Their stories are full of determination and ingenuity, but also of long hours, personal sacrifices and the pressures that underpin their success. It was for this reason we created the Female Business Owners Index 2025, in partnership with Tide, to capture what female founders have long been telling us. What we discovered were stories of resilience and ambition, but laced with challenges.
More than half of female business owners report working longer hours, and 23% have taken on second jobs to keep their businesses going, not because they lack belief in their ideas, but because the economic environment has demanded it. Thirty-nine percent say the last year has been tougher than the one before, citing inflation, weak consumer demand and ongoing uncertainty. These pressures are real and they are personal.
Yet defining this moment for women in business is not despair. In fact, they have quiet, unshakeable optimism. Despite the challenges, 67% of women expect their revenues to increase over the next year, with 17% forecasting growth of 50-100%. Rather than shrinking back, female founders are expanding their businesses, innovating and investing in their teams and technology.
This resilience and optimism were on full display at the Tide everywoman Entrepreneur Awards 2025 in December, which celebrated female business success across the UK. The winners and finalists show how women are not only weathering the current climate, but redefining what success looks like.
Take Rosie Skuse, founder and CEO of Molto Music Group, winner of the Small Enterprise Award. Rosie has built a business while bringing music education to schools and communities, expanding her reach while navigating the realities of running a company with fewer than 25 employees. Zoe Williams, founder of Aegle’s, won the £20,000 Tide Boost Grant, demonstrating how targeted financial support can unlock growth when opportunity meets ambition.
Rana Righton, managing director of The Gluten Free Bakery and winner of the Balance Award, shows that entrepreneurship and family life can coexist with scale and success. Charlotte Stagg and Jessica Lancaster, co-founders of Coconut Lane UK and Cocopup London, received the Next Level Award for scaling their brand significantly without external investment. Daisy Kelly, founder of Glow For It, was named Social Star for using digital platforms to accelerate growth.
These women are not exceptions. They represent a wider cohort of female founders pushing into new markets and embracing digital transformation. The Index shows 44% plan to enter new markets, 30% intend to increase investment in digitisation, 28% plan to grow their teams, and 21% are investing in skills and training.
However, barriers to scaling remain stubborn. Access to finance continues to limit growth, with 28% of women citing funding constraints and 36% calling for more grants and targeted tax relief. Confidence and experience gaps also persist, with 25% saying self-confidence has held them back and 23% identifying gaps in financial or operational knowledge.
These are not problems of capability. Women are building strong, innovative businesses, but too often without the same access to capital, networks or tailored support as their male counterparts. Indeed a mere 2% of venture capital funding goes to women. When finance is harder to secure, women compensate by self-funding and pushing themselves further.
The entrepreneurs celebrated at the Tide everywoman Entrepreneur Awards show what is possible when resilience, ambition and opportunity align. They are proof that resilience is a strength and a driver of growth. Now it must be matched with investment, equitable access to finance and systemic support, so female founders can scale without carrying the burden alone.
