How TT to £1m and Brentwood Borough Council will empower female business owners across the borough

Last week Tabletop to £1m met Leader, Cllr Chris Hossack (right) and Chief Executive Jonathan Stephenson (left) of Brentwood Borough Council to discuss the borough’s bold new corporate strategy – Brentwood 2025 – which headlines economic growth as one of five key priorities.   

A strong sense of joint purpose emerged and we’re excited to announce plans for a new partnership, the aim of which will be to support and empower female business owners across the borough.    
This matters, as in the UK £250 billion of untapped economic potential is being wasted because women are not starting, and scaling businesses at the same rate as men.  The opportunity to grow the economy here in Brentwood cannot be underestimated. 

Last week Tabletop to £1m met Leader, Cllr Chris Hossack (right) and Chief Executive Jonathan Stephenson (left) of Brentwood Borough Council to discuss the borough’s bold new corporate strategy – Brentwood 2025 – which headlines economic growth as one of five key priorities.   

A strong sense of joint purpose emerged and we’re excited to announce plans for a new partnership, the aim of which will be to support and empower female business owners across the borough.    
This matters, as in the UK £250 billion of untapped economic potential is being wasted because women are not starting, and scaling businesses at the same rate as men.  The opportunity to grow the economy here in Brentwood cannot be underestimated. 

Carmel Jane, founder of Tabletop to £1m and award-winning MD of Ingatestone based Carmel Jane Photography & Films said: “It’s shocking, but of the UK businesses that reach £1m turnover only 13% are run by women and it’s likely that the same percentage applies here in the Borough of Brentwood.  To change this, we must address the persistent barriers that hold women back, including a lack of access to mentors and female role models.  That’s why we’re thrilled to have the support of Brentwood Borough Council and look forward to working together to enable the female business owners of the borough to dream bigger, believe bigger and make a difference.”   

Leader, Chris Hossack added, “ The opportunity to grow the economy here in Brentwood cannot be underestimated. Of all the UK businesses that hit £1m turnover only 13% are run by women so we realise there is a big gap here and that Tabletop to £1m is exactly the sort of project that can help to do that.  Carmel is an exceptionally driven and successful business woman and I have no doubt that the scheme will successfully mentor and encourage women across the borough to confidently step forward into the world of business.”

Carmel added, “This is an exciting first step, through this partnership with Brentwood Borough Council we'll be taking positive action and working together to make the borough one of the first places in the UK where female led startups are just as likely to achieve £1m turnover as their male equivalents.”  

 What’s next? 
On January 15th 2020 TT to £1m hosted an Essex Women in Enterprise event.  Female business owners in attendance expressed a need for accessible mentoring.  We’re thrilled to announce that plans to launch a pilot programme are now underway.  This pilot will be the first initiative of the new TT to £1m / Brentwood Borough Council partnership and will be designed to give ambitious female start-ups access to guidance, motivation and the challenge to grow. 
​
To stay up to date with progress connect via via LinkedIn or Facebook. 

 Female Entrepreneurship Statistics 
According to The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship (commission by The Treasury in 2019) in the UK £250 billion of untapped economic potential is being wasted because women are not starting, and scaling, businesses at the same rate as men.    
It’s true of the 1,100 businesses started daily in the UK, one third are started by women.  BUT – that’s where the good news ends.    

• Men are five times more likely to scale up to a million pounds than women  
• On average, woman’s businesses are less than half the size of men's  
• Of the UK businesses that reach £1m turnover, only 13% are female led  

​Figures from a recent report by Beauhurst that looked into female entrepreneurship within high growth companies also found that;  
75% of high-growth UK companies do not have a woman in their founding team  
Most alarming for us here in the East of England, is that our region sits at the bottom of the league tables.  With a woeful 9% of high growth businesses being fully female founded.  Compared to the North East at 19% and Scotland at 25%.  There are, as yet, no figures available for Essex, or the borough of Brentwood.  
 
About Tabletop to £1m: 
Tabletop to £1m is a community of ambitious female business owners. Led by award-winning Brentwood based entrepreneur Carmel Jane, the group lobbies for change to government policy to make it easier for women to scale business up, and comes together to share mentoring, real stories and tangible advice through a female-founder business growth hub.    
www.tabletoptoonemillion.org 
 
Contacts: 
Attract & Engage on behalf of Carmel Jane 
Jill Willis 07855 409970 
jill@attractandengage.co.uk 
.