Scale Her Up: Female business stories and expert tips for business growth and success

What happens when you launch a workplace consultancy focused on human connection at the exact moment the entire world goes into strict isolation? In this episode, Dr Brenda Hector sits down with Lisa Gallagher and Nikki Slowey, co-founders of Flexibility Works, to explore their six-year journey running an impactful social enterprise.

Both Lisa and Nikki share their matching professional histories: reaching senior levels, navigating motherhood, and hitting absolute organizational brick walls when attempting to negotiate basic part-time or job-share terms. Dr Brenda Hector also shares her personal experience navigating the rigid workplace frameworks of the past as a mother of twins. Together, they highlight why flexible working structures are no longer a modern luxury—they are a critical commercial lever that decreases employee absenteeism, supercharges retention rates, and broadens talent pools.

Key Takeaways:

• The Power of Co-Founding: How sharing executive leadership allows business owners to manage family operations, avoid professional burnout, and survive sudden personal health challenges.
• Guardrails vs. Free-For-Alls: Why hybrid frameworks require clear, evolving structures instead of static policies to remain sustainable.
• Frontline Flexibility: How manufacturing and operational environments can successfully implement staggered start times and predictable shifts.
• Charitable Seed Funding: Navigating the third-sector landscape to fund an initial launch with a distinct poverty alleviation lens.

What do you do when you successfully build a business that runs like a well-oiled machine without you, but your heart completely leaves the building? In this episode, Dr Brenda Hector sits down with long-time friend Oyin Adekola, founder of Keeping It Real With Oyin .

Oyin opens up about her raw psychological journey of exiting her legendary Aberdeen commercial bakery enterprise, Oh Cakes!, which she grew over 13 years from a single £20 order to a multi-staff empire with its own commercial unit, receptionist, and administration team . She discusses the agonizing two-and-a-half-year period she spent mourning the business before gathering the strength to lock the doors for good to prioritize her family and personal peace .

Now working as a specialized parent and youth coach, Oyin shares her core framework for family leadership and explains how she balances systems thinking with authentic communication to mentor the next generation.

Key Takeaways:

• The Trapped Entrepreneur: How Oyin accidentally created a "monster" business that was too large to sell and too consuming to keep .
• Redefining Success: Why high revenues and public recognition don't matter if you are dying inside on the drive home every evening.
• Cultural Leadership Styles: Navigating the communication gap between straight-talking Nigerian business values and traditional Aberdeen corporate dynamics .
• The Family Systems Blueprint: Why your home needs clear structural systems and the three leadership hats: parent, mentor, and coach .

How do you transition from advising the Prime Minister in Number 10 Downing Street to running a virtual boutique consultancy that shapes the operating models of global aerospace and tech giants? In this episode, Dr Brenda Hector sits down with Sarah Stone, founder of Samtaler, to demystify the multi-billion-pound world of "social value".

Sarah breaks down how a chance encounter with the Procurement Reform Act transformed her career and highlights the harsh business reality every entrepreneur must face: discovering whether a market problem causes enough pain for clients to actually buy a solution. As a military spouse who built a business to survive frequent relocations, Sarah details how she scales an all-female, 100% virtual team by offering radical baseline flexibility.

Key Takeaways:

• Shareholders vs. Stakeholders: Why modern market longevity requires serving your staff, community, and suppliers alongside your bottom line.
• Compliance is Not Social Value: The critical difference between ticking a legal box and implementing project-specific risk mitigation.
• The Solopreneur Reality Check: Why it always takes longer to turn a profit than your initial business plan estimates.
• Servant Leadership: The commercial magic that occurs when you actively build a team of specialists who are smarter than you are.

What do you do when the business everyone else considers "highly successful" is the exact thing causing you to burn out? In this episode, Dr Brenda Hector sits down with Iska Walter, owner of Iska Birnie Photography, to celebrate her ninth year in business and discuss the power of the strategic pivot.

Iska shares her journey from working as a car mechanic apprentice in Germany to packing up her life in the Netherlands and moving to Scotland. She reveals how she inherited a fully booked wedding photography pipeline, why shooting 40 weddings in a single year left her with a massive "wedding hangover," and how she made the brave decision to walk away from that revenue to protect her joy and focus on commercial brand photography.

We also dive into the realities of being an introvert in a visible industry, the rising demand for real human authenticity over AI-generated images, and the little-known government and private support systems available when self-employed business owners fall ill.

Key Takeaways:

• The Golden Handcuffs of Wedding Photography: Why doing a few things well beats being a "jack of all trades" under constant pressure.
• An Introvert’s Visibility Strategy: Simple, practical techniques to put yourself and your clients at ease in front of the lens.
• Authenticity vs AI: Why modern consumers are craving human connection, imperfections, and un-Photoshopped realities.
• The Self-Employed Safety Net: Crucial insights into New Style ESA and private health support schemes for business owners when disaster strikes.

https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance

https://www.healthyworkinglives.scot/

What is the difference between starting a career and buying a business? In this episode, Dr Brenda Hector sits down with Katie Backler, Managing Director of Charles White Limited, to explore her 25-year journey leading one of Scotland and Northern Ireland's premier residential property management firms.

Katie shares the fascinating story of buying a fifth-generation family business in 2001 and intentionally stepping in as an owner rather than a technician. We trace the strategic evolution of the company, including expanding into Belfast, navigating the financing hurdles of an asset-light service company, and the tough decision to sell their core lettings division to achieve ultimate operational focus.

Katie also dives into the realities of working alongside her husband, managing the deep psychological shifts of leadership change, and why her team recently took home the prestigious 2026 Managing Agent of the Year award.

Key Takeaways:

• The E-Myth Approach: Why entering an industry without technical expertise can prevent you from getting bogged down in day-to-day operations.
• Acquisition Integration: The slow, deliberate process of blending cultures, teams, and ancient ledger systems.
• Financing Service Companies: How to secure funding when your business has zero physical assets to use as security.
• Mindset Reframing: Learning to separate your identity from business failure and accepting that success and struggle always coexist.

Are you spending three hours a week on bookkeeping when you should be making sales? Dr. Brenda Hector is joined by Fiona Purves, owner of Defacto FD, to discuss why your business numbers are more than just a tax bill—they are the story of your success.

Fiona shares her transition from corporate industry to setting up a "pick and mix" finance department for small businesses. We dive into the importance of professional accreditation, why your bookkeeper might be feeling "professionally lonely," and how Fiona’s background as a yoga teacher brings a philosophy of "Karma Yoga" (selfless service) to her accounting practice.

Key Takeaways:

• The Defacto Model: Scaling your finance department up and down based on your current needs.
• The Novel in the Numbers: Learning to see the real story behind the profit and loss sheet.
• The Un-Photoshopped Version: Why your accountant is your most trusted, judgment-free sounding board.
• Dooking and Balance: Why wild dipping and walking are Fiona's "non-negotiables" for avoiding burnout.

Lisa Schoneville’s journey is a powerful case study in the difference between owning a job and owning a business. From counting out pennies to afford nappies to building two multi-staff companies that operate entirely without her, Lisa’s story is a masterclass in resilience and strategic systemisation.

What happens when your "flexible" business starts consuming 60 hours of your week? For serial entrepreneur Lisa Schoneville, it was the catalyst for a radical change in strategy. In this episode, Dr Brenda Hector talks with the founder of a thriving cleaning company and a specialised property management firm—both of which now operate with only 5% of her direct involvement.

Lisa shares her raw and inspiring journey, from leaving a secure bank management career to counting out £7 in copper jars just to buy nappies. We dive into the importance of "straight-talk" from your accountant, why she pays her staff above minimum wage, and the unique employee benefits (like 24/7 counselling) that have supercharged her team's loyalty.

Key Takeaways:

• The Entrepreneurial Shift: How to move from being a "busy fool" to building an income that doesn't rely on you.
• Staff as Assets: Why valuing staff with better pay and mental health support leads to higher retention and growth .
• The Power of "Yes": Jumping into opportunities (like serviced apartments) even when you don’t yet know the "how" .
• The Freedom of Choice: Why money isn't just about wealth—it's about the ability to choose how you spend your time .

This is a special re-release of the most-listened-to episode of Scale Her Up. Katie Watson’s story of transformation—from crippling childhood shyness to leading the BWC Futures group and excelling at the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce—is a masterclass in resilience and authentic career building.

How do you go from being too shy to leave your house to hosting major networking events for young professionals? In this special re-release of the Scale HER Up's most popular episode ever, Dr Brenda Hector talks with Katie Watson of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce.

Katie shares her journey through a childhood diagnosis of depression at age 12 to becoming the lead for BWC Futures, a group dedicated to supporting women aged 16–25 in their early careers. We discuss the "hunt as the feast," the power of vulnerability in leadership, and why reinventing yourself is sometimes the best career move you can make.

Key Takeaways:

• Reinventing the Self: How Katie used University as a "fresh chance" to move past her history with mental health .
• BWC Futures: Creating safe, drink-free spaces for young women to connect and grow.
• The "Why" and the "How": Navigating the critics who question your ambition before they ask for your secrets.
• Aberdeen’s Future: How the Chamber is helping businesses "fall back in love" with the region.

From war zones in Iraq to the boardrooms of the North Sea energy sector, Diana Muriel’s career is a masterclass in high-stakes communication. In this episode, she shares why she traded her blood-group-stamped vest for a role as a "Family Manager" and corporate consultant, proving that the most powerful tool in any business is the ability to tell a simple, truthful story .

Dr. Brenda Hector sits down with Diana Muriel, Communications Manager at Serica Energy and former CNN International war correspondent . Diana reveals how she navigated the transition from the frontlines to corporate "Issues Management" at Shell, where she became the "agony aunt" for engineers with buried skeletons . They discuss why CEOs are essentially just engineers who can communicate, the "cruel" reality of the workforce for mothers, and a breathtaking story from a Kabul washhouse that taught Diana the ultimate lesson: to earn trust, you must first display your own vulnerability .

The Hook: She reported on the collapse of economies and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, Diana Muriel is teaching the energy industry that telling the truth is the only way to scale .

Key Topics:

• The CNN Pivot: Why a 40-year-old war correspondent decided she couldn't go back to Baghdad after becoming a mother.
• Issues Management: Going into companies to find "skeletons in the cupboard" before the media does .
• The Engineering Gap: Why technical experts often fail to celebrate the "jeopardy and skill" of their own work .
• The "Family Manager" Rebrand: Why being "just a mom" is a professional scandal we need to fix.
• The Kabul Lesson: A legendary story of trust, vulnerability, and a Marks & Spencer bra in a Taliban-restricted washhouse.

Estimated Timestamps:

• [00:01:30] Trading CNN war assignments for a derelict farmhouse in Scotland .
• [00:04:00] Becoming the "Agony Aunt" of Shell: The world of corporate comms.
• [00:09:00] Why engineers struggle with storytelling and CEOs excel at it .
• [00:15:30] The hard lesson of client management vs. running a news bureau .
• [00:22:30] The "Comms Break": Navigating quiet spells and the return to employment.
• [00:27:00] Retiring ageism and the importance of the "Family Manager".
• [00:33:00] The Power of Vulnerability: An incredible story from Kabul

From a registered general nurse to the owner of three thriving skin clinics in North Kent, Emma Coleman is a testament to the power of the "side hustle" and the importance of clinical expertise in the beauty industry. In this episode, she gets honest about the "busy fool" stage of her early business, the reality of bootstrapping, and why she records her first podcast from a store cupboard.

Dr. Brenda Hector sits down with Emma Coleman, founder of Emma Coleman Skin, to discuss her transition from 20 years in the NHS to scaling a multi-clinic brand. Emma reveals how she managed three jobs and three small children while starting a clinic in her own home to save costs . They dive into the complexities of scaling through acquisition, the emotional connection people have with their skin, and why "done is better than perfect" is the only way to launch. This is an episode for anyone who needs a reminder that the path to success is rarely glamorous but always worthwhile.

The Hook: What do nursing on a hospital ward and running a business have in common? More than you think. Emma Coleman shares how she swapped the NHS for a skin clinic chain.

Key Topics:

• The Clinical Edge: Transitioning from an RGN in the NHS to a specialized dermatology nurse in private practice .
• The "Busy Fool" Stage: Managing three income streams and school runs while building a business foundation .
• Bootstrapping & Acquisition: The challenges of taking over an existing beauty salon and turning it into a medical-grade clinic.
• Team & Culture: Moving from a solo founder to a team of 10 and the "nerve-wracking" reality of recruitment.
• Founder Advice: Why perfection is the enemy of progress and the power of daily manifestation.

Estimated Timestamps:

• [00:01:00] Intro to Emma Coleman Skin: From facials to minor surgery.
• [00:03:00] Leaving the NHS: The 2015 decision to go "all in".
• [00:08:40] Scaling through acquisition: Inheriting staff and changing culture.
• [00:11:40] The Money Talk: Cash flow, bootstrapping, and daily monitoring.
• [00:16:10] The confidence of skin: Treating acne and boosting self-esteem.
• [00:22:20] "Done is better than perfect": Advice for the next generation of founders.
• [00:33:30] Real Talk: Recording from the store cupboard