A Morpeth business coach who was once a championship runner in her youth is now using all of her business acumen and life experience to help a Northumberland business which encourages women to take up running.
Linda Lowther runs Advice 4 Business (A4B NE) in Morpeth’s Sanderson Arcade from where she has helped many businesses find success in their chosen disciplines.
As a teenager, Linda represented Northumberland County and her local athletics district at 800m, 1500m events and netball as goal shoot. Her talents were such that she undertook a successful trial in netball with the England Under 21 team. Sadly, a medical condition prevented Linda from fulfilling her dream of representing her country in sport; a regret that she still harbours today and an experience which she uses to illustrate the power of determination and drive to her clients.
“I was working as an apprentice in a well-known Newcastle hairdressers and I found that I was suffering from asthma due to a hair allergy. Basically, it was either the athletics or the job. I chose my career but if I’d known then what I know now, perhaps things would be different,” said Linda.
“I see businesses all the time who have taken the wrong path in business or made a decision that they regret. With the benefit of advice, coaching and feedback utilising my wealth of experience I help turn businesses around or set them on a more positive course.”
From leaving her first dream job as a hairdresser, Linda used her competitive spirit, her passion for people and astute communication skills to become very successful in the retail world. Working her way up from being one of the UK’s youngest managers at just 18 at a branch of a nationwide chain of shoe shops, to senior management positions for major players in the fashion industry, wine trade and restaurant business, her reputation for excellence in business grew to such an extent that she was headhunted to project manage the systems roll out of the first Beefeater restaurants in the UK. Another success saw her using her business and people skills to help turn around a failed high street photo company before rebranding it into the successful business it is today.
Years of travelling to different parts of the UK and a desire to work for herself came to an end in 2013 when Linda to set up the North-East office of A4B.
The skills she learnt during her varied career have now helped her to advise her clients, particularly in the fields of sales, training, auditing, recruitment and HR, coupled with financial and business acumen. Even after all of those years, Linda’s passion for running and athletics is still prevalent.
When, at an Entrepreneurs Forum event “If We Can You Can” she was asked to judge a “Dragon’s Den” style competition, her attention was caught by a Cramlington mum who had started a running club for ladies who felt uncomfortable running alone on the streets.
Kim Scott started “These Girls Can Run” after her own experience of being overweight and unfit led to her teaching herself to run in the dark where she couldn’t be seen. Realising that she didn’t want other ladies to feel or have to do the same she set up a Facebook group asking other ladies to join her for a run. The business model struck a chord with Linda and she offered Kim the benefit of her experience as a business coach.
“Linda has given me some fantastic advice and mentoring. Fear has always had me back a little bit in my business and Linda stepped in and helped me at a time where quite honestly, I was ready to walk away. She has helped me make a business plan and she’s always accessible either by phone or in person, “said Kim.
Thanks to Linda’s advice, Kim now has 12 groups in the region from Morpeth, Bedlington and Cramlington in Northumberland to Newcastle, Wallsend, Killingworth and Whitley Bay in North Tyneside and Darlington in Teesside. Linda is delighted at the success of “These Girls Can Run” as Kim has created a unique business based on their mutual love of running.
“Business can be like running a race. You need to pace yourself as many new businesses make fundamental mistakes because they are so eager to get started. It’s always wise to research the route ahead and recognise when things aren’t going well. It’s rather like running into the famous “wall” during a marathon,” said Linda.
“Also, when people go running, it’s often easier with someone running alongside you offering support and encouragement. That’s what I do best by passing on my wealth of knowledge and skills to other business owners so that we get to the finish line together.”
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Contact A4B NE 07436 581 676
Photo shows Linda with Kim and her running colleagues including Morpeth leader Julie Wright (far left in air) More pics available
Media: Keith Newman Highlights PR 07814 397951