I recently attended an event as a Guest Speaker, and was invited to talk about something that I was passionate about to inspire and entertain a room full of business owners and entrepreneurs. So, I decided to talk about my journey as an entrepreneur and the bumps in the road that come with it.
The event, hosted by The Real Entrepreneurs Club in Leicestershire, took place at a beautiful venue called Winstanley House, and saw business leaders from all industries gather to enjoy good food and make those all-important business connections.
Although I’ve run successful technology businesses for over a decade now, as well as collecting an MBE for Services to Women in Business in 2018, taking my place at the lectern and talking in front of a room full of people still doesn’t come easy! I have a lot of respect for my peers and so delivering my piece successfully to them meant an awful lot.
I began with a brief timeline of my career, going right back to my first job as a child; a paper round that lasted just a single day (I offered to change their process to make things easier and got a promotion from day two!). We weaved through my milestones, from Accounting jobs to IT leadership and finally to launching and running my own technology business – e-bate, rebate management software.
I think letting your guard down when speaking is key to making a real human connection, so I talked about some difficulties too, such as my dyslexia and my cancer diagnosis which came at a rather inconvenient time when going out for investment, but I’m pleased to say I got through it – the investment and the cancer!
I decided to finish my talk with a poem; I wanted to do something different and hoped that this would help to inspire other female entrepreneurs and explain what keeps me motivated. So here it is, it’s called, ‘I am a Female Entrepreneur’.
I am a female entrepreneur
I am a female entrepreneur,
A woman, a fighter – my pronoun is ‘HER’.
I believe in impossible, though the road’s littered with test,
I believe in myself, I forgot about the rest.
This message to you, if you’d care to know,
Is my story to encourage you to strap in and GO.
If you think with your head and listen to your heart,
I promise you’ll get off to a flying start.
Take risks, stay focused, and you’ll start to progress,
Remember innovation is an endless quest.
They’ll say ‘it’s impossible’, they’ll say, ‘hey don’t shout’,
But you must carry on, no hesitation, no doubt.
Always dream big, always let passions shine,
If you don’t, there’s a chance you won’t end up with a dime.
Make bold moves, but always play fair,
Say please and thank you – don’t you know its cool to care?
Take flying leaps straight into the unknown,
Create, learn and listen, this will make you grow.
Do what you love, and love what you do,
This advice from me is nothing new.
Try to see the bigger picture and believe in yourself,
Me? I learnt I contribute to something bigger than myself.
Stop worrying about whether your business will be a hit,
Rise to the challenge and say… ‘let’s do it”!
I am a female entrepreneur,
A woman, a fighter – my pronoun is ‘HER’.
