Meet the Team: Bethan McShane

A new face has joined us on the front desk of 54 St James Street. If you’ve popped by you may have had the pleasure of meeting our lovely Bethan! Bethan has been with us for three months now, so it’s time you get to know her as well as we do. 

From joining the feminism society, working at a psychiatric unit and all the while maintaining an avid love for all things Disney, say hello to Bethan ..

What’s your full name and where are you from?

My name is Bethan McShane and I’m from Liverpool.

Tell me how you first found out about The Women’s Organisation and become part of our team?

I went to Bangor University and became involved in their feminism society, which really ignited my passion for equal rights and in supporting and lifting others, as opposed to tearing them down. After graduating and moving back home to Liverpool, I was keen to find more opportunities and organisations similar to what Bangor offered so that I could continue standing up for what I believed in. The Women’s Organisation was one of my discoveries and is now, amazingly, also my place of work!

What kind of things have you done prior to coming to The Women’s Organisation?

Before starting at The Women’s Organisation, I studied Philosophy and Religion at Bangor University and graduated with a First. Shortly after this, I started employment at a Forensic Psychiatric Unit which was very interesting and rewarding and taught me a lot.

What has surprised you about working at The Women’s Organisation?

The huge amount of people the organisation helps and the difference that is has on their lives. Each member of the team plays such a significant role in providing the service that we do and it’s lovely being able to call myself a part of that.

What’s the best thing about working at The Women’s Organisation?

The wonderful people I get to call my colleagues. They have all been so incredibly welcoming and helpful and have shown so much kindness to me. I really feel part of the team.

Could you describe one of your typical workdays?

On a typical day, I’ll check and respond to any telephone or email enquiries and be at hand to assist with any face-to-face visits. I’ll help to set up any rooms for external bookings we may have and prepare the resources for the courses that we offer, meaning I can often be found scanning, filing and printing! I also look after any post that comes in. Additionally, I’m here to help my colleagues if they need a spare set of hands.

What might (someone) be surprised to know about you?

I’m a huge Disney fan even though I’m nearly 25 ..

What do you do when you aren’t working? 

I love travelling different countries when I can afford to and creating memories with my nearest and dearest. I also enjoy being creative, even if I’m not necessarily the best at it! 

Catherine Brings L19 Chiropody to Garston Village 👍

Reaching a time in life when she wanted flexibility to fit her family life, Catherine Williams, a qualified podiatrist who had been working for 10 years with the NHS, rose to the challenge and opened her own podiatry/chiropody clinic business.

L19 Chiropody in Garston Village is a spacious ground floor shop fronted premise and specialises in routine and aesthetic podiatry treatments, such as; nail care, corns, foot health education, corns callous, treatment and diabetic foot screening. All treatments are carried out by Catherine who holds a BSc (hons) in Podiatry, is registered with the Health & Care Professional council and is a Member of the College of Podiatry.

Since opening in March 2018, Catherine’s clinic has proved popular with local people and is busy treating clients of all ages. It is the only Chiropodist in its location in Garston Village which has a close knit very active business community where everyone ardently supports one another to succeed.

When Catherine had the idea of starting up her business, she got in touch with ‘Enterprise Hub’, which is the Liverpool City Region’s project to help people start up businesses. She was put in touch with Janine Hyland, a Senior Business Adviser at the Women’s Organisation, who provided the know-how of how to go about setting up a business, as well as ongoing support around marketing, creating a business plan and access to training and events.

Catherine said: "I wouldn’t have had the courage and motivation to start up, also its good to know that I’m a new business, I can still access one to one support from Janine as well as attend workshops and join the Business Club."

For more information on L19 Chiropody check out the website, or call Catherine on 07597 055 775

If you’re thinking about starting a business, contact The Women’s Organisation on 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk to find out how we can support you.

#WorkOnYourWellbeing: Tips for a happier and healthier life

The following blog was written by our Intern from Liverpool John Moores University, Cerys Evans.

Good health is more than physical health – it’s mental health. Wellbeing describes the state of being comfortable, happy or healthy. But your wellbeing is dynamic and can quickly change impacting our everyday lives. When your mental health is not how you would like it to be, when you feel stressed, overwhelmed or unable to cope, it can impact all aspects of your life.

So, this month, we’re asking women everywhere to #WorkOnYourWellbeing to feel more positive, happier and able to get the most from your life.

Here are some simple steps to better mental wellbeing.

The following steps have been researched and developed by the New Economics Foundation.

Connect - Spend time developing relationships with the people around you like friends, family and colleagues.

Be active - Find an activity that you enjoy and make it a part of your life.

Learn - learning new skills can give you a sense of achievement and a new confidence.

Take notice - be more aware of the present moment, including your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.

Give - be it the smallest or largest act, giving can improve your mental wellbeing and help you build new social networks.

Here at the Women’s Organisation our personal development programmes give women the chance to take time out for themselves and learn how to be the best version of themselves. With the pressures and stress that come with today’s society we are encouraging women to come along to our two new courses focusing on improving your mental wellbeing.

Step Beyond Stress

A one-day course in partnership with Citizens Advice designed to help the women of Liverpool improve their management of stress and identify coping strategies to support this. Mental Health Foundation claims that almost three quarters of people have at some point felt so stressed that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope – Step Beyond Stress seeks to help women identify coping strategies and better manage feelings of stress.

Motivate Your Mind

A one-day course in partnership with Citizens Advice enabling women to learn how to reduce stress by building positive think strategies, improve your ability to deal with difficult situations and therefore become a calmer and more resilient person.

These courses are open to women living in the Liverpool City Council area who are suffering from stress or living with a disability or health condition. To find out more, or enquire about booking onto either of these courses, please contact us on 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk.

Would you like to be a better leader and grow your business?

Do you want to develop leadership skills for your business? University of Liverpool are looking for individuals to take part in their GROWTH CATALYST programme to improve their skills & confidence.

The University of Liverpool has secured funding to deliver an Innovative business growth programme in the Liverpool City Region called Growth Catalyst.

Growth Catalyst is a six month leadership development programme, which includes business coaching, a series of masterclass talks, skills workshops, Action Learning and a business exchange visit, all underpinned by a network of likeminded individuals, keen to grow their businesses in an atmosphere of mutual support and trust.

Developed by experts in the field of leadership and management, Growth Catalyst employs an integrated delivery model, aimed at improving the performance of the business and the personal development and confidence of the owner/manager.

Elements include:

• 2 Day Leadership Retreat - Improve your leadership skills and set business development goals.
• 6 Hours of Business Coaching  - Help define your growth strategy 
• Action Learning - Progress ideas for new products and services through a Non-executive board of likeminded peers.
• A Series of 7 Master Classes with leading experts in marketing, leadership, strategy and growth.
• A Business Exchange - Take part in exchange visits to another business on the programme.

Benefits of the programme include:

• Proven improvements in the productivity and profitability of the business.
• Tools and Techniques to help you work ON the business rather than IN it.
• Help with the development of new products and services.
• Help to plan and execute a strategy for growth.
• A network of likeminded individuals that can help you grow your business.
• Improved leadership abilities and greater confidence.

For more information on how you can apply for a place on this EU funded programme, starting on the 9th May 2019. please contact Richard Holloway:

Or Visit the website: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/management/for-business/growth-catalyst/about/

£10K SME growth packages up for grabs with Sensor City

Technical innovation centre, Sensor City, has launched a competition to give SMEs the chance to win a fast-track growth package worth up to £10,000.

Three of the competition judges; Mick Card - KTN Dr Joanne Phoenix - Sensor City and Dr Princy Johnson - LJMU

Announced at last night’s AWS User Group Meet-Up, the package is designed to help start-up and small businesses scale, boost competitive advantage and innovative capabilities.

The project is part of Sensor City’s commitment to creating a UK focal point for the development of sensor technology, while building a community of companies that are at the forefront of innovation.

The growth packages include free hot desk and co-working space within Sensor City for six months, official membership status, credits for use of event space and access to specialist laboratories.

Successful businesses will also get access to Amazon Web Services’ Activate programme, which provides them with access to the technology infrastructure they need to scale and grow including credits, technical training, and wider business support. 

Dr Joanne Phoenix, interim executive director at Sensor City, said: “The growth package is a fantastic opportunity for start-ups and small businesses to leverage the specialist equipment and technological expertise we have in-house at Sensor City, which will help them to rapidly prototype their ideas and innovations.

“Using AWS will also provide the services these businesses need to scale-up, while increasing flexibility and reliability, so I’d encourage SMEs across all sectors to consider applying.”

To join the growth programme and be in with a chance of winning this bespoke prize, companies must fulfil the following criteria:  

• Be a registered company of SME status. 
• Work within the sensor or IoT sectors. 
• Have an existing product or be looking to develop new ideas.

Submissions are encouraged locally, nationally and internationally and should be completed by 5pm on Friday 22nd February. The judging panel, including experts from Sensor City, AWS, KTN, Pycom, University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University, will then review all submissions and determine which 10 SMEs will win the growth packages.

To apply for the programme, visit: https://www.sensorcity.co.uk/growth-package-entry-form/
The mechanical, electronic, optics and software laboratories at Sensor City house state of the art machinery and equipment, in addition to a dedicated team of engineers and academics who are available to provide customers with technical knowledge and professional support on a commercial basis.  

AWS is the cloud service division of Amazon Inc and works with some of the world’s hottest start-up and scale-up businesses, including Airbnb and Slack.

For more information about Sensor City, please visit: www.sensorcity.co.uk    
For more information about AWS, please visit: https://aws.amazon.com/?nc2=h_lg   

5 networking tips to help grow your business

With surveys showing that many people rank public speaking as a worse fear than dying, its not surprising that many of us try to avoid those dreaded networking commitments. But, is networking a trick that business owners can afford to be missing if they want to grow? We don’t think so!

Networking offers the chance to pitch your product or services to prospective clients and meet potential leads in the flesh. This is a unique opportunity to sell your business proposition in a compelling and authentic way. Small businesses simply can’t afford to miss out on opportunities to meet prospective clients and build brand reputation – so, business cards at the ready!

Here are our top tips for networking like a pro…

Click here to read the full piece

Yasmin's Story: "I learnt that I was not alone, Change it made me feel like I was part of something"

5 years ago, Yasmin Annie moved to Liverpool to start dance training at Lipa. Her career took off and she founded her own company 'Percaya Dance' whilst juggling being a dancer, performer & business woman. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious, she knew something had to change...

"I would get days where I just didn't see the point in anything I was doing and I felt like I couldn't handle anything alone. I felt I was pathetic and relied on everyone and that one day everyone was going to leave me and I'd be alone having to deal with life. I had no confidence in myself feeling like I had constantly to get reassurance off everyone, it was tiring and straining for people around me.

Yasmin Annie

I went on to do the ‘Change it’ course which came conveniently right after the break up. It felt like fate! During the ‘Change it’ course I learnt a lot. I learnt that I was not alone, even in a room full of ladies I’d never met. Change It made me feel like I was apart of something, because everyone in that room was going through something, they had their own battles, their own stories but we all at some point felt the same feelings! 

I didn’t feel 100% and I wasn’t sure how to change it. I’m obsessed with self help books and anything to help myself feel and be a better person. I've been to counselling, CBT, hypnosis and I think all these things are great and potentially could work more effectively for others, however for myself I couldn't keep up with the sessions as well as my hectic life.

Just before I went on the course, I went through a break up which meant I had to move out of my house and change my surroundings. This terrified me because I had to face one of my biggest fears: being alone, feeling abandoned and having to deal with life alone. My go-to reaction was ‘I can’t do that’.

The best thing about the programme was the trainer and the knowledge she had. Jenny is an asset to the Woman’s Org courses, she helped me a lot, she understood, cared and listened and had so much information to share.

I learnt so much, which I now use in my everyday life, which gets me through my days. I think I've have always been strong and confident deep down but I never told myself enough which was the issue! After leaving the course I reminded myself everyday that I was confident and that I could handle life on my own and that I am a strong person. It wasn’t always easy at first I felt like I was reading a script about someone else and it didn't connect to me at all! But everyday I developed and I started to notice a change and ways I would approach something in more of a positive way. I felt brave!

I still have a lot to learn and practice but I'm at a great place and I can and will handle what is thrown at me. I can do that by helping people, helping myself and helping in general through dance, and just having a tight network of women around me because I think we are good support for each other! 

Women who are thinking about doing ‘Change it’ Just do it! You won't lose anything from doing it. Only gain, gain a lot of amazing friends going through so many different things, which will broaden your mind! You will gain the knowledge that everyone has their own rough journeys but everyone's goal in the end is the same which is to be happy within themselves so why not help each other to get there. Finally you will learn that you deserve happiness and you will get there by following your own path!

I have changed a lot with the help of Womens Org and also by believing in myself that I can change things. I am so happy that I made the decision to go and I made that decision on my own and I am so proud of myself for how far I’ve come."

We have new dates available for Change it!

54 St James Street - Monday 14th January 2018, 10-3 (4 Sessions)


Wavertree Childrens's Centre - Tuesday 15th January 2018, 12:30-15:30 (5 Sessions)


Kensington Childrens Centre - Wednesday 16th January, 1-3 (8 Sessions with half term break in February)


Speke Childrens Centre - Thursday 17th January 2018, 9:15-12:15 (5 Sessions)


Belle Vale Childrens Centre - Thursday 24th January, 1-3 (8 Sessions)


If you’d like to find out more information about the programme or book a place, contact us on 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk and find out how we can support you.