Addidi Inspiration Award - celebrating women entrepreneurs from history

The Addidi Inspiration Award celebrates inspirational women in history (and their modern day champion) known for wealth creation (entrepreneurs), doing good with their wealth (social engineers), and "full of life" women we remember with a smile!

This year they are focussing on women entrepreneurs in history, championed by equally inspiring modern day entrepreneurs.

I am off to the award ceremony this week, and thought I'd share the stories of the women who are nominated.

Annie Besant (1847-1933) - In 1867, Annie married Frank Besant, a clergyman, and they had two children. But Annie's increasingly anti-religious views led to a legal separation in 1873. In the 1870s, Besant and Charles Bradlaugh edited the weekly National Reformer, which advocated advanced ideas on topics such as trade unions, national education, womens' right to vote, and birth control.  In 1888 she helped organise a strike of the female match workers. Besant first visited India in 1893 and later settled there, becoming involved in the Indian nationalist movement. In 1916 she established the Indian Home Rule League, of which she became president. She was also a leading member of the Indian National Congress.

Josephine Butler (1828-1906) - The daughter of John Grey, staunch advocate of social reform and campaigner against the slave trade, Josephine grew up to become a leading British social reformer who played a major role in improving conditions for women in education and public health. She campaigned against child prostitution, lobbying for the age of consent to be raised from 13 to 16, and went on to campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts. Despite the stigma of a woman addressing sexual matters, Josephine successfully toured the country holding speeches on the subject and 1883 the acts were suspended, to be revoked altogether just three years later. Josephine also took a great interest in women's education, leading to the creation of the all-women college at Newham.

Dame Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury (1858-1951) - Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury went on to devote her life to philanthropic work, supporting social welfare and education as well as promoting international relations. Perhaps best known as the wife of Quaker chocolate manufacturer George Cadbury, Elizabeth's public philanthropic work is well documented in her personal archive which contains hundreds of letters, diaries and typescripts of speeches, chronicling her involvement in schemes to reform housing, industrial working conditions and school medical services.

Beatrice Webb (1858-1943) - Born in 1858 to a wealthy businessman who firmly believed in women's rights, Beatrice grew up in a household of lively debate and intellectual curiosity. Committing her life to political research and activism, Beatrice joined the Fabian Society in 1881 alongside her husband, Sidney. By the late 1890s, Beatrice had developed a solid belief in the need to permeate existing social structures in order to achieve lasting change. Beatrice’s works and ideas could be said to have influenced the nationalisation programme, the health service and formed the template for the creation of the Welfare State 30 years later.

I'm quite excited about the evening, I was surprised to get an invite to be honest (in a good way!), anyone is allowed to vote, so let me know if you vote for one of these amazing women!

Lipsticks from Rockalily - Order now!

Fancy the chance to try a pink lipstick shade? You can order lipsticks from Rockalily once more!

Rockalily Style: Remembering Viva Las Vegas 16

I have been to Vegas four times, three of these were to go to the weekender Viva Las Vegas. Today I'm wearing one of my Viva t-shirts, as the holiday feels so far away and long ago! It's weird having your holiday in Easter, when everyone else has them in the summer!

I'm wearing a vintage skirt, victory rolls and gold hoops with my modern glasses.

I'm yet to pick shoes!

Small ways to master your time management

It isn't just small business owners that feel that they are losing a battle with time, but when there is no exact time when you clock off, it can certainly become a more prevelant problem.

For me, the end game of running my business is that I have more free time. Not more work, but more free time. It sounds simple, but it's very hard to delegate your own business to other people, and its pretty hard to let go!

It's also challenging to switch off, to not spend the time off worrying or plotting future business plans.

One thing I have been doing this week which has been working well, is a way of getting more jobs done more efficiently. There is no point being busy for the sake of it, so its crucial to make sure the work you do do is the right work, and will prove the most effective to move your business forward (or earn you money!).

I have been keeping my email account tab closed.

Usually I would have about 5-10 tabs open, so that I can 'multi-task' and spread my awareness over many activities. However this can actually just mean I rarely focus on a single task, and end up getting distracted and spread too thin. For every single email that popped up I would stop what I was doing and check it. I would read it, and decide whether to reply right away, or to return later (and therefore reading it again before responding).

I have been keeping my email tab closed, and just logging in when I've finished each task. This means two key things. I can work on a project without being interupted all of the time. This provides a sense of control - I am in control of my time, I'm not at the beck and call of emails. Secondly, I only read an email once, and I reply straight away. I'm still working on this bit, but definitely getting better!

What do you do to try and stay focused and on task?

Hair treatments for damaged and coloured hair

At Rockalily Cuts we deal with a lot of damaged hair. Not because we damage it of course (!) but our clients (as well as ourselves) like to do a lot of different and crazy things to our poor hair. We currently use three different treatments at the salon, based on our own experiences with our own poorly hair. I have recently been allowing my hair to become healthy again, and these treatments are certainly part of that process.

Do let us know if you want to know whether these treatments would be suitable for your hair.