To mark International Women’s Day, Liverpool FC teamed up with Vista, the marketing and design partner to small businesses, to celebrate female small business owners across Liverpool.
Together, Vista and Liverpool FC have created a short video featuring first-team stars Megan Campbell, Emma Koivisto and Ceri Holland, who highlight the parallels between running a small business and playing sport at the highest level.
Filmed in the local area, the football stars talk about the drive, hard work and passion that small business owners put into their businesses, and relate this to the mindset needed to excel on the pitch. The video shows the Liverpool aces at the training ground, passing the mantle on to the nominated small business heroes who talk about their small business struggles and challenging gender stereotypes in their areas of expertise.
From a personal training business and a professional patisserie, to a pottery painting shop and a hand-crafted furniture maker, the video highlights the fast pace and dynamism of small business life. It showcases the women business owners who are competing in traditional male dominated industries and highlights the diversity of small businesses the UK has to offer.
Small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) play a critical role in the British economy, making up 99.9% of all businesses in the UK, and female-founded businesses form an integral part of the SME empire. The Rose Review recently found that women founded a record number of new companies in the UK last year with more than 150,000 enterprises created in 2022, more than double that of 2018. Despite the innovation and resilience of these female entrepreneurs, they face great economic adversity. A recent survey by Vista found that 70% of female small business owners have said their stress levels have increased over the past few months. Liverpool FC and Vista call on others to show their support for and celebrate women-owned businesses in their local area, not just on the 8th March but all year round.
Claire Reynolds, Marketing Director UKIE for Vista, comments: “Running a business is no mean feat. It takes grit, drive and championship-level plate spinning. Women small business owners are constantly challenged by gender stereotypes yet they persevere through to succeed. In our partnership with LFC, we hope to champion how women can defy the odds and become successful in their field.’
Tag your favourite women-owned small business on social media with #Vistapassiton and they’ll be entered to win £500 credit to support their business with Vista.
Ben Latty, Commercial Director at LFC, said: “We are proud to be working with Vista to champion female-owned businesses, in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Female-founded businesses play an important role in our local community, and Vista’s Pass It On campaign is the perfect way to champion that.”
