Helping Organisations Thrive with Julian Roberts #70 Gillian Harwood | How to harness adversity for creative business building ideas
Today I am interviewing Gillian Harwood who is the Co-Founder/Managing Director of United Workspace Ltd and Lewes Workspace Ltd.
Gillian Harwood’s career spans over 40 years. She was a pioneer of her time in the late 1970’s when she undertook the mammoth task of converting an abandoned Victorian bus factory, restoring and transforming it with flair and imagination into a successful business hub for small businesses; one of the first of its kind. It was a bold and courageous move and one that earned her ‘Business Woman of the Year Award’, presented to her by the late Margaret Thatcher.
Gillian shares how adversity created the opportunity for a business idea, it was the fact that her house was going to be repossessed by the bank, that the insight for 'bed sitters for businesses' (now known as co-working space) was created. And since the 1970's Gillian has gone on to create many more co-worker spaces across London and the south east, with the driving force to really help enable and empower new business to be established and grow. Recently she sold her Busworks co-working space business for £45m - a testament for her visionary leadership and entrepreneurship.
Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_9k_i3EUMU
Connect with Gillian:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillian-harwood-9b163877/
Website: https://needlemakers.co.uk/
Email: gillian@lewesworkspace.co.uk
If you want support in helping your organisation thrive, do get in contact with me: