Complicated Conversations

Have you ever been so used to doing something that you stopped seeing it as a skill?Richard James Rogers had been teaching and had written a book, but still found himself wondering what else he could do. A conversation through his business network helped him see how that experience could work in corporate training.Richard joins me from Thailand to talk about reputation, earning referrals and the relationships that helped his work develop. We discuss the book he initially wrote for himself, dealing with criticism and deciding where to invest your time, followed by the advice he would give his ten-year-old self.Complicated Conversations is hosted by Jodie Horgan, The Complicated Coach. Business, life and the bits that aren’t quite as straightforward as they look.Watch the full conversationFind RichardRichard’s booksCorporate training: Explore Jodie’s commercial consultancy: Supported by Complicated Co:

What happens when you leave the corporate world and start a business together?Rachel and Kris, directors of Empowr HR, join Jodie Horgan to talk about their first year: the clients who arrived sooner than expected, the work behind the scenes and the responsibilities they wish they'd defined earlier.We get into how they make decisions, use their existing network, talk openly and plan the next stage of growth. There is also the small matter of a launch day delayed by a lost phone.Complicated Conversations explores the real experience of building a business alongside life.Subscribe for more conversations with people building and running businesses.The Complicated CoachComplicated Co

Lucy Nash left PR, sold her half of an agency after her first baby, turned her house into a shoot location and a 60k Instagram account, and then — after six months of coaching and a year of Post-it notes on the bathroom mirror — launched Do The Thing: a club for women who want to stop saying "I've been meaning to do that."This one sits under Brand: the kind where the business is you. We talk about the HMRC phone call that ended her admin years, giving yourself permission to invest in yourself, the five-year plan the AI loved, and the week someone commented "What the f*** is Do The Thing?" — and how she turned it into two sign-ups.Takeaway: stop thinking about it. Start doing it.Do The ThingJodie: thecomplicatedcoach.co.uk · Sponsored by Complicated Co. — complicatedco.co.uk

A year ago Caroline Creba spent her life savings opening a bespoke jewellery showroom on Knowle High Street — with gold at a record high and the economy in a state. This is what the first year actually looked like.The Tuesday afternoons with nobody through the door. Closing Mondays. The £5,000 welder that brought people in and turned into £25,000 of sales. Hiring before she felt ready. Hitting a £25k-a-month target she’d filed under “years away.” And the line that should be on every founder’s wall: you don’t open a shop and suddenly have a business. You open a shop so your business has a home.Caroline Creba: 25 years in jewellery, bespoke fine pieces made in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.Hosted by Jodie Horgan, business consultant for founders and leaders. Four pillars: Growth, People, Brand, Structure.Sunday BriefingBusiness Health Checkthecomplicatedcoach.co.ukSponsored by Complicated Co. — complicatedco.co.uk

A loaf of bread goes up every year. Your prices should too. A short one from the car on why raising prices feels harder when it’s your own business, the small nudges that won’t lose you a customer, and why I still hate charging for advice.Car Conversations — real thinking from the road, from business consultant Jodie Horgan.🔗 Sunday Briefing🔗 Watch on YouTube

This week's Car Conversations is about Growth, and specifically about the moment imposter syndrome shows up around money. Jodie talks honestly about always being rubbish at charging, why the instinct to just nurture and help people for free gets in the way of running a sustainable business, and the voice that says "as if someone's going to pay that to get my advice."If you've ever undercharged, hesitated over a price, or given your best thinking away for free because it felt easier than asking to be paid for it, this one's for you.Part of Complicated Conversations, honest conversations about the reality of business, leadership and life, hosted by Jodie Horgan of The Complicated Coach. Making the complicated simple, step by step.Follow Complicated Conversations so you don't miss next week's Sunday Briefing theme.

Aggy has been self-employed for exactly ten years, has good self-esteem, and still dreams about someone turning up to tell her she has to move out of her own house. That's the version of imposter syndrome we talk about here — not the LinkedIn one.We get into the first time she named it, why it hits in one specific area rather than everywhere, the clients she talked herself out of approaching, and what she actually does now when a thought starts picking up speed.The line to take away: don't let it go viral in your head.This episode sits under People — one of the four things everything I do comes back to: Growth, People, Brand, Structure.thecomplicatedcoach.co.uk  ·  complicatedco.co.uk

This week's car ramble is about sales — and why so many founders are brilliant at selling everyone else, and terrible at selling themselves.We don't think twice about raving about a product or a bit of advice someone gave us. But when it comes to our own business, suddenly "I am great" feels excruciating to say out loud.Here's what's worked for me: stop selling, start educating. Rather than telling someone what you do, tell them why it's good — the actual outcome for them. I use the boring example of insurance: nobody wants to hear about the premium, but explain the true cost — cheap cover now vs. a bigger bill later — and suddenly it's not a sales pitch, it's useful information.And when it comes to selling yourself as a founder specifically: lead with passion, not credentials. Passion is catching — it turns into education without you even trying. No price talk, no competitor comparisons, just why people should buy from you.Complicated Conversations: honest conversations about the reality of it all, from Jodie Horgan, founder of The Complicated Coach and Complicated Co.

I spend a lot of time on the road between client visits, so I'm starting to record these bite-sized episodes right from the car. No script, no overthinking, just me talking through whatever's on my mind that week: something I've learned, a business lesson, or a follow-up to my Sunday Briefing.Here's the honest bit: I think there's too much gatekeeping in coaching. The "here's a teaser, now pay for the rest" model isn't how I want to do this. If I've got knowledge that can help you, I'll just share it — trust builds a business, not withholding.The full-length Complicated Conversations episodes aren't going anywhere, but guest schedules are hard to coordinate, and one postponement throws the whole thing off. This is the in-between: shorter, more frequent, straight from me.Let me know what you think — does this format work for you?Complicated Conversations: honest conversations about the reality of it all, from Jodie Horgan, founder of The Complicated Coach and Complicated Co.

We went quiet. Not because we gave up — because we needed to get it right.Complicated Conversations is back with a new identity, a new focus, and a clear purpose: to be the business coaching podcast for small and medium business owners who are building something on their own.In this relaunch episode, Jodie Horgan — founder, business coach, and the person behind The Complicated Coach — explains why the podcast stopped, what the recalibration looked like, and what's coming next.This is for you if:→ You're running your own business and doing most of it alone→ You're Googling things you should probably be talking through→ You've got a partner who's supportive but doesn't quite get it→ You're in the messy middle and wondering if you're further behind than you should beIn this episode:• Why we stopped and what we learned• The mentor conversation that gave us clarity• Who this podcast is for — and what it's not• The guest lineup: an accountant, a mentor, a Selfridges founder, a bestselling author and more• Why complicated isn't a problem to fix — it's a place to startHosted by Jodie Horgan | The Complicated CoachSponsored by Complicated Co. — organic cotton tees with honest messages.New episodes weekly. Subscribe so you don't miss one.Find Jodie: www.thecomplicatedcoach.co.ukInstagram: @thecomplicatedcoachShop Complicated Co: www.complicatedco.co.uk