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intelligence
: BIOGRAPHY
1970 Founded Lynne Franks PR from her kitchen table at the age of 21
1988 Sold Lynne Franks PR
1990 Became trustee of Sting and Trudie Styler’s Save the Rainforest board
1994 Chaired the UK’s first women’s radio station, Viva!
1997 Publication of autobiography, Absolutely Now!, at the Robert Graves amphitheatre, Deia, Majorca
2000 Launched The SEED Handbook, The Feminine Way to Create Business, across the globe
2001 Published The SEED Handbook in Germany, followed by workshops and talks. SEED Expo London and the launch of SEED Network, the on- and off-line community of women entrepreneurs
2010 Opened the Covent Garden fl agship of B.Hive, a women’s chain of business centres, in partnership with Regus Group
Postscript: Lynne Franks
Queen bee | by Jade Sermon
Lynne Franks’ latest venture is helping women to create their own business opportunities
IF YOU WANT to know about the challenges women face in business today, Lynne Franks is the person to ask. PR guru, lifestyle visionary, author, businesswoman, television personality and mother, the list of Franks’ accomplishments is truly inspiring and her reputation as a self-empowering, motivating force among the female community is growing daily.
Franks has the ability to bring her visions of a different working environment for women into the present. Starting a PR company from her kitchen table 40 years ago was pioneering; the only other woman Franks knew who had dared to start her own business was Katherine Hamnett, the fashion designer.
They quickly became friends and supported each other in what was a fiercely male-dominant business environment. It was this friendship of two women helping and mentoring each other that literally planted the seed of another pioneering movement that Franks is passionately devoted to today, the Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics (SEED) Network, which she launched on International Women’s Day in 2001.
SEEDS OF SUCCESS
“When I wrote the SEED Handbook there was no business advice for women,” recalls Franks. “My book spoke to them in a language based on their values and looked at personal development and self empowerment in a unique way. SEED is about women in collaboration helping and inspiring each other.”
Franks describes SEED as a global network, a series of learning programmes both on- and off-line that help to teach women how to grow sustainable businesses. She has spent the last ten years building SEED, developing programmes and working in a range of environments, to help the women who work there. With programmes set up in the US, Australia, Japan and Brazil, SEED is going global. “The timing for expansion is perfect for SEED,” says Franks. “We have reached more than one million women around the world and we are about to enter the next big explosion. We are at a tipping point, and with the digitalising of our programmes and online coaching and SEED centres in the planning stage, women will be able to come for meetings and network. We can really offer the tools and facilities to help them grow their businesses.”
THE BEE PLAN
Franks’ latest venture sees her take the role of Queen Bee. She has launched the first of many women’s business centres, created in collaboration with Regus. The centres go under the name of B.Hive and are a place, says Franks, “where women connect, grow and do business”. The B.Hive fl agship in London was launched last October and is soon to be followed by centres in Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham.
“More women than ever are starting their own businesses, moving up the corporate ladder and taking leadership roles in media and the arts,” states Franks. “B.Hive gives them a personal, dedicated space where they can work together according to the feminine principles of community, connection and collaboration. The facilities and support we offer will allow smart, inspiring women to join support networks and encourage each other to achieve their highest potential."
For further information, visit:
www.bhive.co/
www.seednetworkingforwomen.com
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