A Wiltshire businesswoman joined other inspirational female founders from across the UK at an event to champion entrepreneurship.
In March, Natalie Sherman, founder of Naturally Social, attended a special International Women’s Day reception at the House of Lords, which recognised their strong contribution to entrepreneurship.
The event spotlighted over 100 impressive, multi-achieving female business owners being championed by Small Business Britain’s ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso100 campaign, which showcases the phenomenal contribution to society, economy and communities that many female founders are making across the country.
Natalie was named in the 2022 ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso100 list in recognition of her inspiring entrepreneurial journey with her Corsham based social-first communications agency, Naturally Social. Alongside running a business, she was also recognised for her roster of other responsibilities including being a co-director of the Community Interest Company, Wiltshire Digital Drive.
Natalie said, “It was amazing to be in room with these inspirational women who have all been recognised for the work they do. To be named as one of the UK’s most inspirational female entrepreneurs is an incredible achievement. I hope it inspires the next generation to help them grow, so they too can make a difference to the communities they live and work within.”
Natalie enjoyed afternoon tea and networking in Westminster, meeting peers from ƒ:Entrepreneur #ialso cohorts from both 2021 and 2022, as well as special guest speaker Labour MP Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who paid tribute to the power of female entrepreneurship.
Delivered by Small Business Britain – the leading champion of small businesses in the UK – f:Entrepreneur campaign was launched in 2017 to highlight the stories of amazing female business owners and help provide inspiration and role models across the wider small business community. Now in its fifth year, the campaign offers a host of events, training and networking opportunities to boost skills, capability and confidence.
This comes on the back of new research carried out by the campaign this month which found that following the pandemic, nearly a fifth (17%) of women are considering entrepreneurship, with 44% of them citing pursuing a passion as a key motivator, alongside 46% wanting greater flexibility.
‘Being in room full of such impressive female founders such as Natalie was really uplifting, especially after a tough couple of years for entrepreneurs’, said Michelle Ovens CBE, Founder of Small Business Britain and the ƒ:Entrepreneur campaign.
‘To hear all the incredible things that these women do and the impact they are making, not just in their businesses but in their wider communities, is truly inspiring, and underlines that we must do everything we can to support them. This profound desire among women to create opportunity out of their passions, to build businesses with mission and purpose at their hearts, and to drive forward success, despite everything thrown at them during this pandemic, is amazingly powerful. We must nurture female entrepreneurship so it continues to flourish in the UK and plays a key role in recovery.’