When we got together in early June 2023, eight women in person and two women in spirit, to explore our collective experience of women’s enterprise in rural and island places, we wanted to escape the norms of our daily lives.
We stretched ourselves to meet each other in new places, and the places themselves held significance. We started at An Talla Mòr, one of the oldest community spaces in Sleat, on the Isle of Skye, and continued in An Crùbh, Sleat’s newest community space.
We also stretched ourselves to connect across the different forms of enterprise we engage in. We are sole traders, founders of private companies, founders of social enterprises, builders of community enterprises. None of us generate millions, nor do we particularly wish to do so, but during the 36 hours we spent together one of us sold £70,000 worth of artwork and another of us was nominated for an award for most promising tech start-up. Alongside the day to day work, we celebrated these achievements and all the big and small things that inspire us.
Our reflections, captured in the document below, are anchored in the current policy context as summarised in the first four sections:
We did not aim to construct recommendations for government, or for any other decision-makers involved in supporting women’s enterprise. Instead, we provide a narrative on the things that matter to us as women entrepreneurs, and some reflections on how these things may relate to policy:
InspirAlba with the amazing Beth Chalmers also created this film:
And as of 12/11/2023 we are grateful that the Cross Party Group on Women in Enterprise want to hear our story and our directions for policy.
If you have something to share, please get in touch: artemis@sra.scot