A reoccurring theme discussed by the women, was imposter syndrome; the feeling of self-doubt when beginning their career. The guests’ explained how they overcame this fear and structured their business to suit their own goals and circumstances.“One thing I have learnt is that if you don’t ask, you don’t get,” said Helen Addis, breast cancer campaigner and head of features at ITV Lorraine.

But, to support the internal belief, there needs to be a robust foundational structure. Maxine Laceby, founder and CEO of Absolute Collagen, discussed the importance of recognising your own weaknesses and tailoring business infrastructure to support this.“There are so many things that I am not capable of it is unbelievable, but I put the scaffolding around me,” says Laceby.

For women at the beginning of their career, Nana Acheampong, celebrity style editor and co-founder of Styled by Nana, highlighted the importance of mentoring schemes for incoming talent. Acheampong called for professionals to mentor aspiring businesswomen that might not have the means to work in unpaid positions.

The women discussed authentic communications and the importance of human-interest stories when connecting with audiences. Vivien Wong, co-founder of Little Moons, saw a rise in success this year after going viral on social media, but at the core of her business model is a personal story of heritage and craft.

Looking back on the past year, the panel explored the way communications have changed. For journalist and presenter Suzanne Baum, this change was very literal as celebrity interviews took place from her bathroom. For Nina Webb, global CEO of Brazen PR, the pandemic gave her time to reflect on her leadership strategy and skills. When Webb took a leadership test that defined her style of business as ‘kind’, she was taken aback. But, she has since recognised that this trait actually strengthens to her ability to communicate with employees and consumers.

“Through covid, such a terrible time, what’s been brilliant to see is that those stereotypically female leadership qualities, like kindness, otherwise known as empathy, they’ve really come into their own,” says Webb.

The webinar was hosted by Courtney Rogers, founder of the CIJ Group, which works to connect PR professionals with influencers and journalists. Find out more about CIJ Group here.