The founder of glazing engineering firm ICW UK says if she's learned one thing it's 'never think you know it all'

After her husband died in 1986, Margaret Wood says she had two options: get married again or start her own business. She chose to start glazing engineering firm, ICW UK, because she had a family to support and experience in the sector. But what started out as a "need-to" business has, she says, grown into a "want-to" enterprise. "The business has given me more than just an income. I've met friends and been given opportunities."

It's Wakefield's good luck that Wood chose to start a business because she has given back to the community, especially through mentoring. "We did a Yorkshire women in business conference, supported by Yorkshire Forward, for women to network," she says. "We make sure women at all levels and all walks of life get tickets, because educate a woman and you educate a family."

She's also vocal about why Britain needs to innovate more. Herself a runner up for female inventor of the year (for a touch-sensitive mechanism for operating windows), she says: "Innovation makes us more competitive. We've got to get up in this country, stop feeling sorry for ourselves, and move forward."

She says constant communication is key to doing good business: "It's about awareness; reading the weather," explains Wood. "Never lose touch, always keep talking. Read what's happening, not just internationally but at home. Never, ever think you know it all, because you don't."