THE North East England Chamber of Commerce’s Inspiring Females conference at Lumley Castle attracted 90 delegates.

The event was chaired by Nickie Gott of She’s Gott It Events who also chairs the Chamber’s Women’s Advisory Board.

She said: "We are determined to help women be the very best they can be and inspire confidence, so they realise they can take on whatever they need to do for success."

Jayne Dolder, founder and creative director of the Bazaar Group, and North East Woman of the Year 2015, outlined her own journey from a home-run business to a major manufacturer and retailer of soft-filled furniture.

Her key message to ensure longevity was to make sure you have growth, but it has to be growth with profit. She also stressed the need to always be looking for ways to improve.

She also advised recruiting the best people you can afford – although letting go of control can be hard – and make sure the work life balance is right.

Leisa Docherty, chief people’s officer at Sage, which has over 14,000 employees, explained how she left school at 16 and fell into recruitment by accident. Her career developed as she proved to be reliable and took every opportunity for self-development.

She was appointed to her first management job at 22 and was encouraged to go for a role by a mentor which she thought was above her skills levels but got the job and has never looked back.

The guests at the day-long event also attended development workshops and heard experiences from Ruth Plummer, clinical Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine, Newcastle University; Bethany Ainsley, founder and director of Nouveau Wellbeing CIC; Katie Meehan, Young Business Person of the Year and a beauty blogger with just under one million views of her site; and Aisha Parlindungan, an American student at Durham University.