Jo Fairley

GREEN & BLACK’S CO-FOUNDER, SPEAKER AND LEADING ENTREPRENEUR

  • Biography
  • Inspirational Speaker
  • Testimonials
  • Media
    • Consulting/Writing
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Jo Fairley writes regularly for Telegraph Online, among her media portfolio. Here are some of the articles she's written about women and business and/or entrepreneurialism, appearing under the ‘Wonder Women’ experts section. Simply click on the article title below to read. Others can be sourced at the Telegraph.   

Why you should think about women's achievements today (your own included)

Construction needs to ditch its macho image and nail the gender imbalance fast

Women do need to man-up and stop using the word 'just'

High-achieving women have these 6 personality traits. Do you?

Mark Zuckerberg is right - personal goals are great. So what should you be striving for?

My Bizhub: Inspiring Entrepreneurs: an interview with Green & Black’s co-founder Jo Fairley

Digital detox baths: are we finally ready to be cleansed of our tech addiction?

How to have a sense of humour in the office (even when everything's gone wrong)
 

TWITTER

  • Josephine Fairley
    Well THIS was super-fun. kikki.k founder kristinakikkik and I could have talked for an entire day but it distilled… https://t.co/cO8jil2c7I
    about 23 hours ago
  • Josephine Fairley
    I am rarely too frantic to get my phone camera out - but somehow last night there wasn’t a moment. I know I wear ma… https://t.co/UwxqgOdPOb
    about 4 days ago

INSTAGRAM

Well THIS was super-fun. @kikki.k founder @kristinakikkik and I could have talked for an entire day but it distilled into this... I am addicted to her stationery. She loves @greenandblacks chocolate. It was a match made in heaven, chat-wise! The Your Dream Life podcast is on blog.kikki-k.com and Apple podcasts 💛
Well THIS was super-fun. @kikki.k founder @kristinakikkik and I could have talked for an entire day but it distilled into this... I am addicted to her stationery. She loves @greenandblacks chocolate. It was a match made in heaven, chat-wise! The Your Dream Life podcast is on blog.kikki-k.com and Apple podcasts 💛
#nofilter #allthegreys #dontcare #I❤️hastings
#nofilter #allthegreys #dontcare #I❤️hastings
I am rarely too frantic to get my phone camera out - but somehow last night there wasn’t a moment. I know I wear many hats, but one of the most fascinating parts of what I do is working on Beauty Bible with @sarahamstacey - for the past 22 years via our books and beautybible.com website we have been helping women discover which skincare, haircare, suncare, bodycare and make-up products work best. (And this isn’t about vanity. It’s about self-care. The time women spend on these rituals is often the only time they do something entirely for themselves, in any given day. I consider ‘beauty’ actually to be about mental wellbeing as much as wanting to look nice.) We’ve has over 30,000 (!) real women trial products for us and last night acknowledged the dozens of brands who’d won Gold Awards in our latest round of the Beauty Bible Awards, in which 1500+ women took part. So lovely to see journo friends too like @kathyphillips1 @beatriceaidin @alicehartdavis @wewearperfume @suerpeart and so many more... Congrats to all the AMAZING winners, many of whom we’ve watched go from kitchen-table #startup right through to global brand, including @aureliaskincare @thisworksofficial @evolvebeautyuk @anneedemamiel @lizearlebeautyco . Thanks to my most incredible team @amyeasonamy @lilz4evz Jessie Lawrence (& thanks @hettiejones for helping in the final frantic stretch). And the rest of you can read ALL the winners and the utterly riveting comments from real women on beautybible.com while we put the kettle on for a well-earned pot of tea (before starting all over again for 2020!)
I am rarely too frantic to get my phone camera out - but somehow last night there wasn’t a moment. I know I wear many hats, but one of the most fascinating parts of what I do is working on Beauty Bible with @sarahamstacey - for the past 22 years via our books and beautybible.com website we have been helping women discover which skincare, haircare, suncare, bodycare and make-up products work best. (And this isn’t about vanity. It’s about self-care. The time women spend on these rituals is often the only time they do something entirely for themselves, in any given day. I consider ‘beauty’ actually to be about mental wellbeing as much as wanting to look nice.) We’ve has over 30,000 (!) real women trial products for us and last night acknowledged the dozens of brands who’d won Gold Awards in our latest round of the Beauty Bible Awards, in which 1500+ women took part. So lovely to see journo friends too like @kathyphillips1 @beatriceaidin @alicehartdavis @wewearperfume @suerpeart and so many more... Congrats to all the AMAZING winners, many of whom we’ve watched go from kitchen-table #startup right through to global brand, including @aureliaskincare @thisworksofficial @evolvebeautyuk @anneedemamiel @lizearlebeautyco . Thanks to my most incredible team @amyeasonamy @lilz4evz Jessie Lawrence (& thanks @hettiejones for helping in the final frantic stretch). And the rest of you can read ALL the winners and the utterly riveting comments from real women on beautybible.com while we put the kettle on for a well-earned pot of tea (before starting all over again for 2020!)
#nofilter some dude enjoying the January sunshine and the incredible calm seas we’re having #hastings #ohidoliketobebesidetheseaside
#nofilter some dude enjoying the January sunshine and the incredible calm seas we’re having #hastings #ohidoliketobebesidetheseaside
Ah, #sellotape - I have loved you many a long year. From age about five I reckon. How many miles of you must I have got through? But never in a tin like THIS... Couldn’t resist this # limitededition #keepsake #letssticktogether
Ah, #sellotape - I have loved you many a long year. From age about five I reckon. How many miles of you must I have got through? But never in a tin like THIS... Couldn’t resist this # limitededition #keepsake #letssticktogether
Nice to see a sunset from the other side of the clouds for a change... Up above the clouds so high, with a #ryanair tea tray, in the sky (& apologies to Lewis Carrolll) #flyingvisit
Nice to see a sunset from the other side of the clouds for a change... Up above the clouds so high, with a #ryanair tea tray, in the sky (& apologies to Lewis Carrolll) #flyingvisit
Great contender for book title of the year (yes I know it’s only January) but if I was the author - one Annie Nicholls - I’d be soooooo pissed off at not having my name on the cover!!! Books are such hard work and writers deserve full credit... #vegan
Great contender for book title of the year (yes I know it’s only January) but if I was the author - one Annie Nicholls - I’d be soooooo pissed off at not having my name on the cover!!! Books are such hard work and writers deserve full credit... #vegan
When I was a kid I founded something called ‘The Happy Club’ that I made my younger brothers join (& fined them when caught not smiling!). We had membership cards and everything. Now, I’m a great believer today that darker moments in life make us appreciate the good times even more - but my inner Pollyanna is loving my subscription to @thehappynewspaper which is filled with the good things happening in the world, and the #everydayheroes - people trying to make a difference. Lovely illustrations throughout by founder @emilycoxhead . With so much gloom in the newspapers and on TV this is an oasis of positivity...
When I was a kid I founded something called ‘The Happy Club’ that I made my younger brothers join (& fined them when caught not smiling!). We had membership cards and everything. Now, I’m a great believer today that darker moments in life make us appreciate the good times even more - but my inner Pollyanna is loving my subscription to @thehappynewspaper which is filled with the good things happening in the world, and the #everydayheroes - people trying to make a difference. Lovely illustrations throughout by founder @emilycoxhead . With so much gloom in the newspapers and on TV this is an oasis of positivity...
The thing I like almost most about getting out and putting away the #christmasdecorations is coming across an ancient battered box with my dad’s handwriting on that simply says: NICE BAUBLES. Gets me every time... And a very good reason to hand-write things. Sort of a form of immortality...
The thing I like almost most about getting out and putting away the #christmasdecorations is coming across an ancient battered box with my dad’s handwriting on that simply says: NICE BAUBLES. Gets me every time... And a very good reason to hand-write things. Sort of a form of immortality...
It’s not #twelfthnight yet so I’m going to post this shot taken yesterday of a gloriously bejewelled window in lovely Cecil Court, that gem of a street between St Martin’s Lane and Charing Cross Road. Been wondering how I could top my swan table decorations next year - might have an idea... #shopwindow #genius
It’s not #twelfthnight yet so I’m going to post this shot taken yesterday of a gloriously bejewelled window in lovely Cecil Court, that gem of a street between St Martin’s Lane and Charing Cross Road. Been wondering how I could top my swan table decorations next year - might have an idea... #shopwindow #genius
#nofilterneeded #endofday #yesterday #10000steps #stleonardsonsea #thebeautyofnature
#nofilterneeded #endofday #yesterday #10000steps #stleonardsonsea #thebeautyofnature
My favourite #camellia bloomed incredibly early this year (we need some frost - seriously!!!) #winterflowers
My favourite #camellia bloomed incredibly early this year (we need some frost - seriously!!!) #winterflowers
They did it!!! #newyear2019 swim in aid if @rnli on THE most glorious morning! (Eightysomething Ann Novotny putting me to shame as ever)
They did it!!! #newyear2019 swim in aid if @rnli on THE most glorious morning! (Eightysomething Ann Novotny putting me to shame as ever)
For me, #instagram is very much about saying thank you and being grateful. For lovely people in our lives, #family and others. Sunsets and sea swims. The beauty of the world we live in. Small pleasures. Flowers. Books. Chocolate. Art. Having good food on the table, maybe grown and nurtured from seed or seedling. Sometimes, taking time to remember amazing people sadly no longer around (see darling goddaughter bottom right). Appreciating every darned day because none of us knows what the future has in store for us. Happy 2019, one and all #bestnine2018 #thankyou
For me, #instagram is very much about saying thank you and being grateful. For lovely people in our lives, #family and others. Sunsets and sea swims. The beauty of the world we live in. Small pleasures. Flowers. Books. Chocolate. Art. Having good food on the table, maybe grown and nurtured from seed or seedling. Sometimes, taking time to remember amazing people sadly no longer around (see darling goddaughter bottom right). Appreciating every darned day because none of us knows what the future has in store for us. Happy 2019, one and all #bestnine2018 #thankyou
#winter table #waitingforspring - actually these two pots of #scillas are a gift to @lilz4evz and @victorgutierrez.co.uk to celebrate the birth of their daughter Scilla (Priscilla) so they’ll disappear from the table but I planted a whole swathe of them in the garden to mark the occasion, too. Excellent to have a baby in the family who is also a flower #themedgifts
#winter table #waitingforspring - actually these two pots of #scillas are a gift to @lilz4evz and @victorgutierrez.co.uk to celebrate the birth of their daughter Scilla (Priscilla) so they’ll disappear from the table but I planted a whole swathe of them in the garden to mark the occasion, too. Excellent to have a baby in the family who is also a flower #themedgifts
@leigh_dyer amazing Viking boat #sculpture on the shingle looking splendid in some unexpected late afternoon #sunshine (after a dull, dull day - which was just fine as I was doing the last of my tax bits...)
@leigh_dyer amazing Viking boat #sculpture on the shingle looking splendid in some unexpected late afternoon #sunshine (after a dull, dull day - which was just fine as I was doing the last of my tax bits...)
Hiding a multitude of cake sins with melted apricot jam, glacé cherries and flaked almonds. In truth, a tad stodgy (but it’s CAKE so we’re going to eat it anyway, right)? Who has the perfect Christmas cake recipe? Please point me in the direction (but be aware, am never likely to do marzipan/icing)? Or should I just go back to buying them???? #thinkingaboutnextchristmasalready
Hiding a multitude of cake sins with melted apricot jam, glacé cherries and flaked almonds. In truth, a tad stodgy (but it’s CAKE so we’re going to eat it anyway, right)? Who has the perfect Christmas cake recipe? Please point me in the direction (but be aware, am never likely to do marzipan/icing)? Or should I just go back to buying them???? #thinkingaboutnextchristmasalready
#fridgemagnet collection of the only one in the family to get the tidy gene #brother #alastairfairley
#fridgemagnet collection of the only one in the family to get the tidy gene #brother #alastairfairley
When I was a kid I spent all my time making what were known as my ‘set-ups’ - creating small assemblages of doll furniture and decorative bits that my brothers would then destroy with almost as much joy as I’d had creating them. But on one level I didn’t mind because I got to start over. I guess it was an early form of styling. So this year, having only to cook for two not 20, completely for fun and the prospect of the look on @craigsams face, I decided to go totally over the top and style our dining room with swags of greenery, fairy lights, Mum’s china, candles, snowflakes projected on the ceiling, vintage silverware and candlesticks (cheaper than IKEA because nobody wants to polish the stuff!) and a huge swan flower arrangement floating on a silver foil lake, illuminated by pearl fairy lights and surrounded by drifts of fake snow. As he entered the room (after dark), the music from final act of Swan Lake struck up from a speaker hidden in the greenery. My best set-up yet, our most romantic Christmas dinner ever (& no brothers waiting to rip it to pieces!)🎄☃️❄️🌿🌲
When I was a kid I spent all my time making what were known as my ‘set-ups’ - creating small assemblages of doll furniture and decorative bits that my brothers would then destroy with almost as much joy as I’d had creating them. But on one level I didn’t mind because I got to start over. I guess it was an early form of styling. So this year, having only to cook for two not 20, completely for fun and the prospect of the look on @craigsams face, I decided to go totally over the top and style our dining room with swags of greenery, fairy lights, Mum’s china, candles, snowflakes projected on the ceiling, vintage silverware and candlesticks (cheaper than IKEA because nobody wants to polish the stuff!) and a huge swan flower arrangement floating on a silver foil lake, illuminated by pearl fairy lights and surrounded by drifts of fake snow. As he entered the room (after dark), the music from final act of Swan Lake struck up from a speaker hidden in the greenery. My best set-up yet, our most romantic Christmas dinner ever (& no brothers waiting to rip it to pieces!)🎄☃️❄️🌿🌲
SWIPE! Happy Christmas one & all! Today we spent the first half of the most perfect, sunny Christmas Day doing our #favouritewalk from #birlinggap before coming home to cook dinner à deux. A few years ago I realised we were doing a big Christmas lunch every year for about 12 people - but they weren’t the same people, because half were off with in-laws/steps. So we told everyone: we’re going to do Christmas for all of you, every other year. And in between you can see your other relatives/bunker down/do your own thing - and we’ll do ours. Next year we’ll be back to 20 and that will be wonderful too, but meanwhile we get to do just what WE want (& of course see everyone else at some point when the stakes aren’t so high). I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in the position of always hosting... 🎄🍾🍷❤️☃️🍄😍
SWIPE! Happy Christmas one & all! Today we spent the first half of the most perfect, sunny Christmas Day doing our #favouritewalk from #birlinggap before coming home to cook dinner à deux. A few years ago I realised we were doing a big Christmas lunch every year for about 12 people - but they weren’t the same people, because half were off with in-laws/steps. So we told everyone: we’re going to do Christmas for all of you, every other year. And in between you can see your other relatives/bunker down/do your own thing - and we’ll do ours. Next year we’ll be back to 20 and that will be wonderful too, but meanwhile we get to do just what WE want (& of course see everyone else at some point when the stakes aren’t so high). I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in the position of always hosting... 🎄🍾🍷❤️☃️🍄😍
Well THIS was super-fun. @kikki.k founder @kristinakikkik and I could have talked for an entire day but it distilled into this... I am addicted to her stationery. She loves @greenandblacks chocolate. It was a match made in heaven, chat-wise! The Your Dream Life podcast is on blog.kikki-k.com and Apple podcasts 💛 #nofilter #allthegreys #dontcare #I❤️hastings I am rarely too frantic to get my phone camera out - but somehow last night there wasn’t a moment. I know I wear many hats, but one of the most fascinating parts of what I do is working on Beauty Bible with @sarahamstacey - for the past 22 years via our books and beautybible.com website we have been helping women discover which skincare, haircare, suncare, bodycare and make-up products work best. (And this isn’t about vanity. It’s about self-care. The time women spend on these rituals is often the only time they do something entirely for themselves, in any given day. I consider ‘beauty’ actually to be about mental wellbeing as much as wanting to look nice.) We’ve has over 30,000 (!) real women trial products for us and last night acknowledged the dozens of brands who’d won Gold Awards in our latest round of the Beauty Bible Awards, in which 1500+ women took part. So lovely to see journo friends too like @kathyphillips1 @beatriceaidin @alicehartdavis @wewearperfume @suerpeart and so many more... Congrats to all the AMAZING winners, many of whom we’ve watched go from kitchen-table #startup right through to global brand, including @aureliaskincare @thisworksofficial @evolvebeautyuk @anneedemamiel @lizearlebeautyco . Thanks to my most incredible team @amyeasonamy @lilz4evz Jessie Lawrence (& thanks @hettiejones for helping in the final frantic stretch). And the rest of you can read ALL the winners and the utterly riveting comments from real women on beautybible.com while we put the kettle on for a well-earned pot of tea (before starting all over again for 2020!) #nofilter some dude enjoying the January sunshine and the incredible calm seas we’re having #hastings #ohidoliketobebesidetheseaside Ah, #sellotape - I have loved you many a long year. From age about five I reckon. How many miles of you must I have got through? But never in a tin like THIS... Couldn’t resist this # limitededition #keepsake #letssticktogether Nice to see a sunset from the other side of the clouds for a change... Up above the clouds so high, with a #ryanair tea tray, in the sky (& apologies to Lewis Carrolll) #flyingvisit Great contender for book title of the year (yes I know it’s only January) but if I was the author - one Annie Nicholls - I’d be soooooo pissed off at not having my name on the cover!!! Books are such hard work and writers deserve full credit... #vegan When I was a kid I founded something called ‘The Happy Club’ that I made my younger brothers join (& fined them when caught not smiling!). We had membership cards and everything. Now, I’m a great believer today that darker moments in life make us appreciate the good times even more - but my inner Pollyanna is loving my subscription to @thehappynewspaper which is filled with the good things happening in the world, and the #everydayheroes - people trying to make a difference. Lovely illustrations throughout by founder @emilycoxhead . With so much gloom in the newspapers and on TV this is an oasis of positivity... The thing I like almost most about getting out and putting away the #christmasdecorations is coming across an ancient battered box with my dad’s handwriting on that simply says: NICE BAUBLES. Gets me every time... And a very good reason to hand-write things. Sort of a form of immortality... It’s not #twelfthnight yet so I’m going to post this shot taken yesterday of a gloriously bejewelled window in lovely Cecil Court, that gem of a street between St Martin’s Lane and Charing Cross Road. Been wondering how I could top my swan table decorations next year - might have an idea... #shopwindow #genius #nofilterneeded #endofday #yesterday #10000steps #stleonardsonsea #thebeautyofnature My favourite #camellia bloomed incredibly early this year (we need some frost - seriously!!!) #winterflowers They did it!!! #newyear2019 swim in aid if @rnli on THE most glorious morning! (Eightysomething Ann Novotny putting me to shame as ever) For me, #instagram is very much about saying thank you and being grateful. For lovely people in our lives, #family and others. Sunsets and sea swims. The beauty of the world we live in. Small pleasures. Flowers. Books. Chocolate. Art. Having good food on the table, maybe grown and nurtured from seed or seedling. Sometimes, taking time to remember amazing people sadly no longer around (see darling goddaughter bottom right). Appreciating every darned day because none of us knows what the future has in store for us. Happy 2019, one and all #bestnine2018 #thankyou #winter table #waitingforspring - actually these two pots of #scillas are a gift to @lilz4evz and @victorgutierrez.co.uk to celebrate the birth of their daughter Scilla (Priscilla) so they’ll disappear from the table but I planted a whole swathe of them in the garden to mark the occasion, too. Excellent to have a baby in the family who is also a flower #themedgifts @leigh_dyer amazing Viking boat #sculpture on the shingle looking splendid in some unexpected late afternoon #sunshine (after a dull, dull day - which was just fine as I was doing the last of my tax bits...) Hiding a multitude of cake sins with melted apricot jam, glacé cherries and flaked almonds. In truth, a tad stodgy (but it’s CAKE so we’re going to eat it anyway, right)? Who has the perfect Christmas cake recipe? Please point me in the direction (but be aware, am never likely to do marzipan/icing)? Or should I just go back to buying them???? #thinkingaboutnextchristmasalready #fridgemagnet collection of the only one in the family to get the tidy gene #brother #alastairfairley When I was a kid I spent all my time making what were known as my ‘set-ups’ - creating small assemblages of doll furniture and decorative bits that my brothers would then destroy with almost as much joy as I’d had creating them. But on one level I didn’t mind because I got to start over. I guess it was an early form of styling. So this year, having only to cook for two not 20, completely for fun and the prospect of the look on @craigsams face, I decided to go totally over the top and style our dining room with swags of greenery, fairy lights, Mum’s china, candles, snowflakes projected on the ceiling, vintage silverware and candlesticks (cheaper than IKEA because nobody wants to polish the stuff!) and a huge swan flower arrangement floating on a silver foil lake, illuminated by pearl fairy lights and surrounded by drifts of fake snow. As he entered the room (after dark), the music from final act of Swan Lake struck up from a speaker hidden in the greenery. My best set-up yet, our most romantic Christmas dinner ever (& no brothers waiting to rip it to pieces!)🎄☃️❄️🌿🌲 SWIPE! Happy Christmas one & all! Today we spent the first half of the most perfect, sunny Christmas Day doing our #favouritewalk from #birlinggap before coming home to cook dinner à deux. A few years ago I realised we were doing a big Christmas lunch every year for about 12 people - but they weren’t the same people, because half were off with in-laws/steps. So we told everyone: we’re going to do Christmas for all of you, every other year. And in between you can see your other relatives/bunker down/do your own thing - and we’ll do ours. Next year we’ll be back to 20 and that will be wonderful too, but meanwhile we get to do just what WE want (& of course see everyone else at some point when the stakes aren’t so high). I can thoroughly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in the position of always hosting... 🎄🍾🍷❤️☃️🍄😍

PODCAST

For the Guardian's Meet the Mentors podcast series Jo gave her tips to milliner Sahar Freemantle on how to make it big. Listen below...

For the Guardian's Meet the Mentors podcast series Jo gave her tips to milliner Sahar Freemantle on how to make it big. Listen below...

THE STORY
The Story of Green & Black's: How two entrepreneurs turned an ethical idea into a business success
By Craig Sams, Josephine Fairley
Contact Jo Fairley