Hundreds of businesswomen from across Staffordshire attended an empowering morning celebrating International Women’s Day 2025 with inspiring stories of success.
Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce’s event held in Stoke-on-Trent on Friday saw 220 people gather to hear from speakers who have blazed trails in their industries.
And they went home with a whole lot of positive affirmations and tips on how to succeed in business.
Headline speaker Alana Macfarlane was one half of the DJ-ing duo The Mac Twins with her sister Lisa when the pair got involved with clinical trials relating to gut health, which led to them launching a career in the industry.
Ten years later, the pair have their own business The Gut Stuff, which has seen them launch their own product ranges and three best-selling books, amass more than 130,000 Instagram followers and present the Channel 4 TV series Know Your Sh!t.
Alana said that the acronym for ‘women are incredible’ is the most-used in all her WhatsApp groups.
Choosing to steer away from tales of adversity, Alana gave an overview of the route her business has taken, explained the importance of good gut health and explained ways to help others rise to top in business.
She said: “With every low, a high will come; don’t despair. With every high, a low is around the corner so brace yourself for that.”
Alana told the audience that it is important to keep going, to turn worries into practical steps or to-do lists and that they should keep jumping out of their comfort zone.
She added: “The best piece of advice that I give is that the problem you face today is not your forever problem. You won’t remember the big problem that you have in your business today in five- or 10-years’ time.
“You have to keep sowing the seeds. There are things that have come out of the woodwork for Lisa and I that have come from seeds sown years before.”
Eve Davies, ProtectaPet’s Co-Founder and Communications Director and also Deputy President of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, gave an emotional talk about how the business she runs with her husband Simon rose to success.
Her speech, which finished with a standing ovation from many of the guests, told how the Newcastle-under-Lyme based business was “born out of necessity” but Eve has made it work through ways such as building a good support network, investing in herself and bringing in the right team to work for her.
Event host TV presenter and comedian Hannah East spoke about starting out in a male-dominated field and how she manages being a mum-of-three with other roles which include managing a property company, running an online fitness business.
She told the guests that a miscarriage during lockdown was a turning point in her life when she decided that if she wanted to go and do something, she would.
Hannah, who has presented on Sky Sports and The Olympics, said: “Don’t fear failure, put yourself out there. You are your own business card and that is what I try and portray in everything that I do.”
Other speakers included Juliet Moran, Technical Director at systems.co.uk, which is based in Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, who advised others to “embrace change” and “innovate constantly”.
Vicki Heath and Emma Ames, from consultancy firm Map Room, which sponsored the event, also spoke about their new video podcast series celebrating the stories of female leaders who are shaping industries across the UK. More information about the series can be found in the Daily Focus story here.
- Last week, Eve Davies wrote a guest article for Daily Focus about International Women’s Day and her business. It can be found here.
