Female Entrepreneurs Archives - Destination Chesterfield

Chesterfield business owner highly commended as Female Entrepreneur of the Year

19th December 2024

A Chesterfield entrepreneur has been presented with a ‘highly commended’ award at a ceremony which celebrates female business leaders.

Last month, local design agency Crush’s Founder and Creative Director, Natalie Burkinshaw, attended 2024’s prestigious Novi Awards, having been shortlisted as a finalist for Female Entrepreneur of the Year.

As an awards programme dedicated to ‘championing female business leaders who are breaking barriers across the business world’, being recognised by the Novi Awards has been especially significant for Natalie and the Crush team.

A female-owned and founded design agency, in an industry where 97% of creative directors are male, Crush has been working on branding, design and website projects for over two decades from their Chesterfield-based studio.

Having already been over the moon to have been shortlisted in the first place, Natalie came away from this year’s Novi Awards with a special prize of Highly Commended, just missing out on top spot.

The judges noted her 20 plus years of business leadership and innovation within the design sector as a significant achievement that they felt shouldn’t go unnoticed, along with her charitable activities outside of the workplace.

Since the beginning, Natalie has led Crush to be an agency that provides businesses – both local to Chesterfield and across the UK (and indeed globe) – with an honest and relationship-led approach to their creative projects. Whether it be a corporate brand development for engineering superpowers like Briggs of Burton and Ziemann Holvrieka, a website build for the famous Ministry of Sound, or even a pro-bono rebrand for The Clothing Bank charity, Crush dedicates itself to helping organisations thrive.

Natalie commented: “I am blown away with winning this accolade from Novi. The awards day was absolutely energising, an experience like no other for female business leaders. I had the privilege of meeting some awe-inspiring women who came from every walk of life. ”

Crush supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Chesterfield entrepreneur nominated for two Enterprising Women Awards

1st July 2024

The owner of a Chesterfield structural engineering business has been shortlisted in two categories at East Midlands Chamber’s Enterprising Women Awards.

Laura Holland, of Ecotech Engineers is amongst the finalists for the Small Business of the Year Award and Female Entrepreneur of the Year.

The nominations come fresh off the back of Laura also being nominated for a Generation Next Award, an East Midlands Chamber event which recognises young entrepreneurs and talent in the region.

The event, which takes place in Leicestershire on 20th September will celebrate the best female entrepreneurial talent across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.

Reacting to the nomination, Laura said: “I was so pleased to get this news after a whirlwind of a month personally and professionally!

“I’m honoured to be shortlisted with all these amazing women in Business for Small Business of the Year and Female Entrepreneur – especially now I have my own little lady to hope to inspire.

“Another nod to the brilliant team of Ecotech Engineers Ltd and everything we have accomplished over the last 4 years!”

Enterprising Women Co-Chair Eileen Perry said: “On International Women’s Day the theme was ‘Inspire Inclusion’ and these awards are part of embracing and celebrating our differences. The theme of promoting, growing and succeeding is something that we see year on year with the people that apply for the awards. There are people who, for example, have applied for a category like Apprentice of the Year and then gone on to win Female Entrepreneur of the Year. It’s not about the fall of men; it’s about the rise of women and believing in themselves more.”

Enterprising Women Co-Chair Jean Mountain said: “Year in, year out, over the years these awards have been phenomenal. We’ve been doing these awards for around 15 years now and the standard of entries gets higher and higher each year. We set the bar really high and you see it with the fabulous names of finalists that come through and the companies they represent.”

Ecotech Engineers supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.