5 March 2021|Latest Posts, Meet the Successful Founder
Antoinette Daniel is a former PE teacher, now Founder of Just Helpers, the ethical cleaning agency for Londoners with very nice homes.
Antoinette is passionate about seeing justice done in all areas of her life. As a result of 10 years spent campaigning and against human trafficking, she is currently in the process of radically transforming the cleaning industry to enable cleaning colleagues to be paid equitably, working rights and conditions to be more rigorously monitored, laws changed to enable ethical agencies to operate more ably, and clients’ homes and offices cleaned to a consistently high standard.
In her spare time, she loves walking by the sea or sitting in her favourite chair watching the world go by.
What would you love to share with other women to encourage them to start their own business?
I read an article from Forbes on why investors should put their money on women-led startups. In summary, they concluded that start-ups founded by women deliver higher revenue, more than 2 times as much as those founded by men and that over time they also generally perform better than companies started by men too. Women often think about and conduct business in a different way, looking for more win-win solutions. Additionally, the more female-led business there are, the stronger our collective bargaining will be. “The next Steve Jobs will be a woman.” If that doesn’t inspire you, I don’t know what will.
What are your top 5 tips for entrepreneurial success?
Know who you are and own it because nobody else will.
Everyone feels like an imposter, so put on your big girl pants and be bold anyway.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Everything can generally be negotiated. Don’t accept someone’s first answer if you don’t like it. I wasted far too many years in business trying to be polite in that way.
Seek out an authentic all-female network for a bit of respite.
Have fun, it’s yours and you get to make up the rules.
Who are the top 5 women who inspire you the most?
Oprah Winfrey – She is the first black woman to navigate and succeed on mainstream TV and be relevant to a diverse community
Brene Brown – I love her wisdom on being an authentic and vulnerable leader
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu – I am thankful for her research and campaigning in the UK around the prevalence of sickle cell anaemia in the Afro-Caribbean community.
Michelle Obama – For elegantly, intelligently and powerfully showing the world that a black woman has a place in top tier leadership roles. For enduring the relentless race-related scrutiny as she took command of that role.
Maya Angelou – For her gentle grace, wisdom and heartfelt writing.
Favourite Sayings and Favourite Quotes
“What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?” – Erin Hanson
Social Media Handles
https://www.facebook.com/antoinette.daniel.9/
