International Women’s Day: one Wiltshire business woman’s story

Elaine Fairfax left school at 15, without any qualifications. But what she lacked in certificates she more than made up for in ambition. This International Women’s Day we find out more about Elaine and her drive to #makeithappen.

“They say your friends are the family you choose, and I have long believed that animals make very good friends.

“From a young age I have been a keen horsewoman and animal lover, and I always felt strongly that my life’s work should be with animals. My pets have been an inextricable part of my life, and I even met my husband at a riding stables.”

Chris Fairfax, then a lawyer, is also a lifelong animal enthusiast and the couple went on to start a law firm offering advice to animal charities. But Elaine wanted to do more.

“I sat down and thought about what we could do. I didn’t want to start an animal charity of my own because there are so many already doing truly amazing work, and besides that I wanted a way of guaranteeing an income to benefit these charities, rather than relying on donations.

“Chris and I happened upon the idea of an insurance company because nobody likes paying out for insurance, but it’s crucial for pet owners to have that safety net. I thought that having that extra dimension to the business, providing funds for animal charities, would appeal to consumers while helping us achieve our goals.”

It wasn’t plain sailing at the beginning and Elaine had to re-mortgage the family home twice in order to get the business on its feet and keep it running.

“We both had to go back to work so we could keep as much money as possible going back into the business. It was difficult, but I believed so strongly in what we were doing that I just didn’t entertain the idea of failure. I knew it would work.”

Elaine was right, and her business – Animal Friends – has flourished.

Since 2008, turnover has increased from £3 million to £52 million, and the company now operates from its own buildings in Amesbury with an on-site gym, subsidised canteen and over 100 members of staff.

“Starting small and then expanding the way we have has been such a gratifying experience; seeing my dream coming to fruition has just been wonderful. It’s like watching a family grow over time.

“We care deeply about the personal progress of our staff and do what we can to encourage career development. We’re keen to foster a strong sense of job satisfaction amongst our employees by imbuing them with the idea that roles here are more than ‘just a job’.

“Most of our staff are animal lovers themselves so we know that they care as much as we do about providing for animals. This company was our dream, and we like to encourage our staff to follow theirs by providing opportunities for inter-departmental mobility.”

The company is now one of the top-three pet insurance companies in the UK, and has won a host of awards including Best Claims Service at the 2015 Consumer Moneyfacts awards and were voted Best Pet Insurance Provider of the Year by Moneynet.

The company was also ranked 77th in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100, making them one of the top 100 companies in the UK for growth in 2014. Business is going well, and their days of re-mortgaging to pay the bills are a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean Elaine’s quite ready to hand over the reins.

“I wake up every morning and I have a purpose in life. I’ve had offers to buy the business but I’m not ready to retire, I’d get bored. I’ve got so much more that I want to achieve in life and it’s such a rewarding job. I think I would just be lost without it.

“You see all these newspaper and magazine articles asking whether women can ‘really have it all’ and I honestly believe that, with some calculated risks and a lot of hard work, we can.”

For more about Elaine, Animal Friends and their work with global animal charities visit www.animalfriends.org.uk

For more about International Women’s Day log on to www.internationalwomensday.com