Women Owned Essex: Creating a Different Kind of Space for Women in Business

When I started Women Owned Essex back in 2023, I was not setting out to build a big networking group. I was responding to a feeling I could not shake after going to a couple of networking events myself.

The rooms were full of suits.

The conversations felt formal.

And the very first question I was asked was not “What’s your name”.

It was “Where are you from”.

What they really meant was, which company do you represent.

For years, I had worked in large organisations with big, recognisable names. In those rooms, that mattered. But now, working for myself, I was suddenly just me. No big brand behind me. No impressive company name to lean on. And in those spaces, it felt like that was not enough.

Everything felt transactional. People hid behind business cards, job titles and company names. It felt like you had to perform or prove yourself before you were allowed to belong.

That experience stayed with me.

Wanting Something Different

I knew there had to be another way to connect. One that felt more human. More supportive. More empowering.

I wanted to create a space where women could show up as themselves. Where the first question was “What’s your name” not “What do you do”. Where you did not need to mask behind a business card, a polished pitch or a company name.

Women Owned Essex was born from that desire.

A place where women in business could connect without pressure.Without fees.Without competition.

Just real conversation and genuine support.

Finding the Right Rhythm Together

For the first year, I ran Women Owned Essex on my own. Then, about a year in, I met Sarah Pridham.

We connected instantly. The conversations were easy, honest and energising in that way that tells you very quickly you are aligned. Not long after, Sarah began running the group alongside me, and Women Owned Essex truly found its rhythm.

We shared the same belief. That women do business best when they feel safe, supported and genuinely connected. That confidence grows when people are allowed to be themselves. And that community should come before competition.

Why It Still Matters

I genuinely believe entrepreneurship is the new women’s movement. Women are building businesses around their lives, their families, their values and their wellbeing. They do not need more pressure or performance. They need spaces that feel human.

Women Owned Essex exists so women can connect without feeling like they have to be anything other than who they already are.

When women come together without expectation, incredible things happen.