Businesswomen from a variety of industries across the UK have told IsoNation of their success stories during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the beginning of lockdown, the IsoNation initiative was launched to bring the business community together to help one another get through challenges posed by the pandemic, sharing insight from leaders of businesses of all sizes.
One of the first to be interviewed was Julie Clabby, founder of the Busylizzy Family Club franchise, who transformed the business in order to provide their pregnancy and postnatal fitness classes, as well as baby and toddler activity sessions, in an online format.
Julie said: ‘We’ve had to provide a completely different service for our members and we’ve actually had feedback asking if this can continue in the future – people love the flexibility of being able to do classes as and when it suits them and their little ones.
‘Our franchises are in fixed locations in the south of England, but since doing the classes virtually we’ve picked up members from Edinburgh and Newcastle, as well as from other countries such as France, Malta and the Netherlands.’
The coronavirus situation has threatened businesses in all sectors, with many having to furlough staff or make them redundant in order to survive. Despite this, IsoNation heard from Emma Easton, who has actually launched a new business during lockdown – Business Bollox, an organisation itself aimed at helping other businesses.
‘One thing that has struck me when speaking to business leaders is that they love the reasons why they got into business, but they hate all the bollocks that goes with it,’ Emma said. ‘That has stayed with me and I thought: ‘Why not hand it over to someone who loves it?’’
Linda Ling MBE, Director of Fleximobility and Secretary General of the Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Convertes’ Association (WAVCA), highlighted the issues that wheelchair users are facing as lockdown restrictions gradually ease, while Lisa Ventura, CEO of the UK Cyber Security Association, used her interview to give advice around the swathes of new cyber scams that have surfaced during the pandemic as we all spend more time online.
For business leaders looking for more information on the financial support available to them during the pandemic, Angie Preece, Development Manager at BCRS Business Loans and Sarah Radley, Managing Director of Inksmoor Finance Group, have also been on hand to offer expert advice.
You can view all IsoNation interviews with business leaders here, where you can also find interviews from the travel and tourism industry, with Carolyn Pearson, CEO, Maiden Voyage, and Jo Min, Deputy Chief Executive of mental health charity Springfield Mind, who spoke about the different support that is available for those who have struggled with their mental wellbeing as a result of lockdown.