The Bardou Foundation - foundation.thebardou.com/foundation aims to change a woman’s future by giving her the tools to work her way towards self-employment and confidence. It will be hosting its first event to raise funds and awareness for charities that benefit women and girls to award grants and training for for those looking for a career in the beauty industry.
Be there for one another
This year, The BARDOU Foundation has teamed up with The Prince's Trust to celebrate International Day of The Girl along with special guest Idris Elba, for an event highlighting the work being done to better the lives of young women in the UK. With this in mind, we asked the founders Sofia Foster and Charrlotte De Davis what women can do to set positive examples for young girls.
CHARRLOTTE DE’DAVIS
1) Never give up hope. My mother always made me aware that being a woman can some times have its hurdles- but she equally reminded me to never give up hope. Being a girl just meant I had to dream bigger and hope harder. that is just what I did and my advice for every girl
2) As a girl in a “man’s world” we are often made to feel average but in the words of Henry Ford “If you think you can or if you think you can’t you are right”. You are what you tell yourself. So tell yourself everyday you are great and remember to be just that. Great. Excellence ought to be a habit, not an act.
3) The wisest woman I have ever known, doesn't have all the educational requirements we are told is required to succeed, yet her thirst for learning is so great. Challenge yourself to be the best girl you can be, everyday of your life. Good enough isn't good enough if you can be better and better isn't better enough, if you can be the best.
4) When you hit rock bottom or you are struggling, remember that rock bottom can be the hard rock foundation for which you can build on and which you can grow. Within your failures you'll always find the seeds to your success. Always convert your failures into an opportunity for growth and learning.
5) I have definitely not launched my business by myself. I have had a ton of support and a ton of great people, especially women who have supported me. Being able to surround myself with people that compliment my weaknesses has been the pivot to my success. My mother always said “You don't have to be the best at everything, just be the best at what YOU do” and as a girl, it is important to remember other girls should never be your competition, stand with them not against them.
SOFIA FOSTER
6) Education, Education, Education. In the words of Michelle Obama ‘If I had worried who liked me and who thought I was cute [when I was your age] I wouldn’t be married to the President of the United States today”
7) Support other girls. Build your crowd from people who understand you, and no one can understand you as well as another girl. That extra X chromosome is a powerful thing. Women and girls have been conditioned to see each other as competition; we aren’t, we’re reflections.
8) We hear this all the time but beauty really is just skin deep! And it doesn’t mean anything if the exterior beauty doesn’t match the interior self. -
9) Don’t take yourself too seriously, make time to laugh, and make mistakes. And laugh at your mistakes. It’s all part of the learning process. As I like to say ‘ it’s all gravy, baby’
10) Be grateful. Give thanks out loud every day. For being alive, for family, for friends. Look at all the positives (especially when it’s hard; and growing up female can get very, very hard) soon you will notice that when you count up the positives the negatives don’t look so bad.
Charrlote and Sofia are founders of The Bardou Foundation - foundation.thebardou.com/foundation
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