Bury's female Enterprise Vision Awards finalists

Megan Jones, Helen Quayle and Leah Towers have been championed for their success and growth as young female business owners.

The next round entails all three finalists to attend an interview with judges where they will showcase their achievements and share their stories of growth, impact and visions for the future.

Finalist Helen Quayle, from LaserHQ

Young Entrepreneur finalist, Helen Quayle, from Whitefield, launched LaserHQ from a "tiny, windowless" room five years ago with a £50 loan.

Since then, Laser HQ has become a five-star rated professional business offering laser hair removal from four clinic locations – Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle.

Helen’s business is currently the only laser clinic in the UK to have its own branded machines.

Helen said: "Being nominated for the 'Young Entrepreneur' award means the world to me, to acknowledge my achievements so far and that I can also inspire other young people to work hard and achieve their dreams." 

LaserHQ currently employs a team of 16 staff across all its locations and Helen says her team's hard work and dedication is a testament to the business and why the brand has grown to be a success.

Customer Services Finalist, Leah Towers of Lola's Pub Company

Customer Services finalist, Leah Towers, from Bury, made it her mission to boost The Two Tubs pub with Lola's Pub Company Ltd.

She took over the pub aged 19 and said she has since seen a 167.3 per cent decrease in security-related incidents as well as having reduced unnecessary costs.

She said: "I am absolutely astounded to be named a finalist in the Customer Service category with so many other amazing female business owners. 

"Even making it this far is a testament to the fantastic work my team and I have done so far. 

"I want to express my gratitude to our wonderful clientele who have helped put our vision into practice."

Despite the pandemic, in her first year, she cut down weekly costs by over 30 per cent. 

She added: "I hope if we are lucky enough to win this award that it will help bring further awareness to our community projects and shine a light on how important the pub trade is, especially at such a tumultuous time for hospitality and small businesses."

With the help of her business partner, she also set up the popular 'Military Mondays' charity, bringing veterans together over a free evening meal and shots of port.

Retail Business Finalist, Megan Jones of Curated Makers

Megan Jones, of Curated Makers in Bury, is the Retail Business finalist after acting as a matchmaker between big and small businesses no matter their niche.

Thought of as an 'artisan market open seven days a week', the business sells handmade products made by local people.

Each pop-up has between 30-50 different makers stocked with everything from artworks, pet accessories, candles, bean-to-bar chocolate and more. 

Megan said: "Im so pleased to be in the final of the EVAs. This would not just be a win for me, it would be a win for all the makers that we represent and for our wonderful team that support Curated Makers on our mission.

"It would give us a huge boost to get us through the crazy busy period ahead of us!"

Coral Horn, founder of Pink Link and the EVAs, said “We recently heard that the EVAs are now the UK’s largest business awards dedicated solely to women.

"It’s a testament to how highly these awards are prized within the business community and reflect the enterprise of the women in the region.

“With the support of all our allies, we would like to acknowledge every single woman involved – nominees, entrants and finalists – you fill us with admiration and make us more determined than ever to shine the spotlight on the talented women in the region.”

All finalists will be in the running for the highly coveted Outstanding Achievement Award, with over 700 guests expected to attend on Friday, September 23 at Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

Click here to read more about this year's finalists.