Introduction: The beginning

Many years ago, I met an extraordinary woman called Bev, whose presence was felt as soon as she walked into the room.  She had the most infectious laugh and a smile that brightened up your day.  We remained friends for over 20 years, supporting each other through life dramas and always found comfort in a nice meal followed by a glass or two of prosecco!

I will take the credit for being the matchmaker for the a long loving relationship that resulted in her marriage to a man who absolutely adored her.  After getting married they moved to California living the dream life and we maintained regular contact over long Whatsapp video calls.

A few years prior, Bev discovered she had breast cancer, which was discovered early, treated and went into remission.  A year after moving to the US, she started to feel unwell and was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  They came back to the UK and treatment was started immediately but within weeks she passed away just before the first lockdown in March 2020.

In September 2021, I got together with 3 friends and decided to take part in the 13.5 mile Shine Night Walk for Cancer Research in central London in memory of those we had loved and lost to cancer.  We wanted to create a name for our team.  We saw ourselves as a group of women entrepreneurs striving to create a better life for our loved ones and Nexwomen Entrepreneurs was born.  The logo was designed in memory of my friend Bev, made up of her favourite things - the hummingbird and the colour purple.

Our team of 4 has since evolved into a Whatsapp group of over 80 women entrepreneurs who are part-time, full time or some of the time business owners.  Our main purpose is to empower, motivate, support and inspire each other to become independent leaders of our own destiny, also celebrating each others achievements and successes. 

To this day, I still miss my bessie mate Bev and take solace in the fact that her memory will always live on in Nexwomen.