Data reveals Manchester has the second highest number of female-led businesses in the UK

Women are constantly breaking boundaries within business. Searches for ‘famous female entrepreneurs’ increased 131% over the last 12 months, suggesting women all over the world have a growing appetite to work for themselves and become financially independent.

With this in mind, a new study by Paymentsense analysed Crunchbase data to reveal the current female leaders in the UK market, ranking the top 10 cities in the UK with the most registered female-led businesses. The study also discovered which female social media influencers-turned-entrepreneurs have the largest followings on Instagram.
Manchester ranked as the second city in the UK with the most female-led businesses and is home to 110 businesses with female CEOs, 3% of all registered businesses in Manchester.

London came out on top, as the city with the most female-led businesses, with a whopping 3,088! However, this is just 6.8% of the total business population in London.

Rounding off the top 3 was Cambridge, home to an impressive 76 female-led businesses, making up 2.6% of all registered businesses in the city. This comes as no surprise as Cambridge is known for being home to one of the most prestigious universities in the world!

Female social media influencers turned entrepreneurs: Molly-Mae is the third most followed on Instagram
The study also found out which UK based social media influencers have used their following to leverage their own brands, utilising the potential exposure to their millions of supporters.

Zoella

Zoe Sugg is the highest followed female influencer turned entrepreneur, with a whopping 9.4 million following. Zoe Sugg has built an empire around her personal brand, with a portfolio including Zoella.co.uk- a blog platform, The Magpie Society- a collection of novels written by Zoe, and Template and Filmm- photo editing apps.

Charlotte Letitia Crosby

Geordie Shore’s Charlotte Letitia Crosby is the second most followed female influencer turned entrepreneur, with 7.1 million followers supporting her. Charlotte has launched a variety of different businesses from workout DVDs to her makeup brand, Flique, a clothing range called Pepper Girls Club and a homeware range named Naked-Lane.

Molly-Mae Hague

Rising to stardom after appearing on reality show, Love Island, Molly-Mae Hague has grown a following of 6.4 million, making her the third most followed female influencer turned entrepreneur with her fake tan brand Filter by Molly-Mae.

Expert reveals top tips for female business owners

Paymentsense have put together their top tips for any women looking to start up their own business.

Don’t be afraid to make waves

Don’t be afraid to be different and make some bold moves, if you have an idea that you believe in, chase it, or someone else will!

Embrace Challenges

Overcoming challenges is how we learn and grow, so embrace them. If something doesn’t go as smoothly as planned at first, refrain from being disheartened, having your abilities tested is all a part of the game.

Connect With Others

Sometimes we all need someone to lean on and one of the most exciting benefits of business is the connections you make. Try reaching out on Linkedin, or get in touch with other business owners in your area, you might just learn something new!

Never Stop Learning

Try signing up for conferences in your field or if you don’t have time for this, network and ask questions- they’ll likely have something to learn from you too! Business is constantly changing and in order to know how and, most importantly, when to adapt you should adopt a mindset of being open to learning.

Remain focused

If you’re feeling demotivated, don’t worry it happens to us all. Try to think back to the reasons you started the business and be inspired by your brand morals! It is important to manage your time efficiently, but don’t be afraid to take a break when you need one.