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.

Becky Long, of Reload Marketing, was paired with Trish Willetts, Relationship Manager at Savills.

Becky said: “In all honesty, I felt a bit lost in my business and wanted help to find my direction and mojo again. Balancing a business whilst raising children is difficult, there is no shying away from that.

“My days were spent firefighting the workload whilst working limited part-time hours. This didn't give me the head-space to work ‘on’ the business. So, my hope for the mentorship was someone that could challenge me to become the best version of myself.

“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.

“The impact of mentorship was huge. Trish has encouraged me to apply for everything appropriate for my business. I applied to the Aston Small Business Growth Programme at the start of the mentorship and was accepted.

“This support has helped me to completely rebuild and become the business I have always wanted. Later this month, I will relaunch the brand to become Profitable Clicks which reflects the boutique Google Ads service I offer.

“My sales have increased significantly during the mentorship and I am currently recruiting a team that will help me scale the business even further. I honestly can't thank Trish enough for her support, she has really boosted my confidence and been my own personal PR manager.”

Trish said: “I believe that you only get out of life what you put in.  By supporting others, you can share your knowledge as there is definitely no need to reinvent the wheel.  As a Director of the Chamber I wanted to make sure that one of our members also felt nurtured as they began their business journey.

“I was mentored myself by an incredible business representative in Solihull, and it gives you the feeling you aren’t alone with your thoughts as you have someone who you can talk to for the smallest or largest of things without being judged. 

“When you are working ‘in’ your business sometimes you need to work ‘on’ it by planning, and a mentor can support that. It is all too easy to go off on a tangent, and the focus of a mentor can help steer you on the right path.

“My passion for supporting women in business has clearly come from my own mother. She was my rock and guide.  Working in leadership herself, all those years ago, was a very difficult place to be. Heading up a team, which was then a man’s world, she was a maverick and I was proud of her. Breaking barriers for women in business can sometimes be a difficult place to be so by mentoring myself the sense of satisfaction is huge.

“Seeing what Becky has achieved in the past 12 months has been amazing and it’s been such a wonderful journey to share with her.”

#IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity

Pictured: (left) Becky Long, owner of Reload Marketing, and Trish Willetts