Kirstie Ash’s Saturday night live streams regularly attracted more than 1,000 viewers during lockdown – which led her to launch a business to empower women and help them to network.

The 45-year-old Staffordshire University alumni, who graduated in fine art in 2001, runs Pink Women Networking and recently held the first of a series of events for women to empower other women.

It was weekly live streams, initially broadcast through the dating app Plenty of Fish, that gave the mum-of-one the confidence that she could hold an audience and had the ability to inspire and encourage others.

“I’ve met a lot of women who have encouraged me and have given me the confidence to pass that on to other women,” said Kirstie.

“This is not just a business for me. I am very much an empath. This is about giving out love and support. It’s about creativity and confidence. It’s about inspiring people.”

Kirstie, from Stoke-on-Trent, has a strong social media following including more than 20,000 followers on TikTok.

She has held women-only networking events at venues including Capella Lounge in Newcastle-under-Lyme and The Potbank at Spode.

Her first women empowering women event was held in the LRV at Staffordshire University and a second event, coinciding with International Women’s Day, will be held at Pathways in Burslem on March 8.

Kirstie added: “I work with women of all ages and from different backgrounds. I already have a global audience on TikTok and have thought about taking my events to different cities to empower different women.”

Kirstie is currently studying for the Peter Coates MSc in Entrepreneurship.

She has entered the Alumni Business Person of the Year and Small Business of the Year categories of the Staffordshire University Business Awards.