Real Women

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

From Necessity to Fun - The Empty Nest Kitchen with Christine Van Bloem

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 23:00:00 -0000

This week, Dawn and Tracy are joined by Christine Van Bleom, founder of the Empty Nest Kitchen. Christine, for many years, ran a cooking school, but when covid popped up and closed her business she found herself lost and dejected. She looked at her own life and realised that people of her generation were being left behind. Determined to do something about it, Christine established the Empty Nest Kitchen, a place where people over 50, whose families have left home, can come together online and cook for fun. In this interview with Dawn and Tracy, Christine talks about her experience and recruits Dawn and Tracy into her tribe.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Christine, who is 56, came to the realisation that society was leaving behind people of a certain age and how this was making them feel neglected and alone. This, as she explains, is her reasoning for starting her empty nest cooking course.
Christine's previous business was a cooking school, however, when Covid hit, she lost her company. She talks about how she picked herself up and the challenges she faced in setting up a new company.
Once a month, Christine hosts a free course with over 500 attendees. Through sharing the story of a man who recently became a widower, she details the amazing benefits the participants receive.
Dawn gets emotional as the ladies discuss the numerous benefits that come with cooking in a ‘tribe’ and how it fundamentally changes the experience of cooking from something you have to do to something you want to do.

BEST MOMENTS

“Business and work will one day pass, but life does not finish there, so find something worth living for.”

“After Covid, I think people really began to realise how important connection is.”

“There’s a beauty in rediscovering the fun in something when you have sent so long doing it because you have to.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Kristen’s Free Mini course

ABOUT THE GUEST

Christine Van Bloem is the founder of The Empty Nest Kitchen, teaching live, online cooking classes to empty nesters re-learning how to cook for one or two, while finding the fun in the kitchen with a healthy-ish vibe.

A heart attack survivor, Christine has reformed her butter-loving, heavy cream worshiping ways by making changes in how to cook, taking food in a healthier direction, while still keeping things flavorful and delightful. Plus, there's always room for dessert!

Christine hosts the Empty Nest Kitchen podcast and lives in Maryland (US) with her husband John.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Seven Good Reasons to Dance in Your Kitchen - How to Implement Healthy Movement into Your Daily Life

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 23:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by master Pilates teacher, CoreAlign master instructor, posture and gait specialist and Neurosomatic Intelligence coach, Kristen Iuppenlatz Grech. After 2 car crashes, Kristen experienced chronic pain for over 15 years. One day, whilst in her kitchen, she had a revelation - what if she could incorporate her pilates knowledge into daily life? Not only did this work, it eventually led Kristen to launching her programme “Seven Good Reasons to Dance in Your Kitchen”. In this interview, Kristen will motivate you to become more energetic, alert and healthy and, at the end of it, will have you dancing in your kitchen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Kirsten, who has been a long time pilates tutor and suffering from chronic pain, recognised that the amount of time she spent in the kitchen was not good for her posture. She explains how implementing some of her pilates practices into her cooking, which ultimately led to ‘Dancing in the Kitchen.’
Most people at work spend their time in unnatural, unhealthy positions that can have negative long term consequences. Kirsten shares some simple tips on how to adopt a better posture.
Moving your body isn’t just good for posture and pain, there are so many long term health benefits. Kirsten focused on seven of them to create her ‘Seven Good Reasons’ programme. She breaks down what they are and the benefits of each one.
What Kristen has discovered through her community is that implementing exercise and positive body movements don’t just impact your health, but your wider world. She explains how the positivity you feel is transferred to your work life and relationships.

BEST MOMENTS

“You’ve got to embrace who you are today, not wait for a time that may never come.”

“It’s not just you that will benefit from positive movements, your co-worker, friends and family will feel the positivity bouncing off you.”

“The bottom line is, if you move, you will feel better. It is the only guaranteed way to elevate your mood.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Kristen’s Facebook

Kristen’s Instagram

Kristen’s Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/@Chrisj.Edwards

ABOUT THE GUEST

Kristen Iuppenlatz Grech is a master Pilates teacher, CoreAlign master instructor, posture and gait specialist and Neurosomatic Intelligence coach. She's also an actor/dancer/musical theatre nerd who loves to dance anywhere!

Kristen struggled with chronic pain for over 15 years after two car accidents within two years. She studied with incredible mentors over the past 25 years trying to figure out how to heal. Now she shares all the insights and hard earned wisdom she's gained that she wishes she’d been able to find back then.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The Alphabet of Business - How ADHD, OCD and IVF Severely Impacts Your Business

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 23:00:00 -0000

This week on the show Dawn and Tracy are joined by Chris Edwards, a business owner that has ADHD, OCD and, with his wife, is currently going through the process of IVF, for the 13th time. As you can imagine, all of this puts a huge strain on Chris’s mental health and his ability to run his business effectively. What Chris discovered is that most people think your business impacts your life, but it is your life that impacts your business. In this interview with Dawn and Tracy, Chris recounts the challenges he has faced as a business owner whilst dealing with various ailments and challenges and how he has learned to create a balancing act.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

For a long time Chris thought that starting a business would impact his life, but what he has discovered is that it is his life that is impacting his business. He talks about the various ways his business suffers due to his ADHD, OCD and IVF.
Chris recounts his early experiences with IVF, how this impacted him both personally and in his relationship with his wife, the lessons he learned from this experience and how his relationship is stronger now for having one through this process.
Chris’s OCD plays a major part in how his life and business operate. He discusses some of the challenges he faces on a daily basis and the procedures he has put in place to help minimise its effects.
There is still a stigma around men talking about their mental health, especially in the workplace. Chris soon learned that he needed to communicate his needs and his concerns to those around him in order to stay sane. He talks about the new world that opened up to him when he began to communicate.

BEST MOMENTS

“Society puts a lot of emphasis on a woman going through pregnancy, but men have as much emotional involvement as the women do.”

“Employers need to realise that supporting their staff isn’t just about money, it’s about giving their employees time and space for their mental wellbeing.”

“Men need to communicate about their mental health. The days of putting on a front, of being big and strong are over.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjohnedwards/

https://www.instagram.com/chrisj.edwards

https://www.instagram.com/ittakes_three

https://marketingbotics.com/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Chris Edwards is a seasoned specialist in doing things the hard way. Not by choice, but because of the life events that have been thrown at his feet.

Back in 2016 he ran a semi-successful marketing agency but overtime had to learn how to fit it around what he calls his alphabet soup, by adapting his business with a power automated infrastructure that he learned accidentally and now teaches and implements for others. His business Marketing Botics, helps and provides small businesses with CRM systems, marketing tools and automation strategies to help busy business owners manage and grow.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Time For A Quick One - It’s Ok to Not Be Ok

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 23:00:00 -0000

This week the ladies are here for a quick one. In a clip taken from episode 121, Dawn and Tracy are talking to property investor Micheal Wildig. When Micheal was caught up in a property scam that cost him over £150,000 he fell into a deep depression and contemplated suicide. In this short episode, Michael, Dawn and Tracy discuss the importance of speaking openly about mental health struggles, the stigma around men's mental health and how it’s possible, with love and support, to climb out of the deepest holes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Through her martial arts classes, Dawn works with a lot of men that she can see are facing mental health issues. She discusses the need for men to speak out so that other men can see them as a role model and realise that it’s ok to not be ok.
When he decided to start his own business, Micheal faced opposition from his friends and family. And when things turned sour, he found it incredibly difficult to admit failure to them. He discusses how he kept these feelings inside.
Tracy and Micheal discuss the changing views in mental health over the last few years, why they think this has happened and the positives that have come from it.
Michael, whose partner was pregnant during his troubles, talks about his realisation that he had more to fight for than just himself, and how this gave him the strength to get through his drastic situation.

BEST MOMENTS

“I took the whole thing on the chest, but I wish that I had spoken to more people. Don’t make that mistake, talk to people.”

“Sometimes it just takes one small thing to take somebody from being ok to being depressed.”

“Men have more trouble talking about their emotions because they are used to being the provider and the protector.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Michael’s Instagram

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Who Do You Think You Are?

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 23:00:00 -0000

Dawn has recently been on a business retreat and she participated in a workshop all about identity, which has got her thinking about some big questions, such as “Do we choose our identity or is it a product of our nurture?” and “Is our identity who we are or what we do?”. As always, the ladies leave no stone unturned in their quest to get to the bottom of this subject. From the factors that make up our identity to our perception of it over time, the ladies go full Descartes, I think therefore I am, in order to solve this mystery.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn and Tracy muse on the idea that people define their identities by what they do, a property investor, a mother, and not who they are as people. And the problems that arise when they no longer do the thing they've hung their identity on.
The ladies, reluctantly, agree that they are getting older and whilst their bodies are ageing, their minds are as young as ever. But, how has their perception of their identity changed over this time?
Do we make a mistake when meeting people for the first time and introducing ourselves by our job titles? The ladies speculate what it would be like to introduce yourself based on your true identity.
Tracy argues that our identity is made up of three factors. Who we are in private, who we believe people see us as and how we behave based on who people see us as. But, does that cost us our authenticity?

BEST MOMENTS

“How different would your life be if you introduced yourself as who you are and not what you do?”

“Who are we, at our core, when nobody else is looking?”

“Is authenticity who you are at your core or is it who you are as a result of what you believe other people see you as?”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

An Alternative Pension Plan: Property Investment with Tracy Cartlind-Ward

Wed, 29 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn's community of business owners are hitting their 40’s and 50’s. As they are all self employed or business owners, they are starting to worry about life after work, from a financial perspective. A lot of them are considering investing in property, so Dawn has decided to interview an expert in this field…Tracy. In this episode, Tracy breaks down the reality of property investment, the many routes to entry, the multiple ways in which you can make extra income, and, if done right, how it can provide a nest egg for your future.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Becoming involved in the property business is a great way to make money to secure your future, but it’s not as easy as most make out. Tracy lays out the reality of becoming a property manager.
Buying property and selling it on at a profit is one way to make an income, but the more popular, and economical, approach is ‘buy to let’. Tracy walks you through how this process works and how to get the best out of it.
What if you don’t have the cash in the bank to go out and buy a property? You’re not alone, most people don’t. But, there are many strategies to raise finance, as Tracy explains.
Once the money starts coming in, it’s just as important to manage it as it is to keep making it. Tracy outlines all the best ways to make sure you’re money is safe, to reduce your tax bill and how to keep making it grow.

BEST MOMENTS

“Make sure you get professional advice. Do you really want to build your future based on the opinions of the guy down the pub?”

“Before you do anything, ask yourself the most important question “What do I want out of this?””

“Property isn’t 100% passive, and anyone that tells you it is, is lying. Make sure you understand this before you jump in.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

How To Get Your Marketing Message Out There?

Tue, 21 May 2024 23:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy, who both run successful businesses, are getting overwhelmed with the number of options available to them when it comes to marketing. This past year, Dawn has decided to “chuck the book” at a number of marketing options in an attempt to find the one that works best for her. But, what she’s discovered is that it’s not as simple as just commissioning a marketing agency. From branding, to messaging, to understating your business and yourself, the ladies are here to walk you through the fundamental aspects you have to get right first before any adventures in marketing can begin and the dangers you’ll face if you don’t do the hard work first.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Marketing is more than Facebook and Google ads, but a lot of new businesses don’t understand this. Dawn explains how marketing hasn’t really changed since the 50’s and recaps some of the lessons you can learn from the ‘old boys.’
The foundations are key to any form of marketing, such as a logo, slogan and strong branding. Dawn and Tracy share their tips on getting these foundations right so that the marketing you do, does not fail.
Even the best marketing idea in the world will fail if it doesn’t reach the right people. Tracy talks about the importance of understanding your perfect customers to make sure you get your message in front of the people that matter most.
There are thousands of marketing companies out there, but how do you know which one is right for you? Dawn and Tracy share their ‘red flags’ to look for when commissioning a marketing company.

BEST MOMENTS

“In order to win certain deals, it’s not just about marketing your company, but marketing who you are.”

“If you don’t understand who your perfect client is, you’re doomed before you start.”

“What do you do, what problems can you solve, what is special about what you do, who are your clients? - if you can nail those four things, you’ll have strong, focused marketing.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Losing The Ones We Love: The impact of Grief on Life and Business

Tue, 14 May 2024 23:00:00 -0000

It’s the anniversary of Tracy’s fathers death and that has got her thinking about grief, how we cope with it and the impact it has on our lives, both personally and professionally. But, is grief always a bad thing, is there any comfort to be found in suffering? Both Dawn and Tracy have been through periods of prolonged grief, in this episode, they look back on them, the strategies they used to overcome the grief, the lessons they have learned and how it shaped them into the woman they are today. And finally, come to a surprising conclusion about the inevitability of death.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy talks about how grief affects her both emotionally and in other aspects of her life, such as her business, and shares the strategies she has developed to cope when it comes along.
Dawn recounts the story of losing her sister in law at a relatively young age, and how this led her and her husband to take stock of their life and rethink their relationship with death.
The ladies both discuss the deaths of their grandparents and how, even many years later, it still affects them, but also, how they both eventually came to peace with the loss.
While it’s important to grief, it’s also important to move past it. The ladies discuss how ‘picking yourself up’ after a period of grief can only make you stronger.

BEST MOMENTS

“Grief is like a tennis ball in a shoebox. Everytime the ball bounces against the edge, you get a wave of grief, but, after time, you learn to put it in a bigger box.”

“Nobody dies as long as somebody remembers them.”

“The creed of the warrior is 7 times down, 8 times up.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

D&T Time for a Quick One - The Truth About Online Dating

Tue, 07 May 2024 23:00:00 -0000

The ladies are back this week for another ‘Quick One’, in a clip taken from episode 94, which featured Jeremey Bailey, Dawn’s ‘Freedom Friend’, owner of multiple businesses and eligible bachelor. Talking about online dating, the trio discuss what they think is good and bad about it, why it might be more tailored to men and not women and why it will never compete with a good, old fashioned, romantic encounter.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Jeremy sparks the conversation by giving his thoughts on online dating, how he thinks the science behind it is sound, but why he prefers to talk to someone instead of just ‘swiping right’.
Tracy bemoans the fact that online dating has reduced initial romantic interactions to looking at photos and a list of likes and how this will never allow you to judge someone's personality.
Jeremy explains his theory that men are competing with all other men for a woman's attention, but women are not competing with other women, then uses Tracy’s experiences to prove his point.
Dawn shares her thoughts on what men are attracted to in women and what women are attracted to in men and why this makes online dating a platform that men prefer.

BEST MOMENTS

“From my experience, most ladies have made up their mind in minutes whether they are interested or not.”

“Men require physical attraction, women require an emotional connection to be attracted .”

“I went on a date with a man and he turned out to be shorter than me, so that was no straight away.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Jeremy’s Instagram

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

D&T | Is it the Journey or the Destination, when it comes to business and life?

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 23:00:00 -0000

It’s Tracy's birthday this week and, as she becomes another year older, it prompts a question from Dawn “Is it the journey or the destination that’s important?” As the ladies try to break down this age old question, one thing becomes clear - that the answer really isn’t that simple. Looking at the difference between personal and career journeys, how their perception of the destination has changed over the years, and how the journey might pass you by, the ladies leave no stone unturned when trying to solve this riddle, but what they do decide, is that the answer to this question may be neither the journey or the destination.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn says that we live in a world where we are conditioned to think that ‘specific outcomes’ are what is important, but as she has discovered in life, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Tracy muses on the idea that even though the journey is important, it’s more important to recognise that you’re on a journey and to “smell the roses along the way.”
Tracy talks about the idea of the ‘gap and the gain’. Should you measure your success on how far you fell short, the gap, or what you achieved that you never thought you would, the gain.
Tracy looks back on how her perception of what her destination is has changed over the years and how those destinations have turned from material items into more personal desires.

BEST MOMENTS

“Where we’re going is important, but by the time we get there we want change.”

“We are all on multiple journeys with multiple destinations.”

“Remember to live life for the moment, because we don’t know how many moments we have left.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Getting Up As We Age

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 23:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are here with a quick caffeine cast. After waking up at 4:10am this week and deciding to just get out of bed, something that has been happening more and more recently, Tracy wants to talk about why, as we get older, do we wake up earlier and earlier in the mornings.

From the science that Dawn can’t remember, to Tracy just wanting to be lazy and the all important topic of afternoon naps, the ladies are covering everything you want to know about early rising, lying in and the morning after the night before.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn was listening to a podcast about the science behind sleeping times, but she can’t remember all the details. Luckily Tracy is here to fill her in.
Tracy has been experimenting with her circadian rhythm when sleeping. She explains the method to Dawn and the benefits she is seeing.
Dawn finds that her most productive days are the ones when she gets up early, but she muses on why she is naturally waking up earlier now that she has nothing to do in the mornings.
Dawn and Tracy discuss the idea of afternoon naps. Tracy isn’t a fan, but Dawn might be able to convince to start taking them more seriously.

BEST MOMENTS

“Why is it that when the kids finally leave home your body decides it wants to wake up early?”

“I was listening to something, I can’t remember what it was and they were talking about something, but I can’t remember the name of it. But, apparently, it helps you sleep.”

“I do find that the days I get up early are my most productive days, but, parking that, it really pisses me off.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Rising Above: Chloe Bisson's Journey from Success to Self-Discovery

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 23:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy welcome back Chloe Bisson. Chloe had a meteoric rise in her career, becoming the director of an international company by the age of 26. But once she achieved her dream, she was left feeling empty and ill. Initially visiting the doctor to try and ease her stomach pain, she was shocked when she was diagnosed with severe clinical depression. After a period of denial, Chloe decided to tackle her illness head on, which led to some incredible revelations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Chloe talks about her initial diagnosis of depression and how she found herself in disbelief and denial, because, as she discovered, depression is not what she thought it was.
Choe talks about how her diagnosis made her look at her life and reevaluate some of her lifestyle choices, and how this may never have happened if she had not received her diagnosis.
Tracy muses on the idea of labels when it comes to mental health and how they might not be the most appropriate way of helping people.
Chloe shares the story of how she met a nurse that helped her finally understand her condition, which allowed her to make positive changes and face it head on.

BEST MOMENTS

“Everybody has different ways of dealing with depression, but a top tip is ‘don’t suppress your emotions’.”

“Everyone tells you to talk about it, which is great, but I’m not sure everybody is prepared to hear it.”

“We should normalise depression instead of making it a taboo subject. Let’s let everyone know that it’s ok to not feel ok.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Chloe’s Linkedin

Chloe’s Facebook

Chloe’s Instagram

ABOUT THE GUEST

Chloe is a #1 bestselling author, international speaker, multi-award winning entrepreneur and host of the Inspired By Show.

At 25, Chloe overcame severe clinical depression and started her first online business. Since then Chloe's scaled multiple six figure businesses and now specialises in helping entrepreneurs to explode their brands, write their bestselling books and elevate their status so they can inspire and influence others around them.

In this episode Chloe shares her expertise on How to Write a Book.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Dawn & Tracy | Growing Old Gracefully. Glamourous Grannies and Business. Dropping the responsibilities of parenthood as Grandparents. Growing wiser not older

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 15:55:41 -0000

This week Dawn welcomed a new grandchild into the family which sparked the idea for this episode. Dawn and Tracy are back to discuss growing old gracefully, being glamorous grannies in business, dropping the responsibilities of parenthood as grandparents, and how we’re growing wiser, not older. Is growing old the same for everyone? And how can we make sure our sons don’t repeat the mistakes many do?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

For Dawn, growing old gracefully is all about not trying to salvage a youthful look with lip fillers, it’s about allowing yourself to look your age but still look amazing. Accept your age and make the most of it rather than trying to hold on to something that’s gone. For Tracy it’s about maturing and getting wiser, rather than growing older.
It’s a fascinating process stepping back and watching your child become a parent, you can see where your legacy in life really is. Your children and how they raise their children is so much down to you and who you were to them.
When you’ve been a single parent you want to make sure you raise your sons to be good parents because you know what can happen if someone isn’t there and doesn’t step up.
Having grandchildren hasn’t made Dawn feel old, it’s made her feel proud seeing who her children have become and realising the meaning of legacy.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I refuse to let go of that status, we can retain our hotness in older age’

‘Growing old is a bit of a dirty word’

‘Nobody wants their grandmother having an OnlyFans account’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up with all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Terrors of Technology

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0000

Tracy has a new service that helps people overcome the struggles they have with technology. And with Dawn expanding her business and launching her books, she’s in desperate need of such a service. Having seen some of the work that Tracy has done this has got Dawn wondering how people in the world progress if they don’t have a ‘Tracy’.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy outlines what her service actually does and the benefits it can bring to a new or existing business.
Dawn talks about the relief she experienced using Tracy’s service, not just from a time perspective but the quality of the work and how this is a valuable lesson in business.
Dawn and Tracy discuss the idea that if you are tight with your money then you attract customers that don’t want to spend money.
Dawn realises that embracing the terror of technology always pays off in the long run when you realise how effective it can be.

BEST MOMENTS

“Sometimes you can’t do it yourself. Outsource and then you can focus on the things you’re actually good at.”

“Sometimes we get too hung up on what it is going to cost me instead of what value it is going to bring me.”

“Has tech made our lives better or just moved the point at which we are terrified?”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Challenges of Being a New Father and Running a Business with Michael Wildig

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0000

This week the ladies have brought back popular guest Micheal Wildig. Dawn and Tracy have spent a lot of time talking about being mothers alongside running their own businesses so they thought it was time for a bit of balance. A new father and business owner, Michael is here to give his thoughts on his experience of being a first time dad, the impact it has had on his relationship and business and how parenting has changed in recent years, for the better.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Michael talks about the unexpected impacts on his business after fathering his first child.
Michael discusses how his wants and needs have changed since his child was born and how this has affected his personal and professional life.
Michael gives his insight on how having a child has changed his relationship with his partner and the different roles they have found themselves taking.
Dawn and Tracy share their experience of raising their children and their thoughts on the role of the mother versus the role of the father.

BEST MOMENTS

“My child has given me a massive ‘why’ when I think about running my business and the longevity and legacy I want to create.”

“It’s really sad that in the past the father was the worker and the mother was the carer. This meant his father missed out on a lot of firsts.”

“When raising a child with a partner, it’s not about what I’m doing and what you’re doing, it’s about how we can raise this child together.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Michael’s Instagram

ABOUT THE GUEST

Michael's professional journey commenced in the motor trade, where he devoted seven years of his life, earning recognition for his professionalism and sales achievements. Yet, he came to a realisation that the industry didn't fully align with his expectations. In August 2019, he made a bold choice to leave his job and embark on a fresh journey in the world of property.

Since transitioning into the property sector, he has successfully completed over 30 property projects, both for himself and his clients.

His unwavering passion has garnered attention and Michael's ultimate aspiration is to create quality, affordable housing and generate investment returns through HMO conversions, not just for himself but also for his clients & business partners.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Rules of Engagement - Are we ageist when it comes to the thought of "chatting up"?

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 01:00:00 -0000

On a recent trip to a hardware store, Dawn’s husband was propositioned by an older lady, which got Dawn and Tracy thinking about what are the rules of engagement for older people when it comes to matters of the heart. Are older people becoming more confident or is confidence something that comes with age? Why are more men dating older women and can relationships even work when there is a large age gap?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy recounts her recent experience of being approached by a younger man and how this made her feel.
The ladies discuss what qualities they think men are attracted to in older women that younger women don’t have.
Dawn talks about people she knew that had relationships with large age gaps and the advantages and disadvantages that came with them.
Tracy talks about how she has noticed a trend in younger people in business to carry the confidence they have with dating into their professional lives and how this isn’t always a good thing.

BEST MOMENTS

“I think I’m a catch and if someone wants to chat me up I know it’s because of my personality.”

“Older women are more confident in the bedroom. They know what they like and how they like to do it.”

“Confidence is as attractive as it gets.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Lost in the Hustle: Managing Stress and Disarray in Business

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are both stressed, so much so that they’ve decided to drop this week's topic in favour of having a good old rant. Mobile phones, multiple messages via multiple channels, being your own boss, trying to do everything at 100 miles an hour and zoom emojis are just some of the things that are contributing to the ladies feeling ‘discombobulated.’ But is it worth getting chewed up about these things and are there simple solutions to coping with them?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn encourages young people to accept when they are feeling stressed and to talk about it, especially on social media where we have a tendency to paint the picture of a perfect life.
Tracy muses on the idea that the modern world, full of technology, might increase the stress placed on people's lives.
The ladies discuss how they are implementing new practices into their businesses to give themselves a better work life balance.
Dawn talks about the importance of taking life at the right pace and not feeling like you have to rush everything.

BEST MOMENTS

“Be aware of your emotions and then you can manage them.”

“Sometimes the best thing to do is take a second to stop and reassess where you are.”

“Everybody has bad days, and that’s ok.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Time for a Quick One - Freemasonry and Inclusivity with Carl Sams

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0000

It’s time for a quick one with Dawn and Tracy. This week they're bringing you an extract from Episode 79 which was first published on the 1st of March 2023. Following on from the ladies recent episode about ‘Boy jobs’ and ‘Girl jobs', today's episode highlights their original conversation with Carl from the Freemasons, on the role gender plays in Freemasonry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Carl addresses some myths about the Freemasons such as whether it’s a satanic cult and if people get inducted with one trouser leg pulled up.
Tracy talks about her all female property group, ‘Which Property’ and some of the negative feedback she received about being ‘sexist’.
Carl talks about why people join the Freemasons and how the joining up process has changed.
Carl clarifies the no women policy of the Freemasons and how it’s not actually what most people believe.

BEST MOMENTS

“The satanic thing is a myth that originated from other groups that felt threatened by us.”

“There are so many aspects to the group that most people find that the reason they came for isn’t the reason they stay for.”

“The woman’s role in society has changed so much over the years, and we’re now on a equal footing and that’s great.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

How to Write a Book with Chloe Bisson

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by bestselling author, international speaker, multi-award winning entrepreneur and host of the Inspired By Show, Chloe Bisson. Chloe overcame severe depression and started her coaching business. Frustrated at the lack of clients she was acquiring, she decided to write a book to tell her story. The book ended up becoming a bestseller and launched Chloe as an author. In this interview, Chloe shares all her wisdom for aspiring authors in the hope that you can follow in her footsteps.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Chloe shares her journey to becoming an author and explains how her first book was written in the hopes of finding her more business clients but ended up taking her down an unexpected path.
Chloe gives her top tips to aspiring writers and how they can overcome the pitfalls that most first time writers fall into.
The ladies talk about the difference between writing for money and writing for art and how lessons learned in the former can be applied to the latter.
Chloe talks about finding the right publisher for your book, the things you should take into account and how you can know you’ve found the right publisher for you.

BEST MOMENTS

“You’re changing as you are writing the book, so be careful not to keep going back to the start and rewriting with a new viewpoint, if you do that, you’ll never finish.”

“Ask yourself what is point A and what is point B. The journey is where the reader is between the two points.”

“Find an honest friend that will read your book and give you feedback.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Chloe’s Linkedin

Chloe’s Facebook

Chloe’s Instagram

ABOUT THE GUEST

Chloe is a #1 bestselling author, international speaker, multi-award winning entrepreneur and host of the Inspired By Show.

In this episode Chloe shares her expertise on How to Write a Book.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Relationships - Are There Boy Jobs and Girl Jobs When It Comes to Household Chores?

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn’s been cleaning her vacuum cleaner, which got her thinking, “Why am I doing this, isn’t this a ‘boy job’?” However, this may be old fashioned thinking. As times have changed and work and home life has become more equal among partners, and with the normalisation of same sex couples, is there such a thing as ‘boy jobs’ and ‘girl jobs’ anymore, or are they a relic of the past?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn talks about how she feels more comfortable with her husband earning more money than her as it enforces her views on masculinity.
Tracy muses on the idea that social and economic factors outside of our control can sometimes cause a shift in household roles.
Tracy speculates that the problems we have with other people not fulfilling their roles as we expect, might actually be a problem with our own expectations.
Tracy suggests that couples should split roles equally, regardless of what they are, which leads Dawn to question if her marriage is working!

BEST MOMENTS

“It doesn’t matter what it is in your household, it matters what people want in their household.”

“There may be families out there where the man cooks simply because the woman can’t.”

“I want to tell my husband these roles are official because we’ve discussed it on the podcast.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Government and The PPE Scandal: Should the Government Be Held More Accountable For The Use of Public Funds?

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0000

The ladies are back and this week they’re delving into the PPE scandal that is currently dominating the headlines. But, the PPE fiasco isn’t the real problem. The real problem is how the government and elected officials handle public money. Tracy and Dawn don’t hold back as they discuss government contracts, the misuse of public funds and the lack of accountability that means these problems keep happening.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn, who doesn’t listen to the news, get’s the low down on the PPE scandal from Tracy.
The ladies share their outrage over the fact that government contracts are not held up to the same regulatory standards as private sector contracts and what they think should change.
Dawn talks about the reality of contracts in all sectors and how it’s never a case of awarding the contract to the best candidate.
The ladies debate the extent of Baroness Mone’s involvement in the PPE scandal and why she is being targeted by the press as the only guilty party.

BEST MOMENTS

“Back door deals are a lot more common than most people would believe.”

“Why are people in the government not held to the same standards that the government regulatory bodies hold other industries to?”

“The people that run our country are supposed to be intelligent. If they’re not clever enough to do a check on a balance sheet then we’re in trouble.'

EPISODE RESOURCES

Relationship Coaching for Couples [Intimate Relationship Program

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Love, Sex and Intimacy with Tony & Nicki Vee

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0000

In this special episode of Real Women Dawn and Tracy are taking a backseat and handing control over to relationship guru’s Tony and Nikki Vee. If you are here having spent Christmas and New Year either single or wondering whether you are in the right relationship then listen in as we learn why relationships break down and what to do to find the right partner for you, whether that's in life or business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tony and Nikki ask you to rate your relationship or your willingness to be in a relationship and then challenge you to look back at that rating once the show is over.
Have you ever thought that you might be the problem and not your partner? Tony talks about how everyone is so quick to blame the other party, that they always overlook their own behaviours.
Tony breaks down his ‘3 Bucket’ theory and how most relationship strengths, weaknesses and solutions can be categorised into one of these three buckets.
Tony and Nikki talk about the concepts of the ego and how gaining a better understanding of it can enhance your own self and your relationship.

BEST MOMENTS

“The most important thing you can do to be successful in a relationship is work on you.”

“What you put out is what you get back.”

“The thinking, behaviours and strategies that have got you where you are in life are not the same ones that are going to give you your future.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE GUESTS

Tony & Nicki's first keynote speaking gig was way back in 2004 to over a hundred raving Tony Robbins fans in Dublin, Ireland. The organisers asked them to talk about how they found each other and got into a fantastic love-filled, intimate relationship.

The talk ended with people asking for more which led Tony & Nicki to create a powerful 3-hour address which they have delivered time and again in the UK, Europe, the USA & Australia and, where there are English-speaking audiences, including alongside John Gray of Venus and Mars fame.

From those early days, Tony & Nicki designed, created and ran over 200 weekend and week-long Retreats and Events through their businesses and for other companies and organisations, nationally and internationally.

Tony & Nicki have spoken on local and national radio shows, including for the BBC and RTE in Ireland and have also appeared on Sky TV and TV AM Ireland. They also have written and appeared in the National Press, The Daily Mail, The Express and The Sun, as well as in many top-selling National Magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Woman & Home and Best.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

When Business Takes You to the Brink of Despair with Michael Wildig

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0000

This week Tracy and Dawn are joined by property investor Michael Wildig. Micheals business was on the up when he suddenly found himself caught in a scam that cost over £150,000 and sent him into a spiral. Things became so bad for Michael that he even contemplated suicide. In this open and honest interview Michael discusses his experiences, how it could happen to anyone and the steps he took to overcome his hardship and come back stronger.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Michael gives the details of the scam he was caught up in, how much it cost him and how anyone could have fallen for it.
Michael talks about his difficulties in facing up to what he perceived as a failure and how he found it difficult to talk to others about his problems.
Tracy gives her insights on men’s mental health, and how society is changing to make it more acceptable for men to speak up.
Michael looks back at his experience and shares some of the lessons he learned and steps to take to avoid being scammed yourself.

BEST MOMENTS

“It’s not what goes wrong, it’s how you deal with it and carry on.”

“Having a clearly defined ‘why’ is the one thing that can help you through the hard times.”

“If you’re going through a mental health problem, don’t keep it inside. Talk to someone. That’s the best advice you can have.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Michael’s Instagram

ABOUT THE GUEST

Since transitioning into the property sector, he has successfully completed over 30 property projects, both for himself and his clients.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Time For A Quick One - Giving and Signs That Business and Life Are Better Than You May Think

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0000

It’s time for a Christmas quick one with Dawn and Tracy. As the holidays come around it’s easy for us to look back on the year and think of all the things we didn’t do or don’t have. But, the ladies are here to tell you that there are many things in your life to be grateful for and, maybe, you just don’t realise it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn and Tracy discuss food banks and how, even though they don't use them, they are grateful that they exist.
Tracy talks about the idea that some of the things we take for granted, such as having a take-away and watching a film, are things others simply can’t afford and would love to do.
Dawn shares that, once a year, she writes to her family and tells them the things she is grateful to them for and the emotional satisfaction she gets from this.
Tracy talks about the idea of being grateful for things that aren’t material, such as skills, knowledge and relationships with other people.

BEST MOMENTS

“Be grateful that you can eat because you enjoy it and it’s not a matter of sheer survival.”

“If you feel alone and go to somebody else so they don’t feel alone, you are not alone.”

“Be grateful for the things that have gone wrong, because that is where we learn our lessons.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ORIGINAL EPISODE

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Does Striving For Perfection Hold Us Back?

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are here for another ‘caffeine cast’. This time the ladies are talking about the idea of perfection and how it can hold us back. But, is perfection real or is it just a product of our own internal doubts? Kick off your shoes, make a cuppa and take a ten minute break as the ladies get into it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn and Tracy discuss their relationship with perfection and how it has changed over the years.
Tracy talks about how we perceive perfection in our mind and how this often prevents us from just making a start on a certain task.
Using the example of their podcast, the ladies talk about how getting better over time is more satisfying than trying to achieve perfection out of the gate.
The ladies talk about the importance of quality of message over technical perfection.

BEST MOMENTS
“I’m always perfect, except when I’m not.”

“Authenticity is imperfection. Imperfection is perfect.”

“There is no such thing as perfection, it’s just our own internal voice that is telling us we are not good enough.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION
The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

So You Want To Be An Author with Dawn Willock: Practical Learnings For Those Wanting To Write A Book

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0000

It’s the second show in the series on Dawn’s book and this week and Dawn is talking about the writing process and getting the book to market. Interviewed by Tracy, Dawn answers questions on her process, how she came to understand her why and the hugely overlooked aspect of publishing…marketing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn shares her biggest tip for writing a book - ask yourself why you are writing it.
Dawn talks about the importance of knowing your audience and how this will help shape both the language you use and the structure of your writing.
Dawn shares her experience of getting her book published, the different options available to you and her top tips on what to look out for.
Dawn talks about the importance of marketing when writing a book, how this is the most overlooked aspect and shares some of her best practices.

BEST MOMENTS
“Don’t overthink it, just do it.”

“If a publisher tells you they’re only going to take your book if it’s good enough, that’s a good sign that they’re serious.”

“The success of your book has nothing to do with how good or bad it is, it’s all about the marketing.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Dawn’s Website
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

The Evolution of Relationships with Tony & Nicki Vee

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are back for another quick one. This week, we’re taking a trip back to episode 77 where the ladies were joined by relationship gurus Tony and Nicki Vee. In this short episode the gang talk about the evolution of relationships, how our caveman instincts still play a part in modern relationships and why communication is so vital.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn muses on the idea that a caveman bringing home his kill and being celebrated by his wife is akin to a man bringing home flowers today.
Tony talks about the idea that men and women's roles in relationships have become blurred over time and how this can lead to resentment, laziness and a lack of intimacy.
How many times would you go on a date before you sleep with someone? Tony and Nicki advise people to not be so quick to get under the sheets and spend time getting to know your potential partner.
The group talks about communication and how jumping to conclusions instead of talking to your partner never works out for the best.

BEST MOMENTS
“The hard truth is, if your partner absorbs themselves in work, or going to the pub, it’s because they’re not bothered about coming home because you are not serving their needs.”

“Everytime you make an assumption, you are wrong. So don’t assume anything.”

“Women need to be provided for, and if a man does that, the women will celebrate them.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Relationship Coaching for Couples [Intimate Relationship Program]
The Essence of Womanhood: Re-awakening the Authentic Feminine: Amazon.co.uk
Original Episode
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Using Lease Options To Build A Portfolio For My First Year In Property Investing

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0000

This week the show is being taken over by Stephanie Tayor of the ‘Rent to Rent’ podcast. Stephanie is interviewing our very own Tracy about her life as a property mogul. This wide ranging interview covers everything from Tracy’s humble beginnings in the world of property, how she managed being a single parent and setting up her own company and how she found herself where she is today, a successful property magnate with a formidable can-do attitude.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy talks about her journey from career woman to property mogul and how she found early success.
Tracy shares her advice for people that might be in the same position she was in and unsure whether to take the leap into property management.
Tracy talks about her first year in the property business and shares some of the tips and tricks she used to get ahead of the competition.
Tracy talks about the online community she set up for women to help guide them during their first steps in the world of property management.

BEST MOMENTS
“How much are you willing to sacrifice now to get what you want later?”

“Everyone says they want money, but that’s not true. What people want are the things that money can buy, so ask yourself, what is it you really want?”

“Comparison is the thief of joy. Don’t worry about what others are doing, just know that if you don’t start, you won’t get anything.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Rent to Rent Episode
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Living A Regret Free Life Through Your Indomitable Spirit with Dawn Willock

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy have got something a little bit different for you this week. This is the first in a series of three podcasts about Dawn’s new venture….becoming an author. Dawn is writing a series of five books, entitled ‘The Glory of Being Ordinary.” In a world of likes and retweets and virtual approval have we lost the ability to listen to our own internal voice and be confident in our own decisions? This is the subject of Dawn’s first book, ‘The Indomitable Spirit.” And the ladies get into Dawn’s reasons behind writing it, her process and what she wants the outcome to be for the reader.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn talks about her lifelong passion of wanting to be an author, but life got in the way. After attending seven funerals in the last year she realised that life isn’t forever, so she took the leap.
Dawn talks about her approach to writing and how she said no to traditional methods and structures and decided to just ‘go for it.’
Dawn talks about why she wanted to write about the importance of listening to your own voice and not having to rely on the opinions of others.
Dawn talks about how she hopes people will read the book and understand they can function without external validation.

BEST MOMENTS
“If you want to achieve something, you’ve got to start with something.”

“In a world where we have so much noise, we’ve lost the ability to trust ourselves.”

“Social media hasn’t caused our need for approval, it’s exposed our need for approval.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Dawn’s Author Website
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Time For A Quick One: Imposter Syndrome

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are here for another quick one! This time they’re talking about self limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome, something that many successful people suffer from. The ladies get into possible solutions for when your mind begins to wander, how healthy it is to think like this and the benefits of looking at the problem logically so that you can overcome it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy talks about the importance of acknowledging when you are in a downward spiral and how this can help you to break out of it.
Dawn stresses that it is important to see where you are now and take stock of that. You might be in a better place than you think.
The ladies talk about the importance of celebrating your own success and not comparing yourself to others.
Other people sharing posts of their success on social media can easily make you feel like your accomplishments are not as big. The ladies talk about perception and how what you are seeing might not be real.

BEST MOMENTS
“All the stuff leading up to a decision is hard, but the final decision is easy.”

“Only you are on your journey. It’s unique to you, don’t compare it to others.”

“Before you compare, ask yourself, are you comparing yourself to something that’s a load of bollocks?”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Original Episode
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Who are the Critical People in your Life & How much time do you spend with them?

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are back for a caffeine-cast. Dawn has been to a mastermind class and two questions from an exercise hit her hard and made her think…“Who are the critical people in your family?” and “How much time each day do you spend with them?” Dawn shares her thoughts on this, how it has impacted and asks Tracy, and you, to answer the questions yourself.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn discusses the impact the questions had on her when she realised that maybe her priorities are in the wrong order.
Do we take our family for granted? Dawn and Tracy muse on this and how they can’t get the time back they’ve already used.
Why do we prioritise the stuff we hate, cleaning and cooking, over the stuff that makes us happy, spending time with loved ones?
Dawn and Tracy discuss the idea of ‘being present’. They both agree that being present in the moment for a short time with someone is better than spending a long time with them, not being present.

BEST MOMENTS
“Spend all the time you can with your family. The cobwebs will be there to clean later.”

“We don’t just take our family members for granted, we also take time for granted.”

“Five minutes being 100% present with our loved ones has more impact than spending the whole day with them not being present.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Finding Emotional Freedom to Scale Your Business with Dr Clair Burley

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:04:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by clinical psychologist Dr Clair Burley, who specialises in attachment trauma. In a fascinating interview, Dr Clair breaks down attachment styles, how we develop them and how they contribute to our behaviour in relationships, both professional and personal.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dr Clair talks about self sabotage and how this is attributable to early childhood experiences such as facing criticism or humiliation.
Dr Clair explains that starting your own business is, physiologically, very similar to having a child, and how this process can trigger attachment trauma.
Dr Clair explains attachment styles and how they can contribute to the problems in relationships when partners have opposing styles.
Most people are drawn to partners with similar attachment styles. Dr Clair explains that this is us trying to have a ‘do over’ and heal our own traumas.

BEST MOMENTS

“Fear of success is as common as fear of failure and this is all down to self sabotage.”

“If you want to feel an inner sense of happiness and fulfilment then it’s beneficial to start looking at what your emotional triggers may be.”

“We’re drawn to people that are similar, even if it makes us unhappy, it can make us feel safe.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Networking Rebel | Pontefract

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

D&T | Time for a Quick one, Being a networking diva

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are here for another quick one. This time, they’re taking a look back at episode 75 with Caroline Andrew-Johnstone, also known as ‘The Network Rebel.’ Caroline talks about her journey from reluctant first time network attendee to where she is today, managing director of ‘4 Networking.’ She talks about how networking can improve your business and how, like her, you'll never know until you try.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Caroline talks about her experience at her first networking event and it was not what she had expected.
Caroline talks about how she became a leader at the networking events and the skills she learned to allow her to launch a further 24 networks.
Once covid hit, Caroline realised she needed a change. She talks about her transformation into the ‘Networking Rebel.’
Caroline makes her case for why people should join networking groups, mainly the 80-20 rule. 20% of business is showing up, but 80% comes from networking.

BEST MOMENTS

“Before I went to my first networking event I was convinced I would be walking into a cult.”

“I’m here to coach confidence which means I have to put my big girl pants on and actually do the do.”

“It’s not about what you do, it’s about the itch that you scratch and how you can help people.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Networking Rebel

Link for MAGB

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Mourning Our Youth - What we Miss Most from our Younger Days

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 23:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy are mourning their youth, or are they? The ladies are talking about the inevitability of getting older and, despite the fact they don’t feel it mentally, what it means for their bodies and their health. But is getting older all just about wrinkles and wobbly bits? Is there something better that comes with age and, when you look past the physical, what are the things you really mourn from your younger days.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The ladies agree that mentally, they don’t feel any different from when they were in their 30’s, but there are a few physical differences now that they’re ‘closer to 60’.
Although Dawn is not happy that her body is changing with time, she summarises that it’s a fair trade off for the life experience and wisdom she has gained.
The ladies talk about various beauty treatments they have tried to turn back the clock, but come to the conclusion that you’re just kidding yourself.
The ladies look past the superficial and talk about the things they would do differently if they had their youth again.

BEST MOMENTS

“As your body starts to crumble, your brian gets wiser.”

“I don’t think it’s possible to look back at photos of when you were younger and not want to be like that again.”

“Part of my wrinkles and imperfections in my body are part of my character.

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Swinging, what is it really?

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0000

This week on the show Dawn and Tracy are taking a deep dive into the world of swinging. Not literally, both ladies agree that it’s not for them, but they are fascinated by it. In a wide ranging discussion, the ladies discuss their thoughts around sex, separating intimacy for emotion and Tracy shares an interesting story about a night in a hotel room.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn and Tracy share their opinions on whether they would swing and how they both think it would be impossible for them to separate the emotion from the sex.
Dawn discusses the experiences of her friend who ventured into the world of swinging and how she was inspired by her friend's sexual liberation.
The ladies talk about how the perception of swinging and other sexual practices has changed and became more acceptable in recent times.
Tracy muses on the idea that a man that watches his partner partake in swinging can’t be masculine enough to protect his woman, Dawn disagrees.

BEST MOMENTS

“Everybody’s relationship is their relationship, so what is considered cheating by one might not be what’s considered cheating by the other.”

“As a feminine woman, I want a man to sweep me off my feet and take charge, not a man who is going to be happy for me to sleep around.”

“It’s important to have open, honest conversations with your partner about sex. If you don't, how can you truly know what they want?”

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/laura_apples_/

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Time For a Quick One: Creating The Life You Desire

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are back for a quick one. This week, in a clip taken from episode 74, the ladies are discussing what happiness really is. Whilst most people think that winning the lottery or having a perfect body is the thing that will make them happy, Dawn and Tracy disagree. But they do agree on one thing, that happiness is a journey, not the destination.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn talks about how people's final goals can corrupt them and make them lose sight of the now, and how, instead, people should enjoy the journey.
Tracy thinks that chasing end goals is actually just a ritual of chasing happiness and how, when we reach our goals, they never really give us the satisfaction we thought they would.
The ladies discuss the idea of internal happiness and how setting small goals and achieving them everyday can contribute to that.
The ladies agree that people are ultimately seeking happiness in life and whilst winning the lottery may feel like happiness, it will only really make you happy if you’re already happy.

BEST MOMENTS
“People who earn millions are workaholics and are heading toward an early heart attack.”
“There’s a big difference between chasing a goal and aspiring to what purpose you think that goal will give you.”
“Nobody will be happy for having a million pounds. Ask yourself what you want the money for and will those items really make you happy.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website
Original Episode

ABOUT THE HOSTS
Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up with all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.
Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.
Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Dawn Rants About Accountability; Are Politicians And Public Figure Being Accountable?

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 23:00:00 -0000

This week on the show Dawn and Tracy are getting stuck into accountability. The ladies rip into banks, energy companies, the government, politicians and banks and wonder why all these people and organisations are seemingly allowed to do anything they want without being held accountable. Buckle up for an explosive rant with two very real women.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn talks about the fire in Grenfell and how no one has yet to face accountability for either the accident or the deaths it led to.
Tracy is having a problem with her bank, which isn’t her fault, this leads the ladies to discuss how banks can seemingly do what they want without accountability.
Tracy talks about how now, in the digital age, when all transactions are done online, having a bank account should be a basic right, not a privilege.
The ladies get on to energy companies and muse on how they are allowed to dictate prices and record record profits without any accountability.

BEST MOMENTS
“Everyone should be held accountable for what they do, good or bad.”
“We have a saying in Yorkshire ‘The arse doesn’t know what the elbow is talking about’.”
“We’re getting to the point where the consumers are going to revolt. I’m ready to walk down the street naked with a plaque!”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Exploring The Impact of Toxic Masculinity on Society with Rob Moore

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 23:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by business owner, property magnate, podcast host and all rounder Rob Moore. The three discuss the growing conversation around toxic masculinity and the impact it’s having on society. But what is toxic masculinity, is it a media creation? Is it an easy label to apply to things we don’t like or is there some truth in the term?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Rob and the ladies talk about the idea of toxic masculinity and the roles of gender within relationships and society.
Tracy talks about how society is slowly merging the definitions of feminine and masculine and how this might not be a good idea in the long term.
Rob talks about his experience of gender in the workplace from running a business and how he sees men and women approach the same roles from a different viewpoint.
Rob gives his thoughts on what he thinks masculinity is and how, over time, his view on this has changed.

BEST MOMENTS
“Good times create weak men, weak men create hard times, hard times create strong men, strong men create good times.”
“When all is said and done, masculine men are hot.”
“People should be paid for their skill set, not their gender.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

ABOUT THE HOSTS
Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.
Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.
Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Time for a Quick One - Menopause and the Working Woman, Life as a Woman after a Hysterectomy

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy are back for another quick one…This week they’ve taken a clip from a show back in January with the amazing Laura Applewhite. The ladies are talking about hysterectomies and menopause. How does it really affect women's bodies and minds and is there a silver lining to it all!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Laura talks about the expectation women have after a hysterectomy and how this has changed over time
Laura talks about how menopause is always viewed as a negative but insists there are positives as well.
Dawn talks about how women in different cultures approach menopause.
The ladies talk about the idea of associating illness with victimhood.

BEST MOMENTS

“A hysterectomy is a change, not a disease.”

“Menopause always us to be straight to the point and not tolerate bullshit anymore.”

“Don’t paint something better than it is and don’t paint it worse than it is.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.facebook.com/groups/hysterectomyhealingwithlauraapplewhite

ABOUT THE GUEST

Laura Applewhite, founder of hysterectomy healing, is on a mission to help as many women as possible, who have had a hysterectomy, and/or would like to master their menopause. Laura created a programme that puts women at the heart of their own healing journey that helps women listen to their intuition, use their voice and connect to their whole being.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Has Feminism Worked or Has it Gone Insane?

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 23:00:00 -0000

This week on the show Dawn and Tracy are getting stuck into Feminism. The ladies try to define it and also look at how that definition has changed, and perhaps not for the better, over the years. Looking back at the suffragette movement to feminism of modern day, Dawn and Tracy discuss the possibility that the idea of feminism might have got lost along the way.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn and Tracy discuss the differences between feminism and equal rights and how equality and diversity might have gone a little too far.
Tracy muses on the idea that men are being ‘positively discriminated’ against because feminism has evolved into something it was never intended to be.
Dawn talks about the roles of masculinity and femininity in relationships and how both should be embraced but not at the cost of each other.
Tracy discusses the idea that feminism has become political and instead of being about discrimination it has morphed into a warped view of equality.

BEST MOMENTS
“Do I think that men and women are the same? No. But are we entitled to equal rights? Yes.”
“Feminism is just one arm of equal rights.”
“Not all people that empower women are feminists.”
“If we get rid of discrimination don’t we have equality by default?”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

103: Tales of a Playboy Bunny - How Travelling the World Dressed as a Rabbit Provided Skills for a Career in Customer Services.

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 23:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by the incredible Natalie Deegan. Natalie shares some incredible stories about her time working for Playboy and working up the corporate ladder to becoming head bunny. In this great interview Natalie sheds a new light on the Playboy experience and how it really isn’t what everyone presumes it to be.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Guest Natalie talks about her journey from aspiring model and working in IT sales to head bunny at Playboy London.
Natalie talks about some of the negative perceptions that people have when they found out she worked for Playboy and how those perceptions could not be further from the truth.
Natalie talks about how the women are paid more than the men at Playboy which leads into a conversation about the gender pay gap.
Once Natalie progressed into management at Playboy she found that the women were more threatened by her, and other women, than the men. The ladies talk about how this seems to be a behaviour that exists in all industries.

BEST MOMENTS

“The Playboy bunny costume is such an empowering thing to wear. It makes you feel proud to be a symbol of such a rich history.”

“It’s not a competition, if we all empowered each other then we’d all win.”

“If all you ever do is go on hearsay and assumption then you don’t have the right to judge.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Natalie’s Instagram

ABOUT THE GUEST

Natalie's job at Expert Empires (EE) is to ensure that every single client has a world-class experience. Her strengths lie in VIP events, brand collaboration and working as a team, which is exactly why she heads up the amazing client experience team.
The interesting thing with Natalie is where her amazing VIP event and customer experience skills come from. Before joining EE, Natalie spent her previous career travelling the world dressed as a rabbit…and she’s got some pretty cool ‘tails’ to tell about it too.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Time for a Quick One: Marriage, Divorce, Love and Loss

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Have you got time for a quick one with Dawn and Tracy? Is this short episode the ladies discuss the breakdown of Tracy’s marriage once her husband accepted that he was gay. Tracy looks back on this time and, with hindsight, analyses what went wrong, the signs she missed along the way and, ultimately, how she has come to accept the positives that came from the situation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy talks about the breakup of her previous relationship and how the betrayal of her partner made her grieve the loss of the future they had planned together.
Tracy’s husband entered into a new relationship with another man. She talks about the pressures on gay men in the 90’s to hide these desires and try to live a ‘normal’ life.
The ladies talk about open relationships and specifically Tracy’s reluctance to the idea as she believes having multiple partners would still be ‘cheating’.

BEST MOMENTS

“Sometimes relationships don’t work, but the people involved in the breakup could help each other to realise who they truly are.”

“It doesn’t matter who you cheated with, you cheated.”

“My husband has an expression - ‘A man’s body only stands up for what it stands up for’.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Dieting, Healthy Eating And Living a Vital Entreprenuerial Life

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Tracy has lost weight, over a stone in 5 weeks. But she's not on a fad diet, she’s taking steps to understand her health, healthy eating and her mindset around food. The results are speaking for themselves and so Dawn and Tracy have a discussion about the diet industry, what works and what doesn’t and share invaluable knowledge so that you can follow in Tracy’s footsteps and not just look better, but more importantly, feel better.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn has beef with the diet industry. She and Tracy discuss how the diet industry is aimed at weight loss only and how it should focus more on health.
Tracy had a realisation that she might only have 25 Christmas’ left. She talks about how this spurred her on to be healthier, not just to ‘lose weight’ and how she did this by resetting her mindset.
Tracy talks about her healthy living journey so far and how she began to understand how her addiction to sugar was affecting her body and the methods she used to beat that addiction.
The Ladies discuss how most bad eating habits are actually addictions or habits and how these can be the biggest barriers to weight loss, but also, how you can retrain your brain to beat these habits.

BEST MOMENTS
“The dieting industry doesn’t want you to get where you want to be, because then you’ll stop buying their products.”
“I realised when I studied weight loss that I’m not dealing with knowledge or a lack of knowledge, what I’m dealing with is an addiction.”
“Who knew a salad with a bit of fruit on it could be so tasty!”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Nick Feeney | Writing a Better Middle Life Story; Entrepreneurial Success, Midlife and Becoming a Better You

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy have made it to 100 episodes and it’s fair to say they’re chuffed about it. To celebrate this landmark they are joined by guest Nick Feeney. Nick has led an incredible life and, after going through self inflicted trauma, he has managed to turn his life around and now coaches men on how to be the best versions of themselves. So sit back and celebrate with the ladies as they toast to episode 100!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Nick talks about his shift in attitude from a self centred man to one who helps others and how this came about when he realised that he wasn’t being true to himself and was actually trying to achieve a version of success that was marketed to him and not his own.
Nick talks about some of his coaching methods with midlife men and how, as one of his first steps, he discusses with his clients the difference between loving your partner and liking them.
Nick describes the difference between what he calls ‘exchanges’ and conversations. And, how moving into conversations with your loved ones will create deeper bonds.
The ladies and Nick talk about the problems with judging each other and how somebody else’s problems may seem insignificant compared to your own, but they are actually significant to them.

BEST MOMENTS
“I made a promise to myself to be a better man and take responsibility for who I was.”
“Conversations are like onions. Everytime you ask a question, you get closer to the core.”
“My husband’s favourite phrase is ‘Dawn, I don’t know what the f**k you’re talking about.’.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Nick’s Website
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

ABOUT THE GUEST
Since 1992 Nick has started and sold a variety of businesses – from pubs, a commercial cleaning company, investment and finance to high end glamping and more.
Whilst forging a successful entrepreneurial career, he turned into a version of himself that he thought he needed to be. Nick pushed himself daily like we all do to achieve the success that we crave. Nothing was going to stop him.
Then his world imploded, and he lost everything.
He vowed from then on to do all he could to be a better man.
10 years on and he’s gone from burnout to on-fire.
Now with over 200+ hours of coaching and over £60k invested in his own personal growth journey – Nick is an Internationally Accredited Life Coach and Mentor and has turned his mess into a message.

Time For a Quick One - Working in Man’s World With Katie Rishover

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 23:00:00 -0000

It’s time for another quick one with Dawn and Tracy. In this short show they are joined by fitness trainer Katie Rishover and talk about male dominated environments, how they affect women and what women can do to shift the balance back to them. Put the kettle on, sit back for 10 and enjoy a quick one with Dawn and Tracy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The ladies discuss whether or not a woman can lack confidence in a male dominated environment as they already expect prejudice.
Is there a trade off with your femininity when you develop confidence as a woman?
The ladies talk about gym’s and how, more and more, they are moving away from being male dominated spaces and are becoming full with confident women.
Why do we have to be ‘one of the boys’? The ladies get stuck into this phrase and ask why they can’t just be people.

BEST MOMENTS
“I’m no less equal for being a female.”
“Men become dicks when they’re not confident.”
“If you’re more confident, that energy is going to come across.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/risheyfitness2
Rishey Fit Plans https://register.risheyfit.app/plans
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Tips For Managing Anxiety For You, Your Life And Business

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 23:00:00 -0000

On this week's show Dawn and Tracy are talking all about anxiety. Whilst Tracy has had a difficult time with anxiety over the years, Dawn has rarely experienced it. Both of these viewpoints are taken into account as the ladies discuss tools you can use to help lower your anxiety and calm your mind.
And on top of all of that...the ladies get their first complaint.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy talks about her relationship with anxiety and how, over the last 5 years, she has developed skills to help her manage it.
The ladies talk about how anxiety grows and develops and how our past beliefs and experiences can feed into our anxieties.
Tracy talks about framing - the idea that if you have overcome something in the past that may be causing you anxiety you can use that memory to understand how you overcame it last time and apply that practice to your current state of mind.
The ladies talk about letting go of fear and how sometimes this can help you achieve results that you want instead of the results you are worrying about.

BEST MOMENTS
“I made friends with fear a long time ago and it was the greatest gift I gave myself.”
“Surrender to fear doesn’t mean you give into the fear, it means you let go of the fear.”
“Ask yourself - if you’re not worried about the outcome, what would you do?”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Dreaming Big. What Would You Do If You Won the Lottery? Would You Spend or Invest? Would a lottery Win End Your Business?

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 23:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy discuss the ultimate fantasy…What would you do if you won big on the lottery? Would you splash the cash on your dream home, boat and holiday? Or would you be sensible and invest for the future, or maybe help your friends and family and donate to charity? Put the kettle on, make a cuppa and sit back and dare to dream with the ladies as they fantasise about being stinking rich.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Dawn talks about the idea of manifesting a lottery win. 7 years ago she wrote herself a cheque for £24,000,000 and was convinced she would win it if she played the lottery. Her numbers came in, but it was not what she expected.
The ladies discuss who they would help if they won the lottery and what happens when your partner has a bigger family than you, is it fair to give everyone an equal share.
Dawn fantasises about buying a yacht, some land, a house in the Caribbean whereas Tracy would clear her mortgage and buy houses in Barbados, Spain and Portugal to rent out to increase her cash flow.
What’s the difference between treating yourself and wasting money? Tracy talks about a friend that just sold a carpet for £43,000 and the ladies talk about what good could have been done with that money instead.

BEST MOMENTS
“Take your dreams and think about how you are going to achieve them.”
“I’d struggle to enjoy the money if my nearest and dearest didn’t get comfort from it too.”
“Take inspired action and your dreams will become reality.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Time for a Quick One, What does Financial Freedom Mean?

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 23:00:00 -0000

It’s time for another quick one with Dawn and Tracy. In a short clip taken from episode 68 with guest Michelle Herbert, the ladies get stuck into the question of what financial freedom actually means. Is it more money than you can spend or is it just the freedom to do what you want when you want? And how do you achieve financial freedom? Pop the kettle on, sit back for 10 mins and enjoy a quick one with Dawn and Tracy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What does financial freedom really mean and does it mean the same thing for everybody? The ladies discuss.
Could financial freedom be about being realistic and setting realistic goals for yourself?
Is there even such a thing as financial freedom or is it really just freedom of choice?
The ladies discuss the connection between financial freedom and work. If you had £200 million would you give up your job or would you start a new career or does financial freedom mean you are free to not work?

BEST MOMENTS
“Financial freedom to me is a complete bollocks statement.”
“A lot of people selling the concept of financial freedom are working 75 hours a day.”
“Money makes money.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Link to original episode
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Darling, what's for dinner?

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Time for a ‘caffeine cast’ with the ladies. In this short episode Dawn and Tracy have a good old moan about cooking…every single night. What do they hate so much about it and what are the solutions that could make cooking fun again? Make a cuppa, sit back and take a 15-minute break with the ladies…

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The ladies discuss who has time to cook a different meal every single night in the modern world, especially if you add recipe books and hundreds of ingredients to the equation.
One solution the ladies suggest is to create a series of menus and rotate your shopping each week based on the ingredients you need.
Cooking for a family is hard, but cooking for just yourself is harder. Most recipes for one require half a vegetable or half a packet of sauce and then you end up with so much waste.
Are meal boxes that are delivered to your door an answer to the boredom of cooking or could batch cooking save your soul?

BEST MOMENTS

“The solution for cooking for the family is to make your kids cook for themselves from the age of 12.”

“As long as my children let me swear at them, I’ll cook for them.”

“It’s so boring deciding what to cook every single night!”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Shari Teigman | Building a Business as a Single Mum - Should Parents Feel Guilty? - Real Women - Omny.fm

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Dating in a Businessman's World. Is There a Disconnect Between Men and Women When it Comes to Dating For Professionals Over 40's?

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 23:00:00 -0000

This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by Jeremey Bailey, Dawn’s ‘Freedom Friend’. Jeremy owns multiple businesses and is an eligible bachelor. He’s joining the girls this week to give a man’s perspective on dating and to give the ladies some tips on what they're doing wrong and how they can succeed in the modern world of dating.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The guys discuss the difference between online dating and old school face to face meetings. What are the pros and cons of both? Can you really form a connection with someone on a phone screen? And Jeremey shares his thoughts on what he thinks women prefer.
What sparks initial attraction and is it different for men and women? Jeremy argues that men are initially attracted to a woman's appearance and the ladies say that women are only interested if there’s a connection.
Do men and women reach their primes at different ages? Jeremy theories that women are in their prime in their 20’s, whilst men don’t fully mature until they’re 40’s which leads to a discussion about how it’s hard for people to date later in life.
What is the future of dating? Now that ‘40 is the new 20’ does mean people are less inclined to go on serious dates early in life? Are people more concerned with building a career and getting on the property ladder than they are finding a partner? And with the rise of dating apps is intelligent conversation a thing of the past?

BEST MOMENTS
“Women sleep with who they choose, men sleep with who they can.”
“Physical looks don’t last, personality does.”
“Dating app profiles give potential partners the perception of a wonderful life, but instead, you should be living that wonderful life.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Jeremy’s Instagram
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

ABOUT THE GUEST
Jeremy Bailey is a multiple business owner, proud masculine man, lover of women and a thinker who believes in living free and in truth. With his old fashioned values as a modern entrepreneur "bad-boy" Bailey, who Dawn considers her brother from another mother, explores the dating from his perspective and openly discusses his thoughts on the disconnects in the dating scene for the over 40's professional business man.

D&T Time For a Quick One - She Lasted Less Time Than a Lettuce! Are Women in Power Impacted by The Business Lame Culture?

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 23:00:00 -0000

It’s time for another quick one with the ladies. Looking through the lens of Liz Truss’ 50 days as PM the ladies discuss why women in power are held to a different standard than men. Why is this the case and do other women contribute to this behaviour? So stick the kettle on, sit back and enjoy a ten minute quick one with Dawn and tracy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The girls agree that Liz Truss ‘ballsed up’ her very brief reign as Prime Minister. But was it simply because she was a woman in a man's world? The girls get into it and explore other possibilities for her failure.
When women fail, why are they evaluated on their physical appearance in the press and on social media? What has a woman's body type, fashion sense or perceived beauty have to do with her ability to perform a task? And why is this behaviour not applied to men?
What effect does the failure of a woman in the spotlight have on other women? The girls talk about how they were embarrassed after Liz’s failure as they knew the national conversation would turn to ‘woman can’t do the job as well as men”
Is judging Liz Truss and other women in power just another part of our long history of discrimination? Are people in power that are rich, non white, posh, well educated also judged to the same standard as women just because of those perceived differences?

BEST MOMENTS
“When a man messes up you wouldn’t say “Oh, he messed up, but he’s got a great butt!”
“It pisses me off when a woman messes up and people say ‘Maybe she’s got PMT!’”
“Women in powerful positions are representing all women. We should expect that of them, but we do.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website
Full Episode

What is The Current Cost of Living Crisis - Has it Impacted Business?

Tue, 30 May 2023 23:00:00 -0000

The MPC has just increased interest rates for the 12th time in a row putting us at a base rate of 4.5% the highest since 2008 and, with that, it seems like the current cost of living crisis may never end. But don’t fear, Dawn and Tracy are here to break it all down for you. This week the ladies take a hard look at the crisis. Is it as bad as we think? Is it really a new thing? And how can you help yourself during these times?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What is causing the current cost of living crisis, is it Covid? The war in Ukraine? Or is it, just the cycle of economics repeating itself again. The ladies discuss this and how, as a business owner, you should be aware of this cycle.
What is the effect of this crisis on mortgage rates? Dawn discussed her two rental properties and how her mortgages have doubled. She is troubled as she will have to pass some of this cost onto her tenants, but will that mean they will move out? Will more people across the country be left without a home? Is there any way to avoid this?
How much does your relationship with money and your mindset affect how you see the current cost of living crisis? Dawn reminisces about her life in the 80’s when she lived in sheltered accommodation and had to care for herself and two children with only income support to help her. She credits her relationship with money and a positive mindset for helping her get through those hard times.
What things can we do to help ourselves? Cooking is one. The ladies talk about the increase in grocery prices and how people need to be both mindful of how they are shopping, but also, how they need to learn and adapt to new ways. Instead of buying ready meals why not look at buying fresh fruit and vegetables and learn how to cook.

BEST MOMENTS

“When is comes to the cost of living, I refuse to let it impact my life”

“You only ever see the impact on your own life. Take a moment to look at others and see if you can help them.”

“The difference with this crisis is that the items that are rising in cost are the ones the people can’t live without.”

“The term ‘Cost of living Crisis’ was created by the press. The real crisis is how it's impacting your life.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

Janine Evans - The Avon Lady. Building a Business Through Network Marketing. Changing a Life with Adversity Into a Life with Abundance.

Tue, 23 May 2023 23:00:00 -0000

OVERVIEW
This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by the incredible Janine Evans. Janine makes a six figure salary through Avon, this in itself is a remarkable achievement, but it is put into context when Janine reveals that she almost died from cancer, had a heart attack on the operating table and learned that her son was autistic, all within a 6 month period. Join us for a truly inspirational tale, from a phenomenal woman.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Janine was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and whilst she was on the operating table she suffered a heart attack. Unable to help her, the hospital referred her to another facility. It was here that Janine had to endure chemotherapy for 7 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 6 months. During this time, motivated by a fear of death, Janine made a promise to herself that if she survived, she would pursue her dreams, relentlessly.
Janine reveals that she is earning 6 figures a year from selling Avon products. This prompts a discussion about network marketing companies, their business models and history, but also, the opportunities they provide to motivated individuals looking for a new and exciting career opportunity.
Is it wrong to be motivated by money? The ladies get into it as they dispel the myth that people who are motivated by hard cash are cold and ruthless.
Janine discusses her time being ill and how, even though she knew her fate was out of her control, she believes her positive attitude played a role in saving her. She recalls the time the NHS sent her a book titled “How to Tell Your Children You’re Dying.” She put it straight in the bin!

BEST MOMENTS

“Who’d have thought you could be a 6 figure earner from selling a £3 lipstick.”

“You have to work hard, really hard to succeed. I’ve worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week.”

“The good guys can make money.”

“If someone you know is dying, the last thing they want to talk about is their diseases.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Janine's Website www.beaglamourboss.co.uk
Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

ABOUT THE GUEST
Janine started her Avon journey back in the 1990s. At the time, she was in remission from ovarian cancer and had two young children, with her son having been diagnosed with autism.
Avon has given her the freedom to be there for her children and provide them with the life they deserve - putting her son through driving lessons and her daughter through university to become a nurse.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Time for a Quick One - Parenting and Guilt

Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 -0000

D&T | Time for a Quick One. Is guilt a common thing when it comes to parenting as a business owner?

OVERVIEW

It’s time for another ‘Quick One’. This week we’re heading back to episode 66 featuring the wonderful Shari Teigman as she gives her thoughts on mothers who feel guilt when trying to juggle parenting and running a business.

If you loved this ‘Quick One’, why not check out the full episode, here;

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Shari was determined to be the best mother she could be. So she invested in herself by becoming immersed in the world of personal coaching and yoga training to gain the skills she needed to excel.
Where do we learn the secrets of motherhood? The ladies talk about a time before the internet and how TV, past experience and ‘gut feeling‘ were contributing factors to their progression as mothers.
Shari’s guilt came from trying to run 3 lives at once. Her life with her kids, her life at work and her own personal time when her kids were with her ex husband. She tried to juggle all this and be there for her children the second they needed her.
Shari says that her two children are very different. One is totally independent and the other is more in need of attention. She talks about how she believes her guilt and behaviour whilst raising them contributed to this.

BEST MOMENTS

“Giving birth and caring for a newborn baby is NOT like it is in the movies!”

“When you give birth nobody knows what they’re doing. Nobody.”

“When I was working I wanted to be with my kids, when I was with my kids I wanted to be working.”

“I nearly fed my baby milk from the doorstep. I had no idea powdered milk existed.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Real Women on Instagram
Real Women Website

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Rewind 12 years and I was your standard Stepford wife living a life that looked beautiful from the outside but most certainly was not mine. I had lost my spark and I had no idea how to find it again. So I started with what I knew I didn't want and transformed entirely through a divorce, single mamaing the 2 most amazing boys in the world + navigating rebuilding a Self I knew was meant for much more.

After more dark nights of the soul than I can count, lots of dancing & cocktails mixed in for good measure, I found the rabbit hole of personal development and I dove in with all I had. I studied for a life coaching certification and yoga teacher training for a full year of immersion and KNEW I found my purpose. With a sociology, art therapy and makeup artist background, uncovering what makes people tick melded with creativity runs in my veins. My role in the world is to help people unearth themselves for more success, fulfilment and joy on their terms.”

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Dawn & Tracy | Caffeine Cast: The Magic Roundabout. Times in life when we aren’t feeling quite ourselves. Is it Anxiety or Simply The Overwhelm And Stress of a Busy Life?

Tue, 09 May 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Dawn’s not feeling great and Tracy feels like she's on ‘The Magic Roundabout’. But don’t worry, they’ve got each other. In this short ‘Caffine Cast’, a bite size episode you can enjoy whilst having a cuppa, the ladies get stuck into why we sometimes don’t feel ourselves and what we can do to change it. So put the kettle on, sit back for 10 mins and unwind with these Real Women.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Is working for yourself all it’s cracked up to be. The ladies feel like the lure of working for yourself and the opportunity to get off the hamster wheel is exciting and full of promise, but what they’ve both found is that they jump off one wheel and straight on to another.
Tracy talks about how sometimes the simplest thing like a change in the weather can affect your mental health. And, if you’re not in tune with it and don’t take action it can lead into a downward spiral.
As the ladies get into discussion about the pressure we put on ourselves and how, in reality, it’s not the end of the world if we take a night off, Dawn encourages Tracy to ‘do something just for fun’ including the idea of dancing naked in her back garden.
Sometimes we look externally to solve our problems and feelings of anxiety. The idea of booking a holiday or taking a break might seem like a great solution, but most times, we would be better served if we looked internally, as that’s where most of our difficulties lie.
The ladies discuss the extremes some people go to in order to feel alive. Magic mushrooms, cannabis brownies, shoplifting and lurid affairs are all considered, but ultimately, they both decide against taking any of those options.

BEST MOMENTS

“Knowing your ‘why’ is important. Not for the good times, but when you’re feeling low.”

“I don’t know anyone that works for themselves that hasn’t, at some point, said ‘screw this’ I want to quit!’”

“When was the last time you did something that was pure wild abandonment?”

“It’s ok to admit you’re not feeling great. Talk about it, admit it. It’ll make things easier.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Laura Applewhite | Sex and Relationships in Menopause, Does the Menopause Bring a Reduced Sex Drive or is it That Sex Takes a Lower Priority During The Menopause?

Tue, 02 May 2023 23:00:00 -0000

In the first of a new monthly feature on Sex and Relationships, Dawn and Tracy are joined this week by Laura Applewhite, founder of hysterectomy healing. The ladies are going to get real and talk about Sex and Relationships during menopause. Does menopause have an effect on your sex drive or is it just a myth?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The ladies discuss the three things they think are the most important factors during sex…pleasure, safety and connection to your own body and why these factors might have an effect on women's sex drive when they are going through menopause.
Tracy gives her thoughts on how sex is different in middle age and how one night stands are no longer an option due to safety concerns and women having different needs later in life, such as emotional connections being more important than physical attraction. Is this an effect of menopause or is it just age?
Do women use menopause as an excuse for a lack of sex drive instead of looking for the true reason they no longer enjoy sex? It could, instead, be a range of factors. The ladies share their thoughts on reasons you might have lost that spark.
Does society condition us to think that we can’t, or shouldn’t, have sex as we get older? Is sex for young people only? The ladies discuss the idea that women should be comfortable at any age with their bodies and their sexual needs.

BEST MOMENTS

“Sex is not a job, don’t put it at the bottom of your ‘to do’ list”

“Am I attracted to my partner anymore? Are they attracted to me? Is sex now boring? These are the hard questions you have to ask yourself.”

“I intend to have sex til I die, mainly because I love it, but it’s also great exercise”

“I think it’s a load of bollocks that sex drive goes down when menopause kicks in.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.instagram.com/laura_apples_/

ABOUT THE GUEST

www.facebook.com/groups/hysterectomyhealingwithlauraapplewhite

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

D&T - Time For a Quick One - Juggling Life And Business And The ‘Have to's’, Demands and Pressure we Place on Ourselves

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Have you got time for a quick one?

We’re launching a new feature - “D&T Time for a Quick One”. These are short episodes, especially for those times when all you have is about 10 minutes spare in your day. So take a minute, sit back and join the ladies for a quick one!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The ladies discuss their views on the differences between men and women’s approach to domestic duties and muse on the idea that women have a very different perspective to men when it comes to household chores.
Why do the ladies have to sort out holidays, birthday’s, Christmas’, school uniforms, ironing, cooking, cleaning...why can’t the men and kids help?
Do men expect women to take care of domestic duties? A real bug bearer for the ladies as they discuss men looking in the fridge 3 times before asking “What’s for dinner?”
Are women putting demands on themselves with all their ‘Have to’s?’, ‘I have to clean the house’, ‘I have to do the dishes’, ‘I have to do the ironing’. Sometimes they juggle too many of them and it piles on the pressure.

BEST MOMENTS

“You know when married couples fall into bed after a long day and they haven’t had sex for fifteen months?...I get it”

“I don’t clean my house because I’m a woman and “I like that shit”, I do it because if my house is untidy, I can’t settle.”

“My son genuinely believes that I should do all his housework because I chose to have children”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98
Link for MAGB www.magb.com
Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn
Witchproperty.com
ABOUT THE HOSTS
Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.
Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.
Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

Dawn & Tracy | Growing Old Gracefully. Glamourous Grannies and Business. Dropping the responsibilities of parenthood as Grandparents. Growing wiser not older

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0000

KEY TAKEAWAYS

For Dawn, growing old gracefully is all about not trying to salvage a youthful look with lip fillers, it’s about allowing yourself to look your age but still look amazing. Accept your age and make the most of it rather than trying to hold on to something that’s gone. For Tracy it’s about maturing and getting wiser, rather than growing older.
It’s a fascinating process stepping back and watching your child become a parent, you can see where your legacy in life really is. Your children and how they raise their children is so much down to you and who you were to them.
When you’ve been a single parent you want to make sure you raise your sons to be good parents because you know what can happen if someone isn’t there and doesn’t step up.
Having grandchildren hasn’t made Dawn feel old, it’s made her feel proud seeing who her children have become and realising the meaning of legacy.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I refuse to let go of that status, we can retain our hotness in older age’

‘Growing old is a bit of a dirty word’

‘Nobody wants their grandmother having an OnlyFans account’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Stephanie Taylor | Blow up your life, the antidote to living life by default. Are you waiting for your someday or living life today?

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Our guest today is Stephanie Taylor, a certified life coach and Founder of Blow Up Your Life which helps dynamic leaders over 40 to live their personal lives with the same intention that makes them so successful professionally. Blow Up Your Life is the antidote to living life by default and regretting the things you didn’t do while waiting for a ‘one day’ which doesn’t arrive.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Stephanie's mantra of blowing up your life has two meanings, the first being to destroy it in a big way like an explosion, the second meaning is making it bolder and bigger like inflating a balloon.
One of the messages we get as women is that as we age we should be invisible, Stephanie is telling you to do the opposite, make it bigger and better so that your best years are always ahead of you.
Nobody is afraid of heights, we’re afraid of the fall because that’s what will kill you. The same applies to going it on your own in business or in life, you’re not afraid of doing it on your own, you’re afraid of failing.
Often, many women who are successful in their career are not putting the same time, attention, and energy into themselves. Where do they want to be in 5 or 10 years time? They have these goals in business but not in life.
You give so much in life to other people and your business and your family, so much so that you lose the ability to identify who you are. What would you be if you hadn’t given yourself to those people or things?
There are times when what we love doesn’t go as smoothly as we imagined. That doesn’t mean that we don’t love it anymore, it just means that we have things to overcome or distractions in our lives. It’s okay to reassess or reset the status quo.

BEST MOMENTS

‘My 20 year old self wouldn’t even recognise me’

‘I was petrified that business and property were for other people and I didn’t have the skills’

‘Is my life just business and housework and raising kids?’

‘We don’t spend time talking to ourselves, so we don’t know what we really think’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Blow Up Your Life!

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE GUEST
Blow Up Your Life is the antidote to living life by default and regretting the things you didn’t do while waiting for a ‘one day’ which doesn’t arrive. Stephanie Taylor is a certified life coach and Founder of Blow Up Your Life which helps dynamic leaders over 40 to live their personal lives with the same intention that makes them so successful professionally.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION
The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Forgiveness and Gratitude; Is letting go better than holding on?

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0000

As we head into the Easter weekend, our episode of Real Women this week sees Dawn and Tracy focusing on forgiveness and living a life with gratitude. What does forgiveness really mean? Is letting go better than holding on and what does holding a grudge mean for us as individuals?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The resistance to forgiveness is the perception that to forgive somebody it’s about them and forgiving what they’ve done and saying it’s okay that you did this to me. Whereas actually the beauty and magic of forgiveness is that we forgive people for ourselves and being able to do that opens us and our energy up.
For Tracy, forgiveness is forgiving her own thoughts about someone else and their behaviour. Holding a grudge is holding onto that negative energy for yourself, the person who did the bad thing isn’t holding that energy, it doesn’t harm them. You need to let go of it.
There is a part of forgiveness where you are able to let someone know that you may not have behaved in the best way, but it doesn’t mean that you’re accepting or condoning their behaviour. You can take responsibility for yourself to move past your own negative feelings.
When someone hurts you, your body can go into protective mode when you see them again or are in the same situation. The forgiveness you gave them can be conditional to the proximity or situation you’re in.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Forgiveness does not mean you’re condoning the behaviour’

‘I found my own version of forgiveness'

‘As a result of those betrayals I acted with ugliness’

‘Removing the anger left the reality of the hurt’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

www.instagram.com/moniqefiddes_/p/BpRUuyyhtoj/

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

Moniqe Fiddes | South African singing sensation on the woman behind the man. So much more than simply the wife of Matt Fiddes, former bodyguard to Michael Jackson

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Our guest this week is the stunning Moniqe Fiddes. A singer-songwriter in her own right, but often simply referred to as the wife of Michael Jackson's former bodyguard, friend and martial arts star Matt Fiddes. Now living in the UK, a mother of six (including stepmother to three girls), Moniqe runs her own household whilst continuing her successful life as a singer/songwriter and co-directing MF Martial Arts Academy with Matt. Moniqe is showing the world that she is so much more than "The woman behind the man".

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Life can be very lonely for successful people because your trust circle becomes smaller and smaller. Some people can try and take advantage of your relationship for their own gain meaning it’s harder to let people in.
We need to give more respect and understanding towards those who might work from home or stay at home to raise kids and do all those things in the home we don’t see that makes a household work.
It's a personal choice whether you get help in or not. Women should try harder not to judge seemingly successful women who do get help. And on the other hand, no matter how successful someone is, some mums just want to do it themselves.
There is a consequence to going to work as a woman with a family, you need to make a conscious effort to make the family connection work how you want it to.
Write down the things you want in life, this helps you visualise what you want and work towards it. If you tell yourself that anything is possible then you start to believe it, and when you believe it you do it.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I feel a lot of people judge me before they meet me because of this persona’

‘Women need to support other women more’

‘Can can still do what you want to do if you make the time for it’

‘Music is meant to be for me’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.moniqefiddesmusic.com

www.mattfiddes.com/mfmartialarts/

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

From the young age of 9 Moniqe decided to become a singer. At 15 Monqie started modelling and progressed to playing parts in several music videos, at which point many might say she fulfilled her dream, but that would be underestimating this amazing woman. Self motivated and determined she kept going with her dream and in 2009 signed with a record company releasing her first album, Ek Kan, in 2010. That was before she met the "love of her life", best friend and soulmate Matt, in 2012.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion

Dawn & Tracy | Should Employers, Clients or the BBC Stifle Freedom of Speech? Gary Lineker Suspended From Match of the Day MOTD For Social Media Comments

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0000

If you’re in the UK then there’s no way you’ve not seen the headlines about BBC’s Match of the Day football presenter, Gary Lineker being suspended from the show over a tweet criticising the government over the current migrant crisis. This whole situation has pissed off both Dawn and Tracy because it’s thrown into question people’s freedom of speech.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Essentially in Gary’s tweet he likened the government’s treatment and language used towards migrants, to that of the German government in the 1930s. Because of this he was suspended from the BBC’s MOTD as the BBC is supposed to be an impartial broadcaster.
In solidarity with Gary, his fellow MOTD presenters Alan Shearer and Ian Wright announced they would not appear on the show until the situation was resolved. This led to the BBC showing the football highlights with no commentary or punditry.
The only way we can actually have a conversation about issues is by talking about them, and that is exactly what Gary did on his private Twitter account. The big issue is that his freedom of speech was shut down by an employer because he criticised the government.
The ability to voice your disagreement with the government is a key part of our democracy. It doesn’t matter if you agree with what he said or not, you should agree with his right to say it. Does a company have the right to dictate what he can and can’t say?

BEST MOMENTS

‘Why does the BBC have the ability to silence someone’s freedom of speech’

‘The only way we can iron out any ignorance is with the ability to have a conversation’

‘You respect the laws of that country and if you can’t follow them just don’t go there’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION
The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Heather Fisher "Fish" | Body Image. Femininity. Gender Fluidity - Why aren't we there yet? - Work Hard, Be Brave, Believe in Yourself... What Happens After Retiring From Sport

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Today Tracy and Dawn are joined by an Olympian, International Rugby player representing England and Great Britain, Heather Fisher (AKA Fish) is on Real Women. She’s on the show today to talk all about femininity, body image and gender fluidity. We’re also going to be covering the topics of working hard, being brave, believing in yourself, and what happens when you retire from sport.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Just because you’re a female it doesn't mean you can’t train your body the way traditionally a male would and it doesn't mean that your femininity is in some way compromised.
We’re now seeing more and more women coming into environments which have traditionally been seen as masculine ones such as rugby and football. This is showing younger people that being male or female doesn't define the sports or passions you can pursue.
Fish feels like she has probably lost out on sponsorship or brand deals because she isn’t what people might want looks wise from a female athlete.
When Fish lost her hair she felt like she lost a massive part of her personality, it was really tough for her. It also changed how she noticed people were perceiving her.
Instead of thinking I’m going to do this”, you should change that to “I’m doing this” because that gives you the motivation to actually get up and do it.

BEST MOMENTS
‘As an athlete, judge me on my performance, nothing else’
‘I don’t feel the need for the conversation, I’ll just do it’
‘Why can’t we just be curious and inquisitive’

EPISODE RESOURCES
Heather:
www.heatherfisher.co.uk
Heather Fisher OLY (@heatherfish29) • Instagram photos and videos
Heather fisher (@Hfisher2012) / Twitter
Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98
Link for MAGB www.magb.com
Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn
Witchproperty.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Heather Fisher (AKA Fish) is an Olympian, International Rugby player, representing England and Great Britain.

From a difficult beginning with anorexia, going on to achieve many goals, representing her country in two sports at international level has not been not easy. She is also strikingly recognised now with alopecia. Her take on body image is fascinating, complex, and inspiring. Her message to others is “Be brave enough to be yourself and courageous enough to use it and work with people in your way so that you win and they win! We all have the capability to leave a legacy so trust yourself, trust where you are and trust you’ve got this!” Her powerful mantra is simple: Be brave, be bold, be you.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION
The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Holiday Stress - Do we really shut down from working? Is it different for business owners versus the employed? Bucket list trips of a lifetime and celebrating the success we create

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Tracy is off on a bucket list trip of a lifetime to celebrate the success she has created. So this week on Real Women, Tracy and Dawn are going to be talking all about how we actually switch off from work when we’re on holiday and how that differs between people who are employed and those who have their own businesses.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

By the time you’re hearing this Tracy will have flown to Miami, met her luxury all inclusive cruise ship, will have travelled the Caribbean sea and will be sailing up the Amazon in Brazil as you’re reading this.
We all feel stressed in the run up to a holiday, there’s so much to get done before you can allow yourself to go away and just enjoy yourself. The worry is in the build up but when we actually get there we can forget all about it and live our best life.
When we know we’re going away we attract more and more things to do before that hard stop point of getting on the plane. Or are we just noticing it more because we know we have a time limit on when things have to be done by.
Whatever happens in life, it’s not the incident that causes the issue, it’s how you respond to the incident that’s the issue.
The reticular activating system (RAS) is a network of neurons located in the brain stem that project anteriorly to the hypothalamus to mediate behaviour.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I feel like I’ve crammed 4 weeks of work into 2’

‘When you are a small business owner, you can’t just hand the work over’

‘It’s important to celebrate your success’

‘What are we doing in business if all we’re going to do is work’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

United Grand Lodge of England

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Carl Sams | Freemasonry progressive and inclusive or a secret society? BBC Drama The Gold littered with the theory that criminals used the Freemasons to corrupt police - Fact or Fiction?

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Carl Sams joined the Freemasons in 2006 to spend time with his father, who was also a Freemason. Over 17 years he has developed his contribution to the Freemason community from new member to Worshipful Master, Provincial Grand Steward and is currently working alongside senior officers on development projects concerning charity, membership and mentoring.

Given the recent BBC drama "The Gold", which has several references to the historical beliefs that criminals used the Freemasons to corrupt the police, Carl openly discusses where these beliefs came from and why the Freemasons is a progressive and inclusive organisation that is ahead of many other organisations when it comes to issues including, gender and diversity.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Freemasons have nothing at all to do with Satanic rituals, it was a rumour spread in the early days to try and create doubt about a group of people who had influence in the community.
The Freemasons are one of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world who stand for integrity, friendship, respect, and charitable giving. People join for three different reasons, charitable interest, personal development, or for spiritual reasons. You get what you want out of it.
It’s a myth that women can’t be Freemasons, there are women’s Freemason lodges which are growing larger and working more and more with the all male lodges. They’re in the same buildings doing the same things and are on the same website. Considering that it wasn’t too long ago that you hardly had women in the workplace, the masons were well ahead of the times.
When it comes to gender reassignment in the Freemasons, the policy is that once you’re a Freemason then you’re a Freemason. You won’t be excluded and will still be treated in the exact same way as any other member. You are a member and you will be supported.
There is a perception that the Freemasons are an old boys club, but there are so many people within the Masons who grew up in an inclusive and diverse world. They strive for upholding their values and their values don’t exclude when it comes to race or gender.
Wherever there are powerful people there will be cronyism. When it comes to the Masons then people think it’s a conspiracy, but if it was in a group of bakers for example, nobody will spread rumours about a bakers conspiracy.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s a myth that it’s a men only thing’

‘The men like their men groups, the women like their women groups, and the mixed ones like being mixed’

‘There’s the perception that it’s all secret handshakes and back scratching’

EPISODE RESOURCES

The Gold - BBC One

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Signs You Are Doing Better Than You Are. Why do we Feel we Feel we Have to be Better Than Everyone Else? Is Comparison The Thief of Joy?

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Today is a caffeine cast from Dawn and Tracy, so grab a cup of coffee and listen in, unless you’re driving that is. Dawn and Tracy will be chatting about whether comparison is the thief of joy, and why we feel like we have to be better than everyone else. How do we find those signs that we’re doing better than we think?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

We always look at the worst possible outcomes and the bad things in life, but we should be more optimistic and look on the brighter side of life. We should try to be grateful for the things that are going well and not dwell on the negatives.
Change the way you think about work. Be grateful for putting money into your pocket to allow you to carry on and building the things you’re passionate about.
Finances are a problem for most people but there are so many free things you can do that make you feel great. We can use time and not money and that’s something we can feel grateful for.
There are a lot of places in the world where people who are without can’t get the support they need. We in the western world should be grateful that we can go to the shop and buy food and even if we can’t and we’re in line at a food bank, be grateful that service exists for you because it doesn’t for everyone.
If you’re feeling alone or unloved then you should go out of your way to tell the people you care about that you’re there for them and that you love them. If you give love then you’re likely to get love back and you can’t be alone together.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Your heart is beating, you’re alive and if you’re alive you have choices’

‘My demon is that I feel alone and have to try to be independent’

‘If you’re feeling unloved, tell other people why you love them’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

Relationship Coaching for Couples [Intimate Relationship Program]

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Tony & Nicki Vee | Intimate Relationships, Solving the Mosts Critical Issues in Relationships, Relationship Coaching

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Today on Real Women, Dawn and Tracy are delighted to be joined by the Vees, that’s Nicki and Tony Vee. They are specialists in relationships and as it’s just been Valentines day, we thought it would be appropriate to talk about intimate relationships and solving the most critical issues that can come up. Listen in to find out why it’s what you were never taught that might be the problem.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Around 50% of first marriages fail, about 75% of second marriages fail, and 85% of third marriages fail. If people don’t change the way they interact with each other, then they’re doomed to make the same mistakes again and again.
Dawn does not only use the word intimacy to describe the physical act of love, but the emotional connection and closeness between her and her partner. That is true intimacy between two people, that closeness transfers in and out of the bedroom.
The Vee Relationship Strategy is broken down into two parts, firstly you need to understand yourself, then you need to understand each other. You can go from feeling separate, disconnected or even be at breaking point to being together as a loving couple.
No one ever teaches us how to live in a long-term loving relationship. Yes, when love starts to fade, and intimacy becomes unpleasant or non-existent, we simply don't have the tools to know what to do.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Relationships will bring us our greatest joys but also our greatest pain’

‘The downfall of so many relationships is people’s inability to agree on finances’

‘The thing that goes wrong most commonly is when they start living a practical life’

‘Although I have a feminine core, I’d wrapped it in a masculine one’

EPISODE RESOURCES

The Essence of Womanhood: Re-awakening the Authentic Feminine: Amazon.co.uk

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

Mike Cannon-Brookes: How you can use impostor syndrome to your benefit | TED Talk

ABOUT THE GUESTS

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Imposter Syndrome, Self-Doubt, Low Self Esteem. Feeling Like a Fraud. Are we Inadequate or Powerful Beyond Measure?

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Have you ever felt like you’re not credible, not qualified, not smart enough, like a fraud, like you’re an imposter? That is exactly what Dawn and Tracy are going to be discussing on today’s Real Women. Imposter Syndrome is something we’ve all felt and it centres around low self esteem. Listen in to find out Dawn and Tracy’s thoughts on that feeling, and if maybe we’re not as inadequate as we think, but we’re actually powerful beyond measure.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Imposter Syndrome is the persistent inability to believe that your success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of your own efforts or skills.
You can find successful people in fields and areas where they have no right being and no expertise in. These successful people have the confidence to not let that lack of specialist knowledge affect them.
Feeling like an imposter is just comparing yourself with someone else, and as Tracy says, comparison is the death of joy.
Being fraudulent is different from having imposter syndrome. The people who dish out lies about their success usually buy into their own hype and don’t ask themselves if they have the right to sit at the table.
There isn’t an imposter police. If you’re running a business and don’t feel like you belong, nobody is going to come and arrest you. The only thing that needs to change is your perspective. Why not reframe that fraudulent thought of “I’m no good at this” into one where you think “I’m getting better and better at this and growing and learning”.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’m the only imposter because I don’t have imposter syndrome’

‘People self sabotage because they don’t think they deserve the success’

‘If all you’re doing is comparing yourself to someone else, then your blueprint is f*****’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Caroline Andrew-Johnstone | Is Networking Different For Men And Women? How to be a Networking Diva And Perfect Your Elevator Pitch

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:00:00 -0000

We are back with the Networking Rebel herself Caroline Andrew-Johnstone, or as she’s known to Tracy, the Mad Duchess. Caroline joins Dawn and Tracy today on Real Women to talk all about how networking is different for men and women, how we as women can stand out in this space and perfect your elevator pitch to turn into a networking diva.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Caroline was told by a marketing guru “you are so naughty. You are the most unconventional, non-conventional coach, so we need to call you the rebel”. So the networking rebel was born and she unconventionally gave 23 sessions away for free and that really helped her show people that she had the skills to help businesspeople.
Caroline says she doesn’t give networking advice, she gives confidence to networkers. Confidence is the most important skill you need when giving your elevator pitch.
20% of networking is turning up. It’s as simple as that, get in front of people and at least be in the room. The most important part of networking, that extra 80% is the bit most people forget to do. Follow up flawlessly, without being annoying.
If you want people to find out how you make them feel, how you can help them, the very best, easiest and most cost effective is networking. You're not just promoting your business, you’re promoting you as an individual, as a networker, it's you as an individual that's in front of people.
Networking is 50% social, 50% business. If you meet someone and have nothing in common with them, then there’s little chance of doing business with them. If you can get into a room networking with them, then you have the time to find common ground.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It's time for you to get off your arse and do what you're bloody good at. You need to start coaching people’

‘80% of your business can come from networking’

‘It's not about what you do, it's about the itch that you scratch and how you can help people’

‘You are in business. Behave like a business woman’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Networking Rebel

Facebook: Networking Rebel | Pontefract

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Success is it a Place You Arrive or Who You Become along the way? Creating the Life You Desire. Your Journey of Growth And Development

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy, together again in the same room this time to bring you another episode, this time on goals and how you can stop and change the way you think. On Real Women we’re asking the question, success is it a place you arrive or who you become along the way? Listen in for tips on creating the life you desire for your journey of growth and development.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When we think about goals it’s easy to think of sports people. The amount that goes into any of those sports people achieving that end result of a goal, is so much more than the goal itself, and that's what we sometimes forget.
If you set a direction and say, this is where I want to be aiming, this is where I want to take myself for the coming year, or for the next five years. You are giving yourself a guidance that isn't just focused on that end goal, but it's focused on the things you need to do to stand a better chance of achieving that end goal.
People that aim for something, they get there and they think, I don't like this now I've got it. It's not what I thought it was going to be. And that’s because they’ve only been focused on the end goal and not the reasons why they wanted to get there in the first place.
The magic isn’t in thinking what do I need, but who I need to be. To be present throughout the journey as to how you are growing and evolving to be able to develop yourself, to get to the point that you're achieving that end goal.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Resolutions are for life, not just for New Year’

‘We achieve the end goal and there's absolutely no satisfaction’

‘How many of you set a goal that is about who do I want to be?’

‘We set goals because we’re chasing happiness, we should be setting purpose instead’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

www.instagram.com/laura_apples_/

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Laura Applewhite | Menopause and The Working Women, Life as a Woman After Hysterectomy

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 00:00:00 -0000

Our guest today is on a mission to help as many women as possible who have had a hysterectomy and/or would like to master their menopause. Laura Applewhite is the founder of hysterectomy healing and joins Dawn and Tracy on Real Women to talk about her programme that puts women at the heart of their own healing journey that helps women listen to their intuition, use their voice and connect to their whole being.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Most of the women who Laura helps have had a hysterectomy, they're several months down the line and they often have hit a bit of a wall. They're a little bit surprised that they haven't just been able to bounce back and are wondering “why don't I have all my energy back?”
Laura had her hysterectomy when she was 42, so relatively young, but she talks to people every day who are in their 20’s and going through the same thing. She had her hysterectomy because she had fibroids and was having horrendous periods. It was getting to the stage where Laura was not able to leave the house on the worst days of her cycle.
If you’re finding that you pee a little when you sneeze or run then Laura would recommend that you get an appointment with a pelvic health therapist.
We shouldn't feel gross if we're having heavy periods and we are having problems. Just as Tracy shouldn't feel like a fraud because she had an easier time of it.
Laura’s wish is that women should be aware a lot earlier of what to look out for when it comes to menopausal symptoms because you are getting women even without a hysterectomy sometimes now going through early menopause.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I pushed my periods back so that I had the worst days of my cycle on the weekends, so I could just, stay in’

‘Women are at the stage where they have to utilise the pill to push their period back so it fits round work. How crazy is that’

‘We call it problems, but we learn to live with them’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.facebook.com/groups/hysterectomyhealingwithlauraapplewhite

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Jilted, Marriage and Divorced, Life Love and Loss in Marriage

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 01:00:00 -0000

This week on Real Women, Dawn is in conversation with Tracy on what Dawn refers to as Tracy's Three Card Trick when it comes to Marriage. That’s three attempts at marriage for Tracy and we’re going to be diving into each and every one of them to discover the three L’s of marriage, life, love, and loss.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy’s three marriages are all different stories but have all ended, one through jilting, discovering he liked men a lot more than he liked women, and then a rebound which was a huge mistake that turned out to have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Her emotions ranged from guilt to sadness, to anger in turn.
In Tracy’s first attempt at the marriage at the age of 24, it was about 5 months before the wedding that Tracy decided she didn’t want to go through with it. Unfortunately, she didn’t tell him until one month before the wedding, the day after he’d paid for the reception.
Tracy’s partner was in his 30s and he and his brother couldn’t even do their washing. This was a big red flag that Tracy was essentially just becoming a surrogate mother for her partner and his brother.
Tracy’s first actual marriage started with a man she met and was just friends with while she was with her previous partner. She thought they were soulmates but it turns out he was questioning his sexuality and Tracy had caught him out on his lies. She felt betrayed not because it was with another man but because it was still cheating.
Her next marriage was a rebound marriage with a guy who ended up cheating on her. This made Tracy feel like she wasn’t good enough and that another woman was better. There was however a good outcome as he and Tracy had a child together.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Right now my view is I don't believe you need to be married to be in a loving relationship’

‘His face when I told him was like a child who’s just had a toy taken away from him’

‘He was a lovely guy, but he was a doormat’

‘That betrayal meant I was grieving for a future we couldn’t have’

‘It made me feel really great as a human being that somebody could be going through all that secret turmoil and see me as potentially the person that's gonna help them solve it’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Katie Rishover | Working in a Man’s World, Online Fitness trainer, Building a body for beauty or brawn

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 01:00:00 -0000

With Dawn and Tracy, this week is Katie Rishover of Fabulous Fitness Fanatic and personal trainer of 13 years, Katie Rishover certainly knows what it's like to work in a man's world. Specialising in weight loss, strength and conditioning, Katie also runs a Muay Thai gym with partner Christian Knowles as well as promoting Muay Thai fight nights with Roar Fighting Championship.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Ladies, you have just as much right as the beefcakes to go into the weights area and pick up your 4kg dumbbells and don’t let anyone make you feel like it’s not allowed or not in your area.
When keeping up with your fitness you've got to find that little passion, that one thing that you just think, I can't live without. My Zumba, my spin class. Find something that you absolutely love and you won’t want to miss out.
The people who are running the gyms don't seem to have much aversion to promoting a student into the instructor and going down that pathway, but certainly, the public's expectation is when they walk into these environments, they're expecting a man.
In the fitness industry, there’s a culture when it comes to food of ‘don't beat yourself up’. So what if you've spiralled, tomorrow's another day. Get up, crack on. Don't think about it, just deal with it. Just move on. But don't do it every single day and that's when you lose control.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I see the beefcakes working out and I just feel like I'm in testosterone hell’

‘If you wanna be in it. You can't let them put you on the side seat’

‘We're very often really good communicators. But that doesn't mean to say we can't have a firm handshake’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/risheyfitness2

Rishey Fit Plans https://register.risheyfit.app/plans

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Psychotic Women at Christmas, Cleaning And Preparation For Christmas, How far do you go?

Wed, 21 Dec 2022 00:00:00 -0000

This episode of Real Women is about all the little, sometimes psychotic things, we do to prepare for Christmas, including Dawn's psychotic bleaching and scrubbing of the kitchen tiles. How far do you go with your Christmas madness?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

This year Tracy is organised with only one Christmas present left to buy… Dawn on the other hand has only got toys for the Grandchildren.
Spring cleaning starts in December for Dawn every inch of her home is getting bleached. The walls are getting a new coat of paint and the tree is decorated on December 1st. It's like a military operation.
Cooking on Christmas day is a huge feast all prepped the day before. When you're cooking for 11 you have to go a bit over the top with the shopping.
Tracy hits the champagne at 11am because she's stuck in the kitchen on her own. One year the champagne started so early she didn't get to the end of the cooking.
When you've got kids who have partners they're in the conflict zone of having to decide who's parents to go to for Christmas. It's really tough on them because someone has to miss out.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Christmas is my favourite time of year to people watch, especially in supermarkets'

'I actually had my trolley stolen once'

'Once you've got kids you have to do what's best for them, not what you want to do'

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | Review of Convenient Healthy Food to your Door - Suppliers of ingredients and chef prepared meals to cook or reheat perfect delicious meals with a busy lifestyle

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0000

In this episode, Dawn and Tracy are reviewing 4 suppliers of chef-inspired meals with ingredients delivered to your door, to ease the burden of a busy lifestyle. Are they any good? Is it worth it? The pair will be reviewing Hello Fresh and Gousto, both ingredient-based deliveries along with Allplants and Lions Prep for chef-made meals ready to reheat.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

For Dawn, the curiosity and motivation for these meal kits are just to get to try new recipes. We get stuck cooking the same types of recipes and making things the same way for years. It’s also handy to have some fresh meals already prepared that you can make quickly.
For Tracy it’s a little of the same and also about convenience, she doesn't always have time to make healthy balanced meals and the ready-made ones aren’t always full of things you want to put in your body.
If you’re just making a meal that uses some of an ingredient, then you’re left with some left that you’re not going to use. With these meal kits, you get the exact amount of what you need.
The other advantage of meal kits is that they come with the recipe that you need to make the meal so anyone can follow it. It can be a fun thing to do with your kids or you can use them to make your kids or husband learn to cook for themselves.
Wastage is reduced significantly!
Tracy found that with Hello Fresh her veg was going off faster than the veg she was buying from the supermarket. However, the meat was usually of really good quality.
With chef-prepared ready meals you don’t get the rubbish that’s in supermarket meals, you get meals made by a chef and then boxed. It’s not mass produced and it’s good quality ingredients that you just heat.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I think my main motivation now is about getting balanced food without the faff’

‘Do I have to cook everything for myself? Do I have to sit down there and prepare it all?’

‘The convenience wasn’t in the kitchen, it was in the thought’

‘They need a three person option’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

Meet the team | Regency Wealth Management

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real

Michelle Herbert | Does Financial Freedom really exist and what does it mean - Is this term simply to create fear and doubt as a marketing tool?

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 01:00:00 -0000

Dawn and Tracy have guest Michelle Herbert, also known as the Foxy Financial Advisor with them today on Real Women. The trio will be discussing the term Financial Freedom, which is often overused. What does it mean and is there a true passive way to be financially free, or is it just a marketing tool used to create fear and doubt?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Michelle is a financial advisor, but most importantly she’s a planner. She plans for people's financial futures, making sure they've got everything that they should have and then letting them know whether they're on track, off track to achieve their goals and what they can do if they are off track to achieve their goals.
Financial freedom is completely different depending on who you're talking to. Financial freedom for a property investor normally means they want to generate a passive income from property to leave the rat race of their employed life. To a business owner it might be that they can get somebody running the business so they can take a backseat and they can do more of what they want to do.
For Michelle, her business is her. It's impossible for her to get somebody in to run her business because she is the one that gives the advice. Her version of financial freedom is being able to do what she wants to do when she wants to do it.
Property is not passive income. Full stop, no business truly is. A lot of the people selling the concept of financial freedom are working 75 hours a day.
With big property investing training, they get people who want their financial freedom to sign up. Then before they've even started and bought their own house, they are 15 or 20 grand in debt from the training that they've just had.

BEST MOMENTS

‘This financial freedom seems to be bloody everywhere, what the heck does it mean?’

‘Financial freedom doesn't necessarily mean giving up work’

‘To me, financial freedom is a complete bollocks statement because ultimately most people are looking for freedom of choice’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Michelle on LinkedIn

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

When Michelle joined South Yorkshire Police in order to help people, she soon found out that she was trying to put pieces of people's lives back together, as terrible things had already happened to them. This is not what Michelle classed as helping people. She was then given an amazing opportunity to join St. James's Place Wealth Management Academy, this career move meant that Michelle finally got to help people, in the true meaning of the word.

Michelle is passionate about helping individuals and business owners embrace financial planning, and empower them to make sound financial choices both in their business and personal lives.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn & Tracy | What’s Being a Woman got to do with Failing as a Leader - Women in Power and the Business Blame Culture on Female Leaders

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0000

On today's show, we're talking about the topic of being embarrassed by other women leaders in the world, specifically around female prime ministers of the UK. What we're asking is many things, but most of all, maybe we need to stop looking at gender and accepting that our leaders are human beings. It's got nothing to do with boobs or bums.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

It seems that when a man in a position of power makes a mistake, it has nothing to do with him being a man. When a woman in a position of power makes a mistake, it’s because she’s a woman. For some reason people think that having a ‘rack’ means you can’t do your job properly.
We want to support other women in power, but when they do a rubbish job and let the team down we’re allowed to criticise them, without feeling like we’re just piling in with the misogynists.
What really ticks us off as women in the business world is that if you’re not at 100% for one day, you get the comments saying, oh she’s got PMT.
If you go back in history, we were not equal. There were people out there fighting for equality for women. We get equality to the point where we've got women leading a country and when she messes it up, there's an element in us that thinks why did she have to be the woman to be in charge.

BEST MOMENTS
‘If a man messed up, you wouldn't go down the route of, oh yeah, they messed up, but hey, what a great body he’s got’
‘The minute we mess up, it goes to what we are wearing?’
‘You can very easily get sucked into the right and wrong of policies. But if we remove that and just go, what impact did she have for females?’

EPISODE RESOURCES
Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98
Link for MAGB www.magb.com
Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn
Witchproperty.com

PODCAST DESCRIPTION
The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down to earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heart felt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Shari Teigman | Building a Business as a Single Mum - Should Parents Feel Guilty?

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 16:31:37 -0000

Today’s guest on Real Women is a returning guest who has just as little of a filter as Tracy and Dawn, Shari Teigman is here to talk about building a business as a single mum. Should parents feel guilty for spending time on the business and away from the kids? Or is that whole notion just part of an old fashioned system? Listen in to find out what these Real Women think, no fluff, no filters.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Shari had lost her spark and had no idea how to find it again. So she started with what she knew she didn't want and transformed entirely, divorcing and starting her own business as a full time parent. Shari studied for a life coaching certification and did yoga teacher training for a full year of immersion and knew she found her purpose.
The biggest challenges as a parent for Shari when she was embarking on her business journey was allowing her children to keep their normality while she was being the dedicated mum who also had to be her business. It was a split and now she knows that she didn’t need to hide any of her personality and journey with them, they could have come along with her.
As women trying to run a business and raise kids and also just be ourselves as well, we feel like we can be leading two or three different lives and each one feels guilty about taking time away from the others.
Women or feminine people are nurturers and we do things differently with our children. Men often don't get it, and don't do it like we do, so when we are building our businesses we need them to pick up the slack.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Let's just call it a force field, a force field of love’

‘There's already guilt when you're doing something and guilt when you're not doing something’

‘You’ve got one pair of hands’

‘We always move the goalposts’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website www.shariteigman.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shariteigman1

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

Dawn on Facebook

Dawn's Business Website

ABOUT THE GUEST

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn & Tracy | Juggling Life and Business as a Woman - Getting the Work Life Balance Where You Want It

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 01:00:00 -0000

Welcome to Real Women, the first of the re-branded podcast episodes with Dawn and Tracy. This first episode is all about how we deal with the bits between the businesses. How do you juggle life and business? What is the right balance and how do you keep it there?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

For anyone wanting to know what the new format is all about, Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up with all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never-ending laundry baskets.
Life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.
If you spoke to the average woman, whether they were employed or not, we all still have very similar juggling acts going on in our lives.
Somebody has to buy toothpaste, somebody has to sort out Christmas, birthdays, food, ironing, and washing. Those jobs physically have to get done, and the kids and the husband are hardly likely to do it.

BEST MOMENTS

‘In lockdown, we had this thing we called zoom attire’

‘You need a way to vent’

‘The things that are really important are the things that are important to us individually’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Dawn & Tracy | Evolution in Business, Women in Business, Focus on What Gives You Joy

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 00:00:00 -0000

We’ve got some exciting and scary news about the podcast going forward and what the future is for Sweat Grit & Hustle. Dawn Willock joins Tracy on the show for the second time, and maybe not the last…. Listen in for chat on not just the evolution of the podcast, but of business, and most importantly what gives you joy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The podcast will be evolving and changing its name with a new dynamic. Yes there will still be all the talk and helpful tips about business, but you’ll also get to hear a lot more real stories of women’s lives behind their business and how the two come together.
Everyone who has contributed to the podcast has a business story, but they also have a story behind that. The story of home life and kids and partners and feeling like the world is on top of you one day and that you can tackle any challenge the next.
We live in a time where the definition of what is a woman and what is a mum has changed since Tracy and Dawn grew up. It’s so important to be able to come together and talk about those things and really understand how all the pressures on us have changed and how that fits in around business.
A lot of women came from a place in time when they had to sacrifice having a career to raise families. Dawn and Tracy believe it’s important to be thankful for those women who raised them and now they have the ability to be their own boss and not be confined to the home.

BEST MOMENTS
‘I’m really enjoying the prospect of female connection’
‘Sweat, grit and hustle, there are no more words relevant to being a woman’
‘People want to listen to what happens in the gaps between business’

EPISODE RESOURCES
Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98
Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE GUEST
Dawn Willock has been part of Martial Arts for over 30 years, continuously driving tremendous change in that time. Her experience started when her husband began teaching Karate as a hobby in church halls in the late 1980s. In 1991 she supported his move into teaching full-time, seeing his martial arts club go from belonging to the “old boys' network” to being independent and then opening two full-time martial arts centres that offer a variety of styles with multiple trainers on board.
Using her wealth of business experience and understanding, she embarked on a journey to provide the practical support needed for the Martial Arts industry: Martial Arts GB – or MAGB – was born.

ABOUT THE HOST
With over 25 years of experience in IT Management and Business Consulting and 10 years plus helping hundreds of property investors through training, mentoring and speaking; Tracy founded Witch Property. Tracy is renowned for her knowledge on property & business and her ability to sell, market and grow the property individuals and companies she works with.
With a wealth of experience in business and property, Tracy has a rare capability of mixing her skills in this space with her knowledge of the mind, to ensure a truly rounded experience for growth and development.
Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn
Witchproperty.com

PODCAST DESCRIPTION
This is a podcast for anyone starting out in business with a willingness to learn from others. Hear stories from guests that have gone from zero to hero in their business and find out what advice they have to share. Tracy will also be bringing you stories from everyday people who are just starting, or are only part way through their own story to success.

Balance in Business with Shari Teigman

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 00:00:00 -0000

This is one for not just the UK listeners but also my US listeners as Tracy is joined by native New Yorker, creative strategist and performance mentor, Shari Teigman. She’s on the podcast to tell her remarkable story and how she worked hard to find a balance in business and how there is an island out there for everyone.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Shari had lost her spark and had no idea how to find it again. So she started with what she knew she didn't want and transformed entirely, divorcing and starting her own business as a full time parent. Shari studied for a life coaching certification and did yoga teacher training for a full year of immersion and knew she found her purpose.
Sahri’s whole business and brand is about being a maverick, an individual person who does it her way. Most entrepreneurs are the ones who wouldn’t be able to get a job for someone else, fitting in someone else's box just was never something she was going to do.
The biggest challenges as a parent for Shari when she was embarking on her business journey was allowing her children to keep their normality while she was being the dedicated mum who also had to be her business. It was a split and now she knows that she didn’t need to hide any of her personality and journey with them, they could have come along with her.
One simple tip. Give yourself permission to grow!
If you start your business by comparing yourself to someone else in terms of clients and income, you need to get off the comparison train. Go back to what YOU want, not what someone else wants. Don’t run towards something you don’t want because it will burn you out.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I needed to figure out who I was before I could figure out what I wanted to do’

‘It’s an accidental love affair with something you didn’t know you were looking for’

‘It’s a dance of staying grounded and going where we want to go’

‘You’re not the mom who brings cakes to school, you’re the one juggling three jobs’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website www.shariteigman.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shariteigman1

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

ABOUT THE GUEST

After more dark nights of the soul than I can count, lots of dancing + cocktails mixed in for good measure, I found the rabbit hole of personal development and I dove in with all I had. I studied for a life coaching certification + a yoga teacher training for a full year of immersion and KNEW I found my purpose. With a sociology, art therapy and makeup artist background- uncovering what makes people tick melded with creativity runs in my veins. My role in the world is to help people unearth themselves for more success, fulfilment + joy on their terms.”

ABOUT THE HOST

With a wealth of experience in business and property, Tracy has a rare capability of mixing her skills in this space with her knowledge on the mind, to ensure a truly rounded experience for growth and development.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

This is a podcast for anyone starting out in business with a willingness to learn from others. Hear stories from guests that have gone from zero to hero in their business and find out what advice they have to share. Tracy will also be bringing you stories from everyday people who are just starting, or are only part way throug

“F” it, Let’s Play - with Dawn Willock

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 -0000

What happens when you disrupt the "old boy network" in an industry with a little experiment? Dawn Willock has been part of Martial Arts for over 30 years, continuously driving tremendous change in that time. Using her wealth of business experience and understanding, she embarked on a journey to provide the practical support needed for the Martial Arts industry: Martial Arts GB – or MAGB – was born. Dawn joins Tracy on the podcast to talk about her business, as well as having the ability to say “F it”.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Her experience started when her husband began teaching Karate as a hobby in church halls in the late 1980s. In 1991 she supported his move into teaching full-time, seeing his martial arts club go from belonging to the “old boys' network” to being independent and then opening two full-time martial arts centres that offer a variety of styles with multiple trainers on board.
Dawn is the only female in the UK and possibly Europe doing what she does. They do everything under one roof. The business has evolved over the last few decades from when it was all men. There weren't any women and very few female students back then, let alone instructors or fighters or people that were on the business side of it.
If you are really satisfied and whole and happy, you know you're on the right track. If you are in conflict if you are feeling overwhelmed, if you’re frustrated, if you are nervous, then stop forcing yourself into doing more of the stuff that clearly isn't working. Stop, and let go of the outcome.
Owning a business is not anything other than grit. You can guarantee things are going to happen and nothing will go the way you planned. The economic change will happen every few years. Advertising platforms will change. So you need the grit to develop resilience and the grit to tap into your strength. And the grit to be able to stand there in concrete boots in all your glory and your confidence, and give yourself no option for failure.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There was a lot of dick swinging about who had the best syllabus and who did the best style’

‘You've gotta say Fuck it, and you've gotta go, Come on, this is what I can see, an opportunity’

‘You just described my whole customer base , they love kicking and punching’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Dawn's Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.willock.98

Link for MAGB www.magb.com

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.robbieswale.com

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

What Property Educators Don’t Tell You

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 23:00:00 -0000

It's content week and Tracy has a good one for you this week and it’s possibly even a little controversial. Many of you listening are business owners or wanting to look at getting a business. This week is specifically about an education market in the property industry, but some of the things that get highlighted are things for you to watch for if you go on any other form of education for another bid business or industry. Today's content is based around a blog that's out on Tracy’s property site and it's all the things property educators don't tell you.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

One of the first things Tracy discovered when she started working for one of the property educators is that they're trying not to teach you a lot. They want to teach you enough to get interested, but not so much that you don't want to buy their higher course. There's nothing wrong with that because you are there, that company's there to sell you a service.
Most of the property educators in the UK work with budding investors to make them more efficient, and they do that by giving them some knowledge and providing access to useful property investment tools and resources, knowledge that you wouldn't necessarily have. But these days it is obtainable from other places and there's often some gaps in the knowledge they dispense and not all of what they share is aimed at smoothing the path to the property investment for the newcomer.
Something that many property educators do is introduce the students to a challenge where the student is asked to approach their credit card provider by phone to either get them to decrease their rate or increase their limit, anything basically that alters the facilities available to them as a borrower. Negotiating with lenders is a really good skill to develop and understanding how to work with the process is really important, however, if as part of the learning process you load your card uses to over 50% of your taxable salary, then that may impact you when it comes to being offered the mortgage, you may need to buy your investment property.
Another property slogan with property educators is Money in, Money Out, or mimo. The concept of this being is to release some or all of the capital back out at the end of the project. It's a strategy for an experienced investor. But also good for a new one because it involves identifying a realistically finished value of the property. When you're doing your education, you might believe that money and money out projects are actually everywhere, all over the place, and they're not.
Some property educators will suggest that investing in property can be passive income . The truth is, of course, you're going to have admin, you're going to have legwork, you're going to have to go to your viewing area, and all of that stuff is what's gonna help you be successful. But it's all time consuming work, so it isn't truly passive income. When you get your portfolio, it's still not passive because you've got to deal with your letting agents, deal with your estate agents and sometimes deal with your tenants.

BEST MOMENTS
‘It’s all about opening your eyes so that you go in and make an informed decision’
‘What they don't tell you is that entire game is aimed at getting you to get more money on your credit card’
‘Money in, money out is not as easy as they make it sound’
‘If you're in a job and considering property as your way, as a side hustle to get you extra income, then in the early days it can be time consuming’
EPISODE RESOURCES
www.witchproperty.com
www.facebook.com/groups/witchproperty
ABOUT THE HOST
With over 25 years of experience in IT Management and Business Consulting and 10 years plus helping hundreds of property investors through training, mentoring and speaking; Tracy founded Witch Property. Tracy is renowned for her knowledge on property & business and her ability to sell, market and grow the property individuals and companies she works with.
With a wealth of experience in business and property, Tracy has a rare capability of mixing her skills in this space with her knowledge of the mind, to ensure a truly rounded experience for growth and development.
Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn
Witchproperty.com
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
This is a podcast for anyone starting out in business with a willingness to learn from others. Hear stories from guests that have gone from zero to hero in their business and find out what advice they have to share. Tracy will also be bringing you stories from everyday people who are just starting, or are only part way through their own story to success.

Who am I with Robbie Swale

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0000

Most people follow the rules. Some people break the rules. But the truth is most rules don't even exist. That’s the quote on today’s guest, Robbie Swale’s about me section on his website and it sums up why Tracy was so delighted to have him on the podcast. Robbie Swale is a leadership coach and author of The 12-Minute Method series, he’s here to share some wonderful golden nuggets of inspiration and wisdom.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

One of the biggest challenges Robbie faced was when he started school at 9 years old. He entered a restrictive school environment, with sets of rules he didn’t understand, and people who didn’t understand him. Robbie entered a world where there were spoken and unspoken rules and customs to which he was an outsider.
One of the most significant moments in Robbie’s young life was when, aged 11, he was offered the lead part in a school play. This was the catalyst for a passion for acting which would carry through the next 14 years of his life.
The 12-Minute Method is for you if you know what it’s like to be stuck in creative hell. It’s for you if you have seen great ideas pass you by and you want to draw a line in the sand. It’s for you if you want to stop making excuses and start doing work that matters. It’s for you if you want to stop wasting time and start having time on your side. It’s for you if you want to stop wasting your potential and start fulfilling it.
The 12-Minute Method started when Robbie realised that he could write one article on his 12-minute train ride where he would overcome a fear and share information about himself online. No time to get in his own way. Just time to write and share. Even after he stopped taking that train ride, he would set a 12-minute timer and write.
If you start something and do it regularly, even for only 12 minutes each week and keep doing it, after a few years you’ll have something and it might be something magical.
To make something you’re really proud of and that will last you need to do four things. 1. Start. 2. Keep Going. 3. Create conditions for great work. And 4. Share.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I was proud of the things we were making happen, but I didn’t like the work that much’

‘It’s hard to remember that some people hate the things I love doing and love doing the things I hate’

‘If you don’t start your project, it will never happen’

‘We have to compare ourselves to how we were yesterday, not how someone else is today’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Most people follow the rules. Some people break the rules. But the truth is most rules don't even exist… I'm Robbie Swale.

People usually know me through my career: as a director, a trustee, a manager, an administrator, a leader and a coach. I've run organisations, festivals and events. I've worked in the private sector, the public sector and the charity sector.

What most people don't know about me is that my biggest gifts are a result of my deepest fears, my struggles and my secret desires.

My third book – written using the 12-Minute Method – is out now! It’s about how to create habits, mindsets and relationships that will help you thrive. This book is full of lessons I learned in my own quest to fulfil my potential and make the contribution I am capable of. We can’t know for sure what will help us do our best work, but this book is here to help you focus on doing what you can to enable great things to happen.”

ABOUT THE HOST

karrinatraveldestinations@gmail.com

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Connecting With People

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 23:00:00 -0000

This week it's all about connecting with people as Tracy shares with you the recording of a webinar she made about a year ago with her women in property group. Don't panic though the ideas and thoughts relate to any business not just property. Listen in as Tracy shares a summary on some of the concepts from the book ‘How to make people like you in 90 seconds’ by Nicholas Boothman.
KEY TAKEAWAYS

The 90 second time frame is just a building block to work from, you can’t build a long lasting relationship in 90 seconds, but you can kick things off on the right foot.
If people like you they are more likely to give you their attention and to open up with you.
When you’re first meeting someone there is a set of skills you can use. 1. Be open, greet them with an open attitude of mind and body. 2. Look them in the eyes. 3. Take the lead, identify yourself, and try and say their name three times. 4. Smile at them. 5. Lean into them a little as you shake their hand.
Know what you want beforehand. Find out what you’re getting. If you’re not getting what you want, change what you’re doing until you do get the outcome you want.
The key, according to Nicholas Boothman and his plan for face-to-face communication, is simple: the way to make a person like you is to make yourself be like that person, if only for the 90 seconds or less it takes to establish rapport.

BEST MOMENTS
‘If you connect with people you’ll find that it brings you infinite rewards’
‘Their body language is showing they’re confident, secure, easy going, and ready to connect’
‘Your attitude is everything’
‘If you want your face and body to portray happiness, then your mind will need to do that too’
EPISODE RESOURCES
www.witchproperty.com
www.facebook.com/groups/witchproperty
ABOUT THE HOST
With over 25 years of experience in IT Management and Business Consulting and 10 years plus helping hundreds of property investors through training, mentoring and speaking; Tracy founded Witch Property. Tracy is renowned for her knowledge on property & business and her ability to sell, market and grow the property individuals and companies she works with.
With a wealth of experience in business and property, Tracy has a rare capability of mixing her skills in this space with her knowledge of the mind, to ensure a truly rounded experience for growth and development.
Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn
Witchproperty.com
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
This is a podcast for anyone starting out in business with a willingness to learn from others. Hear stories from guests that have gone from zero to hero in their business and find out what advice they have to share. Tracy will also be bringing you stories from everyday people who are just starting, or are only part way through their own story to success.

The Dragon’s Den with Karrina Oldale

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 00:00:00 -0000

From Business to Dragons and back again with a delightful local businesswoman full of character and a desire to succeed. Karrina is one of the few to have turned down the Dragon's offer in the Den but she didn’t turn down the offer to be on this week's Sweat, Grit & Hustle to tell her amazing story.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In 2012 Karrina hit our screens on the TV show Dragon’s Den. She was supposed to start recording at 12, but was kept in a green room until 6pm so she spent that 6 hours pacing the room learning her pitch to a tee. In the end she got an offer from a Dragon but had the conviction to turn down a deal that wasn’t good enough for her.
After a bad experience with a client, Karrina now uses stage payments and contracts for large jobs. You need to dot the i’s and cross the t’s otherwise people will try and take advantage of you.
Before going into the travel business, Karrina was organising a trip to Australia but her husband said he didn’t want to fly for more than 8 hours at a time. She ended up booking 15 different flights and absolutely loved it.
Karrina is a mixture of sweat, grit and hustle. You have to have the grit to do it, and that makes you sweat, and if you don’t hustle then you get nothing.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You’re going to places where you don’t even speak the language and you’re winning negotiations’

‘You wouldn’t expect to pay £1 a month for chicken’

‘To become a travel agent with some companies it can cost up to £12,000’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://linktr.ee/koldale

linkedin.com/in/karrina-oldale-431963204

karrinaoldale.inteletravel.uk

ABOUT THE HOST

Here's the link to the authors site

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The Fundamentals of Marketing

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 23:00:00 -0000

This week is a summary on one of the chapters of a book Tracy was re-reading whilst on holiday, Nigel Botterill's "The Entrepreneurs Marketing and Sales System". Nigel's chapter on The Foundations explores 11 fundamental blocks of marketing for any business and it’s those that are going to be the subject of today’s episode.

11 FUNDAMENTAL BLOCKS OF MARKETING

Review all of your marketing assets. Is the objective clear and not boring? Is it relatable and personal? Is there a clear call to action?
Are you on the Google ‘My Business’ Listing.
What is your follow up process? Do you have one?
Remarketing and pixel tracking. This is when you put code on your website for Google and Facebook that helps to get your name in front of people.
Your price reviews. Prices don’t always stay in the same place for long.
Systemising your review process.
Your marketing calendar. This outlines for the year what your marketing campaigns are, are you planning in advance?
Your knowledge centre. Passionately educate your audience with one piece of content per week.
Your neighbourhood cards. If you visit clients at home or in the workplace you should be popping your business card through the doors of the places nearby.
Your use of LinkedIn. If you are a business to business person then it is becoming so important.
Answer your phone.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Only 2 or 3% of the traffic you get is from people who are ready to buy right now’

‘Property owners should be reviewing their rents annually’

‘Make your FAQs a little less boring’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST

With a wealth of experience in business and property, Tracy has a rare capability of mixing her skills in this space with her knowledge of the mind, to ensure a truly rounded experience for growth and development.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Brewing a Business With Tom Holmes

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 23:00:00 -0000

What do you do when your professional sporting career is drawing to a close? Tracy's guest this week found the perfect solution, do what many Rugby players do and turn to drink! Today Tom is a full time director of Bach95... the solution to a problem that has also turned three Rugby passionate mates into the owners of a brewing business!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

During his professional rugby career and a fair few beers along the way, an idea was born in a conversation between Tom and two fellow players. They liked drinking to socialise or unwind in the evening but didn't really want to feel guilty for it. Why can’t anyone have a couple of beers in the evening after a hard day's work without consuming needless calories? Likewise they still wanted to let their hair down on the odd weekend but at least feel a bit better about the amount of calories they'd consumed.
Tom scoured the market.... and found nothing, nothing that satisfied their taste buds, delivered on ABV and nothing that did both of these with a calorie count of well under 100 kcals. Until they decided to brew it themselves!
BACH 95’s name came from two of the founders growing up in Sandbach, Cheshire, locally known as the Bach. 9 is Will and Jesse’s playing number, 5 is Holmes' playing number. Then when you put the 9 and the 5 together that’s the calorie count of the beer.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You don’t get the wage that footballers get but it’s better than working on a building site’

‘The focus was to get the ball over that line’

‘You can’t be afraid to get stuck in and get your hands dirty’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://bach95.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Tom Holmes is one of The Bach95 co-founders and emulates everything Bach95 is about. Born in Sandbach, his rugby career has taken him to other locations, but his hometown has always been close to his heart. Having played rugby for various clubs, he picked up some great memories both on and off the pitch. Recreating that feeling is something that he looks to offer everyone who has a Bach95, no matter your background, age or situation – this beer will take you back to those memories. And maybe help you make some more!!

By being aware of the calories and content of the beer, but not compromising on the taste, strength and quality means we can be proud of a product that represents our interests and ourselves.

Starting this journey with Will and Jesse is one he has found exciting as he looks forward to building something special.”

ABOUT THE HOST

https://thehrexperts.co.uk

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The HR Expert With Sharon Swift

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 23:00:00 -0000

This week's guest is Sharon Swift of The HR Experts. Sharon has spent most of her working career in the area of Human Resources but has not always been in business for herself. Join Tracy and Sharon as they share some brilliant HR tips for you to use as well as discovering more about Sharon’s life and career.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Like many females a corporate career can often be interrupted when the life desire of raising a family becomes a reality, as was the case for Sharon.
Having paused her career to raise her beautiful daughters, when the time came for them to both be in school, Sharon wanted to go back into work in such a way that she could still follow her heart and be with her family especially when the children were off school.
The solution, create your own business doing what you know and love so that Sharon could have a flexible work life balance, especially as a parent... and so Sharon's 3rd child "The HR Experts" was born and grown 16 years on into a flourishing business that is going from strength to strength.
One of Sharon’s proudest moments as part of The HR Experts was when they worked with a business and grew with them. They grew to the point where the HR expert who was working with them ended up spending 95% of her time with that client, because Sharon always puts the client first she proposed that the client took on that expert full time.
You will always build up a far better client base if you build connections with people first. Networking can be so much more impactful than advertising your services.
A great induction is so important when you have a new starter. Having a really detailed plan for inducting new employees will stop them from being put off and will make sure they know what’s coming up and what is expected of them in the coming days and weeks.
One key piece of advice from Sharon, keep detailed notes. You’ll always have these to look back on and refer to.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Travelling around for your job was exciting’

‘Putting the client first, a lot of people say it, but they don’t do’

‘Quite naive I set up the business and sat there waiting for the phone to ring’

‘Don’t settle for second best, it’s too costly’

‘Give your new staff time to learn how to do things’

‘You can’t just think it’s going to be an easy ride’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy's favourite link to more details on the the Eisenhower Matrix

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Prioritise Like a Pro

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Tracy’s content piece this week is all about the Eisenhower Matrix, a brilliant tool that helps you prioritise that big long never ending to do list. Named after the former US President, this technique allows you to decide what is urgent and what is important and will help you in all aspects of life.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The Eisenhower Matrix is a task management tool that helps you organise and prioritise tasks by urgency and importance. Using the tool, you’ll divide your tasks into four boxes based on the tasks you’ll do first, the tasks you’ll schedule for later, the tasks you’ll delegate, and the tasks you’ll delete.
Urgent tasks require your immediate attention. When something is urgent, it must be done now, and there are clear consequences if you don’t complete these tasks within a certain timeline. These are tasks you can’t avoid, and the longer you delay these tasks, the more stress you’ll likely experience, which can lead to burnout.
Important tasks may not require immediate attention, but these tasks help you achieve your long-term goals. Just because these tasks are less urgent doesn’t mean they don’t matter. You’ll need to thoughtfully plan for these tasks so you can use your resources efficiently.
The top left quadrant is: Important and Urgent - Tasks with deadlines or consequences.
The top right quadrant is: Important and Not Urgent - Tasks with unclear deadlines that contribute to long term success.
The bottom left quadrant is: Not Important and Urgent - Tasks that must be done but don’t require your specific skill set.
The bottom right quadrant is Not Important and Not Urgent - Distractions and unnecessary tasks.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important and the important are never urgent’

‘When you give something a date, suddenly it has a deadline’

‘Successful people will put time in their diaries to do those quadrant 2 tasks’

‘Don’t let the ones who got rid of their tellys make you feel like you’re doing something wrong’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Branding With Andrew Hope

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 23:00:00 -0000

This week is a little different, we are bringing our regular inspirational story from business, but our guest this week will also be giving you some great tips to get started with your Branding Strategy. Andrew Hope has been in the creative world since leaving school many years ago. Following not one but two redundancies, in 2009 Andrew went into business for himself and created Hope Creative and Branding and Design Agency helping businesses create and maximise on their identity.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

If you can get your brand strategy in place from the beginning, then your identity will progress from that, your identity will then connect with your marketing.
Six simple tips from Andrew on how to save you money when branding for a small business or start-up. Creatie it from the heart, describe how it looks and feels, connect with your customers, tell your brand story, keep the brand on your plan, and own your brand.
Create your brand from your heart: Great brands are all about personality and emotion and that comes from you as the founder. Audiences connect more with brands they can see people care about.
Describe the look and feel of your brand: You need to clearly communicate it to your target audience. How does it look, how does it feel, what are you.
Connect with your customers: Make every touch point a great experience for your audience and that great experience will keep them coming back again and again.
Tell your brand story: If you have a great backstory of why you set the business up, then tell it! Words are key, tell people why you chose that business name, why your tagline is what it is, get those case studies out there and why you do what you do.
Keep brand on your plan: After your launch, many businesses forget that they need to update and evolve their brand when launching new products and expanding into new territories.
Own your brand: This is all about the responsibility of a business owner. Protect your brand and nurture it. Brand damage can devastate your business, keep your brand under your control and keep the narrative about what you want it to be.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There’s a lot of people in business who will just help you’

‘There are some good networking groups and some not so much, but you have to give them a go’

‘To me branding is the key’

‘Branding is all about you and your personality that reflects your business’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.hopecreative.co.uk

Tel: 01785 472552 / 07531 589221

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Market Update For Property Businesses

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 23:00:00 -0000

The property market has always been one of the most reactive sectors, and one of Tracy’s businesses is a property business, buying, doing up, renting, and selling. So when the state of the market changes, it affects her income streams, so as part of her new blog series, Tracy will be giving you a market update and a reaction to where we are in the second half of 2022.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In 2020 the government introduced the stamp duty holiday which meant that it was a lot cheaper for people to buy property. Covid didn’t have as much of an effect on the housing market so when the holiday was introduced, people started buying. This led to there being more demand than supply.
The stamp duty holiday actually did the reverse of what the government wanted. Because demand rose and supply fell, prices went up, and the first time buyers who were supposed to be being helped onto the property ladder were priced out.
Residential transactions have fallen by nearly 8% compared to in May.
Residential transactions for June 2022 are 50% lower than in June 2021, which was the last month of the stamp duty holiday.
According to a recent Which report, in a normal year most estate agents have about 50 houses for sale, this year they only have about 20.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It did the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do’

‘The speed of growth is now slowing down’

‘I do have a crystal ball, but it ain’t going to work that well’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.witchproperty.com

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.kenabbott.co.uk

PODCAST DESCRIPTIO

Turning Passion Into Profit - Real Life Journey With Ken Abbott

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 23:00:00 -0000

What happens when the university degree you get is something you are unlikely to ever have a career in? For Ken Abbott of Ken Abbott Photography, you go off round Europe on $10 a day and fall into a corporate life, before waking up many years later and turning your passion into profit. Tune in as Ken reveals his real life journey and how he turned his passion into a profitable business, capturing life as it is for individuals and businesses alike.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When you’re working contract or freelance you are at the mercy of your clients sometimes. If you only have one or two clients bringing most of the money in then if they decide to leave or circumstances mean you no longer have their business, then you’ll see your income drop dramatically.
As a freelance or contract worker you need to make sure you don’t become accommodating to the point where people take advantage of you. Make sure it’s clear what is expected of you and the client and if you’re asked to do more then you should be charging them more.
The use of photography for businesses has changed dramatically over the years, it went from needing a photographer for an ad in a magazine, to the need for professional shots for social media. Because it’s now easier to publish photos, you need to take more of them because you don’t want to be posting the same ones all the time.
When it comes to headshots for your LinkedIn profile etc, Ken thinks that they’re far too formal and you don’t actually get any of yourself across in the photos. If you make it much more natural then people won’t have a disconnect between the headshot you and the real you.
People don’t get their photography style until they’ve taken 10,000 pictures.

BEST MOMENTS

‘We all have our plans in life but things can just fall your way’

‘Photography is how you interact with the subject’

‘Being a professional photographer is so much more than being able to take good pictures’

EPISODE RESOURCES

info@kenabbott.co.uk

ABOUT THE GUEST

“Photography is and always has been my passion. It inspires me like nothing else. People paint, draw and sculpt but I take photographs because I believe that they capture the world around us like nothing else can. I specialise in informal and (mostly) natural light photography for events, venues, performances and portraits. So if you are looking for photography that is natural, 'real' and taken with an unfussy approach please get in touch for a chat.” - Ken Abbott

ABOUT THE HOST

Link to the case that Tracy references

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Spanner in The Works

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 23:00:00 -0000

A content piece this week all about some trials and tribulations Tracy has had in relation to borrowing money for a limited company that she is the sole director of. Whilst a very complex and confusing situation, tune in as Tracy takes a fun but serious look at a problem impacting sole director companies.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

A new judgement in February 2022 has led to new case law that is causing a little unrest in the world suppliers/partners especially lenders of money to companies with a single director.
When setting up a limited company in many cases people use the standard models of association (rules for the company).
This ruling may also impact companies that become sole director companies due to the resignation/departure of the other directors!
A directors meeting, according to the model article, must not be less than two people. So essentially it’s impossible to have a directors meeting as a sole director.

BEST MOMENTS

‘One judgement can affect other people coming behind them’

‘If you haven't got two people as a minimum then you can’t make a decision’

‘Lenders might want you to appoint another director, which you don’t want to do’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The Networking Rebel With Caroline Andrew-Johnstone

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Do you want to be a more confident networker? Tracy’s guest this week on Sweat Grit & Hustle is Caroline Andrew-Johnstone. Tracy has known Caroline for 6/7 years and she eats, sleeps and breathes networking. With her Networking Rebel business she is now sharing her wealth of knowledge in this space.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When she attended her first networking event, Caroline was shocked to see the difference in attitude between people at that group and the people she had worked with in the past. The people in the group weren't selfish and had a common goal of making everyone else in the group successful in their businesses.
After becoming a leader of her networking group and having plenty of experience in space, Caroline finally got the kick she needed to launch herself as the Networking Rebel. She gave away her first 20 sessions for free and that really helped her show people that she had the skills to help businesspeople.
20% of networking is turning up. It’s as simple as that, get in front of people and at least be in the room.
The most important part of networking is the bit most people forget to do. Follow up flawlessly, without being annoying. Build your network and build your sales.
Caroline says she doesn’t give networking advice, she gives confidence to networkers. Confidence is the most important skill you need when giving your elevator pitch.

BEST MOMENTS

‘They had a vested interest in making each other succeed, which I’d never seen before’

‘That’s Yorkshire grit isn’t it Tracy’

‘Why don’t you just ask an expert’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website: https://www.networkingrebel.biz

Facebook Business Page: https://www.facebook.com/networkingrebel/

Facebook Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/caroline.andrewjohnstone

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Things to do Before Starting a Business

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Are you thinking of starting a business but haven't started yet? This week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy is giving you her top tips for giving your business the best start and best chance of success. Listen in to find out how to get ahead of the curve and if your business idea has the legs or not.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Do your Research - Understand what it will take to be a great player in your industry. Who are your competitors, who are the major players? Are you offering something better or cheaper?
Who's your Audience - Do you know who your target customers are? The better you know who will be buying what you’re selling, the better you can plan and market your business. You’ll be more successful if you’re meeting the needs of your target customer. Get yourself an avatar of who your customer is.
Understand your Mission - What is the purpose of your business and how are you going to achieve it. This could be a financial mission or a philanthropic one where you give to others. Your mission will shape all of your decisions and keep you focused on what you should be doing and when you should be doing it.
Determine your legal structure - You’ll need a qualified advisor such as an accountant. Remember that your structure may change as you grow.
Get a Grip on your Finances - What would you need to get started? What can wait until you’re established? What are your running costs? What is your desired income?
Create your plan to raise your funds - A business plan maps out your plan to profitability. If you’re taking out a start-up loan they’ll want to know when you’ll be profitable and also that you really understand your business.

BEST MOMENTS

‘The more you understand who your customer is, the better you can hear yourself to solving their problems’

‘There’s no point working on stuff that has nothing to do with where you’re going and why you’re going there’

‘Think about where you should be using that money instead of on flash stuff’

‘The tax man has to have his piece of the cake’

ABOUT THE HOST

https://selling-service.co.uk/

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The Written Word Works With Tim Martin

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 13:57:50 -0000

After 20 years working in corporate, Tim Martin decided to run away and do some real work. With an obsession for music and a passion for helping unsigned artists understand how to market their music, Tim has been a published author in the music press for some time. Realising this same skill could help other businesses, Tim set to work expanding his business to help all business owners with their written words for marketing and set about to prove The Written Word Works!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tim has a lot of friends making music and with the likes of Spotify not paying smaller artists very well they’re struggling to make money. Tim decided to lend his marketing skills to help artists who had lost income during the pandemic when no gigs were on.
Tim believes that there will always be a want for physical media. Think about how long ago the Kindle came out, they haven't stopped printing books since then. There’s a resurgence in vinyl collecting, and you can still walk down the highstreet and buy a CD.
Tim’s advice is that if you don’t set off after your passion, you’ll never do it. If you’re really passionate you’ll be able to find the time to make the commitment’
People skills are the most important when it comes to selling and marketing someone. You need to understand who they are, what they’re about, get to the core of why the audience should care.

BEST MOMENTS

‘We’ve all had to use our skills to look for alternative ways to make money’

‘Fundamentally, I do it to put dog food on the table’

‘The human race loves to have a passion and interest in something’

‘People buy from people’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE GUEST

Tim Martin: “I have lived in Clevedon for over 25 years (not always in a shed), and been in business for nearly 6 years (always in a shed). After 20 years working for a couple of large family firms, I found myself in a huge corporation, at which time I decided to run away and do some real work.

When I’m not working, music is my main interest (or obsession according to some), archaeology (armchair), & old cars. Sports? Cycling and Cricket, but not Football or Rugby. I do books and films, not bothered by T.V. prefer radio. I buy too many magazines.”

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Pricing Strategies

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Pricing for your products or services shouldn't be an afterthought, it is a key part of panning a business, product and/or a services launch. This week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy is covering a question from one of her clients who wanted to know if she just used direct costs (to produce her product) to work out a selling price, or should she include general costs such as accounting software, shopify fees, and card transaction fees etc.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Whatever we sell, we want to at a minimum cover all the costs, not just the cost and time it takes to make the product or deliver the service, it should cover everything including the tax we have to pay.
The seven common pricing strategies to help you plan for your future business, products and services are as follows:
1. Value Based Pricing - Value-based pricing is a strategy of setting prices primarily based on a consumer's perceived value of a product or service. Value pricing is customer-focused pricing, meaning companies base their pricing on how much the customer believes a product is worth.
2. Competitive Pricing - Competitive pricing is the process of selecting strategic price points to best take advantage of a product or service based market relative to competition. This pricing method is used more often by businesses selling similar products since services can vary from business to business, while the attributes of a product remain similar. This type of pricing strategy is generally used once a price for a product or service has reached a level of equilibrium, which occurs when a product has been on the market for a long time and there are many substitutes for the product.
3. Price Skimming Pricing - Price skimming is a product pricing strategy by which a firm charges the highest initial price that customers will pay and then lowers it over time. As the demand of the first customers is satisfied and competition enters the market, the firm lowers the price to attract another, more price-sensitive segment of the population. The skimming strategy gets its name from "skimming" successive layers of cream, or customer segments, as prices are lowered over time.
4. Cost Plus Pricing - Variable cost-plus pricing is a pricing method whereby the selling price is established by adding a markup to total variable costs. The expectation is that the markup will contribute to meeting all or a part of the fixed costs and yield some level of profit. Variable cost-plus pricing is particularly useful in competitive scenarios, such as contract bidding, but it is not suitable in situations where fixed costs are a major component of total costs.
5. Penetration Pricing - Penetration pricing is a marketing strategy used by businesses to attract customers to a new product or service by offering a lower price during its initial offering. The lower price helps a new product or service penetrate the market and attract customers away from competitors. Market penetration pricing relies on the strategy of using low prices initially to make a wide number of customers aware of a new product.
6. Economy Pricing - Economy pricing is a pricing strategy where products have lower prices due to low production costs. Economy pricing allows businesses to price products according to their production value because they don't acquire the extra costs of advertising or marketing.
7. Dynamic Pricing - Dynamic pricing, also called real-time pricing, is an approach to setting the cost for a product or service that is highly flexible. The goal of dynamic pricing is to allow a company that sells goods or services over the Internet to adjust prices on the fly in response to market demands.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You’ve got to work backwards’

‘Value based pricing is not about trying to undercut your competitor, in fact it’s the opposite’

‘We know the prices of new tech is going to drop, but some people want it now’

‘If you are trading time for money then you need to make sure you’re able to deliver at a rate that gives you the profit you want’

ABOUT THE HOST

www.wrightbuildingdesign.co.uk

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Real Life Journeys With David Wright

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 23:00:00 -0000

David Wright of Wright Building Design is a friend, brilliant young business person, and contact from Tracy’s networking group. David joins Tracy this week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle to talk about how it’s never too late to get back into education, why you should never settle for mundane, the benefits of networking, and how he started his own business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

At the age of 23 David decided that life didn't have to happen by accident, it could happen by design. So David decided to go to University and studied Architecture Technology as a mature student.
After he’d qualified, David worked as an Architecture Technologist, but by 30 once again decided nothing had to stand still and even with a guaranteed furlough wage, left all that and went into business for himself with Wright Building Design.
When you’re looking for any architectural designer you should find referrals through people you already know and people they’ve worked with in the past. This way you know if they’re right for you and your project. Once you have made contact, ask them about their insurance policy and find out what problems they’ve had to overcome, give them a real interview.
When it comes to networking David believes that BMI is a vehicle for him to get to talk to people who want to talk to him.
David is part of an exclusive networking group, meaning that he’s the architecture expert in that group and no one else can join and take that seat.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I took work quite seriously so it’s nice to give it a bit of a break’

‘If you’re trying to describe something to somebody, words only get so far. If you can find an image or sketch it out it’s easier to communicate’

‘Networking is a big part of growing your business’

‘Don’t think you know everything, ask questions’

‘If you plan properly, you won’t fail’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE GUEST

After leaving school and going into the construction industry, at the age of 23 David decided that life didn't have to happen by accident, it could happen by design! So off David went to University and studied Architecture Technology as a mature student... yep at 23/24 he was indeed one of the oldest by far on his course. Once qualified, David began life as an employed Architecture Technologist, but by 30, once again decided nothing had to stand still and even with a guaranteed furlough wage, left all that and went into business for himself with Wright Building Design.

ABOUT THE HOST

paul@inceptionsupport.com

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Business And IT With Paul Richardson

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Owner and founder of Inception Support, expert mac support for business and home, Paul Richardson joins Tracy this week on Sweat Grit & Hustle. Today Paul shares not just how he got to being his own boss, but also shares snippets of his knowledge in computing for those looking to create or grow a business for themselves.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When Paul left his old job to start his own business he didn’t want to poach any clients from his former company, so much so that he didn’t even tell his clients that he was leaving. When he did start up his business, some former clients seeked him out to hire him again. Paul found word of mouth so important at this stage.
After Paul helped one client with a security problem in her IT system, she said to him “thank you, I can sleep tonight now”. That’s why he loves doing what he does.
When using cloud based storage, you can end up with synchronisation errors. When you store it all over one or more computers in your network, then you don’t get these errors and you can replace the computers when needed.
NAS - Network Attached Storage.
Make your passwords unique because if one password is compromised then the hacker doesn’t have the keys to the kingdom.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I love running my own business, I’m unemployable now’

‘I’m doing my dream job, I fix computers for a living and people pay me to do it’

‘The biggest security problem out there is not the computer, it’s the user’

‘Do not follow links unless you’re absolutely sure you know where it takes you’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.inceptionsupport.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Paul went straight from education into life as a printer engineer almost 20 years ago.

Having arrived at a job doing what he loved, helping people with IT, Paul made the decision five years ago to move from being employed into working for himself. Now he's still doing what he loves, but doing so as his own boss.

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Becoming Your Best You - Part 4

Wed, 18 May 2022 23:00:00 -0000

It’s the final part of Becoming Your Best You this week on Sweat, Grit, and Hustle as Tracy concludes the series by covering part 4 of an e-book she wrote to help you Unleash the Gift Within. In this part, Tracy tells you about how you can unlock that gift and potential within you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

It’s not just about reaching that outcome and completing the journey, it’s the journey itself because we learn every step of the way.
Every big outcome needs a series of smaller short term stepping stones that you can take every day to work you towards living the life you want to every day.
Successful people are the ones who do the task anyway even when they don’t want to or could put it off.
Nothing is perfect, be prepared to be flexible to achieve.
Society sees busyness as a virtue, but a lot of the time we’re not doing things that are actually helpful and productive.
The 3D model for being productive is do, delegate, or dump.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Overwhelm is your enemy’

‘The biggest mistake you can make is not taking action’

‘A plan is not fixed in stone’

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

How Long Can Your Business Survive Without You?

Wed, 11 May 2022 23:00:00 -0000

What happens if we need to step away from our businesses for a week? A month? Two months? Longer? What happens to our business while we’re away? This week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy brings you another caffeine cast on how you can make your business resistant to those curveballs that life throws at you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Start looking at how you work on your business instead of in your business. If you can delegate and outsource early on, then you have time to work on developing the business and grow your income. If you have people to do the day to day work then the business can also survive you not being there for a length of time.
The second thing you should look at is automating. If you can get the back end and admin tasks to be automated, then that saves you time on your day to day tasks. Automate online sales, booking with you, email lists etc.
Create an operations manual so others will know how to do the day to day things you do for the business.
If your business can’t survive 3, 4, 5, 6 months without you, then you’ve not got a business, you’ve got a job.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Don’t be a do it all’

‘The more you automate the less you have to do day to day’

‘There will come a time when life throws a curveball’

EPISODE RESOURCES

The eMyth

Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Work Week

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Becoming Your Best You - Part 3

Wed, 04 May 2022 23:00:00 -0000

In this week's episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy continues the series on becoming your best you by covering part 3 of an e-book she wrote to help you Unleash the Gift Within. In this part, Tracy covers developing strengths and managing weaknesses.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

No matter what you want your outcome to be, you can get there through dedication to self improvement. We either learn from our mistakes and grow or become stagnant.
A lot of people view self improvement as focusing on our weaknesses, but Tracy proposes self improvement can be getting even better at what you’re good at already. Work around your weaknesses and make your strengths even greater.
Building on your strengths improves your self confidence instead of tearing it down. You get to focus on the positives in life.
How do we build on our strengths?: 1. Invest in learning more about what you’re already good at. 2. Spend time with others who have your desire to build upon your strengths. 3. Step out of your comfort zone. 4. Teach others your strengths.
Accept your flaws for what you are, they are part of you but not the biggest part.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Self improvement is key to living a successful life’

‘There is always new things to learn and strategies to improve on’

‘Put yourself into places where you need to step up to get the job done’

‘Don’t compare yourself to others who have already realised their ideal outcomes’

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.tpsfibreglass.co.uk/

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Real Life Journeys With Todd & Emma

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Guests this week are Todd Smith and Emma Baylis, who have been in "takeover” mode with their business venture. Todd's father had built up a strong local business manufacturing Fibreglass parts as a solo venture but had let the business slow down in his old age. Now Todd and Emma are in charge, they are on a mission to become the West Midlands Number 1 provider of high quality composite parts.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Having built up a thriving solo run local business, when it came time to retire, Todd's father slowly reduced the contracts and let the business run down going from a staff of 7 to just him.
When Todd and Emma decided to take the business on, his first course of action was to rebuild and regain the contracts. Today TPS Fibreglass employs a team of 5, working locally in the West Midlands.
You will always have to pay top of the market wage wise for the best people. If you want to be the best at what you do then you have to have the best people for the job.
The biggest struggles for the business are fine tuning the way the business wants to work and cash flow issues over the Christmas period. Balancing the holidays of employees was a new challenge for the pair.
Todd and Emma initially tried to branch out into too many different areas when they took over. They’ve not learned to stick to doing what they do best.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You need to have the right sets of skills’

‘You’ll make more making lower quantity but higher quality products’

‘You can do anything but you can’t do everything’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.instagram.com/tpsfibreglass/

https://www.facebook.com/tpsfibreglass

Email: tpsfibreglass @gmail.com

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/tps-fibreglass/

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Becoming the Best You - Part 2

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 23:00:00 -0000

This week's episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy is covering part 2 of an e-book she wrote to help you Unleash the Gift Within and Become Your Best You. In this part, Tracy covers recognising your strengths and weaknesses. This is perfect for anyone wanting to start or set up their own business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Break your desired outcomes into daily, weekly, and monthly steps you can take to work towards that outcome.
Shut out the negative thoughts and write down all the things you are good at. Make it honest.
Some questions to get you started on writing your list are 1. What have you always been good at? 2. What do you do better than anyone else you know? 3. What do other people think of your strengths? 4. What skills have you developed that could be added to that list.
We can’t all be good at everything, so before you start kicking yourself just remember that we grow as people and learn from our mistakes. It’s not failing, it’s simply a skill you weren’t born with or haven't learned yet.
To find out your weaknesses ask yourself the following questions. 1. What skills or tasks do you struggle with? 2. What tasks do you procrastinate because you don’t feel like you can perform them? 3. What do others see as your weak areas? 4. What negative work habits do you have? 5. What personality traits do you have that you experience as weaknesses or negatives?
The next step is mapping out your strength to potential. There is more than one path to reach our full potential.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s always good to get 360 degree feedback’

‘You can do anything, but you can’t do everything’

‘We all have weaknesses, and acknowledging them shouldn’t be a big deal holding us back’

‘Sometimes the best way forward is to let go’

‘Comparison is the thief of joy’

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Sam Perry | So Social Media, Growing a business from referral based networking

Wed, 13 Apr 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Sam Perry is the owner/founder of So Social Media. Having worked in Radio and Marketing for several years, Sam took a decision 5 years ago to leave the day job and become his own boss. He joins Tracy on Sweat, Grit & Hustle to talk about starting SO Social Media, how networking has helped his business grow, and his thoughts on social media marketing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

At the beginning of everyone’s journey into starting your own business we all suffer from a bit of imposter syndrome. We all have visions of where we want our business to be but don’t feel we have the skills or experience to get there. Remember that everyone feels that.
In the early stage a lot of the business SO Social Media were getting was through referrals from existing clients.
Sam attended a BNI (Business Network International) group by chance and found that after 3 meetings it was worth the membership for the business he brought in and the advice he got from there.
If it’s not referral based networking, give it a miss. There’s a structure in place that encourages you to network in the way you should be networking.
The BNI group Tracy is in has 17 or 18 members and last year they passed over a million in business between them. Sam's 29 member strong group did over 2 million.
Getting into networking can be seen as a cost, but in fact, it’s an investment.
Hire now for where you’re going to be in 2 months time.

BEST MOMENTS

‘The job gave you security, the business gave you passion’

‘I need to look where I’m going, and work backwards from that point’

‘Joining Networking and being able to talk to other business people’s challenges was a real turning point’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website: www.sosocialmediauk.com

Facebook Business: https://www.facebook.com/So.SocialMediaGB

Contact Sam on Tel: 07969 136218

ABOUT THE GUEST

Sam Perry is the owner/founder of So Social Media. Having worked in Radio and Marketing for several years, Sam took a decision 5 years ago to leave the day job and become his own boss. In that time his business has grown from the one and band start to a grown up business with 17 employees and a global client base.

SO Social Media is a team of passionate professionals dedicated to helping you to achieve your online potential. Their friendly and creative team want to understand you and your company, where you have come from and where you want to go, thinking of themselves as social creatures. They understand what it is that will make consumers engage with you. Managing your social media accounts by the hour with no boring long term content scheduling. Everything is done minute by minute so you know that your accounts will never be left feeling stale and unloved.

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Tracy | Becoming Your Your Best You Part 1, Unlocking true potential, Finding your Purpose

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 23:00:00 -0000

This week's episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle is the first module in a training course Tracy wrote a while ago to help you Unleash the Gift Within and Become Your Best You. This episode is Module 1 of that training and over the next few weeks Tracy will be covering all the modules in this training to help you gain a greater understanding of yourself and discover what you really want in life

KEY TAKEAWAYS

If you’ve been struggling to find your purpose in life, you’ve arrived at a great place, you’re ready to embrace your whole self and own the reason you’re on this planet.
One of the biggest challenges of unlocking your true potential is the image we have in our heads of what success looks like. Forget about what everyone else is doing and telling you what you should want or do. You need to dig down and decide what is right for you.
Our imagination is restricted by limiting factors such as finance or what other people will think. We need to remove those limiting factors to truly understand our purpose and build a plan towards achieving it.
Your goals can lead to outcomes to improve one of three things, personal, professional, and spiritual.
We can use the SMART system for making goals. SMART = Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebase.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There’s a lot to do, but it’s going to be an exciting ride’

‘You can discover your true potential if you have the courage and dedication to keep working until your dream is realised’

‘We don’t have to go from 0 to 100 instantly’

‘The work starts with knowing yourself deeply’

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.simplifyingsmallbusiness.co.uk/

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Amanda Blyth | Real Life Journey, Growing Selling Restarting a Business, Marketing your Business

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 23:00:00 -0000

It’s another Real Life Journey, stories about people starting or running a business that will be a little closer to where you are right now. This week Tracy is joined by Amanda Blyth, a marketing and management consultant for over 12 years who made the jump to going into business with another colleague.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Amanda left her Marketing and management consulting role after 12 years to move into the world of being a business owner and work for herself.
After joining forces with another colleague and building up a thriving business over 5 year, Amanda had the opportunity to buy the partner out.
Some years later having grown the business to a 40 person team, Amanda sold the business. The only thing was, after selling that thriving business, Amanda realised there was now a void! After all, what do you replace working for yourself with?
The solution solves the problems of other small business owners and creates a new business helping business owners and creatives to become organised, fulfilled entrepreneurs.
The best kind of business partner you can have is one with complimentary skills to yourself.
Every so often you should check if you’re going in the right direction and for the right reasons.

BEST MOMENTS

‘People are good about doing things they’re passionate about’

‘If you don’t have the skills to market your product, it’s not going to grow’

‘You need someone to be accountable to’

‘You have some foundations and you have to maintain them’

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.facebook.com/amanda.blatch.9/

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Learning From The Mistakes of Others

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0000

A short caffeine cast this week, covering the golden nuggets Tracy has picked up from the penultimate episode of this year's The Apprentice. Tracy discusses some fantastic highlights of mistakes picked up by the show's business advisors, in relation to the contestants' business plans.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Watch the penultimate episode of this year's Apprentice for some really great insight into how investors will scrutinise your business.
Be honest and upfront about your business structure when talking to potential investors. It creates uncertainty about your honesty and how the business relationship will work if you don’t disclose who else is involved and at what capacity.
If you are importing your products by sea from China for example, then you will find it difficult to keep that item in stock. And if you don’t have a popular item, you will end up stockpiling it.
Remember to think about the scalability of your business when going for investment. There may be parts or people that don’t scale as you grow.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Numbers are important in your business plan, don’t leave them out’

‘If you’re looking at starting a business, watch the penultimate episode, it will give you a lot of mistakes you can avoid’

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Josh Hanvey | Becoming the sole European distributor for a business, Turning rubbish into income, Online business

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0000

Josh Hanvey is a 26 Year old ex Fireplace Salesman turned CEO of his own business. As a cyclist Josh saw the pile of discarded bike inner tubes one and thought there has got to be something I can do with these other than throw them away... and so began a discovery that led to a whole new business for Josh. He joins Tracy on Sweat Grit & Hustle to tell his story.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Josh negotiated a deal with an American upcycling company to become the sole distributor in Europe. This happened after he tried to recycle his bike inner-tube and ended up finding the difficulty in recycling some everyday materials.
When you start a new business, you are it, you are the only one who is going to do the work and the only one who is putting money into the business. Until you’re at the point where you can afford to bring someone else in, all the work is on you and that’s something a lot of business owners can be overwhelmed by.
Selling and bringing back customers when your business runs on sustainability and a lifetime guarantee can be challenging.
If you’re going into website based selling, you need your customer to get where they need to be in five clicks. This can be especially hard if your business involves a lot of customisation.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It’s really expensive being in business’

‘When you start out, there’s nobody to tell you these things’

‘Business for me is an addiction’

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.neeshstores.com/

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Holding On and Letting Go

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0000

It’s another Content Caffeine Cast, this one is all about holding onto things that limit our growth and take far too much of our energy. Sweat Grit & Hustle this week covers the Zen Story of Two Monks and a Woman, as well as self limiting beliefs, and holding onto grudges. How does this all hold you back from achieving your dreams and goals in business?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

How much time do you spend thinking about past events that we have moved past long ago? There’s no point holding onto these past hurts. Letting go of the things that hold us back gives us a different level of peace.
Limiting beliefs are beliefs formed in childhood that hold us back. It’s set in our brains from an early age and we have to unlearn it.
Limiting beliefs can cause you to miss out on progressing in your business because we think we can’t do it.
If you don’t have enough money, what can you do to make the money? If you don’t have enough time, what can you do to make time?

BEST MOMENTS

‘There is no barrier between you and what you want to do except the one you put there’

‘There is a mental and physical hard to holding workplace grudges’

‘When we’re treated unjustly, we hold onto it’

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Real Life Journeys with Jenny Hilton

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0000

Finalist of the Community Fitness Awards, Jenny Hilton joins Tracy for a Real Life Journey on Sweat, Grit & Hustle. Jenny went from attending fitness classes to blow off steam, to running her own community fitness business catering to people in person, online, and on demand. Hear Jenny’s incredible story of building something for communities that not only benefits them physically, but mentally and emotionally too.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Community fitness is taking your fitness classes and taking them to the community, to a sports hall or church or any space you can fit in. People don’t need to join a gym or anything like that, the class and equipment is being brought to them.
The reason Jenny started JH Fitness was to deal with mental health and social problems, rather than physical ones. She found that getting physically active was such a huge help for her history of mental health issues. The people who attend Jenny’s classes say the exact same thing, getting fit is just a bonus.
When things got stressful running a business, Jenny always looked back on her ‘why’. Why did she start doing this in the first place. Simply, to help people, and that pushes her though.
Covid hit Jenny’s business very hard, she obviously couldn’t do any classes face to face. But it only took a short time for her to adapt and take her classes online. She knew her customers needed to keep fit, to stay healthy, and to have that social interaction. Jenny ended up spending over £1000 on equipment to make the online sessions as good as she could and is very proud of what she achieved.
Jenny now teaches hybrid classes to both those who can be there and those who can’t. And then that gave way to the birth of her on demand classes with over 200 workouts.
When she was at a point where mental health issues overwhelmed her, Jenny was so surprised with the response of her community. People who had never taught classes before stepped up and volunteered when Jenny couldn’t teach. They did it because they loved the environment she had created and didn’t want anything in return.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It doesn’t feel like it’s exercise, it just feels like having a laugh with friends’

‘They’re like family to me, not just people in my class’

‘We’re able to reach more people now through the power of being online’

‘In business you need to have a thick skin’

‘I’m like a pocket hurricane because I just don’t stop’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.jhfitness.co.uk

@JHFitnessNotts

info@jhfitness.co.uk

ABOUT THE GUEST

As a busy NHS professional, Jenny hated going to gym, but discovered she loved going to Zumba classes... These classes became her “happy place”. When her instructor could not do classes due to injury, Jenny stepped in and trained as an instructor and so became the first 9.5 years of her fitness life as an instructor running classes in gyms. Since then Jenny has started her own business, JH Fitness. She is passionate about the benefits of community and class based fitness, as getting fit is not just about getting fit, for many it's about the connection with others and that is why she focuses purely on fitness through group classes.

ABOUT THE HOST

Invictus (2009)
Rocky (1976)

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Possibility Thinking

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0000

Welcome to this, rather windy caffeine cast on possibility thinking. How can visions, dreams, and imagination help you grow and take your business to the next level? This week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy answers those questions and gives some great examples on how real people’s dreams have helped them achieve something special.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Possibility Thinking is the envisioning of something that doesn't exist, that through individual and collective efforts might happen.
As default as humans we have a naturally negative imagination. We think about what could go wrong before we think about what could go right.
Instead of focusing on the realities of life as it is, dream big and be able to see past the current reality.
If you ask any successful person or CEO of a huge company, they will tell you that no matter how silly it might seem, they use possibility thinking to create a vision for them and their company.

BEST MOMENTS

‘With practice and habit we can develop a more positive mindset’

‘Visioning and possibility thinking started in the mind of one man went on to an entire nation’

‘Sometimes there will be doubts when that ego mind can’t see the vision’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Live Love Laugh With Cheryl Chapman

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0000

What is your WHY? A better question might be what is a WHY? This week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy is joined by Cheryl Chapman. Cheryl has mentored thousands of clients to find their WHY and guided them to understand what they did amazingly and what they needed to change to create a fulfilled and happy life.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

It’s not that people are going around pretending that they’re okay, it’s that things change in your life that send you down a different path.
Living and being alive are two completely different things. People who truly live know their why and accept that their purpose can shift and change.
Knowing your why allows you to know what to say yes to and what to say no to. You’ll know if what you’re doing is true to your why.
Awareness allows you to find triggers that send you into that negative behaviour. It can be something that makes you snap at a friend, or lose confidence in your work. Working towards being aware of it is the first step to overcoming it.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You need a little manure to make roses’

‘The two great days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why’

‘Be seen, be heard, be you’

‘If there’s one person out there who needs me then I’m going to keep going’

EPISODE RESOURCES

www.cheryl-chapman.com
cheryl@cheryl-chapman.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Cheryl Chapman has mentored thousands of clients across 5 continents both in groups and individually, helping them in turn to become award winning speakers, authors and business leaders, which is why she is regarded as one of the most productive speaker trainers in the world.

Whilst helping her clients to communicate in a confident and charismatic way, so that they could be seen as the leaders in their business, she found that many of them were fearful of judgement, failure, success and even being seen as imposters...in other words they didn’t feel like they knew enough or in some cases they didn’t feel enough themselves.

Cheryl realised that the skills of public speaking were not enough and that most clients needed more support in order to stand up, speak out and share their knowledge. That's when The Find your WHY Foundation was created, with Cheryl's vision to create a space where she would guide others to understand why they are there in their lives, what they did amazingly and what they needed to change to create a fulfilled and happy life.

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Expect The Best, Plan For The Worst

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0000

This week it's all about business and partnerships and how going into business with others is a little like marriage... We walk down the aisle full of expectations of happily ever after, but things can and do go wrong. How do you plan for the worst in business?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Don’t assume that just because you already know someone and have a relationship with them, that going into business together will be a good fit. If you don’t share the same values or ideas about size and scale, then it might not be a match made in heaven.
The right team is usually a successful team, and the right team has a diverse set of skills. If you’re going into business with someone who has a complimentary set of skills to yours then you’re starting off on the right foot.
Articles of association is a legal document that outlines the rules and regulations of a company or organisation. These articles exist to explain the details of a company's operations and also include financial records and information about key tasks that a company aims to complete.
A formal partnership is the same as a limited company's articles of association.
Things to consider. What are your roles and responsibilities, and if someone doesn't do them, do they still get their share? What happens in the event of someone wanting to leave? What happens if your partner gets ill or unexpectedly passes away?

BEST MOMENTS

‘If I was putting all the effort in why on earth would I want to share in the profits’

‘Do not just rely on a handshake’

‘Have those rose tinted glasses on, but be realistic’

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
Follow Tracy on Instagram
Tracy's LinkedIn

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Real Life Journey - Hannah Pekary

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 00:00:00 -0000

Today on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy brings you another one of her Real Life Stories. This time Tracy is joined by business coach and former dance teacher Hannah Pekary. Hannah tells her story of following her passion, creating connections during Covid, and somehow finding herself a self taught business owner.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Hannah has a love for dance and trained as a dance teacher. She joined an already existing dance school and when the owner retired, Hannah decided to go from teacher to business owner. She had to teach herself all the basics with very little business training. She decided not to carry on the previous owner's business, it was her time to shine so it became the Pekary School of Dance.
As many business owners had to, Hannah had to move all her classes online during the pandemic. The best thing she found through this is that her students just wanted friendship and to chat with the other students. The hour long dance classes became half dance and half a catch up with their friends.
We know the power of physical movements and the benefits it gives us inside and out. It’s a great way to just let go, even if you just have a 5 minute dance in your kitchen, if you’re passionate about it or it helps you relax you should just do it.
Don’t doubt yourself. If it’s something you want to do, you can do it.
Doing it all by yourself can be difficult or lonely. Hannah’s top tip would be to get a business coach or build some kind of support network around you. Get the right people who will encourage you but also not just tell you what you want to hear.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Dance gave me a wonderful outlet’

‘I wanted to tell the world this is my name and this is who I am’

‘Choose those people who are going to cheer you on but be honest too’

EPISODE RESOURCES

You can reach Hannah at:
Email – hello@hannahpekary.com
hannah@pekarydance.co.uk
Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/HannahPekaryCoaching
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PekarySchoolofDance
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/hannah_pekary_coaching
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/HannahPekaryCoaching
Website – www.hannahpekary.com
www.pekarydance.co.uk

ABOUT THE GUEST

Hannah Pekary is a business coach who helps entrepreneurs to create healthy relationships in their businesses and personal lives; creating healthy habits so they are well equipped to work through their limiting beliefs, money mindset and more, so creating their true identity.

Hannah is a graduate coach of the fully accredited Aligned Coaching Academy (ACA MInstLM), and a certified Story Work Coach with Andrea Callanan (ACSWC).

Before starting a coaching business, Hannah worked for 15 years as a dance teacher, and professional dancer, whilst also training to become a teacher and running a successful tutoring business. Before and during this time, Hannah nannied for numerous families, supporting them to create healthy habits. Hannah now helps these entrepreneurial mums to create their own businesses and lifestyles full of freedom and joy.

Hannah lives on the Welsh coastline and loves to take unwinding walks with her dog, breathing in the salty air.

Hannah enjoys baking for any occasion, and loves to spend time with her family.

ABOUT THE HOST

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PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 00:00:00 -0000

The episode is a chapter from an eBook Tracy wrote for business and Business owners, during lockdown in 2020. The eBook "Ignite your Spark" is about discovering how to develop the grit, drive and determination to become a shining superstar. In this episode, She covers Chapter 1 - The Entrepreneurial Spirit and the Six P's which Tracy believes that spirit boils down to Passion, Path, Positivity, Perseverance and Productivity.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The thing that all entrepreneurs have in common is the fact that they are rebels who refuse to follow blindly and refuse to settle. This allows them to push themselves past the set boundaries and see opportunities that are presented.
The entrepreneurial mindset transcends business. The core of this is to wonder what is possible.
The first of the six P’s is Passion. This is the fire that drives you, it’s what gives you motivation and the desire to make a difference in the world around you. When you tie your passion to a business idea it drives success.
Path. This provides you the map to actualising your idea and allows you persevere. Detail all the things you need to forge ahead.
Positivity. If you anticipate failure, then you’ll fail. Your thoughts will work towards manifesting the outcome. A positive mindset is more likely to succeed. Positivity in the face of adversity is one of the biggest skills you can have.
People. You have to look for and build strong networks to be successful in business. Without a support system you can lose sight of your passion and path.
Perseverance. People who succeed are the ones who haven't given up. Your business success depends on your ability to look failure in the face and find the courage to move forward to achieve your goals.
Productivity. Your ability to use time well will dictate how quickly or slowly you achieve your goals. We all have other commitments in life, and those are necessary. But there are distractions such as social media that just drains your time and your ability to be productive. The P we don’t want is procrastination.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Your mindset is your business’

‘The entrepreneur's mindset is the undying belief in one's own ability’

‘If you start a business that you aren’t passionate about, are you any better than someone staying at a job they hate?’

‘If you lack focus, achieving success will take longer’

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
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PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Taking Control of Your Destiny (An Interview For Fearless Inspiration)

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 00:00:00 -0000

This week the shoe is on the other foot on Sweat, Grit & Hustle as Tracy brings you an interview she did for Ian Drudy on his podcast Fearless Inspiration. Fearless Inspiration is a smorgasbord of inspiration to feast on, where its host Ian Drudy shares the sometimes personal, often powerful, sources of inspiration, empowering the epic human beings that appear on the show.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy’s person of inspiration is her sister who is a midwife and works her socks off for the NHS. She also has four kids and does an amazing job raising them.
If you’re investing in property you need to cycle your money. If you’re just renting out a few properties then you’ll make a little bit of money each month, but it won’t be enough to live on.
During the lockdown Tracy realised she was too dependent on one client. It was at this time she formed the Witch Property group to support and give advice to women who were looking to get into the space or develop. The group has now morphed into a full training company with hundreds of hours of content to help women in property.
No matter how hard things get, ask yourself what can I do right now to get the result I want. Pull yourself away from being afraid of what might happen. What if you do it and it goes exactly how you want it to.
In the world of business you need to find what works, nurture it, and repeat it. Just like you would when planting your own garden.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I didn’t want to put power of my destiny in the hands of a corporate company again’

‘There is no such thing as truly passive income’

‘There is a person behind every interaction you do’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Fearless Inspiration Podcast
Tracy’s Witch Property Group
Backdraft – Film
Devi Prayer – Song
Now We Are Free from The Gladiator – Song
The Life Changing Habit of Not Giving A F**k, Sarah Knight

ABOUT THE GUEST

Below is details about the Fearless Inspiration podcast:

Do you want to know what inspires other people? Or are you feeling like you need your own inspiration boost? Fearless Inspiration podcast is a smorgasbord of inspiration to feast on, where its host Ian Drudy shares the sometimes personal, often powerful, sources of inspiration, empowering the epic human beings that appear on the show.

Email for Ian Drudy inspiringteamhuman@gmail.com

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
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PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The Peaceful Warrior (Lessons for Business and Life)

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 00:00:00 -0000

Inspiration can come from anywhere. The Peaceful Warrior, released in 2006 is a film based on the 1980 world-wide successful novel The Way of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. Tracy watched this over Christmas and this week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, she will be talking you through five lessons for business and life she got from the film.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. There is NEVER NOTHING going on and there are NO ORDINARY MOMENTS.
2. Warriors ACT, only fools REACT.
3. Get rid of your rubbish... clear your mind of everything you don’t need.
4. Knowledge is not the same as wisdom.
5. Your Success is not dictated by outcomes.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Where are you, what time is it, and what are you’

‘Every moment of your life is extraordinary’

‘Be present and fully engaged in what is happening right now’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives
Peaceful Warrior

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
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PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Real Life Journeys - Jennifer Gilmour

Fri, 07 Jan 2022 16:32:49 -0000

Today’s guest, Jennifer Gilmour is an Amazon Best Selling author and advocate for women in abusive relationships. Jennifer joins Tracy on Sweat, Grit & Hustle to tell her Real Life Journey of how she left an abusive relationship and built herself back up to being her own boss. Find out how she turned a Facebook group into a successful pop-up business and the brilliant event work Jenifer does across the UK.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Jennifer was able to make more friends and build a support network to help her get out of an abusive relationship by getting a Christmas job. This temporary job helped give Jennifer some independence, both financially and socially.
Jennifer made a Facebook group going into lockdown for her and fellow business owners to essentially panic together and share information and support each other. The Small Business Networking Coffee House was then monitised with premium membership as a support tool for small businesses.
If you have a repeatable task that you can teach to someone else or get someone else to do then you should consider delegating it to be able to grow. If there isn’t something repeatable in your business, then see if there is something in our life that you can hire someone to do to free up your time so you can increase sales.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Don’t be afraid of growth if you have the right structure in place’

‘Anything that saves you time is a bonus’

‘I’m always thinking of creative ways to make a difference and help people’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.facebook.com/groups/networking247
Latte & Live - https://latteandlive.com
@latteandlive on Facebook/Insta/Twitter
Jennifer Gilmour - https://jennifergilmour.com
@JenLGilmour on all social platforms

ABOUT THE GUEST

Jennifer Gilmour is an author and advocate for women in abusive relationships, using her own experiences of domestic abuse as a catalyst to bring awareness and to help others. Jennifer has published two publications, Isolation Junction and Clipped Wings which have both been Amazon Best Sellers and received awards. Jennifer speaks at events across the UK and continues to raise awareness through her blog posts, public speaking, radio interviews and social media.

Aside from her passion of raising awareness of domestic abuse Jennifer has spent over 15 years of experience with communities and over 10 years specifically in digital communities. Jennifer has successfully monitised multiple communities with different business models. The Small Business Networking Coffee House opened in lockdown 2020 as a vision to support small businesses and is still going strong today, it has its own premium membership.

AWARDS

Most Informative Blogger Award 2018 (Bloggers Bash Annual Awards)

UK & European Award for using Social Media for Good 2019 (Social Day: Social Media Marketing Awards)

Small Business Networking Specialists in Yorkshire 2021 (Corporate Vision)

ABOUT THE HOST

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PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Tools for the 2022 Toolbox - Part 2

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0000

This is part 2 of Tracy’s Tools for the 2022 Toolbox where she will continue on from last week’s part 1. Find out how to set achievable realistic goals using the SMART system, and get tips on how to take action to achieve those goals. Also listen out for Tracy’s top tips for reducing procrastination and increasing motivation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Create your own digital vision board using the link in the show notes below.
Make your goals for 2022 SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, realistic, and Time Based.
Write down your goals and why you want to achieve that goal.
List any obstacles you may encounter on your way to reaching your goal.
Be aware of any fears you may have. To overcome fear, make your ‘why’ bigger than your fears.
What people skills and resources do you need to assist you in achieving your goal.
Ask yourself what you can do to make this happen. It’s okay to change your steps throughout the process or even add some.
Take action! It doesn’t matter what planning you do, if you don’t take action it will never happen.
Three things to help you control how you feel. What you put your focus on, your physical being, and your language. These three things all affect your emotional state, and if you can change your emotional state you will procrastinate less.

BEST MOMENTS

‘80% of achieving any goal is understanding why we want to do it’

‘Emotion rules the subconscious’

‘Your outcomes are a result of how you spend your time’

EPISODE RESOURCES

The Pay it Forward Academy is a carefully Curated library of free online content aimed at helping you tap into more of your potential in the interconnected areas of life. https://www.thepayitforwardacademy.com

Link for the video to create a digital vision board http://bit.ly/howtomakedigitalvisionboard

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy on Facebook
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PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Tools For The 2022 Toolbox - Part 1

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0000

With 2022 just around the corner, Tracy is here on Sweat, Grit & Hustle to bring you part 1 of her tools for your toolbox series. Listen in and work through the two free worksheets provided in the episode resources to give yourself the tools you need to make 2022 even better than 2021.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Where is your life in the current moment? Take a moment and find a quiet place to honestly reflect on where your life is on your scale. No judgement or comparison with anyone else, how are you doing compared to the goals you set for yourself.
Rate the parts of your life that Tracy mentions from 1 to 10 on the Wheel of Life. Make your answers honest and true to who you are right now. The smoother the wheel is the better.
Everything starts with intention. These are the things that seed what you create. Be clear on who you want to be and what you want to have.
The reason we write these things down is because it enhances the likelihood of them materialising.
Being grateful for what we already have can actually help us get into a better frame of mind for what is coming in the coming year.
When we are in a state of love, joy and gratitude, we are in a higher level of consciousness.
Put images that inspire you in a place where you will see them daily.

BEST MOMENTS

‘What do you want from it, where are you right now on your journey’

‘Go straight to the emotion’

‘It’s not just one of these personal development mindset things’

EPISODE RESOURCES

The Pay it Forward Academy is a carefully curated library of free online content aimed at helping you tap into more of your potential in the interconnected areas of life! www.thepayitforwardacademy.com

Printable Wheel of Life Worksheets and Templates can be found at: http://bit.ly/thewheeloflifeexercisesheets

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Goals, Growth and Guitars with Lindsay Hopkins

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0000

Going from the army to starting a mortgage company in his shed and writing four books with another on the way, Lindsay Hopkins has worked in many different areas and joins Tracy on this week's Sweat, Grit & Hustle. Find out all about Lindsay’s career in the army and how he moved into the world of wealth management.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Finding that cold calling wasn’t for him, Lindsay invited ten friends to a nice meal and asked them to all write down the names of people they could introduce him to who might want to work with him. He left the meal with forty names and had a great time while doing it.
It took Lindsay six months to go from the financial services business in his shed to being successful enough to need new bigger premises.
Never set your goal for thirteen weeks because everybody gets a cold.
Smash it quarter one, try even harder quarter two, chill out quarter three, then quarter four plan for the next year.
Goals work for everybody. No matter if you’re in business or not. You want to see your friends more? Okay how much more? Four more times this year? Five? Set a goal with a hard qualifier then you know how much you need to do to achieve it.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Why don’t you ask happy clients if they know any other potential clients’

‘You’re a monkey lion, you like people but you’re prepared to make decisions’

‘You can’t retire if you’ve got passion’

EPISODE RESOURCES

trafalgarsq.co.uk

Lindsay@trafalgarsq.co.uk

facebook.com/lindsay.hopkins.714

ABOUT THE GUEST

Psychology Graduate and ex Army Officer Lindsay Hopkins moved into the world of wealth management, when retirement from the Army called and so began a whole new world of business. Since then Lindsay has moved mountains and created multiple businesses and income streams: - Lindsay is the owner and founder of Trafalgar Square FPC Ltd, a mortgage brokerage business. - He has developed a "bespoke" bridging company DGFAM Ltd - He runs the hugely successful Creative Finance course for a UK Property Education company - Has built his own property portfolio in South Wales and regularly visits the area as a way of relaxing! - Is a multi-published author with his latest book due out in the near future. As someone who firmly works on his businesses, rather than in them, Lindsay does have some spare time and on those occasional moments off he likes nothing more than spending it with his uniquely supportive wife Chrissy, their two lovely children Gabby & Daniel and the their new grandson Archie, or maybe writing a song on one of his 15 guitars, but mostly he loves being kept busy helping others to realise their dreams.

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

9 Easy Hints to Boost Self-Confidence

Thu, 09 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0000

Sometimes, the thing that can hold you back the most is yourself. This week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy is taking a different approach and tackling the topics of self-confidence. It doesn't matter if you’re starting a business or even going on a date, Tracy has 9 easy hints to boost self confidence that will help you in any situation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Stop saying "Should".
Don't focus on yourself.
Set realistic goals.
Surround yourself with positives.
Stop being critical.
Take the time you need.
Think Positively.
Reprogram yourself.
Fake it and Smile!

BEST MOMENTS

‘We are our own worst critics always looking back at what we’ve done’

‘How are you going to care for your clients if you’re not even going to care for yourself’

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Disrupting the Recruitment Market with Lisa Betsworth

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 00:00:00 -0000

It’s another one of our real life journeys on Sweat, Grit & Hustle this week as Tracy is joined by recruitment industry expert and owner of Slice Solutions, Lisa Betsworth. A few years ago, Lisa made the decision to stay within her industry, but to disrupt the status quo. Listen to Lisa’s story and find out how giving yourself a break can pay off in the long run.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

On the highstreet you would be lucky to get a 15% fee on your recruitment. Lisa disagrees with these massive fees and wanted to make a better service at about a third of the price. It’s better because it holds the hand of the client through interviews, shortlisting, not just the CV sifting you see most companies doing. That’s why she started Slice Solutions.
When she started her first business, Lisa didn’t differentiate herself from the competition, she had no USP and up against the big boys she didn’t stand a chance. She had fallen out of love with the job and after having a child and being diagnosed with cancer, she came back with a new company, Slice, and found her passion again.
Recruitment is a very reactionary industry. Clients will often come to you and say I need this and I need it yesterday.
When things aren’t going your way it’s easy to feel like you have no control. But you always have the choice of how to deal with adversity. If you let the things you can’t affect get on top of you then you’ll never overcome them, but if you face them head-on then you can.
The best piece of advice Lisa can give to people starting out in business is that you should work with people you trust.
When recruiting, stop and breathe before you do it. If you get a good gut feeling about someone, then go with it, there’s usually a reason you feel that way.
Look for values that you share. You can teach someone skills but you can’t teach them to fit into your business.
If you spread your advertising over multiple platforms then you’re more likely to find quality candidates.
When writing a job description, be very clear about what you need, if you think you just need an extra pair of hands then re-evaluate.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’m yet to meet a child who says I want to be a recruiter when I’m older’

‘They either like it or they don’t. If they don’t I’ll send them elsewhere’

‘I’ve seen some of the most amazing businesses spike up during covid’

‘Until someone says I’ve got no hope I’m just going to get on’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website: www.slicesolutions.co.uk

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/slice-solutions/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Lisa loves the recruitment industry and has been in recruitment for over 15 years, finally starting her own agency in 2014. Unfortunately, Lisa was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and took the decision to sell her agency to a competitor to allow her to take the time to beat cancer and fully recover. And now she has!! She supports hair loss and cancer charities and started Slice in August 2019. Despite its infancy, Slice Solutions already serves a solid client base across the region. Lisa comments, ” It is testament to this service that we were able to hit the ground running as we did, benefiting from word-of-mouth recommendations and a high-level service that engages these clients and the candidates we source.” Lisa adds, “my passion for people and helping them find their perfect position has never wavered and I truly believe Slice Solutions can act as the next stage in the recruitment industry; acting on a retained basis for companies to understand their culture and requirements rather than a bolt-on service used only when necessary”.

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The 5 S's for Starting or Expanding a Small Business

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 00:00:00 -0000

In this ‘caffeine cast’ edition of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy guides you through her five S’s for growing, expanding, or even starting your small business. Sit back, relax, and make sure you take notes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The first S is for strategy. Any business should have a clear strategy, this allows you to create a cohesive message for all of your marketing platforms.
The second S is for systems. If you try to do everything on your own then you’re going to limit your growth and create a big headache. Look at a CRM system.
The third S is for speed and SEO. Most of your online visitors don’t buy the first time they go to your site, so make sure your website works as well as it can to prevent people from not wanting to come back. You can even get a free report online.
The fourth S is for simplicity. Make your social posts short and to the point, don’t overwhelm people with information.
The final S is all about strength, your strength and being strong. Starting your own business will take you out of your comfort zone. Set yourself up for success even if it feels scary and uncomfortable.

BEST MOMENTS

‘When you put too many hats on your head they start to fall off’

‘You are not your audience’

‘Be sassy and savvy, know your values’

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Escaping Groundhog Day with Ellie McKay

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 00:00:00 -0000

Ellie McKay went from minimum wage at 17, to running a team of over 100 people at 19 and is this week's guest on Sweat Grit & Hustle. She joins host Tracey to tell you her story of getting into property with her husband and there will be tips and tricks you can learn along the way.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Ellie and her husband had invested their savings into a property that was supposed to be worth £195,000 on completion. Then after a series of delays and a global financial crisis, the property was worth only £60,000.
Ellie has mastered creating a win-win situation. She gets the money she needs for properties and investors make a profit.
To work in property or as your own boss in general you need to have a grit and determination about you. You can’t let the hits knock you down, you need to be able to stay on your feet and find a solution.
Financial freedom is about freedom of choice, when to do it, where to do it, and who to do it with.
Trying to gain engagement and traction on social media is hard. Don’t be demoralized, Ellie has people who only get in touch after months of watching what you do.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There’s no way we’ve come this far to only come this far’

‘You’re a marketer first, everything else second’

‘Relationships are the highest form of currency’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Ellie on LinkedIn

On a Mission Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Business Insights - Preparing for the Unexpected

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 -0000

In this episode of Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy talks about ways to prepare your business so that someone else can do the critical task in the event of you unexpectedly being unable to run your business. She also covers initial things to address to start the process of planning your business activities so that you can transition to working ON your business and not IN your business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Do you have a will? If something happens to you then someone will be able to execute your will and make sure people can get on with what they need to.
Do you have a lasting power of attorney? This would allow someone else to legally manage your finances if you are incapacitated.
Have you looked into insurance for your limited company? Key man cover will allow someone to be paid to do the role you’re unable to do.
Do you have a fire log? This is a document that you create that gives instructions for someone else. For example, your bank accounts, mortgage details, who money is owed to and when. This can work both in a business sense and for your personal life.
Look at all the tasks you do and put them into brackets of how much you’d pay for someone else to do them per hour. £10 tasks, £100 tasks, and £1000 tasks. If you’re looking to exit or reduce the amount you do for your business, start at the bottom of the list and outsource them.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You don’t want to come out of hospital and see the bank is closing on your house’

‘Your basic repetitive admin tasks take time away from you’

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-herbert-b09292136/

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Real Life Journeys - Michelle Herbert

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 00:00:00 -0000

This episode covers the transition of Michelle Herbert's real life business journey from employment in South Yorkshire Police to providing peace of mind through her business as a financial planner. Join Tracy as she draws out the lessons we can all learn from Michelle on this week's Sweat, Grit & Hustle.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Sometimes life throws things at you that you’re not expecting and no matter what plan you have in place, a business plan, a life plan, you’re going to have to anticipate and accept that you’ll have to take a detour.
When running your own business there is no guarantee that money will come in straight away. You will probably have to sacrifice saving for a holiday and those lifestyle choices. It can help to have savings when starting out to make up for the shortfall in earnings.
As a self-employed business owner, you need to remember that the business won’t run without you, you don’t get sick pay, there’s nobody else paying into a pension.
If you are a company rather than a sole trader then you should look into key man cover that can cover sickness costs to the business.
If your limited company has shareholders then you should consider shareholders protection.
Decide the outcome and then let go of it so you can focus on what’s required to do the actions to build towards the outcome.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There is always sunshine after the rain’

‘My business doesn't run without me, it is me’

‘When you’ve got to bring that money in you will come across desperate even if you’re not’

VALUABE RESOURCES

Deepak Chopra’s 21 Days of Abundance Meditaton

ABOUT THE GUEST

Michelle is passionate about helping individuals and business owners embrace financial planning, and empower them to make sound financial choices both in their business and personal lives.

https://www.regencywealthltd.co.uk/about/meet-the-team/listing

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

From Red to Green – A Mini Rant

Wed, 27 Oct 2021 23:00:00 -0000

It’s another of Tracy’s “Caffeine Cast” mini rants, this time about the latest party to pick on one industry to solve the woes of the UK. The episode is finished off with a technique to use in business and life, to move you from a low state to a high state and get closer to a 10/10 when it comes to being in your A game.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

There are lots of types of landlords in the UK. There are the big corporate companies who invest in properties. There are overseas, high-net-worth investors. And there are a lot of small property investors, this last category is the average person who isn’t earning stacks of cash.
Property isn’t necessarily the biggest earner and if you have 4 or 5 buy to lets, you’ll still be earning less than the average wage in the UK every month.
Tracey thinks it’s unfair that politicians are saying landlords should be paying windfall taxes when other industries aren’t being targeted in the same way.
Green words are the things that give you fuel to go and take on the world. Things like joy, love, gratitude. Red words are the ones that make you feel like you don’t want to get out of bed, words like worry, anxiety, depression. Write lists of these words and on days when you’re not feeling 10/10, ask yourself where on the scale are you between the two lists of words. Then just focus on the green words and remember things that made you feel those emotions.

BEST MOMENTS

‘It helps our wellbeing to be in a position of growth’

‘There are a lot of synergies between the basic needs of life and the needs of business’

‘This planet has to survive not just us but our future generations too’

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

From Sales to Elite Closing Academy with Matt Elwell

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:00:00 -0000

How do you effectively and consistently close sales? If that’s a question you’re asking yourself then this week on Sweat, Grit & Hustle, Tracy has the perfect guest for you. In the last 20 years Matt Elwell has set up 4 businesses from scratch that are still going strong today, and has secured multi-million-pound property deals. In 2018 he co-founded the Elite Closing Academy with previous guest, Nick James.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The number one thing people do wrong when they’re selling is talk. If you have to explain how it all works, you’re losing. The skill when selling is to ask and understand, then deciding if you have a product they want to buy.
Before you pick up the phone to a client you should have practiced the technique and know the outcome you want.
Until you understand the other person’s point of view, what they want as an outcome, there will be a lack of trust.
Understand what your customers problem is, and figure out if you’re the right person in the right position to offer them what they want. Until you’re at that stage you aren’t going to close. And if you’re not the right person, suggest someone else, you may not get the sale, but people will remember that you’ve done the right thing.
Remember pain, urgency, need, and trust. Only when you know those four things should you be selling.
Over long-drawn-out sales discussions, make sure you keep in contact with your customer. Try doing that in different ways, e-mails and texts won’t cut it, they lack real interaction. You can do more in ten words than you can in an infinite number of e-mails to build trust.
Your personality should come out when you’re selling. Speak like yourself, write e-mails how you speak. The more personality you show the more people feel connected to you.

BEST MOMENTS

‘How you sell is how you buy’

‘I love people and I fear rejection’

‘It took me seven years to go from cold to sold’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Matthew Elwell exited the seven-figure family business he created to explore pastures new – he didn’t know how, but he knew he had a gift when it comes to sales, that could help serve the business owners of the world.

He went on to create his Open With A Close philosophy and co-founded the Elite Closing Academy (ECA). An internationally sought-after sales trainer and mentor, Matthew is without a doubt, the best closer to walk planet earth. He's also an incredibly entertaining human being who loves animals, but is incapable of using any kind of technology other than his "computer-phone"!

Website

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Vision, Values and the 4A's

Wed, 13 Oct 2021 23:00:00 -0000

Back in episode 10 Tracy spoke to you all about the side hustle, in this episode she covers what you’ll need to know before you start your side hustle. Learn all about the 4 A’s, the importance of vision and value, and how they drive your business decision making.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Your vision is going to create the ability to attract other people, tell you who and what you should keep in your business and who and what you shouldn’t.
Vision also keeps you on track and helps with clarity when those distractions come along.
Think what is my direction, what is my destination, and what is my message.
Your personal values and business values aren’t the same thing. If the vision is the destination, then the values are how you’re going to get there.
If someone within your business doesn’t share your business value, then how can they deal with customers in the way you want.
Remember the 4 A’s, amazing, avatar, affliction, and artifact.
Amazing is what is unique about you. Why should people use your product over another.
Avatar is your audience, what do they look like, who are they. Go a little deeper into who your customer actually is.
Affliction is the needs of the customer, rather than your needs as a business.
Artifact is the products and services that you provide. Describe your product in a clear and easy to understand way.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Being focused can get your business off the ground’

‘If you don’t know why your business is going to exist, then why even start it’

‘If you can see where you’re going then it’s easier to get there’

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Claire Langford| Enjoying life as a teacher, Building income as a property investor (Real Life Journey)

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 23:00:00 -0000

North East property investor Claire Langford joins Tracy for this ‘caffeine conversations’ episode of Sweat, Grit & Hustle. Find out all about how Claire went from teaching to property, and join the conversation on builds, and when they can go wrong when it comes to managing your supply team.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Claire went with a small builder for her current HMO and they have had problems with funds for buying building materials.
Because she lives over two hours away from where her properties are, Claire has found it difficult to know exactly where each stage of the build is at. Having someone close by to help out would alleviate some worries.
The size of the builders you use isn’t a guide to the overall quality of them.
Having a clear detailed quote, timescale, and payment plan will prevent some issues before they arise. Have it agreed and understood in advance with the builder. Aim to pay no more than 25% up front.
Hold some money in reserve until you have checked the property for snagging. Getting builders back in after they’ve been paid can be a little difficult at times.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I want to have more freedom and flexibility’

‘Guess where they were?! They were down the pub!’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Claire Langford is a teacher that loves her career, but it's never going to be the financial vehicle for a pension or a legacy. Having a desire to create a wealth vehicle that would build income for her retirement and leave a legacy for her children, Claire embarked on going back to "school" and getting educated in property. Her family run business now focuses on creating room lets for professionals, from tired run down and unloved houses.

Claire Langford Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/claire.langford.984

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Tracy Cartland-Ward| When to take the Side Hustle into a full blown business (Leaving work for business)

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:00:00 -0000

Today we’re looking at the side hustle and becoming your own boss. In this episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy discusses freedom of choice, basically what to do, where to do it, when to do it, and who to do it with. Find out about all the different ways you can become your own boss from property, multi-level marketing, or starting your own business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Don’t sack your boss until you have a plan and are starting to build income.
If you’re looking to go into your own property business there are a lot of costs associated with it. It’s a lot of hard work and deals can fall through at a moment's notice. You will need to have a considerable amount of cash going into the venture.
When getting into property it can be advantageous to have a partner who has cash to invest into the property while you’re the one who does the work in renovating and marketing it.
If you’re new to stocks then you should look into unit trading. Essentially someone else does the investing and you get a share of the profits or losses.
When you’re looking into crypto currency you have to do your research as there are a lot of people using idea to scam people. Even when investing in a legitimate scheme, make sure you do your research as some companies take large costs and fees from you.
Beware if any scheme you’re investing in is asking for money in Bitcoin as you won’t know if they’re investing in territories you have the right to trade in. Also beware because it’s much easier for people to just shut down and take your investment.
Multi-level marketing, or network marketing is selling someone else's products to your network. You don’t own the company and you’re only a distributor. Some use hard sales tactics and have strict rules about how you’re able to sell that. If you go into this then consumable products are better to get involved in, for example skin care or nutrition.
When looking at franchising it can take up to six figures to get involved. The benefits of a franchise are that all your products and fittings are standardised and the parent company has a consumer base already with a marketing network.

BEST MOMENTS

‘There’s no such thing as no money down anymore’

‘Stock scalping is not for the faint hearted’

‘The most important thing is to do your research’

ABOUT THE HOST

https://business.facebook.com/Osteobiz/

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Gilly Woodhouse| Osteopath global sensation from humble beginnings, Unexpected business from daily life

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 23:00:00 -0000

From Farmer's Daughter to Global Success. In this episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy is joined by guest Gilly Woodhouse, who has grown her Osteo business to a global level bringing in five figures a month. Join the discussion on how to balance business and family life, and how you can overcome adversity to start again and make something better. Do you think you can sweat, grit, and hustle your way into finding the right gaps in the market?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Gilly’s first solo business was making ready meals for parents at her children’s international school in Athens. She saw that a lot of the parents weren’t home cooks and knew there was a demand that she could fill.
After finding out her son had to have a heart transplant, Gilly had to drop her business abroad and return to the UK. Through her son's treatment she started taking him to an osteopath who’s work really helped him.
You don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Your business could end because of some completely unforeseen circumstance. When that happens you have to put your head down and do what you need to do. There will be more business opportunities in the future.
Gilly then saw another gap in the market as she found out that the osteopaths she was working with had no idea about marketing and were finding it hard to get new clients in the door.
In the health and wellness industry the point is to make your client better, and when they’re better they won’t need your services anymore. So the marketing side is incredibly important to the sustainability of that business.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I thought I could just jump back on the tube and go to work’

‘People would be buying jewellery off my body basically’

‘You could see it as being stuck on the bus, or you could see it as a private chauffeur’

ABOUT THE GUEST

After leaving a career in recruitment in 1994 Gilly started her first business in the network marketing field and began what has become a 27-year journey from humble beginnings to a business serving clients throughout the globe.

That journey has not been plain sailing and life as a business owner has brought many ups and downs; a move to Athens, the beginning of a new business, serving a demand in the ex-pat community, the dropping of that business for an emergency repatriation to save her son and a chance encounter that led to her current business, which in 8 years has gone from earning less than £100 a month to a 5-figure monthly income serving Osteopath's around the globe.

www.osteobiz.com

gilly@osteobiz.com

https://www.instagram.com/gillywoodhouse/

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.facebook.com/lou.crocker.9

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Lou Crocker| Real Life Journey, Building a property portfolio and still loving my day job

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 23:00:00 -0000

From RAF to property. In this episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy is joined by guest Lou Crocker, former aviation firefighter and training instructor in the RAF turned property investor. Hear all about Lou’s property portfolio and how she uses her properties to support her local community.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Lou will be turning a shop front property into a drop-in centre for those affected by domestic abuse as well as dedicating several HMOs as housing for victims.
When going into property it’s always good to have support. It can be a very stressful environment and having someone to talk to about those problems can be very helpful.
Even someone with experience in property can get stuck on an issue just like someone who is new to the business.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You’ve got to split the jobs down. Don’t look at the big picture, it can be a bit scary’

‘It’s nice to have someone there to share your gripes with’

ABOUT THE GUEST

Lou Crocker started her career in the RAF, having left the RAF she then became a Fire Fighter in the aviation industry and works as part of the team at Heathrow Airport.

With a desire to create a pension, before her retirement from firefighting, Lou has gone on to build a property portfolio with a goal to create a monthly 5-figure income from property by the time she retires.

As a wizard in raising funds, Lou has in the last 12 months alone, completed multiple deals all centred around converting or repurposing buildings.

ABOUT THE HOST

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

Tracy Cartland-Ward| Sabotaging the business, Side Hustle from Passion

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 23:00:00 -0000

In this episode Tracy "Rants" about the boredom of people who set fire to other people's income streams and how we can often get bored or frustrated that we too self-sabotage. She also shares ideas and thoughts what you could do to improve your wealth, get something you want in life etc. instead of living with boredom or frustration.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Instead of getting bored and sabotaging ourselves when we’re perhaps not happy with the job we’re doing, think about what you want, focus on what you want instead of what you don’t.
If you’re going to go off and get a side job, start a business, go for that promotion, then here are some tips. Think about what you’re passionate about, what do you love more than what you’re doing right now. Don’t let money be the main motivator, satisfaction in what you do makes you more motivated. Growing your skills makes you more motivated, rather than just looking at progression in a financial aspect.
What cost are you prepared to pay to get to where you want to be? Not necessarily a financial cost, are you going to put in the time and effort needed? Can you put the extra hours in? Can you go without a night out with friends every once and a while? Can you live below your means to save up?

BEST MOMENTS

‘If you want it, then you’ll do it’

‘If you’re not measuring your in comings and out goings, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!’

‘You don’t want to get to the end of the financial year and the tax man is setting fire to your business’

ABOUT THE HOST

https://witchproperty.com/

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The Ladies of Witch Property| Fly on the Wall Q&A Session, Making money from property, Ground Rents and more

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 23:06:00 -0000

This episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle is a recording on one of Tracy’s mastermind Q&A sessions with her Ladies Property group, Witch Property. Hear all of Tracy’s tips to the group on everything property and investment.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Rules for your ground rents will be in your leasehold documents and the service charges can be communicated to you from the management company. Look out for high service charges for things life on-site gyms and lift maintenance.
Be careful about ground rents and when they can be increased and by how much.
Solicitors are the busiest they’ve ever been right now. At this point in time nobody will be significantly quicker than somebody else so it’s best to go with someone you’ve worked with before or has come highly recommended.
Don’t procrastinate over signing documents you’ve gone over or getting on the phone to someone. The longer you leave it the longer it will take to get sorted, especially at the moment where people in property are extremely busy.

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.facebook.com/nicki.vee.75

Nicki Vee| The V-Coaching Method, How being a parent benefits work and business (Take advantage of the skills you have)

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 23:05:00 -0000

In this episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy is joined by guest Nicki Vee, originator of the V-Coaching Method. Join the discussion on parenthood and how that can set you up for managing teams. Also hear all about how Nicki went from hairdressing, to getting thrown off a cruise ship, to becoming a master coach in business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

If anyone is thinking that any part of their life is not where they want it to be, then they should find a mentor or coach, someone who is going to ask them great questions and help you learn so much about yourself.
Personal development is important. The answers aren’t outside, they’re inside yourself. You can change your own behaviors and own patterns.
The things Tracy and Nicki have learned being single parents, nurturing and growing their children, has benefits to their work lives. Developing and encouraging teams through the things they have learned about themselves while raising a child.
Take advantage of the things you are naturally good at and use them to make other people happy and make a living. You would be amazed what careers you can implement your skills and passions into. Your gifts have value.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I have a choice over how I feel about things. I have a choice over what meaning I attach to things.’

‘Notice what comes easy to you, notice what are you automatically good at’

‘Wealth is abundance. It doesn’t have to be financial, it’s also people, love, variety, and adventure’

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickivee/

ABOUT THE GUEST

Nicki Vee, originator of the V-Coaching Method, has dedicated the last 20+ years to training and mentoring the next generation of coaches, alongside building and running multiple successful business ventures.

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy Cartland-Ward| The Rent Rant, Rent Increases and working with tenants to move to market rates over time

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 23:04:00 -0000

This episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle is a live recording where Tracy gives us her thoughts on a recent article about rent increases. She gives us her takes on the rights of a landlord to increase rents verses working with an existing tenant to bring it closer to market value.

ABOUT THE HOST

https://www.facebook.com/angusosteo

Lisa Paton| Accident to Osteopath, Wellbeing & Business Growth

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 23:03:00 -0000

In this episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy is joined by guest Lisa Paton, Osteopath and owner of Angus Osteopathic Clinic. Find out how to get your business in the health and wellbeing sector off the ground.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When setting up your own business where clients will be visiting your home or home office you need to take into account the divide between what is your work space and what is your home. Lisa moved her treatment room to a purpose-built external building in her garden with its own restroom and facilities.
When starting out confidence is an important thing. Lisa had to gain confidence both as an Osteopath and as a business person when she started up. She developed at her own pace and has had and asked for support when it was needed. Learning these new business skills is a great way of gaining confidence and feeling like you really belong.

BEST MOMENTS

‘You are an Osteopath but the biggest thing that makes you sink or swim is the business side of it’

‘Being self-employed you've just got to grit your teeth and get on with it’

EPISODE RESOURCES

ABOUT THE GUEST

Lisa Paton runs Angus Osteopathic Clinic, based in Monikie, alongside husband Phil Paton.

ABOUT THE HOST

Tracy Cartland-Ward| Corporate Redundancy, Business and Female Entrepreneurship

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 23:02:00 -0000

On this episode of Sweat Grit & Hustle, Tracy tells us all about herself and what you can expect from the podcast going forward. Tracy will be bringing you tips for your processes, mindsets, performing under pressure, and insight from inspiring people.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Tracy got into property after taking voluntary redundancy from her corporate job. The corporate lifestyle kept her in the office for too many hours and kept her from spending quality time with her family.
Tracy will be having guests on the podcast who have gone from zero to hero to bring you tips and share their stories of success with you. She’ll also be bringing on inspiring people who have only just started their journey.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I’m not just a property investor, I’m a business person’

‘If you want to be in control of what you want to do and when you want to do it, this is for you’

‘Imperfect action beats inconsistent action hands down’

ABOUT THE HOST