Here's just some of the feedback from Jo's presentations...
‘We were so pleased to partner with Jo on Metro Bank’s Small Business Campaign. She was a great spokesperson, getting across all our key messages with passion and effectiveness.’
Metro Bank (October 2024)
‘Jo’s story was very inspiring and very well received and very inspiring. She went down so well, perhaps partly because she was honest about her career, as well as being entertaining. She had a 45min slot but everyone could have easily listened for longer. Jo’s pre-event communication gave us a surprise, because of how good it was. She always wanted to make sure she would relate to us as a company and made sure we had everything we needed. Thank you, Jo, for everything pre-event and on the day it was all very much appreciated.’
CILT – Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (September 2024)
Jo spoke at our business support event about her journey of creating and growing Green & Black’s. The talk was delivered with such passion and positivity that everyone in the room could relate to what she was saying about growing a business. Her thoughts and lessons learned really resonated with the audience, and our local businesses also took away key learnings to think about. The free chocolate was also an added bonus!’
Growth Platform, Liverpool (September 2024)
‘Jo’s presentation at ReTec Europe was utterly enthralling and without artifice. Not only a fascinating glimpse into Green & Black’s history, of how a start-up in a London flat became a global ethical business, but also brimming with practical material to take away and grow a business, a brand or even a department. Jo’s delivery was assured and entertaining in a style that just makes you nod, as each pearl of wisdom is presented, and smile!’
ReTec Europe (June 2024)
‘We booked Jo for our first Business Away Day. Our employees were captivated listening to her story about how Green & Black’s began. She was engaging, thought provoking and well- prepared, and the feedback we have received internally from Jo’s talk was so positive – “entertaining and inspiring”. All our employees took so much away from it, especially our female colleagues. Thank you!’
Cartwright & Butler (April 2024)
‘Jo spoke at the inaugural Yorkshire Sustainability Week in July 2023. Jo’s brilliant story of founding Green & Black’s Chocolate was shared with passion and honesty, and proved very inspiring for our audience. Thank you, Jo!”
Kate Hutchinson, Founder of The Sustainability Community Ltd. (July 2023)
‘Jo was an absolute joy to listen to and an inspiration to everyone. To have someone so accomplished treat our event with such professionalism and warmth was just wonderful! Jo tailored her talk brilliantly to our educational audience and I would recommend everyone spend time in her company as what she doesn't know about ethical leadership isn't worth knowing!’
South Gloucestershire Head Teachers Association (May 2023)
The feedback from Jo’s keynote and panel involvement at our “Embrace Equity” event for International Women’s Day was incredible. The way the audience reacted is testament to how brilliant she is: we just couldn’t keep them from raising their hands. Our 15 minute Q&A turned into 30 minutes, which was wonderful.’
Investec (March 2023)
‘Wow! What an impression Jo made on the entrepreneurs of Liverpool! Jo established an immediate rapport with the audience from the moment sje came on stage; something just clicked and stayed in place throughout. Everyone was captivated by Jo’s story and the way she shared advice and anecdotes made her both relatable and inspirational at the same time which is rare in a speaker. Some attendees commented on how she lifted them up, made them feel positive and believe in the art of the possible, saying that Jo gave them really high quality practical advice which they could apply to their own ventures. Jo clearly went to so much effort to tailor her content to the needs of what some would see as a complex and diverse audience; she covered big, wide ranging topics but delivered the content seamlessly; the venue was silent as everyone listened so intently. Lawyers, accountants, sole traders, CEOs of multi-million pound businesses, charities, artists, SMES, writers all came together for Start Up Day and were unanimous in their admiration and appreciation. We could not have wished for more. And Jo created plenty of smiles and laughter – warmth and wit is always appreciated in this City and that was delivered in spades!’
Liverpool City Council (Start Up Day) (March 2023)
‘Jo really went above and beyond for us as a speaker at a very special event we held to inspire the charity sector. She not only spoke candidly from her many points of view (as author, entrepreneur, activist and style expert); but she also brought some wonderful ideas and her inimitable sense of humour to the stage. We received wonderful feedback from our attendees, who cited her as the highlight of the evening.’
Good Innovation (March 2023)
‘Jo was a pleasure to work with both prior to our conference and at the event. She went to great effort to understand our audience and tailor her presentation to suit. The feedback received from our delegates was deservedly wonderful, and I would not hesitate to recommend booking Jo to speak at any business event.’
Optix (March 2023)
The team have said that it was the best work event that they have ever been to with Dr.PAWPAW, and a major highlight was Jo’s story. Thank you, Jo, for being so engaging, and for the chocolates, so sweet in more ways than one. You know when you have had a great speaker when there are so many questions at the end!’
Dr. PawPaw (July 2022)
‘Huge thanks to Jo for her webinar with our team. Everyone at Fiit really enjoyed it and the office is buzzing after hearing her awesome (and often hilarious!) story and insights.’
Fiit (April 2022)
‘We have received so much positive feedback following Jo’s session… “Really enjoyable”; “excellent speaker”; “informative and entertaining”; “inspirational”; “thought-provoking and inspiring”. We really do appreciate everything you have contributed and events like this couldn’t happen or be a success without a fabulous speaker such as yourself.’
Quilter Cheviot (March 2022)
‘Jo was an absolute star when we booked her to be out keynote speaker and fireside chat host. She was well-prepared, dealt masterfully with the technology and was a highlight for all attendees at the event. As entrepreneurs, they were all inspired by her story. Everyone at The Bank loved working with Jo and we’d love to work together again.’
British Business Bank (March 2022)
‘Jo was a dream speaker at our retail event. She was thoroughly professional throughout, from the booking stage to the event itself, and was generous with her time, knowledge and experience for all of our guests. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with particular appreciation for her interesting presentation and engaging Q&A. Couldn’t recommend highly enough.’
Vuelio (February 2022)
‘The team absolutely loved Jo. She was so well received and such an amazing story scaling Green & Blacks. It was exactly what we were looking and hoping for. A lot of Green & Black’s fans at HubSpot now... She truly inspired us.’
Hubspot (February 2022)
‘We thoroughly enjoyed working with Jo. She was so engaged with the event and really took time to understand the themes, audience and what other speakers were bringing to the event. We really appreciated the time Jo put in to mingle with the guests and how approachable and open she was. The evening was a fantastic success and we’d love to use Jo for future events.’
RBC Wealth Management (February 2019)
'As the co-founder of one of the world’s most well-loved confectionery brands, Jo Fairley offers hugely valuable insight into the world of international trade and growing a business overseas. As part of our Trade Horizons Roadshow events, Jo hit the brief to a very high standard, taking care to ensure that her presentation was structured around the customer experience which we had designed. It was clear that the audience left inspired by Jo’s story. Jo also made a point of allowing ample time for her Q+A – something often overlooked – this also included a chocolate prize for the best question!'
Business West (June 2018)
'Jo delivered an engaging and interesting account of Green and Black's which drew in the audience. Her thoughts and lessons learnt from the business was very insightful especially from the perspective of a women in business. We thoroughly enjoyed her talk (especially the chocolate!) and recommend her highly.'
Hargreaves Lansdown (May 2018)
'Jo's story and presentation were incredible and well-received by attendees. Everyone was fully engaged as she shared her real experiences with the audience, providing an inspirational and valuable insight into her business. Jo has a very friendly and down-to-earth demeanour and was extremely generous with her time throughout her talk and Q+A session. After the event, Jo graciously spoke to all those who wanted to chat directly to her. Jo's positive attitude to business is a shining example to entrepreneurs.'
Creative Steps 2.0, Newry, Northern Ireland (March 2018)
'Jo was the perfect speaker for our International Women's Day Business Breakfast. Thought-provoking, inspirational, insightful and engaging. A pleasure to work with and an ideal speaker for our audience of entrepreneurs and business people – we've had great feedback from clients and it's been hailed as "the best client event ever"! I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her.'
BE Offices (March 2018)
'Jo – you did a fantastic job of hosting the Best Places to Work in Property Awards 2018; your speech was inspirational and I genuinely have never seen so many people in an audience listening to every word. Well done!
Property Week (February 2018)
'Jo chaired the Epson round table discussion with a skilful, light touch. Her relaxed style and anecdotal-filled introduction put participants at ease and encouraged them to contribute. Her perceptive questioning ensured that the debate flowed smoothly and her concluding remarks ensured the key points were reiterated and participants left with them front-of-mind.'
Epson Business Council
'We really appreciated Jo’s efforts to integrate additional elements into her story to help emphasise our key message. We had someone come up afterwards saying they “could've listened to Jo all day!" As a result of Jo’s speech, our Head of Marketing emphasised "intrepreneurial spirit" as one of his five key points that he felt summarised the day.'
Visa Europe
‘We received excellent feedback on Jo’s session, with a vast number of delegates citing it as their conference highlight.’
NHS North West
‘Jo’s speech was everything we hoped for. She was entertaining and informative, thoroughly engaging and I would recommend her wholeheartedly to any other organisation. Here’s a comment from one attendee: “Where on earth did you find her? She had our entire group mesmerised from start to finish. She had the guts to do what many of us have always dreamed of – starting our own thing. It’s convinced me it’s time to dive into the unknown and take that risk!"’
The American Women’s Club
‘Jo’s experiences and achievements were shared so well with several different audiences during a whole day, from a lunch with local businesses to sessions with students and finally an Awards ceremony in the evening. Everyone enjoyed their time with her; her talks were from real experiences, sharing real problems and real solutions. Her friendly nature and positive attitude were a great example to all who attended, and her easygoing personality made managing all three events an easy task.’
City College Plymouth
‘Everyone thought that Jo’s talk was very inspirational. I looked around the room where she was speaking and all attendees were transfixed. She has a lovely personality, was witty and her talk really resonated with everyone.’
Bedfordshire BusinessWomen
‘Jo provided an insightful and enlightening session about her experiences of building a fast-growing organisation – highlighting the professional and personal challenges she faced, and how she tackled them to get the desired outcome. The audience was fully engaged and definitely left the event with some “food for thought”. The session completely met our criteria and got the results that we wanted.’
Sellick Partnership
‘Speaking to a group of already successful entrepreneurs is no easy gig but Jo won us all over’
Jacqui Main, EO-UK Entrepreneurs Organisation
‘We had fantastic feedback from our conference delegates. Not only did they enjoy Jo’s talk but they took away valuable insight into entrepreneurialism. Inspiring!’
Teesside University
‘Jo spoke honestly at one of our Leadership Community Round Table events about the Green & Black’s story and brought it to life with some wonderful personal anecdotes. Jo was happy to take questions from the floor and freely shared her thoughts and experiences in a very honest and engaging way. We have already received positive feedback about the evening from our members and I know that the speaker at our next event will now have a tough act to follow!’
Sharon Collier, The Leadership School, Bristol
‘From Green & Black’s to The Beauty Bible, Jo brought her vast knowledge and experience in business and delivered an excellent keynote speech. She has a natural charm and energy, as well as genuine enthusiasm for the ethics of her business practices. It was very refreshing to hear a talk which had such honesty, integrity and humour all combined in one. It was a speech to remember!’
Hannah O’Donaghue, Fuller Research Group
‘Jo was amazing and out of the 13 feedback forms we had, she got ‘excellent’ for each and every one of them!’
SAS Professionals
‘Jo was great and was very well received. She hit the brief spot-on and everyone present recognised her genuine nature and benefited from her own real life experience. They could identify with her and she was very gracious to hang around afterwards and mixed in very well with all the team.’
Chad Lion-Cachet, Tui Travel
‘What a start Jo’s speech was for our QVC Q Speaker programme! It was great to hear about Jo’s experiences and challenges through business and life in a way that really engaged the audience. She was highly engaging and the rapport with the audience was clear in the number of questions they asked at the end of the talk! The feedback received from QVC staff afterwards has been amazing – a truly inspirational speech.’
Sandra Vallow, QVC
'My colleagues and I found Jo a joy to work with. The Green & Black's story and the way she delivers it lends itself perfectly to providing a real, practical example of how to go about starting a business from scratch and making it successful. Delegates commented on how down to earth Jo was and how inspirational her story was and we won't hesitate to book Jo again if anything similar comes up.'
Business Link NE
‘Speaking to a group of already successful entrepreneurs is no easy gig but Jo won us all over. Her story was brilliantly told with real insight and we very much appreciated her open sharing of lessons learned along the way. We all came away feeling inspired to do better, to trust our instincts and above all to enjoy the ride.’
EO-UK Entrepreneurs Organisation
‘Jo’s speech was excellent, exactly what we were looking to. The feedback was that she was an inspiration to listen to and a very engaging speaker, lovely that she was able to stay and speak with delegates after. The audience was a complete mix of people from those who have just had a business idea to those wanting to grow and develop their business, and all in between. Jo’s story touched on the journey of each.’
Lucy Collins, Directorate of Development & Renewal, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
‘Jo’s keynote address was inspiring, entertaining and intuitive. the feedback has been extremely positive; her personable and engaging approach really captured the imagination of our audience. The combination of a great story and refreshing presentation style that was both real and light-hearted really struck a chord with our guests. Thanks to Jo for delivering her speech with such aplomb and grace. She would add another dimension to any event.’
Business in the Community, Northern Ireland
"The event went very well indeed. 1 hour and 5 minutes of extended talk, audience gripped throughout, then a very good 25 minute discussion and questions.”
Event for major management consultancy group of women executives
‘Jo was wonderful. She pitched her story perfectly for our audience, speaking eloquently and with immense passion. As people left they said how inspired they were by Jo’s story. Particularly, she was incredibly approachable and gave everyone an opportunity to ask her questions whilst visiting the workshop tables. She was also very enthusiastic about the event and venue which contributed enormously to the positive atmosphere.”
Event for major management consultancy group of women executives
‘Jo did exactly what we wanted by rounding off the conference on a high, reminding the delegates of what it is we are all aiming to achieve and sending them off with a very positive message about business support and social impact. Seeing as Jo was our last speaker of the event, after a late event the night before, the audience could have been disengaged. However, she completely captivated the group with her story and she certainly received the biggest round of applause at the end of her session.’
National Federation of Enterprise Agencies
'Jo met our objectives brilliantly. It was a very refreshing, honest and inspiring keynote. The audience loved Jo, they could relate to her on a personal and business level! And their feedback on her in the feedback forms on the day was great!'
East Midlands Women in Business
"Jo was well-prepared for presentations she delivered, a delight on-site to work with, and inspired our audience.”
Venture Marketing Group
"The SpeedWM dinner was a huge success enjoyed by everyone and Jo was simply a joy and a delight. I honestly can’t imagine anyone else more suitable – she was not only inspirational but also so warm and empathetic… and I heard many guests remark on what a coup it was to have her there.”
Rose Padmore, Conference organiser, Opening Doors, University of Wolverhampton
"My colleagues and I found Jo a joy to work with. The Green & Black's story and the way she delivers it lends itself perfectly to providing a real, practical example of how to go about starting a business from scratch and making it successful. Delegates commented on how down to earth Jo was and how inspirational her story was and we won't hesitate to book Jo again if anything similar comes up.”
Business Link North East
'Jo, your keynote address was inspiring, entertaining and intuitive. the feedback has been extremely positive as your personable and engaging approach really captured the imagination of our audience. The combination of a great story and refreshing presentation style that was both real and light-hearted really struck a chord with our guests. Thank you for delivering your speech with such aplomb and grace; you would add another dimension to any event.'
Business in the Community Northern Ireland
'Jo spoke eloquently about the challenges of running a business and how Green & Black’s overcame them. Her no-nonsense approach is a lesson to us all about how to keep it simple, and Jo inspired a room of 80 top Sussex business people. Jo has no airs and graces. At both a one-to-one level and when speaking to an audience she is comfortable and relaxed. She explains herself clearly and in an entertaining way, was a delight to listen to, and as an organiser a dream to work with.'
Sussex Enterprise
'Jo spoke at our Annual Travel Conference in Dubai 23-25 May 2016. She really understood the brief and what we wanted the audience to get out of the presentation: the audience was owners of their own businesses, entrepreneurs starting out on their business journey.... and Jo delivered a professional and fun presentation about her journey linking key messages for our delegates to take away, emphasising the importance of PR, branding, customer service and the use of testimonials and reviews. Jo is a remarkable woman with great passion for her product and business ethics.... And as a business we felt she was a perfect match for speaking to our audience of 300. It was a great pleasure to meet her and work closely together – and we would not hesitate to recommend her to speak at your event.'
Cherie Richards, Global Travel Group
And here's what one attendee sketched, in her visual notes on Jo's presentation...