Stop. Pause. Think. Now. Act.®

Learning and Development professional, Claire France talks from the heart about her mental health struggles following a family member being diagnosed with a terminal diagnosis. This news was the trigger that helped her recognise how she was really feeling about own life and relationships, including the realisation that she wanted change in her relationships and how much she desired to start a family.    In her leadership role at Millikens, Claire leads the mental health provision to help end the stigma associated with mental illness and encourages others in the workplace to talk openly about their how they’re feeling. Her remarkable self-discovery journey has led her to start training to be a counsellor to guide others through their self-discovery path.    As the Red Hot Chilli Peppers wrote, “This life is more than just a read through” and Claire’s extraordinary journey is certainly a testament to recognising her own feelings to help her live the life she’s always wanted.   

There’s so much more to Mike Madden’s job than teaching others to lift barbells and hit the right squat position. As a gym owner and coach, Mike has learnt the real heavy lifting of running a successful fitness business.    Being a visionary, a creative and a deep thinker, Madders – as he’s more commonly known – admits that the key to success has been accepting that he can’t do it all, and to get the right help. In this podcast, he shares his secret weapon to setting up and running his own 8,500 sq. ft. CrossFit training facility in Trafford Park.    Putting the right systems and processes in place, and having a strategic coach to support him, Mike has not only become better at knowing his numbers, but he’s also built a community of people who enjoy their best hours of their day training with Mike and socialising with like-minded people.

CEO and Storytelling expert, Mike Ganino, talks to Joanne Grobbelaar about his intentional and life-changing ‘PAUSE’ moment that brought him to being the Storytelling expert and public speaking coach that he is today. Rewriting the narrative of his upbringing, and his unique experience as a CEO of a fast-growing business, his ‘PAUSE’ moment led Ganino to creating a business that he really loves.    Mike discusses his new program for leaders that allows them to grow their brand through their unique story and share it in a way that brings transformational results.

Have you ever been the ‘nice girl’ in business? Saying what you believe to be the ‘official’ way so that you don’t get pushback?    Like many other female business owners, Mia Scharphie knows what it feels like to be the youngest female in a male dominated world. Taking her rightful seat at the boardroom table to pitch for a game-changing socially impact design project, this was her “STOP” moment. Today, Mia believes you can have it all – but only if you get clear on what you actually want – and not what you think you’re supposed to want.    Her successful career coaching business ‘Build Yourself’ teaches female creatives about how to kick their inner critique in the butt, find their ‘tough love cheerleader’ and help them create strategies and small repeatable actions that break through the obstacles holding them back so they can build dynamic, powerful and meaningful careers.

What do bold colour combinations, beautiful homes, a keen eye for fashion and a decisive, no-nonsense attitude all have in common?     Mandy Watkins, of course!    Taking the brave leap of voluntary redundancy before the birth of her third child, Mandy left a secure, well-paid job to set up her own business that could harness her creative talents.    Mandy spent many of her younger years being a people pleaser. But today, her confidence, infallible tenacity and authenticity has allowed her to build a life and career she’s always envisioned.    In this podcast, she describes her “ACT” moment that happened when she went out for dinner with her husband and stumbled across a commercial premises on Right Move. That evening she decided to take on the lease to the shop that is now ‘Space Like This’ which reflects her keen eye for design and her passion for helping people create beautiful homes.

Personal Development Coach and Storytelling expert, Heather Hubbard knows that even the smallest acts of courage can create BIG change.    Her high-flying career as an entertainment lawyer was stopped in its tracks when she took an ‘unplugged’ (her words) safari break to Tanzania. Feeling a total spiritual connection with the place and having the space to ground herself on what she really wanted from her life and business, Hubbard was faced with a fork-in-the-road decision.    She could either continue her career as a lawyer or burn it to the ground and start over.     You can only imagine which direction she chose!   In this podcast, Heather talks candidly about her own personal experience of speaking out to change the world for the better.  Her business ‘Simple Courage’ was founded to help high-flying professionals discover themselves and find the courage to reach (and surpass) their ambitions.

Entrepreneur and Founder of Bring Digital, David Ingram knows all too well how much those “STOP” moments are essential when growing a successful business. It wasn’t until his business was reaching incredible success and winning awards that he began to feel quite numb from it all.     In this candid podcast, David talks about his passion for goal setting, the pitfalls he’s had to crawl out of, his new learnt skill of delegation and his secret formula for having a ‘strategic rest plan’ that have made the business the success it is today.     Being a stickler for detail, Ingram has become passionate about hiring the right people to make better use of his time, the skills of his team and create slicker processes for the business.

D’Arcy Webb’s love of language is contagious. It’s clear from this podcast. And she believes every word is a story in itself.    For over two decades, she has been an award-winning voice and speech teacher helping actors, performers, corporate executives, authors and speakers use their voices to connect with audiences around the world with power, eloquence and heart.   As the ‘compliant’, youngest sibling who was never allowed to take the last cookie on the plate, D’Arcy has utilised her own origin story to become the powerful Voice and Speech Coach she is today. Freeing people up to speak their truth and have the courage to step out of their comfort zone to win the hearts and minds of audiences.    In this podcast, she shares some of her darkest moments and how she gathered her tribe to help her get back on her feet so she could share her true gift as a powerful communicator and coach. 

Business Strategist and Visibility Coach, ChiChi Eruchalu talks about her most memorable STOP and PAUSE moments in her career.    Working for herself as a Business Strategist, ChiChi began to feel really overwhelmed and was suffocating in the online space that was crowded with other Strategists all competing for similar clients. She was also faced with debt and knew that something had to give.    In an opportunist moment, and after a self-reflected “PAUSE” moment, she saw a social post about a company she had worked with before who were looking to recruit.    Today she is their Head of their Digital and Tech programmes and is able to apply her invaluable digital marketing skills, play to her strengths and really add value.    ChiChi recognises that sometimes you have to make short term sacrifices so that you can have long term freedom in your life. She is intentional about who she hangs out with and who she follows on social media and has a strong accountability partner to keep her moving forward.    In her own words: “The dots always connect when you’re looking backwards” and this podcast brings home the importance of having that “PAUSE” moment that really turned things around for her.

Dallas-based glass artist, Anna Curnes openly admits that her “PAUSE” moment was a tad messier than she planned. Her transition working as a successful tutor to an artist and then  opening a studio in the heart of the Dallas Design District was filled with self-doubt and discomfort. Being an innate creative meant that she didn’t have the natural skills to run a business, but she was determined to ‘tough it out’ and find the right community to support her.    In this podcast, Anna gives the inside scoop of her journey not only as an artist, but as an entrepreneur. She talks about mastering new skills, including having self-belief in her work and discovering the art of putting herself out there to get her work noticed.    Now, as a celebrated glass artist, and known for her bold and empowering glass murals and glass flower sculptures, she is resolved to always making time for her real zone of genius (creating art), and not getting stuck in the weeds of running a business.    Find out what her top three actions she believes every business owner should take to help them realise their true worth and celebrate their talents.