Member Article

Stoke based Entrepreneur's Year 1 Business Celebrations Sees Local Ladies Become Best Selling Authors

Stoke entrepreneur Abigail Horne showcases 2 fellow Stoke female entrepreneurs this week, as she’s achieved Best-selling author status for them all, with a book that’s flown straight into No.1 on the Amazon best seller charts in 5 separate book categories. It is also hottest new release in just about every business category!

Sharing their stories, alongside her own, as a celebration of 12 months supporting women in business through Female Success Network, ‘She Who Dares’, already reviewed as ‘A must read for all women in business! Showcasing the struggles behind the successes’ and ‘An incredible and inspiring read from entrepreneurial women who have let nothing stand in their way on their path to achievement! Wow!’ – charts the journeys of 24 women in business, all at varying stages, but who as a collective have come together to support each other in their growth as they strive for their version of success. The book went straight in at number 1 after just threehours of being released.

Featuring Susan Hughes, of Stone and Jo Gilbert of Stoke, ‘She Who Dares’ charts the journeys of 24 womenin business, some who have hit rock bottom, experienced burn out, and risen again, and some who have found their way to really fulfill their passions later in life. The later is true of Susan Hughes,51, who through the support and guidance of Female Success Network, this year set up in business with The Wool Boutique - following her passion for crafts and knitting, creating beautifully handmade products and also teaching others how to make them.

She has now opened a high street shop, the Artisan Boutique, which as well as showcasing The Wool Boutique also supports other local businesses. Susan’s business came about after chatting to Abigail about her passion for interior design and wanting to use her skills to create a business, now her sons were getting that bit older and she had chance to refocus on her career. Susan said: “If you’d have told me this time last year I would have a new business, a new shop and also be a best selling author I would have never have believed it. Yes, I knew I wanted to do something, but I would have never achieved this on my own. The driving force of Abigail, Female Success Network and my fellow women in business via FSN who have supported me through this are the reason I’m here celebrating today!”

Abigail Horne, who is the driving force behind hundreds of women in business globally through Female Success Network and has already featured in a best-selling book last year, ‘She Made It Happen’, explains why it meant so much to her to give other women in business this platform too.

Abigail said: “I’m so delighted this has made best-seller for Susan and Jo because it means they get the recognition they deserve, and a legacy in print, charting their journey - but I’m also excited because their stories, and those of the other 20 women are being read by others who I know we can inspire.”

She added: “Working closely with these ladies for the last 12 months we’ve seen each other through many highs and lows but these stories are really open, honest accounts that detail way back into their pasts and highlight many truly challenging times they have overcome. It was hard reading some of this but I’m so proud of them for sharing their experiences because I know this book will help others. I am also really excited about this book being a testament to what can be achieved when women have each other’s backs - this group of women have supported each other endlessly, tirelessly, with huge passion. I can’t tell you how refreshing this is after having been in businesses in the past where women have been so quick to stab me in the back. The successes of these women, whilst the result of their own blood, sweat and tears, are also the result of a huge team effort, as they’ve learnt together, found confidence together and thrived together. To be able to celebrate this with a bestselling book for fellow Stoke working mums has been the icing on the cake for first year in business as Female Success Network.”

Abigail, along with her business partner Sarah Stone, co-founders of Female Success Network established Authors & Co last year, to help tell the stories of women keen to inspire and leave a legacy. The creation of the book has been gifted to the contributors from Abigail and Sarah to celebrate the last 12 months of working together and the milestones that everyone has achieved.

Jo Gilbert is the other contributor, from Stoke, who earlier this year achieved No.1 Bestseller status for her own book ‘Strength & Power’, through Authors & Co, which told of dramatic heartaches and trauma she’d encountered in her life, and how her strong mindset and approach to adversity had seen her turn her life around. In this book Jo focuses more on her business journey than her personal story and hopes to inspire a different audience with her entrepreneurial experiences.

‘She Who Dares’ is available now via Amazon at and will soon also be available in a paperback version too.

Authors & Co, which offers a 6 month book coaching programme to take an idea to a best-selling book, has already celebrated 4 other best-sellers this year for female entrepreneur clients and as well as their 121 book coaching packages Abigail is now planning to develop an online course, to open up the book writing process to an even wider audience.

Female Success Network, in further celebration of their 12 months in business, is also to launch a new service in September. Success School will bundle up learnings taught to the Mastermind group and provide these in a self-study format, supported by online interaction and video coaching.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Becky Hayles .