Inspirational speaker Claire Lomas MBE – who, since a horse riding accident left her paralysed, has taken part in marathons, lit the 2012 Paralympic Torch, learnt to fly and ride a motorbike – captivated an audience of business owners at an event in Wiltshire.
Claire, who was an international three-day eventer when she had her accident in 2007, was speaking at The Growth Club, a quarterly meeting of entrepreneurs organised by leading business growth experts at Brinkworth-based Chalkhill Blue.
At The Growth Club, more than 80 business owners and their teams, with a combined turnover of more than £100 million, got the chance to take a day out of the office to devise a three-month plan to help them create and achieve business goals.
Chris and Rachel Spratling and Simon Buck, who run Chalkhill Blue and specialise in supporting ambitious scale up businesses owners and their teams to grow their enterprises, knew Claire would be the perfect choice to inspire a roomful of business owners. Since her accident, she has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities, including the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation.
Claire said: “At first, I felt like a door had been slammed in my face, but I have taken so many opportunities I wouldn’t have had if the accident hadn’t happened. We often look so far ahead that things don’t seem achievable, but the lesson I have learnt is to break things down and do a bit at a time.”
Rachel said: “Claire showed just what can be achieved in the face of adversity. Instead of being beaten by this life-changing injury, she has turned it into a positive, and rightly been awarded the MBE for her fantastic fundraising. So much of what she said applies to our life in business, that we can achieve a great deal if we set goals and work out a plan to get there.”
The Growth Club attendees were also treated to a talk from Liam Williams, of LeoDo, who explained the benefits of using visuals and imagery to aid employee engagement.
During the day-long event, the afternoon was spent with each business owner drawing up a 90-day business plan.
The next quarterly Growth Club will be held on June 22, at Royal Wootton Bassett Rugby Club. For more information about this and Chalkhill Blue, visit https://chalkhillblue.org/ or email info@chalkhillblue.org.
