We’re pretty damn proud to be co-founded by a woman.
Though we by no means underestimate the badassery of our male colleagues, let’s face it: women in business are underrepresented.
In 2017, only 5.6% of UK women ran their businesses, yet the highest proportion of newly self-employed are female entrepreneurs.
Narrow that down by industry, and we discover that women hold only 26.7% of tech-related jobs.
It’s a complex topic I’m not even going to dissect here today. Plus, this post is about celebrating the fantastic female entrepreneurs we have worked with and what makes them so successful in a world that isn’t always cut out to make female entrepreneurs thrive.
The fact is, though representation in our industry is low amongst us ladies, the rise of women in tech in recent years is incredible. Just looking at the Women in Tech list of 100 Tech Leaders, is enough to have faith there is plenty to celebrate.
From copywriters to coders, designers to developers, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most incredible female entrepreneurs. Their multidisciplinary skills have made them a force of nature.
And, of course, Andi and I are among them here at Made by Factory.
As a female-led digital agency, our internal culture promotes a healthy work-life balance that fosters productivity, time for personal interests, personal development and genuine flexibility for family life.
Having two of her children on the payroll and two young girls, she wants to spend time with our founder. Andi knows all too well that family come before Factory life. Each agency employee works flexibly to the hours which suit us, making home life balance easy.
As a woman, being able to schedule your work around children, hobbies, and another life commitment (not to mention our monthly cycle so we can be productive in the weeks we have brain capacity!) is a lifesaver.
Considering that Globally, women account for 47.7% of the global workforce, it makes absolute business sense that we offer a working environment that is flexible and collaborative and allows room for our female entrepreneurs to thrive with their working styles.
There are some women you meet that you know are genuinely unstoppable. Combining drive, passion and more than her share of expert knowledge, Sam Sloan is a powerhouse in the world of online people development.
As the founder of 123 People, Development, Sam has over 15 years of Coaching facilitation, design and training experience across a wide range of sectors, from financial services and contact centres to retail.
Working with her over the years, we have not only been inspired by her incredible business but have been lucky enough to learn a thing or two in the process!
Sam loves working with clients where her skills, knowledge, flexibility and commitment will make a real difference.
Recognising that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, Sam understands that development can be tailored to any organisation for a true return on investment by focusing on the business culture, behaviour and strategic goals.
Sam’s additional expertise is online delivery, design and accreditation of others. She has over ten years of experience in the online classroom arena and has developed hundreds of people, ensuring they provide impactful and outcome-focused learning in their sectors. She is learning to fly light aircraft in her spare time, and when not in the air herself, you will find her at the end of a runway watching!
What kind of entrepreneurs would we be if we neglected to inspire the next generation?
One of our long-standing clients, Helen Wilson, created the incredible award-winning A Star Tuition Group after providing her children with extra tuition became in demand with other parents.
Being a successful tutor with a proven track record for helping children of all ages to thrive, Helen quickly became the go-to for quality online tuition, growing a child-centred business about finding their unique gifts and learning styles.
Helen has taught hundreds of children with outstanding results. Her business has now grown to include a fantastic team of teachers, delivering high-quality English, maths, science & language support.
We loved bringing some relaxed vibes into the office when we worked with a local boutique yoga and wellness studio to transform her website design.
Imagined by lifestyle and wellness coach Jacqui Cooper, BeachyJax is a healing hub and designed to balance your mind, body and soul. The centre offers yoga classes, retreats, workshops, shamanic reiki energy healing and more.
As a self-led entrepreneur, healer and facilitator, Jacqui proves that you can run a successful business but stay true to your personal beliefs and practices.
In her work as a style coach, Jacqui uses colour to transform how people look and feel. It was evident that colour was going to play a big part in the new yoga studio, from the brightly coloured red door on arrival to the journey of colour throughout the interior.
We enjoyed mirroring her style in the website we built, allowing her website to reflect the energy of her business fully.
Aside from being a badass entrepreneur, designer web developer, SEO expert and mother of four, our director Andi is also a moderator for an online ADHD group for over 80k people: ADHD for Smart Ass Women.
Tracy Otsuka, the creator of this group, Tracy Otsuka, is an accredited & certified life coach specialising in women with ADHD. She also has a very successful podcast, of the same name, where she has racked up almost 200 episodes and over 3 million downloads.
Each episode aims to help women unlock their potential and harness the unique gifts the ADHD brain has bestowed upon them.
As a company containing several neuro-atypical staff members, we relished the opportunity to put our mark on the work of someone with whom we resonate. Tracy and her team wanted a new-looking site that they could edit and add to themselves, so naturally, we began work on a fresh WordPress install using our favourite visual editor: Oxygen.
Working with retail and eCommerce businesses is one of my passions and, dare we say it, expertise. Our in-house PPC and Google wizard Ben is an expert at conversion and watching those sales roll in to support the dreams of the entrepreneurs we work with.
Ruby and Daisy is a multi-award-winning ladies' boutique offering an exclusive selection of clothing, footwear, gifts and jewellery. Founded by women to empower women, Ruby & Daisy proves just how successful you can be when you invest in your business and trust a digital agency like ours to upgrade their marketing.
As a business with a very loyal social media following, Ruby & Daisy looked to the power of PPC marketing to increase market share. The main aim was to move to the next level and beyond.
We sure did that, increasing their conversation rate by over 250%! If you want to know how we did that, read about our approach to harnessing Google shopping here.
What kind of entrepreneur and marketer would I be if I didn’t use this as an opportunity to plug my own business? Aside from being the brains and brawn behind our digital engagement here at Factory, I am a female entrepreneur.
As a qualified holistic practitioner with a specialism in women’s health, I created Wild Samsara in 2016 to support women of all stages to find a healthy balance in their bodies the natural way.
Building my business up from scratch, I have managed everything from bookings, marketing, and accounts to developing online training, coaching other therapists and leading the conversation on natural menstrual health for women.
But just as every business owner knows, you don’t need to do it yourself. I took advantage of working for a digital agency to have the talented eagle eyes of Andi when developing my new website.
