West Bridgford entrepreneurs pledge to help 6,000 female business owners

Claire Dunn and Sarah King

Two West Bridgford women are pledging to help 6,000 female founders start and grow their own business by 2025.

Claire Dunn and Sarah King have set up Work.by Design to support women across the UK as they make the leap from corporate or professional careers, set up new ventures or boost their already established businesses.

The new membership platform aims to build an online community of female entrepreneurs offering practical support, hosting events and workshops, and sharing unique online and interactive coaching programmes. It also provides a sounding board of like-minded people to share expertise and knowledge.

Dunn, who was head of customer experience, sale and marketing at Accelerate Places, and King, who held management positions at Capital One, both left their senior roles in the corporate world to set up and run their own successful businesses before creating Work.by Design.

King said: “Research tells us one in eight women want to set up their own business and that one in five UK small businesses is female founded, so we know there is a real desire out there to make the move but it can seem like a scary thing to do.

“Our aim with the community platform is to give women access to practical support and know-how to fuel their own confidence as entrepreneurs and in turn grow their businesses.”

This comes on the back of the recently published Rose Report which recognises the experience and challenges faced by female founders. This report led to a new strategy by the Government to see 600,000 women set up on their own by 2030 and Work.by Design is aiming to help 6,000 of those female founders on their journey.

Dunn said: “The work we are doing is already having an impact locally, the women we are currently working with are all ambitious for their businesses and the impact they want them to have and they all seek flexibility – the desire to design work lives that fit around them and the commitments they have.

“In the last six months, we’ve tested and developed coaching programmes and a platform that we know works – we know it works because we’re constantly talking to the women we’re serving – understanding what they need and designing our services in response to that.”

The pair are running an online Business Bootcamp from 16th September – a taster of the full 10-week Maven! Programme.

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