All about Sarah

Today we catch up with Sarah Pittendrigh, who balances being an inspirational speaker and Life/Business mentor to women in business, alongside being Head Girl for her professional equestrian son, William.

Sarah, tell us a bit about yourself - what do you do, where are you from, your your business, where we can find you online and what makes you tick?

Hi there, I am 51, married to Stewart and mum to William who is 23 and a professional equestrian.  We live in rural Northumberland, with our 9 horses, 2 dogs and 3 hens!

I run 2 businesses:-
I am CEO of Simply Bows and Chair Covers – we specialise in luxury event linen - i.e. chair and table décor for weddings and events. I franchised the business in 2010 and we now have 10 offices across the UK.

In addition to this, my husband and I completed a large project to develop the steading of his family farm into 8 beautiful stone homes. It took us 5 years and completed in 2019 with the last property sold in 2020 just before the pandemic!

Using my 25 years experience in business I have created a coaching programme “The I CAN Method” for Female Founders and CEO’s, a holistic approach focussing on you and your business as one. I believe your business is a reflection of how you feel. I start by helping the founder get “unstuck” and then together we work on a strategic plan to realise their meaningful goal. 

I also run a podcast, Formidable Over Forty where I interview inspirational midlife women in business – all with a story to share! 

There is nothing more rewarding than working with a client who arrives at my table burnt-out and leaves ready to blaze a trail. I love seeing people realise their potential.

What inspired you to set up your business?

Simply Bows and Chair Covers was started when I identified a gap in the market while working in the corporate event sector.
My partners and I had just lost a business in the recession of 2008 and I ended up bankrupt with my home repossessed and a single mum. I used this adversity to create opportunity and design a life I would love, right out of the ashes.
The I CAN Method was created when I found myself stuck when the pandemic hit. I had franchised my company, so my team were running the weddings, (albeit the pandemic temporarily shut us down!), we had finished the houses, and approaching 50 I felt at a crossroads, redundant to be honest.

I used the methodology I turn to when building businesses on myself and realised that I love mentoring and sharing knowledge, and that many midlife women also approach and then get stuck at the midlife crossroads, so I decided to turn my strategy into a coaching programme and I have never looked back. I love it!

It’s very exciting to see that you’re launching your first book this month, can you tell us a little bit about it please?

The 'I CAN' book is in two sections. The first section is my memoir, covering my life story from a child to the woman I am today, and the second section is The I CAN Method Breakthrough Journal.
I share the adversity that has shaped me, bullying, divorce, bankruptcy, cancer to name a few and how I used the lessons and turned them into a super power to design the life I love now.
I co-wrote this book with Eleanor Mills who is a former Editor at the Sunday Times and Editor of The Sunday Times Magazine, so her experience was invaluable helping me to get it off the ground.

I have some beautiful bracelets from Hiho but the most meaningful is a beautiful snaffle bracelet that my dear friend Emma, the Managing Director of Hiho, gave me with “Formidable Over Forty” engraved on the inside.