Newsletter March 2021
-
A month of making history

Hello from Fay

As we come to the end of Women’s History Month there have been mixed emotions both positive and negative. As we celebrated the progress we have made on International Women’s Day, we see new issues arising that we haven’t even talked about. This month the death of Sarah Everard brought home the fact that many women do not feel safe, outside, in their homes and sometimes at work. But in all of this we must remember that to solve a problem we must have all parties at the table to help overcome them.

On a much more positive note, I would like to send my congratulations to current mentees Juliet, Julianne and Sam, and previous mentee Rachael who have all made the C&IT Corporate A List!

If you applied for this year’s FF15 programme I am only sorry that we couldn’t offer everyone a place as the standard of applications this year were so high. Congratulations to those who did win a place (we will announce who in next month’s issue!) and for those who didn’t, do not be disappointed because just by applying you have started the process of making a change in your life and that in itself is so powerful.

I hope you find this issue supportive, uplifting, and positive… enjoy!Lots of love,

Fay x

FF15 Shero’s

Women who inspire us with their strength, ambition and fearlessness.
Continuing with our series of FF15 Shero’s, this month we would like to introduce you to Felicia Asiedu.

I have known Felicia for a few years now, she is one of those women who quietly makes things happen. At an early age she was driven to achieve the best in everything that she was doing, and to take control of her situations rather than allowing situations to take control of her. Full of passion and compassion for what she believes in she is a woman who sets the standard in and out of work. If you want someone to make things happen look no further than Felicia Asiedu. Read her inspirational story to find out more why she is a shero.

Mental Health First Aid assistance for FF15
TW: Mental health/suicide.

Mentor Joy Thomas is unfortunately no stranger to mental health issues after having lost her beloved brother from him taking his own life. The ripples from such an impactful incident will never fade, but Joy has used her experience to gain some key life skills by undertaking the Mental Health First Aid course in the hopes of being able to make a difference, no matter how small, to someone else in the future.

Poor mental health can manifest in many ways. It can be a grey cloud that hangs around for weeks on end, something unexplainable. It doesn’t have to be triggered by a tragedy or a huge life event, every day things can pile up. Joy has learnt essential skills for the workplace and for every day and is now a qualified Mental Health First Aider. She is available to anyone reading this who finds themselves in a position of needing to speak to someone. Joy’s contact details can be found in the full article.

Side Hustle Queen!
We catch up with some fabulous women who are absolutely bossing it with their side hustles and they share some of their top tips with you. This week we have the wonderful Ain Bensenouci.Ain is a digital creator and consultant, sharing tips across multiple channels such as Instagram and YouTube on career and personal development. She works as Partnerships and Events Manager at Penguin Random House, where she specialised in B2B events and talent management. You can find more details on her work at www.ainsnotes.com.

Side hustles can help you to accelerate your personal and professional development, as well as provide an outlet to explore your passion that is independent of your job. There are many benefits to starting your side hustle, such as organic networking opportunities and building financial security. If you don’t know where to start, below are some simple steps that will help:

  1. Identify your niche – find something you’re passionate about. If you’re struggling with this, ask yourself this: what is the one thing I can never get tired of talking about?
  2. Share your passion – think about the best ways to share your passion with the world. Depending on what kind of area your side hustle is in, social media or a website can be a great place to start building a platform for free.
  3. Create a community – no matter what your niche is, community is everything. Understand who you can serve and support and build a space to share your side hustle with them.
  4. Collaborate with others – find others in your niche and collaborate on projects. This will help you to learn from others and will provide you with a support system of like-minded people.
  5. Have fun – side hustles should be fun, so remember that done is better than perfect and that everybody wants to see you succeed.

One Loud Voice for Women (1LV)

We’re delighted to share with you some of the work of one of our 2020-2021 mentors, Madolyn Grove. Alongside her day job at Hearst UK, she is also a Trustee for One Loud Voice for Women. In this role she is responsible for rising funds to support the organisation to achieve gender equality in the UK workplace by transforming business behaviour through a trusted network – and the organisation would love to hear from our FF15 community!
One Loud Voice for Women (1LV) was born out of a shared frustration at the slow pace of change for equality in the workplace and now works with the aim to connect, inspire and accelerate change within the workplace. It is aimed at enhancing the workplace for all women.
In light of the pandemic, the workplace has changed for women and so now is the time to review how One Loud Voice will work to amplify women’s voices where they are needed most. Please take some time to complete the below survey on your needs and views when it comes to equality at work. One Loud Voice will be very grateful for your feedback, so please do take 5 minutes out of your day to get involved!
Exclusive discount on Covid secure event training
In partnership with HBAA, Brightspace Events are offering the FF15 network a 20% discount on their Covid secure events training.The government guidelines on Covid secure events have specific requirements from event planners, these online courses shares best practices across the evet industry and covers topics such as risk assessments, security plans and the systems to make them work.

You can access the details here, using promotional code FF15 at the check out.

Update on Fashion Forward 15
The evenings are getting longer and the mornings are getting brighter. With a roadmap to freedom tentatively in place, the industry is getting ready to throw the doors open to the public, and welcome them back with open arms! The mentees are just as excited to get back to in-person, even if it’s just to finally all meet in person and chat over dinner.

But the end of lockdown isn’t the only date we are excited about… The Fast Forward 15 mentees are pleased to announce that our charity event will be taking place on Thursday 20th May! Watch this space for more information to be revealed soon.

Our sponsors and suppliers have been hugely generous for this year’s FF15 event in aid of New Life charity, providing spectacular auction prizes, such as nights away, dinners out, and magnums of champagne, plenty to celebrate the end of lockdown! To be in with a chance of winning these and more, keep an eye on the Fast Forward 15 Instagram and LinkedIn where we will be releasing all the details.

If you’d like to get involved, from sponsorship to supplying more fantastic prizes or services, please get in touch at hello@fastforward15.co.uk