Each year, the Socially Shared Women in Business Conference welcomes female entrepreneurs from across the region for a day of learning, connection, collaboration, and support.
Celebrating its eighth year, the conference continues to make a powerful impact on attendees, with host and founder Karen Heap bringing together an inspiring lineup of sponsors and speakers.
Summary
- Rachel Ley is the Headline Sponsor for the Women in Business Conference 2026.
- Rachel works as a speaker coach, live event producer, and event creator delivering conferences and experiences worldwide.
- She believes confidence and communication are deeply connected, especially through voice and presentation skills.
- Confidence helps overcome overthinking, imposter syndrome, and fear, allowing people to take action.
- Rachel encourages people to understand what boosts their confidence and build practical “go to” confidence tools.
- Her top confidence tips include: Confidence starts with body language and grounding yourself physically, and when speaking, focus on your audience rather than yourself.
We asked our Headline Sponsor, Rachel Ley, why supporting this conference was so important to her.
Can you tell us a little about your business and what you do?
Rachel: I am a Speaker and Performance Coach, and Live Event Producer. I help clients in three ways:
- As a Speaker Coach, I help teams and individuals power up their vocal presence, perform under pressure and present with impact both in work and in everyday life.
- As a Producer, I work with end clients and production companies to refine their messaging and elevate the quality of their event speaker performances.
- With my small team, I design, create and deliver events all over the world, including conferences, incentive experiences, team building events and celebrations.
What inspired you to sponsor the Women in Business Conference this year?
Rachel: The theme of Confidence shows up in all parts of my business, whether it be coaching speakers to present in front of thousands, encouraging next gen talent to network effectively or communicating efficiently to move delegates around an event environment. Confidence has a place in all this work, especially at times of great unpredictability. Communicating well and confidence go hand in hand, and most people underestimate the link between confidence and the voice. I believe that voice practice has a direct relationship with making folks feel better inside and out, and I am keen to share my thoughts and ideas in this respect.
This year’s theme is confidence. What does confidence mean to you?
Rachel: Confidence is the fuel which gets things done. Without it, the autonomic nervous system can take over, overthinking or imposter syndrome strikes, and action, in whatever form, stalls.
Understanding where your own confidence comes from, what inhibits it, and what empowers it helps you to know what to do when it takes a walk. Exploring its meaning in all forms – head, heart and guts grows in importance as we navigate this complex world, especially in the ageing process. Creating a portfolio of ‘go to’ confidence fixes has been my saviour throughout my life, and I believe that everyone should have a key set of tips and tools in their arsenal.
Do you have a top tip to share about confidence?
Rachel: I have lots, but here are two:
- Confidence starts in your feet. I know that sounds bonkers but trust me and I will teach you how important your feet are to nailing your own gateway to confidence.
- It’s not about you. In this digital world of attention and competition, too often we live in our heads. Let me say one thing – in relation to speaking ‘out loud’, it’s not about you – it’s all about your audience:
What do they need to know from you?
How do you want them to feel?
What do you want them to do?
What are you most looking forward to about the event?
Rachel: Meeting people, sharing ideas and expanding my own knowledge on the wonderful topic of confidence.
How can attendees find out more about you?
Talk to me! But if that doesn’t suit, then my websites are:
You can also connect with Rachel on LinkedIn and Instagram.
The Women in Business Conference 2026 promises to be a powerful day of confidence, connection, and opportunity, and we’re thrilled to have Rachel Ley on board as this year’s Headline Sponsor.
BOOK NOW! There are only a limited number of tickets available, so secure your ticket today and be sure to join us for our 8th Annual Women in Business Conference, our headline event of the year!https://sociallyshared.co.uk/events/#!event/2026/6/12/socially-shared-8th-annual-women-in-business-conference
