Scale Her Up: Female business stories and expert tips for business growth and success

In this episode of Scale HER Up – The Female Entrepreneur Show, I’m joined by Fiona Duguid, co-founder of Indigo Seven Ventures, Chief Information Officer at Aurora Energy Services, and the portfolio lead for Expo Design – a business creating sustainable exhibition and display solutions using engineered fibreboard made from recycled cardboard. Fiona describes how Indigo Seven Ventures invests with a focus on sustainability and “doing good in the world,” while she splits her time between fast-growth energy services and a greener alternative to traditional MDF exhibition builds. 

Fiona’s career path is anything but linear. She started in medicine, switch...

In this episode of Scale HER Up – The Female Entrepreneurs Show, I’m joined by Iona Foubister, Director and Building Surveyor at FG Burnett, a long-established firm of chartered surveyors and commercial property consultants based in Aberdeen. Iona lifts the lid on what FG Burnett actually does – from those “For Sale” and “To Let” boards you see around town, to building surveys, schedules of condition, property management, valuations and rating advice. 

If you’ve never leased or bought commercial space before, this conversation is a must-listen. Iona explains why taking professional advice before you sign a lease or purchase agreement...

On this episode of Scale HER Up – The Female Entrepreneur Show, I’m joined by Alana Innes, founder of Rethink Accountancy – a fully digital, remote-first accountancy practice that was paperless and cloud-based long before it became the norm. After 20 years in traditional firms and being told she had to be in the office, Alana walked away from corporate life to design a business that fits the way she wants to live and work. 

What started as “just enough for travel beer tokens” has grown into a team of around 18, supporting SMEs and e-commerce brands all over the UK with bookkeepi...

In this episode of Scale Her Up, Brenda Hector sits down with Mary Smith, founder of Relocation Scotland, who has spent 30 years helping individuals and families relocate to Scotland and call it home. From housing and schools to bank accounts and culture shock, Mary and her team support people through every step of a global move. 

Mary shares how her own experiences living abroad in Zambia, South Africa, Australia and Singapore led her to spot a gap in support for expats and ultimately build a relocation business in Aberdeen. She explains the difference between working for landlords v...

In this powerful episode of Scale HER Up – The Female Entrepreneurs Show, I’m joined by Marion McLaughlin, founder of Aurora – an autistic-led business that supports organisations to better understand and work with autistic and neurodivergent people. After years in the third sector delivering “womb to tomb” services for autistic people, Marion hit burnout trying to juggle passion with an unsustainable workload. Starting a business was never on their to-do list – yet Aurora has become the most aligned, impactful way for them to use their lived and professional experience. 

Marion is autistic, non-binary and disabled, and brings a deeply intersecti...

Patricia Noel Drain, founder of Patricia Drain & Associates, author of 14 books, former teacher and executive recruiter turned mentor for women 50+. Patricia helps female entrepreneurs over 50 work less and make more—doing what they love. We talk reinvention, building saleable businesses with systems (she created 27 to step out of day-to-day), and designing life around freedom, not busyness. She shares the health scare that forced a reset, the power of digital productsand high-ticket offers, and why women must give themselves permission to earn well. Expect practical prompts to find your zone of genius, say no to misfit work, and—above all—put yoursel...

Liz Clayton-Jones, founder of Beehive Performance, advanced strengths coach and former corporate leader. Liz helps science, research and manufacturing teams become truly high-performing by putting people at the heart of every success. She shares her leap from 31 years in corporate to building a business from the heart (not just the head), why she once walked away from a signed contract that wasn’t a values fit, and how an experimentation mindset (“you can’t fail an experiment—you only get unexpected outcomes”) unlocks progress in life and work. We dig into inclusive teams (including neurodiversity), strengths-based leadership, and practical ways to suppor...

Suz Bird, founder of Bird & Emmy, is a social media strategist working with SMEs across Scotland and the UK. She breaks down how to ditch “post for the algorithm” thinking, build a simple strategy that serves your business goals, and stay sane as a solo founder and single parent. We talk retainer vs project vs training models, why food-and-drink brands spark creative scrappiness, and how to use testimonials, co-mentors and tiny environmental shifts to quiet the inner critic. Suz shares her start-up story (redundancy, separation, first clients from community work), her love–hate with social media, practical networking habits, and pl...

Guest: Sophy Green, Chief Executive of Instant Neighbour, a 40-year Aberdeen charity and social enterprise. Sophy lifts the lid on balancing compassion with commercial discipline: running a food bank and the Giving Tree appeal, generating 85–90% of income through shops, an online store, joinery and carpet services, and delivering council contracts. We talk board governance (“nose in, hands off”), rising demand through the cost-of-living crisis, funding realities, and the tough calls—closing sites, restructuring, and still protecting frontline services. Sophy shares how she future-proofed with e-commerce, avoids “shiny object” projects by staying close to mission, and why leaders must chHead & Heart Leaders...

Victoria Vyalikova, founder of Brand House, a digital marketing agency serving B2B and professional services from Aberdeen to international markets. We talk about building a specialist-first team, the associate model, and why honesty and transparency are the ultimate growth levers. Victoria shares her journey from Big Four marketing to launching during downturns, navigating COVID, and treating AI as a productivity booster—not a replacement for human judgment. We dig into people-pleasing, perfectionism, pricing fairly when AI speeds work up, and the real “juggle vs. balance” of a founder’s life. 

In this episode:

Welcome back to a very special episode of Scale Her Up! After 3 years of podcasts, we’ve officially hit the 100th episode. To celebrate that milestone today, we have Dr. Brenda Hector herself on the podcast. Not only is she the regular host of ScaleHerUp, she's a business development coach with ActionCoach, dedicated to helping business owners grow their business and achieve their dream. Today though, she’ll be in the hot seat, and we'll get a glimpse into her motivations and experiences. We will reflect on the last 100 episodes, the impact it has had for her, and talk abou...

In this Scale HER Up episode, coach and trainer Claire Standen (Embodiment UK) explains how to move beyond Mental Health First Aid into embodied, trauma-informed leadership. We discuss reading behaviour as communication, nervous-system tools for teams, and the realities of leaping from employment to entrepreneurship as a single mum. Includes practical steps for culture change and performance.

Chapters:

Book a comp...

Suann shares why she left employment to create a slower, higher-care model; how small, human touches (yes, a free massage chair!) become talking points; and why most people who take the leap are more likely to succeed than fail

The 5 Vs are Vibe, Velcro, Voyage, Visibility and Visceral. Listen to find out what each one represents.

Book a free introductory session with Dr Brenda Hector https://bit.ly/brencares

Welcome back to Scale Her Up! Today we have Kelly Ling from Ling and Co joining us. They are a business growth consultancy, all about helping entrepreneurs and business owners simplify their day to day operations and create a strategy that would best help their businesses grow and become more streamlined. She works on everything from brand marketing, to team development and even general operations. In essence she is a master of business problem solving. After training in animations at a university in Singapore, Kelly came to the UK to start her marketing and PR journey. From beginning her...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up! Today we have Lindsay Conchar from Scots Law Talks with us. They are an educational event and workshop service that sets out to make Scots Law more accessible and understandable. From interactive talks about legal issues, to forensic workshops analyzing blood spatter, their passion is sharing the knowledge to all ages, communities and groups across Scotland. After starting her law traineeship, Lindsay quickly realized soliciting and formal law was not the space she was meant to be in. She still had her passion for justice but didn't know where she'd fit. She took...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up!

Today we have Gail Henderson on the podcast, she's the owner of DEV4 and Equi-Track, a bespoke software development company and cloud-based equipment management software meant to help businesses digitize their services and enhance their productivity and processes. After starting her professional life as a software engineer, Gail fulfilled her dream of owning her own business in 2017 when she joined DEV4. Although a trained engineer she took on a more business development focused role, learning to balance her own work alongside it. DEV4 works in a number of different industries- from...

After a short break we’re back and better then ever with a very special episode. Back in May we had our very first Scale Her UP LIVE at the University of Aberdeen’s Sir Duncan Rice Library, our version of a live episode interviewing our panel of amazing businesswoman and celebrating what it’s means to be a woman in their field. We were joined by Ann Johnson of Blaze Manufacturing Solutions, Tracy Franz of TopPA and Maya Vertigans of Planner Bee VA. All long time members of the Scale Her Up families and female entrepreneurs who set out to...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up!

Today, we have Kirstin Ejsmont the owner of Kirstin Ejsmont Business Law. After an extensive career in big law she decided to start her own business during COVID-19. She’s a general cooperate business law expert, with a passion for advising others on the legal aspects of starting a business. She specializes in incorporated businesses, mediating the relationships between directors and shareholders, funding and finance. Her goal when starting her business was to help people feel comfortable achieving their dreams and revolutionising the small and medium business sectors. In today’s epis...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up!

Today we have Sarah Leigh the owner and CEO of Weirwood Consulting. Although she’d always had thoughts about starting her own business, she officially became a female entrepreneur in January of 2024. She started her business after seeing how big consultancy firms don’t prioritise the customer and introduced short term solutions that didn’t last. At Weirwood, Sarah prioritises the client and sets out to maintain their integrity through the whole process. She works across sectors coming into businesses and increasing their productivity and revenue. In today’s episode she speaks a...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up! Today we have Jenny Junnier, a good friend of the show and a fantastic champion of women in business herself. She is both the audit partner in Johnson and Carmichael Charted Accountants and one of the founders of the Axis Network. Johnson and Carmichael specialise in all areas of accounting- from family planning, to entrepreneurial taxes, to large and small businesses and even personal accounts. During their almost 90 years in business they’ve grown from a small firm that helped local farmers to a Scotland renowned firm that covers all. She specialises in au...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up!

Today we have Freya Bigg the owner of Faeble Arts, a freelance graphic design agency. Her services are more than just traditional graphic design, instead she sets out to be a ‘mini agency in your pocket’. She does illustrations, videos, weddings, motion graphics, web design and more. She’s got a passion for what she’s deemed ‘visual communication’ and has made it her mission to help businesses streamline the creative side of things. Her love for photoshop and advertisements is what drew her into the field but her real passion stemmed from...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up! Today we have Lynne Kennedy on the podcast, who is the founder of Business Women Connect (BWC). BWC is a franchise across Scotland that sets out to give women the opportunity and support to run their own business. After starting in 2022, Lynne has expanded to Glasgow, Edinburgh and now Aberdeen. After originally starting as a magazine, BWC now has expanded to host networking events and even put on roadshows with thousands of attendees. Lynne talks about her journey to becoming an entrepreneur and how she's grown to now even win an MBE for...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up! Today we have Chantal Cornelius of Apple Tree Marketing joining us. After 25 years of owning her own business Chantal is a marketing maestro. Her business specializes in supporting coaching, consultants and trainers across the globe, with the goal of taking away the scariness of marketing. She helps clarify the messages of both microbusinesses and large companies while giving them tips on how to promote themselves and their brands. In this episode she shares how to achieve the perfect balance between owning your own business and prioritizing your personal life ,her most recent book...

On today's episode of Scale Her Up, we have Debra Baxter, the founder of Music 4 U. Music 4 U is a charity meant to allow young people to experience the performing arts without barriers. After noticing a number of schools in Aberdeenshire were starting to reduce or cut their performing arts programs in school, she set out to fill in the gaps academia leaves in a child's creative education. She then started Music 4 you, creating an integrated stage school that has helped thousands of young people over the 20 years it’s been opened. She has grown the program to allow th...

Welcome back to Scale Her Up! Today we have HR extraordinaire, Lucy Nicholl from Nicholl HR. Nicholl HR gives HR support to small businesses throughout Scotland. Lucy gives an affordable, face to face service that helps owners manage employees and advise them on any legal issues that may arise. In this episode Lucy shares her advice on building a team and creating an atmosphere that encourages employee retention. After almost 2 years in the business Lucy’s passion for HR stems from her own experience of Discrimination in the workplace and as a result her goals is to help employers an...

On today's episode we have Diana Gormley, the Entrepreneur in residence at Robert Gordon’s University and the owner of Danu Solutions Ltd. Danu Solutions is a business that sets out to optimize the use of lean in the companies that employ them. From starting as an engineer, to becoming a secondary school teacher, to now owning her own business, today Diana shares her unique experience and journey to becoming an entrepreneur. She speaks about her position at Robert Gordon University- how she bridges the gap between academia and society, combats students misconceptions around being an entrepreneur, and institutes th...

On today's podcast we have Christina Sutherland, the managing director of GSR. It’s a nursing and at home care provider that offers training, and support services by registered nurses. In this episode, Christina tells her journey of how she became an entrepreneur. From starting her business 11 years ago to now employing just over 250 workers, Christina shares what she's learned throughout it. She's expanded GSR from just one department to three; now spread across 3 separate floors in her office. Christina talks about the importance of loving what you do, the major challenges the nursing sector faced during COVID, the bu...

Today we have such an inspiring one for all of our Women in Stem as we have Joyce Onuonga who is the owner of John White and Sons. It's an engineering firm that specialises in weighing machines, and calibration. They offer a wide variety of services that range over sectors like whiskey producers, farming and renewables. The company is over 300 years old, and Joyce herself has been working there for 30 years. She rose through the ranks starting with just a 6th month contract, to now owning the company. She prioritized continuous learning and innovation introducing programs that utilize top...

Although Scale Her Up is all about empowering the amazing female business owners around the world, we'd be remiss if we didn't feature the equally amazing men in the space who help women be confident and expand who they are. Today's guest does just that. Bob Gentle from Amplify Me, is not only a social media and marketing expert, his business’s goal is to help business owners shine, through expanding and monetizing their personal brand. He is also one of the reasons Brenda started Scale Her Up. His unwavering belief in her ability and his own experience with hi...

Today's episode is an extra special one. We have Tem Ezimokhai from Helping Teachers Thrive. Not only is she a full time secondary school teacher but she hosts and produces her own podcast called Helping Teachers Thrive. It's a biweekly podcast set out to help fill in the gaps university doesn’t cover. After noticing how much new teachers were struggling with both the overwhelming amount of new responsibility and their own mental health, she wanted to create a space where they can come and get advice on things like classroom management, neurodivergence, and even their own well being. In...

On today's episode, we have Dr. Rachel Milne of Dr. Rachel Coaching. She's a life and business coach that specializes in reconnecting women with who they are and helping them rediscover what's important to them. Her journey began at medicine school in Dundee, where she became a qualified psychiatrist. Afterwards she traveled around the UK working in the clinical field. After taking time off to focus on herself, she found a passion for helping women through the same issues she's experienced- anxiety, self esteem issues etc. In her work she helps women become aware of patterns that affect their...

Happy IWD! Today we have Melody Ford, the founder of Meloosha Homecare. They're a domiciliary care provider that gives in home assistance and care to elderly people with the goal of allowing them to stay at home as long as possible and ensuring that family members stay family rather than carers. Since starting her business Melody has franchised it and in her 3rd year of business had a turnover of £3 million. Melody explains about her decision to go into care and the hard but exciting journey of starting her own business. In this episode, Melody talks about creating structures t...

Today we have Noreen Baqir founder of Circle Finance, on the podcast. They're a financial advisor business that helps clients release finance from existing equities and properties.They assess how clients can use what they currently have to finance their future. Noreen founded Circle Finance 7 years ago after being inspired by her father’s own entrepreneurial background and property management experience. In today episode she regales viewers with her quirkier experiences on the job, the passion she has for her work, the importance of confidence, and the comfort of having more women around her in the corporate world.

Today's episode we are joined by Carly McNamara of My Academic Family. It’s a social enterprise specializing in giving support to disadvantaged and first generation university students in order to get them to graduation. They do this by engaging them with their studies, showing them how to navigate the university environment and supporting their needs. Inspired by her own experience as a first generation university student and working within academia; she has a unique insight into what her targeted students need. She launched during COVID-19 in April 2020, with just £1000, and now supports nearly 100 students and holds workshops in sev...

Today's episode is a special one, as we have Katie Watson of Aberdeen Grampian Chamber of Commerce and the lead of BWC Futures group. Even though she's just recently started her corporate journey, Katie has been a standout star, already rising through the ranks of the chamber to become a relationship manager, and was a finalist in the Rising Star Award. Katie speaks about her career path so far and how she's progressed this far at such a young age. She also speaks about the BWC Futures group, a platform to support young professionals in the work field and...

On today's episode we have Tracy Franz of SmartPA. She’s a business administration and performance specialist that has been in business for close to 8 years. She helps businesses optimize their function and allows them to have more time to do what they love and enjoy. Tracy shares the extremely inspiring story of what led her to start her own business. She gets vulnerable and shares her struggles with addiction, and the journey of restarting her life after getting clean. Tracy speaks about impostor syndrome, the dangers of burnout, looking outside the box, and the importance of creating goals fo...

Today we have Lora Caven, an internationally recognized and decorated business coach with a focus on supporting high performing women (in and out of C-suite positions) during perimenopause and menopause. She speaks about her journey to getting to this era in her career after feeling lost following some major changes in her life. Her real passion lies in coaching other women in business through the busiest time of their lives- Menopause. After seeing just how damaging the business world is to women going through that era in their life, she set out to challenge a system designed around men...

Today we have Julita Stachowiak on the podcast. Julita is the Co founder of J&B Finance LTD. It is a accounting and financial consultancy firm that advises clients of the best way to run their business through a financial lens.she shares her journey of how she's gotten to this stage in her life- from moving to the UK from Poland with just £200 in her pocket, to working at one of the big 4 Accountancy firms to be a female entrepreneur of an international company with a completely female team. In their episode she speaks about the common financial i...

In today's episode we have fellow Podcaster Michelle Fraser. Not only is she the host and creator of Energy Sector Heros, she has also been a consultant in the energy and renewable sector for the past 25 years and most recently started a mentorship and career coaching program set out to help the younger generation find their feet within the oil, gas and energy field. She speaks about her career journey, from starting as a junior technician to working her way up to being a senior project development manager. She speaks about the struggles of being a woman in a...

In today's episode we have Avriel Skolnik, Co-Founder of Kionnali Living Systems. Avriel is a true champion of sustainability, who creates self contained sustainable housing to help address the current housing crisis and combat emergency situations with housing. Her passion for the environment and keen intelligence drove her to start creating houses centered around people. As a woman in STEM, Avriel has dealt with a lot of stereotypes and condescension as a result of her gender but she's dealt with it with grace and started a company that is creating the house of the future, has over 10 people on...