In 2019 I was lucky enough to be invited to join 25 of the world’s leading female entrepreneurs on Necker Island, teaming up with Virgin Unite, to mentor some of the most resilient and strong women I have ever met.
The experience really opened my eyes in so many ways, and taught me a great deal. It was also quite honestly, the most amazing destination I have ever been fortunate enough to visit.
For those of you who don’t know, Necker island is a very small island in the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) owned by Sir Richard Branson, the founder and owner of the Virgin company.
Entering Necker island
I knew that it was going to be an awesome experience from the journey to the island alone. To get to Necker island we had to get a speedboat from one of the neighbouring islands – it was around a 30 minute trip through the clear waters and the gorgeous surrounding islands.
I felt so free and relaxed, yet at the same time so happy and excited that it was hard to contain myself, however, I highly doubt that I was the only one feeling that way. During the boat trip, we were all singing our hearts out to early 2000’s and 80’s music (which are both my favourite genres – perfect, hey!). It was so fun and it felt like a bonding experience for us all, the energy levels were just super high.
As we were approaching Necker island, the first thing that I noticed was a big red dock where the whole Necker team were waving to us in excitement. Even this was emotional as I could instantly tell that I was going to get along with the team so well. I felt an instant connection to Necker island which I’ve never experienced before; that’s how I knew for sure that it was going to be one hell of a trip, even though I had no idea what to expect from it.
Meeting the man himself
Wow, Sir Richard Branson… where do I begin? What a lovely man! The first time we got to meet him was in a Q&A session on our first day at his home. This was where a few of the entrepreneurs got chosen to ask Sir Richard one question each. I was privileged enough to be one of those women! My question was, “what can my friends and I do to help prevent ocean damage where I live, apart from the obvious” to which he responded, “You could all write a letter to the government trying to persuade them to create some protected areas around the Canaries. Try to get bans on turtle killing and make sure you set an example in your own home and with your friends to recycle and not litter under any circumstances.” He then went on to talk about Ocean Unite and all that he and his team have done for our oceans.
After that, we all went to our rooms to get ready for a big dinner with Sir Richard (which was super exciting!) At dinner, I got chatting to Sir Richard a little bit about the wildlife on Necker island and other things. This is where is discovered for myself how kind he is and what a big heart he has. He was so caring and funny and I cannot thank him enough for inviting us to visit his beautiful home.
As I was talking to him, I didn’t feel uncomfortable, awkward or shy at any point. I felt like I was chatting to a long lost friend, we just seemed to get along so well. His energy was so relaxing, I doubt anyone would tell you otherwise. I could tell how proud he was of not only everything that he had done, but also what his team had helped him accomplish. Sir Richard is a team player and wants everyone to appreciate every individual throughout his businesses and charities – I found it so grounding and lovely that he would never take all the credit for everything he has built over the years. He’s just such a lovely man!
Unfortunately, the next day he had to leave Necker island to work somewhere else in the world, but I can tell you for a fact, that it won’t be the last time I see him!
Touring the island
Although there isn’t a large space visible as it is such a small island (about 1.1 km long and about 100 meters wide) it was still full of things to look at. The beauty and design of Necker island is on another level.
Unfortunately, when I went to Necker island it was shortly after hurricane Irma, meaning that a lot of the island was still under reconstruction, however, there was still plenty to see from what was already perfect again!
We got to meet all the animals (flamingoes, lemurs, ponies, parrots, huge tortoises, iguanas and other beautiful birds!) and see their living spaces.
We got to see the two tennis courts that Sir Richard trains on; these are located next to the beach house (a two story building which is directly on the beach). The beach house is also where the massage therapy rooms are, a dining area, a party bar and, most importantly, where the parrots live! Basically, the best way to describe it- it’s a big, fun party house!
We got to see all the pool and bar areas and from what I noticed, Sir Richard loves infinity pools! We also got to see the biggest Jacuzzi I have ever seen in my life, it must’ve been the size of a normal pool.
We got to see the water sports area, the Great House, Turtle Beach, the areas where guests stay and we got told about what was still being constructed.
Fun fact : there are no cars, busses, motorbikes or anything like that on Necker island. Everyone just goes around on golf buggies!
Island of fun
Although Necker island is small, it doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything to do. Our whole stay was pretty much jam packed with activities!
One of the days I left my clothes, my shoes and my phone on the drinks bar with no idea I was about to have the best day of my life. I was expecting to back after about an hour, yet little did I know I would be gone for about 6 hours! Here’s what I did during that time:
- Went snorkelling on Virgin Gorda (a neighbour island) to see loads of turtles, colourful fish, sting rays and huge manta rays,
- Had a hilarious sailboat boat race with a few other guests and some of the Necker island team around the islands,
- Almost went on Mr. Google’s island (so close, yet so far haha!),
- Went for drinks in the pool- sized jacuzzi,
- Played tennis tournaments on Richard’s courts,
- Played with the lemurs and ponies,
- Spoke to the parrots,
- And last but not least, had snacks and a mini party with lots of dancing in the beach house.
We were gone for so long, I was nearly late for a very special moment. All of the women on the island gathered round a table and we all wrote down a manifestation letter to our future-selves. We then put all of our letters in a box and buried it. It will be opened the next time we all get to visit Necker island. This was another bonding moment and I think it’s safe to say that we all got a bit emotional.
Some of the other things I got up to on my stay were: lots of yoga, including one inside one of the lemur enclosures – they were jumping all over us. I think they’re such cute and friendly animals; I’m not surprised that Richard has so many of them! Paddle boarding (it is so much harder than it looks which made it such a laugh!), eating a lot of all the delicious food, jumping in and out of pools, playing with the animals, jumping on the trampoline that was dug into the sand at turtle beach…the list goes on!
The Great House
The Great House was definitely… well, great! Not only great because it was gorgeous and full of surprises, but it was massive! Just when I thought I had seen it all, it kept on going! I’m assuming that this was the main building on Necker island. It’s where we had all of our breakfasts and where we had our main dinner with Sir Richard Branson.
It had a huge infinity pool at the front of it that looks over some of the island and the ocean, from there there’s stairs leading into the main floor of the building. Stepping into it felt so magical. There were huge glass sliding doors on three sides of it which made it look even bigger, brought lots of natural light in and a great air flow. The view was absolutely breathtaking! There was an all round outside area with swinging chairs and a huge chess board on the floor (fun fact: Richard is a master at chess! He absolutely loves it and will never say no to a chess challenge!). The inside had lots of seating areas and a couple dining tables, a big bar, toilets and a whole area with lots of rooms for his guests.
On the second floor, was Sir Richard’s office. He had lots of books, a cozy seating area, a lovely wooden desk and of course, a chess board! Outside, there was a long dining table. This table was my favourite spot that we had breakfast as the view was magnificent!
The third floor was an outside area on the roof of the building, there wasn’t much space up there but I’m pretty sure Richard did that on purpose. How do I know? Well the huge give away was the fact that the only thing on that level was a one person jacuzzi! It has 360 degree views, it is the best place to see all of Necker island and its stunning surrounding.
I don’t think I will ever get over how magical it was. It is the best building I have ever seen, there isn’t one thing that I don’t like about it.
The dining experience
The food in Necker island was absolutely mouthwatering. I can be quite hard to cater for when I’m away due to my vegetarianism but they did not fail to give me tip top quality food and snacks. But not only was the food amazing, each place we ate had its’s breathtaking qualities too!
Breakfast
Every morning for breakfast we ate in The Great House. I had a cheese and tomato omelette with toast each time and although that isn’t anything fancy, it was the best omelette and toast I’ve ever had. This might be because I was looking across the fresh clear water and the beautiful green islands that surrounded us, but the food was still yummy.
Lunch
I was amazed both times we had lunch on Necker. The first time, we got told we were going for food on ‘Crocodile Table’ and none of us quite knew what to expect. We shouldn’t have been so surprised when we saw a huge wooden table carved into the shape of a crocodile, but we definitely were! The excitement didn’t end there, it wasn’t in an ordinary room; it was an open space (with a roof) which was in the middle of one of his many pools. That’s right, a pool big enough to fit a room in the middle of it! To get to it, we had to walk across 1 of the 2 bridges leading to it. Oh, and I can’t forget that it was right near the beach and it also had an amazing view. What more can you ask for? Ah yes, the great food that came with it! There were so many picky bits like salads and differently cooked veggies, but that lunchtime I had my favourite thing from the whole trip. The brownies! They honestly tasted like heaven, I just couldn’t stop eating them!
That doesn’t mean that the second time we had lunch wasn’t just as spectacular as the first. This was an entire different experience! We had sushi floating on ‘boats’ (kayaks) in one of the swimming pools. Unfortunately I can’t tell you how that tasted as I don’t eat fish, however even if I did I probably wouldn’t have tried them as they were made before by some of the women who decided to take a sushi class (no offence to you girlies haha!) Even though I didn’t have any, it was just an amazing thing to see, so beautifully presented and cool, I adored it! The pool that we were in was the same one that the crocodile table was in, so the view was of course incredible.
Dinner
Something a lot of people don’t know about me is that I absolutely adore fairy lights, I think they are so gorgeous and can make anywhere look great. So the second dinner we had was definitely my favourite as it was upstairs in the beach house (which was literally right on the beach!) and was decorated in thousands of fairy lights. It was immaculate! Apart from the stunning decorations, it was also a super fun night. We were all singing and dancing (I may or may not have got up on the table to dance) and then we moved down stairs to have a party, the vibrations were so high and I think its safe to say it was a night to remember for all of us. We even started playing tennis on Sir. Richard’s tennis courts, but it wasn’t any normal type of tennis of course… it was tennis with HUGE rackets!
Anyway, back to the food, it was a buffet night and we all had a large selection of tasty food. The food was quite similar to the lunch that we had on the crocodile table, except there was different meats for the others to select from. For you meat eaters, apparently it was always perfectly cooked and seasoned which doesn’t surprise me!
The last time we had dinner was super sad as it was a goodbye to Necker island. We ate on a dining table on Turtle beach and when I say on the beach, I mean literally on the sand. The reason it is called Turtle beach is because it always used to be full of turtles but unfortunately there were no turtles on the beach when we were there as they all got scared away by the hurricane, but that was also where the massive tortoises live so it was still super cool! That night we had a BBQ, again the food was delicious. There was also lovely decoration on the trees, beautifully presented table and as always, great service from the Necker team.
The Necker Team
I can’t write a blog about how great Necker island was and not include how incredible the team working on it were. From the moment we arrived go the moment we left they made us all feel super welcome. By the end of it, it felt like we were being separated from our friends as they went out of their way to make us comfortable with them. They were always there if we needed them, they always wanted to make sure that we were okay, they would do anything without hesitation, they were funny, friendly and in fact I could go as far as saying I felt part of the little family that they have created. I love how well they get along and how fun they all are.
Teaming up with Virgin Unite
One of the days that we were there, around 8-10 women visited Necker island from their home islands in the BVIs. This is where is started to get emotional and very inspirational. They came over to seek advice from all of the entrepreneurs on the island after their businesses were destroyed during the hurricane. They needed action steps to move forward and a plan for how to kick start their small businesses again.
We were split into different groups to help one of the women per group. In our group, the woman who was looking for advice owned a homemade coffee bean and honey business (she actually provided the coffee beans to Necker island, so all of their coffee was grown by her!). This was where I got emotional but felt super united with everyone in my group as I could see the passion that everyone had to get her up and running again. I also learnt some great tips and advice from it which is a bonus! All of the women that came over left feeling super grateful and happy, the energy levels were so, so high.
I’m pleased to share the Caribbean Mountain Coffee business is thriving again, you can check out her website here.
The women who changed my life
I was feeling stuck with how to progress forward with my life around the time I went to Necker island. I kept questioning whether or not I should stay in education and get a degree, or whether I should take a leap of faith and leave school to do what I want to do.
These incredible entrepreneurs never failed to inspire me with everything that they did and each and every one of them told me to follow my dreams, so of course I chose not to go back and follow the footsteps of the most amazing women I have ever met.
Not only did they change my life because they helped me make one of the biggest decisions I have faced, but they taught me so much to do with how to do businesses, how to portray yourself, how to use social media and much more.
We made sure that we sat with different people each night at dinner. We would then go round in a circle and each of them would ask one question to the rest of the group regarding issues they were stuck with in their businesses. This taught me team work and by listening to all the women I learnt lots of different types of problems we face when having our own businesses along with a range of different solutions. That will stand me in good stead if I come across the same or similar issues in the future, in my own business or supporting others with theirs.
Some of them said that they would be happy to help me in my future which made me feel so empowered knowing that that they have faith in me. It made me realise that the entrepreneur world can be full of horrible people but there are also many beautiful souls willing to collaborate rather than compete. I loved how much support I got, it really made me feel welcome into the business world and made me feel unstoppable!
