Press Release
Jan's Kitchen Table Recipe for
National Success
Essex businesswoman Jan Smith has just had a week that she will remember for the rest of her life.
On December 5 she was named one of Britain’s most inspirational women at a national awards ceremony. Then the following day she met Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Her Everywoman “Hera” Award is the latest and most-prestigious accolade yet for a woman who started a business 11 years ago with just £20 in her purse.
Among other winners in this year’s NatWest-sponsored Everywoman Awards, were model and businesswoman Elle McPherson and retired Head of MI5 Stella Rimmington. The awards celebrate inspirational businesswomen who have achieved significant success – particularly those who have had to overcome adversity.
Just 24 hours after receiving her award from TV presenter Fiona Bruce before a packed audience at London’s Dorchester Hotel, Jan joined Gordon Brown at a Business in the Community (BITC) Leadership Summit on Talent in London for a debate on the future of British business.
Jan’s is a story of a rapid rise from a humble start. She was 48 when she launched her IT recycling company End-O-Line Services in 1996, making her first sales calls to potential clients from her kitchen table. End-O-Line recently changed its name to EOL IT Services when it announced ambitious new expansion plans and a wider range of services covering the life of IT equipment from start to finish.
Already a holder of top regional business titles, Jan Smith is Chairman of EOL IT Services, based at Maldon in Essex. The company is also an award winner having held BITC “Big Tick” environmental awards for two years.
She said: “I had an incredible two days which kept me shuttling between my Essex home and London. I am absolutely delighted to receive the award and to have met Mr Brown. I am thrilled that the Everywoman award recognises my achievement and success in building a business I started 11 years ago, something of which I am incredibly proud.
“Over the decade I have learned many things which I wish I had known at the start and the main one is ‘never stop believing in yourself’. For both men and women, it is difficult to juggle the demands of business and family but for women, I think there is an even greater balancing act.”
Jan’s self-taught business acumen put her into the Everywoman Awards “Hera” category which highlights the inspirational efforts of businesswomen over 50. After starring in a tough face-to-face interview with a panel of awards’ judges, Jan beat off the challenges of other high-profile businesswomen and joined a roll of honour with previous winners Mary Perkins of Specsavers and Lady Harriet Bridgeman of the Bridgeman Art Library.
Jan, who says the first client she won from her kitchen table – a major financial organisation – is still a customer, has advice for woman who want to succeed in business. She said: “Be careful whom you trust? Above all trust yourself and go with your gut instinct. Be bold with the bank and establish a business plan as early as possible.
“It is essential to be prepared to learn, rather than dwell on mistakes, so you can move on quickly before their impact becomes even more destructive.”
Jan has also launched several other business ventures including the award-winning Little Owls day nursery at Danbury in Essex and is currently working on the setting up of the EOL Training Academy for training tomorrow’s business leaders. She adds: “I am particularly delighted that it is my inspirational efforts which have contributed to this opportunity. l have always been passionate about supporting others who set out to make it on their own in the business world.”