192 - How I got here...

I did it!!!!!! In this episode I give you the lowdown on how my TedX talk went this weekend - and what helped me survive it (because it did not quite go to plan). Hopefully you can take this message away and apply it to your business - or anything that you feel stressed about because it feels like a lot is riding on it. 

Does competition in business leave you feeling insecure, comparing yourself to others or wondering whether you're good enough? And how do you compete with other business owners when you're a mum trying to grow a profitable business in limited hours? In this episode of the School Hours Only podcast, we're talking about business competition, scarcity mindset, self-concept, confidence and personal branding — and why someone else's success doesn't have to come at the expense of your own. I'll share my experiences of competition in business, from running a campsite to building a local women in business community, and explore why comparison and fear of competitors can lead to overworking, burnout and poor business decisions. We'll talk about how to stand out in a competitive market, build a strong personal brand, attract your ideal clients, overcome imposter syndrome and develop the confidence to grow your business without constantly comparing yourself to others. Because when you're building a business around motherhood, you don't need to outwork your competitors. You need to become more strategic with the hours you have.

What does it really take to turn a big idea into a room full of women in business — and what do you learn when you're the person responsible for making it happen? In this episode, I'm sharing 10 of the biggest business and personal lessons I learned from organising and running my first large-scale event for women in business: the Pembrokeshire Women in Business Summit. From having the courage to act on an idea before you feel completely ready, to selling tickets, building partnerships, creating genuine value, dealing with setbacks and learning that the fortune really is in the follow-up — this episode is about far more than event planning. I talk about why fortune favours the brave, why you can't build a business trying to please everybody, the importance of having the right business coach or mentor in your corner, and why there is nearly always another route when the original plan doesn't work. I also share something I think many female founders and women entrepreneurs will recognise: how easy it is to sabotage your own success, count yourself out before you've even started, or avoid taking the risks that could create the growth you actually want. And perhaps most importantly, we talk about learning to be on your own side while you build — celebrating what worked, learning from what didn't, and actually allowing yourself to enjoy what you're creating. Whether you're growing a small business, building your personal brand, organising a business event, networking locally, growing a community, or simply sitting on an idea you're not quite brave enough to act on yet, there's something in this episode for you. In this episode: acting on great business ideas quickly; courage and calculated risk in entrepreneurship; creating value before thinking about what you'll get back; the power of follow-up; handling criticism and differing opinions; finding another way when plans go wrong; choosing supportive coaches and mentors; avoiding self-sabotage as your business grows; becoming comfortable with failure; and celebrating yourself while still looking for ways to improve. If you're a woman in business, female entrepreneur, small business owner or mum in business who wants to grow a successful business without losing yourself in the process, have a listen.

You hired employees or built a team because you thought it would give you more time — so why does it feel like managing them has become another full-time job? If your team is constantly asking questions, interrupting you, checking decisions, needing approval or coming back to you to solve problems, this episode is for you. I'm talking about one of the most frustrating stages of scaling a business: when you've delegated the work, but somehow you're still involved in everything. We'll look at how to train employees effectively, improve delegation, create better systems and SOPs, set clear expectations, and give your team the confidence to work independently without sacrificing the quality of your business. I'll also walk you through my three simple communication filters for questions, ideas and decisions — designed to reduce interruptions while teaching your employees how to think, problem-solve and make decisions more like you. Because if your team can do the work without you but can't make a decision without you, you haven't removed yourself from the work — you've just become the bottleneck. If you're a founder or small business owner who wants to scale your business, manage your team more effectively, delegate without micromanaging and build a business that doesn't depend on you for every decision, this episode will show you where to start.

What if the most time-efficient strategy isn't actually the most effective one? When you're trying to grow a business in limited hours, it's easy to become obsessed with efficiency: doing things faster, automating more, using AI, squeezing more into less time and constantly asking, "How can I do this with the least amount of effort?" But sometimes, the thing that creates the biggest result requires you to put some time, money or courage on the line first. In this episode, I'm talking about the difference between time-efficient strategies and high-impact strategies — and why being willing to take a calculated gamble with your time and money can sometimes create a disproportionately bigger return. I share how thousands of social media posts never led to TEDx finding me — but investing £2,500 in a local business summit, showing up to an in-person networking event, having an awkward conversation with someone I didn't know, submitting an application and following up ultimately led to me being booked to give a TEDx talk. We'll talk about why business growth isn't always about finding the quickest route, why opportunities often come through chains of events you could never have predicted, and why courage, proximity, relationships and putting yourself in the room can sometimes outperform another hundred perfectly optimised pieces of content. Because when your hours are limited, the goal isn't necessarily to spend the least amount of time. It's to make the hours you do spend capable of creating a much bigger impact.

If your business is taking more hours than you want to give it, your first instinct might be to get more organised, become more productive, hire some help — or simply work more. But what if you're trying to solve the wrong problem? In this episode, I introduce the philosophy behind my School Hours Only Method and a simple three-circle diagnostic for working out what's actually stopping your business from creating the money AND life you want. We'll look at the three roles every founder needs to play: the Adventurer, who decides where you're going and how you want to experience the journey; the Architect, who designs a business capable of getting you there; and the Leader, who develops the self-leadership required to actually drive it. You'll learn how to recognise whether you have a Journey, Vehicle or Driver problem, why productivity can't compensate for a business model whose maths doesn't work, and how my 5 S's — Strategy, Systems, Schedule, Support and Self-concept — help you identify what actually needs to change. Most importantly, I'll help you answer one question: What should I fix first? Because when your business needs more hours than you're willing to give it, the answer isn't automatically to give it more of you. Diagnose first. Then redesign. And if you'd like my eyes on your business, I also explain how you can work with me through a Business Diagnostic Audit to identify your biggest constraints and create your personalised Business Redesign Roadmap. DM me AUDIT here when you are ready. 

In this episode I take you through the process I took my client through today, to help her map out a smart, valuable and sustainable offer, that is likely to help her make more sales, more revenue, higher profits and feel good for her to deliver as her business grows.  Too many business owners only take themselves, their business, or their customers or clients into consideration when thinking about their offers - and really all three need to be taken into consideration in order to build a sustainable, and enjoyable business that gives great value to it's customers. 

In case you are new to my world, I thought I'd share a little bit of my story - the highs and lows of the journey I've been on in the last 11 years - how I started in business, what went wrong, what happened after I hit my goal, and where I am right now.  If you are sick of seeing the highlight reel of other business owners, and want some real moments of the ups and downs that make you feel a little bit more human on your own journey, this episode is for you. 

She thought she had a time problem. What she actually had was a business that depended too heavily on her. In this episode, I break down a real coaching conversation with a business owner who was feeling overwhelmed, constantly busy, and struggling to see how the business could grow without demanding more of her time. Together, we uncovered some of the key bottlenecks holding her back, including: • Spending too much time on low-value tasks like admin and cleaning • A lack of clarity around where her time was actually going • No clear marketing plan, creating decision fatigue and inconsistency • Difficulty setting boundaries with clients • Undercharging and feeling guilty about raising prices • A business that relied heavily on her to keep everything moving • The mindset patterns making it harder to delegate, sell and grow confidently These are exactly the kinds of challenges we work through inside the School Hours Only Mastermind. Because most women think they need more time. What they often need is more clarity, better systems, stronger boundaries, and a business model that can support the life they're trying to build. If you've ever felt like you're working hard but still not making the progress you want, this episode will help you identify what might actually be standing in your way. ❤️

Last week, I was coaching one of my clients, a second-hand bookshop owner, on how to grow her business without sacrificing more of her time. On the surface, one of her ideas seemed brilliant: upload more stock to her website so she could generate sales during the quieter winter months. But when we looked closer, we uncovered a lesson that applies to almost every business owner: Not all revenue-generating tasks are equal. Just because a task makes money doesn't automatically make it the best use of your limited time. In this episode, I share the coaching conversation we had, the concept of opportunity cost, and the mistake I made for years in my own glamping business that kept me working far harder than necessary. If you're trying to grow your business within school hours (or simply without working every evening and weekend), this episode will help you identify where your time creates the biggest return.