A Liverpool businesswoman who made her first million by the time she was 26, now wants to empower other women to help them to be just as successful.
Kate Stewart has launched her very own online female empowerment community named Sisterhood HQ.
The mum-of-four makes no secret of how she worked her way out of a housing estate in Clubmoor to become one of the most successful women in the city.
Now the 39-year-old is helping other budding female entrepreneurs by launching a new online community together with her very first podcast also named Sisterhood HQ, offering all the tools women might need to reach their goals.
These include mentoring support and training courses plus weekly zoom calls with inspirational guest speakers.
Kate told the ECHO: "I came into the business world from a very unconventional background, there was no networking or support for women. I've been working since I was 14 and during lockdown, I was suddenly forced to slow down. I'm a mum of four so I'm usually rushed off my feet.
"I decided I could not waste this time and decided to help other women with their businesses. It can be so lonely for women at the top so it's really important that women support others, to empower each other, to cheer each other on and when they become a success, it's a win for us all."
The Sisterhood HQ podcast is centred around female empowerment and communicating a whole range of success stories and how different women from various walks of life have reached their goals, are striving to achieve their dreams and their top tips for doing so.
Kate's first series includes podcasts with Liverpool singer Rebecca Ferguson, Real Housewives of Cheshire's Tanya Bardsley, celebrity make-up artist Carla Lawson, popular Scouse DJ Kaci-Lea Lynch and renowned brain trainer and psychology coach Liz Forshaw.
Kate, who is mum to Kaitlin, 21, twin boys Graydon and Grayson aged five and four-year-old Star, said: "The idea is to enjoy the positivity and encouragement of other like-minded women. There's no jealousy, there's no ulterior motive. It's about being with girls, our sisters, and being there to help each other.
"It's so important for those women who are successful and make it to the top to reach their hands back down and pull other women up with them. I didn't have a penny when I started out.
"I badgered the guy at Liverpool's Heritage Market to give me a job. I was running the whole site within two years. We brought some big movies to Liverpool to film there including Captain America and Sherlock Holmes and I had Jude Law walking past my office window.
"I was making good money from my job there with 650 traders on site and we were the biggest market in the North West, I was also running event nights but all the money I was making I was investing into properties and bars. I wasn't just trying to get rich but I wanted to bring money into the city too.
"But I utilised every penny, I never had money sitting there, you have to make your money work for you. There's no use having a wardrobe of Christian Louboutin shoes."
However, Kate has admitted that she has made some frivolous purchases over the years.
"Back in the day, I was a mum at 17 and didn't have a penny. So I thought I had to prove to people how well I'd done by wearing the shoes and handbags and driving the fancy cars. I tell my daughter now 'don't get caught up in the materialistic side of life' and she's good because she's not interested in that.
"Don't get me wrong, I've made big mistakes. I've lost it all and had to work to get myself back on top and I've had my own struggles with depression and anxiety which I have to fight every day to work through. But the most important thing I've learned is to ask for help."
Kate, an entrepreneur with multiple businesses including The Sandon Complex in Anfield and supported living project Vitality Home, is now creating a community to support women of all ages, from all walks of life and with varying backgrounds.
This is something she is incredibly passionate about and has always made time for during her career.
She added: "I say you're selfish if you're successful and don't share your journey. It doesn't matter if you come from a council estate, it's imperative for you to say to people you can do it too. To empower them and give them that kick up the backside to just go for it."
Recently, during the UK's third lockdown, Kate has been using her social media platforms to share small businesses, online businesses and female-owned businesses usually single mums trying to make a living.
She has been sharing them with her 15,000 followers on Instagram and the businesses she's shared have seen huge surges in sales.
Speaking about her latest venture, Kate said: "Sisterhood HQ is an online platform and a community for all things business, positivity and female empowerment. We want to encourage as many women to join us as possible and really support them on their journey to success.
"The community will allow our subscribers to seek out services from fellow subscribers which will be a great cross-promotion tool to help the women secure new business, we'll also be providing training courses, support with HR, health and safety, changing legislation, employment contracts and much more. We'll also be hosting awards ceremonies to celebrate the women that we work with.
"I have always supported and mentored women throughout my career but having four children of my own and multiple businesses to run can make it really hard to support as many people as I want to. Sisterhood HQ will allow me to reach so many more people and I can’t wait to get started with our weekly zoom calls and guest inspirational speakers."
Visit @Sisterhood_hq on Instagram and search Sisterhood HQ on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
