Inspiring Women in Business

There are so many messages out there about pushing through your comfort zone you can end up thinking if it doesn’t hurt I must be doing it wrong.  But what if you need your business to be comfortable and safe because you’re already dealing with life stuff? For example looking after elderly parents, being a career, or dealing with a chronic illness? 

In this interview, Laura shares how she’s adapted her own business to suit her, her goals, and her family. And how she’s expanding her comfort zone rather than pushing through it. Laura shares valuable lessons she learned that changed and simplified the way she runs her business.

Key takeaways from this episode

• Voxer works like leaving a voicemail message on Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger, but there isn’t a time limit to how long the message can be.
  
• The person can listen in real-time while you’re leaving a message in Voxer.
  
• We need someone accountable to keep our work on track and motivated.
  
• We can learn how to have a successful business without burning ourselves out.
  
• Working on something without burning out is a choice you have to own.
  
• Choosing not to burn yourself out gives you space to be more creative and earn more.
  
• It’s better to expand your comfort zone than go out of it.
  
• Your business will have its hard parts, but you don’t have to make it harder for yourself.
  
• Always ask yourself how you can make things easier and simpler.
  
• Dig deep and figure out what is making things hard to be able to work on it more effectively.
  
• There are many ways to do things; You can always pick the strategy that will work for you.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Intro

01:08 Episode Intro

02:18 How Laura Robinson changed the way she does her business

03:41 How Voxer works

06:59 Who Laura is and what her business looks like now

08:14 How Laura progressed into mentoring

09:49 The benefits of having someone to keep your business on track

11:31 Laura’s thoughts on having comfy businesses

13:53 Laura’s advice on creating a successful business without burning out

18:48 Laura’s focus this year

20:29 Laura’s comfy business newsletter

24:29 Expanding our comfort zones

27:09 Finding ways to make hard things simpler

29:25 Laura’s advice on making hard things more comfortable

31:39 Picking the right strategy that works for you

33:40 How to connect with Laura

34:39 Outro

How to connect with Laura Robinson:

Website: worditude.co.uk/newsletter

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

During Covid, Amy Jones had a moment where she thought it was game over for her in-person yoga business. Still, after a conversation with her Mum, who offered her money to get her through the next 6 months, Amy decided no Covid wasn’t going to take away her business.

She then learned everything she could about taking her business online, and that’s how our paths crossed in 2021 during a live round of my free Business Breakthrough Training. We’ve been working together inside my business coaching membership online business collective for over a year and nearly as long working 1-2-1 together.

Amy now mentors other yoga teachers on how to have profitable yoga businesses they’re proud of and has a successful online yoga business and an enviable easy way of doing her marketing and making sales. 

She’s a true inspiration, have a listen. 

Key takeaways from this episode

• Take advantage of the many things you can access and learn through the different online platforms.
  
• There should always be a fair value exchange for what you’re doing. 
  
• Lead the way in asking the right price and refrain from copying others’ service rates.
  
• If you’re not charging enough, you’re also not insuring commitment.
  
• Learn the seasonal rhythm of your business and plan for it well.
  
• Turn the spotlight away from you and turn it to the people who seek your service.
  
• We often beat ourselves up for being human but remember we’re doing our best to help and serve.
• Investing in yourself changes your attitude; It makes you feel more accountable.
  
• Aside from the support you are getting from your family, get yourself in a community of people who do the same business and experts in your field too.
  
• You are the one who makes the rules in your business.
  
• There are a lot of tactics to sell, and you have to be human behind these tactics.
  
• Make offers, make money. Always make an offer after telling people how you can help them.
  

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Intro

01:05 Episode Guest: Amy Jones

02:03 How Amy ended up with her business

03:23 How Amy’s business is operating today

05:03 How she overcomes her tech fears

06:38 On being a generator and taking actions

09:34 Why Amy is passionate about teaching yoga teachers

12:29 The challenging part of the business and the right mindset to overcome it

17:08 Asking the right price to keep the business going

20:00 Amy’s best bit of advice on money mindset

24:57 Joining the Business Collective and the importance of getting into a community of people in the same business

35:51 The right thinking around launching and using online platforms for the launch

38:32 Making the Rules in your business

40:50 How to be human behind the selling tactics you do

42:33 How to connect with Amy

43:58 Amy’s advice on selling more and making time for revenue-generating activities

46:32 Outro

How to connect with Amy Jones:

Website: www.amy-yoga.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyyoga.teacher.trainer/

Podcast: Prosperous Yogini

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/prosperous-yogini/id1627989066

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/244DbI7trXPlLePjJDBMoI 

Connect with Nina Gordon: https://ninajgordon.com/

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Unclear boundaries attract the wrong clients. When you start to work better around your value, your ideal clients will be ready to work with you. This will save a lot of your time and resources in the long run.

In this episode, Ruth talks about how much you should give away for free and how you should decide on what is worth it. She shares her experience with setting up clear boundaries and finding the right clients for her business. 

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode

• Work around your value, have clear boundaries, and be open to updating and revising them as your business evolves.
• Networking and talking to people give insights into who your ideal clients are, what they need, and what they are looking for.
• You have to try and experience things for yourself to decide what is right for you.
• Sometimes saying no means you set boundaries so people know they can't pick your brain for free, waste your time, and have lots of coffee chats with you.
• Saying yes to doing something for free can also get you in front of someone else’s audience.
• Many people find giving things for free rewarding.  
• No one strategy works for everyone. It is up to you to decide if something is worth it. 
• To best decide on which strategy will work for you, you have to look at what stage you are in your business and what you’re trying to achieve.

Episode Timeline:

00:00 Intro

00:17 Podcast Intro

01:20 Today’s Episode

02:26 How Ruth started setting boundaries in her business

04:56 Finding the right people to work with

06:28 Getting insights and research for valuable content while talking to people

08:36 Should you do paid webinars and challenges to launch your next course?

10:20 When does doing things for free work?

11:31 Ruth’s audiences’ thoughts on working for free

13:28 Deciding on a fair value exchange

14:28 Never undercharge again

15:12 Outro

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Two reasons you should set up your business in maintenance mode: The fact that life throws unexpected things, and the need for creativity and freedom to do other things to scale your business.

In this episode, Ruth Gilbey talks about running your business in maintenance mode. She shares a useful guide on how to set up your business and some of the useful tools you need for it. 

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

• It’s important as business owners to have white space in your calendar for creativity and a business that doesn’t rely on you so you can have the freedom to do other things 
• A lot happens to us and we have to keep showing up in our business even when we don't feel like it. So having this robust kind of infrastructure in your business gives you some peace of mind.
• Don’t make any drastic decisions and remember that most emotions are temporary.
  

Some Automation Tools You Need for Your Business:

1. Social Media Scheduling Tool - allows one to plan, manage, and recycle content. It’s somewhere to also store all your content and can be easily used in a team for collaboration. (e.g. MeetEdgar, Buffer, HootSuite, Planoly, Social Bee, ContentCal, and Metrical) 

2. E-mail Marketing Tool - sends a regular e-mail newsletter and podcast updates. This can also set up automation for new subscribers, sales funnels, new customers or clients, cancellations, follow-ups, and more. (e.g. MailChimp, Active Campaign, and Kajabi)

3. Google Doc of templates that are used if you need a personal touch on your e-mails.

4. Click Up and Slack - used for collaborating with team members.

5. Zapier - helps different tools talk to each other.

6. Payment Plan Subscriptions - used to set up payments so you’re not chasing up payments. (e.g. PayPal, Stripe, and Kajabi Checkout.)

7. Brand Guidelines and Assets Documents

8. CRM for Managing Clients

9. Tools for Personal Stuff

10. E-mail Organisation Automation - helps organise the e-mails that come to your inbox into different folders.

Guidelines on Running Your Business in Maintenance Mode:

1. Make a priority list of what you need to do and be brutal if you’ve got a short amount of time.

2. Communicate. Notify contractors and clients if things are changing.

3. Recycle your marketing content and do not just create more and more.

4. Look at automation and scheduling tools.

5. Look at your expenses and financial commitments.

6. Give yourself what you need.

7. Batch things such as recording podcasts, writing e-mails, and creating content.

8. Set boundaries.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Podcast Intro

01:08 Episode Intro

01:30 How automation and systems transform businesses

04:35 Some tools you can use for setting up your business in maintenance mode

11:45 Having some peace of mind in your business when a lot of unexpected things happen

12:42 What made Ruth change the way she runs her business

13:24 The processes that Ruth went through

14:00 Having an extended period of time before making a big decision

15:52 What you need to do to run your business in maintenance mode.

20:52 Recap

21:39 Ruth’s advice to you

22:19 Outro

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Signing up for and contributing to a business bundle can be an amazing opportunity to try something new, learn from other people, and even make money. If done right, it’s overall a rewarding experience.

In this episode, Ruth Gilbey reviews and reflects on the 5 things that she learned from contributing to Elizabeth Goddard’s Christmas Party Goodie Bag Bundle. She also shares 3 things to remember when signing up for these business bundles.

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

A business course bundle is a collection of digital products from different contributors. You either sign up for free for a bundle of things in exchange for your email address or you could pay a low-cost paid option for one.

5 Things I Learned from Contributing to Elizabeth Goddard’s Christmas Party Goodie Bundle: 

1. It is a great way of building your list without using ads.

2. You can make money from contributing something even though you’re giving away something free. 

3. You get an amazing behind-the-scenes experience.

4. It’s good to try things out and experiment. It’s an interesting and rewarding experience.

5. It’s an incredible opportunity to learn how other people do things and to get inspiration from them.

Some Things to Remember When Signing Up for Business Bundles:

1. Be open to different ways of growing your list.

2. Avoid sign-up overwhelm.

3. Remember there’s a value exchange when you get something for free.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Podcast Intro

01:08 Episode Intro

01:58 What a business course bundle is

03:27 What Ruth contributed to the collection

04:06 A great way of building a list without using ads

04:41 Earning while contributing something for free

05:47 An amazing behind-the-scene experience

06:43 Trying things out and experimenting

07:26 Getting inspiration from other people

08:00 Ruth’s advice

10:35 Outro

To learn about being a Bundle Contributor or hosting your business bundle, look at Lizzy’s Summits and Bundles Success course.

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Feeling sad and unmotivated about your business is a real thing. The many toxic positivities out there do not help business owners normalise the ups and downs of having a business. What we need to do is to accept these feelings, face them, and plan our next step.

In this episode, Ruth Gilbey shares 5 practical steps to help you reflect and get your motivation back if you’ve fallen out of love with your business.

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

5 Practical Steps to Do if You’re Feeling Unmotivated:

1. Don’t make rash decisions based on temporary emotions but equally, don’t stay stuck. Make sure there's nothing else going on, like literally being tired!  Overwhelming and burnout is s the real thing.  
2. Take a break or get a change of scenery and have a good night’s sleep. Take some time out and revisit the problem. This works for all issues, not just falling out of love with your business!
3. Get curious. Dig deeper into why you might have fallen out of love with what you’re doing.
4. Give yourself permission to change your mind or evolve your business. Know that it's ok to change what you're doing but do it on your terms and your time frame.
5. Find the right person to talk things through. This isn't always a family member but someone who will understand you and what you’re doing.

Episode Timeline:

00:00 Podcast Intro

01:08 Episode Intro

01:50 Toxic positivity in the world of business

02:17 Not loving every single thing about your business

03:36 Temporary emotions

04:57 Flexing your time to make it work for you and your energy

04:57 Taking a break

05:35 Getting curious

06:06 Giving yourself permission to change your mind

06:53 Finding the right person to talk to

08:22 Episode recap

09:50 Outro

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Should you use your own name for your business? You don’t want to be stuck in thinking and procrastinating over the perfect name for your business. Thus, naming your business after your name might be helpful to get going. However, there are opposing views on this matter. 

In this episode, Ruth Gilbey tackles one of the most frequently asked questions in her social media accounts: Should you use your own name for your business? She shares the pros and cons of using your name as a brand to help you decide on what you should name your business. 

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

Using your own name means you are developing a personal brand. Whereas if you create a business name, you’re building a brand and a company that’s bigger than just you.

Pros and Cons of Using your Name as your Brand:

PROS:

1. Quicker to get going
2. Quicker decision-making
3. Quicker to get traction
4. Quicker to get engagements
5. Quicker to get clients
6. Quicker to create that know, like, and trust with people

CONS:

1. Quite difficult to sell a personal brand to another company
2. Harder to raise finance to expand
3. Harder to exit for someone else to run the business
4. Harder to outsource certain parts of your business (social media or marketing) because you are the face of your business

Episode Timeline:

00:00 Episode Intro

00:23 Podcast Intro

01:28 One of the most frequently asked questions 

02:28 Ruth’s usual advice when naming a business

03:03 Why Ruth came up with her business name

04:27 How Ruth’s business evolved since 2009

05:51 Pros and cons of creating your personal brand

07:28 The conclusion

07:52 Outro

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

In this episode, Ruth interviews Diane Houston. She shares how she started her business journey, the biggest challenges, and the hardest decisions she had to make in this journey. She also shares some practical advice for people who wants to start their business.

If you are thinking of starting something and an opportunity comes, the first decision that you have to make is to step out and go for it. It will always be better to make a mistake, learn from it, make a pivot, and continue to grow than to never take the first step at all.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Make sure that all the decisions you make are your decisions.
• You will learn from things you do well and things you do not do well.
• First impressions usually tend to be right.
• If you are a solopreneur or just starting your business, one of the first hires should always be your right hand.
• Build habits and do positive things no matter what happens in the world.
• Read everything you can get your hands on.
• Make sure that you are everywhere, whether it's online and store, marketplaces, or direct selling mixture.
• Look after yourself first.
• Have something you can rely on, a favorite podcast, a good friend, or a book that you keep going back to.
• You have to keep being level-headed and you have to be open to all the opportunities that are coming to you.
• Be mindful of what you are consuming
• Communicating your brand story is the most important thing you can do in times like this

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Podcast Intro

01:09 Episode Intro

01:45 Who Diane Houston is and what she does

02:52 What lead Diane to the business she has today

06:29 Diane’s advice for people who want to start a new business journey 

07:42 The biggest challenges with Diane’s business journey

11:12 What it’s like to work with friends and family

12:22 Diane’s advice for people with what’s currently going on in the economy

15:23 Marketing channels that work for Diane’s business

16:45 How to connect with Diane

17:25 Outro

Connect with Diane Houston here:

Website: https://www.gildapearl.co.uk 

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

VAT registration can be a bit overwhelming but knowing its practicalities and planning out things well can give you the peace of mind and relief to take the next steps necessary for your business growth and success.

In this episode, Ruth Gilbey talks about the top tips on planning to become VAT registered, the logistics around being VAT registered, how you plan for being VAT registered, the mindset shifts, and the realities around what it means to be VAT registered as a business owner.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• You need to register for VAT if your turnover is 85k or more in any rolling 12 months.
• You don't have to wait until you are at the 85k turnover mark to register to be VAT registered, you can do a bit more planning and take more control of the situation. You can register at any time, you don't have to have hit that mark.
• Set yourself up as a limited company, get yourself an accountant, and get VAT registered. 
• It's a little bit more complex than being a sole trader or self-employed.
• When you move from being a sole trader, freelancer, or self-employed to being a limited company, the VAT allowance resets itself.
• You can claim back VAT and offset it against your VAT bill if anyone you've invoiced is VAT registered.
• List all your suppliers and all your outgoings and identify which ones were VAT registered. 
• This is also a good chance to audit your business expenses.
• Update your website to have your VAT registration details on all your checkout pages, invoices, and account system.
• Remind yourself that paying taxes is a good thing. 
• Being VAT registered will give you relief to take action in your business.
• Give your clients notice if you’re planning for a price increase.
• There needs to be more transparency with business coaches and business owners about the running costs of your business.
• Be careful aspiring to revenue promises that don't give you the real data behind them.
• A 20% profit margin in your business is seen as a good profit.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Episode Intro

00:28 Podcast Intro

05:16 When should you register for VAT?

06:44 Setting yourself up as a limited company 

07:50 Getting help from an accountant

09:17 VAT allowance reset when transitioning into a limited company

10:55 Claiming your VAT if you invoiced anyone who is VAT registered

11:43 How Ruth planned for becoming VAT registered

13:04 Identifying who your VAT-registered clients, suppliers, and outgoings are

15:03 How being VAT registered shifted Ruth’s mindset

16:06 What to remind ourselves about paying taxes

16:52 Not holding yourself up and taking more actions in your business

17:27 Planning for a price increase and giving notice to clients

18:44 Transparency with business coaches and owners about your running costs

24:00 Outro

Workbook Link:

Set Your Secret Base Rate - https://www.ruthgilbey.com/base-rate-workbook

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

What makes business harder is our mindset that it should be hard. We overcomplicate things so much that it delays our actions to get the things that we want for our business. However, if we decide to make things simple, it is going to be simple.

In this episode, Michelle Vroom talks about why we are making things in our business difficult and how we can simplify them. She also shares the power of one strategy and one offer and some tips on how you can make success and find clients through your Facebook group.

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Women resist doing business because they've been programmed to believe that it needs to be hard.
• We are very much wired o expect instant gratification and results in a world where it is praised which results in overcomplicating things.
• Be aware of the reason why you want things to be hard in your business and redirect it.
• It is more efficient and productive to have just one offer, one ideal client, one message, one strategy, and one platform.
• Many people are complicating things by creating more and more offers and strategies and it's taking up so much of their time and energy.
• The secret code and formula are within you. You are the code and the formula.
• The 3 objectives of destination events in a Facebook Group: To grow, to pre-sell, and to sell.
• There will always be a need for Facebook and a need for people to be in a community with one another.
• One strategy can work if you decide that it is going to work.
• Simplicity starts with a decision to let something be simple even though that's going to be the most challenging part about it.
• There are different phases and seasons to business and you don't need everything for your business in one season.
• Relationships are what's going to lead to clients.

Episode Timeline:

00:00 Episode Intro

00:45 Podcast Intro

02:06 Who Michelle Vroom is and who she helps

03:08 How Michelle ended up with the business that she has today

05:13 Why do some women overcomplicate doing business

06:22 Our expectations of instant gratification and results

07:31 Undoing the pattern of overcomplicating things and delaying actions

08:53 Michelle's passion to help women feel more empowered

10:32 The first steps to simplify getting clients

13:35 The power of one strategy and the objectives of  destination events

17:32 The importance of your ability to build relationships with people

19:28 What makes a strategy work

22:04 The advice Michelle wishes she'd been given when she started her business

24:18 How to find more about Michelle Vroom

25:07 Outro

Connect with Michelle Vroom here:

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/marketlikeabossgroup 

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

You’ve set up your email marketing tech and started emailing your list… now what?

List building and email marketing end up way down on business owners' list of priorities.

I was thinking about how I’m often trying to persuade people that prioritising list building is a good idea, but instead, why don't I show you how you can make money from it? Then that’s much more of an incentive to get going right or finally take it seriously.

In this episode, I talk about The 3 Ways You Can start monetising your list today without a big fancy funnel and loads of tech.

This episode was inspired by a conversation and some longer training inside my ongoing coaching programme, The Online Business Collective.

Key takeaways from this episode:

Fads will come and go but e-mail marketing is always there.

Whenever you're doing something in your business, you need a goal. You need to know why you're doing it.

There isn't just one way of running your business. There are multiple ways.

Having an e-mail list is a tried and tested thing that has been working for many years. 

It's important to upgrade your marketing mindset. Start selling in every e-mail.

If you start right from the beginning of talking about your offers in your e-mails, people won't be surprised or offended.

It's possible to add value and be helpful whilst having a very transparent and authentic call to action to sell in your e-mail.

Share your tips and stories and then relate them to something that you sell.

Add a super signature to the bottom of your e-mails.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Podcast Intro

01:10 Episode Intro

02:18 The question from Ruth’s coaching program that inspired the episode

07:24 Upgrading your marketing mindset and selling in every e-mail

10:58 Sharing tips and stories relevant to your offer

13:51 Adding a super signature to the bottom of your e-mail

15:00 Different ways of writing your super signature

16:09 Recap

17:27 Outro

Download here:

8 Ways to Nail the Sale: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/8-steps-to-nail-the-sale 

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Writing a book might be a very difficult task especially when starting it. There comes a time when procrastination and impostor syndrome comes. Thinking about the people that need to hear your voice and committing to writing could be great ways to combat these. It will open up a lot of opportunities you did not even expect.

In this episode, Steph Caswell talks about how she moved from being a deputy head to an author of six books, including her latest book, Dare to Write. She also talks about how a book can help your business and what you should do if you're procrastinating around writing a book or if impostor syndrome comes up.

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

• You write the book that's inside you and you can't predict what book is going to come next.
• Writing a book for business becomes a part of your business model and your marketing strategy.
• Writing a book opens up many opportunities that you probably would never even think about.
• If people want to get to know you but don't necessarily want to buy your program, starting with a book is a nice way of introducing yourself to them.
• There's no sort of waiting for the muse to take you. It's sitting in the chair and committing to writing regularly.
• If you can commit to writing even just 300-500 words every day that is going to build into a book.
• If you are having that impostor syndrome, look at the books that you've got and you'll find that there are so many that are all under the same thing in the same sort of theme. There are so many ways you can say something, but it's the way you say it that matters.
• If you got people that want to hear from you, they're going to want to hear your take on that particular topic even though they've got loads of other books on their shelves.
• Over researching is procrastination in disguise.
• Have a plan but don't be held rigid to it.
• Things always come up and opportunities present themselves in a way that you can't even foresee.

Episode Timeline:

00:00 Episode Intro

00:40 Podcast Intro

02:05 Who Steph Caswell is and who she helps

03:05 How Steph ended up with the business that she has today

05:22 What Steph learned from the process of shifting into her business

06:25 About Steph’s books

09:30 What drove Steph to start writing

11:15 Why are books good for someone’s business

12:54 Steph’s advice on getting started with writing

14:59 What to do when Impostor Syndrome comes

17:57 A take on over researching before writing

19:34 Steph’s advice on starting a business or a freelance work

21:21 Listening to your intuition

24:40 How to find more about Steph Caswell

25:40 Outro

Connect with Steph Caswell here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creatinghappywriters 

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/stephcaswell 

Get her books here:

Website: https://www.creatinghappywriters.com 

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

I have lived through quite a few recessions, economic downturns, and pandemics (still can’t believe I can now add pandemic to the list). As difficult as recessions are, experiencing them and learning from them has helped me make better business decisions and stay the course when I feel like giving up.

Economic downturns, recessions, and pandemics have shaped the business I have today—a business with multiple income streams that don't all rely on trading time for money.

In this podcast episode, I share what keeps me going and what practical things you can do to survive and even thrive during a recession, because emails and podcasts like this have helped me and I want to help you right now.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The inaction we take doesn't create any action. 
• There's always something positive out of a difficult time and we don't know what we don't know.
• Recessions are inevitable. They are part of our economic cycle but we will get through them.
• Recessions are awful but also offer important economic benefits.
• It's a human need to contribute. It's a balancing act of supporting others whilst looking after your own needs as well.
• Feeling guilty about making money in your business does not help anyone.
• The more you earn, the more you can contribute and help others.
• Panic is very human and normal, but equally, by understanding it, normalizing it, and becoming self-aware, we can adapt and build resilience.
• Make decisions when you are in a logical state of mind, not emotional.
• Reduce your news consumption. Stay informed but don't overconsume.
• Get advice from reputable sources.
• Gather data and information. It is important to review and understand your finances, results, and data.
• This is not a time to bury your head in the sand; This is a time to be informed.

Practical steps you can implement to protect your business:

1. Reassess your monthly budget and assess what your business needs to still run and still grow.
2. Maintain your marketing efforts
3. Upgrade, update, and reevaluate who you do your business with, who your client is, and what your niche is.
4. Research recession-proof businesses.
5. Be smarter with what you invest in.
6. Re-evaluate and revamp your offers and services.
7. Upgrade and get your support. You aren't supposed to do everything alone as a business.
8. Protect your business. 

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Podcast Intro

01:05 Episode Intro

02:14 Some quotes that will help reframe what’s going on at the moment

04:08 The 2008 credit crunch experience for Ruth

07:10 Recessions as inevitable parts of our economic cycle

10:21 The balancing act of supporting others while looking after your own needs

12:34 Our behavior during a recession and how we can do better

13:41 Making decisions in a logical state of mind

19:52 Practical steps you can implement to protect your business

20:29 Reassessing your monthly budget

20:40 Maintain your marketing efforts

21:34 Upgrading, updating, and reevaluating who you do your business with

22:59 Researching recession-proof businesses.

23:58 Being smarter with what you invest in.

24:53 Re-evaluating your offers and services.

25:39 Getting your support

26:09 Protecting your business. 

27:09 Recap of the practical steps you can implement to protect your business at any point

28:55 Outro

Links:

Protect your business

• Get insurance. There are many different types of insurance out there, depending on what kind of business you have or whether you are a limited company or freelancer. Ask around for recommendations depending on your sector and industry.  I have insurance with Dinghy if you sign up to Dinghy using this link https://getdinghy.com/deck/members/rg-8885  we both get a £15 amazon voucher.
• Have up-to-date contracts. There are many different types of Legal support and contracts out there, depending on what kind of business you have or whether you are a limited company or freelancer. Ask around for recommendations depending on your sector and industry. I use Koffeeklatch contracts. Koffeeklatch helps micro-businesses thrive and become more profitable. Koffeeklatch contracts and courses can be found here (I'm an affiliate because I think what Annabel and Koffeeklatch do is fab and as you know I'm only an affiliate for things I love and use myself). 

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

The best way to network is to do it authentically. In the process of meeting new people and finding a way to help them, we are creating a network without realising it. When we do networking freely, we find more people we are aligned with and that’s how we find our tribe.

In this episode, Shona Chambers, a freelance marketing consultant, talks about the importance of finding your tribe. You will learn tips on how you can create a network authentically and how you can find opportunities with your network naturally.

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

• We all have a natural network. There are always going to be people who are already more attuned to the direction that you're going in.
• If you meet somebody, think about what they are looking for and how you can help them in a gentle process.
• There are two kinds of people, the ones that want to be out there with others and the ones that don't.
• Collaborations don't have to be necessarily about making money together, it can be about how you can grow your audience together or find new people that you would not find alone.
• Understand yourself as a social creature and think about whether you want to be bound to recommending certain people for positions when they come up or you want to be free to network with people you find yourself more aligned with.
• Just try to be a nice person to help others.
• Figure out how you can do something a little bit first before you go full into it.
• Nowadays, there's no such thing as a job for life. Whether you stay in an industry for life is another thing, but having multiple ways of paying your bills is a good idea.

Episode Timeline:

00:00 Episode Intro

00:38 Podcast Intro

02:30 About Shona Chambers

03:59 How Shona ended up with her current business

07:12 How Shona got her first clients

11:17 Doing collaborations with other people

13:40 Networking online

14:35 Gravitating towards authentic networking and finding opportunities through it

15:43 How Shona found her tribe when she went freelance

17:09 Networking by just trying to help others

18:40 Shona’s advice for people who are thinking of going freelance or starting a new business

20:17 How to find more about Shona Chambers

--- Outro

Connect with Shona and download her book here:

Website:https://www.shonachambersmarketing.co.uk 

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/marketing-tips-small-business-owners-ebook/dp/B08J4JPZK9 

Book Recommendation: The Multi-hyphen Method by Emma Gannon

https://www.emmagannon.co.uk 

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free stuff: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/next-client

Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

It is so important to take care of ourselves while scaling our business, ye so much of the time looking after yourself goes to the bottom of the pile. It will be easier to do when you reflect on the expectations you put on yourself, set boundaries, and find that work-life rhythm you need in your lives.

In this episode, Rachel Martin talks about the business she has today and her realisations along the process. She also shares great tips on how to look out for yourself whilst scaling your business and how you can cope with the current recession we are all going through right now.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Doing your tax returns yourself is often like walking through airport security; You know you've not done anything wrong, but you still feel a bit sweaty, and you don't want to be picked on.
• Boundaries are the only way to put things in place to protect yourself.
• You have to find a work-life rhythm rather than a work-life balance.
• Push back on these expectations that you're putting on yourself, like reframe it, reword it, is it work-life balance, or is it work-life rhythm?
• We are real people outside these businesses, we have a real life.
• Be clear on your goals.
• Have flexible goals and flexible targets rather than fixed targets 
• Nobody gets to 100 overnight. It's one every single day.
• We are the person we have to spend the most amount of time with and so we are the most important person to put boundaries in place with.
• It's very easy to agree to things when they're not happening to you right now.
• You have to serve yourself because nobody else is serving you.
• We can take everything that we learned from the pandemic and apply it to a recession.
• Tax planning is a huge part of every part of the business.
• Financial anxiety is caused by uncertainty.
• Enjoy the process and do not be afraid to ask for help.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Intro

01:09 Episode Intro

01:32 About Rachel Martin and what she does

02:39 How Rachel ended up with her current business

05:19 Some bits of Rachel’s business

06:41 How to scale your business while still looking out for yourself

12:41 Putting boundaries

17:40 Rachel’s advice for business owners during this time of recession

20:03 Looking after your mental health during the recession

22:50 The advice Rachel wished she received when she started her business

26:14 How to find more about Rachel

27:15 Outro

Connect with Rachel Martin here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accountant_she

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/accountantshe 

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

It is not easy to be visible and to put oneself out there for the people. However, when you think about your purpose of serving these people and that you have something to share, things become easier. You may think that what you have is so small and simple but it is exactly what other people need to take a step ahead. When you give up on your purpose, you’ll never know how close you are to making things happen.

In this episode, Ruth interviews Tami Abonga about what’s working on Pinterest in 2022. She also shares some great advice on starting or launching your own business online and overcoming the struggles of going out there and being visible to serve the people.

Listen and Enjoy!

Key takeaways from this episode:

• If you have that mindset of serving, it will be easier for you to go out there and be visible.
• Even if you are two steps ahead of the person you are trying to help, that is more than enough to help them because you have something that can help them get two steps ahead.
• Pinterest works like a search engine so you have to think of what your target audience would be searching for. Find the keywords and use them in your content on Pinterest.
• If you are thinking about using Pinterest, the best time is now,  so that in six months or three months, you've already built that momentum and you started to build an audience on Pinterest as well.
• Create blog posts, have the call to action, and pin them to Pinterest. 
• It's good to have a separate landing page for whatever lead magnet you've got.
• Make sure that you are not just pinning the same thing over and over again instead, you should curate a feed of helpful content for your ideal audience.
• Start small, be around other people who are doing the same thing as you, and just go for the business you want to do.
• The whole point of being in business is to help people and to enjoy doing it.
• When you give up, you'll never know how close you are to finally making things happen.
• Focus on where you are and how you can help people while you build yourself up.

Episode Timeline:

00:00 Episode Intro

00:41 Intro

02:03 About Tami Abonga

02:32 What led Tami to her business today

06:40 How Tami overcomes the struggles of going online and talking to people

09:26 Tami’s advice on using Pinterest for business

10:50 How to find the keywords to use for your content

12:10 The best time to start using Pinterest for business

13:02 Getting leads from Pinterest

14:57 How Pinterest changed over the last few years

17:56 Tami’s advice for people who are starting a new business

22:07 Where to find more about Tami

Connect with Tami Abonga here:

Website: https://www.freshpinstudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshpinstudio

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free Masterclass: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Everyday tasks can be very overwhelming, especially for moms and business owners. However, creating a system in prioritizing and organizing can be a big help to save time and make time for the things that you need to accomplish every day.

In this episode, I interview Heather Greco from Chaos and Cookies. She shares the things you need to do to keep your family and your business in a routine. This episode is full of some great hacks and tips to help you get organized in life, family, and business. 

Have a listen.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Being granular with your time management is a very big deal.
• Be proactive and not reactive.
• Sectioning clothes and the ingredients for meal preparations saves a lot of time.
• Having organization bins all across the house helps kids understand that there's something that needs to be done without you asking.
• Creating systems makes things easy because it's just something you do naturally.
• You can digitize your papers, organize them in albums, and throw them away.
• You do have time; You just have to figure out what you want to make time for.
• Give yourself, each day, three non-negotiable things that you will make time for. 
• Writing your accomplishments at the end of each day is great for the brain.
• Don't overwhelm yourself and don't set too many deadlines close together.
• A business is not a delivery service, and you have to put in the work and the time to build it, for it to deliver what you want.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Episode Intro

00:21 Intro

02:02 About Heather Greco

03:00 How Heather ended up with her current business

04:55 How Heather applies what she teaches others in her life

06:18 Time management

08:10 Tips on organizing clothes and meal preparations

12:37 Delegating tasks

19:46 Heather’s advice to moms who say that they don’t have time

24:08 Heather’s advice to people starting their business

27:33 How to find more about Heather

27:57 Outro

Our Guest:

Heather Greco is an Efficiency Expert. As a busy mom of three and the founder of Chaos n’ Cookies, Heather’s main objective is keeping moms from crumbling. After gaining 10+ years of experience as a Director of Marketing helping build multiple 6 & 7-figure businesses for other women, Heather has created the Chaos Control System to equip moms to overcome their objections so they can live the life they want to live and start that business they have always wanted. The Family Playbook, or standard operating procedure, is the tool every mama needs to save time and stress-less when chaos ensues at home.

Heather also helps new business owners to simplify systems on social media and other business platforms to automate processes to get their business up and running quickly and efficiently with how-to tutorials and hands-on coaching. Heather has helped hundreds of women to be more productive and self-sufficient in their homes and businesses allowing them to reclaim control of the chaos.

Connect with Heather Greco here:

Website: https://chaosncookies.com

Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/theheathergreco

https://www.instagram.com/chaosncookies/

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free stuff: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Most of us are programmed to focus on making improvements for our weaknesses that we tend to forget to value what we are good at and what we love doing. What we think is productive can sometimes make us too exhausted and that holds us back from succeeding.

In this episode, Louise Miller talks about compassionate, sustainable productivity and its five pillars. She also shares her experiences and some advice for people who are starting and growing their businesses.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Productivity is about doing what's important, as efficiently as you can or as effectively as you can, to create space for what you love.
• When we take a break our brain can still process things in the background and come up with all the creative solutions to problems.
• When starting a business, a sustainable approach is to first know about yourself and to pay attention to what feels right for you.
• Give yourself space to think and plan when you are growing your business.
• Think about the freedom that getting help is going to give you and how you can then get playful and creative and do incredible things.
  
  

The Five Pillars of Compassionate, Sustainable Productivity

1. Vision

Having a vision is an important starting point to knowing what is important.

2. Goals

The goals you set should be aligned with your visions and should motivate you.

3. Organization and Planning

You should make sure that you have plans that will move you in the direction of your goals.

 4. Awareness

You should pay attention to how we are using our resources to get stuff done.

5. Habits

Building supportive habits will set you up for success.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Intro

01:22 Episode Intro

01:48 What help Louise Miller offers to business owners

03:00 How Louise ended up in her business

06:39 The society’s idea of success

08:04 Louise’s definition of compassionate, sustainable productivity

09:31 The five pillars of compassionate, sustainable productivity.

15:12 Valuing the things that we love doing

18:30 The overwhelming idea of having too many ideas

19:16 Planning in a flexible way

21:15 Advice for starting business owners.

22:34 Advice for people who are growing their business.

24:48 Give yourself permission to get help. 

25:38 How to find more bout Louis.

26:21 Outro

About Our Guest:

Louise Miller is the woman behind bettylouonline.com. She works with busy, successful business owners who want to run a fulfilling business without burning out. She helps them to get stuff done with less stress and more ease, so they can create space for the things they love. 

Connect with Louise Miller here:

Website: https://www.bettylouonline.com

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/louisemiller-bettylou

Workbook: https://www.bettylouonline.com/inspiringwomen

Book Recommendation: Be A Free Range Human by Marianne Cantwell

https://www.beafreerangehuman.com

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free stuff: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/the-sold-out-solution-2022 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/    

If we have the ability to do everything, there will not be a journey and there will not be a story.  However, if we permit ourselves to fail, that is experience and that is life.

In this episode, Ruth Gilbey discusses imposter syndrome, how to overcome it, and grow in confidence. It is a popular topic because many people suffer from it. Ruth will share four steps to combat this.

Listen up and learn!

Key takeaways from this episode:

• 85%of people suffer from imposter syndrome.
• There is no shame in suffering from imposter syndrome.
• Imposter syndrome could be a sign that you are pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone.
• The more you do something, the less imposter syndrome you will feel.
• Be honest about what you don’t know.
• We can't be good at everything or know everything we learn and unlearn all the time.
• Think about the people who need your help.
• Permit yourself to learn by failing.
• Success is about a series of failures a lot of the time.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Intro

01:09 Episode Intro

01:45 The percentage of people who suffer from imposter syndrome.

02:20 What is imposter syndrome?

03:20 Famous women who suffer from imposter syndrome.

04:45 What made Ruth realize that she is suffering from imposter syndrome.

06:31 Imposter syndrome as a sign of leveling up.

06:31 Imposter syndrome is natural and human.

07:41 Being honest about where you currently are.

08:07 Focusing on who you can help.

09:12 Permitting yourself to fail.

09:34 The lesson that Ruth learned being a converted perfectionist.

10:17 Recap

11:09 Outro

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free stuff: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/next-client

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/

Pretty much anyone can start a membership business, but what does it really take to start? Also, knowing that there’s a lot of memberships and competition out there, what would be the key to having a successful one? 

In this episode, Callie Willows of The Membership Geeks talks about how she ended up with the business that she is doing now. She will also give a lot of advice on having a successful membership business from starting it to retaining it as it evolves through the years.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Anyone can start a membership, but whether everyone should is another matter. 
• Memberships are more of a slow build, and you need to be in it for the long haul and committed to that. So it's a marathon, not a sprint.
• Anybody can start a membership but you need to go into it with the right mindset, the right idea, and the right kind of approach to what you're going to be offering.
• You don't need a big audience, but you do need an audience, you need somebody that you are going to launch to.
• The smaller your audience is, the more realistic you need to be about the kind of numbers that you're going to get and the growth you're going to get from the start.
• People join memberships more for convenience because they can get everything in one place and they can be more guaranteed of a result and extra support.
• It isn't just about the content; It's about helping someone get success and support getting there.
• There's always going to be competition for anything, so the key to having a successful membership, even if it is a saturated market, is to work out what your thing is.
• Memberships evolve over time so start as simple as possible.
• You can't have a successful membership if you're focusing only on getting new members in, you've got to go into it being passionate about actually supporting people, helping people get results, and providing the best membership experience possible.
• There are 100 different pathways to success and you need to do what lights you up and what makes your tail wag.

Episode Timeline:

00:04 Intro

01:32 Episode Intro

02:05 About Callie Willows' business

02:47 How Callie ended up with the business that she has today.

07:27 Callie's work with her business partner.

08:33 Who is right and not right for a membership.

10:31 The need for an audience to start a membership.

11:50 What to give away for free in the membership.

15:29 The competition in the industry of memberships.

17:09 Callie's advice about starting a membership.

19:27 Advice to someone who is a new business owner.

20:47 How can people find Callie and The Membership Geeks.

21:21 Outro

About our guest:

Callie Willows is the Co-Founder of the Membership Geeks together with her partner, Mike Morrison. She began her entrepreneurship journey when she was 19 years old and she created her first membership site for her first business. This led her to help people create their own membership sites and eventually started the Membership Academy.

Connect and know more about  Callie and her business here:

https://www.membershipgeeks.com

https://www.instagram.com/calliewillows

More about Ruth:

Hi, I’m Ruth, a business coach specializing in helping freelancers and business owners adjust their mindset and their marketing so they can get fully booked with clients they LOVE to work with. I’ve helped hundreds of self-employed women achieve the time and money freedom they craved.

I’ve started this podcast because when I first went all in and left the corporate world to be a freelancer, I was grateful for any work that came my way. After over 20 years of freelancing and working for other people, I started to realize I’d created a glass ceiling for myself.

In 2017, I finally started listening to that voice that had been telling me for a long time that I wasn’t doing what I loved and fulfilling my true potential.  It took a critical illness to give me that wake-up call.  I don’t want the same to happen to you.

You can expect practical advice, inspiring stories, and a lot of aha moments as we uncover and kick to the curb all the obstacles you have been putting in your way.

I’m on a mission to inspire women to start and play bigger in business.

Connect and know more about Ruth Gilbey here:

Coaching: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/coaching

Free stuff: https://www.ruthgilbey.com/next-client

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruthgilbeymarketingandcoaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruth_gilbey/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthgilbey/