For a long time running a business felt like a roller coaster to me. One minute I was riding high everything seemed to be unfolding and flowing, there was an ease to it. Then there came a time when it felt hard. Nothing seemed to work. It was like I was driving down lots of cul-de-sacs none of them with turning circles at the end. It didn’t matter how hard I tried I felt like I was getting nowhere until eventually I felt stuck. Consistency in business simply seems like an unattainable dream. I hated this feeling and fought hard with it. Often berating myself, and then I would get a little scar ..read more

Have you ever tried to go on a long bike ride through hills and dales setting off on an exercise bike? I mean in real life rather than with a video in front of you? Of course not, because although you’d get tired, you wouldn’t get anywhere! But it’s amazing how we think we can do the same thing with our minds every day and expect to find the answer we are looking for or reduce our stress. We drive our minds more and more, creating more stress and wearing ourselves out. Understanding how we create stress As human beings we think all the time, sometimes we are consciously aware of it, sometimes ..read more

Have you ever made a decision and then later regretted it? If you have you’re not alone, I certainly can recall several times when later I’ve thought ‘why did I do that?’ or ‘what was I thinking?’ later realising I may have just passed up a great opportunity or appeared to make something a whole lot worse. Over the years I’ve lost count of the conversations I’ve had about regretting our decisions – it’s interesting because with all of them there is that crucial moment when the decision is made and they are all fairly similar. It may be that in that moment it makes sense, a kind of warped logic ..read more

For a long time running a business felt like a roller coaster to me, one minute I was riding high everything seemed to be unfolding and flowing, there was an ease to it. Then there came a time when it felt hard, nothing seemed to work, like I was driving down lots of cul-de-sacs none of them with turning circles at the end. It didn’t matter how hard I tried I felt like I was getting nowhere until eventually I felt stuck. I hated this feeling. I fought hard with it, berated myself, and often then I would get a little scared. What if the business didn’t flow again? What if I couldn’t figure this ..read more

Have you ever tried to go on a long bike ride through hills and dales setting off on an exercise bike? I mean in real life rather than with a video in front of you? Of course not, because although you’d get tired, you wouldn’t get anywhere! But it’s amazing how we think we can do the same thing with our minds every day and expect to find the answer we are looking for or feel better. We drive our minds more and more, creating more stress and wearing ourselves out. As human beings we think all the time, sometimes we are consciously aware of it, sometimes we may have a change in feeling, but what ..read more

This week has been a particularly busy week as we launched our peer-to-peer business growth programme ‘Your Small Business Board’ I have to admit it has a very special place in my heart, as there is nothing quite like bringing together a group of likeminded business owners and giving them space to connect, share and support each other.  Running a business can be a lonely, stressful experience and it’s good to know that others are experiencing exactly the same as you sometimes!  One thing that I find a lot of new business owners struggle with, is knowing what to invest in their busine ..read more

If I thought that I was going to gently ease myself back into work after my summer holiday, I would have been disappointed! The last couple of weeks have been unbelievably busy, whilst I’m not complaining I couldn’t have pulled it off without the help of my amazing assistant and my business partner!   I’ve always loved working in a team, pulling together to get a project off the ground, seeing a vision become reality, but it’s often something that those I work with struggle with. Whether it’s a manager or a business owner, creating that shared vision, having your team pull together ..read more

For a long time running a business felt like a roller coaster to me, one minute I was riding high everything seemed to be unfolding and flowing, there was an ease to it. Then there came a time when it felt hard, nothing seemed to work, like I was driving down lots of cul-de-sacs none of them with turning circles at the end. It didn’t matter how hard I tried I felt like I was getting nowhere until eventually I felt stuck. I hated this feeling. I fought hard with it, berated myself, and often then I would get a little scared. What if the business didn’t flow again? What if I couldn’t figure this ..read more

Have you ever tried to go on a long bike ride through hills and dales setting off on an exercise bike? I mean in real life rather than with a video in front of you? Of course not, because although you’d get tired, you wouldn’t get anywhere! But it’s amazing how we think we can do the same thing with our minds every day and expect to find the answer we are looking for or feel better. We drive our minds more and more, creating more stress and wearing ourselves out. As human beings we think all the time, sometimes we are consciously aware of it, sometimes we may have a change in feeling, but what ..read more

What happens when your bouncebackability feels like it’s no longer there and you simply can’t just bounce back after another knock? This week I’ve been chatting to numerous businesses who are feeling just like that, they have faced a pandemic, rising fuel costs, late payments and now simply the cost of doing business is just too much – one cafe business reported that the cost of cocoa powder had risen from £5.25 a kilo last month to a staggering £12.95 this month! But it’s not just the figures that aren’t stacking up, in the Federation of Small Business’s latest regional Small Business Index ..read more