Former NHS strategist launches business group for female entrepreneurs

A former NHS strategist  has set up a networking group for female entrepreneurs to network with one another after finding that she and other similar business owners felt lonely and isolated.

Catherine Labbett, of Ilkley, started here own psychotherapist and success coaching business two years ago, alongside working for the NHS. She now runs her business full-time after moving away from her demanding career in the NHS. Last week, she launched the Leeds Girl Tribe Gang group, after the success of the Ilkley branch she started earlier in the year; a structured networking group for business owners and entrepreneurs.

Labbett worked in the NHS for 16 years and  was finding it hard to find a work-like balance. She said: “It takes sheer courage to set up your own business and it can often be a lonely place. You are suddenly doing everything from scratch yourself. I found that female entrepreneurs were looking to be part of something inspirational”

Labbett says the group has come about after the rise of female entrepreneurial businesses and the need to provide a support network for other women. The group promotes collaboration, skill sharing and provides tips on how women can set up and make their own businesses.

She aims to make the networking business UK-wide and is now rolling out groups in Sheffield, Skipton, Manchester and East London.

Labbett added: “There is a whole generation of women who are taking risks and following their dreams and we are a hidden workforce. Often we can feel isolated and ‘out of the system’ but once we uncover others working in similar circumstances it is incredibly empowering to connect with them.”