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More women are striking out on their own and setting up businesses across North Wales.

Among the new generation of female entrepreneurs are two mums, Catherine Hardiman and Cathy Heavers, from Llanfairfechan, near Conwy, who created a successful social enterprise, the Your Hwb website and handbook.

They say they have seen that women run almost half the small businesses that advertise with them – mirroring a national trend that has seen a major increase in female entrepreneurship in recent years.

Your Hwb focused on encouraging people across rural North Wales to use, buy, shop and spend locally.

The duo have identified an off the radar economy of 350 micro-businesses that employ up to 1,000 people within a six-mile radius of Llanfairfechan and an increasing number are run by women.

Your Hwb promotes enterprises as varied as a campsite, crafts, cafés, counselling and complementary therapy and childminders, all run by women, not to mention a driving school, fitness boot camps, barber and pet services.

"40% of the businesses we feature are female-run”

Catherine said: “Female entrepreneurs are certainly on the increase in North Wales as well as across the rest of the UK which has seen a surge in the number of women starting businesses.

“Men are twice as likely as women to start their own businesses but here in rural Conwy, our evidence is that more and more women are striking out on their own.

“In the UK the proportion of working-age women that went into business rose by 45% between 2013 and 2016 but we reckon 40% of the businesses we feature are female-run.”

(Image: Stacey Oliver Photography)

It bears out research by Aston University in Birmingham which revealed a 45% rise in females starting their own business.

Karen Bonner, of Aston Business School, said having children - which once led many women to give up work completely - is now a key factor for women who choose self-employment, with many saying “they wanted flexibility and freedom”.

Cathy added: “These are often women who have had careers and children but want to work while fitting it around family life and because work is so much more flexible now they are able to do that.

“As a mum you have family responsibilities but you still want to use your skills and expertise and keep yourself mentally stimulated and I believe really passionately in using those skills to benefit the local community.

“Running Your Hwb has given us real satisfaction and we feel it is also benefiting the local community by putting businesses in touch with each other and putting residents in touch with local businesses they might not have known were there.”

Sam Davies started Platts Farm campsite after friends visited and stayed in a tent on land at their home which was once the farm which supplied Bryn y Neuadd Hall, built in the 19th century by the Platt family, wealthy industrialists from Oldham.

Sam, whose husband, Alan, is an electrician said: “It made us realise that there wasn’t much camping around and that there was an opportunity for us as a gateway to Snowdonia.

“We also get a lot of local trade from people who have family visiting. We work with local tourism sites to build business.

“Your Hwb has put us in touch with local contractors who do work for us. Running the campsite is a job I can work round being a mum with two children.”

Amanda Williams gave up a full-time job in a supermarket to run Gifted Crafters in Llanfairfechan where 15 local craftspeople promote their products.

“Women are strong"

She said: “I make hand-made jewellery and we provide an outlet for all sorts of different craftwork, much of it made by women, who run their business around their home life.

“Women are strong and it’s very positive that so many are giving it a go because there are great rewards from doing it yourself and in a close-knit community like this, people like to support you.”

(Image: Stacey Oliver Photography)

Gemma Holden, whose mum, Deborah, runs the Riverside Café in the village, said: “Together my mum and I used to cater for a local cricket team at weekends.

“Mum worked as a Senior Personal Banking Manager and after 28 years service, decided to take redundancy and follow her dream of running her own cafe.

“I decided to join her and we were lucky enough to find the Riverside Cafe in Llanfairfechan which was already running and had it’s local customer base.

“We’ve been here for a year now and thoroughly enjoy our work and the local community have welcomed us with open arms. We offer breakfasts, light bites and afternoon teas. We also offer takeaway food and we do outside catering too.”

Catherine, 51, from Manchester, and Cathy, 46, from Oldham, who met at the school gate in Llanfairfechan where Catherine’s daughter and Cathy’s boys were pupils, both had high level business experience and skills, Catherine in healthcare and Cathy in communications and marketing.

They hit on the idea for Your Hwb, creating a network of local information including a guide to hyper-local businesses, and it has moved out of Llanfairfechan to include the neighbouring areas of Penmaenmawr, Dwygyfylchi, Capelulo and Abergwyngregyn.

The name Your Hwb is a blend of Welsh and English - Hwb means boost in Welsh – and the two have identified 350 micro-businesses employing up to 1,000 people in their six-mile stretch of the North Wales coastal corridor.

Your Hwb includes useful numbers, lists of local groups and clubs, details of bin collections, councillors’ contact information and even the local flood plan.

It also includes spotlight features on local businesses, recipes, ideas for days out locally, walks and competitions and local services.

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