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I Walked Away From a “Perfect” Career… to Build One That Fits Around Life · Work It Like A Mum

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm Elizabeth Willis, and I'm obsessed with helping as many women as possible achieve their boldest dreams after kids and helping you to navigate this messy and magical season of life.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a working mum with over 17 years of recruitment experience, and I'm the founder of the Investing in Women Job Board and Community.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: In this show, I'm honoured to be chatting with remarkable women, redefining our working world across all areas of business.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: They'll share their secrets on how they've achieved extraordinary success after children, their boundaries of balance, the challenges they face, and how they've overcome them.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Shy away from the real talk.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: No way! Money struggles growth, boundaries and balance.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We cover it all.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Think of this as coffee with your mates, mixed with an inspiring TikTok, sprinkled with the career advice you wish you really had at school.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're cozy and get ready to get inspired and chase your oldest dreams or just survive Mondays.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Work It Like a Mum podcast.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: This episode is brought to you by Investing in Women.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Investing in Women is a job board and recruitment agency helping you find your dream part-time or flexible job with the UK's most family-friendly and forward-thinking employers.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Their site can help you find a professional and rewarding job that works for you.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: They're proud to partner with the UK's most family-friendly employers across a range of professional industries.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Ready to find your perfect job?
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Search their website at investinginwomen.co.uk to find your next part-time or flexible job opportunity.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now back to the show.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much, Natasha, for joining me today.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really, really excited to meet with you and learn a little bit more about you, your background, and why you have joined Get Ahead as well as their newest franchisee.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much for um inviting me.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's all right.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, what was it that drew you to the Get Ahead franchise?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I was in a bit of an area where I'd left my corporate life and I didn't really know exactly what was next for me.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it was um it was quite a scary time to be honest.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: I thought I'd left a lot of my the comfort area of the corporate world.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'd I'd done a freelance contract, it was great, but I didn't really feel like it had made enough of a change from what I was leaving behind in the corporate world.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and Rebecca Newenham, who's who's our founder, just seemed to appear on all of my feeds.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um whether it's LinkedIn, Instagram, she was there.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, you know what, actually, let's just schedule a call.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I'm very much drawn to individuals as much as you know the companies.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: And just through having a conversation with her, I just thought, actually, you know what, this just makes a lot of sense in terms of the type of people that I'd be working in, the opportunity to put the skills to use that I'd built up over my corporate time.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, it just from there it just happened.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, what were you doing then back in corporate?
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Talk us through your earlier career.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so um it was insurance for 20 years.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: So um working in the city, I had a number of different roles, always in the commercial space.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I was an underwriter for several years, and then I joined a brilliant business um called Simply Business, where I spent the last 10 years um who are in Insure Tech.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And they're I know them actually.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think they're our business insurers.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: They probably are, yeah.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: They're huge, and they were they were a brilliant um organisation.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: I was there um all the way through having my three children, um, and yeah, they're great organisation.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I was just ready for a change.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so what happened?
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So you left corporate, and then talk us through that period then between leaving corporate and joining gets ahead.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, there were some highs and lows, definitely.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I'd I've made the decision that I was going to leave corporate probably a good two years before I finally did it.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um why did you want to leave corporate?
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know what?
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's a really it's a really tough call because on the face of it, it was perfect.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: I had great flexibility, um, they were an amazing organization, um, really supportive, had great colleagues and also some friends coming out of it.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: But I just had this sort of feeling that there was something that I wasn't quite, you know, getting out of it.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and for me, it was having that ownership over something that was really mine.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I couldn't quite define what that was.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um I knew that it was probably not going to be in an employed role.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, it was it was quite a long process.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but ultimately it was just one that I felt like I had to do.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um and just having that freedom, the flexibility around uh, you know, having the kids at home, yeah, the the usual stuff.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: It just felt like it was it was the right time.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you went into coaching, is that right?
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I did that.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: I did that.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: So the last two years of working in corporate, I was doing a coaching diploma, which was which was fantastic.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, really, really enjoyed it.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and again, it was just sort of trying out, you know, just how does this feel?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: Does it feel like it's something I want to do, you know, going forward?
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: And ultimately it's something I love doing alongside my franchise work.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um wasn't something that I wanted to do permanently.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it again it was just part of that process of trying out a number of different hats and seeing how they fit um going forward.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's really important.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: I like that.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think people get worried about trying on different hats because they worry about what it looks like and worry too much about what other people think.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: But often you have to try, like you say, you have to try on several.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's a bit like um, you know, I'm trying to think, it's not like the Harry Potter, isn't it when they go into the shop and try different ones?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you know what?
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think that was probably my biggest challenge um was that you know, how's that decision going to be perceived and what people are gonna think of it or what why I'm walking away from that corporate career.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: And actually that was probably one of the biggest challenges I had, but I really feel that in order to make such a significant change like that, you've got to try it out and see how it feels.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: You're not going to you're not gonna get it right first time either.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, what was it then that you obviously you'd seen Rebecca on your feed?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I'm guessing you were looking at a few different things as well as get ahead.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: What was it that made Get Ahead stand out?
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so so definitely Rebecca um and the team that she already had in place there.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: As I said, I'm I'm I'm definitely drawn to individuals as well as the the business.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um it just seemed really genuine.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I didn't really know a lot about franchising at all, or I maybe had misconceptions over what it meant to be part of a franchise.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I realised quite quickly that it was the perfect balance of what I was looking for in terms of having that independence and ownership of your own business, but also just this fantastic support network around you as well.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: So just little things, you know, like having the template set up that you needed to have, having you know, a path laid out that you knew where you could get started.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um that was just for me, it took away all the disadvantages of starting up on your own and just having people around you that genuinely want to see you succeed as well.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um which, you know, with that model is is is there.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do GetAhead do in a nutshell for people that might never have heard of us?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: In a nutshell, uh, we're an outsourcing agency, so we work with individuals and small businesses and bigger businesses where they've got something um which they need, which they're not ready to employ for quite often.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: So it could be that you're a small business and you need some marketing support or some PA support, or it could be that you're a larger business and you've got a whole team or a project that needs supporting as well.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: So um our role is to work with that business to work out exactly what it is that they need, and then work with our own in-house um team.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we've got um about 80 freelancers that we're working with across a wide number of different areas and work out exactly the best team support um for the small business.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And how are you finding at the moment?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because obviously, we're recording this in April 2026, and there's been a lot of uncertainty over the past year.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's been obviously the new employer rights bill that's got just come in, uh um increases to NI.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: We've obviously had the war in the Middle East, there's been a lot of uncertainty.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: How are you finding that feeding into like client demand?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously, um small businesses you know often are very, very price sensitive, so um, which is is actually an advantage in some ways because we just aren't ready or you know, just a bit nervous about committing to taking on somebody on a permanent basis.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know they need that support.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, if they want to grow and scale their businesses, they know they're going to need that support.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: So actually, outsourcing has worked really well for them.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um being able to take on somebody for you know fewer hours or on a more flexible basis than they'd be able to take on an employee has actually been brilliant for them.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, and also try different ways of working.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: So it could be that you feel that this is the role that you need, but actually after you've you know explored that for a few months, it's it's something quite different.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and really working with an outsourcing agency enables you to have that flexibility that you wouldn't have if you were taking on somebody on a permanent basis.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I do think it's really like a really clever business model.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that a lot of you know, I'm a small business as well, and we work with freelancers.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I like you say, it definitely feels sort of less risky and you can try things out.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: And whilst your business is growing, it's pivoting and things like that, it definitely works.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think to have people coming in as well on certain projects and things like that.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, definitely.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it's and it's really nice when you're talking to people about it as well, because you don't feel like you're the hard cell, because if someone's in a position where it makes sense for them, it's you know quite it's normally a really positive conversation.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: So talk me through what does your role then look like on a day-to-day basis?
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so everything's very varied.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, no two days are the same.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so networking is a really significant part of the role.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, I had a really great corporate network, but I didn't really have you know that local network when I was starting out, and that is ultimately where the inquiries are coming from.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: So every week I'd either be attending somebody else's networking event or I'll be hosting my own.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um that is um that's a really important part of you know starting out and how we found a lot of our new business.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh new inquiries, so you know, dotted in between there, hopefully, some new inquiries and people that um are interested in having a conversation and then coming out the back of that, you know, proposals and things like that.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, it's really varied, really varied.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: No two days at the same time.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: And what sort of clients do you work?
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: Are they all quite varied or?
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: They're very varied, which again is brilliant because being interested in you know other people's businesses and and and their journeys has been really great.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: So it could be that I'm working at the moment, you know, with a personal trainer who's got um some marketing support they need to, you know, a really large software company, and they need three people to support them for a project that they're working on.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: So that variety um and you know, working with those individuals to work out exactly what it is they need is is like a really positive part of the role.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Really nice.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, obviously, you're quite on the ground at the moment, you're seeing businesses, what they are you know hiring for, whether it's on a freelance or you know, potentially permanent basis.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: What do you what you know, what roles are still hiring?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: What roles do you think?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if someone's listening to this and maybe they're not working and they're thinking I need to change careers, where can you see that you know businesses are still hiring?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, I mean it's across a huge number of areas.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: So um, we're seeing a lot um across business development at the moment.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: So people, they want to scale their small business, but actually the idea of having to be really salesy about about what they're doing just you know just isn't what they want to be doing.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_01: So it's an opportunity to outsource some of that activity.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: It could be doing some of the outbound calls that they did that, you know, isn't really what they're enjoying doing.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: So that's been a really big growth area for us.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, consistently, um, sort of virtual assistant and PA support, office manager support is something that we're always seeing.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_01: So really common um scenario of working with founders and and small businesses that in order for them to scale, they've just they've got to take some of the operations and an admin off of their plate as well.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's really consistent.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then we're always seeing inquiries for marketing across social media, so some works you know, for skills that someone just doesn't you know necessarily feel confident in that area in the in the area that they're working in.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, so it's across a number of areas.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, exciting.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, how what's what's up next for you do you think within Get Ahead?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Where can you see you know you going within the business?
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that is a really good question.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and one that you know I haven't necessarily thought a huge amount about beyond like what's going on now because there's just so much, you know, so much growth opportunity.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's definitely something that can scale.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I realised that really quickly, and something that you know, when I was coming on board, that Rebecca was really keen to stress, and actually it's really true, you know, the more you put into it, the more client inquiries that you have, and the business is growing.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_01: So um definitely there's a really good amount of organic growth there.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I've just launched a new um lifestyle product with Getahead, which is really exciting, um, which I'm hoping to push over the next few months.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, what's that?
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, get ahead has traditionally been working business to business and working with individuals.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I just think there's a huge opportunity for people to have that support that bridges both their business and their personal area as well.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's clean cut as saying you've got your your home and your work life.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, there's a lot of stuff that goes between the two.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: So lifestyle PA, so somebody that's helping you around the house with other things, um, booking a travel, if you've got a big building project going on, um probably oversee that.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, experimenting with bridging that that business to home life.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Nah, I'm John, I would always say if I won the lottery, I'd love like a housekeeper and things like that.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know what?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: My husband says, He's like, This sounds amazing.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Why can't we have that?
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I would love that.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's like things, do you know what?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because that is as time consuming as work, if not more, it's the laundry, it's the cooking, it's the glazing, all that, and it's just exhausting.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, a lot of people are, I guess, they're in a fortunate position where they can afford that help.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you know, and I think there's a lot less um sort of stigma about you know, if accepting that help as well, and I you know, think about if you can if you can outsource it, then then fantastic.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, do you do this full-time then?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: So still part-time at the moment.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I've still got three small children.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, um, that flexibility and being able to pick it up where I can is just absolutely perfect.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Do you work in school hours then, or how old are your children?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, my kids are all school age.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, working predominantly during this the school time, but they're that little bit older now that if something comes up in the evening and it's what I want to do, I can pick it up then as well.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: But that flexibility around, you know, when one of the kids is sick, you know, in the corporate world, you're just like, oh my goodness, like what's gonna happen?
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Not having that has just been so refreshing.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yes, it's still part-time at the moment, but I can really see, you know, take it further.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, definitely.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so a lot of people want to become self-employed or that flexibility.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um what is it do you think that you know puts people off from taking the lead?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um so definitely from my own experience, it was the comfort area of it and put itself out there.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously, you know, the financial planning around it, quite often you have to you have to put some real plans around that.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: It definitely was something I couldn't jump into straight away.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: As I said, it took a good couple of years for me to to take that jump.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's definitely fear of the unknown as well.
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I think also as a woman and as a a working mum, there is this notion that ambition has to be the next role or moving up the corporate ladder and you know, promotions and things like that.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: And actually, I sort of had this realization that A, that wasn't really what I wanted to do, and it was just causing more stress and you know, the balance and everywhere else in my life.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but actually I was really ambitious, but I was really ambitious for my family life, yeah, home life as much as I was my corporate life.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so once I'd sort of had that realization, it was it was a lot easier.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think also, you know, referring back to what you just said about the well, what people are gonna, what, what people are gonna think?
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, why the the stigma around why would you walk away from a great, you know, a great organization where you've got flexibility.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think that can be a big draw as well.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I think I'd had in my head that I even had like a specific date that I was like, this is the date I'm leaving.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I just had to keep myself honest on that.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I had some coaching as well, which was which was really helpful, um, you know, in people challenging me on, you know, how are you gonna overcome it when this happens or when somebody challenges you on this.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I think the the pre-work into into making that decision was really, really important for me.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: And and you've got to treat it like its own project, you know, this is a huge change.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: You're probably not gonna wake up one day and think, oh, this is what I need to do.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think it's just that that pre-planning.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think this may be where some people would find it you know difficult to make that transition.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: I love that you had a deadline.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: I know.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Did you write it down?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: I've done that.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Do you believe in do you do like manifestation and things like that?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I I guess like inadvertently, it was a type of manifesto.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, I suppose it, I suppose it was in a way.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Like in my head, I was like, I was visualising the date that I was leaving.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: I did have a mood board actually.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I did refer back to it, and it was really helpful um when I was going through those like inevitable self-doubts around, oh, am I, you know, am I doing the right thing?
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_01: To be like, actually, this is the reason you want to do it.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I think having that being able to visualize that when things do get a bit tough when you start so you start doubting yourself yourself, um, it is really helpful.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: What other self-development, you know, personal development have you done?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, I guess like all the time.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, it never really ends.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think the for for me with the most recent role, it was the networking.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, the idea of having, you know, particularly like hosting your own networking event as well, like filled me with absolute dread.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think realizing that part of the benefit of doing things on your own is you get to define exactly what that looks like as well, and you know, yeah, taking control and defining those events exactly how you want them to be in a way that feels comfortable and authentic, I think is is really important.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um development wise, I mean, definitely keeping yourself honest on um why you're doing things and not taking on things that you know don't feel so good has been a huge area of that I've needed to focus on as well, and not saying yes to everything.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I guess it's a constant uh pro process.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely getting yourself in a mindset and it's the mind is this belief building, isn't it?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's the belief that you can do it, and it takes a long time, I think, to get to that point and get rid of any of that imposter syndrome, which is completely normal when you first start things.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: Is there any books, podcasts, things like that that you you know can say definitely were helpful?
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: I read a lot of books around change itself, so I'm quite interested in the science of change and things that need to to to go into that.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um fantastic book by um Simon Kinneck on the growth mindset, which is just you know, a lot of people would have read, and and you know, just immersing yourself in that in that area has been has been really important.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Any podcasts?
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh several podcasts, lots of podcasts, yeah.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, nice.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm one for definitely I like a podcast, love a podcast, anything.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: When I first started my business, I loved um the Goldigger podcast by Jenna Clutch.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you've Oh I haven't heard of that one.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna make a note of that.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that was when I thought and then Amy Porterfield stuff.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: She was I listened to their stuff religiously.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: And now I think because I feel like a lot of their stuff was quite foundational, so I don't listen to their stuff as much anymore.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: But they were brilliant, brilliant when I was starting um my business.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I listened to a lot of Emma Green stuff.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I know she's got a book coming out as well.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I quite die with this EO because I do think they he has really interesting guests, but I do feel that I listen to stuff.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I listened to one of Emma Green's uh guests podcast last week and it was all about AI and it's like, gosh, and I came back and I I've done so much more this week with AI than I did last week before I listened to that podcast because I just think, oh, you get so inspired.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Just Oh, completely.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's one of the real advantages of having to start up on your own is that it does force you to upskill in areas that in your corporate career you just got a bit lazy on.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um need to do it as well.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, that's been really great.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_01: And actually, there's so many resources out there in additional to pog in addition to podcasts as well.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, courses, seminars and stuff.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: So it's definitely it definitely pushes you to do that stuff.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely think it you know, I know that you've had coaching, you've been a coach.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's so Worth investing in yourself in some form or other.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it always pays dividends.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever that investment, you know, I'm going away this weekend to a self-development like weekend.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, it's expensive to go, but actually I know it's going to be worth it.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever that looks like for you, it's you know, even if it's just buying a book, yeah.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: I know all those books I've bought, I've got way more value than that cost of that book.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, definitely.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I think just allowing yourself and making the time for it is really, really critical.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I mean, I'm a I'm a huge fan of coaching.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: I've been really fortunate that I've been offered coaching a lot throughout my corporate career.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um I love offering to people now.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um it is it is really it's quite an intense process, but it's just so worthwhile if you're fully invested in the times right for you.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's really great.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_01: Do you get like coaching from Rebecca?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: So definitely a mixture of mentoring and coaching.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, Rebecca's got the perfect mix of um being Uber supportive and and you know offering advice if you want the advice, but also prompting you to, you know, do things the way that you want them to do as well, which is great.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, having Rebecca and the other franchisees around to sort of bounce, bounce ideas around obviously is so important.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's nice, nice.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm so pleased you joined, and I'm so pleased you're because you get that community as well, don't you?
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because of the other franchisees.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, franchise, I I always get confused whether it's franchise franchise, which one it is, but the other people that own franchises as well.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I know some of them have been doing it a long, long time.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, and that they're they're fantastic, like all of them.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because it's we we we work on a regional basis, so you know, there's there's really just everyone wants each other to succeed because that's great for everyone.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's really genuine.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, so I've been really lucky.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think what's make what's the beauty of a franchise, um, you know, like something like get ahead, but I guess really any franchise, but I percent Rebecca's fantastic and your offering's brilliant, but you get all the benefits of running your own business, all that flexibility, all that, you know, sense of freedom, all the upside.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not you know, I set up a traditional business and it is exhausting, and you have to do everything yourself.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: You're like navigating through mud and actually someone's already paved the way when you join a franchise, so you just literally can follow that.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: You got all the structure, you get all the best bits of running a business, someone that can help you with invoicing, chasing all that.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and I do think I think honestly, if I was like starting again, I would definitely have gone down the franchise road.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: Completely agree agree.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it's even just a thing where you you've got a question, you're just thinking, Oh, I don't know, that doesn't sound right.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I need to, you know, you're not quite ready to trust your gut instinct.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: So just give me a message, and they're like, Oh, yeah, no, I wouldn't do that.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it just that just having that network there of people that can, you know, have been there before is is just great.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it just it just meant that you can focus on the parts of the business that you're really enjoying.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because I I know my skills and I wouldn't have known where to start with starting a business completely from scratch.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: But you've got to learn everything, you know, from accountancy to admin to templates, everything else.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I would have spent six months just trying to get my head around that.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: So having a model that works and resources that are there was just fantastic, and actually meant that you know, I could get my first client in the first month, which you know, everyone is is great, really.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can definitely start earning money quicker from a franchise model as well.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that um that Rebecca is recruiting people um across the UK um to help grow the franchise.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: So if anyone's listened to this and is interested in you know running their own Getahead franchise, we'll put Rebecca's um details in the show notes.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: But if anyone wants to contact you, Natasha, to ask a little bit more about what it's like to run a Get Ahead um franchise.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Are they are you happy for them to contact you?
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, always happy to have a call.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm on Instagram and LinkedIn, so yeah, and I know that you support small businesses as well that are looking to grow.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: Remind us the areas you cover and what sort of businesses you support.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so um so one get ahead is nationwide, so there will always be somebody that can support you, but my particular area is is East Surrey, so from Kingston down to oh well, down to West Sussex or down to Horsham as well, and then across to Weybridge.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and supporting whether it's an individual, so whether you're a sole trader and somebody that needs support on just one element of your business, or if you're a larger organisation and you need whole team support or whole project support and everything in between.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: Lovely.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much, Natasha.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: We'll put all your details in the show notes.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Brilliant, thanks so much.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Work It Like a Mum podcast.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget to share the link with a friend.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you're on LinkedIn, please send me a connection request at Elizabeth Willet and let me know your thoughts on this week's episode.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can also follow my recruitment site, Investing in Women, on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, keep on chasing your biggest dream.