UPS showcases publisher for Women’s History Month campaign and webinar to boost female-led businesses
From the huge number of women in the greeting card industry, publisher and artist Claire Giles is particularly proud to have been picked as one of just five female-led small businesses for the UPS Women’s History Month campaign.
In the same week as International Women’s Day (Tuesday, 8 March), Claire’s eponymous card company is being showcased in the UK by the worldwide delivery firm alongside four very different ventures – ballet, baking, clothing and tartan blankets – to promote women in business.
Claire Giles Ltd will be joining Baked By Steph, Just Ballet, MAI Clothing, and Tartan Blanket Co on Wednesday, 16 March, from 3pm-4pm for the How She Made The Change online panel discussion which UPS is promoting on social media with the hashtags #BreaktheBias and #SheTheChange, along with a short video (watch below) featuring all five ladies.
“I can’t wait!” Claire told PG Buzz, “I’m looking forward to hearing other people’s experiences –sometimes it’s quite isolating running a business but often when you talk to others, it turns out they’ve run into the same problems as you have, but can give a fresh perspective on how to overcome them.”
Karina Georgieva, marketing manager UPS UK, explained: “We’re a champion of small and medium-sized businesses. The She The Change campaign chose businesses shipping with UPS from a range of sectors – each of them founded by women – with the goal of exchanging ideas, best practices and helping other women business leaders to unlock the power of export and entrepreneurship.”
Claire has run her greetings business for 20 years, having originally sold handmade cards while travelling in Australia then learning a lot about the industry working for the Birthdays chain in merchandising, before going freelance in 2002 selling her artwork to companies including Hallmark, Marks & Spencer and Next, and moving on to printing her own products.
Having worked with a third-party fulfilment company to build up bigger volumes, it allowed Claire and her family to base themselves in North Shields and, with husband Brendan now on board, she has brought everything back in-house and taken on a number of staff to cover their customer base of independent card shops, gift shops, bookshops, florists, post offices, libraries, tourist information shops, department stores, corner shops, newsagents, convenience stores, and multiples as well as selling direct to the public through her own website and other online platforms, and selling artwork through licence.
Claire, who has given school talks on running a small business, added: “We are committed to helping our customers compete and capitalise on making the most of their retail space with competitive pricing, great service and reliability – that’s where UPS come in! – and with an excellent depth and selection of greeting cards to match.
“Fast order turnaround is so important for my business and UPS are completely dependable. I’ve used UPS since the very beginning almost – I had short trial stints with a couple of other companies before trying UPS and sticking with them. The drivers are fantastic, and I’ve built up some great relationships over the years. Our current driver even collects from our home at the end of his shift if we have something urgent to go out that missed our daily collection.
“We have an excellent account manager who is actually accessible! This is so rare when you’re a small customer of a large company but, to have a contact to go to with problems or queries, is invaluable.”
Wednesday’s How She Made The Change webinar is aimed at helping women learn from those who walk the talk, with Claire and the other four business owners revealing interesting experiences and best practice, and everyone taking part can chat with Maria Boyce, UPS vice-president global public affairs and head of the global Women’s Exporter Programme. You can register for the webinar here.
As part of its Women’s History Month campaign, UPS has given female-owned small businesses 10% off on shipping from 1-31 March 2022 on its dedicated UPS small business platform, and there’s a bigger announcement due to be revealed during the webinar.
The final word goes to Claire: “At the end of the day, women are just people trying to run businesses. Society can be pretty condescending to women, and women-led companies are often not taken as seriously as if they were fronted by a man. It’s phrases like mum-preneur that particularly get me going!
“To other females thinking of starting their own small business, I say – go for it. Learn to shut out all the noise, and focus on what you’re doing it for, which is delivering a product your customer wants, and making enough money so you don’t have to work for someone else.”
Top: She The Change – Claire featured in the UPS social media campaign
