UK business expert Sonia Brown MBE, is the founder of the National Black Women’s Network, Let’s Talk Business Forum and Sistatalk, one of the UK’s leading online women’s forum.
After 20 years in the world of marketing, Ms Brown recently launched the Inspirational Women’s Super-Summit at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh including the introduction of her six-step business growth programme EVOLVE.
Growing up
When I left school, I was told I would be good at working in an old people’s home. Even though I wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do, I knew this wasn’t it! Although my childhood was challenging, I was surrounded by entrepreneurial people who were always running some kind of business venture, hence my strong work ethic now. I also read a lot of history, Latin, Greek mythology and books about personal development. Once I focussed and channelled my knowledge, I was able to manifest the network with the help from people like Baroness Howells and Sir Nicholas Montagu in the earlier days.
Ambitions and achievements
My parents taught me to study and work hard if I wanted positive things to happen in my life. Education is important to me. I have a MA in Marketing and Communications; BA in Business and Communications; Diploma in Marketing and a host of professional qualifications in marketing, journalism, feature writing and I am also a NLP Practitioner. I do a lot of training to keep my skills, attitude, and vision relevant and sharp! In addition to this, I network and have mentors who help me to navigate my business. The key is to always be a student in life, it’s an amazing journey.
“My parents taught me to study and work hard if I wanted positive things to happen in my life.”
Test and trials
Every day is a trial but it is not how many times you fall down but how many times you get up. Rather than focus on the obstacle I say ‘What is the lesson?’ You have to develop a strong sense of resilience, self-belief, and dogged determination to achieve what you want.
I have faced criticism and disappointment from those closest to me and from those who do not know me. But I have learnt not to listen to external chatter or negative internal chatter because it will take you off course. There will always be a Judas, but remember to choose your friends wisely; especially when you are in business.
The future
Throughout history, women have faced insurmountable challenges and obstacles as they strive to achieve economic, social, and political parity. I want the work I do to inspire a generation of women to take advantage of the opportunities around them and encourage them to be the best they can be in whatever they choose to do. In addition, I want them to remember to help others to build stronger families and communities in society.
