Award hopes for Rugby entrepreneur who has steered haulage company to success

A community-minded Rugby business woman has made it to the finals of a prestigious competition.

Louise Adkins has been shortlisted to win the Ladies First Business Woman of the Year award.

Born and raised in Rugby, Louise attended Rugby High School for Girls and spent 22 years in the transport business before buying out the previous owner of Share Haulage.

Her first task was to turn the Clifton business around from loss-making to profitable and in doing so she adopted a policy of employing local people.

Louise said: “I am passionate about contributing to the community.

"For example, I have gifted to the borough’s schools and I’m a big supporter of the OurJay Campaign and have funded the

provision of pitch side defibrillators to local football teams. You never know when they might be needed.”

To be accorded a place in the final, Louise had to demonstrate she had achieved remarkable success in her professional endeavours and has a commitment to assisting others through mentorship.

“I felt it was a huge honour to be there,” said Louise.

“And I met lots of lovely ladies from different business sectors and I talked about my love for all things transport, despite being the only candidate from haulage.”

Along with pursuing her plan for continuing business success, Louise said she is also available to visit schools and colleges in the community to advise young women about working in the haulage and logistics business.

She went on: “I would like to provide free business workshops for women, covering topics such as managing people and managing business finance.

"I believe it is so important to invest in the future of the next generation of strong women and help empower them to realise

their ambitions and to achieve their goals.”

The results will be announced at the Ladies First annual awards ceremony on June 13, where the names of the winners in all 17 categories will be revealed.

Louise said: “I am really looking forward to it.

"My mum, husband and two daughters will be there supporting me like they always do.”

Have you made the finals? Let us know by emailing [email protected]