A well-known businesswoman is celebrating the success of her startup business and multiple award nominations, despite needing to close for three months to care for one of her twin daughters.
Cheryl Spears founded Spear-heads in September 2023, offering sales, business development and social networking services, seeing an immediate demand for her services. She quickly began to grow her team thanks to a thriving client base, but in the November, one of her twins was admitted to The Freeman Hospital for urgent treatment, which saw her need to close temporarily.
Cheryl and her husband welcomed twin girls in December 2021, Fay and Mia, but unfortunately Mia was born with several serious health issues including a heart condition called ‘transposition of arteries’ as well as two holes in her heart, which have required multiple surgeries and extended hospital stays.
In November 2023, further health concerns became apparent and Mia was admitted to The Freeman where she underwent intensive treatment and several operations, at which point Cheryl temporarily closed the business to focus on caring for her and supporting her family.
Thankfully, Mia was able to go home in March 2024 despite requiring ongoing treatment, and Cheryl opened up Spear-heads again during this extended stay, working from her daughter’s bedside to the delight of her customers who welcomed her return. She has since moved into an office in Stockton, grown her team to five, with two more positions expected to be filled by the end of the year, has been shortlisted in Best Newcomer and Best New Business in the Tees Business awards, and has secured a contract with Orangebox Training to deliver fully funded LinkedIn training to businesses in the North East.
Cheryl said: “It has been a rollercoaster both personally and professionally, but we’re in a really exciting position now and growing rapidly.
“Like many businesses, I’ve faced challenges with being paid on time in some instances, but my regular customers are so supportive and we’ve created robust plans to support their growth, which in turn helps Spear-heads to grow, too.”
With a proven track record in recruitment, sales and business development, Cheryl is using her experience to help other businesses grow.
Cheryl is planning to deliver her own sales conference in 2025, currently dubbed the Teesside Sales Summit, designed to help those in sales and business development roles to bolster their skillset and smash their targets.
Cheryl continued: “Spear-heads uses a mix of tactics including ‘drop offs’, cold calling, email marketing and more to support our customer base and ensure that they are being seen and heard from by their target audience. I love what I do and I’m really excited to see where we go in the next steps of our journey.”
For more information, please see www.spear-heads.co.uk