A mentoring scheme that has seen up-and-coming businesswomen supported by successful female leaders has been hailed a success on International Women’s Day.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce ran 22in22 Women in Business Mentoring Programme for 12 months from March 2022 following a successful 21in21 the previous year.
It paired successful business leaders with mentees who were looking to grow their own business or to rise up the career ladder in their chosen field.
And, as the project has come to a close, the Chamber has been sharing some of the success stories from the programme, including everything from a marketing business owner now having to take on staff to meet demand through to an individual overcoming anxiety to secure a promotion.
Several participants met at the Chamber to celebrate the success of the programme in advance of International Women’s Day.
Keely Hancox, Head of Operations at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “It was wonderful to bring some of our mentors and mentees together and to really celebrate the success of 22in22.
“There is lots of evidence to show that mentoring really does work and it has been lovely to see that first hand. Some of the stories are, actually, quite moving because you can really see the impact that the support has had.
“Our mentees were all looking for something individual and unique to them as professionals and that is why it was so important to pair them with mentors who could bring out the best in them.
“We are thrilled with the outcome and as we looked ahead to International Women’s Day we really felt it was a great example of how women supporting other women can make a real difference.”
Becky Long, of Reload Marketing, was paired with Trish Willetts, relationship manager at Savills, as her mentor.
Over the course of the year, Trish has supported Becky to successfully apply for the Aston Small Business Growth Programme, has helped her maintain a work-life balance and has championed her successes.
So much so, that Becky is now rebranding the business as Profitable Clicks, is looking to move to a new office and will take on her first member of staff.
Becky said: “Being mentored was such a positive experience. It was nice having someone who championed me at every stage and could offer practical advice. For instance, there was a period before the summer where I was feeling overwhelmed due to school events taking over my limited working week.
“Being able to talk this through with somebody who understood helped me to prioritise what was important and what I could actually achieve.
“I also had somebody I could talk through business dilemmas with that had an experienced and outside viewpoint. I had lots of options and avenues open to grow the business and talking them through with my mentor helped me to reach the decision of how it was going to grow!”
Keely added: “As 22in22 comes to an end, we’d still love to hear from businesswomen who feel they can be supported in this way and from any women who would like to put themselves forward as a Mentor. It’s such a beneficial experience and one we’d encourage more people to get involved in.”
For more information, contact the Chamber on 024 7665 4321 or email info@cw-chamber.co.uk.
Pictured: Keely Hancox (front, centre) with mentors and mentees who have taken part in the 22in22 programme