Women in Business Lunch: Female Entrepreneurs

Description

Join us for a lunchtime discussion with dynamic local female entrepreneurs around the opportunities and challenges of creating and running a business welcoming interactive engagement from the audience with our panellists. 

WHAT TO EXPECT...
🥗 Lunch Provided
🫂 Build your network - exchange ideas, share experiences & create new partnerships.
🌟 Inspiring conversation from  industry leaders.
🎗️Support & raise awareness of a local charity
👗Smart/casual business dress code
🏢 Experience a new local venue

THE CONVERSATION
Female entrepreneurs are individual women or groups who run, initiate, organise or operate a business enterprise across various industries. Despite the UK being the start-up capital of Europe according to Companies House (2025) only 19.1% of businesses are currently owned by women and this figure continues to drop. This conversation will cover the opportunities, challenges, barriers faced by our panellists and female entrepreneurs along with the support available and how we can better support our female peers to make that initial start up move. 

HOST

 Pam Webb, Owner  Truffle Lodge 

 Pam founded Truffle Lodge Spa in 2015 with no prior business experience   just a vision, determination, and a willingness to learn. Ten years on, the spa is a   thriving business. The early days were filled with challenges and sleepless   nights, but the journey has brought immense pride. She believes the best advice   for aspiring entrepreneurs is to back yourself—but to do so with research, realistic planning, and a clear understanding of risk. One of the biggest early hurdles was securing finance, and presenting a strong, confident business plan proved essential. As a parent of two grown-up children, she understands the difficulty of gaining experience in today’s job market. At Truffle Lodge, they’ve built a strong, loyal team that has grown with the business—proving that success comes not just from leadership, but from valuing and developing the right people.
 

 Zerin Kent, Operations Director  Urban Burgers Group Limited    

  Zerin Kent is Co-Owner of URBAN Fresh Burgers & Fries, where she   oversees   human resources, finance, and technology systems. Since co-   founding the   business with her husband Mehmet in 2017, she has been   instrumental in   developing the internal infrastructure that supports   URBAN’s multi-site   operations and recent entry into franchising. Zerin ensures that each location runs efficiently and in line with the brand’s standards collaborating on operations strategy, contributing to the consistent quality and performance of all stores. Zerin holds a Law with Spanish degree from The University of Sheffield. Her approach emphasizes structure, people development, and long-term sustainability, supporting URBAN’s growth across Yorkshire and beyond.
 

  Sarah Barlow, Managing Director  Heritage Garden Studios 
 

Sarah Barlow is the founder of Heritage Garden Studios, a Doncaster-based business specialising in premium, energy-efficient garden rooms, annexes, glamping lodges, SIPs home extensions, and bespoke golf simulator rooms. After 30 years in senior corporate marketing roles with leading FMCG, retail, and automotive brands, Sarah took the leap into entrepreneurship, driven by her passion for design, sustainability, and creating spaces that enhance people’s lives. Starting the business in 2021 with her own savings and local development grants, she has grown Heritage into a respected and trusted brand, known for quality, compliance, and exceptional customer care. Sarah is proud to lead a female-founded business in a traditionally male-dominated construction sector, championing design innovation and integrity in every project. An advocate for female entrepreneurship, Sarah shares her experience of building a business from scratch — from concept to profitability — while staying true to her values and supporting the local economy.

 Paula Thomas, Director Today Publications

 After 10 years with a high street bank, including 6 years with their offshore team in the Isle of Man, Paula returned to Doncaster with 3 small children and decided the time was right to start her own business, which would give her the flexibility to work around family life.  With a degree in Business Management and Marketing, she had always been an aspiring Entrepreneur, and looking back, she is really glad that she took that step when she did.
At the time, she didn’t anticipate that 20 years later the business would be stronger than ever, and now providing a way of working flexibly around grandchildren!
Paula produces 5 magazines for 5 distinct communities around Doncaster, and her focus is on supporting local businesses, building community, and providing a platform for charities to promote their activities.  Now the trustee of 3 local charities as well as being a Parish Councillor, she has been able to use her skills to benefit the community beyond her business.






OUR CHARITY:
Doncaster Chamber are delighted to have Changing Lives as a Charity Partner for our Women in Business events. At Changing Lives Doncaster Women’s Centre and Community Hub they run a full timetable throughout the week to support women with English as an additional language in Doncaster. The Team work to address health inequalities within primary healthcare services, raising awareness and addressing women’s physical and mental wellbeing. We do this through education and a bespoke package of support inc group work, one to one support and community collaboration. In addition, they also facilitate a trauma informed early years programme supporting families from conception to nursery transition and beyond with our Special education needs advocacy.
 
To support this charity we are inviting you to support by donating any of the following products to one of our donation points at our Women in Business events:

•  Nappies & pull ups
• Baby wipes, barrier cream
• Baby Wash/Shampoo
• Shower Gel/Shampoo/Conditioner
• Facewash/Facecloth
• Sponges/Mits
• Deodorant/Body Spray
• Razors
• Haircare/Products
• Toothpaste & toothbrush
• Nailcare
• Perfume
• Giftsets
• Sanitary Pads
• Laundry Detergent
• Washing Up Liquid
• Sponges/Cloths
• Household Cleaning
• Toilet Roll
• Tissues

• 2 tickets to attend
• 5 minutes to address the room
• Opportunity to bring 2 banners and run a business card draw raffle
• Inclusion on all social media posts around event
• Inclusion on website
• Full page A6 advert in event booklet
• Logo on all marketing relating to event