10,000 Small Businesses UK Female Founders on Running a Business

Panelists and Ventures

• Harriet: Founder of Mallow & Mosh, a retail marshmallow brand.
• Anna: Managing Director of Look Fabulous Forever, a skincare and makeup brand for women over 55.
• Michal Silver: Co-founder of Christopher, a London-based textile design studio known for bold patterns.
• Rachel Jackson: Founder and Creative Director of Rachel Jackson London, a designer jewellery company known for subtle personalization.

Strategies for Challenging Situations

• Harriet employs a "step back" mechanism, utilizing trusted business peers as sounding boards to validate the severity of issues.
• Anna reframes problems as solvable opportunities to build new supplier or client relationships.
• Michal adopts a macro perspective, comparing business struggles to global issues and adhering to the mantra: "Everything is always all right in the end; if it's not the end."
• The group consensus identifies the ability to view challenges as solvable opportunities as a distinct entrepreneurial trait.

Funding and Investor Relations

• Harriet has relied on self-funding to date and is currently seeking investment to accelerate growth and hire key roles.
• Anna highlights that the primary value of her investors lies in the board's strategic advice regarding capital allocation and business growth, rather than just liquidity.
• Investors at Anna's company include experienced entrepreneurs who provide reassurance during transitional periods by sharing similar past experiences.
• Formal board meetings occur quarterly, but Harriet and Anna engage in fluid communication, ranging from weekly calls during crises to silence for months during stable periods.
• Anna and Harriet disclose a pattern of high emotional transparency with investors, utilizing them for both strategic support and emotional reassurance.
• Participants suggest this "emotional leveraging" of investor relationships may be more common among female solo founders compared to male counterparts, who may maintain a facade of constant composure.

Work-Life Balance and Personal Practices

• Harriet manages balancing work with raising a one-year-old and a five-year-old by strictly separating contexts: fully focused on work when working, and fully focused on family when at home.
• Harriet has implemented a strict policy of zero work activity from Friday to Monday to prevent monitoring e-commerce metrics from negatively impacting her parenting.
• Michal works approximately two hours on Sunday nights to plan the week, maintaining a clear boundary between office and home environments.
• Anna notes that early entrepreneurial phases often involve total consumption by work, necessitating a conscious effort to schedule and protect personal time later.

Advice for Aspiring Female Founders

• Harriet advises potential founders to maintain high passion and hard work, acknowledging the high risks and rewards of entrepreneurship.
• Anna recommends focusing on personnel strategy, specifically securing the right people for the right roles.
• Michal encourages founders to enjoy the journey, suggesting that enjoyment is essential even during difficult periods.