Relationships, Results and Running a Business from a Rucksack.
It’s fair to say 2023 was a year of testing and trialling since pivoting my business, both professionally and personally. Honestly, I’m happy to wave goodbye to this past year. It’s been tough going at times yet on reflection all preparation for better times ahead. Here are the highs, lows and lessons.
Client Results
I coached a lot of great creatives last year yet also noticed how some clients were finding it really difficult to get out of their negative thoughts and take action. They would have transformational coaching sessions and then in between the sessions fall back into negative self-talk. This was impacting their taking action and since I am a results driven coach this was a concern.
My own healing journey from overthinking and burnout involved 6 years of trial and error in physical training, mindfulness techniques, guided meditation, yoga, reiki and therapy. I wanted a way to provide support for my clients between sessions. I considered sharing my techniques via an app to give to clients. Then in August 2022 I was invited to train as a Positive Intelligence® coach with Shirzad Chamine. To say it blew my mind was an understatement; everything that supported my overthinking was in this 8 week app based course.
This year I ran a beta test inviting a group of freelance designers to take the course in exchange for feedback. It was an overwhelming success; one participant stopped smoking and relieved her anxiety “immediately” and another secured over £50K of new business for her creative agency. Positive Intelligence® is now a cornerstone of my coaching programme and part of my own daily practice to improve my wellbeing, productivity and relationships.
Business Investing
I knew I wanted to niche my business in 2023 but didn’t really know how to implement this. After some research I enrolled in a marketing diploma course and a high end business coach. The results were transformational.
Combining my unique methodology of marketing mentoring, mindset coaching and mental fitness allowed me to attract more business, increase my prices and create tangible results for my clients. I invested heavily into my business in 2024; I doubled my investment in the marketing diploma within 4 months and recouped all the business coaching investment within the same period. Everything I have invested will continue to help my business grow in 2024 and way beyond.
LinkedIn Marketing
In 2023 I pivoted my marketing activity from Instagram to LinkedIn. Whilst I still love Instagram, engagement has nosedived with the advent of so much video content. Traction slowed down so much yet picked up on LinkedIn for my business. Again this was a learning from my marketing training; you have to be showing up where your ideal clients are, and take a hard look at how the time you invest relates to the results it brings to your business. As much as I enjoy creating visuals and content writing, Instagram was draining my energy. I now invest time into it sparingly, as a visual presence for my brand.
Saltburn & Smiles
One of my goals is to be able to create travel time for my kids as we grow into our new adult relationship dynamic. Whilst this might sound easy, I have raised two very independent kids. They have their own friends and lives; it’s hard to get them both in the same space for a day let alone a week. This year we travelled to Saltburn in the Spring. It’s where my dad is from and so it was good to visit and just hang out together. It felt so good to see my kids together yet at the same time understanding they have their own lives has been hard. They don’t need me like they did and that has been a difficult pill to swallow.
I travelled to Ibiza with my daughter this year and it made me realise our new relationship as she grows into a young woman. She’s strong willed and so self assured. I’m trying my hardest to be the mum that I needed as a teenager. I had a very strict single parent mum and because of that I often wonder if I’m too relaxed. It’s a difficult balance to get used to. I also noticed how hard being a teenage girl is today. The pressure to be ‘TikTok perfect’ must be fierce and at times it felt like we had a third person on the holiday (hello Snapchat).
We hung out by the pool, we walked to the beach, we shopped, we ate delicious food and we people watched. It was quite the test at times but I will never forget the moment she allowed her ego to drop and dive under the water like the pre-teen water baby girl I had forgotten. It made me smile so much.
Life Transitions
The transition to midlife mum has been harder than I ever imagined, but equally my kids’ independence is something I am proud and grateful for. It’s allowed me to focus on my own continued growth whilst navigating a new life for myself. I’m learning to embrace a new relationship with my kids and a very new era of my life. I read we see our kids for only a year in total after they hit 18; if 2023 is anything to go by I can totally believe that statistic.
Whilst I’m still a mum, it’s a new era. The kids don’t physically need me and that’s a difficult dynamic, something I looked forward to so much when they were little and now it’s here it’s a strange feeling. 2023 has been a big turning point in my life and having a business that I love in my 50’s has helped me to deal with an empty nest. It has given me a focus, a new creative outlet and a mission in life.
Personal Growth
Hormones, hair colour and healing from lost love has been a recurring 2023 theme, but it’s all positive. Ditching the dye bottle has been a roller coaster but I can’t wait to have a full ‘money piece’ of silver hair by 2025. I’ve learnt that good relationships are the hardest job on the planet, attachment style theory is a great starting point and it’s never too late to look at your childhood to reflect on how it impacts the here and now. I spent quite a lot of time with my sisters in 2024 and it has made me realise quite a lot about my childhood. I feel like a new, self aware woman as I approach the enchantress phase of my life.
New Relationships
2023 was another tough year of personal growth for me, yet it also felt like the beginning of the end of a difficult 12 year period. It was a year of transition; becoming a self sufficient, self assured fifty something. It has allowed me to put more energy into my work and this has paid off, yet I’m seeking more harmony between time in my business and time to spend on personal relationships in 2024. I’m getting back to my body and back to the gym; to feel confident in my own skin and building a new relationship with maturing skin and muscle tone. In December 2023 I worked on getting back to lifting weights on my own so that I could build muscle and reduce fat. I was delighted to have lost half a stone by New Years Eve and more importantly feeling content in the gym alone again lifting weights. I’m also searching for full body workouts that I can do from anywhere and everywhere - no excuses!
Sunny Skies
One of the reasons I built the business I have now was the potential to travel and work abroad for extended periods. I’ve been trialling ‘running a business from a rucksack’ this year and I’m making progress. I signed up to Trusted House Sitters it’s been fun. It would feel good to build the courage to book a long break abroad and trust that the WIFI, aircon and call of the beach won’t disrupt or distract me from growing The Thoughtful Rebel. Let’s see how I overcome the fear of failing WIFI in a foreign country. I’m testing my driving confidence abroad too - another goal for this year. Ibiza 2024 here I come!
