Tuesday Thoughts

I was speaking with a fellow business owner recently, someone right at the beginning of their journey, and they admitted something I hear more often than you’d expect. They told me they weren’t entirely sure what a consultant actually does. Not the polished, corporate version (that's not me), the real, human, day‑to‑day version. It did make me smile, because the picture most people have in their heads is usually miles away from what the work actually looks like.

There’s a point in the week where everything starts to feel like too much. You haven't been productive, and you haven't made inroads into all those things you needed to do. The personal bits, the business bits, the things you meant to do yesterday, the things you promised someone last month… it all sits in the same headspace.

There’s something about talking money that makes people tense their shoulders without even realising it. You mention cashflow and suddenly it feels like you’ve invited spreadsheets, jargon and a sense of “I should probably know more about this” into the room.

You know that feeling when a new week rolls in and everything feels a little bit fresher? That’s where we are now. And with July almost here, it’s one of those natural pause points — the kind that makes you look at where you are and where you thought you’d be by now.

There’s a moment people don’t really talk about when it comes to going self‑employed. Not the moment you register the business or hand in your notice — those are the visible (scary) bits. I mean the moment long before that, when you’re sitting with this quiet feeling that something in your life doesn’t quite fit anymore. You can still do the job, you can still show up, you can still tick the boxes… but there’s this growing sense that you want something different. Something th

When someone tells me they’ve been thinking about starting a business, it rarely comes out confidently. It usually arrives in a quieter, almost cautious way — like they’re testing the idea out loud for the first time and aren’t sure how it’s going to land. There’s often a small laugh, or a quick “It’s nothing really…”, as if they’re already preparing to shrink it down before anyone else can.

I was chatting with someone recently about networking — proper, in‑person networking — and we ended up laughing about how often technology seems to pick the exact wrong moment to let us down. You know the situation. You’re having a great conversation, you both decide to swap details, you reach for your phones… and suddenly you’re waving your device around like you’re trying to find satellite signal in the middle of a field.

The truth about what actually matters when you’re just starting out When someone tells me they’re thinking about starting a business, it’s rarely said with confidence. It’s usually something softer, like: “I’ve had this idea for a while…” or “I keep coming back to something, but I don’t know if it’s anything.” or “I feel like I want to do my own thing, but I don’t know where to start.” — this one is incredibly common.

Every now and then, someone reaches out. Sometimes it’s after a chat with a friend. Sometimes it’s because an idea has been hanging around for months, refusing to disappear. Sometimes it’s simply a moment of honesty — “I should probably talk to someone about this.”

Every so often, someone new wanders into my world — maybe through Instagram, maybe through a networking event, maybe because a friend said, “You should follow this guy, he makes business feel less… stressful.” However you arrived here, I’m genuinely glad you did.

Starting a business is one of those things everyone seems to have an opinion on. Friends, family, strangers on the internet — even people who’ve never actually run a business will happily tell you how it should be done.

Some months feel crazy loud, don’t they? Not in a mind-blowing way — just busy, full of updates, full of “you should know this” and “don’t forget that”. And if you’re running a small business, it can feel like you’re supposed to keep track of everything while also doing… well, everything else. I think we all know that feeling. If you don't, please tell me your secret!

There comes a point where you realise your current routine isn’t really supporting you anymore. You’re doing the tasks, showing up, keeping things moving — but something feels slightly off‑track. And if you’re a visual person like me, the solution often isn’t dramatic. It’s as simple as printing out a fresh list, seeing it clearly in front of you, and giving yourself a clean starting point.

Putting my prices on my website might look like a simple update, but for me, it represents something much deeper about how I want to show up in business. I’ve always believed that working with someone should feel human, honest, and pressure‑free. When someone is thinking about getting support — whether they’re at idea stage or already navigating the early years — they deserve clarity from the very beginning.

Last week, I did something I don’t often do — I went to an evening networking event. Not just any event, but the launch party for the Growth Network Group, owned and run by entrepreneur Sam Pennycook. It’s an online networking community built to bring people together in a way that feels supportive, accessible, and genuinely useful.