Jacky Makes The Community Her Business
Tough personal experiences prompted Jacky Charman to start Xcellence4 U, a Community Interest Company. Her mantra, ‘Believe in Yourself’, lifted her from rock bottom to set up a company in which she trains others to believe in themselves, set goals and achieve them.
Jacky’s business was by losing out heavily during the 1990s recession. “At my lowest, I found myself and my family with no money, lost, scared, living in a poor housing estate without employment and not sure how to survive,” she remembers. “It is difficult to realise you do have control in your life and with the tools to build yourself up, it’s amazing how far you can go.”
With few options, Jacky decided that she could either stay crestfallen for the rest of her life or do something about it. “I wanted to be a role model for my sons so they would be proud of me,” says Jacky. “I started setting goals and saw where I wanted to be in ten years. Without even realising it, I found myself in the world of life coaching.”
In 2004, after many years of working in deprived communities, Jacky was selected as a Community Pioneer to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace in recognition of her work empowering the local community.
Since starting her company, Jacky has found that people regularly call to request information about her courses. “I felt a real sense of achievement the first time I received three different email enquiries on the same day through word of mouth referrals,” recalls Jacky. “Hearing that people who have taken part in one of my courses have gone on to live better lives is a huge buzz and makes me feel proud to be a women entrepreneur.”
As a dyslexic, Jacky finds paperwork a challenge and struggles with numbers. “I am very open about my dyslexia, which also helps put my attendees at ease as it shows that I have also had to struggle,” says Jacky. “My biggest fear when starting up the company was the fear of failure, but I was so focused on doing business and tackling challenges as they arose that I didn’t think about the surrounding difficulties, I just did it!”
Jacky is excited about the future: “The future is only as limited as my imagination. I am currently writing a programme to train people to teach courses,” she explains. “Employing other trainers will give me time to build on the structure of the company – and as a social enterprise, we are eligible for grants, which I plan to put towards marketing the company.”
Jacky’s advice to other aspiring women business owners is the same as her personal mantra: “Believe in yourself! Do your research and don’t spend too much time pondering. There are going to be challenges on the way, but just break them down into manageable tasks and do them. Each step is a step closer to your success.
