PRESS RELEASE : NW-based businesses make a splash in the MumsClub Top100.
Contact: Isla Wilson, Director, Ruby Star Associates: 07773 310290
Local Female entrepreneurs from Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire have made the
prestigious MumsClub Top 100. With businesses ranging from a management consultancy
through gifts and clothing companies to specialist distributors of innovative products for Mums,
these women are making an impact across a variety of sectors. The winners are making a splash
online too- between them they have over 24,500 followers on twitter and run a number of
successful and engaging blogs.
This Top 100 has been announced to coincide with Business Mum Week.
Business Mum Week was created to inspire the growth of UK mum-owned enterprise. The week
was the idea of a fellow business mum and founder of MumsClub, Jane Hopkins MBE with the aim
of creating local media interest in mum run businesses and to create more mum-owned
businesses.
MumsClub founder, Jane Hopkins was awarded MBE this year for services to entrepreneurship
she says “Being self employed is the perfect way to combine family life with generating a second
income. Women now have the freedom to get paid to do something they love. Business is great for
household finances, great for self esteem, great for work-life balance. Mum owned businesses
generate £4.4billion a year for the UK economy, but there is little help and support out there for
these ‘part time’ business owners, so starting up from home is a low cost, low risk and incredibly
rewarding option. Business Mum Week demonstrates that with support from each other, a small
group of like minded people can quite simply achieve great things.”
Isla from Ruby Star Associates says: ” Supporting parents to start and grown their own businesses
has been key to our approach since our launch: whether that’s as a part time venture to generate a
second income, or if they are the main source of income in the household aiming for global
domination (and quite a lot in between). We understand first hand the challenges of balancing the
demands of business and family: three of our team are award winning mumpreneurs.”
All of the NW winners are celebrating and looking forward to the award ceremony later this year,
but in the meantime they are also all keep in touch, planning a NW-get-together and looking for
ways to support each other.
##ENDS##
Notes to Editor
1. Contact: Isla Wilson, Founder & Director: 07773 310290
2. About Business Mum Week
Business Mum Week is annually, at the beginning of October. It is run by Jane Hopkins
MBE and sponsored by MumsClub, the award winning online business club for mums
which provides free networking opportunities for 6,000 mums in business. Free for life
membership is available 24 hours a day at www.mumsclub.co.uk
3. This Press release issued by Ruby Star Associates, NW_based MumsClub Top 100
Winner. Other Top100 NW_based businesses include: http://www.scavengerannie.com,
http://www.babybumkins.co.uk, • http://www.bellebambini.co.uk ,
http://www.joyandjoebaby.com and http://www.nappytastic.com
4. Ruby Star Associates was founded in 2011 by Isla Wilson, a 34 year old mother. Isla has
previously worked as a management consultant for some of the biggest names in UK
industry including: Virgin, WHSmith, Balfour Beatty, Sainsburys. Isla holds a number of
Non-executive Directorships with NW-based organisations. Isla was also a Director and
remains a shareholder of Fsquared Ltd a social value consultancy.
5. Ruby Star Associates is a start-up organisation based in Cheshire, North West, founded in
2011. They specialise in alternative sales and income generation advice and training for
businesses, social enterprises and charities. Their advice is based on “how people buy
now” rather than on traditional income-generation approaches, and they offer an
approachable alternative for businesses who don’t want to damage their brand with pushy
or clumsy sales approaches.
6. Ruby Star Associates works with a wide range of charities, social enterprises and charities
from tiny start-ups through to international charities and plcs.
7. Ruby Star Associates recently became the first company to win 2 prestigious Enterprise
Vision Awards in one year (Professional Services and Training Company categories).
These awards were created to specifically recognise those ladies in The North West who
are inspiring others by successfully running their own businesses or are at the forefront of
their profession.
8. RubyStar Associates also founded and run:
• The Accidental Business School – www.accidentalbusinessschool.co.uk
• Business Bookworms – www.businessbookworms.co.uk An free online book club for
people who love to read and discuss business books.
9. Ruby Star Associates use social media to connect with organisations throughout the UK –
in addition to facebook and blog engagement are currently followed by over 22,000 people
on twitter.