Case Study: Ripon Women Business Network
Formerly: Ripon Women in Business
Location: Ripon, North Yorkshire
Project: Building and growing a supportive business community for female founders in a rural area
Creating the Kind of Business Community We Wanted to Be Part Of
The Ripon Women Business Network started with a simple idea: to create a welcoming, supportive space for women running businesses in and around Ripon.
For female founders in rural areas, business can sometimes feel a little more isolated. We do not always have the same density of networking events, business hubs, peer groups or professional communities that exist in larger towns and cities, and many women are building businesses while also juggling family life, caring responsibilities, part-time work or simply the practicalities of living and working in a more rural place.
We wanted to create something that felt local, supportive and genuinely useful.
No formal pitches. No awkward business-card swapping. No pressure to sell.
Just good coffee, good conversation and the opportunity to meet other women who understood what it was like to build something of their own.
From a Coffee Morning to a Real Community
The network began as a monthly coffee morning and gradually developed into something much bigger.
Women came from Ripon and the surrounding North Yorkshire villages and rural communities, representing all sorts of businesses – from retail and hospitality to professional services, creative businesses, wellness, consultancy and freelance work. Some were established founders. Some were in the early stages of building a business. Others were working alone and simply wanted to feel a little less isolated.
My role was to create, develop and manage the network from the ground up. That included organising and hosting the monthly meet-ups, finding and working with local venues, promoting the network, welcoming new members and making introductions between women who I thought could genuinely help one another.
Just as importantly, I focused on the culture of the community. I wanted it to feel friendly and generous – somewhere women could ask a question, admit they were stuck, share an opportunity, recommend someone else or celebrate a win without feeling like everything had to turn into a sales pitch.
Helping Rural Female Founders Find Each Other
One of the biggest benefits of a local network like this is simply helping people discover who is already around them.
There are so many brilliant female-led businesses operating across North Yorkshire, but because they are spread across small towns, villages and rural communities, they are not always particularly visible to one another. The network helped close that gap.
Women met potential collaborators, suppliers, clients and professional contacts through the group. They recommended one another, shared knowledge and introduced each other to opportunities they may not otherwise have found.
Those connections also created a stronger sense of local business community. Instead of feeling as though everybody was trying to build their business alone, women began to recognise familiar faces around Ripon, support each other’s businesses and continue conversations outside the monthly meet-ups.
For me, that is one of the most valuable things a rural business network can do.
Supporting Local Businesses While Building the Network
Where possible, the network was also designed to support the wider local economy.
Meet-ups are held in independent cafés and local venues, creating regular footfall and introducing members to businesses they might not otherwise have visited.
Working closely with venues and other local organisations also helped strengthen relationships across Ripon’s wider business community.
The network was never designed to exist in isolation. It was part of something broader, encouraging women to spend locally, collaborate locally and build stronger relationships with the businesses and organisations around them.
Keeping the Community Supportive as It Grew
As the network grew, the Facebook group became an important part of the community too. It gave members somewhere to continue conversations, share opportunities and ask for recommendations between the monthly events.
But maintaining the right culture mattered. As with many business groups, there is always a risk that a useful community gradually becomes a stream of promotional posts.
I introduced clearer community guidelines to make sure the group stayed focused on connection, conversation and support rather than becoming another place where everybody was simply selling to one another.
That meant actively managing the community, setting expectations and making decisions about what would genuinely add value for members.
For me, good community building is not just about increasing numbers. It is about creating an environment people actually want to keep coming back to.
Listening to What Female Founders Actually Need
The network has also given me an invaluable opportunity to listen.
Regular conversations with women running businesses locally have highlighted some of the recurring challenges facing female founders in rural areas, from isolation and visibility to confidence, business growth, finding the right support and simply having people around them who understand the reality of running a small business.
Those conversations have helped shape ideas for future workshops, business socials, practical support and events specifically designed around female founders.
Rather than deciding what women should need and then building something around that, I have been able to hear directly from the women themselves and respond accordingly.
That is something I carry into my wider consulting and project work too.
Making Sure the Network Had a Future
The Ripon Women Business Network was originally developed as part of our wider work supporting freelancers, small businesses and remote workers.
The name evolved from Ripon Women in Business to the Ripon Women Business Network, reflecting what it had become, not simply a monthly coffee morning, but an ongoing community for women building businesses across Ripon and the surrounding rural area.
The Results: Stronger Connections for Female Founders in Ripon
The network has created a consistent meeting point for female founders in Ripon and the surrounding North Yorkshire area, both online and in person.
It has helped women build relationships, find collaborators, discover local businesses, share opportunities and feel more connected to the wider business community.
It has also helped raise the visibility of women-led businesses locally and demonstrated that there is a real appetite for female-founder-focused support outside major cities. Perhaps most importantly, it has created a community that women genuinely want to be part of.
For women who often spend much of their working week running a business alone, knowing that there is a room full of people nearby who understand what that feels like can make a surprisingly big difference.
What This Project Demonstrates
The Ripon Women Business Network brings together many of the things I care most about in my work – female founders, rural businesses, community, collaboration and creating practical opportunities for people to connect and grow.
It demonstrates my experience in community building, event management, partnership working, local marketing, audience development and ongoing project management.
But it also demonstrates something slightly harder to put into a job description: the ability to bring the right people together and create an environment where relationships happen naturally.
Because building a strong rural business community is not necessarily about recreating what exists in Leeds, Manchester or London.
It is about understanding the place, understanding the people who live and work there, and building something that works for them.
