A popular Cardiff blogger who dropped out of university has found success in her own business that aims to support and inspire other women. After dropping out of university, Kelly Powling had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.
She worked in an admin job but admitted her "heart wasn't in it", so saved up and spent a few months travelling before the coronavirus pandemic put her travel plans to a grinding halt. The 25-year-old was left wondering what to do next when she "fell" into social media marketing, influenced by her experience running the food blog Cardiff Foodie.
Once again she found herself looking for the next big thing and that's when she came up with the idea for Fierce Femmes. The idea sprang out of a "personal craving" for female role models and advice, which she struggled to find in Cardiff
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Fierce Femmes is a monthly event in the capital where female speakers share their inspiring stories - from their personal life, professional life, or both. Speakers at the six events that have run so far include young business owner Olivia Jenkins from Cardiff, who launched her hugely successful jewellery brand D. Louise in memory of her late mother, and writer, runner and mental health advocate Hannah Phillips from Merthyr Tydfil, who has written two bestselling books about running.
Women - and men - from all over south Wales have attended the events to hear uplifting stories, with a record 64 people attending in November. "I have even had a lady from Bristol make the journey," Kelly said.
Despite struggling to achieve A Levels, Kelly was accepted to study Events Management at University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Swansea. She said: "After a year, I quickly realised that university wasn’t for me. I dropped out of uni, having no idea what I wanted to do next," she said.
Kelly moved back home and worked in an admin role in her dad's Cardiff-based business for a while, but her "heart just wasn't in it" and she saved up her wages to go travelling for three months instead. But the Covid pandemic saw her travels grind to a halt and again she found herself "wondering what to do next".
"I fell into social media marketing as social media is something I'm pretty experienced in due to the food blog I started in 2017, Cardiff Foodie," she said. Her social media expertise saw her blog hit 10,000 followers on Instagram at the end of last year and through it she has collaborated with the likes of Wagamama, Rosa’s Thai, and The Parkgate Hotel.
But she admitted that social media marketing for other clients did not give her the "fulfilment" she longed for. "I’ve always had the desire to work for myself, I wanted the flexibility to make my own decisions and direct the business towards something I’m really passionate about. I was always brainstorming crazy ideas, and then finally, around May last year, Fierce Femmes was born."
She added the idea arose from her own "personal craving" for female role models and advice which she had struggled to find in Cardiff. "I recognised that not only myself but lots of other women would benefit from the wisdom of the many incredible women around us. I wanted to give these inspiring women a platform to shout about their successes and normalise their hardships."
It was two months before her first event in July and during that time Kelly searched within her inner circle to find inspirational people in her own life. She also contacted Chloe Smith, co-founder of Bigmoose - a mental health charity which runs a non-profit coffee shop in Cardiff city centre - for advice, and Chloe offered the coffee shop as venue for Fierce Femmes each month.
Kelly said: "I didn't have any funding to start Fierce Femmes. I just started selling tickets and used that money to pay my costs. I used my social media skills to promote the event and asked all of my family, friends and speakers to spread the word. My sister and I had lots of brainstorming meetings, she played a fundamental part in helping me get Fierce Femmes off the ground."
There are three speakers at each event, who speak about "their journeys, the ups, the downs and ultimately, how they got to where they are today". The aim is for their stories to "empower, uplift, inspire and educate" the women in the audience, so they leave armed with the "knowledge, skills, and self-confidence they need to participate equally in society."
There has been an "excellent turnout" at all events so far, with 42 people attending the first one in July. "I threw myself into the first event and did everything possible to make it the best I could. It's fair to say I was extremely nervous. I was scared that no one would turn up or that if they did, they wouldn't return," Kelly said.
"I'm not the most confident public speaker, but the people in the room made me feel so at ease. The feeling I felt after the first event was incredible. I was on top of the world. The atmosphere was electric, the whole room was engaged, and I felt like I had achieved exactly what I had set out to achieve."
Small local businesses are also invited to put on stalls at the venue and Kelly runs a raffle at each event to raise money for charity. Businesses that have partnered with Fierce Femmes include Lush cosmetics and Welsh companies Flowerbe and Minnie May closet.
Eight months on, the growth of Fierce Femmes continues to pick up speed. The number of attendees has outgrown the Bigmoose venue and in January onwards the events will be held in The Malting's.
Women have approached Kelly asking to share their stories, while feedback from the audience has been "fantastic". "I can't believe how fast the word is spreading and how beneficial people are finding the events," she said.
"The community I am building is exactly how I envisioned it eight months ago...sometimes, all you need to take the leap to follow your dreams is just one inspirational story and a community of like-minded women supporting you."
She added that starting the business has "completely changed my life for the better" - giving her confidence, helping her to learn "more and more every day about people, business and life", expanding her own network and allowing her to cultivate lifelong friendships.
"It has shown me how incredibly generous people are. The amount of support I have been given by complete strangers and people I know has been phenomenal. But most of all, it has given me a purpose. Fierce Femmes is the force driving me to do more, give more and be part of the change," she said.
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