Read the wholesome journey of Caroline Beardall, as featured by the Surrey Women Entrepreneurship Network (SWEN).

At Surrey Women Entrepreneurship Network – SWEN, we value the diverse perspectives and experiences of our community members. Recently, we sent out a questionnaire to three remarkable women to share insights into their journeys and thoughts. Here is Caroline Beardall’s response.

SWEN:  Can you tell us your name, your business name, and give us a short introduction to your background? 

Caroline: My name is Caroline Beardall, and I am the Founder and CEO of The HEAD Gardener Coach and Consultant Ltd. I started my professional career as a nurse, and then reasonably quickly moved into HR and Organisational Development. I have worked for the Department of Health, the Ministry of Defence, the Scottish Executive Health Department and in a range of NHS providers, implementing new services and developing service improvements. 
Before my roles, as Director for Organisational Effectiveness for the NHS regulator for providers of care and improvement agency and Executive / Senior Manager Coach, I was a Board Director for HR and OD, leading strategies focused on staff engagement, inclusion, leadership development and wellbeing. I went to be Regional Director of Workforce (Chief People Officer) for the South-East of England NHS (250,000 workforce, 9 million population) and was subsequently invited to be a Partner at a global consultancy. After 2 years, and more clarity on my value and ability to make a better and more sustainable impact leading my own company, I did exactly that and set up The HEAD Gardener Coach and Consultant Ltd. 

SWEN: How did you first get involved with SWEN, and what has the experience meant to you? 

Caroline: I am new to SWEN and the introduction came from SET Squared, which supports several entrepreneurs in their incubator role; however, to have a network specifically for women is a hugely valuable asset in ensuring that mutual support, opportunity and investment can all be explored and developed with women at the heart of the conversation. We don’t need to compete with men; we need to be the best version of ourselves, and SWEN is a key enabler to this.  

Caroline’s Professional Story 

SWEN:  When did you start your business, and what inspired you to pursue your entrepreneurial path? 

Caroline: The concept of HEAD Gardening wasn’t a flash of brilliance but something I noticed one day in 2023. I was looking out of my bedroom window, and I realised the garden outside was like looking at my team, my job, and the work needed with each of them. The reality I could see was that there were some toxic elements, some of it was totally out of hand and a mess. However, there was some beauty too… as well as a fabulous plant that was doing its best but clearly in the wrong place! It made me wonder how all of this could be so, and how to improve those elements that needed support, help, pruning, and cutting back to let in light. I remembered that nature and gardens grow, as we humans do. The weather and storms, the sunshine and nutrients, the soil, the animals all have an impact on the garden and the human, and it grew from there! It was more a question of ‘I have to do this’ than choosing to! 

SWEN:  Can you share a project, milestone, or achievement you’re particularly proud of? 

Caroline: I have several! But here are a few snippets! I am delighted to say that the Chief Nursing Information Officer’s national role in the NHS was one of my first HEAD Gardener coaching clients. She was delighted with the work we did together. This led to her clarity of vision and strategy for the NHS in England – so I call that significant!   

I have others who need help with big changes, like the moving of location that a hospice was undertaking, and the work that managers and C-Suite leaders needed to consider about themselves and their teams to leave one area well and land in the new place physically, emotionally, and mentally well. I also work with defence organisations, hedge funds, and recrafting of People Strategies and operating models. I also undertake discovery projects to then ‘re-landscape’ the garden – oops! I mean organisation!  

And now I am marketing testing some new products to bring to market to help people garden their heads – in fact, you can help! Let me know if you think these would help your ‘garden’ to grow: The Head Gardener’s Grow Box – The Head Gardener 

SWEN: What core themes or values drive your work? (e.g. Sustainability, AI, Inclusion, Community, Creativity, etc.) Reflections on the Entrepreneurial Journey 

Caroline: There are 3 key areas which drive me;  

• Strategically, it is People, Planet and Prosperity.   
• These are underpinned by my principles of: you first, integrity and reliability always, using every ounce of experience and skill she has for every client.  
• The concept of possibility and opportunity for all.   

I am a huge advocate and activist for women and people from under-represented groups, most specifically from the global majority. I seek to create a world where even if life has been unjust or difficult in the past, it does not need to remain so. 
We are all one human race, and if we anchor our confidence in both reality and hope, we appreciate the ROI of kindness and what real strength in a leader is, then I believe we can and will deliver the strategic goals, with all benefiting, not just the few.  

Reflections on the Entrepreneurial Journey 

SWEN:  What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a woman in business, and how have you navigated them? 

Caroline: I choose not to see my being a woman in business as a challenge but rather a potential for greatness. I know how to harness my skills, create confidence and competence in myself, and although I have, of course, felt that others have been prejudiced against my abilities because I am a woman, I leave that as their deficit rather than something I need to carry. 

I always sit at the main table, decide what I want to achieve and then go and get it (sometimes in a circuitous route through design and need, but the goal is always in mind), and so it is the navigation of others rather than adding my barriers that I focus on. I have worked with the highest level of Government, the military and other senior male-dominated environments and ‘still we rise’ (a quote taken from Maya Angelou) as I am blessed with my unique greatness, and it’s my purpose to share that and inspire others to do the same. 

SWEN:  What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other women trying to grow or fund a business? 

Caroline: Don’t give up.   
Often people take ‘No’ as an answer, it’s not, it’s an opportunity to listen and learn and then either keep going or amend, refine and go again. ‘No’ is a bit like feedback, it’s a gift, you might have been given it before, not want it, not like it, or not know what to do with it, but all you have to do is say ‘thank you’ and put it to one side. You decide later if you then actually want to do something with it!  

‘No’ could be ‘not yet’, or ‘I don’t see how I can help / how it fits in with my own goals’, or ‘I am scared you might be good / better than me’, or even ‘I don’t understand’. No is what the receiver says and not about the value of what you do or a judgment on whether you are right or wrong; it is simply a response which is or is not valuable. But it is not the end of the story, or even necessarily right! Don’t give up. If you truly have worked at your focus, know it adds value, believe in its purpose and have tested your product as a market, then why would someone saying no stop you carrying on? Find the supporters, helpful folk and even the ‘pick you up when you are feeling low’ people you can trust and don’t give up. 

SWEN: How do you think women in business can better support each other locally or globally? 

Caroline: There are two key points I want to emphasise. First, be a good role model for other women by doing your best. Even if you can’t see it, someone will be inspired by you. You may never know who that person is, but they are out there. Always take pride in being a woman in business, no matter how challenging it may be. You are doing a great job and helping to pave the way for others. 

Secondly, don’t be scared to help others. Being generous and supporting others is the way to receive more support than you ever thought of. Do not pull the ladder up after you, but offer to hold that ladder for another to climb, and I know they or someone else will reach out and help you up when it’s the right time. So, join a network, like SWEN! And show up, every day, do your thing, help others, and the garden you have carefully planted will grow! 

Looking Ahead 

SWEN:  What’s next for you on your entrepreneurial journey?

Caroline:  My primary goal this year is to focus on growth. After doubling in size over the past year, I aim to sustain this momentum by embracing a cycle of growth, rest, and renewal. I’m excited to introduce some new e-commerce products called ‘Grow Box,’ which can also be purchased separately. 
Additionally, I’ll be promoting some e-learning initiatives and releasing a new book specifically aimed at women, titled Cultivating Success: Creating a Continuously Thriving Career through Growth, Rest, and Renewal. 

SWEN: Thank you, Caroline, for sharing your story with us.