Beth Jordan is a seasoned businesswoman with over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry. From her roots in South India to her entrepreneurial ventures in textiles, Beth has embraced challenges and opportunities at every turn. Her story is one of resilience, adaptability, and the relentless pursuit of personal and professional growth.
Could you briefly introduce yourself?
I’m an enterprising businesswoman who thrives on challenges and isn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves in business. Throughout my career, I’ve embraced roles as a leader, mentor, and strategist. With over 20 years in the fashion industry, I’ve specialized in sales, sourcing, product development, design, and manufacturing in the Far East and India. I’ve sold under my brand, Beth Jordan, and White Label. My core values include fair trade, ethical sourcing, and cultural awareness. Currently, I leverage my experience through mentoring and coaching, driving clients to excel personally and professionally. Let’s achieve your goals together.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
I was born in South India, but spent my formative years living in Bihar. I attended a Convent School in India and had a glorious childhood surrounded by lots of family. Immigrating to England where I then attended a further Convent, finally leaving that type of education behind me at the age of sixteen. I’d always had an idea of entering nursing at the age of 18 and did fulfill that ambition, except that while in training circumstances persuaded me to redirect my career and turned to primary teaching. I enjoyed the world of nursing but found teaching was more suitable for my own aptitude and creativity. Each career change was of great value to me, teaching me different aspects of life and people, and how to interact with diversity and culture.
During the course of my teaching career I married and had a wonderful son, totally adorable and it was important for me to spend as much time with him as possible. This led me to totally rethink how I could combine looking after my child and pursuing a career.
Well life is full of surprises, and my new career led me to setting up a business. First dealing in antiques where I found my main passion lay in textiles. What a surprise. Prior to the antiques business, I had spent many years making clothes both for my family and friends, so when I found myself becoming interested in business through textiles, a lot of my passions began to dovetail very neatly into my new interest in the world of business.
In fact, through buying and selling antique textiles, I discovered one specific style of old lace and linen which really resonated with me, more so when, on a trip to Venice, at a local Sunday market, I saw an Italian stall holder selling the exact same style of ‘new’ style ‘old’ lace as the type I had been selling at local London markets, saying it was Italian. Well being a sneaky entrepreneur, and together with the help of my husband, we discovered that the ‘Italian’ lace came from China. Doing some great sleuth work, we discovered the factory in China, ordered a small amount and sold the whole first consignment to one particular client in London.
My new business, then called Lace Lady, was born.
My life had been transitional moving from one career to another, which helped formed my character and insights into the type of life I saw for myself and my family. It was a slow process, but I was in no hurry, starting at a relatively young age in business, I did not feel the need to sacrifice everything I had worked for. One of my main characteristics was that of my need to learn steadily and carefully as I progressed through life. That did not mean that I did not make mistakes, but I tried hard to be careful and cautious and decided that never having been to business school or done a degree in business, my own optimism and resilience would always stand by me in making decisions as I progressed through my future business career.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business/initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it?”
My biggest motivation was the need to ensure that I prioritised the life of my son and family while I discovered who and what I was and the person I was to become as I discovered the many and varied facets of becoming a business woman.
My biggest need at the time was to be able to earn money within my son’s school life, and to discover the ‘how to’ of running a business, exploring the way of the new world in which I had found myself, how to navigate, how to build a business from a glimmer of an idea, an idea that seemed to have metamorphosized into a life of its own and it just carried me along. Now who was the boss here?
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I would love our young women and any age group of women, to know, that if they have a glimmer, a thought, an idea, that they will be able to initiate that glimmer, thought, idea and allow it to blossom into whichever way they feel the need to see it become a viable enterprise. I would love to know that they would be given a professional hearing of their plans and able to strategize these. One never knows which plan will work until one is given an opportunity to explore it fully and further to get the right backing and endorsements that are required.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
Women have always been leaders. Look at history around the world and they have been there either quietly or loudly. Women need to be women, strong, resourceful, educated in their field, professional. Use their given strengths and prove they can stand shoulder to shoulder in their given professions. I know there is still a great deal of prejudice but women standing strong and fast will make huge breakthroughs. Yes, it is still taking time but women are leading the way in areas unheard of. Are they quiet about it? Hell no!
What’s the most important thing you have learned in your personal life and professional journey? What is your personal motto in life?
When your instincts speak loudly, listen to them and don’t hesitate. If you do, your time and opportunity is over.
With your grit and determination, you are making a considerable impact, breaking through, and serving as role models for many budding entrepreneurs. What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
You may have heard this before but when you have an idea, first do a thorough examination of it, look at it from all angles, check its feasibility, talk it through, step back, look at it, turn it upside down, inside out, keep your enthusiasm and passion for it and ignore all the negativity. Be brave and remember all those wonderful women throughout history who achieved so much against so many odds. Go for it and good luck!
