People First Mobility’s owner enters top 100 female entrepreneurs list 2020
Karen Sheppard, Owner of Skegness-based People First Mobility, has appeared in the f:Entrepreneur #ialso top 100 list 2020, a campaign dedicated to celebrating the UK’s inspirational and multi-achieving female entrepreneurs.
f:Entrepreneur’s second annual #ialso Top 100 list consists of a collection of 100 female entrepreneurs in small businesses inspiring their peers and communities through their businesses and wider activities.
Taking over sole ownership of People First Mobility in 2015, a company she founded in the early 2000’s, Karen has been working hard over the years to distinguish the mobility retail operation, securing multiple awards and prizes for the company’s dedication to customer service.
The ambitious mobility retailer continued to develop and grow her business whilst battling and overcoming cancer, with her journey seeing Karen attend events at 10 Downing Street, complete a digital business skills programme and even have her achievements recognised by Baroness Karren Brady.
“… when I was talking to someone that they told me ‘but you are the manager, and the cleaner, and the accounts dept, and the HR, and many other things.’ That is when I realised just how much we really do say ‘I also’!” Karen Sheppard
Speaking with Karen, she told THIIS: “To be recognised as one of the #ialso100 2020 which celebrates incredible and inspiring female business leaders across the UK is a truly fantastic achievement and honour.
“I look forward to helping and inspiring other small businesses and female entrepreneurs and supporting the campaign throughout 2020.”
According to f:Entrepreneur, the purpose of #ialso Top 100 is to showcase multi-achieving women like Karen in order to provide lessons of challenge and success for all small business founders.
“To be in a largely male-dominated industry, I find it harder work to break the glass ceiling and feel I have more to prove so to be chosen as part of this campaign has given me encouragement to carry on being a role model for many young females just starting out in business, whatever their chosen career,” she continued.
The #ialso campaign was born from International Women’s Day 2018, when during an event, the phrase used most by the gathered entrepreneurs was “I also…”, with each woman describing their work as being much more than a single-job career and more of a flexible portfolio.
“The ‘I also…’ campaign really spoke to me because as an owner, I often find that it is almost impossible to list everything that I am responsible for,” added Karen.
“In 2019, I was nominated for an award as Store Manager of the Year. When I saw the nomination, I said ‘I am not the store manager, I’m the owner.’ It was when I was talking to someone that they told me ‘but you are the manager, and the cleaner, and the accounts dept, and the HR, and many other things.’ That is when I realised just how much we really do say ‘I also’!”
To celebrate the prominent women selected in the list, f:Entrepreneur will run a campaign promoting the female entrepreneurs and their stories throughout the year, alongside inviting those listed to attend its biggest ever event in London in the week leading up to International Women’s Day on the 8th March.
Now in its fourth year, f:Entrepreneur is run by national campaign organization company peak b, with both founded by Michelle Ovens MBE, who is also director of Small Business Saturday UK and chair of the Small Business Charter.
Michelle said: “The stories of these women are incredibly inspirational and reach outside the traditional bounds of business, including a number of cancer survivors and carers, amongst many other people who do so much more than their day job.
“This is a campaign that highlights the work of incredible women, but it is not only aimed at inspiring other women. This is for men too; showing everyone that even in the toughest situations in life, it is entrepreneurs who are the people that not only survive but thrive, creating purposeful small businesses and supporting their communities every day.”
