Contributors

About Mavis Amankwah

Mavis Amankwah is an award winning entrepreneur, specialising in marketing, PR, diversity communications and business sustainability. Mavis is the Managing Director of Rich Visions, a communications, marketing and PR agency, which specialises in helping mainly corporate and commercial organisations to reach diverse audiences across the UK.

About Seema Rampersad and Irini Efthimiadou

Irini Efthimiadou and Seema Rampersad both work for the Business and IP Centre at the British Library. Irini Efthimiadou is the Service Liaison Manager of the “Innovating for Growth” project of the British Library’s Business & IP Centre, acting as point of liaison between the project and the core services offered. She has 20 years experience working as innovation management consultant for businesses and public organisations. Seema Rampersad works as a corporate and business librarian. A current member of The Research Service in the Business and IP Centre, she has also worked for the Greater London Authority and for PricewaterhouseCoopers. At present, she is interested in social media and the use of multimedia as business and professional development tools for managing and delivering information and knowledge.

About Jane Blackmore

Jane Blackmore is a freelance writer, blogger and editor and mother to three. She can be mainly found on her own blog: www.northernmum.com or clutching a glass of wine in the kitchen trying to feed a family of five. Hobbies including reading, trying to pen the next greatest novel and running the odd marathon.

About Rachel Bridge

Rachel Bridge is a business writer and author of five books about Entrepreneurs, including her latest, How to start a Business without any Money. She is the former Enterprise Editor of The Sunday Times and now writes an opinion column on small business issues for The Sunday Telegraph. In 2010 she took a one-woman show about entrepreneurs called How to make a Million before Lunch to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

About Roxanne Castillo

Roxanne Castillo is a freelance writer and native of Los Angeles, CA. Her writing varies in topic but most often deals with law, politics, and business.

About Sam Collin

Sam joined the Community Development Finance Association (CDFA) as Communications Officer in June 2012. She works on press and PR campaigns, website development, publications and marketing.

About Luciana Cousin

Luciana Cousin is a Director at Foster Principles; a company specialising in helping women and women in business reach their full potential. With over 20 years of corporate experience, she dynamically applies keen entrepreneurial perspectives to design and create innovative strategies. The result is both a clear vision of the future as well as a practical and realistic plan for implementation.

About Suzanne Crouch

Suzanne is a skilled and insightful coach and facilitator who has worked for the last twenty years in the field of personal development in the private, public and voluntary sector. She is a director of The Eos Programme which is a challenging personal development programme for women. The Eos Programme concepts and experience have helped women in all walks of life to enrich their personal lives and to improve their performance at work. Free taster events held monthly in Norwich and the Thames Valley.

About Jill & Jasmine Cunningham

Jill & Jasmine Cunningham are the directors of Essential Care4Children which is part of Essential Social Enterprises CIC. They are a new group of social enterprise companies providing inclusive & innovative services to communities nationwide. Essential Care 4Children provides flexible, affordable childcare & very soon co-working spaces with crèche facilities.

About Sarah Daniels

Sarah is Founder of the RedCat Partnership Ltd - a team of ex- enforcement officers who now help protect businesses by offering pragmatic & up to date advice and training on Health & Safety (Safety Policies & Risk Assessments), Food Safety including HACCP & Environmental Health Matters.

About Katie Day

Katie Day is a sought-after speaker and consultant who leads self-development programs on confidence, assertiveness, self-belief and other topics important to women around the world. Her book The High-Heeled Leader: Embrace Your Feminine Power In Life And Work is out now.

About Anne Denny

Anne Denny is a Parenting Consultant, Educator and Psychotherapist, she runs Positive Parenting classes; in several locations within the Richmond Borough, in private home and at her clinic. She is also available to give talks and short classes in Schools and to small private groups. For more information drop her a line at anne@annedenny.com or see her website www.annedenny.com

About Anne Francis

Anne set up her first business in 1985. She currently runs Carnival Consulting specialising in socially motivated business support and a fitness company Nia Norfolk. She regularly contributes to local media, is ambassador for Norwich Lanes, a Princes Trust mentor and on the committee of FSB.

About Lynne Franks

Lynne is a business woman, author, broadcaster and speaker, described by the world's media as a lifestyle guru and visionary. She is the founder of SEED – Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics – a provider of women's learning and coaching programmes on economic empowerment, sustainable business practices and creative leadership, as well as a global on and off-line women's support network. In 2010 Lynne launched B.Hive, a series of unique and stylish women’s business lounges and hub, in London, Manchester and Bristol, in collaboration with the Regus Group. www.bhive.co

About Gillian Hall

Moving from the arts to mediation and still encouraging the use of vocal chords, but in a different way! Leading five organisations in growth strategies has evolved into developing Lucent Talking. I work to help others to hold brighter conversations, replacing stormy meetings and resolving stalemates.

About Cassie Hicks

Women’s Way To Wealth provides training, information and support for mums who want to start their own businesses from home. Cassie specialises in showing people how build a business from the ground up, on a shoestring budget.

About Gillian Hoffman

Gillian Hoffman, founder of 19Events (www.19events.co.uk) knows where it’s at. London’s go to event organiser, with over 15 years experience, Gillian and her team know exactly what it takes to create exceptional and memorable events. Gillian’s clients range from celebrities organising the party of the decade, to corporate PA’s, events teams and HR departments from the world of media or finance organising a conference for 40 people or the much anticipated Christmas Party. From venue-finding and event management, to the procurement of tickets, corporate hospitality, sponsorship, production and entertainment, they do it all.

About Nikki Howes

Nikki Howes runs Hope to Heal based in Teddington, Middlesex. She offers short and long term therapy to clients. Website link: www.hope2heal.co.uk

About Aedan Kernan

About Jeanette Lendon

Jeanette is one half of Cocoon Photography and Cocoon Corporate Photography. They are based in Hertfordshire, but travel extensively both nationally and internationally specialising in natural light photography, either in their studio or out on location. They especially pride themselves on making women look and feel fabulous about themselves, whatever their age, shape or size.

About Christina Lima

Christina Lima is a director at Clevertim Ltd. which provides an online contact manager and simple CRM for small businesses. The web app is intended to help small businesses keep track of their leads, follow up, build a business intelligence of their communication with their leads and customers and improve sales.

About Melanie Maritz

Mel Maritz is a Marketing and Business Development consultant, Business Mentor and Coach focused on helping women in business. Mel specialises in helping SMEs take newly conceived ideas to market. She is currently consulting for a senior partner practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management.

About Gail Morgan

Gail Morgan is a fantastic stylist who specialises in helping clients to keep things stylish to their look. She helps clients work out what to wear, make the most of the clothes they have and also buy gorgeous new outfits to make them feel fabulous. Gail Morgan, trains women to become personal stylists.The Study in Style Courses are audited and accredited to cover the standards of the City & Guilds/FIPI Masters Award in Image Consultancy.

About Galia Orme

Galia Orme is the founder of CHOC Chick Raw Chocolates Ltd. Having grown up with pure and authentic chocolate in South America, Galia rediscovered the benefits of raw chocolate and after realising how simple it is to make at home, she decided to spread the love of making chocolate and make her recipes and organic cacao ingredients available to all. In 2011 Galia visited cacao plantations and cooperatives in Ecuador and now imports her organic cacao directly from the farmers. Her CHOC Kits and organic cacao powder and cacao butter are available at John Lewis Food Halls, Harvey Nichols, Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic, Goodness Foods, Infinity Foods, Westmorland and many other independent delis and farm shops across the UK and Europe.

About Richard Patey

Richard is a search, social and content marketer who primarily works with charities and social enterprises through his company Profit Is Good Ltd, a social venture incubator. He's also big on ecommerce (founder of iPanorama Prints), tech startups and snowboarding.

About Joanna Pieters

Joanna Pieters founded Time Wizard to help busy people make more of their lives. An MBA and former magazine publisher at major UK companies, Joanna works particularly with busy families, businesses and entrepreneurs to help them make the best use of their energy and talents by focusing on what they do best and building a support team around them. http://www.timewizard.co.uk/

About Ashley Roberts

Ashley Jane Roberts is a freelance writer who is passionate about green solutions as well as innovative business strategies. She is a frequent guest blogger with an entrepreneurial, eco-friendly edge.

About Sarah Steel

Sarah founded The Old Station Nursery Ltd in 2002, after a search for high quality local childcare left her thinking that there was a gap in the market. It has been a challenging 9 years since then, but has undoubtedly been a success story. The company now runs 13 day nurseries across the UK and has been recognised with a number of industry and business awards.

About Sue Stockdale

Sue Stockdale is a motivational speaker, executive coach and works with women-owned businesses around the world. She was the first British woman to ski to the Magnetic North Pole and is author of The Growth Story, Secrets of Successful Women Entrepreneurs, Kickstart your Motivation, and co-author of Cope with Change at Work and The Personality Workbook.

About Louise Third

Louise is a Nottingham-based business owner whose interest in smaller firms and enterprise has taken her though a career as a business adviser, consultant, national policy adviser, and PR expert. Louise is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

About Mui Tsun

Mui is an award-winning baby and child photographer based in Norfolk. After many years in employement, Mui returned to her first love of photography and set up her business in 2010. Having been through the ups and downs of running her own business, Mui is passionate about helping other business women realise their dreams.

About Joanne Tucker

Joanne Tucker is the technical director and co-owner of Clickdocs.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of legal document templates for small businesses. She enjoys balancing the demands of work with those of raising a young family – so long as it’s accompanied by the occasional glass of wine.

About Erika Watson

Erika is an inclusive enterprise consultant, trainer and business writer. Specialist in women in business & social enterprise - and editor of Prowess 2.0. Drop me an email: erika [at] greenwellconsulting.co.uk

About Lianne Wilkinson

Lianne has over a decade of experience within marketing, having worked with a number of major blue-chip clients in the UK. In 2009, Lianne co-founded Cheshire based Engage Web, a digital content development and marketing agency with a global client base.

About Staff Writer