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22 women in business


Insight leads the way for guest speaker Liz Jackson


Liz Jackson launched her business in 1998, the year she lost her eyesight. Inspirational founder of Basingstoke-based B2B sales and marketing agency, Great Guns Marketing, Jackson is guest speaker at this year‘s Women in Business ceremony. She caught up with The Business Magazine, organiser of the Awards


Jackson was awarded an MBE in 2007 for services to business, and in 2012 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Staffordshire University for her business achievements and for inspiring others.


Her commitment to world-class customer service runs through her business, which now employs more than 100 people and has a multi- million pound annual turnover.


What was your vision when you started Great Guns Marketing?


I‘m not sure I had a big vision. I‘d used telemarketing companies in the past and felt I could improve on them; it‘s how a lot of us start companies. I was 25 at the time and had nothing to lose.


What was your growth strategy?


I led by example as a fee earner for many years. It then became my ambition to grow into the entrepreneur role. Growing a company certainly takes you outside of your comfort zone and you have to acquire those skills.


I had support from the Prince‘s Trust. This gave me a level of accountability entrepreneurs really need. I‘m a learn by my own failures person; I wish I‘d invested in a mentor earlier in my career.


Do you have a mentor?


I have a chairman now. We met on the board at CMI and bonded through shared values. He gets me and what I want out of life. He knows I‘m not in business just to make money. It‘s important, but building a business that I can stand up and be proud of, where the values don‘t need to be written on the wall, and a great team, that‘s something special.


What are the key ingredients you believe have made Great Guns the success it is?


Caring for people; having integrity; making and keeping promises;


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showing compassion; going beyond your business to invest in your community. For example, the Royal National College of the Blind is bringing 15 young people into the business next week. We also cook Christmas lunch for a centre for homeless people.


A business is there to provide great service to its customers. Most of our revenue comes through renewals – we‘re very relational, from customers, employees, suppliers through to local schools and the community. I love Basingstoke and it‘s exciting to be part of it.


How did you initially handle the fact that you were losing your sight?


I would wake up every day and start with gratitude. I‘d just started an exciting business, met my future husband, and had a wonderful family. My spirituality levelled me. There were practical issues and I had to learn not to be prickly. Blind people aren‘t well represented in business so I had to build a thick skin and carve out my own path.


How has this impacted your working style and attitude to business?


For me it‘s an asset. Life is so full of distractions, it‘s hard to give people 100% focus. Listening is an art and it‘s something you get to


perfect as a blind person. Being vulnerable also helps people open up more – they share their vulnerabilities. You get to know people better, faster which is a massive asset in business.


It also helps with delegation which meant that as a young entrepreneur, I outsourced elements such as finance and admin meaning I could focus on selling. I‘ve always played to my strengths. It‘s helped me build an amazing management team who are strong in areas where I‘m weak.


What makes a good leader?


As leaders, we need to surround ourselves with people who are better than us, people with guts, who don‘t inhabit an echo chamber. We need to give our people permission to fulfil their potential and not hold them back.


What are the challenges facing today‘s women in business, particularly entrepreneurial women?


I can honestly say I haven‘t experienced any negatives from being a woman in business. Personally I find that being in the minority can be a huge strength.


We want work-life balance and we work incredibly hard, but won‘t compromise everything for a company. That flexibility is why more women than men start up their own businesses. Corporates have to do something to attract and keep more women.


I believe in a level pegging but we need more women in the boardroom, to let down the ladder for other women. It‘s proven that a diverse board creates a more profitable company so there is that economic requirement too.


The old boys‘ network is very much alive and kicking and that will continue to be a fight. We need those introductions – to investors and mentors, it‘s really important.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JULY/AUGUST 2015


Who‘s your inspiration? Who do you believe are the game- changers for women in business?


I don‘t feel like I‘ve been influenced by other people but I admire Martha Lane-Fox in terms of what she‘s achieved in business and charity and her great attitude when overcoming her accident. Jo Malone too, who built a great brand, led a fantastic exit and went on to start a new business, as well as beating breast cancer.


A woman I look up to is Jo Causon. CEO of the Institute of Customer Service, she is someone who‘s 100% commitment to her vocation, it blows me away. Her ethics and values stand-out and she knows exactly who she is. Despite working in a male- dominated environment, she hasn‘t lost her femininity.


What would your advice be to a woman thinking of starting her own business?


I would be encouraging but levelling. Good leaders eat last. In the good times it‘s great but times get hard. You only do it if you want to make a difference. You don‘t get enough joy out of the commercial side. It‘s a sobering discussion.


Who‘s in your network?


It‘s people who I‘ve built friendships with over the years. Clients become your networks, ex- employees – they all become great ambassadors.


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