TGtS Meets...Anne Cooper - International Women's Day Special

As Director and Founder of Galax Care Ltd, Anne Cooper has proven herself to be a successful businesswoman and authority on adult learning disabilities. In honour of International Women's Day, we chatted to Anne about her rise to the top.

Tell us a little bit about yourself…

I was born in Nigeria to an English mother and Nigerian father and came to England as a toddler.  One of three children, we were raised by my Mum and had a very happy childhood growing up in quite an affluent area of the South East. My Mother was aware of so many children in need of care so when I was about 8 years old she began fostering and our family grew, this gave me and my siblings a real insight into the importance of the support and stability that is so easily taken for granted and we learnt from an early age to be open and accepting of those around us.

What inspired you to set up your own business?

After 14 years as a lawyer in the public sector I set up my care company Galax Care after I experienced first-hand the difficulty of finding a suitable supported living setting for my former foster brother, an adult with severe learning disabilities and challenging behaviours. Inspiration sometimes comes from the place we least expect it and my foster brother is the inspiration for Galax Care which was established to provide "specialist support" to adults with learning disabilities and complex needs.

Which women inspire you and why?

There are so many inspirational women in the news today from politicians and authors to sportswomen but I think I get the most inspiration from my Mum.  She is a great role model for me. She faces each situation head on, she always finds the best path forward and turns the negatives into positives. She is a great support and her pragmatic approach had taught us all how to keep moving forward that we can learn from anything that life throws our way and we will be stronger for it

What do you think is the biggest issue facing women today?

As girls we are taught that we can do anything but instead we hear we have to do everything. The challenge is to find your own inner strengths and balance it with external strengths and be your own advocate. 

What's the best piece of advice you've received?

The best piece of advice I ever received was to ‘pass it forward’ both in the workplace and in life and it has stuck with me ever since.  It was given to me by a former colleague when I was training to be a solicitor. He would freely give up his time to, not only develop my work skills but also to mentor me and other more junior colleagues.

Do you think women are fairly represented in business?

There does seem to be a perception that in order for women to be successful they need to behave in a certain way in the business world – to out-perform or somehow out-do men and to keep other women at a distance but I truly believe that as women we should celebrate the successes of other women and engage with them to find out the positive ways in which they have achieved success in their chosen field. 

What significance do you think International Women’s Day holds?

Women have not always shared the same rights and still do not in many respects.  This is an opportunity to not only recognise the innovators, leaders and risk takers that have paved the way but to encourage all women to stand shoulder to shoulder in support of each other.  

Do you have family (and/or children)? How do you maintain a work/life balance?

I would say to any women struggling to do it all – stop struggling. I was inundated with offers of help and I was only able to move my business from an idea to a reality when I made a conscious decision to accept the help. For instance a mum at school offering to keep a set of pyjamas at her house for my daughter so if I was late home or stuck in traffic she could spend the night there; other mums who were running their own businesses shared information, contacts and even cast an eye over my business ideas and offering suggestions and support. 

Do you think there's equality between men and women in the workplace?

Whilst women are still the primary caretakers for children within families the issue isn’t so much about equality in the workplace it is more about making it possible for these women to work more flexibility so that they don’t necessarily have to have large periods of time away from the work place because if there isn’t this flexibility it inevitably means that talented, dedicated and inspirational women aren’t able to move up through companies because they don’t have the experience or time in the job.

As a successful female, where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

In 10 years’ time I hope to be in a position where my business has grown to such an extent that I can take a step back from the day to day running of it and can focus on mentoring and developing other female business women and entrepreneurs.

Based on your own experiences, what advice would you give to fellow females looking to get into your profession?

Working with adults with learning disabilities is a highly regulated and complex industry to work in and isn’t for the faint hearted. Find the people that are at the top of the field or are business owners in your profession then pluck up the courage to make direct contact with them. Explain that you are starting out or are unsure of a particular issue or matter and ask them if they might have half an hour for a coffee to share their knowledge or experience with you.  

If you could have dinner with 5 inspirational women dead or alive, who would they be?

There are several high profile or famous inspirational women who I would like to meet to find out why and how their lives have taken the route that they have such as …. But to have dinner with it would have to be 5 of my inspirational and successful friends who have each had a profound and positive impact on my life directly in the last 3 years. I would take the opportunity to say thank you because each of them has inspired me to have the courage to leave a career and to create a business.

Caroline Marsh 

Caroline is a successful millionaire property developer and entrepreneur. when I shared with her my business idea she gave me access to the top tier of her business mentoring programme to give me the practical business skills to turn my concept into a business.  

Emily Davies 

Emily has created and run successful businesses in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire and has been instrumental in offering me help in any form. 

Linnet Chimbaza 

Linnet is a mentor but more than that she is a friend who has taken the time to help me develop my business and has taught me so much about the care industry. 

Jelena Hague

Jelena is another successful business women who has shown me the real spirit of sisterhood in both business and friendship. I take inspiration from her positive view on life, her willingness to help and her calmness and pragmatic nature.

My Mum

Finally, it would have to be my mum because she is as inspired and as inspiring as the other women and we could all learn something from her about true resilience and creating opportunities yourself.  Ultimately it is down to us to make things happen.