Member Showcase
It's no surprise that ShireWomen is all about supporting women in business! Those of you that work closely with us will also not be surprised that we are committed to assisting local businesses in closing the gender pay gap, and advocate for equal pay between women and men.
Those of you reading this who are female business owners might be thinking that this issue doesn't apply to you, because you already practice Equal Pay in your business. Those of you who are in high positions of influence in the business you work for might be thinking the same thing. The thing is, this issue is a bit more complicated than that.
Even if your business practices equal pay, society hasn't quite caught up yet, and your supplies and service providers more than likely practice gender pay bias within their business. Whether we want to admit it or not, we're all adding to the problem by not knowing what our suppliers ethics or social conscience aligns with. Not an easy problem to tackle.
Nicky Beckett is one of our most recent members of ShireWomen, and is an Independent Body Shop Consultant. I sat down with her at her house (and tried out some fabulous products) to find out more about her.
Nicky was born in Bradford Upon Avon in the South of England. Her father was in the Forces which meant moving around depending on where he was stationed. As a result, Nicky grew up in Germany and Belgium and went to an English boarding school there. At aged 14 Nicky moved back to England where she settled in Leeds.
For those of you that aren’t familiar with cities in England, Leeds is in Yorkshire and houses one of the best UK Universities, and is well known as a great vibrant city to live in. It has a rich history, a great culture, an even greater nightlife and everyone is wonderfully welcoming and friendly. You’d be hard-pressed to find an English person who doesn’t regale you with a fond story about a weekend or night out in Leeds.
Some of you have already met Nicky and will recall her warm and friendly nature. You therefore might not be surprised to find that when she finished high-school, she went into nursing and studied for a Diploma in Mental Health Nursing and became a Registered Mental Health Nurse.
She met her husband at college, got married and had her children. She’d always had an interest in travelling, but life happened and time passed.
Then her sister in law decided to travel and ended up living and working in Australia for a while. When she returned back to England she announced she wanted to permanently move to Australia, and Nicky and her family started to entertain the idea of moving too.
Nicky and her husband decided to test out Australia and planned to move over for a year and see if they liked it. It took 2 years for their Visa’s to come through, and during this time their eldest daughter decided she didn’t want to join the rest of the family with the move. She’d met the love her life and decided she wanted to say in England and raise a family.
Despite this news, Nicky and the rest of her family took the leap and came to Australia. Upon living here for just a few months, Nicky says she knew they weren’t going back, and some 11 years on, they’re still here!
So how did Nicky end up as a Body Shop Consultant I hear you ask! Well, pamper parties are a huge part of many English people’s lives (any excuse to have a girl’s night in with wine and fantastic beauty products), so Nicky looked for companies that provide these services in Australia. She worked for Avon for a while, and eventually found Body Shop at Home. Having always loved Pamper Parties and Body Shop Products, it made sense that she become an Independent Body Shop Consultant. Some 3 years on, she’s still going strong!
As well as hosting Pamper Parties, Nicky will also re-stock products when you need them, and deliver them personally to your home or office.
With Christmas fast approaching now would be a great time to get in touch with Nicky and organise those presents!
She’ll have a stall at our upcoming Marketplace Coffee & Connect on 16th November, so make sure you stop by and say hi, or email her here.