Seven Years in Business: The Stuff No One Tells You
Seven years ago I crashed out of corporate, found myself staring down the offer of another corporate job… and decided there had to be another way. I wanted three days a week for work, two for my baby, and a business that actually fit my life – not the other way round.
That’s what episode 106 of The Unconventional Business Podcast is ALL about: seven lessons from seven years of doing life and business differently. Here’s a taste of each one.
1. Adapt or die
“The moment you get too comfortable is the moment something is probably about to go tits up.”
Platforms go bust, clients leave, life has an uncanny habit of life-ing. In the podcast ep, I share how I use my CEO / Employee / You‑you framework and three simple monthly questions to stay ahead without spending hours tracking a million metrics in a spreadsheet.
2. The real secret to pricing
Real talk: your rate can’t just cover “time on task”. It has to fund:
Time in the business
Time on the business
Time off and time out
Uncomfortable? You betcha. Life‑changing once you accept it though!
3. You are always your best investment
Every “strategy” problem I see is rooted in unhealed stuff: stories, beliefs, past experiences. In the episode, I talk about therapy, coaching, late ADHD/autism discovery – and why self‑development is business‑critical, not a luxury - and definitely NOT woo!
4. Becoming your own best boss
So many of us escape terrible bosses… then become an even worse one to ourselves. No breaks, feeling guilty for resting, 11pm emails. I share how self‑talk, boundaries and actual kindness actually made me more productive, not less.
5. It takes a village to raise a business
Self‑employment is sold as “freedom”; but let’s be real: it can also be lonely as hell. I talk about building a virtual board through networking, skill swaps, and finding your people instead of forcing yourself to fit rooms that you find draining.
6. Zero prizes for burnout
“There are no medals for running yourself into the ground.”
You’re saving PDFs, not lives. We dig into capacity‑based planning, spotting fake urgency, and why my life and business both improved the moment I took burnout off the table.
7. Be Marmite, not jam
In marketing, trying to be “nice jam for everyone” makes you invisible. Being your weird, sweary, fully‑you self makes you Marmite – deeply right for the right people, deeply wrong for everyone else. I share how that’s transformed who I work with - and how I show up!
If you’re tired of glossy business advice and want the honest, neurodivergent‑friendly version of what it takes to stay in business – not just start one – this episode is for you.
🎧 Listen to the full episode: How do you keep going and stay in business? Seven Lessons from Seven Years.