Entrepreneur shares tips for getting ahead

Judith Wright, director of Wright Angle Marketing, has used her sector expertise in writing ‘Proven Strategies for Success’.

A record 581,173 new businesses registered at Companies House in 2014, up 10 per cent on the previous year, bringing the total to 3.1 million.

But just 50 per cent of these fledgling businesses make it through their first year and just one in 20 survive long enough to mark their fifth anniversary.

Ms Wright, who launched her first business aged 19, said the difference between ventures that thrive and those that don’t is effective marketing.

“It doesn’t matter what type of business you have or what goods or services you provide, all businesses need customers and they won’t know you exist if you don’t tell them. That’s marketing,” she said.

“Many people find the thought of marketing daunting, or they don’t realise how vital it is to business success.

“I want to debunk the myth that marketing is difficult or unimportant; it’s a process, which, if followed, will really help boost your chances.”

Ms Wright has launched three businesses, founding hairdressers Golden Scissors at Sowerby Bridge as a teenager.

Named after the national hairdressing award she had won, Ms Wright’s business grew to two shops, but she was forced to rethink her career due to ill health.

Ms Wright decided to pass on her hairdressing skills as a teacher and sold two shops, a house and another property in one weekend. After four months of being unemployed, she found a full-time teaching post.

“Through this role, which included responsibilities for marketing the hair and beauty section, I realised that I also loved marketing,” she said.

Ms Wright decided to retain and studied for a marketing qualification as she continued in her teaching role, rising to assistant director of the college.

When she decided to leave her college career, she was unsure of her next move.

“I love marketing so I thought I’d do it for myself,” she said.

“I set up Wright Angle Marketing, known as WAM, and ran the business from our home for the first three years.”

As the business and team expanded, Wright Angle Marketing moved to Barkisland.

“Over the last 14 years we’ve worked with hundreds of businesses, from small local enterprises to international brands, and across all sectors,” she said.

Wright Angle Marketing has worked with national organisations such as the National Trust, and Yorkshire businesses with international reach, such as Calderdale-based Contrec Manufacturing and Resonate Search and Selection, which has offices in Leeds and London.

While balancing work and family life has not always been easy, Ms Wright said the support of her husband Bob and her sister Lynn has been “invaluable”.

For her latest venture, Ms Wright has joined forces with Marina Simioli, founder and director of Ladies 4 Networking, to create L4N UK.

The organisation aims to help business women across the country to network, gain support, confidence, learn new skills, and develop collaborative associations with other women in business.

‘Proven Strategies for Success’ is now available to order on Amazon Kindle or paperback.

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Women show greater entrepreneurial ambition than their men, despite being underrepresented in business globally, a study found.

The report from the Centre for Entrepreneurs and Barclays found 82 per cent of male and 83 per cent female entrepreneurs were very or extremely interested in growing their business in the next three years.

Less than 18 per cent of male entrepreneurs said they were very or extremely interested in starting another business in this period, compared with 47 per cent of their female counterparts.