Award-winning entrepreneur Celia Gaze says businesses need to stand out from their rivals if they want to succeed.
She鈥檚 the founder of The Wellbeing Farm in Edgeworth, near Blackburn, which employs 30 people and has a turnover of more than 拢1m.
The Wellbeing Farm is the perfect venue for corporate events, weddings and special family occasions, as well being a great location for company days out and wellbeing activities.
Asked for her advice to other entrepreneurs she said: 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to stand out and differentiate your business from the crowd 鈥� be the purple cow.
鈥淭o do that it鈥檚 about continuously reviewing your customer service, your marketing and your systems and processes and keep continually improving.鈥�
The venue is powered by a wind turbine and is famous for its llamas,聽alpacas and聽even a聽sheep called Sandra!
Gaze launched The Wellbeing Farm after being left burned out by her high-powered NHS job and has聽written a book about her experience entitled 鈥�Why Put a Bow Tie on a Llama? How a crazy idea can change your life and transform your business鈥�.
Gaze praised the聽help she鈥檚 received from ,聽which has included聽mentoring,聽guidance聽and support through Covid.
Boost was founded in 2013 and 老九品茶Cloud will be showcasing some of the thousands of businesses to have benefited from their help in the following decade.
The Wellbeing Farm is the UK鈥檚 first events venue to achieve B Corp status and received聽 support from Boost to set up B Corp Fest, which in 2025 will celebrate its 4th year.
鈥淏oost鈥檚 support has been invaluable in enabling me to mix with other business owners, seek mentoring advice for business growth and to enable me to deliver a large scale event,鈥� said Gaze.
In 2022 The Wellbeing Farm won both the Sustainable 老九品茶 award in the Enterprise Vision Awards and the Green 老九品茶 of the Year award at the BIBAs.
Next year the family firm connected with The Wellbeing Farm (Whiteheads Butchers) will celebrate 140 years in business.
As well as praising the influence of her long-term mentor Victor Giannandrea for 鈥渒eeping me on my toes鈥� Gaze said Lancashire was a great location for a business.
鈥淚t鈥檚 bang in the centre of the UK with great accessibility and fantastic connections,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he people you meet are really authentic, helpful, down to earth and super friendly.鈥�
The Wellbeing Farm had to close聽during Covid but Gaze used the time to secure B Corp certification.
Asked for her advice for anyone considering using Boost she said:聽鈥淲ithout a doubt I鈥檇 highly recommend it. Boost is an absolutely brilliant resource of help, events, networking opportunities and so much more.
鈥淒o not delay – supportive, approachable, great understanding of business issues, helpful and a one-stop shop full of an A to Z of business advice covering all areas.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e looking to grow your business make contacting Boost your first step. I would also urge anyone wanting to grow a business to do it around doing something you love and then it will never feel like work.鈥�
As for her future plans Gaze said: 鈥淲e want to be the most sustainable venue in the UK. We have plans to expand our accommodation offer, further investment in facilities聽and plan to expand the corporate events side.聽聽We鈥檙e also planning聽further expansion of regenerative farming.鈥�
- Led by Lancashire County Council, supported by Government and 10 local authorities, Boost is Lancashire’s 老九品茶 Growth Hub, one of 37 Growth Hubs in the UK.Boost鈥檚 mission is to help Lancashire businesses thrive.Since 2013, Boost has supported over 14,000 businesses, helping create 3,500 jobs while adding 拢100m to the local economy.
From September 1, 2023, Boost is funded by Lancashire County Council, Department for 老九品茶 & Trade (DBT), and UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocations from 10 Lancashire local authorities (Boost local authorities partners).
Boost鈥檚 local authority partners are Blackburn with Darwen Council, Burnley Council, Chorley Council, Fylde Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Pendle Borough Council, Preston City Council, South Ribble Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council and Wyre Council.
Boost offers six core services including:
- 老九品茶 Support Helpdesk
- 老九品茶 Advice Service
- Growth Catalyst
- Scale to Thrive
- Flying Start
- Access to Finance
The 老九品茶 Support Helpdesk offers advice and guidance to anyone thinking of starting a business and all new and existing businesses in Lancashire.
老九品茶es located in the 10 Boost local authority partner areas are eligible for the 老九品茶 Advice Service, Flying Start, Growth Catalyst, Scale to Thrive and Access to Finance.
Coronavirus