How do you turn a conversation into a £68m turnover business? Helen Cannon started a managed travel co in her late 30s (with five children at home!) off the back of a conversation in a restaurant. While the whole industry was pushing clients onto booking tools and stripping out the human contact, Helen saw that her ability to build good, lasting relationships would set Ison Travel apart.
In a little over a decade, Helen has grown Ison into a super-scaler operating across five countries, with a workforce that is 70% women. Within that, 25% are over 55, and 5% over 65.
We discuss Helen’s people-first, tech-second philosophy and building a high-growth business on the basis of a flexible working, part-time workforce.
Helen shares precious insights into what’s holding women founders back from scaling their businesses and how we all need to be 1-% braver.
She also reflects on how the pandemic, which paralysed the travel industry, became the inflection point on which ISON took flight.
Listen to bolster your entrepreneurial resolve and to help you be a little braver.
The Wobbly Middle is a podcast for women rethinking their careers in midlife. New episodes every other Tuesday.
Key Topics
Starting a business in midlife — middle-to-late thirties, five children, a six-month-old, and the realisation that no employer was going to be able to cope with her life
Flexible working — hiring on ability rather than hours or postcode, job shares, school hours, and part-timers who became full-timers as their children grew
Female founders — how female-founded businesses deliver higher returns and why women should not be scared to knock on the doors
Scaling up — inflection points, the multiplier effect past £10 million, and why each step gets bigger rather than simply doubling
10% braver — a philosophy that can mean building a company or can mean getting out of bed and taking one small step
Purpose before profit — "you can't have profit without purpose", and changing the workplace for good
Trusting your gut — "your gut instincts are your guardian angels", and asking what's the worst that can happen
Links
ISON Travel: https://isontravel.com
The SuperScalers: https://www.superscalers.world — Sam Smith's programme for female founders scaling their businesses, which Helen discusses in the episode
Everywoman: https://www.everywoman.com
The Women's Chapter: https://womenschapter.com
More from The Wobbly Middle
The Wobbly Middle on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-wobbly-middle/id1767850643
The Wobbly Middle on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4YhwsBch8Q9vAOUBBfusIv
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If You Enjoyed This Episode
We've had other extraordinary female founders who have built boldly. Listen to Debbie Wosskow OBE (Season 1), who has founded and exited multiple businesses, and Rachael Newton (Season 2), a hedge fund lawyer who walked away to found period care company, Nixit.
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Made a left turn in your career? We'd love to hear about it. Write to Patsy at [email protected], Your story might just be the nudge someone else needs.
About The Host
Join lawyer Patsy Day as she navigates her own midlife career crossroads in real time. A penny dropped for her when she realised that the restless feeling she'd been having was returning ambition, and she began actively questioning her direction. The Wobbly Middle is that in-between space where we know we want change but don't know how to move forward.
Each season, Patsy sits down with women who share their career pivot stories — leaving corporate life and building businesses, breaking back in after career breaks, going back to study, and taking their long-neglected dreams seriously.
In Season 4, she's speaking to the women who changed direction in midlife to build the things that make our summers: the holidays we book, the books we read, the swimwear we brave, and the financial confidence to enjoy it.
This episode was produced by Patsy Day. Studio recording by The Pod Collective.
