AN entrepreneur who has overcome the pain barrier to set new standards in her sector is the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year.
Huddersfield-born Kate Hardcastle, who heads Holywell Green-based business transformation company Insight with Passion, received the accolade at the Women in Business Awards in Leeds.
Kate has doubled the size of her company and exceeded every single target set in just two years.
Using innovative thinking and a creative business concept, her firm helps retailers re-vamp their stores to encourage more customers.
She also supports less fashionable charities as part of The Charity Dreamgirls, an all-girl singing group staging concerts at a variety of venues.
The judges said: “Kate’s admirable efforts to transform large UK businesses has seen her take on male-dominated industries, whilst helping fellow businesswomen and also finding the time to transform struggling charities.
“We greatly admire Kate’s attitude as she also battles a debilitating illness, endometriosis, which means Kate often suffers considerable pain.
“Kate has clearly made it her mission to prove that any individual can achieve great things if they set their heart to it – a very worthy winner.”
Kate was chosen from nine finalists. She also won the title for Innovative Business Woman of the Year and was runner-up in the Not for Profit category for The Charity Dreamgirls.
Other winners in the awards run by business women’s networking group Forward Ladies included cake maker Allison Whitmarsh, of Lindley-based Propermaid, who was named Manufacturing Business Woman of the Year.
Runners-up in the category for Young Business Woman of the Year included Laura Smith, of Ramsdens Solicitors in Huddersfield.
Kate Barrett, of Batley-based Thoroughbred Business Management, was a runner-up in the category for Start Up Business Woman of the Year.
Carolyn Atkinson, of accountancy firm Sheards, was a runner-up for the Technology Business Woman of the Year title.
