No grant. No investment. No financial safety net.

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Michelle Wilson Stimson began with an idea, the determination to make it work and a willingness to learn the difficult lessons for herself.

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Today, she is the founder and CEO of Yoke Global Ltd, a million pound financial services operations business with 16 members of staff, its own technology platform and a trusted team capable of running the business without Michelle needing to manage every detail.

That achievement is only one chapter in a career that has never followed the obvious route.

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Michelle did not simply build herself another job. She created the processes, technology, culture and leadership structure required for the company to operate without depending on her constant involvement.

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That is the difference between creating work for yourself and building a genuine business.

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Yoke Global Ltd today,  is the kind of business many founders aspire to create: valuable, scalable and no longer entirely dependent on its founder.

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A career that refuses to fit into one box

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Michelle’s route to success has been anything but conventional. Her career has included purchasing and supply, running pubs, qualifying as a financial adviser and stockbroker, and working for a large American stockbroking advice firm.

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Her creative experience includes modeling, running a modeling agency, coaching and award winning professional photography, having photographed 50+ weddings from Cornwall to New York City.

She later created Unmuted Photography to help women become more visible through powerful, personal brand photography.

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Michelle also created Boss Bird, a stationery and lifestyle brand offering planners designed to help busy women manage their work, goals and wellbeing.

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In 2019, Boss Bird was selected as one of only eight winners of the Stationery Show London LaunchPad competition from nearly 40 international entries. The judges praised its distinctive designs, product range and commercial appeal, and the win secured Boss Bird a complimentary exhibition stand at the prestigious trade event.

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In 2020, Michelle was named a finalist in the Most Influential Business Woman of the Year category at the National Business Women’s Awards.

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Built alongside motherhood

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Michelle became a mum at 19 and has built every chapter of her career alongside raising three children.

She understands what it means to pursue ambition when time, money, energy and support are not unlimited. She has navigated growing businesses, managing teams, motherhood, relationships, health challenges and the pressure of being the person expected to hold everything together.

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Her success has not come from following a perfect formula.

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It has come from trying, learning, failing, adapting and being willing to begin again.

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Now 50, Michelle has the kind of experience that cannot be learned from a textbook, a qualification or a polished business story in which every decision looks clever in hindsight.

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She knows what it feels like to start without financial backing, carry too much responsibility, make expensive mistakes, change direction, rebuild, employ a team, create effective systems and eventually build a business that no longer depends on her being involved in every decision.

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Recognised across financial services, business and the creative industries

 

Michelle’s work has been recognised repeatedly across several very different industries and she is often in the press for her views and opinion relating to business and finance.

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Some of her achievements include:

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• Multiple time finalist in the Professional Adviser Women in Financial Advice Awards

• Finalist for Most Influential Business Woman of the Year at the 2020 National Business Women’s Awards

• Finalist for SME Business Woman of the Year at the 2020 National Business Women’s Awards

• Women in Peterborough 2020 Fempreneur Award winner

• Peterborough Small Business Awards 2020/2021 winner

• Winner of the 2023 SME Business Elite Award through eParaplan, recognised as a leading provider of professional fixed fee financial services support in the East Midlands

• Winner of the 2019 Stationery Show London LaunchPad competition through Boss Bird

• Wedisson Award winner for wedding photography
   

These accolades are not included simply because awards look impressive on a website. They demonstrate Michelle’s ability to develop an idea, create a distinctive brand, build commercial value, gain visibility and earn recognition across finance, leadership, entrepreneurship, design and photography.

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Learn from someone who has actually done it!

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Michelle is not sharing business advice taken from a textbook. She understands what it takes to start with very little, create something people will pay for, build a team, develop technology, manage growth and eventually create a business that can operate without consuming its founder.

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She also understands the wrong turns, difficult decisions and expensive lessons that rarely make it into polished business success stories.

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Through the ØSS community, events and GLOW Growth Sessions, Michelle shares the practical insight it took her decades to learn.

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Members benefit from her strategic thinking, directness, commercial experience and extensive network. They gain access to conversations that can help them improve their positioning, become more visible, make better decisions and recognise opportunities they may otherwise have missed.

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Michelle’s achievements may open the door, but her purpose now is to hold that door open for other women.