A global corporate development specialist has swapped the boardroom for the paddock by launching a new business in Penkridge, South Staffordshire.
Julia Jones, founder of Altezza People UK, has combined her 20 years of experience in psychometrics and corporate development with her passion for horses to offer experiential learning workshops for businesses, teams and individuals.
Julia, 51, hosts the workshops at Coppice Farm. She said: “I trained to become an equine facilitator, specifically for businesspeople, after having my own transformative experience just over 8 years ago.
“It inspired me to offer homes to four horses from a charity to join the one I already owned and launch this business, so I can bring this powerful learning to my clients and community.
“Self-care as we leave the pandemic is essential. Organisations are supported to recalibrate, and horses offer non-verbal cues that are easy to interpret. We also have a therapy dog on the team for extra support!”
The pandemic presented Julia with challenges, but thanks to Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce she has received mentoring, leads, training, grants, and access to free initiatives.
“The Chamber helped me to get my business off the ground!” said Julia. “I’ve gained nine new clients! I’m supported by fantastic bookkeeping, accountancy, digital marketing, web hosting, printing, vets, farm owners, farrier, and equine supplies – all local.”
Julia recently won the South Staffordshire Business Award for allocating 50 per cent of the business’ revenue to supporting other local businesses.
Julia is an Accredited Equine Facilitated Learning Practitioner with the Human-Equine Relational Development Institute®. She has worked with a range of businesses in a variety of sectors, including tech, law, distribution, HR, retail and pharmaceuticals. Visit altezzapeople.co.uk.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.