Latest / Empower Your Menopause / Episode 67: Community support for menopausal women in business with special guest Michelle Pegg

Transcript

Episode 67: Community support for menopausal women in business with special guest Michelle Pegg · Empower Your Menopause

• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to Empower Your Menopause, the podcast where we talk about all things health, hormones, and happiness for women over 40.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_02: We're coaches James and Julie from Fabulous Beyond 40.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_02: Now this week we've got a really special episode.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_02: If you're trying to build a career or a company in midlife, confidence isn't a mood, it's a system, and community can be a shortcut for you.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_02: So today we're going to look at things like pricing, pitching, visibility, and boundaries that can help you buy back your energy, especially if your symptoms are allowed.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: We've got a special guest today to do this.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: We've got Michelle Pegg from the Business Confidence Club.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's a new women's business network that champions clarity, clients, and calm momentum for women in business.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_02: So without further ado, let's bring Michelle on and we will speak to you.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: So this is an episode you don't want to miss.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: So, Michelle, welcome.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us a little bit about why you and Joe decided to set up the business confidence club.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_02: Why is there a need for what you do?
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: And what's changed for women in this sort of like idea of starting a business or scaling a business that needs that help from what you guys do?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think we started it because we kept seeing a pattern.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: So there were a lot of smart, experienced women in midlife uh who were ready to go in a business or wanted to scale their business or had a great idea, but they liked the confidence to be visible and have clarity about it.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: So they've got the vision, they've got the clarity, they've got the expertise, but they didn't always feel that they belonged, that they weren't really good enough to be an entrepreneur, that they didn't know their stuff enough.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think you know the the world is built a lot around younger people, and especially now with it being so techie and digital, um, I think uh some people in midlife can feel a little bit left behind, you know, with the AI and everything like that.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think everyone uh can have that moment of doubt where you kind of think I'm not ready, I'm not prepared enough, I don't know what I'm doing.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: And and a lot of people just give up on their dream or give up on that idea.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and I've certainly had those moments, and I know Joe has too.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: And it was it was one of those things where we sat and we talked, and and I've seen it in so many women, and we just went, we've got to, we've got to do what we can to support.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was that was the ping moment where we thought, what can we do?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Both of us have our own businesses aside from uh the business confidence club, but it was it was definitely a passion that we wanted to to help, really.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I tend to see a lot of women, and I'm not sure whether this is menopause related or or or not, or midlife related in some way, shape, or form, but I see a lot of women starting their own businesses at this time of life, and I wonder where's that explosion come from?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, what is prompting women when they hit 40, 50, 55, to go, do you know what?
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: I've got a passion project and I'm gonna throw my life into it.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's so many different factors, and it differs from it differs from woman to woman.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: In my case, um, I started a business four years ago because we went into lockdown, and that's been a huge catalyst for people with COVID and you know being on furlough.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, a lot of people decided that it they this wasn't the life of them anymore, the 95 commute and the grind, they wanted something a bit different.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: So um, a lot of people started around that time, but a lot of people, uh women my age and younger, have just kind of got to that point where there's no flexibility in work.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of places don't have menopause support.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of places do now, the bigger, the bigger companies, but a lot of places don't, and it's it's sad.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I think as you hormonally change, there's a difference in your energy levels, there's a difference in your focus periods, there's a difference in um when you want to when you're able to perform at your best.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: I know I'm great in the morning, but by four o'clock, I mean sometimes.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: I'd be recording at three.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: But having having that space in your own business to have the flexibility to build a life that is suitable and suits your needs and your lifestyle, I think that's a massive thing.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and a lot of a lot of women say that they they don't want to just burn out.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: I was doing three, four hours a day commute on top of a nine, ten hour working day, and I was exhausted.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: And going through paramenopause and then menopause through all of that, I I mean, I was I was on my knees, and it it kind of struck home that yeah, of course I want to be successful, but I want to do that on my own terms and and in a way that I feel comfortable with, that I'm not going to be dead in 10 years.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I think um I think that can really spur a lot of women on the need for control of their own lives and their own um timings, if you like.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think that's really important because you know you you hear about a lot of different people, men and women starting their own jobs, but um you've touched on some of the reasons why women in business specifically need that additional support.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: If is there any are there any other reasons?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm just wondering what the communities open up for women that maybe that solo grit just doesn't.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, as a female entrepreneur, I can appreciate the you know, somebody said to me once, it's great to have your own business, you can work whenever you want, half days, and it's up to you which 12 hours it's gonna be.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think I think doing it on your own is fine.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: You can get started as a solopreneur.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I had a business partner for the first couple of years of my business, and and it was great to have that support.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then when she left the business, I kind of went through that moment where I thought, crikey, can I do this on my own?
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I thought, yeah, actually I can, but I still need it's it's like the whole thing, you need a community to raise a child.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's the same with starting a business for me.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: You still need the support, you still need the advice.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: I've got a fantastic accountant um who guides me through all the stuff that I don't understand, you know, he he's amazing.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I couldn't have done what I've done without him.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't have done what I've done without people like Jo, who's a great friend, a great support, has had her own business journey.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_01: And and sometimes it's just that person or those people to bounce ideas off to go, what do you think about this?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think this would be a great idea to float?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what what you know, I've come across this problem.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Have has anybody else experienced it?
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: How how can I navigate that?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: And having that support of a community is so vital, it's so important, and and that's what we want to build.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: Women who are in the same position, um, you know, who are going through all these changes in their personal lives and their hormonal lives and everything like that, and and just take that and go, guys, you're not the only one.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: So build your business as a solopreneur, great, but have that underlying structure of a community that's there cheering you on, celebrating your wins with you, and really pushing you forward and and supporting in everything that you do.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you the the club's called the business confidence club, and that's a really that word carries a lot of weight, I think.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_02: Confidence, right?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_02: So where are you seeing the biggest gap in confidence that you're helping support from a community point of view?
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: Is it pricing?
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: Is it the ability to pitch?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: Is it visibility?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_02: Is it leadership?
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: Is there anything specific that you're seeing in patterns from the ladies that you're working with?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of it is uh confidence is visibility.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, a lot of people don't want to go on LinkedIn and show their face because they're not feeling the best about themselves, maybe you know, menopause or weight gain or whatever it is.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I've had that feeling myself as well.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: And it took a lot for me to just go, just post it, Michelle.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Nobody cares if you've got chubby cheeks, you know, nobody cares if you haven't done your eyeliner exactly perfect.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: It is it is important to feel great about yourself and to present yourself how you want to be seen.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: But if it's one of those mornings where you're running late and and you're getting in your car and you think this is a great idea for post, post it.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Don't worry about what other people think.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the biggest thing for me is just go ahead and do it.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's I I think that's that's the whole thing is visibility, getting your name out there.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: It can feel really daunting.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to be seen to blow your own trumpet.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think sometimes you have to to your own horn a bit because nobody else is gonna do it for you.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: We can do it with you, but you've got to be prepared to go, you know what?
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: I I can do this and let's just do it, post it.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be perfect, you don't have to have a you know a£4,000 design logo to start a business, you can just do it.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's that's the biggest struggle I think a lot of a lot of women are coming up against.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um so you're you've got the business confidence club and you've run your own businesses.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um was there a time when you doubted yourself and just wondering like what did you do in when that was sort of plaguing you to get back on the horse, as it were, to get started again, to just push forward?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: I think um absolutely uh when I first when I first we had the idea for the business confidence club, and I sat there one night and I thought, what am I doing?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Who am I to lead this?
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: Who like I'm not always super confident, you know.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: I have the same confidence crises that everybody else has.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um and maybe my I think we all have that inner voice, that inner monologue that's critical, and we all have that um you know imposter syndrome.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I sat there one night and I went, What it what if people don't like it?
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: What if what who am I to say all this to these women?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: And then I messaged a couple of women who I'd kind of worked with and mentored a little bit and and coached a little bit and just given some advice to, and they were like, Absolutely do it, absolutely, and that kind of snapped me out of going, actually, I don't know everything, but I I know I can help, even if it's just a few women in a in a little way, I can do what I can do to support those people.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: So that kind of grounded me and got me back in my power and recent my conviction to go and help help people.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I absolutely do doubt myself every now and again.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but I mean what's really needed there is somebody who's willing to stick their hand up and facilitate that community, right?
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to have all the answers to be a facilitator.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it helps you have some of them, maybe, but you certainly don't have to have all of them.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_02: So you come from a background where you've worked both in industry, in companies.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_02: Now you solopreneur, you've got the business confidence club.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: What the what are the different challenges there?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there may be some people listening right now are thinking, you know, this is all well and good, but I don't I'm not actually starting my own business.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: So do you see patterns between the two types of work or differences?
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_02: I wonder if you could just speak to that a little bit.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there are patterns and there are differences, and I think um I think both are valid, and I think the idea of the business confidence club wasn't just for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs, and it was for anybody who wanted to build a bit more confidence in what they do to to get money, to to have a career.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's as applicable for women who are employed as women who are self-employed.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think workload and pace are very different when you're menopausal or in the midlife phase.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_01: Umpreneurs can often bear the full load, so every decision, every delivery is on your shoulders, and that's when your energy can fluctuate.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, employees might be able to lean on a bit of team support, um, but they do face massively rigid expectations.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, there's hardly any menopausal support formally put in place by a lot of UK companies, and uh you're kind of held to the same expectations as a 25-year-old or a you know, or a man in his 30s, your performance is expected to be the same.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: So those expectations can put a huge um uh pressure on uh on a midlife woman, I think.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think you've also got um control and structure.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: So for you as a solopreneur, you've got control over your schedule, over your uh your design of your working week, um, within reason.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I have to do two days at a client site and two days on this project, and so I but I I do have a little bit of flexibility in my schedule, and that has been a blessing.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um if the bill if the the business is built for resilience, I think um employees can often struggle for that flexibility accommodation.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, it's if if you like a structure and you want to be employed, great, but ask for a little bit of flexibility when you're when you're feeling more tired or you need a little bit of a a break from things.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's how companies can support.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think there's also a stigma around menopausal women.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think um we can become a bit invisible if menopausal uh women are a bit it can be taboo to talk about it.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: You can't just go up to someone and go, Are you menopausal?
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's not it's just not the dumb thing.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it can be dismissed because help me saying it, I mean I know you're different, James, but a lot of blokes don't understand what women go through in menopause, they don't understand the massive hormonal changes that were undergoing and the the physical changes and the mental changes, so that can be hard if you've got you know primarily male-dominated arena and and you're going through this whole change of life and and they don't get it.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: How do how do you then garner that support from your employer?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: It can be very difficult.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think, in terms of support systems, if you're an employee, you've got benefits, HR medical leave, if you can take them, um, but you haven't got the menopause sensitive policies.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: And as a solopreneur, you have to build your own guardrails and backup strategies for that.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: So you need to build in to your business a way of making sure that you can continue to make revenue even when you're not feeling at your best, or it might be that you decide to structure your working week around, okay, I'm tired in the afternoons, uh I work great in the mornings, let's do mornings and evenings.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and not everyone can do that because they have a family or you know, different things to do, but I think as as much as possible, be kind to your own body and your own mental health um and structure your your working week as much as you can around that.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I know it's interesting, there's a British standard that now addresses menstruation and menopause in the workplace, but you're right, not a lot of employers are adopting it yet.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you had to pick one thing, I mean you talked about some things like flexibility and and designing your workday, but if you were employed and you had to ask for one thing, what what would that be to help support you?
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean everybody's gonna be different, but I think for me it would be flexible hours and the possibility of working remotely or hybrid options.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um because I think uh having more frequent breaks, having temperature control, I remember having so many arguments with people over the AC controls in offices because the 20-year-old, you know, slim young girls would be freezing and I'd be boiling and needing to sit in a bikini with a fan on.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it was probably 22 degrees.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it it sounds silly, but it it made my working life quite uncomfortable at times.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I think uh basically uh talk to your employee if you're your employer if you're employed and ask for slight modifications, talk to your team if it if you're sat in a in a fairly friendly team and and they have control of the AC.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um talk to them and say, look, I'm really struggling and I can't take any more clothes off.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_01: Is there any way that we could you know have a bit of a consensus on the AC for every now and again?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think yeah, as an employee, probably your flexible hours or your remote uh your remote working options are probably one of the most important things you can ask for.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um it just gives you a bit more control over your own schedule.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we've talked a lot about people not adopting menopause-friendly uh policies in the workplace.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_02: But I wonder if we could just you know flip that around a little bit.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_02: And if I could ask you, Michelle, you've been in industry for a while now.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_02: What have you actually seen any positive changes in that time that have that are more you know, because obviously some companies are trying to get it get it right, and the conversation is a little bit more open than it might have been 20 or or 30 years ago.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: What's your experience from from industry?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think um in the last probably 10 or 20 years for me, the the world has become a gentler place in a lot of play in a lot of ways.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think we're a lot kinder to people than we were, um, especially in hospitality.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, those people who work in hospitality will know 20 years ago it wasn't the nicest, kindest of areas.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: You were expected to burn out, um, and you would get shouted at on a regular basis, even as a you know, a fairly senior person in the building.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if Chef wanted to offload his his anger management issues, it would it would be done.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: And and I, you know, I've had some some real problems with that, and I think um I think the way that the world has shifted, everybody's a little bit more aware of being kind to each other and and being a little bit more tolerant maybe than they were 10, 20 years ago.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: There is more awareness of women in the workplace.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, whereas I think probably that time ago there was a lot of women that were um still raising families, and it was more of a there were less or fewer women in the workplace than there are now, um, in senior roles especially.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think there is more as as we get more and more women in senior leadership positions in big companies, people like Karen Brady, for example, they're gonna set that example of women are just as capable as men, and and I think that helps to raise the bar, and in turn, then the conversations around things like menopause are a little bit more open.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, nobody's running screaming and you know, uh doing the things that we probably did 20 years ago because you just didn't talk about it, you didn't talk about women's health and and hormones and things like that.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I think, yeah, as the world changes, I think it's it's gonna get better.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm pretty confident.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, clearly peer support is something that's getting better, and it's why organizations like the Business Confidence Club have come to the come to the fore.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: On a practical level, what does that look like?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_02: How do you see women supporting each other beyond just going, oh you like you fab go ahead and and and and do it from a practical level?
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_02: What kind of what kind of things can can women introduce amongst each other, whether they're part of your group or doing it themselves?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's about um being honest with each other, gifted truth-telling, if you like, uh, with care.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: So you can say you have to talk to yourself like you're your own best friend, but you also have to cheer others on like you're their best friend, and and with that comes the idea of uh being critical in a positive uh framework.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: So you can say, here's where I see you playing small.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: How how do you want to change it?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: So it's more about um, I think I think you could do more.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Do you want to do more?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: And if the answer is yes to that question, then there's a framework that we can support with.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, not everybody does want to do more.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you know, somebody just wants a small part-time little side hustle.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: It it doesn't have to be, you know, a stocklisted uh business or anything like that.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: You people can just do something that they enjoy, turn a hobby into extra revenue.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: But I think it's that uh it's not just cheerleading, it's tools and models.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what we try and do is present people with here are some great tools for your business, here are some great templates, here are some great people.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: So we have a referral list, a little black book that we say here are some great accountants, here are some great image consultants, here are Some we we kind of want them to be able to find the information for themselves, and if they want to come and talk to us about that, then they can and we can share our experiences.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think it's also what I said earlier about celebrating wins, you don't do that as a solopreneur in general.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: You sit there and you um you say, Oh, well, I could have done that better.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_01: You're very most of us are very self-critical, and I think that moment where we have um, you know, a community where we can sit down and say, What have you done that's great this week?
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it makes you think, actually, I have done some great things, I'm gonna tell them about it, and everyone then cheers you on.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: What a boost! And it makes you remember who you are and and how well you're actually doing, even if you're constantly criticizing yourself for not being where you want to be or being perfect.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that really helps.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, and I think I think it holds you accountable for yourself as well.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's an accountability in the most positive way of if you say I'm gonna do this, that, and the other, and then you've got a community around you who you've can make that commitment to, then you're gonna do it, you're more likely to do it.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, I think there's a lot of support for peers, yeah.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, and that accountability goes a long way, but you know, there are some days that you just don't feel up to the task, or you just don't feel camera ready, if you will.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what would you advise somebody as like a minimum viable visibility plan just to say on those days?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because we know that menopause takes us on that roller coaster ride.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what what would you recommend for those those days for women who still want to do something?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I think you can plan it a little bit.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're not always gonna feel the most confident or look, you know, how we want to look.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you are gonna have the days when you want to sit in your pajamas until 11 o'clock in the morning and and work from your bed sometimes.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: But I think you have to, in those moments, you have to recognize that that's probably not the right time for you if you're not feeling confident enough to present on you know, on a live or on LinkedIn or whatever it is.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: So step back, um, write your posts, schedule your posts for socials, you can do uh voice notes, ideas, you can uh repost or reshare someone else's content and add your perspective, comment on people's posts on LinkedIn.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um you can uh share a behind the scenes so you don't always have to show your face.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can say what you're working on, what's on your mind.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um and yeah, it's just about being authentic, but not if you feel uncomfortable on camera, you're gonna come across as quite uncomfortable.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's really important to go.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, today I'm not really feeling that great.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: I think I'm gonna step back and I'm gonna do something that doesn't require my face.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, that's that's kind of how I deal with those days.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think I just schedule content generally.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_02: So the C word is obviously coming up quite a lot, confidence, yeah.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: Can you recall for our listeners a time when you've made a what you'd consider to be a really confident, bold decision in the workplace, how it paid off, and what tips can you give people that they can steal when it comes to that kind of thing?
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think there's a couple of I mean, launching the business confidence club when it wasn't ready.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we have you have to sometimes you just have to do it and then worry about the detail after.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we we we kind of went if we spend a year getting ready, I still don't think we would be in the position that we would feel ready.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think sometimes you have to just do it to be ready.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think so that's probably my biggest scariest decision that hopefully is paying off.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um it it was half baked.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was still good in principle, but it wasn't it wasn't a hundred percent where I would want it to be.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think um the feedback that we've got so far is great.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I think clarity comes from action, not from inaction, and your confidence is built when you do stuff.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: You can theorize for weeks, months, years, but I think you have to take action before you really feel actually that's working or that isn't working.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: How can I pivot?
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: How can I adjust?
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and I had the same experience with my business.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: So with Hotel Advantage, my my uh other business.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_01: I like I say, when I lost my business partner, I was also going through within a week, I'd split up from a very long-term partner and lost my business partner uh and moved house, and all of the life changes that could have come came within I think four days of of each other.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: And it was one of those moments where I go, the safe option would be to go back to work, to go back to being full-time employee.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: That's my safety net.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: And instead, I went, No, I'm gonna I'm gonna crack on, and that was terrifying, if I'm honest, um, because I'd had the rug completely pulled out from under my feet, but it was sink or swim.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: It was if I believe in myself enough, I know I can do it.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um otherwise I'm going back to what I know will make me exhausted and unhappy.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, that was a very scary decision.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, it paid off definitely.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and and on that similar topic, if you're talking to a woman who, you know, on paper looks really successful, and I think a lot of women in industry have that, give that appearance.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they might be in a senior role, they're walking the walk, they've got all the clothes, they're you know, doing the dust dawn till dusk kind of kind of thing.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but they're privately quite fried.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think anybody who's actually worked it professionally can relate to that.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: I had 25 years in HR, so yes, I totally understand that.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: But what I mean, I I would think this is a kind of thing that the Business Confidence Club can really help with.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: What advice do you give to those women who are feeling that way?
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think with the you know, with how much everyone looks at social media every now and you know nowadays, I think it can be so easy to look at someone else's highlights of their life and think, how are they there?
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not, and I'm I'm not capable, and you know, I must be doing so badly as a human being if everyone's got these beautiful cars and houses and beautiful clothes, and and I think we can all fall into that trap very easily of seeing someone else's highlight real and thinking it's real, and it isn't.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you don't know what happens behind closed doors.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: So, my first thing would be maybe spend a little less time scrolling.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_01: I try not to, um I try not to feel jealous of other people's success.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's a there's a space enough for everybody to be successful in your own right, and then from that, I think you need to define for yourself what success is right now.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: So for a while, because of what had what I'd gone through a couple of years ago, success for me meant getting up and having a shower every morning and and you know, manage to keep a roof over my head.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you do go into a little bit of survival mode, or or you might feel super exhausted, super hormonal, be all over the place, and sometimes you just need success for you would look like being able to maintain control of your life and you know get enough income.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to mean um, you know, super huge million pound houses and Teslas or whatever it might be.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: Success can mean different things to different people.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: So define your success and does that serve your well-being?
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because success without peace just isn't sustainable.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: You you you deserve a life paced by meaning, energy and joy, not just output.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's not about just action, action, action.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: You've got to have some comeback for that.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to hit 80 or 70 or 60 and retire and be so exhausted by your working life that you have no joy left and that and that you don't know what that looks like, you don't know what happiness looks like for you.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so when you need to, I would say lean into what feels easy and what fuels you and redesign what success looks like for you.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I think when you allow rest um and realignment into your daily life, then that is where you start to feel confident.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's where you really feel at your best, if you like.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: That I think for me that's that's what it means.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, awesome.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks, Michelle.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_02: It's been a fascinating talk, and I'm sure that lots of people listening are gonna want to know where they can find out more about the Business Confidence Club and what kind of support you can give them.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_02: So this is your chance to do a little bit of self-promotion while you're on camera.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_02: Um tell us where can people find you and how do you work with them?
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: That kind of thing.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, the best way is probably to look me up on LinkedIn if you're on LinkedIn, and if you're not and you want to be a solopreneur, then I would suggest you are.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, find me on LinkedIn.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we've got the Business Confidence Club page on there.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: We've also got a website which is uh still being kind of tweaked, so um it's probably uh LinkedIn's probably the best space that you can find us at the moment.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and there's myself, Michelle Pegg, and there's also Jo Neville, who is my uh co-founder.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she's on there too.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: And please feel free to connect with us.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: It would be great to to be able to chat to people and um and yeah, make new make new contacts and make new um communities.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we're hoping for.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_02: Julie.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's terrific.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have been struggling with your own confidence in your menopause journey lately, don't do it alone.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, our menopause impact assessment can help you unpack what's going on.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's a nice rounded 45-minute coaching call that's designed to help women over 40 get unstuck and start making real progress with health, happiness, and your hormones.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we start with a scientifically validated symptom questionnaire, so we get a real good picture of where you are right now.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: We shift the focus then to your goals, your priorities, and what feeling better actually looks like for you.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: So you can book your session using the link in the show notes.
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: James.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_02: So that's it for this week then.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_02: We've been coaches James and Julie from Fabulous Beyond 40.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us and listening today, and thanks again to our amazing guest, Michelle Pegg from the Business Confidence Club.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_02: Fascinating discussion.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_02: We'll see you back here next week.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_02: In the meantime, remember to stay strong and stay fabulous, and we'll see you soon.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_02: Take care.