Lynne Franks: ‘How I make a difference’

Lynne Franks OBE, PR guru and founder of the SEED Network tells Attivo Life Magazine about the hedonism of her previous career and how she now focuses her time on empowering women.

“Call me a hippy, but the power of love is the greatest gift in life, and that comes from sharing stories. I’ve worked with women and girls from every walk of life – from Africa to Kazakhstan, from Syrian single-mother refugees to British schoolgirls, and from women’s prisons to corporate boardrooms. Talking leads to empathy and understanding, which, in turn, becomes love.

Setting up Lynne Franks PR in the 1970s was a crazy time. I was barely at home; in between events, there was a lot of socialising and crazy parties! I threw them spontaneously, madly dashing around supermarkets with a trolley overflowing with pineapples, coconuts and alcohol.

Juggling a career and raising a family was harder back then. By my late 20s, I’d married fashion designer Paul Howie and had two children Jessica, now 44, and Joshua, 43. You couldn’t be at sports day while keeping an eye on your inbox in the time before mobiles. I relied upon an army of nannies, sometimes dragging the kids to photoshoots. The ‘mum guilt’ was terrible, and my kids haven’t forgotten, even now!

Jennifer Saunders, a former client, based Edina in Ab Fab partly on me. I was a little hurt, which is silly. The celebrities and champagne lifestyle weren’t exaggerated; the stars I worked with included Dolly Parton and Diana Ross, and our legendary front rows at fashion shows were filled with the likes of Princess Diana and Madonna. I promoted fashion brands, launched campaigns, initiated London Fashion Week, and alongside Mary Portas, I helped turn Harvey Nicks from Sloaney to cool.

Success was a privilege, but also exhausting at the price of family life. I sold the agency in 1988, but I continued heading it up until, after three years, I quit in a meltdown.

Aged 43, I had two teens and my marriage was over. After paying taxes and settling with the ex, I didn’t have enough money to retire. I’d given everything to my career at the expense of my own wellbeing and I wanted to do something with real meaning.

“Jennifer Saunders, a former client, based Edina in Ab Fab partly on me. I was a little hurt, which is silly.”

Despite the image, I’d always used my PR skills to champion serious issues. I took time to read, travel and meet other women from all walks of life, trying to understand how to make life more fulfilling for them and learning how empowering women could change the world.

In 1995 I organised What Women Want, a major festival at the South Bank, and the same year I attended the UN’s women’s conference in Beijing.

The turning point of my life was writing The SEED Handbook (Sustainable Enterprise and Empowerment Dynamics), a guide to creating sustainable businesses from the kitchen table.

I was menopausal and embracing New Age practices in Los Angeles, but over the past 20 years, it’s grown into a global movement, showing women how they can collaborate to improve their communities while making a living. I run retreats, do online coaching and host events all about empowering women.

I am more fulfilled than ever. I live in Somerset, have a nice relationship, and I’ve got seven grandchildren aged between four and 18. I went to Ibiza with the oldest, Lola, this summer, but I’m not a ‘cool grandma’.

They don’t call me ‘granny,’ it sounds too old, thank you! My early career was absolutely fabulous, but I’m more passionate about life and championing women now.”

Lynne Franks is the founder of the SEED Women’s Empowerment Network. Find out more at Lynnefranks.com, @lynnejfranks and on YouTube: Lynne Franks’ Seed TV.

To read more articles like this, check out our fascinating interview with Attivo clients James Carne, who turned a midlife crisis into an African adventure, and Michael Clinton, who redefined the word ‘retirement’.

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