Sarah Pittendrigh

Sarah Pittendrigh is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, inspirational keynote speaker and creator of The I CAN Method™, known for delivering powerful talks on resilience, reinvention and overcoming adversity.

Warm, authentic and deeply relatable, Sarah shares the extraordinary lived experiences that shaped her journey – from bankruptcy and rebuilding a seven-figure business, to surviving malignant melanoma twice, overcoming personal and financial adversity and transforming challenge into opportunity.

Sarah first built national recognition as the founder of premium events business Simply Bows & Chair Covers, which grew into a successful UK franchise brand and earned multiple prestigious business awards.

Her achievements include:

• Winner of the NatWest Everywoman Aphrodite Award (sponsored by the Daily Mail)
• Winner of Most Promising UK Business at the British Chamber of Commerce Awards
• Female Entrepreneur of the Year – WIN Awards
• North East Business Awards – Newcomer of the Year
• Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday Winner
• Jacqueline Gold WOW Award Winner
• Finalist in the British Franchise Marketing Awards

But behind the accolades lies a story of extraordinary resilience.

A Board Director of a seven-figure business closed during the 2008 recession, Sarah faced bankruptcy, home repossession and life as a single mother with no financial support to lean on. Through determination, mindset transformation and relentless perseverance, she rebuilt her life and businesses from the ground up through tough boot strapping. Alongside her entrepreneurial journey, Sarah survived malignant melanoma twice, experiences that profoundly changed her outlook on leadership, life and purpose. In support of others affected by cancer, she completed the 23-mile Macmillan Mighty Hike across Hadrian’s Wall, raising funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and the vital work they do supporting families through cancer.

Sarah’s story is also one of rebuilding family life through adversity. After remarrying her former husband, the couple navigated immense personal and business challenges together. Her husband, a farmer, endured the devastating loss of both parents within just 18 months to cancer, alongside losing business partners and key farmland essential to the farm’s viability.

Together, they fought to secure planning permission and diversify the farm business, rebuilding their future through resilience, determination and vision, experiences that now deeply inform Sarah’s work speaking on leadership, mindset and overcoming uncertainty.

Today, Sarah inspires audiences across the UK through keynote talks that combine honesty, humour, vulnerability and practical strategies for growth. She does not speak from theory. She speaks from lived experience. Her talks leave audiences feeling empowered, energised and ready to move from “I can’t” to “I CAN.”

Corporate audiences connect with Sarah because she brings:

• Real Business Credibility
• Emotional Intelligence
• Authentic Vulnerability
• Humour and Warmth
• Practical Mindset Tools
• Lived Resilience, Not Rehearsed Motivation

• “Turning Life’s Toughest Challenges Into Extraordinary Growth”
• “The Power of Resilience, Reinvention and the I CAN Mindset”
• “Award-Winning Entrepreneur. Cancer Survivor. Inspirational Speaker.”
• “Helping Audiences Build Confidence Through Adversity”
• “Real Stories. Real Leadership. Real Resilience.”