HERE at Fabulous, we’re passionate about raising up and supporting other women – which is what inspired us to create our #BOSSINGIT series.
Since launching in January 2019, we’ve spoken to 90 incredible female founders who have built their extraordinary businesses from the ground up.
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It aims to inspire other women and show that if these ladies can do it, so can you!
On top of this, you can also find our inspiring ambassador and columnist Karren Brady – who is Lord Sugar’s right-hand woman on The Apprentice and vice-chairperson of West Ham FC – dishing out career advice every week.
Karren said: “I am a passionate supporter of encouraging women to learn new skills to help give them the confidence to reach out and achieve their ambitions.
“Bossing It shares different stories, as well as practical tips and advice, which I hope will inspire future entrepreneurs.
“The incredible businesses we have featured show just what can be achieved with grit and determination.”
In the past two and a half years, #BOSSINGIT has helped boost dozens of businesses.
Here, seven female founders reveal how sharing their story with us catapulted their company to the next level by increasing sales and traffic to their brands.
Cherish Reardon – Popsy Clothing
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In March 2017, Cherish Reardon, from Tamworth, was struggling to adapt to life as a stay-at-home mum when she started exploring ways she could work for herself.
After being bullied as a teenager, the mum struggled enormously with anxiety and couldn’t even order food in a restaurant as it involved talking to someone she didn’t know – yet alone apply for jobs.
Keen to explore the prospect of working from home, Cherish reached out to a local designer for help creating a range of vintage-inspired dresses – and Popsy Clothing was born.
After Cherish featured in our Bossing It series in January 2020, the businesswoman says there was a massive spike in sales.
She said: “We had a sales increase, in particular on Wednesday 8th January with an increase of 30% that day.
“And that week there was an additional 700 visitors directly from the Bossing It campaign.”
Reflecting on how the feature boosted her business, Cherish said: “Over the last 18 months we have received so many lovely messages from people who have read the article and have been inspired by our story, in particular women who have previously been bullied.”
Baby Chum – Laura Boswell and Laura McBride
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Despite the fact the coronvirus crisis has posed the biggest threat to business in recent memory, Laura Boswell and Laura McBride didn’t let this stand in the way of their dream business.
In April 2020, the Essex-based best friends took the plunge and launched BabyChum which sells everything from clothing and accessories to nursery furniture – right in the middle of lockdown.
After turning over £20k in their first two weeks, we spoke to the businesswomen for #BOSSINGIT – which took their company from strength-to-strength.
They said: “Bossing It was great for brand awareness, clarity and we definitely feel it gives the brand more credibility.
“Customers and the public definitely seem to trust a brand more when they can see the faces behind it.”
What’s more, the pair said orders increased by 36 per cent from the feature while traffic was boosted by an extra 35 per cent.
Glam Wax – Christie Stapleton
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When Christie Stapleton started making wax melts in May 2019, she had no idea that this hobby would dramatically alter the course of her career.
Investing just £200 into her new side hustle, Christie launched Glam Wax from her kitchen table and four months later, she was making enough money to comfortably quit her job and focus on the business full-time.
Earlier this year, we featured Christie in Bossing It – which increased her website’s traffic by 40 per cent.
What’s more, the entreprenuer credits the exposure from feature for helping her secure a wholesale order.
Merci Maman – Beatrice de Montille
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Mum-of-four Beatrice de Montille risked everything to set up her own jewellery business in 2007.
And when Kate Middleton was pictured wearing one of her necklaces, her brand Merci Maman‘s revenue doubled overnight.
Flash forward 14 years and Beatrice has won The Queen’s Award TWICE and boasts a cool £5m turnover.
After featuring in Bossing It last November, traffic to the Merci Maman website shot up by 20 per cent.
Beatrice said: “We loved being part of the Bossing It series, and thought it was amazing for brand awareness to be associated with such a large UK newspaper.
“The article gave the team a sense of pride, and to have Merci Maman’s story told in such a lovely way was a great boost for the team before Christmas.”
Envy Shoes – Florence Ledwith
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At just 22 years old, Florence Ledwith, from Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, moved back in with her parents where she launched her shoe brand Envy from her childhood bedroom.
She gambled the £15k she had been saving for a flat deposit into her new business – and it’s a risk that paid off.
In October 2019, we chatted to Florence as she launched her second shoe collection with TOWIE’s Amber Turner.
As well as featuring on Fabulous Digital, the article also appeared on The Sun’s Snapchat – where Florence was inundated with messages from other aspiring businesswomen.
She explained: “We received hundreds of messages about the article and that it gave them more of an insight into the brand and where we started from, and a bit more about me.
“I kept all the messages people sent, it genuinely means so much to me that you gave our small brand the opportunity to have such a big feature.”
Rachael Jones – Third Sector Experts
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Following the breakdown of her marriage in 2015, Rachael was left penniless and without a permanent residence.
She spent months living in a hotel with her two children, Andreas, 11, and seven-year-old Alexis.
Just under a year ago, Rachael founded Third Sector Experts, a consultancy company for charities, social enterprises and non-governmental organisations.
And already, it’s expected to turn over £100k in its first year.
Describing how our #BOSSINGIT feature impacted the business, Rachael said: “We had more connections reach out to us such as those looking for work via LinkedIn.
“In addition, there was also an increase in website traffic on the Monday and Tuesday of the article being live.
“It is good to use these platforms to get the name out there and build upon reputation of the brand.”
For more inspiring real life stories, Jemma Solomon revealed her sister sister Stacey caught the labelling bug from her – she set up her company with £300 & now Lord Sugar has invested.
And Tropic Skincare’s Susie Ma set up her £51m business when she was 15 – Lord Sugar fired her on The Apprentice but STILL invested £200k.
Plus Rayner Davies was a single teenage mum on benefits – now her cleaning business turns over £4m a year.