In today’s modern world, we’re unfortunately still seeing the effects of certain stigmas and a lack of awareness surrounding sexual health and wellbeing support. Whether that’s for those seeking information, advice or learning about their own sexuality, it’s clear that there’s work to be done to shine a light on the range of accessible professional support available to the public.
Based in Lancashire, 38-year-old Francine Sharrocks, entrepreneur and founder of findmysexpert.com, is dedicated to doing exactly that.
Her creation of the platform in 2016 has since seen it evolve into a worldwide multidisciplinary sexual wellness platform, which puts the public in direct contact with professional sex and relationships experts - centred on accessibility.
Kindred. spoke to Sharrocks about her personal journey, beginning with a very varied professional background. From a university degree in Events Management to youth homelessness protection to training as a sexological bodyworker (and more), there has been one running theme throughout.
"I’ve come from many different career paths, but throughout them, a singular correlation has been sexual health," she says. "My whole career, my whole path of life, has been directed to helping others with their sexuality, touch, understanding their bodies better, learning about consent and behaviours being boundaries."
Sharrocks, therefore, prides herself on creating "the first platform of its kind globally". During her two years of running her own sex coaching practice, she immediately recognised that there was nowhere other than escort websites for certified practitioners like herself to advertise their services.
So, findmysexpert.com strives to promote The Sex Support industry by providing the public with access to expertise, courses, blogs and so much more for a more positive, de-stigmatised sexual education. From tantra practitioners to counsellors across the globe, Sharrocks describes how it "basically houses everybody".
"The reason for doing that," she says, "is that one size doesn’t fit all, and we want to make sure that the public is addressing their sexual needs the way they want to address them."
Sharrocks explains the need for such a platform is to "celebrate all forms of sexuality support", as the current industry "is really undervalued and goes unrecognised".
Sharrocks believes a personal childhood experience of hers ultimately shaped her path and passion for the diverse platform she has created and strongly believes it is vital for the public in terms of sexual awareness and safety.
Sharrock faced many obstacles in her journey in establishing findmysexpert.com, including the failings of tech companies with online censorship and shadowbanning due to the nature of the site’s sexual content with the impact of this on advertisement and traction for the platform being a key issue.
Her personal motivations also lie heavily in that "there’s so much work and shedding of shame to do. We have to unlayer (sic) this - we’ve got a long, long, long way to go," she says, likening the issue to the gradually increased understanding of mental health over recent decades. Sharrocks spoke candidly about how often she hears "if I knew that sex welfare support existed, I would have used it", further highlighting the need for a platform like hers.
As a stay-at-home mother of two young children, Sharrocks runs the entire enterprise from her understandably busy home. She explains how each day in her life as a founder varies, requiring a balance of her parental role with the demands of her position.
Sharrocks also suffers from a rare neurological condition called Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS), a neurological disorder, but her drive and determination seem to carry her through in her multifaceted work.
She says: "I do all the video editing, the voiceovers for the videos, the SEO and design for the website - every bit of the platform is like a drop of me."
Over the years, findmysexpert.com has built up a large following on YouTube, amassing over 800,000 views, and countless positive testimonials on TrustPilot from clients.
One particular review says: "Sonalle LaMariposa held a beautiful space, each time empowering me to unfold a very different essence of myself in a place of not-knowing."
Sharrock’s clients have always been, and remain, the focus of her mission. Speaking about the 'Contact Us' forms provided through the system, she says: "A couple of them this month have been from people suffering from disabilities, who can’t leave the house, or are really struggling with their body dysmorphia, or other things."
She adds that she would "love to be able to get out there with courses that are just available at the tap of a button", emphasising her focus on accessibility and ease of support.
Sharrock says that what she sees findmysexpert.com becoming a "platform where a practitioner can come, create their full course through us, and sell it through us - to become like an academy in a way".
The success of the service has seen Sharrock granted several well-deserved awards and bonuses over the years, including support from Sky TV. Most recently, she went through to the regional finals for the Great British Entrepreneur Awards in 2021, where she won a public vote to receive a national truck advertising campaign for findmysexpert.
Sharrock explains how the trucks, emblazoned with the words, 'Sex life need a boost? Explore the possibilities at findmysexpert, your sexual wellbeing platform', was something she’d envisioned since the start of her journey.
She says: "I do lose sight of the reason why I do this when I’m so ingrained in the everyday of doing it, and the bullls**t that comes with it - the hard days, the kids, everything… but that is the reason why."
Referring back to her earlier attempts to advertise such services on escort websites and what drives her to do what she does, Sharrock says: "I saw the faces of the men that I’d helped."
Sharrocks speaks enthusiastically about the growth and future of her platform. She says: "We just need to be ahead of the curve at all times."
As for her next steps, the entrepreneur looks forward to hopefully appearing soon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den to earn a kick-starting investment. She also aims to establish an International Sexpert Day, Month or Week "to really start pulling together these professionals and getting them on the platform".
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