The day I went to The House Of Lords!

This time last month I was at The House Of Lords! How strange does that sound! I still can’t really believe I was listed as one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs, so I thought writing a blog about it might help it all sink in.

Jen Walker, Debbie Clarke and Hana Glover at The House Of Lords for f:Entrepreneur #ialso top 100

Back in October I was sent the information about f:Entrepreneurs #ialso campaign by my bank manager. I spent several weeks debating with myself whether to apply but after lots of encouragement from other women in business I decided I had nothing to lose.

f:Entrepreneur campaign message

The f:Entrepreneur #ialso Top 100 is designed to celebrate and showcase amazing female entrepreneurs from all over the UK. It highlights women describing their work as so much more than just a single job or career.

The application involved answering what my business does, how I got there and what else I do. Along with questions on what I’ve learnt over the years and what advice I’d give to myself when I first started out. If you’re curious to know it would be; not to give up on anything you really want to achieve, and don’t be afraid to be yourself!

I found the application both quite hard, like most people I can be my own biggest critic and quite a positive experience. By taking a step back and analysing my journey I could see how far I’ve come.

In January I was amazed to discover my application was successful!

As part of the celebrations for International Women’s Day I was invited to a fancy event at the House Of Lords. This was well out of my comfort zone but fortunately I discovered I wouldn’t be travelling to London alone. I was delighted to discover that two other Nottingham entrepreneurs were among the top 100; Debbie Clarke of Debbiedooodah and Jen Walker of the Split Screen Coffee Company.

Debbie is a business coach, podcast host, lecturer and founder of the blue stockings network! Find her at www.debbiedooodah.com

Debbie Clarke of Debbiedooodah

Jen is a coffee genius, Small Business Saturday top 100 the face of a Sage advertising campaign and more! Find her at www.thesplitscreencoffee.co.uk

Jennifer Walker of The Split Screen Coffee Company

The highlight of the event for me was listening to the inspirational Martha Lane Fox speak. It was fascinating to hear her talk about founding LastMinute.com before the internet had taken off. She had several engaging and amusing stories about being a female in business.

Martha Lane Fox speaking to the f:Entrepreneur top 100

My amazing travel companions helped me forget how anxious I was and turned the day into one of the most memorable days of my life! Over the last year I’ve been lucky enough to work with and meet so many incredible women. Nottingham really is an amazing nurturing place to run a business. 

Listening to the inspirational Martha Lane Fox at The House Of Lords