"If you don't ask the question the answer is always no" - that was advice from Julie Dodsworth to aspiring entrepreneurs as she told her story of how she went from being a North Yorkshire florist to owning her own internationally renowned brand.

Speaking at the Yorkshire WiRE (Women in Rural Enterprise) conference yesterday at Askham Bryan College, Mrs Dodsworth revealed how she transformed paintings on a canal boat onto a homeware range which sells in more than 40 countries, and won a contract with fashion brand Barbour.

Her "story of perseverance" was the key speech at the conference, which formed part of this week's York Business Week agenda.

Mrs Dodsworth told delegates how after training as a florist, she found herself facing self employment .

She said: "All I could do was hanging baskets so I rented out a polytunnel and set up a business making them for pubs.

"I started Dodsworth Plant Display People, and that has now been going 25 years. We then started doing office plants, which became a niche for us, and the business really took off."

Based at Cundall, near Thirsk, Dodsworth Plant Display People won work in London, leading to Mrs Dodsworth and her husband purchasing a canal boast as "southern base" just outside the captial.

It was through decorating this that Mrs Dodsworth, who lives near York, resurrected a life long love of painting, and after encouragement from her daughter, she set about recreating her designs for sale.

She said: "I made a big matrix of who was who in the industry, as a the branded mugs and tea towels you see are all made by the same people, and I set about cold calling. "I was ringing all these manufacturers. Every question they asked me seemed to be followed by a no from me, no I hadn't done this, or no I hadn't done that.

"I was told by one person on the phone I was looking for a one in a ten million chance of breaking through. Instead of being deterred I thought, well someone has to be that one, and it might as well be me, so I carried on.

"I eventually got through to a decision maker who agreed to see me. I travelled all the way to Belfast to meet him. When he asked for samples and I showed him a watering can I had painted he thought it was hilarious.

"He told me I had to digitise my work and started speaking in what might as well have been a foreign language.

"I set to work on his suggestions, and I got a call six weeks later to say they were going to launch a textile brand at the International Spring Fair in Birmingham in my name. I was so excited."

Julie Dodsworth product ranges are now stocked in 500 shops in 20 countries, with the brand working with many big name British manufactures including Way Lyrical for its candle range, Churchills for China, and Dartington Crystal for its glassware.

Events held elsewhere yesterday as part of York Business Week included a workshop by Make it York in partnership with KMPG on driving sustainable, profitable growth in business.

In the afternoon Make it York teamed up with Intandem Communication to host a marketing workshop.

Today the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce kick starts Wednesday's agenda with its Pure Networking event at Betty's Tea Rooms, while Hunter Gee Holroyd hosts a seminar on how to be debt free in seven years.

Throughout the morning York Popup Business Advice Cafe is being hosted by York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership at Your Bike Shed, in Micklegate, and the University of York is hosting Leadership Taster Sessions from the University’s Continuous Professional Development Unit.

For the full agenda, including tomorrow's line up see yorkbusinessweek.co.uk