Businesswoman of the Decade: Bedford mum wins two silvers at National Awards
Bedford entrepreneur Rachel Dunford, known as The Impact Specialist, received two silver awards at the Best Business Women Awards.
She secured silver in the Best Business in Business Services and Businesswoman of the Decade award.
Both accolades showcase her exceptional contributions and dedication to making a lasting impact in the business world.
Set up in 2015, The Best Businesswomen Awards celebrate the achievement of female-owned businesses and charities across a wide range of business categories.
The independent judging panel noted that all winners demonstrated business acumen, tenacity, and courage, and that—despite a challenging economic climate—their innovation, flair, and passion stood out.
To celebrate their tenth anniversary, the Best Businesswomen Awards introduced a special category this year, recognising women who have successfully run their businesses for more than a decade. According to government figures, around 3 in 5 new UK businesses (60%) fail within the first five years, meaning it’s statistically more likely for a business to fail than to succeed within that period.
Rachel was made redundant while pregnant with her first child when the London Development Agency was closed by the coalition government in 2012. Rather than viewing this as a setback, she used it as motivation to shape her own future, founding Rachel Dunford Consulting Ltd after her maternity leave. Running a business alone for more than 12 years has brought both incredible highs and difficult lows, but Rachel has worked tirelessly to make it a success.
Rachel specialises in helping ambitious, values-driven businesses focus on the impact they create through their work. Known for making the unmeasurable measurable, Rachel combines coaching, training, and bespoke projects to empower her clients to articulate, measure, and prove the difference they make. Her clients leverage this evidence to transform their organisations, using it in marketing, PR, funding applications, and award submissions—elevating their success to new heights.
Rachel is on a mission to shift the narrative that success is purely measured by turnover or client numbers. Instead, she’s proving that true success lies in the impact businesses create—the difference they make to the lives of those they work with.
Rachel said: “I’m absolutely delighted to receive these two awards. It’s incredibly humbling to be recognised in this way—both for the positive impact I’m striving to create and for the courage and determination it’s taken to run a successful business for so long. I hope I’m still doing this in another ten years!”
Debbie Gilbert, the organiser of The Best Businesswomen Awards, said: “This is the 10th Year of the awards, and we have recognised over 1000 women since we launched in 2015 across a huge range of industry sectors. The selection process is rigorous and to be one of our winners is a major achievement. The judges make their selections based on business expertise, innovation, and high levels of customer care. Our winners are shining examples of outstanding entrepreneurs who have proved their success to our judges and have shown they have the results worthy of being recognised and rewarded.”
Looking ahead, Rachel’s plans are to equip hundreds more businesses and charities with the tools they need to capture and demonstrate their impact, and she will continue to spread the message that success in business can be ethical and values driven.