SP OTLIGH T

Sophia Spencer

Founder and Director of Callisto Associates, Sophia Spencer, chats to us about her journey and her love and passion for what she does.

Once a “reluctant entrepreneur,” I now deeply appreciate the lessons I’ve learned from the entrepreneurial journey I never imagined I would take, and which has made me more resilient, courageous and confident than I would have believed possible.

Having thoroughly loved my corporate career, I genuinely feared swapping the security of employment for the unpredictability of freelance work. However, over time, I’ve grown to love running my own business more, valuing the freedom and flexibility it offers.

My company, Callisto Associates, has evolved over the past 12 years, shifting from a one-person show to a dynamic team of six, and now streamlined to myself and my amazing assistant, supported by a trusted network of multidisciplinary professionals. We work flexibly, offering specialised services when necessary, underscoring our adaptability in the face of change.

My mission is to empower ambitious entrepreneurs and assist them in maximising productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I work directly with decisionmakers – primarily CEOs – delivering a wide variety of services which range from managing daily tasks like diary and inbox management, travel and event management, to more complex responsibilities such as designing and implementing sales and marketing campaigns, or providing ad hoc business consultancy and problem-solving sessions.

During the pandemic I set up and ran a tech business, managing an international team and personally navigated the terrain of seed funding and crowdfunding campaigns, which has provided me with the ability to offer first-hand insights and strategic advice. Regularly attending board meetings for several clients, I am intimately involved in decision-making processes.

Today, I am truly proud of what I’ve achieved with Callisto. All my clients have come to me through word of mouth (we haven’t had a website since 2015) and I feel genuine pleasure when I see them experiencing the success they seek both at work and in their personal lives.

www.twitter.com/CallistoAssoc

Rachel Watkyn

Rachel, founder and owner of the Tiny Box Company, shares with us some of her journey and her motivations

Rachel was ready to launch a fair-trade jewellery business when her sister suggested that she would need ethical, environmentally friendly packaging – but this proved to be tricky. Rachel noticed a gap in the market and set about creating her own line of packaging.

Thus, in 2007, Tiny Box Company was born. By 2022, Rachel’s business was serving approximately 120,000 customers in 42 countries... and counting. Here at Dynamic, we have been so impressed with what Rachel has built that we awarded her the Dynamic Business Award for Businesswoman of the Year 2022.

My Journey

As a child, I thought of the cost of everything in relation to sweets. ‘How many sweets could I buy with five pounds?’ I couldn’t ever find anything that measured up to the value of that sugary goodness and, to this day, still struggle.

I know what you’re thinking but no, I did not end up as the real-life Willy Wonka, as natural as that road of progression probably sounds. No, I went down the other obvious route –running a packaging company.

My childhood, being extremely destructive and unstable, had me bouncing between different schools for years. I came out the other side resilient, and eventually put myself through A-levels and university where I studied business.

After not being able to find beautiful, ethical packaging for a fairtrade-type jewellery business I had started, I created Tiny Box Company from my bedroom, hoping to fi ll a gap in the market for small businesses similar to mine who were looking for packaging solutions.

Fast forward, past Dragons’ Den, past immense growth, past every kind of challenge thrown at us, and we end up here – turning over around £10m.

My Motivations

Behind the scenes, I’ve faced my own personal challenges; the classic imposter syndrome and lack of self-confidence that so many women in business face. It’s an issue not helped by the lack of female role models in entrepreneurship. I’ve had three run-ins with cancer, the last ending in a double mastectomy just one month after deciding to take on a new venture called Know The Origin - talk about not being able to control the future.

Through all of these challenges, I’ve experienced the joy of watching three young people grow into confident, skilled managers, who have helped and supported me every step of the way. If all else had failed, my proudest moments have been watching them grow into the people they are.

I still have a lot to do, though. My biggest passion is supporting young people in business. Knowing that someone might hear my story and think ‘I can do that too,’ is enough motivation to get me out of bed in the morning.

www.tinyboxcompany.co.uk

I’m fed up with the casual bandying around of the term ‘Superwoman’. Coined 40 years ago by a Cosmopolitan editor, it is now time to be merciful and give Superwoman a well-deserved rest. By Tess

de Klerk