Welcome to the brand-new series of Think Outside Women’s netwalks, which are taking place throughout 2017 in the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales. The walks are specifically targeted at female entrepreneurs living and working in and around the Peak District.

The walks are part of the pan European FREE project. This project aims to provide training and support to women running businesses in rural areas. This includes virtual and face to face training on key skills for business such as finance and marketing as well as ‘soft skills’ such as building confidence. The Think Outside walks form part of the sustainability of the project and the leaders time is all voluntary.

As Tracy explained to the Buxton Advertiser after the first walk,  “It will help women in small businesses find their niche, develop confidence and informal networks. As a female entrepreneur in a rural location it’s often difficult to identify the right kind of support. It’s lonely out there and when you are starting out, having a strong support network is crucial.”

“From experience and research we know that accessing business support when you are first starting out is critical to the success of your business. Our walks provide a free and informal opportunity for women to talk about their businesses in a friendly caring and sharing environment. The best bit about the walks for me is that it allows me to share my love of helping small business, and the Peak District with others.”

The FREE programme

FREE is a new pan European Project funded by the European Union and Erasmus+.  FREE is developing an online training platform and a network of groups, run by local business women, with the aim of encouraging, supporting and connecting women in business in rural areas.

Contacts

Tracy Duggan – Network Leader for the FREE project in the High Peak and Jill Turner – Network leader for the FREE project in the Derbyshire Dales.

  • Tracy Duggan
  • Director, skillslocal.co.uk
  • Tracy@skillslocal.co.uk
  • 07974 139335

  • Jill Turner

  • Director, jillturnerassociates.co.uk
  • jill@jillturnerassociates.co.uk
  • 07971 005291

Future Walks