I’m Rachel Dunford, an impact specialist for organisations and small businesses. I am also someone who has learned that the success of any community is rarely about how many people join it. It is about who joins it.

Most of us know what it feels like to be in a room that simply is not our room. Nothing is wrong and nobody has behaved badly. It is just not the place where you feel able to settle. You realise, quite gently, that not all rooms are for all people.

That is why I hold a view that some people hesitate to say out loud. A community cannot be for everyone if it wants to be meaningful. It is not about exclusivity. It is about clarity.

What happens when you gather women who share values rather than just interests…

Why testimonials are not enough

Most businesses collect testimonials because they know they should. You finish a project, send a short form, and receive a few polite lines.

“It was great.”

“I really enjoyed working with you.”

This is lovely to read, of course. But can you use it to make key decisions about where to go next in your business? Not really. Testimonials tell you that someone liked the experience. They do not tell you what changed for them, why they chose you, or how they describe your work when you are not in the room.

The REAL gold sits in the detail - the sort of detail that was missing in the above examples. It sits in understanding the transformation your clients experienced, and not simply the transaction they paid for.

If you’ve been running a business for a while, chances are you’ve gathered a fair bit of client feedback - testimonials, kind DMs, thank-you emails, feedback forms. But what most people don’t do is use that feedback strategically, and it's left gathering dust in a folder somewhere or strewn across your laptop, in random places!

But when you only use feedback as reassurance, you miss its real value.

Client feedback is one of the most practical tools you have. It shows what is working well, what matters most to the people you support, and where there may be opportunities to improve or expand your offer. It gives you the words and evidence you need to speak about your work with confidence.

I’m Rachel Dunford, a multi award-winning Impact Specialist. I help organisations, charities and small businesses to understand and measure the difference they make - not just in numbers, but in real, human terms, relating to the change they create.

Because here’s something I’ve learned from over a decade of doing this work: revenue doesn’t tell the whole story of success.

It’s an easy metric to reach for - it’s tangible, trackable, and universally recognised. But it’s only one part of a much bigger picture.

It is difficult to see your own work clearly when you are immersed in it, particularly when you work for yourself, by yourself. The long hours, constant problem solving and gradual evolution of ideas make progress feel incremental. You know what you hope to stand for (in my case: integrity, ethics and genuine impact) but it can be hard to know whether that is how others perceive you and the work you do.

That is why receiving the Best Business in Business Services award at the 2025 Best Businesswomen Awards this month was such a significant moment. The judges described my work as demonstrating:

“…exceptional business acumen, ethical leadership and a deep commitment to client service and community… supported by a values-led approach and high-quality evidence.”

These words meant a great deal to me, because they captured precisely what I hope people experience when they work with me. Yet, when you are inside the day-to-day of running a business, you see the unfinished tasks, the lessons still being learned, the realities behind the scenes – and not necessarily the integrity or leadership that others perceive.

It reminded me how powerful it can be when someone else reflects your work back through a different lens.