When Rachel Dunford was made redundant while pregnant with her first child, she could never have imagined the life it would lead her to.
Fourteen years later, she runs The Impact Specialist, a multi-award-winning business helping other ambitious founders measure and showcase the impact of their work.
“I started my business out of necessity: it wasn’t an active, deliberate choice to be self-employed,” Rachel said.
“I was made redundant at eight months pregnant, and I had to fight to get my maternity pay, and when I finally received anything, I then had to fight HMRC to reclaim the emergency tax they’d wrongly applied to it.
“It was far from the start to motherhood I’d imagined.”
This led Rachel to set up her consultancy that specialises in supporting values-driven, service-based businesses to articulate the difference they make.
It’s a business that has brought Rachel national recognition, with five award nominations this year alone, including Businesswoman of the Year and Social Impact Hero.
Alongside her consultancy, Rachel also founded The Impactful Community, a global network for women in business who want to grow ethically, make meaningful change, and be known for the impact they create.
Rachel admits the early days were tough. “There were times when I was desperate and afraid, and the highs and lows of running a business have been intense,” she says.
“But when I felt I had nothing, I realised I wasn’t alone, my community kept me going.”
The next generation of business
But the story doesn’t end with her.
Her daughter Sophie, just 14, is already following in her mother’s footsteps. She runs her own handmade jewellery business, selling online and at local fairs.
What began as a small project at a school Christmas market has evolved into a thriving venture, with Sophie consistently creating new designs and innovative ways to promote her work.
“Watching my daughter build her own business, aged just 14, brings me so much joy.” Rachel expressed.
“Sophie has been making and selling handmade jewellery since she was 12, and she is going from strength to strength. I am very proud of her; she’s very creative, very talented, and very successful.
For Rachel, her daughter’s success is a powerful reflection of the environment she’s tried to create: one where ambition, resilience and creativity are celebrated.
“When I started my business, it came from a place of necessity,” she says. “But over time, I realised how important community and confidence are in growing something sustainable. That’s what I hope Sophie takes from me: that you can build something meaningful if you believe in your own value.”
Advice and looking forward
Rachel’s advice to other young women starting a business is simple, “Don’t wait as long as I did to ask for help.
“For almost a decade, I survived on my own because I assumed that nobody else would understand the challenges I was experiencing in running my business.
“But I was so wrong, and as soon as I started to look more outwardly, I realised how foolish I’d been, trying to solve all my problems by myself.”
While Sophie’s lesson is already clear: “don’t under-price the things you make. Be confident that you can charge the money you deserve. And, stay committed, keep going because all the hard work is worth it!”
Together, Rachel and Sophie represent two generations of Bedford women in business, one showing that it’s possible to rise from challenge to recognition, and the other proving that entrepreneurial spirit can begin at any age.
The Bedford women who mean business series in full
- Bedford women who mean business: A new series spotlighting local female entrepreneurs
- Bedford women who mean business: From dream to reality, a young entrepreneur’s first steps
- Bedford women who mean business: Freelance and family, Lauren’s entrepreneurial balancing act
- Bedford women who mean business: “Now or never” how Sherida took a leap into her own business later in life
- Bedford women who mean business: Jennifer’s journey from burnout to balance
- Bedford women who mean business: from redundancy to recognition, a mother-daughter business journey
