Creating a business is a dream many of us share:
Being your own boss.
Creating your own success.
Working where you want, when you want.
But it can be tough too. Friends and family don’t get it, and roll their eyes when you bend their ear about your latest idea.
Figuring things out on your own is hard. And sometimes it feels lonely.
Back in 2019, this is what brought together Clair and Juliet – founders of WOW Team.
“We were both in the early stages of starting our businesses, alongside the school run, taxi-ing kids to after-school activities, and all the usual Mum-juggling,” says Clair.
So they started a Friday check-in – texting each other with little wins, things they had achieved in the week, and goals for next week.
“Knowing I needed to text Juliet was sometimes the one thing that got me to finish a task!” says Clair.
They started to wonder – if it worked for them, maybe other people would benefit from this kind of accountability and support too. And so WOW Team was born.
The first session was at Miriam’s Kitchen Table in Kirkburton, (now Joys Coffee House). “It happened to be the day after Take That played the stadium in Huddersfield, so we weren’t sure anyone would make it, but 8 people showed up!” remembers Juliet.
Now almost 7 years on, WOW Team is a wonderful, eclectic community of small business owners; meeting weekly around HD8 and Holmfirth as well as online.
So what happens in a WOW Team Meeting?
The idea is simple yet effective: at each session, everyone sets 3 work goals and one life goal. “Life goals have always been part of it, because work and life are so closely connected, especially when you are a sole business owner, wearing all the hats.
We need to make sure we’re looking after wellbeing and setting boundaries around how much we work, which can be a real challenge when you are so passionate about what you do.” says Juliet.
At the next session, everyone reports back on their progress towards their goals. “If it’s a goal achieved, then we celebrate together,” says Clair. “But often the best conversations are about what got in the way. We talk about procrastination, confidence, planning, and managing work alongside busy lives. We support each other and cheer each other on.”
After so long doing this, Clair and Juliet know that accountability, business support and having that real colleague / team environment to nurture founders works. They’ve watched many business owners improve their skill sets, gain clarity and increased confidence, become more visible, and really showcase their incredible talents.
And here’s why it works!
This approach backs up the supporting statistical evidence out there. Being more accountable gives you a much better chance of success – here’s why:
Regular check-ins create near-guaranteed follow-through
Research summarised in multiple accountability studies shows:
- People are 65% more likely to reach a goal when they commit to another person.
- With regular scheduled check-ins, success rates rise to 95%!
The 95% success rate applies when someone not only sets a goal but also commits to another person and schedules ongoing accountability sessions.
This is especially relevant for small business owners who often struggle with isolation, overwhelm, and decision fatigue.
Accountability groups help entrepreneurs and small business founders to avoid these common pitfalls, especially when starting out.
Analysis shows that founders without accountability often:
- Overspend
- Lose focus
- Lack direction or change direction impulsively
- Fail to complete foundational tasks
Juliet and Clair want to give you the best chance of success, by keeping you accountable and giving you all the encouragement you need to just keep going.
They love learning from other business owners too – some Eureka moment always happens in a WOW meeting!
Running WOW Team is something Juliet and Clair are incredibly proud of, sharing their own unique and complementary skills acquired from running their own businesses with the group members.
Juliet (right) Founder of fromseedtosky.co.uk is a trained ICF Coach, Mentor and Creative and Wellbeing Workshop Facilitator and is also part of the coaching team with Life After Cancer CIC (following her diagnosis with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2019) – she loves asking those deeper coaching questions to unpick things, and her ADHD brain spots patterns and connections, often suggesting ideas and collaborations in the team that may not have been considered before.
Clair (left) (clairwright.com) is a copywriter and strategist, writing email sequences, sales pages and content and helping coaches, course creators, and founders to launch programmes and memberships. With a background in digital marketing, Clair shares loads of useful tips on building trust with your audience online. Clair loves helping WOW Team members get to the heart of what they offer and the clients they serve.
They say, ‘We have different skills and approaches to working which is really useful – we bounce off each other and sense-check ideas – it feels very easy working together and brings out the best in both of us! Our values are the same and this has always been our passion project; it’s incredibly rewarding to see these courageous business owners going for it, and to help support them in their goals.
We’ve learned so much about ourselves from doing this, and there is never a WOW team session where we don’t learn something new. This is as much for us as for our members – we feel very lucky to gain so much knowledge, tips, ideas, and whole-hearted support from the team.’
However it’s not always been easy. Clair and Juliet have been through lockdown together – taking the sessions online to keep connected – and despite many other life, health and work challenges WOW Team are still going strong. That’s testament to their partnership, the group, and the unique support they offer.
Now, in 2026, WOW Team has grown to 4 in-person sessions each month and 2 over Zoom. As well as the regular accountability sessions, there are monthly specialist sessions to share knowledge, skills or even try out an idea for a workshop. Members have access to this learning library of over 40 recorded sessions where they can learn everything from working with Canva, Trello, or how to put together a press release, to looking after their wellbeing with meditation, hypnotherapy, and EFT practices.
Specialist sessions and WOW Retreats have allowed them to offer further support to their members
Clair and Juliet have loved delivering WOW Retreats, outside in nature at Eden Forest, and at co-working spaces. This gives more time to go deeper on wellbeing tools such as journaling and creative activities, plus strategy planning, vision boarding, social media content, yoga, and delicious food.
Over the past 7 years WOW Team has supported over 60 founders to develop their idea, create a business and grow it or simply gain the confidence to dream of what’s possible.
So what next for the WOW Team Founders?
Clair and Juliet’s ambition for the team doesn’t stop there; ‘This year as well as supporting local businesses we want to extend our reach online, to help more small and micro businesses across the country. We already have some members from Scotland and London!’ says Juliet.
One of those online members – Kathryn who is a menopause coach alongside working full time comments: ‘WOW is such a supportive network of creative people who have given me the encouragement I’ve needed to believe in my abilities, and embark on this new journey into coaching.’
Fancy going along to a first meeting for FREE?
Clair and Juliet are keen to help more people. If you have an idea you want to turn into a business, or if you’re already running one and you need holistic support to grow, feel less isolated and be part of a team that really cares about you and your business, then get in touch. Life is too short not to go for it, and WOW Team gives you the confidence to do just that!
If this sounds like something you need, why not give WOW team a try? Your first session is always FREE so email Clair (hello@clairwright.com) or Juliet (juliet@fromseedtosky.co.uk) to find out when the next meeting dates are so you can come along and see for yourself the brilliant support they offer.
