Scale Her Up: Female business stories and expert tips for business growth and success

In this episode, Brenda is joined by Zara Grant the multi award winning owner of Your Love Rara, a collection of businesses centered around promoting creativity in children. From being homeless in her teens to moving completely across the world, Zara believes in living a life with no regrets. When she started Your Love Rara Ltd it with 50 quid and a homemade costume, and she has now made it into a multifaceted company with over 20 employees. In today's podcast, Zara and Brenda speak about the challenges she has faced in running a business where people don’t take her seriously, the major impact COVID-19 had, and the importance of supporting small businesses in Aberdeen city center. Zara gets vulnerable and honest for our listeners and warns of the dangers of burnout and the importance of looking after yourself. It is an episode you won't want to miss! 

In today's episode Psychotherapist & Stress Management Coach, Nara Morrison joins Brenda Hector, to discuss impostor syndrome. From how to recognize it, to what may contribute it, and even some ways women and female entrepreneurs can combat it. Nara also speaks about what brought her into the psychology field, how she balances her personal life with her professional one and the advice she would give to her younger self. 

Born and bred in Aberdeen, Elaine is an expert is all things kitchen and remodeling. As an owner of John Willox Kitchen Design for over 10 years Elaine is well-versed and experienced in running a thriving business. In today episode, Elaine reflects on her journey to this point, the challenges COVID-19 brought to her business, and her advice to fellow business owners on how to shape their team ,and the key traits needed to create the perfect team. 

Rachel Mearns is the principal at the Aberdeen Academy of Performing Arts. She has a passion for dance and drama and has turned it into a successful full-time business. At her school not only does she teach a variety of ages but a variety of styles and disciplines. In today’s episode she shares her entrepreneurial journey from a roadside lemonade stand, to Young Enterprise at school, to then graduating with a Law degree and now running a thriving academy with over 400 pupils. Rachel and Brenda also discuss the current challenges facing businesses in Aberdeen city centre, the many hats business owners wear, and the 24/7 lifestyle you have as a business owner. 

It’s time to lay down the law. Today's episode features Stephanie Mann, A partner at Laurie & CO solicitors LLP. She specialises in all things property and estate law, helping people of all different backgrounds across Scotland. As a partner of an all-female partner firm, Stephanie speaks about the challenges she faced as a young female starting out in a generationally male field. She’s experienced all types of firms (big and small) and has been working since her first traineeship. Brenda and Her speak about the worries of managing your own business, her advice to the younger generations, and how she builds her perfect team. 

Today’s podcast is all about the money- specifically what women can do to plan for their finances. When Rhian Morgan started at Accumen Financial Planning in 2006, it was because she loved meeting and speaking to people within the financial sector. Nearly 20 years later she has risen through the ranks from paraplanner to financial advisor and is now a director at the company. In this episode, Rhiann and Brenda speak about what makes you want to stay at the same company for so long, the challenges she's faced as a woman in a male-dominated field, and the lessons she’s learned throughout her roles in the company. 

For the past 30 years Margeret has built her company Margeret Brown consulting, a leadership coaching business, from the ground up. After dropping out of university Margaret didn’t let that set her back, and instead threw herself into the workforce with zeal, she shortly found herself in sales- where her strong leadership and customer feedback allowed her to rise above the rest. After joining the business gateway program in the 90s, she created numerous courses focusing on sales strategy, effective leadership and personal growth. The course became nationally recognised, and gave her opportunities to coach businesses internationally and work with the Chamber of Commerce. On today's podcast Brenda and Margaret talk about what business coaching really is, challenges misconceptions around it, and how leaders can unlock their own awareness and scale their business up to a new level.  

After 17 years working in the financial sector Sarah Smith was made redundant in 2019. While some may view this as a loss, Sarah saw this as a sign for her to finally pursue her passion. So, in January of that year, Sarah started Lightbulb.Coach. A coaching service set out to help shape the futures of young people in school and beyond. In today’s episode Sarah talks about her journey as a business owner, speaks about what coaching is and the power it can have, gives her advice to the parents of young people who may be struggling and shares what she would tell her 18-year-old self. 

Elaine Arthur of QA Vehicle Solutions in a conversation with Brenda Hector  shares her experiences and insights on overcoming gender barriers in the automotive industry, creating a supportive work environment, and networking for business success. Elaine discussed her personal journey, the importance of treating staff like family, and emphasized the value of collaboration, networking, and learning from mistakes. The conversation highlighted the challenges and opportunities in the industry and the importance of building relationships and trust.

Brenda Hector and Denise Pitot of The ActionCOACH Foundation discuss the importance of instilling an entrepreneurial mindset in young people and nurturing their business ownership skills. They emphasize the need for access to childcare, funding, and visibility for female entrepreneurs, as well as the value of ActionCOACHes in helping owners become proficient at the operational aspect of their businesses. They also discuss the challenges facing female entrepreneurs in male-dominated environments and the importance of educating young people about entrepreneurship. The speakers emphasize the need for more women in business to encourage economic growth and add value to the UK economy, and highlight the potential benefits of involving schools and other institutions in entrepreneurship education programs.For more information or to support the Young Entrepreneur Smart Start program contact [email protected]

"If this won't matter in 5 years, don't spend long on it now" great advice from the founder of Planner Bee VA Services Maya Vertigans always knew that her fate was to be a business owner so she started straight out of university. In this episode, she talks to Brenda Hector of ActionCOACH about her journey and shares the message she would give to her 18-year-old self "Worry less and trust yourself, everything will work out" 

Caitlin Mackenzie and Jenny Soutar are serial entrepreneurs, sisters-in-law and 'The Property Girls'. Jenny describes herself as accidentally a business owner but as they tell their story it's clear that she has found her purpose. The Property Girls provide a comprehensive holiday let management service within 25 minutes of travel from Blairgowrie, the tourist heart of PerthshireIn this interview with Brenda Hector of ActionCOACH the girls share their philosophy for business and the advantages of partnering with a complementary personality style. 

Karin Ovari of Safety Collaborations explains how culture, communication and leadership can save money and lives in dangerous environments.

Ronnie Krupa is a tutor supporting pupils and students in various subjects through school, college and university. Realising that her time is finite, she has launched Walron Ltd, a tutoring agency to scale the service. Ronnie shares her learnings, challenges and goals for the future with Brenda Hector. 

Laura Mearns of Northwood North East chats with Brenda Hector about her journey as a business owner, growing her tight-knit high-performing team and the juggle of business and personal life. Her biggest tip for making it work...rest and recuperate when you need to. 

Rachel Fyfe of Tartan Competitions shares her entrepreneurship journey with Brenda Hector. Being self-employed has enabled Rachel and her husband to achieve a work-family-life balance.  

"Go be amazing you talented human!" is the mantra for success and personal growth at House of Hair in Aberdeen. Founder and Creative Director Lorraine Malcolm shares her story, her passion for making her customers feel good and her team feel empowered comes across loud and clear in this interview with Brenda Hector of ActionCOACH. Its not been a smooth journey but with the support of her network and loyal customers, some of whom have been with her for 20 years, and a lot of grit and determination has built a successful and award-winning salon. 

Karen Smith of BWC Aberdeen is in the spotlight with Brenda Hector. Karen shares her career journey from unqualified office junior to senior executive, director and shareholder, and solopreneur.  A skilled communicator, salesperson and coach, Karen shares her advice for creating a high-performing sales team. 'People buy from people' and the best salespeople are warm, honest, friendly and open.  Karen has recently launched the Aberdeen BWC (Business Women Connect) franchise and the response has been unprecedented demonstrating how important supportive networking groups like this are to the market https://www.bwcaberdeen.co.uk 

If you love cycling or mountain biking in some of the most remote and untouched wildernesses on the planet but, you're in need of an experienced guide, then Catherine Shearer, CEO at H+I Adventures can help you top that adventure!Now "15 years deep" into a prosperous business, she and her husband continue to craft life-affirming MTB and E-MTB adventures all around the world. If you're an entrepreneur looking for adventure this podcast episode is one you should not miss!

Join me as I sit down with Dineo Ledwaba-Chapman. She is an advocate for women’s wealth and financial well-being. As a specialist financial planner, she helps professional and entrepreneurial women Live For Today and Plan For Tomorrow.

Transformational life coach Gillian Fowler shares her inspiring story of overcoming serious injury and becoming a business owner. Find out about the collaboration between Gillian and Brenda, and join the 6-week Programme: HERE

Today we have Danae Shell the Co-founder and CEO of Valla with us on Scale Her Up. Danae shares her business story and we talk about getting investors or grants for your business. She will also talk about discrimination in the workplace and what you should be doing as an employer, as well as what to do when looking for new people to join your business.Danae: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danaeyshell/

This week I have Maggie Gorman the Business Support and Development Director at Ceteris (Scotland) Ltd with me on Scale Her Up. Maggie has an abundant history in business and is here to share her story. She shares some advice for starting and growing your business, tips to deal with a fluctuating economy and what you might do when selling your business.

This week on Scale Her Up I have Andrew Wright, The CEO and co-founder of SmartPA. He talks about his story and Empowering women. In its time, SmartPA has provided free training to over 30,000 women that didn't have access to any. So come join us and see what you can do to help build up the numbers of women in business.

This week on Scale Her Up I have Jago Brown from Lead5050 and Equality Starts at Home with me on the podcast. Jago talks about his personal life, and what we can do to help bring about equality in the workplace. We will also talk about flexible working and how you can manage a busy schedule with your home life. Jago's links:https://www.lead5050.com/https://www.equalitystartsathome.com/https://www.thirdshift.co.uk/

This week on Scale Her Up we have 3 guests. Catherine McManus, Catherine Livingstone and Laura Smith from Wylie & Bisset LLP are with me to talk about their experiences as women in the workplace. As well as this we will also discuss work-life balance in your business, motherhood while working, and communicating with clients.

This Week is a First for the Scale Her Up Podcast, we have a male guest! Brad Walsh Is the creator and host of the Empowerography Podcast. Empowerography is a platform that enables women to share their stories and successes with the world. So, this week Brad talks about his journey, his platform, and we discuss what we can all do to help women in and out of the business world.Brad's Podcast:https://empowerographypodcast.square.site/home

This week I have Diana Muzzall from Jotolio Photography and Video Marketing Confidence. She talks about her experience of running her business for 22 years and what she has learnt along the way. She also shares some tips of what you can do to help you with making and marketing your videos, as well as some of the things you can expect to see when starting.Video Marketing Confidence: videomarketingconfidence.com

This week I have Gillian Martin, an MSP for Aberdeenshire East in the SNP. She is the founder of the Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire branches of Women for Independence and is on the podcast today to talk about the enterprise gap in Scotland and the UK, her experience in running a business and what we can do to help bring change to the current gender gap in self-owned businesses.

This week on the Scale Her Up podcast I have Nicola Davidson from Optimul and The Success Formula Academy. We talk about Creating a good work culture for your business and employees, dealing with burnout and about her newly launching Business The Success Formula Academy.

This week on Scale Her Up I have Laura Friedl-Hirst, Managing Director and Principal Consultant at LFH Regulatory Limited. We talk about her journey as a business-woman, the importance of her team to her business and some tips for people looking to start and grow their businesses.

This week on Scale Her Up I have Claire Middlebrook of Middlebrooks Business Recovery & Advice. We chat about managing a team, the flexibility of working on your own business and selling businesses.

Wendy Harris from Making Conversations Count LTD is with me this week on the podcast. We talk about conversing with customers, and telemarketing, as well as her story of becoming an entrepreneur, and how she balances running her business and living her life.Making Conversations Count: wagassociates.com

This week Adriana Alvarez joins me on the podcast. Adriana is the CEO and Founder of AMA Publishing where she teaches women how to start highly profitable publishing companies. Her goal is to create 10,000 female owned publishing companies by 2027. She talks about how she got round to stating her business, personal challenges she dealt with and how she overcame them, and how to incorporate your business online(and if you need too!).Adriana's Website: adrianamoniquealvarez.com

In this heartfelt episode of Scale Her Up, Brenda is joined by Abi Clarke, founder of MISS – Miscarriage Support. Abi shares the story behind starting and running a non-profit organisation that supports women and families through pregnancy loss, and the realities of building and sustaining a mission-driven organisation.Abi talks openly about the emotional and practical challenges she’s faced along the way, from doing “all the things” herself in the early days to learning how to delegate, build a team and create more sustainable ways of working. She and Brenda explore the differences between running a charity and a traditional business, and the similarities when it comes to leadership, vision and resilience.You’ll hear about the impact MISS is having in communities, how Abi looks after herself while holding space for others, and her hopes and plans for the future of the organisation. This is an inspiring listen for anyone running – or thinking about starting – a non-profit, social enterprise or purpose-led business.In this episode, we cover:Abi’s personal journey to founding MISS – Miscarriage SupportThe realities of starting and growing a non-profitLearning to delegate and trust your teamBalancing passion for the cause with the demands of running an organisationWhy boundaries and self-care matter for founders in the caring spaceAbi’s vision for the future of MISS and the support it providesPerfect for you if:You’re a female founder or leader in the non-profit or social impact space, or you’re considering starting a charity or community organisation and want a real, honest insight into what it takes.Abi's Socialhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/abi-clarke/MISS - Miscarriage Support https://miss-support.org.uk/

To celebrate the 1 year anniversary of The Scale Her up Podcast, our host Brenda Hector has the microphones turned on her this week as Wendy Harris from ‘Making Conversations Count’ podcast asks her about the route to entrepreneurship and Business coaching. Brenda opens up about her biggest business challenge which is her personal battle through peri-menopause and how she has helped other entrepreneurs cope with menopause in business.Scale Her Up: https://www.facebook.com/groups/scaleherupWendy's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyannharris/Wendy's Podcast: https://makingconversationscount.com/

This week I am joined by Anne-Lise Kadri, a woman who switched her career to her hobby after working as a teacher for over 20 years. She Talks about how her experience as a teacher has helped her to coach other voice actors and use timetabling to manage her work week, as well as what you can do making the switch and how others could benefit .

This week I am joined by Rebecca Wiener McGregor, a consulting hypnotist certified by the National Guild of Hypnotists. She talks about how practices such as meditation and mindfulness can free you from your woes in your entrepreneurial journey. Join me this episode for some inspirational and eye-opening tips and insights to help you on your journey.

Kaitlyn Carlson, the founder and CEO of Theory Planning Partners, is with Brenda this week to chat about her journey as a Financial Advisor and entrepreneur. She shares some tips for your running your business as well as the benefits of having a financial plan.

This week I have Monica Gostic, an award winning nutrition coach and scientist in to talk about how building your personal health can help with managing your business.Links : www.monikagostic.comwww.instagram.com/healthnfitness_coach/www.facebook.com/DrMonikaGostic

Ciara Stockeland talks about how she has built businesses throughout her life and tips for what you can do when building your business to help you become a successful entrepreneur.Links:www.ciarastockeland.com www.theboutiqueworkshop.comwww.linkedin.com/in/cstockelandInstagram:@cstockeland@joinboutiqueworkshop

Lisa Clunie of Thrive Studios talks about her journey as a businesswoman and why your personal brand is important to your business.

Sarah Harley discusses her journey as a businesswoman, taking over from her mother and working alongside her husband. As a lettings agent in Aberdeen, through global economic crises, oil price crashes and a pandemic, she certainly knows that "success through hard times is very satisfying"

Hannah Lloyd shares her top tips to becoming the most connected person in the area, and being a finalist in the Association of Scottish Businesswomen Awards (Spoiler: she only went and won it!!)

Australian single Mum and entrepreneur Sandy Forster shares her journey to becoming wildly wealthy. You can connect with Sandy using her social media links below Facebook Page: Https://www.facebook.com/Sandylforster/ Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/LawofattractionprosperitysecretsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandylforster/ About Sandy: https://www.wildlywealthy.com/about-sandy/ Website: https://www.wildlywealthy.com

Susan Crichton from SJC+0 is an accountant with novel perspective. In this interview she shares her journey as a businesswoman as well as how the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz and becoming a Profit First Practitioner has transformed her business and those of her clients.

Kate Stott of Beauty Booker, Female Tech Founder, Scottish Businesswoman of the Year 2019, Beauty Entrepreneur of the Year 2019. Founder of Most Innovative Hair & Beauty App -UK 2020 shares her experiences of building her tech business and supporting other business women in the beauty industry through challenging times

Stacy Edghill of Hibiscus Media and Events shares her top tips for using LinkedIn in business. Stacy gives some of her best advice from the highly successful LinkedWin training courses

Rosie Barron is a professional organiser and declutterer who homeschools her 4 children, looks after her 8 horses and runs her own business. In this episode we discuss the challenges of women in business and the synergies and similarities between coaching and decluttering.

Judith shares her journey from the heady days of girl power in the 90s to juggling motherhood and running her own £multi-million business