Entrepreneur to host female founders feel good marketing event

“It feels good - I knew that it would!” are the words coming out of 49 year old Del Parsons’ mouth, as she prepares to welcome a diverse line up of very special guests from Dragons Den stars and globetrotting influencers, to 7 figure business owners and podcast hosts, to her annual Marketing & Sales Summit for female founders, focused on ‘feel good marketing’. 

The event, on June 26, has doubled in size since last year, to now host 100 entrepreneurs from across the region and beyond.

It has been created to help women in business particularly, to feel more confident selling their services, in a way that feels good, after Del found many were not growing their businesses thanks to struggles with sales and marketing. 

Del first created the Marketing & Sales Summit to help empower and support other female founders, sharing her knowledge and that of her network with her audience, providing a relaxed environment for women to both learn and to make new connections.

The event has now grown and she’s attracted world renowned speakers, as well as sponsors for the event and double the amount of delegates.

Del Parsons said: "This is an event for women in business who don’t like selling and are rebelling against the sleazy marketing tactics often seen in online business."

Del, who spent over 20 years working in agencies with clients including; L’Oreal, Sainsbury’s and Compare the Market, and is known as ‘The No-Nonsense Business Coach and Marketing Mentor added: “I think the appeal of this event is that it’s a chance for women to come and learn, openly, in a fun way, about subjects which maybe stress them out a bit. Upon hearing others’ stories and advice from the speakers they then start to feel less alone, and more empowered to try new strategies to help them grow, in a way that feels good, and will avoid burnout.”

As a chartered marketer and certified mastercoach, with a degree in psychology and ILM in leadership and management, and someone who has experienced burnout from her corporate career, Del is passionate about helping other women to find ways to create strong sustainable businesses without sacrificing their health.

“I want to help fast track the success of these female entrepreneurs who are working hard to build strong futures for themselves and their families  - and I’m lucky to have a brilliant network of successful women I get to share with them to also help fill any knowledge gaps, and as positive role models to inspire them.”

Podcast Host of ‘More Than Marketing’, Del  is determined to help other women understand how to use marketing to build a sustainable and profitable business that enables them flexibility, to blend both sides of their lives - the ambitious career woman and the mum who wants to be there for her kids - and she recognises how hard this can be, often with little support.

She said: “Research has shown that while the UK is seeing more women founders than ever before and their contribution to the UK economy is significant, women receive less targeted skill-based support compared to their male counterparts which can hinder the potential of women entrepreneurs to market their business and sell their services with confidence so they can achieve significant growth.” 

In a commitment to positively celebrating difference and individuality, Del has consciously created a lineup that amplifies diverse voices and shares expertise of female founders across a variety of cultures and backgrounds.

​​Laura Weldon, founder of Studio LWD, an award winning branding agency, is the headline sponsor.

Having worked with some of the world’s most iconic names, including Virgin, Nike, and the British Red Cross, Laura is here to now show smaller businesses how to make their brands work for them.

Headline keynote is Laura Bartlett - a Northern global powerhouse who at 25 appeared on Dragons Den, leaving with no deal and criticism from Peter Jones. What followed was bankruptcy, reinvention, and then global success. She went on to bootstrap, build and sell a luxury travel magazine, being flown around the world like a celebrity for many years. Ten years on, her Dragons Den clip re-surfaced and went viral, with over two million new viewers.

Two other powerhouse business influencers include Lea Turner, founder of The HOLT Community for Small Businesses, who has built up a remarkable network of 174,000 connections on LinkedIn and trained countless big name brands on how to use it.

Elisabeth Carly Leonard, founder of Vibes & Visibility, a social media agency dedicated to empowering female entrepreneurs to elevate their online presence and show up with confidence. Elisabeth became an accidental influencer, and is now a sought-after social media strategist and coach, - she’s here to help teach how to break through the noise and make an impact.

Joining them is seven figure business owner Leah Gregory, a high ticket sales expert, who helps business owners to scale to six figures without using pushy sales tactics; and Pauline Healey, a qualified accountant offering flexible FD and CFO support to small businesses - to help focus on the financial side of business success.

Focused on systems is Nicola Peters, founder of System Haus, who is on a mission to help female founders manage the growth of their business after starting her wedding stationary business alongside a busy 9-5, and realised quickly systems and processes play a huge role in building a sustainable business.

When it comes to the marketing side of things Del herself will be speaking and sharing her expertise on how connection is key and how clients can strategically approach marketing in a way that feels good to them.

She will be joined by Lisa Danielle, a TikTok expert and founder of Beyond The Hashtag; Nic Welsh, The Customer Experience Pro, who’s focused on helping businesses to provide fabulous customer experiences and Caroline Canty, founder, Craft Coaching & Apex, who has worked in the digital and tech sectors for over 10 years, working across sales, marketing and branding.

 Podcast Host Sukanya Nallaiah is also joining the event, and as someone used to chatting to founders about their journeys, challenges and expertise she’s looking forward to sparking powerful conversations.

The event is open to anyone in business and tickets are on sale now at https://delparsons.kartra.com/page/MSS2025