Life and business lately

Hello, Denyse here, and a very warm welcome to We Are Mimosa, a newsletter for female founders who care about making the world a better place while building a profitable business.?

Back in January, I decided to take some time off from writing this newsletter following my mum’s?sudden and unexpected death. Suffice to say, I hadn’t expected to be away for so long. But to say her death?was a huge shock is an understatement. Friday 12th January was a day like any other. Saturday 13th January, my world was upended.?

If you’ve not experienced loss before, it’s a bit like having concussion in that it’s impossible to think clearly. You go into a shock, and when you come out of that shock, you don’t know who you are or what your life is going to be. None of the usual data points add up.?

You wonder: “How do we do this?” “How do we find the courage to bury our loved ones?” "How do we deliver the eulogy?" “How do we summon the energy to deal with their affairs?”

Once the immediate aftermath has passed, you start to wonder: “How do I find our way back into life, more specifically back into a life that resonates with purpose, hope and happiness?”?

I was fortunate that my mum’s life was a masterclass in grounded optimism and resilience. And that she left us with clear instructions?about how she?wanted us to?remember her?in the form of Helen Lowrie Marshall’s?poem ‘Afterglow’.?

I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one.

I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.

I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways,

Of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days.

I’d like the tears of those who grieve, to dry before the sun;

Of happy memories that I leave when life is done.

In life, my mum was passionate about the environment and considered climate change to be one of the most pressing issues facing the world today. She loved Sir David Attenborough, Sky Nature and visiting Sussex gardens. She and I watched the Earthshot Prize together in December, and she was thrilled Prince William was taking up his father’s mantle, working to repair and regenerate our planet.?

She was impatient for action to lessen the effects of environmental damage; from ending the crisis in the water sector, to a roadmap to move Britain to a zero-waste?economy,?to setting up the new?publicly owned renewable energy company GB Energy, to ensuring nature’s recovery.?

A natural conservative, these policies were the reason why she decided to get behind Labour’s local Parliamentary candidate, Tom Rutland, and publicly endorse his campaign.?That, and the fact I was Tom’s Campaign Manager and my mum wholeheartedly supported anything I did!?

I care passionately about making the world a better place. Which is why my mum’s death pushed me into trying?to bring about the environmental change?my mum?was so impatient for. My path back from a traumatic loss - where the struts of my scaffolding collapsed overnight -?was to bound myself in the structure and relentless slog?of election campaigning.?

• First, the May local elections, where Labour won control of Adur district council on the Sussex south coast, claiming victory for the first time in the council’s history.?

• Second, Tom’s?general election?campaign where Labour overturned a majority of 7,474 to win East Worthing & Shoreham, for the first time,?by a majority of 9,591.?

Along the way, I had the very great privilege to:?

• Be in the front row when Sir Keir Starmer gave his first major speech of Labour’s election campaign at the small parish council hall in the seaside town of Lancing where my mum lived for almost 40 years. ?

• Meet?one of my political heroes, Hilary Benn, then Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when?he visited Worthing on Labour’s giant red battle bus.?

• Greet singer turned environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey when he visited Shoreham to highlight pollution in the sea as part of a tour of the UK.?

• Work with Tom Rutland and lead a?brilliant, dedicated and passionate team who put their all into both?campaigns and taught me so much.?

Five months ago, Tom delivered a reading which?I?refer to as the “Gospel According to Sir David Attenborough” at my mum’s funeral.?

“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty, the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”?

And five months later, the new Labour Government responded to 'the urgency of the global climate challenge' with a wave of new green bills in last month’s King’s Speech. These measures will help to get us back on track to meet the UK's climate goals, including the target to cut emissions by over two-thirds by 2030.

This would have made my mum so happy and proud. Our relentless hard work to persuade her community to elect an MP who will champion these green policies is her afterglow.?

My path back from loss was to throw myself into campaigning because I’m a multipotentialite who needs to?keep busy. Two back-to-back campaigns?not only gave me?an immediate purpose and meaning, but I got to work with a highly motivated and supportive team. ?

And along the way I reconnected with my ambition, competitiveness and the things which energise me most.?My purpose.

I feel most myself when I’m leading a team, pushing towards?an audacious goal, relishing in the zone of zero to sixty acceleration. But?for the past few?years - since I left a full-on CEO role - my accelerator has been broken - and missing altogether at times. It didn’t matter what I tried; I couldn’t quite find my way back to?me and my purpose.

The last few months provided the catalyst I needed. I’m excited to be back over on Substack, building We Are Mimosa, a community for female founders who care about making the world a better place while building a profitable business.?

My hope in sharing?these insights?is that if you’ve been going through a difficult time yourself, you can find a way to both live alongside it and to thrive.?

Until next time,?

Denyse?

About me?

If you don’t know me, it might be helpful if I explain who I am and what I do!

I’m Denyse Whillier, a former CEO and I previously built a seven-figure business. Today I help ambitious, purpose-led female founders grow successful, sustainable brands they are passionate about, and which are aligned with their purpose and values.

To find out more about my services and how I can help you realise your business goals, use this link.?

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