More than eighty women attended a seminar at Chiswick Park, hosted by Enjoy-Work on Friday 11th January to find out about setting up their own business. This was the second ‘Entrepreneurial Women – Taking the Start-up Challenge’ event organised by local MP Mary Macleod.

Speakers from StartUp Britain, The Prince’s Trust and MetroBank gave practical advice on the “do’s and don’ts” of setting up a business and the finance and support available to women. The President of the Brentford Chamber of Commerce also spoke about benefits of networking and the support available for local businesses there.

London-based entrepreneur, Jessica Rose, Founder and Director of the London Jewellery School told the story of how she overcame numerous challenges along the way to create a successful business with a half a million pound turnover.

Mary Macleod commented:

“I am a passionate believer in women in business and was impressed to see so many women at last week’s event from a whole range of ages and backgrounds – we clearly have a large number of budding female entrepreneurs outthere and I want to do everything I can to help them on their way. Only 15% of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK are led by women right now and over 150,000 start-ups would be created if women started businesses at the same rate as men. There is so much support available now for those who want to set up their own business but it can be a scary prospect and you need to know where to go for help.

I hope these events will help share that knowledge, build local networks and create some future success stories. It’s not just about getting more women to set up businesses – it’s about making sure they are the right businesses and that they continue to grow and prosper.”