Celebrating female leaders powering local entrepreneurship across the West Midlands

International Women’s Day is a global day that recognises and celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women while calling for continued progress toward gender equality.

At Business Growth West Midlands, we are committed to ensuring that all entrepreneurs and business owners are supported in their business journey regardless of their gender. Our Community Hub Leaders support their local communities day-in-day-out: through targeted business support, these leaders work to ensure that women are uplifted through every stage of their business journey, leveraging their expertise and connections to help the women around them.

The theme for this year's International Women’s Day is Give To Gain — encouraging a mindset of generosity and collaboration, emphasising the power of reciprocity and support. 

And so, we sat down with three of our Community Hub Leaders to ask more about the work they do in their local communities and how they’re empowering other women to turn their dreams into a reality and establish their own businesses.

We spoke in detail about their roles, a standout moment from their career, and what advice they’d give to women at the start of their business journey. Here’s what they had to say.

What motivates you to come to work everyday?

Davinder Kaur, founding member and Chief Executive of SWEDA, commented: "For me and my team, the biggest motivation is the local community members we work with every day.” 

Davinder reflected that she often feels inspired when walking around SWEDA, seeing people use its facilities, attending its workshops and sharing their stories. She adds: “Hearing about the struggles our clients face and the external challenges in their lives often makes us reflect on our own. Everyone has challenges, but when I see the resilience of our clients, it reminds me that if they can face what they are going through, I can face a difficult day at work.

"Many of our clients are dealing with things like health issues, illness, difficult home lives or job loss, yet they still show determination. They are the reason I get out of bed in the morning, even when the work is tough. If I can support them and help create a positive impact in their lives, that is what truly motivates me.” 

Davinder shared that at SWEDA, the support team try to celebrate every success of their clients, big or small, allowing a moment to see the tangible effects of their work and reminding them of the difference they make within their community.

What's one stand-out moment from your career when you know you made a real impact?

Josie Kelly, Chief Executive of Access To Business reflected on the number of stand-out moments she has experienced during her 23-year long career in this sector, but one in particular stood out to her.

In June 2017, Access To Business won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service and received an invitation to The Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. This award was also celebrated with an event in the Wolverhampton City Council Mayoral Suite where a Deputy Lieutenant presented Access To Business with the award.  Its staff, its Trustees, its volunteers, the Wolverhampton City Mayor, and many of its beneficiaries attended the event. 

Josie reflected on the achievement, “It was a very emotional day with such lovely comments from volunteers saying how proud they were and how they felt part of the Access To Business family.”

If you had one piece of advice for a women thinking about starting her own business, what would it be? 

Dr Christabell Amoakoh, Chief Executive and Founder of The Highlife Centre said that one piece of advice that she would give to a woman starting her own business is: take the first leap. 

Christabell said: “People always ask ‘what if?’ I ask ‘why not?’ If you don’t do it, somebody else will.” 

Christabell advises new business starters to not worry about barriers, take the first leap and that is when you will be provided with your first opportunities. She adds, “99% of success is failure. Don’t think about the barriers, just go and do it. When you take the first leap, that is when you see the first opportunities.”

Want to learn how our Community Hub Leaders can support your business growth journey? Get in touch with one of our team using this form.