A North East businesswoman who transformed her life after suffering severe burnout is now bringing entrepreneurs together for a major new business event in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Gina Trick, from Hazlerigg, has spent more than two decades building businesses ranging from online retail and the wedding industry to business coaching and AI strategy.
Now she is preparing to host The Edge, a new business development event taking place at The Catalyst on Wednesday 7 October. The event will bring together entrepreneurs, speakers, exhibitors and sponsors from across the UK, with a strong focus on showcasing North East businesses and talent.
Gina said: “I help people make more money in their business. A lot of people think strategy sounds boring, but when you explain that strategy helps businesses grow and gives owners more freedom, people understand the value immediately.
“The online world is incredibly noisy now, especially with AI making it easy for people to create endless content. We wanted to create something where people could genuinely connect face-to-face, learn from each other and build trust.”
Gina’s career began in the hotel industry, where she worked her way into management before deciding traditional employment was not for her.
“I always felt there had to be something more,” she explained. “I worked hard, but I couldn’t understand why life revolved around asking permission for holidays or time off. I knew I wanted freedom and creativity.”
Despite knowing nobody in business at the time, she launched her first company more than 20 years ago selling handmade jewellery and stationery online before expanding into retail, events and the wedding industry. Her entrepreneurial journey eventually led to running a successful wedding and events business, but years of working 90-hour weeks took a serious toll on her health.
“I experienced total burnout,” she said. “My body simply shut down. I couldn’t speak properly and genuinely thought I’d had a stroke. That was the moment I realised something had to change.”
After stepping away from the business, Gina retrained as a business coach and strategist, determined to help other entrepreneurs grow successful businesses without sacrificing their wellbeing.
Today she runs Gina Trick Strategy, helping mainly online business owners develop smarter ways to market and scale their companies.
The Edge event has been created alongside her business partner Kay Suthar and aims to combine expert speakers with meaningful networking opportunities.
Unlike many conferences, the event will include more than three hours of dedicated connection time between sessions, allowing delegates to build relationships and collaborations rather than simply listening to back-to-back talks.
Gina added: “We want people to leave remembering the conversations they had, the people they met and how they felt during the day.
“There’s huge talent in the North East and we want to put that at the centre of this event while also bringing people into Newcastle from across the UK and beyond.”
The event will include speaker sessions, exhibition stands, sponsorship opportunities and networking spaces aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, freelancers and entrepreneurs.
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Photo: Gina (Lauren McWilliams Photography)
PR and media keith@highlightspr.co.uk 07814 397951