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00:30 So Jennifer, tell me what the association trade group is
00:35 called.
00:36 Alverstoke Traders Association.
00:39 That's what it says on the tin.
00:40 And tell me how many of those businesses are run by women.
00:45 So I think we have about 20 businesses at the minute
00:48 in the village.
00:49 And all but two of them are run by women.
00:53 And we have Robbie, who's kind of our honorary,
00:55 because he's our treasurer and things.
00:57 He's in the village home, and he's
00:58 so active with the community and things.
01:00 And then we have One Stop, obviously, which is a franchise.
01:03 But One Stop is the only non-independent business
01:06 in the village.
01:08 How does it feel to be part of a female-led community?
01:13 I am so here for it.
01:15 I love it.
01:16 I love that we all work together,
01:18 and we lift each other up, and we support the community.
01:22 And I love seeing women be successful in business,
01:25 because it still, even these days,
01:26 can just be that little bit harder.
01:28 There can be a little bit more resistance.
01:31 And I love that we're all doing it, supporting each other,
01:34 and really making a difference to the local community.
01:37 Hi, I'm Lisa Tilly, and I've been here 19 years now
01:42 in the village.
01:43 So tell me a little bit of background behind your business
01:47 and why you chose Alverstoke Village.
01:49 I just fell in love with the location, really.
01:52 I used to live in Portchester, and I came through the village
01:55 one day, and it was an empty shop.
01:58 And I thought it was a fantastic area.
02:00 So I thought, why not give it a go, see if it works out.
02:05 And I'm here 19 years later.
02:08 Yeah, my name's Philippa Wilmore.
02:09 I'm a chiropractor at Alverstoke Chiropractic.
02:12 So tell me a little bit about your business
02:15 and why you chose Alverstoke Village.
02:18 So I'm a chiropractor, so I help people be pain-free.
02:22 And I particularly work with bumps and babies,
02:24 but I do see adults of all ages and babies
02:28 every stage of life.
02:30 I chose to work in the village because we moved here
02:32 10 years ago.
02:33 I completely fell in love with it.
02:35 And it's so much easier for me to work locally
02:39 with having three kids at different ages of life
02:43 than it would be to work elsewhere.
02:46 And tell me, how does it feel to be part of a sort of association
02:51 where you're kind of predominantly a village
02:53 of women business owners?
02:56 Do you know what?
02:56 It feels like home.
02:57 It feels wonderful.
02:58 It's great to have a support network.
03:00 It's not an easy thing to be a woman in business.
03:03 It's hard work at the best of times.
03:05 It's really hard work.
03:05 I do it quite solo quite a lot of time.
03:07 My husband's in the Navy.
03:09 So having that extended area of support,
03:12 that network of support, we're always
03:14 showing each other's posts and supporting one another
03:16 and using each other's services, because they are amazing,
03:20 is invaluable.
03:21 Hi, I'm Julie Bateman.
03:23 I teach Pilates at the Love Studio in Alberstoke.
03:26 I've been here teaching for about 10 years.
03:29 I've been teaching over 30 years in London.
03:32 I started and then came and moved here.
03:35 And I'm very lucky to have this studio, which
03:39 used to be Barry Rick's old carpentry.
03:41 So it's just lovely to keep the theme going in the village,
03:45 businesses thriving, changing hands.
03:50 Yeah, I'll go to Hannah, my daughter.
03:52 Hello.
03:53 So I'm Hannah Bateman.
03:55 So as mum said, daughter.
03:58 So we run the studio together.
04:00 So mum does Pilates and I teach yoga.
04:05 I've been here--
04:06 I think I've been teaching in the studio for about four years.
04:10 I've been teaching yoga for nearly six years.
04:14 I did my original training in Bali.
04:16 I just felt like I needed to get away
04:18 from the bit of intensity I was living in London at the time,
04:22 acting.
04:24 So quite a change into then doing yoga.
04:27 But that's been my journey into yoga.
04:30 And I'm now off to do another training in India.
04:35 So yeah, it's really exciting.
04:36 But it's so nice to have this hub here in the village
04:41 with Lizzie downstairs as well and all the other lovely ladies
04:45 and businesses that are around.
04:47 I think it's nice to feel that in this village,
04:49 there's so many different things happening.
04:51 And you can-- quite surprising.
04:53 I didn't even know myself.
04:55 There was so much going on.
04:56 But there's so much that you can go to and get from these places
05:00 with people who are dedicated to what they do and specializing
05:04 in what they do all in one place, which is quite amazing,
05:06 I think.
05:07 Hi, my name's Ros O'Toole.
05:08 I'm the owner of Joyce.
05:10 Nice story behind it.
05:12 We bought this in 2019.
05:15 Unfortunately, my mother-in-law died in 2018.
05:18 So we used her money to buy this business.
05:23 And so my husband, we went through all sorts of names
05:26 to see what we could call it.
05:29 And then I said, can I call it after your mum?
05:31 And he said, I thought you'd never ask.
05:33 So I've actually managed to say that without crying,
05:37 because it always brings a lump to my throat.
05:40 Tell me why you have a state village.
05:43 We looked and looked and looked at various places,
05:46 but nothing seemed to fit.
05:48 We walked in here, and it just--
05:50 it was instant.
05:51 We just thought we loved it.
05:54 We love being part of the village.
05:57 Everybody's friendly.
05:59 We all get on.
05:59 We all try and help each other out and whatever.
06:03 It has been a struggle through COVID.
06:05 We do-- if we'd known, perhaps, that COVID was going
06:09 to hit when we bought it, it might
06:11 have been a different story.
06:12 But all my customers are very loyal.
06:14 They stuck with us like glue.
06:17 And we've got a real good little hub here.
06:21 Everybody loves coming here.
06:22 They love the coffee.
06:23 They like the food.
06:25 Yeah, so--
06:26 So tell me what it feels like being a business
06:29 owner in Albaswick Village, which is predominantly
06:31 women business owners.
06:34 Like I said, we're all girls, and we all meet up.
06:37 We all have a chat.
06:38 We all-- if it's quiet, we pop over the road,
06:41 or we pop in here, or pop next door.
06:43 Can't obviously go any further, I feel,
06:45 because I can't be running around the corner.
06:47 But yeah, it's good.
06:50 Hi, I am Leanne, and I own number 49 gift shop
06:53 in Albaswick Village.
06:55 Brilliant.
06:55 Tell me a little bit about the business
06:57 and why you chose Albaswick Village for it to be in.
07:00 OK.
07:00 So the business is primarily a card and gift shop.
07:04 We do sell ladies' accessories and other bits and pieces.
07:08 But we really do focus on having unique gifts that you perhaps
07:14 can't find anywhere else, which can be treats for other people
07:20 or if you fancy a little treat for yourself,
07:21 we've got some of those as well.
07:24 Yeah, so we do different gift wraps and gift bags
07:28 as well alongside the cards.
07:29 So we've pretty much got you covered here
07:32 if you're rushing around for any last minute bits and pieces.
07:36 And tell me why Albastoke.
07:39 Albastoke is such a lovely community to be a part of.
07:44 And we find that the businesses here, we all
07:47 support each other.
07:48 We all help each other out if we need it.
07:52 We build really lovely relationships
07:54 with the customers here.
07:55 We are very much the hub of the village.
07:59 And it has just got that lovely, lovely, friendly family
08:03 kind of vibe to it.
08:05 Hi, I'm Elizabeth.
08:06 I'm the owner of Beauty by Design.
08:09 I've been here for eight years now.
08:12 We do treatments for ladies and gentlemen,
08:15 ranging from sort of your waxing to massages
08:18 to skin tag removal.
08:19 We do quite a wide range of treatments.
08:24 Brilliant.
08:25 So tell me what it feels like to be part of a village which
08:27 is predominantly women business owners.
08:31 It's quite empowering.
08:32 It's lovely to be around other female owners.
08:35 Always great for advice.
08:38 And it's just lovely that we're all there for each other.
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