Lisa Lavis, Managing Director and owner of Glow, has been named ‘Woman Business Owner of the Year 2019’ at the Women in Business awards.
The Women in Business Awards recognise outstanding achievements by women in business across the Thames Valley and South. Following her nomination, Lisa was announced as a finalist in September with the awards on Thursday 3rd October at Oakley Court Hotel in Windsor.
Glow, a design and digital studio, was founded by Lisa Lavis in 2000 and celebrated its 19th year in business earlier this year, as well as its highest turnover to date. Lisa has created a culture at Glow that encourages flexibility in the workplace and has allowed the company to flourish.
The ‘Woman Business Owner of the Year 2019’ category focuses on seeking nominations from entrepreneurial women who have founded and are running their own company; women who are showing exceptional abilities in leading and mentoring other women; and who have led their businesses to achieve significant results in the past year.
Discussing the biggest challenge of her career to date, Lisa Lavis said:
“I’m proud to have had the resolve, determination and vision to continue with Glow after it suffered a 40% drop in sales in 2008/2009. It was mid and post-recession and Glow had to make big changes. We stopped taking salaries, two directors chose to leave; amicably, and I was left as the only decision maker. We re-branded as just ‘Glow’, repositioned as a design agency and started building the name, the brand and company once again. We attracted new clients, firmed up our processes, stepped up our negotiating skills and won a number of key contracts and we’ve just had, year-end May 2019, our best sales year in the entire 19-year history of Glow.”
On winning the award, Lisa said:
“It’s a huge privilege to be the captain of Glow’s ship. I work with a team, who produce brilliant work every day, make me laugh and live & work by the same aligned values. I passionately believe that creating a culture of true flexibility in the workplace, providing unlimited opportunities and, not taking yourself too seriously, taking time to laugh every day, to think and to re-boost spark and creativity, will naturally lead to success.”
