Entrepreneur Riannon Palmer launched her business, a London-based communications agency, in May 2021. She wanted to create an alternative PR company that prioritises positivity, after experiencing the stress and long hours agencies demanded and wanting to create a happier work environment.
“Prior to the pandemic, starting a business wasn’t something I thought I could do as I hadn’t seen young women, or people, in general, starting their own business. I think there is a huge issue with a lack of representation being a barrier as people want to see people like themselves do things to know it’s possible” – reveals the 26 years old business owner who started from scratch and outreached to several companies to secure 15 clients and long-term retainers. Her team now has five employees working limited set hours with wellness practices implemented and encouraged. “I aim to show the industry this type of agency can thrive, to ensure the negative stereotype of agency life isn’t putting off the next generation of PR professionals. The majority of our clients are on the younger side, and I think for older people who are more traditional, being a young woman has been off-putting for some potential clients.”
“Lem-uhn is a communications agency for the modern age that works with brands that have a positive ethos and the power to make the world a better place. We help brands to grow and shape their public perception. As a company, we are creating a happier type of agency that embodies a healthier way of working by using efficient and modern practices. We believe work should be a place for people to come together in a positive environment and we place an emphasis on promoting positive mental wellbeing. This translates into high quality and reliable work for our clients because happy people can do their best work”.
The road getting here wasn’t so smooth and trouble-free for Riannon, though.
“When I started out in my career, I didn’t see many women in the top positions, and I think it’s really important to see a representation of people like yourself to know you can follow in their footsteps. And since launching, I think being a woman has led people to treat me slightly differently than if I was a man. Some family members also tried to discourage me as they thought I was doomed to fail” – says Palmer.
Although historically men have accounted for the majority when it comes to opening a new business, a recent government-commissioned review has found a record number of start-ups are being founded by women, with the growth of female ventures outstripping male-led companies for the first time.
The Rose Review’s 2022 Progress Report, led by NatWest chief executive Alison Rose, revealed there were 5,951 companies established by women in Scotland, which is twice the figure reported in 2018 – and across the UK, female founded businesses account for a record share of new firms, outstripping growth in male led firms for the first time, with more than 140,000 companies having been established by all-women teams.
Not all business areas, though, are likely to grow at the same pace.
“PR as a profession is female-led until you climb up the leader; men tend to have the leadership roles. In our case, the majority of employee applications have been women, and we have an all-female team currently. But we would like to be more representative and have a mixed team, moving forward” – says the entrepreneur that believes that the fact that public relations enterprises have more men on the top of the pyramid has to do with issues seen in all sectors, such as female professionals having to take maternity leave and struggling to find flexible solutions to fit in work alongside their family life.
“Women are also still expected to do the majority of the childcare, generally, which means sometimes their career can take a hit. Ideally, we’d live in a society with government-funded creches and equal responsibility for childcare between men and women. I’m currently reading ‘Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men’ which is very insightful for anyone looking to discover how society is currently built to favour men and that fundamental policy changes are needed if we want to live in a world where both genders can have the same opportunities” – defends Palmer.
“My key tip for a young entrepreneur starting a business in 2022, especially a woman, is to keep in mind that people will underestimate you. One way to counteract some of this is to be confident in your abilities. Studies have reported that women are less confident in themselves, especially in the workplace. This means we must strive harder to act confident even if we don’t feel it which, in time, can build confidence”.
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