‘Behind anything successful is a strong powerful woman’

With a host of International Women’s Day events taking place across the West Midlands, offices also ensured the women of their companies were celebrated.

At The Boutique Workplace Company on 102 Colmore Row, a women’s networking event took place for members of the co-working space to discuss business over prosecco and strawberries.

Darcy Laceby, co-founder and CBO of Absolute Collagen recently joined the space at 102 Colmore Row and discussed her journey as a young woman in business.

“My honest opinion is it has been tricky in this space since co-founding the business at 20, people never used to take me seriously, and I struggled with that (I am still often asked if I am the marketing assistant when I meet people for the first time).

“I am the first person to admit I do not know something and ask for help, I know my team are great at what they do, they have more experience than me and I can learn massively from them. I used to worry this was seen as a weakness, but in reality, it’s allowed me to create really good bonds and grow respect with employees and suppliers.

“I’m very solution-focused, possibly a learned skill over the last 5 years, which has been key in making our business successful as we have hit a stumbling block, assessed it and moved forward quickly as a team regardless of the severity.

“Success really is about caring. Whether that’s about the finest details, our employee’s wellbeing or most importantly of all about our customers, the Absoluters.”

Daniel McLeod, the commercial manager at Boutique Birmingham credited the women who co-work in his office but also the women from his own team.

He said: “I was keen to ensure that all the ladies of Boutique Birmingham were celebrated in a way that they deserve. People say that behind anything successful is a strong powerful woman.

“I’m very fortunate to have two strong amazing women that I work with, in both Belinda Morden and Aga Kuzmiuk, who without, this building would not be the success it has been to date and I’m sure this goes for the majority of businesses.”