A Powerful Day at Empowering Women In Business

The British Franchise Association (bfa) are proud to have seen another successful Empowering Women In Business conference come and go. Held this year at the Nottingham Belfry on November 15th, it was day filled with powerful stories, raw honesty, and mighty women.

This year marked the first time the event was open to women beyond the franchising sector, providing the opportunity for females from various industries and roles to join together and learn from some of the best and brightest. The key, core themes of the day included leadership, culture and well-being, designed for all women to resonate with and provide a platform for personal and professional growth, reflecting the needs of 2018.

Pip Wilkins and Emily Price, CEO and COO of the bfa respectively, opened the event and took centre stage, sharing their inspirational journey into leadership.

The open and honest approach garnered praise from many attendees, with many taking to twitter to applaud the powerful messages. Stephanie Wheat from StepohWheatHR said: “The most personal yet powerful lesson yet from @Pipwilkins @BFA_UK. Wow #EWIB one of the most impactful events I’ve been to,” while Rebecca Young, from BLM, commended the no holds barred presentation: “Great to start to #EWIB2018 – a raw, genuine & honest viewpoint into the @BFA_UK, its values and progression.

The opening presentation set the tone for the day, with Pip going on to monitor a diverse and lively panel of women that discussed the many aspects of leadership including role models, internal struggles and systemic issues. The speakers throughout the day harnessed the increasing feelings of empowerment of the attendees, such as the insightful talk about workplace culture from Franchise Development Consultant Laura Harvey Smith to the lively presentation from sassy duo Toni Eastwood OBE and Pauline Stewart.

Toni Eastwood founded Beyond 2030, a talent and skills organisation with proven experience of developing businesses and individuals. The pair pair ensured everyone participated in an exercise in which everyone wrote down on post-its what needs to be burned away in their lives, such as self-doubt, inhibitions, and anything else holding them back.

Keynote speaker Tanya Byron rounded off the evening with a charismatic, amusing and resonant speech, leaving everyone in the room with much food for thought.
A clinical psychologist professor, Tanya delved deep into the human brain, pinpointing the exact ways in which women doubt themselves and their abilities. One attendee who really captured the day was Sara Chesters, Operations Manager at Ableworld, who tweeted: “Really enjoyed attending the @BFA_UK  #EWIB conference today! The speakers were fantastic, especially @ProfTanya who was both informative and entertaining! This message says it all really! Met some truly fantastic ladies!”