As a 2010 Growing Business Young Gun, our MD, Claire Mason, has written an interesting piece on female entrepreneurship for the Growing Business' website.

She asks where are all the young female entrepreneurs in competitions like the Young Guns and outlines five steps to help wallflower entrepreneurs increase their profile:

1) Sell yourself

Apply for awards and accolades to generate credible, independent recognition for your strengths and achievements.

2) Take your brand social

Build your online presence by connecting with reputable channels. Focus on the networks that potential customers are engaging with and keep activity aligned to your brand.

3) Networking

This is all about face-to-face networking: meeting people, giving out business cards and getting yourself known in the right circles.

4) Invest in relationships

Take time to socialise with good contacts and maintain old links.

5) Be a super connector

Once you’ve got the hang of networking and built your own brand, it’s time to help others do the same. Introducing like-minded contacts to each other will have positive ramifications for your network too.

You can read the rest of her piece in Growing Business here: Claire Mason - Where have all the young women gone?