My sister Louise and I launched The Catapult Club in October 2007 and our primary business service is to offer residential experiences to empower women by teaching them new skills, such as self-defence, voice-projection, how to relax, how to breathe properly, how to improve confidence etc. This is all
done in a fabulous country mansion where the emphasis is on pleasure - fantastic food is served and the bar never shuts! In short, it's the ultimate girls' weekend.

We were pretty gung-ho when we started. Within four weeks of coming up with the idea I handed in my notice with the publisher I was working for. A couple of weeks later we had a fully functioning website and just three months after the "lightbulb" moment we had 14 ladies participating in our first trial weekend. My sister was fortunate enough to have equity in her house so she remortgaged and we financed the start-up through a director's loan. The initial (and ongoing obstacle) is time - there is simply not enough of it. I work 16 hour days - and still my to-do list is taller than me.

Both Louise and I have networked like mad. We've also been quite persistent with the media and have managed to get an article featured in the London Paper. We've also raised our profile by exhibiting at One Life Live at Olympia where our unusual stand caught the imagination of potential customers and the press. We now have lots of bookings and need to add more dates.

When we first started we used BusinessLink for advice on incorporation and other legal issues. Our appointed solicitor was one of BusinessLink's associates and we received a free half-hour consultation with him.

Our proudest moment so far was when we received our first booking on New Year's Eve. It was a real highlight and felt like a very auspicious omen. Louise was so excited she dropped her Blackberry on the floor, smashing it. But little things like getting a compliment about our business cards also mean a lot. When you do everything yourself, it feels great when someone notices and appreciates your work.

Our immediate goal is to increase the frequency of our weekend experiences. We genuinely do want to have an impact on the women of Britain and we know that what we teach can dramatically alter lives, so we want to encourage all women to take part.

Networking has introduced us to so many useful people, not always directly but through friends of friends. For example, we have met a great journalist through networking who has really helped us with PR. On a more personal level, the lunches are always great fun and it is stimulating to be around other women who are working hard. The ladies are always so generous with their support and their ideas.

If there is one piece of advice I can give (and I know it's a cliché) but just do it. Don't
wait for the right moment, it will never come...