membership reopens end of April - click below to join the Waitlist or read more!
Photographer
Meet Celie Nigoumi, a Brand Photographer
This incredibly talented Photographer loves to work with people who are looking for soulful imagery to share the story behind their brand - all the photos you see on my website were shot by her!
I'm so terribly awkward in front of a camera but also found myself in need of new, on-brand photos to finally treat myself properly (and seriously!) as a business-owner - isn't it funny how we often don't do that when we're freelancers?
Scaling up meant I needed to step up my online presence and that included finally getting myself in front of that camera. I'm so so so glad I chose Celie - she made me feel comfortable, relaxed, a little goofy at times and I loved it! And now I have natural, on-brand portraits that will represent me and what my business stands for.
The more I look at them, the more I love them and I just want to plaster them on everything. In other words: THANK GOODNESS FOR CELIE. And thank you, Celie! :)
If you too find stepping in front of the camera daunting and uncomfortable, Celie’s the one for you. With a choice of Portrait, Half and Full Day Sessions, get a date booked and trust the process - you won’t be disappointed!
Tech support - front of house
Meet Charlie French of The Whole Hog Marketing
Charlie is an Online Marketing Consultant - she’s worked in marketing for nearly 10 years now and it shows! I have worked with Charlie to audit my current online presence & refresh it, and I love how she works.
She has helped me clarify my social media strategy, laying out in clear terms how, why, and how often I should show up to reach the right audience, and in turn help my business continue in the right direction.
Charlie offers not only one-off freshen up kits, but also ongoing content creation and strategy, as well as coaching (that’s my jam!). She also runs The Hog Social Club (doors opened in January!), for creatives who want to feel in control of their social media, with checklist, Zoom workshops and 1:1 support.
She’s passionate and knowledgeable - she’ll dig into the analytics to create content that will align with your brand - if you’re feeling a little lost with your social media marketing, Charlie’s the gal for you!
Tech support - back end
Meet Laura White, a Freelance Digital Marketing Expert.
My experience with Laura is heavily focused around SEO - search engine optimisation. That’s a combination of my clients working with her, or her working directly to improve my own online score. If SEO sounds like mumbo-jumbo dark magic to you, don’t worry - it was like that for me too!
Laura’s experience is VAST, spanning over a decade in Online Campaigns and Analysis (read: online ad whiz!), and her offer includes:
Digital Strategy, SEO - Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, Online Sales, Email Marketing, Paid Ads - PPC
She’s a real digital wizard and I don’t say that lightly - I would normally pat myself on the back and confidently say that I’m someone who also enjoys (and is good at ;) ) all things digital and marketing, plus I learn rather fast… but I can’t outdo Laura. She’s the real deal, and an expert in her field!
She loves to support small business owners who are looking to improve or develop their digital marketing strategy, but may not know where to start - so if you want to increase visitors to your website (and give that pesky lead generation a healthy boost), meet your sales business goals and make it easier for your ideal audience to find you - and you don’t have the time or the energy to learn a whole new skills that Laura has already committed a decade of her life to… Well, I think you know what to do! (Yes, email her!)
This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the fantastic women in business I know - I think I’d need to write an entire phone book for that!
But I know how important it is for women to support each other, and lift each other up in business. I could think of no better day than the International Women’s Day to do just that - shine a light on those who I personally have worked with, to the growth and development of my business. And while I wish every day was International Women’s Day (and that sexism basically didn’t exist…), for me and my fellow businesswomen, it is. If we can have each other’s backs, hold space for each other… true magic happens when we come together.
If you’re looking for support in any of those 4 areas, I would recommend each one of them wholeheartedly - and together, along with my services, you’ll have yourself a full business package!
If you enjoyed reading and think you and your business can benefit from my insights - get in touch!
