Sarah Williams Conquered Everest And Now Is Conquering Starting Her Own Business - Tough Girl Challenges...

We thought we were supposed to be the inspiring ones? Well wait until you meet Sarah Williams from Tough Girl Challenges, 100 miles per hour, full of energy and passion for life, she might just be one of the most motivational and inspiring women The Women’s Organisation has ever interviewed! Now that’s a lot to live up to…

The story starts off pretty grey though! Sarah used to live and work down in London and spent eight years working in banking which she describes as something that began to frustrate her; ‘It was all about waking up in the morning at 5:45am, getting on the tube, commuting to Canary Wharf, and staying in the office all day. And I just wasn’t very fulfilled in what I was doing.’ Although on the surface of things, Sarah was doing fantastically, she was being promoted, getting pay-rise’s and bonuses, but she knew deep down that it wasn’t what she wanted.

Initially she combated this feeling though running; she completed the London Marathon five times (YES! Five times!), but still wasn’t feeling the sense of satisfaction inside. And here is where the story gets really interesting. Sarah begins to make change after change in her life. Doing more charity work, working with UN Women and Women for Women International, and it was here she finally found what she was looking for, that personal enjoyment that she was after. It came from motivating, and inspiring others, especially women and girls, in tough situations. Sarah says; ‘It all sort of came to a head about then, I knew I had wanted a change for a while. So when I was 31 I quit my job and decided to go travelling for a year.’ Sarah headed off to Australia, South America, did a Ski Season for 6 months in Switzerland, and…Wait for it…Climbed Mount Kilimanjaro!

At this point Sarah realised that she could return home and would be in the position of explaining to future employers what she had spent the year doing and how it would impact would the future could hold. ‘I couldn’t turn round to employers and say; “I’ve had an amazing twelve months travelling the world” I needed to have done something productive. So I ended up writing a book about climbing Kilimanjaro’ after writing this book, she went on to write another one about her time spent as a Chalet Host. ‘So many people were asking me what it was like, so I wanted to share my experiences.’

And what was it like? For anyone who has ever done Chalet Hosting, knows as well as Sarah does, that it is one tough job! ‘It’s possibly one of the most physically demanding jobs I’ve ever done. You’re up at 7am and you go up to the chalet and cook breakfast for 10 people before tidying the whole chalet and then cook afternoon tea. At that point you are free between 12 and 6, and it’s a choice between sleeping and skiing. Of course, I generally choose skiing! Then you come back and would cook a four course meal. It’s very demanding.’ 

So when Sarah returned home, what was the next step for her? For the woman who has so much under her belt, loves adventures and is passionate about motivating and inspiring, her own business seemed the best option. ‘I’d been thinking for a while that I wanted to start my own company, well I thought let’s start Tough Girl Challenges, which is basically all of my passions and all of my loves combined. I love adventure, I love travel, I love pushing myself both physically and mentally, so that’s where Tough Girl Challenges came from.’
Tough Girl Challenges is a multi-layered business and is ever expanding as Sarah finds more opportunities to get involved with. There’s the blogging, the fitness, the book-writing and so much more. 

One aspect of the business is Sarah going to visit schools, specifically girl’s schools to speak to them and give motivational talks about challenging yourself, pushing yourself and stepping out of your comfort zones. And if there is anymore more apt to speak on this topics, then we’d struggle to think of them! Sarah has run marathons, travelled the world, bungee jumped, sky dived, climbed a live volcano and cycled down the world’s most dangerous road. 

‘Talking to the girls is really interesting, because some of them might tell me that they want to be a pastry chef in France, which is great and really interesting! But then you might have a few from the other end of the spectrum who will say that they want to be a reality TV star, or the wife of a footballer. And it’s almost as if it’s down to the lack of belief that they can do so much better with their lives. And sometimes all it takes is for someone to come in, and something might click in their heads and they can understand how much more they can do.’

A lot of Sarah’s success comes down to the way she prioritises her time, and for her, one thing that works really well, is to set herself goals. When Tough Girl Challenges website launched in December she wanted to become more connected with her local community and set herself the challenge of doing 100 motivational talks in schools. To help her on her way, she knew she needed to start networking more, and that’s how she found out about The Women’s Organisation and began to attending our networking events. From there she met with Senior Business Adviser, John Jones, who she works with to focus on the business aspects of the business. 

The best thing about working with John, for Sarah, is that it gives her another goal, using her meetings with him as targets to get things done by. ‘Working for myself, that’s one of the things that I struggled with, because when something comes up, it’s too easy to push another thing back and reallocate. Having a Business Adviser meant I had accountability, and having a meeting meant I had a firm deadline to get things done by.’ 

So what does the future hold for Tough Girl Challenges? Most recently Sarah has been storming the internet with her Tough Girl Podcasts which she started this summer. These podcasts came from a frustration that she found at opening the sports pages and continually seeing no women there. 

Whereas on Twitter she could see incredible women doing incredible things, that nobody really knew about. ‘I know of a woman cycling across Australia, there’s a 92 year old woman who has just run a marathon, a woman who is skating across Amsterdam. There are all of these women doing fantastic challenges and they never get the publicity’

So Tough Girl Tuesday’s is born! Sarah will be interviewing some of these great women facing great challenges, and she hopes to expand these into bi-weekly podcasts too. The Tough Girl Podcast got to the Number 1 Slot in iTunes for New & Noteworthy for Sports & Hobbies, and Personal Journals.

As well as this Sarah spoke on Bay TV’s show; 52% with another speaker from the This Girl Can campaign, on motivation and inspiration and says; ‘Even if just one person watched that and thought, do you know what, I’m going to go for a walk today, or I’m going to turn off the TV and read a book, then I’ll be really pleased!’ You can watch Sarah speak on 52% here, and she is now a regular panelist on the show! 

All in all, Sarah Williams is one tough cookie, and it’s great to see her inspiring women and girls to face their challenges and step outside their comfort zones. We can tell you that even after interviewing her, we felt that little bit more powered up to go out there and do something great! 

Website
Twitter - @_TOUGH_GIRLS
Facebook - ToughGirlChallenges
Email - sarah@toughgirlchallenges.com
Bay TV Interview

Jayne Thistlewood Jumped At The Chance To Make A Life-Altering Change With R&R Safety Systems Ltd

Jayne Thistlewood is a highly experienced individual, in fact so experienced that when she sits down and tells us her background, the ream of letters after her name last for quite a while! Jayne is currently a partner in R&R Safety Systems Ltd, a Health and Safety Training and Consultancy Company. The centre is accredited to provide examinations in IOSH, NEBOSH, CIEH and Fire Safety (See, those where the letters we were talking about!) and 

Jayne became a partner in the company in April 2014 alongside Dave Fanning who as an ex fire fighters brings the fire specialism to the company in the form of Fire Risk Assessments and also his passion with Fire Safety Training from his Fire Brigade Training Centre Role.

Jayne’s background is as a Health & Safety Executive which she worked as for 18 years, calling herself; ‘Civil Service through and through’, she then took a career break to have children and when she returned found it difficult to travel with work and moved to an Online Risk Management Company where she was for 12 years.

‘Then the opportunity came about 18 months ago for me to make a career change. I was hot-desking from R&R Safety System’s offices and there was a retiring partner. It was then that they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse so I bought into the company. I took a massive gamble, resigning from my well-paid job, but it’s definitely paid off!’

Going from working in large organisations and being supported with holiday pay and a steady monthly income, to becoming the boss of a company is a big change but Jayne says; ‘When the opportunity came about, I did jump at it. Everything was pointing in the right direction and it felt right, although I must admit that I was nervous. I’d worked for the Civil Service for 18 years, had a career break to raise a family and then gone into another job where I was managed and had company and staff around me. So to actually take that step into self-employment and be responsible for paying bills, paying staff and managing reports and finance, was quite difficult.’

Although luckily Jayne seems to be a natural at it, citing her strengths as her social skills and abilities, enjoying working closely with her clients and the different activities that each day can bring, as the partner of the company. ‘I love the fact that one minute I can have my hard hat and high-vis jacket on, and I’m onsite and the next minute I can be invigilating an exam or running training. One day is never the same, and I can plan my diary which is great.’

And Jayne has already making big plans for the future of R&R, looking to introduce e-learning into the company. She has a background in Online Risk Management so introduced an online learning perspective to her clients and to new contacts that she has worked on making. ‘I’ve worked closely with schools and written a programme of training, where I go into the schools and speak to Year 11’s or Sixth Form students who are about to go out and do Work Experience. I’ll speak to them about their roles and responsibilities in the workplace, their rights and what they are entitled to from employers.’

Jayne is passionate about making people understand that their own safety is not someone else’s responsibility and she says; ‘You do have a voice, you can positively engage, actively question and challenge unsafe practices.’ And by going into schools she is hoping to engage young people early on, and make them see if everybody works and acts safely then it can have a big effect. She is currently working with four of the biggest schools in Merseyside and two junior schools also.

From someone so experienced you might be thinking what help did she gain from The Women’s Organisation? Jayne met Ali McGrath, our Enterprise Enabler and John Jones, Senior Business Adviser many years ago when she was on Maternity Leave and we were called; Train 2000. At that point, Jayne had a wildly different business idea; she wanted to start a sweet shop! But this didn’t come to fruition as she had another child and later went back to work. Then about 12 months ago Jayne attended a networking event and met Ali again, both remembering each other and striking up a rapport again. ‘She said that she always knew I would do something on my own, and it was then that I came to The Women’s Organisation for some help and support when I bought into R&R. And it’s been great, the information and the help that I’ve had, has been great! John chatted with me on the accountancy side of things and Ali is very motivational.’

Looking back on the journey and transition that she has made, Jayne feels proud of herself and so she should do! ‘I’m a firm believer in that I never say no to anything. I did take that gamble and my friends and family thought I was crazy. I was on a good salary, had a nice car and was comfortable, and I walked away from it all, but now I sleep better at night. I can manage my own diary and I’m able to see direct results. When things happen, I can say to myself – well done. It’s nice to know that you are making a difference, we help people with that we do, and we have a relationship, and at the end of it they come back and say thank you…’

Before meeting Jayne we might have been guilty of considering Health and Safety as something of a dry topic, but when we got the chance to meet and talk to her, we were happy to be proved wrong! Her passion, enthusiasm and love for her job and the sector that she works in was catching and we found ourselves becoming enthused about all the things that she is passionate about.

But she says; ‘There are still very few females in this male dominated sector although we are becoming more and more. It’s had its moments in the past, where I’ve gone to meetings and been seen as the PA or Receptionist, and it’s only when I’ve taken my place at the front to start the meeting or presentation, you see everyone’s eyes in the room change. But I’m confident in what I’m doing, and I know that the guidance I’m giving is competent and effective, I can’t help how other people feel about it.’

Jayne is clearly a woman who knows where her strengths and weaknesses lie and works with them every step of the way. The future looks great for R&R Safety Systems Ltd and with the work that Jayne is doing, we know it will grow and grow…

Sid Moore Is Growing Moore Accountancy And Has Taken On Her First Apprentice

‘We have a motto that no question is a stupid question’, says Sid Moore as The Women’s Organisation chats with her; ‘That’s what we want our clients to know.’ Sid is the founder and director of Moore Accountancy which she set up in 2010 in South Manchester. ‘I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the late 1990’s in London, and after spending time in practice, working for Merrill Lynch, time out travelling and starting a family, we made the move to Manchester.’

After taking a four year career break to focus on her family, Sid realised that in order to balance her career aspirations with her family, starting her own accountancy practice was the way forward. Five years on and Moore Accountancy consists of Sid, a part-time qualified accountant and also a recently recruited apprentice. Apprenticeships are a growing trend in the UK, and research from last year revealed that apprenticeships would contribute £34 billion to the UK economy in 2014. For many business owners, like Sid, apprenticeships and apprentices are a fantastic addition to their companies.

‘We are supporting a local girl who attends a local college. The apprentice programmes are great, it’s supporting us as a business, it’s giving something back to the community, and it’s giving us an asset who will hopefully grow with the business over the next couple of years.’

‘The fact that we’ve made a commitment to support a local student has been a big move for us as business. It has always been myself with another part-time team member, but now Ellen is there for more hours than I am, and the group dynamics have changed. She’s really enjoying it, and she has got a real passion for her work. We’ve chosen the right person, and she fits in with our values, so it’s a win win.’

Sid's Team!

 Another reason Sid’s apprentice, Ellen, is such a help to the business, is the extra capacity that she has been able to give to Moore Accountancy. Sid is able to work around her children, their school days and their activities, which for her is an ideal situation. She is able to drop them off at school, and work nearly a full day before picking them up and ferrying them to their many different after-school activities. She admits; ‘It’s a constant juggle, but it’s the only way I could still be there for them, and be doing something intellectual that I enjoy. If I was working for someone else, I wouldn’t be there at all to support them, after working a 40 hour week plus travelling or commuting. Yes I’m compromising on income, but I’m getting a massive lifestyle benefit instead.’

As Moore Accountancy grows, The Women’s Organisation is proud to support Sid and her colleagues. We first met Sid when our Manchester based Business Advisor, Mike Marsden spoke at a networking group which Sid was the treasurer of; ‘Mike came to Handbags and Briefcases last year and spoke about the support that The Women’s Organisation could give, and it really rang a bell.’ At that point we had been plodding along quite nicely, but another injection of support was really what we needed. Mike has given a different focus to what we do, helped to guide us to new information and given us leads to new contacts. He’s helped to mould our new direction.’

One thing that has always remained the same though, is the values behind Moore Accountancy. Sid is passionate about the practice, and the accountants being proactive; ‘This is where we try and differentiate ourselves from other accountants who you might just see once a year and they “just do your accounts”. We want to be more than that. If a client doesn’t know how to record a transaction, they can give us a call and we’ll explain it to them. There are so many accountancy practices out there who are just selling that one service, but we want to be there to support our clients.’

Through growing the business, Sid has learnt a valuable lesson; ‘I’ve learnt that you can’t do everything yourself, even if you want to.’ She admits that she is the type of person who likes to do everything herself, and when she started the business, in an effort to save money she attempted to build the website, do her own marketing, and throw herself into the sales of the company; ‘I then realised that if I spent some time investing in other people, it would grow the business faster. It took some time for me realise that it’s more time efficient for others to do tasks for me if they are better suited to them.’

Even if she still sometimes sits up all night trying to figure out how to make her website mobile friendly! Sid knows there is a line when she will pass a task onto someone else; ‘TO want to do everything yourself is the way a lot of small business owners are, because the business is your baby! I’ve got the same mentality and ideology, but I am learning to delegate!’ 

If you would like to find our more about Sid's Accountancy practice then please visit her website or use the contact details below! If her story has inspired you and you are a woman in Manchester or Merseyside who is interested in starting up your own business, or growing your business, then please get in touch with us! Email on hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111

Tel: 07542 299 247
LinkedIn: Sudipta Moore
Twitter: @sidmooremanc
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Moore.Accountancy

Street Style Surgery’s Sissy is ‘Sole Trader of the Year’ Thanks to Hard Work & an Inspirational Mum

Local entrepreneur Sissy Rooney has taken her inspirational social enterprise from a one woman operation with its headquarters in her bedroom, to a nationally recognised and award winning training provider.  But how did she do it?

Founder of ‘Street Style Surgery’ Sissy reflected “It started with just me delivering t-shirt spray painting workshops now I have a team of over 200 qualified and inspiring trainers delivering many workshops all over the UK.”

Having been nominated for ‘Inspirational Woman of the Year 2014’ and ‘Sole Trader of the Year’ at the EVA awards (Enterprise Vision Awards) Sissy was delighted to be selected as ‘Sole Trader of the year’ 2014.  And it isn’t surprising looking at her journey and what she has achieved.

Sissy Rooney was born in Toxteth in Liverpool where her family lived “on the bread line”.  For Sissy and her family, times got ever tougher when her dad was murdered when she was just 9 years old, leaving her mum with 3 kids to look after.

“I watched my mum really struggle to make ends meet” said Sissy. “She even worked through the night sewing up clothes for a factory to try and make some money to support us.  I learned what strength and courage a woman could have and how inspirational it was to be a woman with a mission.”

Having moved to Manchester aged 21 to study at University, Sissy Rooney took the inspiration her mother had given her and in 2007 established her social enterprise ‘Street Style Surgery’ there.

“The Street Style Surgery is a high quality provider of engaging creative workshops across the UK” explained Sissy.  “We want to give young people an opportunity to be exposed to a vast array of creative subjects from body popping to beatboxing, fashion designing to music production, film-making to business and enterprise, cool science workshops, circus skills workshop, healthy relationship and sexual education to name just a few.  All our sessions can be tailored to schools/youth group’s needs, topics and themes; we can even create bespoke packages.”

Sissy is focussed on continuing to build the Street Style Surgery brand, and recently took advice from The Women’s Organisation, through their ‘Venture Accelerator’ programme.

“I’ve found my meetings with my adviser Mike really useful in helping me focus on my goals and develop a clear strategy for growth” Sissy told us.

And Sissy has seen great success this year even beyond her award win. As well as trebling her turnover, Street Style Surgery have recently been appointed as a partner in Kenco’s rewards scheme to raise the aspirations of young people in UK and Ireland by running a ‘spoken selfies’ project.  

“It allows young people to look at themselves and where they want to be in the future in a creative way and make plans to achieve those dreams! The public can donate their point from a jar of coffee to our projects and have a valuable impact on raising young people aspirations 

Now sporting the title of ‘Sole Trader of the Year’ Sissy has definitely become that “woman with a mission” she saw in her mother those years before.  Looking at her journey she said “I think the key to my success is that I just don’t give up, no matter what is thrown at me I still get back up and try my hardest.  Seeing the results of my workshops and hearing the young people’s feedback spurs me on even more.”

To find out more about why Sissy was chosen as an EVA award winner, check out her website www.streetstylesurgery.co.uk or follow @sssurgery on Twitter.

Women who are running a successful business in Greater Manchester who are inspired by Sissy’s story can contact MikeMarsden@thewo.org.uk to find out more about how The Women’s Organisation can support you to develop a strategy to grow your enterprise. 

Social Media Wiz Ann is Hoping her Business Success Will Make her the 'Talk of Manchester'

 Manchester’s Ann Davies, founder of social media training and consultancy business Bizwizuk, is feeling “Very humble, proud and excited!” upon discovering she has been shortlisted for an award.

Having built a successful business for someone else for 10 years Ann Davies decided it was time to do something for herself and launched ‘Bizwizuk’ in October 2011.  Starting from scratch was a challenge Ann was ready to face head on and has since built up a client base of over 100 businesses  ranging from SME’s to banks and hotel chains, linking with an additional social media manager allowing her to focus on the consultancy side of the business.

Feeling ready to expand Bizwizuk this year Ann approached The Women’s Organisation upon hearing that they could offer free support to women in Greater Manchester with ambition for business growth.

Ann said “I have found the support incredible. My mentor has helped me to understand and create a clear vision for the growth of my business.”

Ann who also runs The Working Mothers networking group in Manchester while juggling her life as a working mum of two teenage daughters was excited to learn that her hard work had been recognised being shortlisted for ‘Best Social Media Company’ at the ‘Talk of Manchester’ awards.

Showing why she deserves to win Ann told us her top 3 tips for businesses thinking about using social media are:

1 – Choose your platforms carefully; think about where your business sits in the social media space.

2 – Set the right tone, your on-line voice should reflect the business voice that your clients hear when face to face. 

3 - Keep track of your impact.  Once your social media strategy is up and running you will want to know what impact it is having, which involves measuring what is working and what isn’t - of course changing what isn’t working

If you appreciate Ann’s tips and have enjoyed reading a bit about her journey then she would greatly appreciate your votes for best social media company. 

Voting for Talk of Manchester Awards closes Friday 31^st October at 5pm so click here to vote for Ann:

http://www.thetalkofmanchester.co.uk/event-registration/?ee=119

Now celebrating her 3^rd business birthday Ann’s advice to other women who are trying to grow their own business is “If you feel passionately about your products or services and genuinely enjoy what you do then don’t let anyone put you off”.

To find out more about the services Ann and BizWizuk offer to support businesses to succeed on social media visit www.bizwizuk.co.uk and follow @bizwizuk on twitter.

   

If like Ann you are a woman who has built a successful business in Greater Manchester which you are now ready to expand, contact The Women’s Organisation to find out how the Venture Accelerator programme can offer you FREE advice to build a strategy for growth.  Email project manager Mike on MikeMarsden@thewo.org.uk and follow @TheWomenOrgManc on twitter. 

Mega Stars Academy Dance Their Way To A Guiness World Record

Mega Stars Academy, Quality Steps and scout groups across Manchester have broken the street dance Guiness World Record for the number of people doing the same dance for a specific amount of time.

Together with fellow Manchester based dance school Quality Steps, Mega Stars Academy took to the stage in front of 1100 adults and children, ready to demonstrate the dance moves for everyone in the crowd.

‘Everyone was excited and nervous. It was a great experience for all the children and adults involved.’

After 2 practice runs it was show time. Mega Stars initiated a group dance that involved 1100 people doing the same dance moves at the same time for a total of 5 minutes 30 seconds. This was enough to break the previous record and propel all involved into the Guiness World Records.

Humbled by the response, owner Emma Hothersall told The Women’s Organisation: ‘We are all so happy to be part of the winning team and to be able to say we have a Guiness World Record.’

‘Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to do something spectacular that I would be remembered for. Finally my dream has come true and I got to share it with all the children from Mega Stars, Quality Steps and the scouts.’

Mega Stars is a performing arts academy that grew from Emma’s strong belief that children have the ability to shine and with the right guidance they can achieve their dreams. The academy aims to make these dreams come true through performing arts.

With the business thriving, Emma is eager to expand the Mega Stars name with the help of The Women’s Organisation’s growth programme. She told us: ‘I’ve had amazing help and support from Mike, my advisor. He has helped me to see the bigger picture of how I can successfully grow my business and develop my franchise plan sooner than I originally expected.’

‘Mike has a great way of explaining business plans and how to maximise my business ideas. Without The Women’s Organisation I would still be going around in circles.’

If you or your children would be interested in getting involved with the events Mega Stars Academy hold and the opportunities they offer, visit http://megastarsacademy.co.uk/ or call 07813 615131

Through the Venture Accelerator programme, women can be linked with a specialist business growth adviser who will offer tailored support to take their business to the next level. So if you are a woman-led business in the Manchester area eager to grow your business, contact programme manager MikeMarsden@thewo.org.uk to find out more.