Devon's Businesswomen celebrated at Exeter event
It's definitely all about the girls this week as some of the best female minds in Devon's business community gathered for a special award ceremony at Exeter's Golf and Country Club.
The event, organised by Womens Development Unlimited (WDU), celebrates the achievements and advancements of businesses in Devon specifically run or owned by women.
All the candidates are on the Fast Track 4 Growth programme run by the WDU which is a highly subsidised programme of skills training, mentoring, coaching and action learning. It provides specialist women to women advice and aims to help those on the programme take their business up to the next level.
There are 3 categories for this years awards;
- Business of the Year
- New Business of the Year
- Inspirational Business Woman of the Year
Jan Spencer from WDU says; "We have been really impressed with the quality of applications and the high calibre of all the nominations. Some of the criteria we looked at to help judge these awards were how well owners had coped during the recent economic downturn, how they had moved their business forward, where they see themselves in 12 months time and really, how they’ve used the skills learnt during our FastTrack4Growth programme such as business leadership, IT, Communication, Marketing & Customer Service and Finance."
"I'm happy to say that all the winners excelled in these areas and we are delighted to be able to present them with these awards."
The winners are:
New Business of the Year 2013: Winner - Marilu Wren, OckyOlly, Kingsbridge
Highly Commended: Karen Churchward of Bake My Day, Exeter
Business of the Year 2013: Barbara Harris, B Harris Accountancy & Business Support Services, Cranford, nr Bideford.
Inspirational Business Woman of the Year 2013: Sophie Dixon, Sophie Dixon Garden Design, South Molton
Special Recognition Award to Sandra Bellamy of beatredundancyblues, Exeter
Marilu says; "By utilising the FT4G programme, I have been inspired by other female led businesses. Their experiences and opinions have been invaluable in helping me grow and understand what I am capable of and to recognise the difference a supportive environment can make in believing in my product and my journey."
Barbara says; "In February 2012 I joined the FT4G programme and discovered the that many of my fears are shared by other women who work for themselves. The programme has given me confidence in marketing and helped me concentrate on my priorities and create my five year plan. In August 2012 my question was answered when I took on a part-time assistant because the 30 clients I now had were taking up a lot of my time! By the time January 2013 was over I had over 50 clients!"
Sophie says; "I have met so many kind and helpful businesswomen since starting out, and would love to continue to do my bit, by encouraging women to
succeed, no matter what their circumstances. 20 years of planning what you would do with your life if you were given another shot at it certainly does make for a ‘have a go’ attitude!"
Local Member for St. Loyes and Topsham, Andrew Leadbetter says; "We have a large proportion of small and medium sized businesses in Devon including those self employed or sole traders, many of which are women run businesses. I'm pleased to see such a successful group of businesswomen who are clearly making a huge contribution to our economy and we are very happy to be supporting WDU."
WDU is a Devon-based not-for-profit company supported by Devon County Council whose delivery team have many years experience of providing training and support for business women in the South West.
Training is offered in a choice of areas such as Marketing, Customer Service, Finance, Communication Skills and IT. Women can opt for intensive or semi-intensive support.
Women who are interested in finding out more can either go to the Women’s Development Unlimited website www.womensdevelopmentunlimited.org.uk or ring Jan Spencer on 07811 946320.
