Interview with Elizabeth Willets
Elizabeth Willetts is the Founder of Investing in Women - a female-empowering job board and community helping family-friendly AND forward-thinking employers hire professionals looking for fulfilling flexible and part-time work. She is an experienced Recruiter with over 17 years of experience - both in-house at one of the Big 4 and from one of the UK's largest recruitment agencies. Elizabeth is also a mum to two daughters - Emily and Annabelle (and a Labradoodle called Dougal). She is a passionate believer in the power of part-time and flexible work to retain women in the workplace and close the gender pay gap. Her debut book, Flex - a dynamic guide for anyone wanting to build a successful career ― on their terms is due out in January 2025.
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What inspired you to start your own business, and what challenges did you face in the initial stages of entrepreneurship?
I had worked in Recruitment for 13 years when I was made redundant in 2020. I was about to return from maternity leave and was the only part-time employee on my team. After struggling to have children, the thought of returning to work full-time and missing all their important milestones filled me with horror, but I could not, for the life in me, find another part-time role. Every time a Recruiter approached me and I asked if they would consider hiring someone on a part-time basis, they said no straight away - or ghosted me. I could see what was happening to so many of my friends - they were being forced to exchange a well-paid career they had trained really hard for - for something lower paid and lower skilled in exchange for that flexibility. And I looked back on my own recruitment career - by that point, I had probably hired about 1000 people - none of whom had ever been on a part-time basis (in fact - when I worked for a Recruitment Agency, we never even registered anyone who didn't want to work full-time) and realised I had been a part of the problem. So I decided I wanted to use my own recruitment experience for good and founded Investing in Women - a job board and recruitment company dedicated to helping people find the part-time, flexible or remote job they needed by connecting them with forward-thinking employers happy to hire talent on a more flexible basis.
How do you maintain a work-life balance while running a successful business?
With difficulty! In all seriousness, my work-life balance has improved the older my business has got as I’ve had more financial resources to outsource more of the work. When I first started Investing in Women, I was frantically trying to get it off the ground during my children’s nap times, far too many Bluey episodes, and in the evening after they had gone to bed. Launching with just a £5,000 redundancy pay-out meant I didn’t have enough money to pay for help. Looking back, I realise it was actually really stressful and not particularly enjoyable. But I learnt quite quickly that everything costs - it either costs you time or money. As soon as I started making some sales, I reinvested that back in the business to pay for help - first, a Developer to help manage the website so I didn’t have to learn how to write code in the evening, then a VA to help with the day-to-day and so on. We now have a small team, all working school hours. It has also become easier as my children are older, and both at school and I have dedicated working hours (9-3) in a dedicated home office rather than snatches of time here and there on my dining room table.
Can you share a significant milestone or achievement that you are particularly proud of in your entrepreneurial journey?
Being able to employ others who all work from home during school hours. This is something I have dreamt of since starting Investing in Women, and the fact that I’m now able to offer the types of roles I couldn’t find myself in is a dream come true.
Have you experienced any gender-related obstacles or biases since starting your own business?
Not particularly. Generally, I’ve found everyone (men and women) extremely supportive, and some of my best clients have been male founders, business owners, and recruitment managers who all really support the cause and want to support the business, hire great talent and see it do well.
How do you empower and support other women in business?
I think by holding my hand up and saying it’s ok not to want to work full-time. Saying you want to work part-time can be seen as taboo - people automatically assume it means you are less committed or ambitious, which could not be further from the truth. My team and I are more ambitious than ever - we just have to manage our time slightly differently. But ambition doesn’t stop just because we have to do a school pick-up at 3:30 pm.
What role has mentorship played in your career, and how has it influenced your growth as a business owner?
I had a business coach when I first started Investing in Women who was instrumental in helping me get Investing in Women off the ground - I don’t think I could have done it without her, and we certainly would not be in the position we are now without all her help and advice.
I am also an avid podcast listener and book reader. I have read countless business books by Donald Miller, Dan Sullivan, Allison Maslan, and Allen Dib, as well as business podcasts by Amy Porterfield, Jenna Kutcher, and Pat Flynn—all of whose advice I have implemented to help grow my own business.
How have you found marketing your business? Has it been easy for you, or have you found it quite difficult?
I have loved marketing my business. Learning how to write copy that converts has been the most joyful part of running my business. I feel now that if I hadn’t become a recruiter, I would have loved to have been a copywriter.
What are your main marketing activities, and what do you find works best for you?
Social media is a big one. We also feature on other people’s platforms, including podcast guesting (as well as hosting our own podcast, Work It Like A Mum). We’re also pushing heavily on SEO to drive traffic to our website.
Can you discuss a time when you had to pivot or adapt your business strategy?
We launched a career coaching service for candidates last year (CV writing, interview coaching and LinkedIn strategy), which has been brilliant by providing an additional source of revenue and candidates for our business - particularly during times when the job market has been quieter during 2024.
Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations for your business?
I would love to grow our business further so we are automatically known as the UK’s number one flexible working recruiter and able to help more candidates find their dream flexible job - and those forward-thinking employers hire talent more flexibly. We also have plans for global expansion in the next couple of years, so watch this space…