A monthly meet-up has been launched in Bath by an award-winning personal development facilitator and life motivator to inspire and encourage the city’s businesswomen.
Women Unmasked is the brainchild of Radstock-based Yvonne Bignall, who runs Yvonne B Ltd, a consultancy that supports women in business and helps them realise their potential.
Yvonne, pictured, saw a gap in the market for a self-discovery group for women over 50 – or women who feel connected to the group’s ethos – and promises sessions will be unlike anything businesswomen will have attended before.
The meetings usually take place on the last Wednesday of the month with the venue alternating between boutique hotel No.15 Great Pulteney Street and Bath Thermae Spa’s Cross Bath. Women in the group are encouraged to share their stories, offer practical support, gain insight from experts in various fields and hear inspirational stories.
The guest speaker at the next meeting, from 6pm to 8pm on April 25 at No.15, will be Anna Perra, a personal stylist and fashion designer who will look at ‘unmasking our bodies’ – letting go of poor body image and learning the art of self-love.
Yvonne, who has been a business consultant for nearly a decade, says many of the women she has worked with revealed to her they did not feel they lead fulfilling lives.
She said: “If we want to raise strong, confident women who will challenge the status quo, then we need to start by addressing our own behaviours.
“Some women have a tendency to devalue themselves and not make time for their own dreams. It’s partly due to their nature as nurturers, their upbringing and society. If we better prioritise our own desires then we will be strong role models for girls growing up today.”
The Chartered Management Institute-qualified coach and mentor is also a health advocate and qualified personal trainer – helping women to live healthier and more authentic lives – and has worked in the health, leisure and wellbeing industry for more than 20 years.
Having been made redundant from her job as a personal assistant in 2004 she went onto set up her own virtual PA firm and later a training consultancy.
In 2013, the single mum visited Downing Street to meet some of the Prime Minister’s aides to look at ways of increasing government support for single parents in business.
And last year she became a best-selling author on Amazon for her book Suck it Up or Change, which is about creating a better life. It is based on her 7F Principles: be fit, be fearless, create freedom, pay it forward, enjoy friends and family, have fun, and have faith.
Yvonne has also worked as an ambassador for Business Against Poverty, which works to reduce international poverty through various projects and, more recently, she has volunteered as an e-mentor for Women’s WorldWide Web, an organisation that provides mentoring to women in developing countries and encourages their empowerment.
