Leading up to International women's day 2025 I have been thinking about my journey in the world of business as a female entrepreneur and how I feel about my achievements.
I am also turning 50 in less than a week and I have been really struggling to look back on the last 17yrs as a women in business and see what I have to show for it. What have I really achieved that will leave a lasting impact on the world. I know very deep for a Saturday morning, but for some reason turning 50 and facing the next chapter in my life without some of the most important female influences in my life, like my mum, has really thrown me.
I've spent hours pondering: Milliefox, who is she?
If you read my "about page", I'm a made up name from the childhood dream of running a business with my bestie. The best friend I have know since I was 15, and although we don't run the business together she has always been in the background as one of my biggest cheerleaders. But over the past couple of years I've really been trying to work out who I am as the face of Milliefox and a female entrepreneur.
My path to owning Milliefox has not been a smooth one, its been rollercoaster of ups and downs, but throughout I have been so lucky to be supported by so many other strong females.
Without my mum & mother in law, I could never have been a mum and a female business owner.
In April 2008 I decided, with the support of my husband and family to leave the toxic corporate world I was working in to start my first business. I had worked for over 18 years in hospitality and retail and these sectors were dominated by male figures, which lets kindly describe as not the most enlightened. I had to fight hard for every step on the ladder and even when I was in the top ranks the words "little woman", "must be that time of the month" and much worse, were thrown around like it was normal, if I dared to have an opinion that was not inline with my male colleagues.
On the day I handed in my notice, I felt both utter dread that I was no longer going to be earning a nice comfy salary, but also total excitement that my future path was now only limited by my imagination and hard work. Since then I have owned 4 businesses including Milliefox. I could look at the past 17 years as a series of failures but as I have come to realise each time I have moved on I have learnt a little more and grown as a person.
I opened a bridal shop in July 2008 and without my friend Kelly as a partner, I don't know that I would have had the confidence to open the doors on the first day.
She stood by me as did several other female colleagues over the 4yrs we were open and helped me start my woman in business journey. I battled through the financial crisis of Sept 2008, only 2 months after I opened and held my head above water until I had to finally give it up in 2012. For a long time I really felt like this was a failure, until I was speaking to another female business owner and explaining how when the crisis hit major suppliers, some open over 50years, had gone bust over night and she pointed out that if bridal businesses with over 50yrs experience had closed due to the financial crisis, I had done well to be profitable and stay open for 4 years. This was a totally new perspective for me. I had not failed the business had closed because of the business climate at the time.
Being tied into a lease I had to create a new business so I opened a community café, seeing first hand the poverty around me every day, I wanted to help. I have fought every day until 2019 to support my community and those worse off than myself with an informal food bank, form filling, meals and much more. Running a non profit really highlighted to me how broken the system is and how some of those in power when faced with choices to support or follow and agenda choose poorly.
This business really impacted my emotionally. With my mental health at an all time low I chose to step away from the non profit and follow my passion for all things cake.
Having trained in cake decorating with a local female run business Iced Yorkshire, I had discovered that my passion for baking could be a business so I opened the first version of Milliefox in October 2019.
Milliefox has been like a chameleon since it was launched. What started off as me on my own decorating celebration cakes in a tiny unit had to change when in March 2020 Covid changed the world. Since then we have adapted to every outside force that has come our way, but as I battle with the cost of living crisis, the unbelievable changes the new labour government have introduced that will damage small businesses even more and the pressure of supporting a team of 8 employees I am wondering why?
Then I go into my café and speak to the locals, especially the elderly in our community that rely on us for daily company.
I attend events such as the amazing birthday of Andrea Morrison where I was reminded I aren't the only one struggling, I aren't on my own and leave reinspired to work out what's next.
I network and collaborate with other businesses such as the amazing Gem who has Yorkie Indie Business and see in one room so many strong female entrepreneurs supporting each other with advice, words of compassion, recommendations an meaningful collaborations.
I have my team who want Milliefox to be a success and not just so they keep their jobs, but because they love what we do.
I am supported by so many women in business, Andrea as a coach, the ladies in my YSBB group who listen and don't ever judge, and all those on FB, Insta and Linkedin that comment, share and encourage on a daily basis.
And I have a group of amazing friends who support me in ways I cannot describe. The last 2 1/2 yrs without my mum have been the hardest I have ever known. She was my person and the one that always gave me a kick when I was feeling sorry for myself and my close friends have stepped into that role. They don't flannel me they just tell it how it is and sometimes you just need a bit of perspective when you are spiralling.
So I guess on reflection, what I have achieved in the last 17yrs as a female business owner is resilience, experience, knowledge, growth as a person and a supportive network who I know will be with me regardless of whether I bring them brownies or not. I do not know what the future of Milliefox holds but I do know that whatever it becomes it will be what I make it and I'm good with that.
I think that even though I'm not rich in monetary terms, I am rich in life and with those I choose to be in my circle and those who have pushed themselves in to make my life more colourful.
Who knows where Milliefox will be in the next 5yrs but I will still be growing, learning and supporting other females who choose to bravely strike out on their own.
