An Ipswich boutique owner has been named as one of the UK’s most 100 inspirational female entrepreneurs in a national campaign to highlight multi-achieving role models during the Covid pandemic.
Mandy Errington opened DJV Boutique in Cox Lane in 2012 and now mentors several apprentices, as well as serving as a board member for the East of England Co-op.
While her shop has been forced to close several times in the past year due to lockdown restrictions, she has adapted her business to tap into a market of bespoke services and overcome the fierce challenges of 2020.
The f:Entrepreneur campaign was launched in 2017 by Small Business Britain to showcase trailblazing female entrepreneurs that lead small businesses alongside a roster of other responsibilities, such as volunteering, mentoring and community support activities.
DJV Boutique was also selected to feature in the Small Biz 100 campaign in autumn which highlighted small, community driven businesses.
"I felt really privileged when I heard the news," Mandy said. "It is an honour, there are a lot of really driven and motivated women so to be selected is just really humbling actually. I am chuffed to bits.
"It has been a tough year but you find ways through it, I have never been too protective of how I have achieved in my business if I can help others with that knowledge — I love what I do and I love passing that on."
The 50-year-old lives in Ipswich and says she is proud to represent the region in such a high profile campaign.
When the shop has been open during the pandemic, Mandy has limited the number of customer inside the shop to ensure they feel comfortable and staff have worn gloves to handle all products, so the customer need not touch anything.
She also introduced virtual showcases with fashion show type events online, free local delivery and a gifting service which proved incredibly popular, especially with men.
Staff take the customer's budget and select a range of options for them to choose, before gift wrapping and delivering straight to the recipient.
Mandy takes great pride in her mentoring and one of her first apprentices is now a manager at DJV Boutique at age 24, after joining at 19.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here