Make It Your Business- Tunbridge Wells🌺

A fantastic opportunity to meet local female entrepreneurs for the inspiration, ideas and support to start or grow your business from whatever stage you are at, with a rare chance to ask them questions and get honest feedback!

This Make It Your Business Event is hosted and organised by local businesswoman, Siobhan Stirling, Director of the Sharpminds Agency in Tunbridge Wells and other local women in business.

Our guest speakers include Teresa Wickham, a Food, Agribusiness and Retail Specialist; Lynne Gadsden, an award winning financial planner; Jane Bennett, an accredited solicitor specialising in vulnerable clients and Lucy Ames, a social media expert.

We’re planning a great event and a chance to build connections with other like-minded women both locally and further afield.

Join us here (FREE), we would love to see you! 🌺

We look forward to meeting you!

The event is at The Finance Hub, at the end of The Pantiles: Unit B, The Potteries, Linden Park Rd, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5QF

This is a new building and an alternative Postcode is TN2 5TW which is for The Grey Lady, and the venue is just down from them.

Tea and coffee will be served.

Siobhan Stirling – CEO Sharp Minds Communications

Siobhan Stirling is the founder and director of Sharp Minds Communications, a multi-award-winning marketing and PR agency based in Tunbridge Wells which celebrated its tenth birthday in 2022. Sharp Minds has won many awards since 2018 including in 2023 Best Creative Business and Outstanding Business at The Times of Tunbridge Wells Business Awards and was a nominated finalist at the SABRE EMEA Awards.

Sharp Minds’ why is: “Creating opportunities –for our clients, our staff and our community”.

Siobhan has a strong commitment to providing career opportunities for working parents and young people, having successfully nurtured four apprentices.

Sharp Minds also proactively supports a number of charities and start-ups.

Previously a journalist, Siobhan spent nearly 20 years with the BBC as a reporter, presenter and producer on radio and TV,as well as writing for national newspapers and magazines.

She is also a published author, with her book “Sleep–helping your child to sleep through the night” published in several languages.

Teresa Wickham – Food, Agribusiness & Retail Sector Specialist

Teresa has over 50 years of managing and developing complex areas of business, primarily in food, agribusiness and the retail sector. She was a non Executive Director of the New Covent Garden Market Authority – the largest Flower, Fruit and Veg Wholesale Market in London undergoing a major redevelopment. She is a regular broadcaster on TV and Radio on supply chain issues and retailing. She is Co-Founder of the Women’s Farming Union set up to revive the British Top Fruit industry which she built into a National Organisation with 3.000 members.

In addition she has been the First Woman Director of Safeway’s Store, an Adviser to Sainsbury’s Store plc Board on their £1 Billion CR Programme, a Governor of the Royal Agricultural University and also Chief executive of TWA Communications, a Business Development and Communication Consultancy.

She Chaired the London Tourist Board during the two worst crisis London faced and led the revival programme. She is a member of Harvard’s PAPSAC Committee and recently Chaired the Westminster EBury Bridge Community Futures Group which played a key role in developing plans for the largest affordable housing development in London. Teresa also mentors a number of SME’s in the food sector.

Lynne Gadsden – FPFS

Award winning Chartered Financial Planner guiding you and your family through a financial world worth living in. As a Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the CII I have been involved in all aspects of wealth management for over 30 years specialising in retirement and investment planning, inheritance tax planning and Care fees advice. My emphasis is on maintaining a long-term relationship with my clients and providing them with a source of trusted advice as their financial needs evolve over the years.

I also hold the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA) accreditation meaning that I specialise in dealing with vulnerable clients. Winner of Financial Adviser of the Year 2020 (South East) in the Women in Financial Advice Awards and subsequent finalist in 2021 and 2022 for the same award and for Retirement planning and Vulnerable clients. Director of Grovewood, proud winners of the ‘Family Business of the Year’ – Times of Tunbridge Wells Business Awards 2023.Past President of the West Kent Chamber of Commerce and co-founder of the Tunbridge Wells business forum enTWine.

Jane Bennett – JE Bennett Law

Jane Bennett has worked as a solicitor for 25 years. For the last 11 of those she has been building a niche specialist firm acting for vulnerable clients, relocating to Tunbridge Wells in 2022. JE Bennett Law acts for catastrophically injured clients and the elderly. In many cases, the clients have lost mental capacity to manage their own affairs.

The firm specialises in Court of Protection law and handles Lasting Powers of Attorney and Wills and Probate. Trusts handling large personal injury awards are also handled by the firm together with expert witness services in high value personal injury litigation claims.

Jane has been a member of the Office of the Public Guardian/Court of Protection’s National Panel of Professional Deputies since 2015. She is a fully accredited professional member of “Solicitors for the Elderly”, and obtained reaccreditation in 2022. Her firm, JE Bennett Law, is a corporate member of Headway; the Spinal Injuries Association, and Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce.

JE Bennett Law is ranked in Tier 2 in the prestigious national legal publication “Legal 500” and, in 2019 Jane was named as a nationally acknowledged “Leading Individual”, and has held that rank each year since, reaching Hall of Fame status in 2022 and 2023. Jane was also noted in 2017’s legal publication “Chambers”, for health and welfare Court of Protection work, and was highly recommended as a nationally ranked lawyer in Court of Protection property and affairs work in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Lucy Ames – Smartist Social Media

Lucy had a career in IT as a Business Analyst then, following redundancy, set up a business based on her passion for art. Having run that business for 10 years selling paintings to private clients and corporates such as Hoopers and Brewin Dolphin she realised that the skills she had learnt in social media to promote ‘Art by Lucy Ames’ were in demand.

Lucy now runs Smartist Social Media providing full and part management social media services to a range of SME’s, helping their brands to stand out from the crowd online.  A career that finally makes sense of being a bit ‘techie’ but also having artistic skills and a love of writing!

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

Venue and Parking

The event is at The Finance Hub, at the end of The Pantiles: Unit B, The Potteries, Linden Park Rd, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5QF
This is a new building and an alternative Postcode is TN2 5TW which is for The Grey Lady, and the venue is just down from them.

Car Parks near The Finance Hub

The Pantiles Car Park

Major York’s Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5TP
(One of the closest)

Upper Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells 43O1

Upper Pantiles, Major York’s Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5TP
(5-minute Walk to us)

Linden Park Road Car Park Tunbridge Wells

Sussex Mews, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5SJ
(One of the closest)