Camilla Shaughnessy is CEO and Founder of Business Start Up Eventful Stays
Name three successful entrepreneurs. “Richard Branson, Duncan Bannatyne, James Dyson” answers Camilla Shaughnessy, CEO of Business Startup Eventful Stays, which specialises in short break self catering accommodation in the UK. It was only after thinking about it did she add “Oh, and there’s Hilary Devey too”. Devey founded Pall-Ex, a palletised freight network and is now a multi millionaire. Is Hilary Devey less of an entrepreneur than those aforementioned? “No”, replies Camilla. So why did she not appear in your top three? Camilla ponders this before answering. Men, for one, get a lot of media attention. Compare the success of Hilary Devey to Jamie Oliver. Both entrepreneurs have regular TV coverage. However, who is known greater? Most would argue Jamie Oliver, and this may be for several reasons. Women, Camilla argues, tend to be more discreet in business, and this is often mistaken for a lack of success. However, whether this is the only reason, Camilla is unsure. “There is also a correlation to the entrepreneurial successes of women on a national level”, she continues, “Jo Malone, The White Company, The Body Shop….you’re seeing the typical female comfort zone in action. Specsavers, and the success of Mary Perkins and her husband, is the exception to this, not the rule.” Why women don’t enter male dominated markets remains unclear, but elements of intimidation do exist, she argues. An established female entrepreneur has two choices, to nurture those following in their footsteps, or to not. Whether women are left to be deterred from male dominated markets is dependent on this: are women left on their own? Men are surrounded by men, but women are are not surrounded by women in today’s marketplace. Therefore, if more female entrepreneurs were to participate in organisations such as Everywoman -an organisation providing networking and support to women in business – this trend may break. I conclude this discussion with the most probing question of all. When you think ‘entrepreneur’, does a man or a woman appear in your mind? ‘A man’ Camilla replies, ‘but this will soon change. If women want it to. The trick, help each other out.’
