As of 2023, only 32% of UK businesses are owned by women. With this in mind, programmes that empower young women to enter the world of business, such as the international programme, Young Women into Leadership (You WIL), are more crucial than ever. On 25th July, Lis Lewis-Jones, CEO of Liquid, talked with young women aged 14-16 at the You WIL Summit 2023, about her experiences as a successful female entrepreneur. 

“Inspiring women to realise their potential and reach for their goals starts from a very young age. As children we are very impressionable, and instilling ambition into girls from a young age will help them to recognise what they can achieve and help develop a leadership mentality. For example, when I was nine years old, we had our first female Prime Minister in the UK and I will never forget sitting cross-legged on the floor at school, and my headmistress saying “Girls – this is it. There are no more glass ceilings, you can do whatever you want to do, even become Prime Minister.” From this, I took away a very clear and powerful message that women can do whatever they want to do, and I believed it.  

“Tenacity is key for young women from all backgrounds when it comes to reaching for leadership roles. While some succeed right from the start at school age, others of an entrepreneurial spirit may be unable to thrive as much as their peers, due to their talent for out-of-the-box thinking. Because of this, it’s often those who go on and become the most entrepreneurial that are not necessarily the brightest. In fact, it’s children who have had to work at their studies and have often failed, that usually succeed outside the classroom. This is because those young people are the ones who are used to having to pick themselves up, dust themselves down and carry on. They develop tenacity and when you’re in business, you need to be tenacious – you can’t get upset by a small failure, you have to just learn from it. What’s more, young people like this are used to working hard in order to progress, which may not come naturally, and hard work is something you need in order to be a successful leader. 

“A large demographic of young women feel disheartened or experience feelings of low self-worth, instilled into them by the frequent ‘one size fits all’ approach of school. I can certainly relate to this – at school, I wasn’t particularly outstanding and felt I was average. I lacked confidence and was incredibly shy, but I soon realised that I could work hard and be motivated by topics I was interested in. My ambitious nature didn’t step in until I started work and I realised that common sense (which I had in bucket loads) was more importance than intelligence. 

“It is important to be honest in preparing women for the challenges and prejudices they may face when striving for a leadership role, rather than creating a glamourised, one-dimensional image of how a successful businesswoman looks and acts. Of course, being women, we will often be juggling children alongside our leadership roles, but you need to make business work for you. I set up Liquid when I was 34, with a three-year-old and five-month-old baby. The first few years, my business remained small as my children relied on me heavily, but as they grew and needed me less, my business grew too. I made business work for me, to fit around my life stage and my personal needs, and there is nothing wrong with that. Shedding the stereotype that women can’t be business leaders and mothers will encourage so many more women to achieve their work-related goals. 

“Encouraging young women into leadership roles is something that all business leaders should be prioritising, not only for equality in society but also to improve the whole business environment. No matter what a person’s background or previous experience, all young women have the potential to succeed. They should be encouraged to seize every opportunity they are given and realise that the only glass ceilings are the ones we put there ourselves.” 

 To find out more about Liquid, please visit: www.weareliquid.com