This week brought the news that by 2021 women will be outnumbering men in the millionaire’s club.

Much of the loot will be coming from rising property values, divorce settlements such as the one Heather McCartney’s top lawyer is gearing up to win – and women staying alive longer than men!

But women doing it for themselves through sheer hard work is also on the up.

A rare example of the exclusive breed is Scottish businesswoman Michelle Mone, who launched the revolutionary Ultimo bra in 1999 and sold six weeks-worth of stock in 24 hours. Now with her company turning over £10 million a year and employing 500, Michelle is recognised as one of the UK’s top female entrepreneurs and owns seven of the biggest lingerie and swimwear brands.

But only one in seven millionaires is younger than 44.

And for many women who start their own company with ambitions to reach the top, going it alone is a scary business … and not for the work-shy, either.

According to all the Highland women entrepreneurs HNLife contacted, long hours is a guarantee.

But for Marie Clarke, who runs her own hairdresser’s business 2Dye4 in Invergordon, it’s a price worth paying, even if she doesn’t believe she will be one of 2021’s new millionaires.

“I love my job, but as to being a millionaire, I don’t think I’m going to come close!” she laughed.

Though she had worked with others before – and also on her own – Marie thought hard about the risks of going it alone, as she explained.

“I had been self-employed in the past, and due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up on my own again. So I just decided to take the plunge. I think it was probably scarier the first time I did it.

“Don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of sleepless nights worrying about money – and it took me a while to find the right premises. Then I had to kit the place out, so it was a big undertaking.

“But I think sometimes you have to take a chance. And for a thing that is worth doing, it is worth doing right. I think if you are confident in your ability that you can do it, you should try. I could have gone and worked for someone else. And I had to learn about running the business, day to day, from one day to the next.

“You get a lot of people with negative opinions, who are more than willing to give them to you, but you just have to go for it.”

Thirty-two when she opened the business, Marie had been in hairdressing since the age of 16, so she feels she know the business well.

And women tend to be slightly older when they decide to set up their own business in the Highlands, according to a report for Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Fifty-seven per cent of the women entrepreneurs who took part in the HIE Starts Evaluation study were aged between 34 and 50.

Marie feels she chose the right time in her life to start her business on her own.

“I think as you get older, you tend to stick up for yourself better and you learn to put things into perspective.

“As long as you remember tht you’re the last person to get paid! That is the best advice I would give to anyone starting. For the first wee while you’re last in line – and you may not get any wages!

“But with hindsight, I wish I had done it years ago!”

In the HIE report, 45 per cent of women were shown to start their business as a lifestyle choice – and that was true for Dawn Carswel from Inverness.

Dawn decided to set up her city business All Sewn Up after years of doing alterations, repairs and dress-making for friends and through word of mouth.

“Alterations to bridal wear makes up about 90 per cent of what I do and the work has just escalated,” said Dawn, who opened for business three years ago.

“I found out about start-up grants from talking to people who had their own small businesses. I phoned up HIE for information, and that’s when I found out about the course.

“I did it and got a grant which made the first few months – with having to buy equipment and getting started – much less stressful than it would have been.”

An HIE network spokesman revealed the help that is available for anyone wanting to go it alone: “A range of advisory support is available for people who are thinking about starting up in business.

“This can include chatting with a business adviser, attending a three-day business planning workshop, marketing and e-business advice and the opportunity to network with other people starting up in business.

“Some businesses can go on to receive financial support towards the business start-up costs.

“Access to free training courses is also available for people who go through our business start-up programme.”

Dawn works from home, though she would like to find bigger premises in future, and to take on other people to help with the workload.

“I’m working 18-hour days, seven days a week,” said Dawn. “So though I did the business course, I leave things like VAT to my accountant to deal with.”

Dawn would like to expand what she does to make and design clothes, but at the moment she is too busy to manage it. It’s long hours, but because I work from home it means I’m always around with the kids. They’re older now but I’m there to ask them where they are going and I wouldn’t be able to put in the hours if I had premises somewhere else. My husband Donald is great too, he does a lot of things I should be doing!”

There is no doubt in Dawn’s voice when asked if she is ambitious for her business.

“Oh, very!”

She knows there is the support of others following the same path with the Highland Business Women’s Club, a group formed 11 years ago.

Dawn’s only trouble at the moment is that she can’t often spare the time to attend regularly!

The group has around 150 members and covers the Highlands.

And at monthly get-togethers held at different venues throughout the area, members can go from sessions where everyone gets the chance to talk for five minutes about their business to hearing speakers. Subjects for the meetings can be everything from how to present yourself, “websites for dummys” to activities such as trying out a golf driving range to June’s meeting titled Sex and the City: how to afford cocktails and designer shoes from your business!

The next meeting is on September 6 at the Strathpeffer Pavilion, when there will be a talk and discussion led by Stuart Black, chief executive of HIE Inverness and East Highland. (Check out www.hbwc.co.uk)

For Jennifer Cantwell of Inverness-based Sporran Nation (www.sporran-nation.co.uk), the move into creating sporrans and bags with a contemporary feel, meant the chance to try to take her work to a new market.

Jennifer explained: “I went on the HIE course because I knew nothing about business – I’m an artist!

“When I was a student, that side of things wasn’t really included on the course, though it is now.

“I left college in 1992, with my head still in the clouds!”

But after raising her children and working “daft jobs”, Jennifer started working on the sporran idea and once she had bought a sewing machine to cope with leather, she contacted Howie Nicholson. Howie is the man behind 21st Century Kilts in Edinburgh, making kilts in everything from leather to camouflage cloth.

He loved Jennifer’s ideas, stocked some of her designs and recomended her work to others.

Though it hasn’t been plain sailing, Jennifer perseveres.

“I think it will take a few years to crack it. I wouldn’t recommend going into business on your own in a million years,” she laughed.

“It depends on your domestic set-up – but I am not high-maintenance, which is probably just as well!

“It is hard, hard work. But I think it will pay off in the long-run.”

So is Jennifer planning to be one of the 2021 millionaires?

She laughed: “I don’t think so, not unless something really freaky happens. But we’ll see!”

Anyone even half-thinking of starting up their own business in fashion, journalism, music, film or using the web, might want to head along to HIE’s creative industries go-HI weekend in Inverness between September 7 and 9.

Free workshops and seminars are being held at the Royal Highland Hotel.

And there is an afternoon event, the Creative Women’s Network, looking at what it’s like to work in those areas and talking to some people who have done it about how they got started!

The panel for this year’s seminar includes: Sheena MacDonald, from the Musicians’ Union; Lisa Whytock, agent and artist manager for Bob Geldof, Capercaillie, Eddi Reader and The Levellers; Kay Barron, a fashion journalist and editor of her own new fashion tabloid, Rag; singer songwriter Jo Hilditch, City College, Manchester; Gill Mills, broadcaster and podcast producer.

Creche places you can book in advance will be available.

For more details of the weekend’s events, you can go to www.goevents.info

l For anyone thinking of starting up their own business, you can contact www.hie.co.uk

You could, alternatively, phone 01463 713504 for more information.

To contact Marie Clarke at 2Dye4, email her at marie@marieclarke6.wanadoo.co.uk And to get in touch with Dawn Carswell of All Sewn Up, telephone 01463 229697.

m.chrystall@highland-news.co.uk

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend