LONG READ: 'You have to see it to be it' – the inspiring stories of Nairn business women to mark International Women's Day
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To mark International Women's Day this week, we spoke to several women in business in Nairn who shared their journey, challenges and hopes for the future.
Karen Stuart, Vitamin Sea Nairn Gift Shop & Printing Services & Nairn BID Co-chair
Vitamin Sea was created on receiving the delightful news that I was going to become a granny.
I was managing a busy community pharmacy, we had worked throughout Covid – I was stressed and exhausted. I had worked in the industry for ten years and although I loved my job, the moment I received the news, my priorities changed.
I needed a better work-family balance and I knew I had to make it happen for myself. It was a massive step for me, having the confidence to leave my career and start up on my own. I am so glad that I took that leap. It has been hard-work but I love it so much. I am proud of my business and the journey I am on.
We care about our performance at work, we care about our colleagues, we care about our customers and we care about how others perceive us. All this caring, while we love & provide for our families, we are a tough group.
I’ve spent the majority of my working life in male-dominated industries. It has been hard – at times almost too hard.
I’ve had a successful career in both the RAF and in retail management, but I’ve had to fight hard for it. I joined the RAF straight from school, aged 17.
I was part of the first male/female integrated flight to go through basic training. From day one, there was a lot of pressure and expectation that we should be as fast and strong as our fellow male recruits.
I had my son aged 23, and made the decision to stay in the RAF. This was un-heard of at the time – and there were no provisions for a pregnant woman.
I worked up until a few days before my due date and I returned after three months maternity leave. I was told that if I took any longer, they couldn’t guarantee that I would return to my current unit, despite my husband and our home being there. I felt that I couldn’t take the risk. I was sent away on various courses before my son was 12 months old. There was no help with child care, and the majority of my wages paid my son’s child minder.
I definitely sacrificed a lot of my family time. I was really lucky to have the support of my amazing husband and parents. Which is why it’s really important to me now that I help out with my grandson and prioritise family time.
All through my careers, I’ve been praised for my resilience – but all working women are resilient. We care about our performance at work, we care about our colleagues, we care about our customers and we care about how others perceive us. All this caring, while we love & provide for our families, we are a tough group.
I am so pleased that support, recognition and opportunities have improved so much for women, equal pay, child care and we’re now even speaking about menopause. We are heading in the right direction.
I am passionate about supporting other women in business and, where possible, I stock my shop from female-led businesses.
Nairn is blessed with so many amazing business women, working throughout all industries, and the women below are a small sample.
I think women naturally support each other. I’ve received many valuable words of advice and support for which I am truly grateful.
International Women’s Day is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate all the amazing business women in Nairn.
Amanda Macarthur, The Highland Weigh
Embarking on a new journey after dedicating over two decades to nursing was an immense shift for me.
Nursing wasn't just a career; it was an integral part of my identity. Yet, sometimes, life nudges us to traverse unfamiliar terrain. As entrepreneur Steven Barlett aptly describes, venturing into uncharted waters often feels like wading through nettles – it stings, but deep down, you believe it will be worthwhile. And indeed, it has been.
The Highland Weigh isn't just a veggie café with exceptional coffee; it's a haven where you can play a board game over lunch, immerse yourself in a book during the late afternoon, meet friends or enjoy solitude in a warm and inviting atmosphere. More than that, it's a commitment to combatting plastic and food waste though our zero-waste store while fostering a sense of community through various events like climate cafes, games nights, and repair and share workshops. The Highland Weigh is a social enterprise: a business model whereby we trade in order to achieve our social and environmental goals.
Seek guidance from a female mentor. They can illuminate the path ahead and offer invaluable wisdom.
The Highland Weigh sits alongside a network of supportive businesses on Nairn High Street. Together, we celebrate triumphs and weather challenges. Although my venture is relatively young at just a year and a half old and I still have much to learn, the camaraderie among female entrepreneurs has been invaluable. They've generously shared insights and experiences, rooting for our prosperity. In return, I patronise their establishments and recognise their resilience during these turbulent times for businesses.
For any woman contemplating a leap into the unknown, I urge you to seek guidance from a female mentor. They can illuminate the path ahead and offer invaluable wisdom. Test the waters diligently, acquaint yourself with the market, and become intimately familiar with spreadsheets, ensuring every cost is accounted for. And when the nettles sting, remember to keep a metaphorical bunch of dock leaves handy. Because beyond lies the possibility of discovering a lush meadow.
As I reflect on my journey from nursing to entrepreneurship, I'm filled with gratitude for the unwavering support of my community and fellow businesswomen. Together, we're not just navigating the nettles – we're flourishing in the meadows beyond.
Leeanne Mackay, Paddle Bliss
Starting a business was super scary!
I first found my love of SUP (Stand Up Paddleboarding) on a trip to New Zealand in 2018. On my return, I went out and bought a board and taught myself to paddle, but had no notion to start a business.
It wasn’t until I took my friend Angela out paddling that the idea came about.
She said: "Leeanne, you’re so good with people, encouraging and patient with instructing me how to paddle, you have to start a business and teach people to paddleboard".
So that was it, decided! I trained, I planned, Angela helped a lot with my business plan. I also received support and reassurance from Business Gateway and it all came together.
A lot of hard work, but just undertaking small tasks at a time and it happened.
We share in each others' successes and that’s what makes Nairn women in business a force to be reckoned with.
I was really scared to begin with – what if I failed? When I set up my Facebook page, that was when it became real, and it exploded!
So many followers and encouraging messages which was very comforting. My followers are predominantly female, so I know my gals have got my back!
My first season, I felt quite alone in business, but then five months in and I was a finalist for New Business of the Year award at The Highland Business Women Awards! Wow, what an achievement! I was so reassured, I was doing it – and learning all the time too.
Now I’m coming up for my third season and I feel confident in business. I don’t take big risks, but something that is a huge help to me are the other business women in Nairn that are so supportive.
We’ll meet for coffee, share stories and encourage each other. I have also collaborated with other business women which is so empowering for us both. We share in each others' successes and that’s what makes Nairn women in business a force to be reckoned with.
Emily Beaumont, Studio Manager at The Highland Yoga Collective
(Sharing the role with Freya Samuel)
Originally growing up in Yorkshire and attending art school in Leeds, I pursued creative roles and moved to London where I stayed for 11 years working in design and creative project management roles.
While living in London my love for yoga grew, leading me to a teacher training course and setting up a Yoga In the Park for my local community in Hackney.
Fast forward to 2024, ready for a new chapter and some sea air, I am now living in Nairn.
I am still working as a digital designer whilst teaching and managing The Highland Yoga Collective, alongside job partner Freya and owner Fiona.
Living and working in London in your 20’s is pretty intense and it’s always daunting to move to a new place and find your feet. For me, the key is friends and the community you build that makes it all possible.
Negotiating salaries to be equal to my male team mates and trying to be heard in male dominated spaces have been challenges throughout my career.
Sometimes it works and sometimes you’re left feeling frustrated, but knowing you used your voice goes a long way.
Through my experiences I’m very aware that achieving and maintaining financial independence as a woman is challenging.
Some of the ways I’d love to see this improve are:
- an awareness of the variety of careers that Women can pursue from an earlier age
- an equal representation of women in all teams
- fairer pay across all industries (male or female dominated) coupled with improved childcare so that it makes sense for women and men to share work and childcare responsibilities
- access to yoga and time in nature!
Tanera Bryden, Artistic Director, Nairn Book and Arts Festival
I’ve worked for Nairn Book and Arts Festival in various freelance roles since 2012. I started out looking after PR and marketing, and then took on additional roles running the visual arts programme and fundraising.
In 2020 when the pandemic hit, I organised a small online festival and went on to creatively direct the three live festivals since.
I started out working in PR in London , latterly for fundraising charity Art Fund, before moving back to the Highlands (where I grew up) with my family. I was also an artist, with a Fine Art Degree from Edinburgh University and eight years’ experience of exhibiting and selling my work.
Starting out in Arts PR as a freelancer was a challenge, and I do remember one (nameless) PRO who worked for a national agency with a branch in Inverness, saying to me “Arts? You’re stuffed up here then!” Which was fairly brutal but also not far from the truth, at least to begin with. Picking up work was slow but I had help with contacts and leads, from Jeni Oliver, then Development Officer at
Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and Stuart Black, then working for the Highland Council, now CEO of HIE.
Through Jeni I met Inverness -based fashion designer Sandra Murray, a creative business woman I admired for her hard work, tenacity and the beauty of her designs, who became a client of mine for some years. My client base also included artist Gerald Laing and Black Isle Bronze Foundry in Nairn.
Freelance work meant that I could work my own hours, theoretically fitting it around being primary carer for two young daughters. This had its challenges and I remember one particular client who insisted on long catch-up calls at 4.45pm, just perfect timing for young children hungry for supper! Many biscuits changed hands in those days...
Businesswomen, as well as being inspirational by just being visibly in a leadership role, can play a really significant role as mentors, nurturing young talent and being supportive of younger women as they fight their own battles to succeed.
And there were many school holiday days where an afternoon trip to the beach would be the bargaining chip for a morning’s work.
When I first moved to the Nairn area, I met quite a few female business leaders, and women generally who were successful in their careers , who were an inspiration and encouraged and supported me in my career/ as a working mother. When I first joined Nairn Book and Arts Festival as a consultant, the then-organiser Angela McOwan, who has her own successful events consultancy, Festival Chair Elizabeth Findlay - a former Head of English at Nairn Academy, and Robin Ruane, a retired physiotherapist and Festival Director - were all supportive and inspiring. One of the things I really like about the festival is the gender balance in terms of Chair and Board members – throughout my time there has been, and continues to be, a very even split. Female Board members currently include a senior university lecturer, a recently retired senior civil servant, and a successful business owner - again, I find them inspiring and empowering to work with.
Working mothers face a lot of challenges in the UK, compared with some European countries, and here in the Highlands is no different – glass ceilings still exist for parents with caring responsibilities and on the whole they tend to be the mother. I’d like to see more affordable childcare available for
families – at times, it has been difficult to justify the expense, and lack of wrap-around childcare, particularly in rural areas, makes it very challenging for working mothers to have viable working lives, far less see themselves in a senior leadership position, unless they have family support.
I think businesswomen, as well as being inspirational by just being visibly in a leadership role, can play a really significant role as mentors, nurturing young talent and being supportive of younger women as they fight their own battles to succeed. Organisations like Highland Business Women are important; as Billie Jean King said, “You have to see it to be it”.
Grace Hay, Grace Lily Lingerie
I started Grace Lily Lingerie with my mum 10 years ago this year.
As full and plus size ladies, we really wanted to offer choice as well as a beautiful fit, as all we could find was boring colours and a pretty horrible experience when fitted.
We knew we could do better. We opened really quickly in Christmas 2014, and were met with a lot of unease from locals.
I think something so personal can be embarrassing or nerve-wracking, that’s why we have always pushed to offer a relaxing, inclusive, no judgement service – its always been at the heart of our business.
It definitely took a few years for locals to trust us and in turn recommend us to all their friends.
We heavily rely on word of mouth to promote our service – it’s the best advertisement and a huge boost for us knowing we are doing a good job!
When we first opened, we were asked a lot why we chose Nairn, as we are from Beauly.
We spent time before looking around the local shops. Brambles (owned by Georgina Innes) was an absolute inspiration! I remember going into her shop and it was full of women chatting and shopping – it was such a good vibe!
In 2017 my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and this prompted us to stock more post-op and bras specifically for radiotherapy.
Then in 2022, my own pregnancy prompted a wider nursing bra selection. Being women, our life experiences have guided what our business needs and offers.
We are so proud to be a female-owned business in Nairn. As with lots of other businesses, women support women and I find they inspire each other and the wider community.
Iona Hampson, Owner of Crafty Wee Birdie Gift Shop
Eight years ago, the Crafty Wee Birdie Gift Shop was born from my passion for creativity and a career that spanned various roles in retail.
At the time, my textile degree felt underutilised, but little did I know it would become the cornerstone of my future.
The turning point came in 2012 when job loss struck, and I found myself balancing the challenges of childcare with the demands of finding work.
That's when the idea of starting my own business began. I wanted to create a space that not only showcased my love for creating but also supported the immense talent of local designers and makers.
In 2013, together with a friend, we initiated Aberdeen Ministry of Crafts. A crafters market, which became a melting pot of creativity and innovation.
Female entrepreneurship in Nairn is a diverse and resilient community. Each with unique stories of overcoming obstacles and pushing boundaries.
This experience was invaluable, as it connected me with a network of incredible individuals who shared my vision. The stars aligned in 2015 when the opportunity to open a gift shop in my hometown of Nairn presented itself. Embracing this chance allowed me to blend family life with professional aspirations, leveraging the skills I'd honed over the years to manage a business that is truly my own.
Female entrepreneurship in Nairn is a diverse and resilient community. Each with unique stories of overcoming obstacles and pushing boundaries. The general environment here is one of support and camaraderie, which I believe is crucial for any business owner.
If there's one thing that could have eased my journey, it would be more accessible mentorship and networking opportunities for women starting out. Looking ahead, it would be nice to see initiatives that encourage women to step into leadership roles and provide them with the tools and confidence to succeed.
