Episodes
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My guest today is a woman I met a couple of years ago whilst wearing a delicious pair of sequinned dungarees and accepting an award at the International Women’s Podcast Awards. Her name is Annabelle Buckland, and she’s an radio host, podcast producer and general audio whizzo. She also has ADHD.
We’ve discussed a lot of things on this podcast over the last 5 years, but the impact of an adult diagnosis of ADHD on career and working life is one that so far we haven’t touched on, so I’m pleased that we’re diving into that today. If you need more information or are affected by anything you’ve heard today, I’ve popped plenty of links in the show notes with information and support.
Above all though, Buckers is hilarious and thoughtful, and an amazing interviewee. We talked about her early obsession with dental hygiene, why going touni isn’t always a dream choice and about the progression of women in audio. Enjoy this one.
Useful links
Buckers' website
Follow her and Decibelle Creative on Instagram
Listen to Buckers' podcast with Fleur Emery on ADHD, The Spin Off
The ADHD UK website is here which has lots of useful links and resources
October is ADHD Awareness Month and there's more info on that here
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa, Coma-Media SergeQuadrado JuliusH, Lesfm and lemonmusicstudio from
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My guest today has gone from shy wallflower to recipient of international film awards and a column in Forbes.
Jia Wertz is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, podcaster, activist and writer, who, like many of our guests, has had a working life with some unexpected twists and turns.
Jia had a super successful career in the fashion industry when she first heard the podcast Serial back in 2014. She was moved to do what she could to help Adnan Syed, the protagonist of the series, who was sentenced at the age of 17 for the murder of Hae Min Lee, a crime he always denied.
Jia became actively involved in Adnan’s case, and at the same time, made the decision to quit her career in fashion and go to film school at the age of 40 having recently given birth to her son. Jia was subsequently inspired to make her first documentary film, Conviction, about the wrongful conviction of Jeffrey Deskovic, which won multiple awards and opened Jia’s career up in ways she never expected.
Since we recorded this podcast, Adnan Syed has been released from prison and the charges against him dropped. You can read more about the case here.
Useful links
Jia's website
Follow Jia on Instagram
Follow Jia on Twitter
Watch the trailer for Conviction on YouTube
Watch Conviction on Amazon Prime
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa, Coma-Media SergeQuadrado
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Missing episodes?
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This is Part Two of my chat with Sam Baines, my first guest for Season 6 of the podcast, and a woman that I’ve know for a few years after she was shortlisted at the inaugural International Women’s Podcast Awards back in 2021. It’s fitting that she’s first this season, because she’s been the first woman to do a few other things too.
Sam is an award-winning comedian, podcaster, author, actor, broadcaster and general legend. In 2014 she won the Funny Women Awards, and subsequently went on to scoop of the 2015 ‘What the Frock’ Best Newcomer Award.
But that’s not all. As an adult, Sam experienced hearing loss, and is now a deaf activist, hearing aid wearer, and an ambassador for the RNID.
She’s written two children’s books, Harriet Versus The Galaxy and The Night The Moon Went Out, and she tells me in this conversation about how she got her first book deal (spoiler alert: she wrote it without an official offer). Her new book, Living With Hearing Loss and Deafness, is available to pre-order now. As well as all this, she’s got an award-winning podcast, The Divorce Social, discussing, surprise, surprise, divorce, and her acting credits include The Crown, Call the Midwife, and Magic Mike Live in the West End.
There is nothing this woman can’t do.
We covered SO much ground in this chat, which was recorded aaaages ago live at The Podcast Show - basically I had to give myself a good kick up the arse to get the podcast moving again in 2023, so that’s entirely on me. There was so much good stuff that I cut it in two. This is part two. Enjoy.
Useful links
Sam's website
Follow Sam on Instagram
Follow Sam on Twitter
Follow Sam on YouTube
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa,
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We're back for Season 6!
My first guest is a woman that I’ve know for a few years after she was shortlisted at the inaugural International Women’s Podcast Awards back in 2021. Her name is Samantha Baines, and it’s fitting that she’s first this season, because she’s been the first woman to do a few other things too.
Sam is an award-winning comedian, podcaster, author, actor, broadcaster and general legend. In 2014 she won the Funny Women Awards, and subsequently went on to scoop of the 2015 ‘What the Frock’ Best Newcomer Award. Sam was the first ever woman to reach the finals of the UK Pun Championships, and we speak extensively in this interview about being a woman in comedy, and her experiences in the early days.
But that’s not all. As an adult, Sam experienced hearing loss, and is now a deaf activist, hearing aid wearer, and an ambassador for the RNID.
She’s written two children’s books, Harriet Versus The Galaxy and The Night The Moon Went Out, and her new book, Living With Hearing Loss and Deafness, is available to pre-order now. As well as all this, she’s got an award-winning podcast, The Divorce Social, discussing, surprise, surprise, divorce, and her acting credits include The Crown, Call the Midwife, and Magic Mike Live in the West End.
There is nothing this woman can’t do.
We covered SO much ground in this chat, which was recorded aaaages ago live at The Podcast Show - basically I had to give myself a good kick up the arse to get the podcast moving again in 2023, so that’s entirely on me. There was so much good stuff that I cut it in two. This is part one. Enjoy.
Useful links
Sam's website
Follow Sam on Instagram
Follow Sam on Twitter
Follow Sam on YouTube
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa,
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We’ve been away for a little while, but we are back! I’m Naomi Mellor, and I’m delighted to let you know that there’s a new season of Smashing The Ceiling just around the corner, with all sorts of delights awaiting you.
In this podcast we chat to women with unusual, interesting and inspiring careers, and we’re kicking off Season 6 with comedian, author, actor, podcaster and deaf activist Samantha Baines, one of the funniest women I have ever met. My chat with Sam ranged from meeting Channing Tatum whilst working in an art gallery at Heathrow Airport, to becoming a writer of children’s books with a hearing-aid-wearing protagonist, with a lot of twists, and laughs along the way.
Later in the series there’ll be conversations around major career changes, building a career as a documentary maker, how a diagnosis of ADHD affects your working life, and more. Follow us now for more, and if you’ve ever enjoyed an episode of Smashing The Ceiling previously, why not leave us a review. You know you want to.
Check us out at Everybody Media
Don't forget there's also the International Women's Podcast Awards!
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If you’re into meditation and healing, you may know what a Tibetan sound bowl is. If not, you’ve got a treat in store, as we’ll be digging deep into the world of holistic health in this episode. My guest today is Justine Nagaur, a spiritual healer, teacher, mentor, and creator of bespoke crystal malas.
I met Justine a couple of years ago, and she’s one of those rare people with a degree of warmth, insight, intuition and care for others that is incredibly striking. But like many of my guests, Justine’s career is multi-layered, with twists and turns along the way. She went to finishing school, and we chat about that, she ran a very successful company in private members’ clubs and she’s worked in social media along the way, before starting her current business, Aurora Facets Transformational Healing after a long period of chronic illness. She is the queen of the pivot you might say.
Useful links
Justine's website: https://aurorafacets.com
Justine's LinkedIn profile: https://www.instagram.com/justinenagaur/
Follow Justine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinenagaur/
Follow Justine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aurorafacets
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa, Coma-Media SergeQuadrado JuliusH, Lesfm and lemonmusicstudio from Pixabay
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How often do you think about your own breathing? I bet you are right now. How fast do you breathe? How deeply?
Most of the time it’s completely unconscious. We just do it, and we rarely consider how we breathe unless we’re exercising and out of breath, or ill and out of breath, as many of us have been during the pandemic.It’s only when our capacity to breathe is reduced that we ever consider - without stating the absolute obvious - how important it is
My guest today helps people to breathe better. She helps people to feel better. She reduces their pain and helps them with many other conditions besides. Her name is Caroline Kremer, and she’s the owner of Pulborough Natural Health, a clinic in a beautiful part of England, West Sussex. Caroline is a Bowen therapist, and a practitioner of Evans Alignment and her own Kremer Method to stimulate the vagus nerve, which is known as the “rest, digest and repair nerve”.
Her business and interest in health and wellbeing is one of the reasons that Caroline is on the podcast this week. The other is her remarkable capacity for career reinvention. From being kicked out of school to becoming a chef and working in restaurants, to running a ski company with her husband before being widowed at 34 with 3 small children, Caroline has an incredible sense of resourcefulness and a can-do attitude that I really admire. She is full of stories and in this episode we barely had time to scratch the surface of the people she’s met in life and how colourful her career has been.
We recorded this episode deep in the Covid lockdown and the sound isn’t the best on Caroline’s line at the beginning, but bear with it - she’s worth it.
Useful links
Caroline's website at Pulborough Natural Health: https://www.pulboroughnaturalhealth.co.uk
Caroline's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-kremer-69b644a/
Follow Caroline on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kremermethod/
Follow Caroline on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarolineKremer
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa, Coma-Media SergeQuadrado JuliusH, Lesfm and lemonmusicstudio from
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This week, we’re talking, amongst other things, about sleep. My guest today is Dot Zacharias, COO and co-founder of Nourish, a wellbeing app designed for busy mums to find a little calm in their lives, which aims to protect maternal mental health and provide support. But that description doesn’tquite cover Dot’s career. After starting her working life in Russia, she’s worked as a management consultant, qualified as a sleep coach, been a part of multiple start ups and successfully exited her own previous company, Sleepability. She describes herself as rebellious and adventurous, which basically means she’s a woman after my own heart.
We recorded this episode a little while ago, and given the current events in Ukraine, I debated whether I ought to release this episode this week with its discussion about Russia and Dot's work there. The actions of the Russian government and the unspeakable horror they are unleashing on the citizens of the Ukraine is appalling, and cannot be condoned, but our conversation was on the world of work, and Dot’s experiences with the people of Russia that she met, most of which was wonderfully positive as you'll hear. On balance, I felt the insights she offered warranted leaving this section of the interview in, and I hope you agree.
You can donate to the Red Cross appeal for Ukraine here: https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/ukraine-crisis-appeal
Today's podcast is supported by Fem Foundry, a one-of-a-kind global community for womankind to discover, learn, connect and thrive. One of the key components that sets Fem Foundry apart is their focus on the multi-faceted aspects of a woman’s life, from her career to her wellness, from her spirituality to her mental health. This, along with their founding team and Fem Foudnry’s global partners, mean they are uniquely positioned as a media powerhouse for women’s empowerment on a large scale. With a new improved 2.0 version of the app just launched, Fem Foundry has huge global ambitions, with a mission to become the Bumble of humanised female networking, learning and support. So download Fem Foundry today and have a look.
Useful links
Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed - https://www.waterstones.com/book/rebel-ideas/matthew-syed/matthew-syed-consulting-ltd/9781529348408
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker - https://www.waterstones.com/book/why-we-sleep/matthew-walker/9780141983769
Kim Cattrall's highly personal monologue on insomnia - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b0783lq9
FemTechLab's Accelerator Programme - https://femtechlab.com
Dot's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dotzacharias/?originalSubdomain=fr
Follow Dot on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rest_fully/
Follow Nourish App on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenourishapp/
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha, AleXZavesa,
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My guest this week is endometriosis advocate, golf influencer and brilliant lawyer Sinéad McGrath - as you might imagine, the subjects we covered in this conversation are many and varied. Sinéad sits on the Executive Committee of the Junior Lawyers' Division at The Law Society, and after saying ‘no’ for many years, she started playing golf a couple of years ago. There she discovered a community of women that are passionate about the sport and both keen to change the image of golf as an old white man's game, and to tap into the opportunities that golf provides for women. She’s amassed a large Instagram following in the golf world, and writes brilliantly about her journey into, and love of, the game.
Sinéad has also written openly in the Law Gazette about her experiences and struggles with endometriosis, and is now an active supporter of increased awareness, conversation and help for women and girls in her position. Endometriosis affects 1.5 million women in the UK, about the same number that suffer from diabetes, but on average, it takes 8 years to get a diagnosis. Sinéad had her first surgery for endometriosis when she was just 13 years old, and it has impacted every part of her life and career so far.
Today's podcast is supported by Fem Foundry, a one-of-a-kind global community for womankind to discover, learn, connect and thrive. One of the key components that sets Fem Foundry apart is their focus on the multi-faceted aspects of a woman’s life, from her career to her wellness, from her spirituality to her mental health. This, along with their founding team and Fem Foudnry’s global partners, mean they are uniquely positioned as a media powerhouse for women’s empowerment on a large scale. With a new improved 2.0 version of the app just launched, Fem Foundry has huge global ambitions, with a mission to become the Bumble of humanised female networking, learning and support. So download Fem Foundry today and have a look.
Useful links
Sinéad's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sinéad-mcgrath-b6a15b93/
Follow Sinéad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sineademgolf/
Sinead's article in the Law Gazette on endometriosis: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/living-with-endometriosis-in-the-law/5107671.article
Endometriosis UK: https://www.endometriosis-uk.org
NHS website on endometriosis: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/endometriosis/
Tiffany Mack Fitzgerald and Black Girls Golf: https://blackgirlsgolf.net/about-us/
Music
Provided by ZakharValaha,
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My first guest of 2022 is Catie Friend, who says of her adventures that she “will always be a completer rather than a competer”. Given the challenges she’s completed, which include the world’s toughest ski mountaineering race and the half Marathon des Sables, and the things she’s done in her career, completing any of them would be considered a strong achievement as far as I’m concerned.
Catie grew up in south west Scotland, and after travelling solo round the world, she embarked on a career in events management, found her way into radio, and is now a multi-lingual sports commentator, presenter, podcaster and coach. She lives in Verbier, in the Swiss Alps, with her family.
In this conversation we discuss (amongst other things) solo travel as a woman, surviving a difficult boss and a nightmare job, the difference between a ‘job’ and a ‘career’, the paradox of age vs. wisdom, and why sometimes it’s best not to overthink it.
Today's podcast is supported by Fem Foundry, a one-of-a-kind global community for womankind to discover, learn, connect and thrive. One of the key components that sets Fem Foundry apart is their focus on the multi-faceted aspects of a woman’s life, from her career to her wellness, from her spirituality to her mental health. This, along with their founding team and Fem Foudnry’s global partners, mean they are uniquely positioned as a media powerhouse for women’s empowerment on a large scale. With a new improved 2.0 version of the app just launched, Fem Foundry has huge global ambitions, with a mission to become the Bumble of humanised female networking, learning and support. So download Fem Foundry today and have a look.
Useful links
Catie’s website: https://www.catiefriend.com
Listen to her podcast, Chatting To A Friend: https://pod.link/chattingtoafriend
Follow Catie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catiefriend/
Music
The Show Must Be Go by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4509-the-show-must-be-go
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Royalty Free Music from Bensound
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Siobhan Daniels grew up in a care home as one of eight children amongst the elderly people her family looked after. She's subsequently had an incredibly varied and colourful life, first working as a nurse in the NHS before joining the BBC as a trainee in broadcast journalism. Siobhan spent 30 years as a presenter, reporter and producer at the BBC, before selling her property and setting off on a new round of adventures in her camper van! She's now a freelance broadcaster and journalist, and a pro-age campaigner. Since the age of 50 she's run two marathons, and is currently writing a book. Siobhan is a huge advocate of supporting women through the menopause in the workplace, and talks about all this and more in this chat. She's a total delight, and great fun. Enjoy.
Trigger warning: This episode contains references to parental abuse
Useful Links
Siobhan's website: https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk
Siobhan in the news: https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk/features
Follow Siobhan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shuvonshuvoff/
And Twitter! https://twitter.com/SiobhanDaniels
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When you think about human rights, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
Maybe it's the treatment of prisoners overseas, or working conditions and pay in a place of employment, or freedom of speech, or the right of an individual to live freely and safely in whatever manner they choose? Maybe it's a multitude of other things, because the subject of human rights is broad and deep. It's also vitally important.
My guest today is Vicki Prais, a human rights lawyer and consultant, podcaster and writer. We love women with adventurous and challenging careers on this podcast, and Vicki has that in spades. She's worked for the UN in Kosovo, Amnesty International, Penal Reform International and the British Government. She's worked in Ukraine, Russia and Armenia, and consulted on cases involving Guantanamo Bay.
"We are all experts in our own little niches" she says. Vicki Prais, welcome to Smashing The Ceiling.
Useful Links
Vicki's Website: https://vickiprais.com
Connect with Vicki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-prais-5862151/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/vickiprais?lang=en
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To open Season 4, I’ve got two guests with me with this week, and if you’re looking for inspiring women in your life, then these two are it.
Kirsten and Aiyven Mbawa are sisters from Northampton, England and they’re 13 and 12 years old respectively. Nothing unusual there. What is unusual is that both Kirsten and Aiyven are published authors and business owners. Their love of reading has driven everything they’ve done so far, and you’ll hear in this chat the effect on their lives that they both attribute to books. Their company, Mbawa Books, produces monthly subscription boxes for teens containing diverse titles with relatable, representative heroes from a wide range of authors, as well as stories written by Kirsten and Aiyven themselves. Their output is prolific, and having tasted success with their first books, which they self-published but subsequently got onto the shelves of Waterstones through their hard work and tenacity, they are well on their way with their next novels.
Kirsten and Aiyven are the face of their brand. They have help from their mum, Ndah, but have themselves appeared on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4 and in various local and national press. Kirsten confidently told me she wants to be prime minister, and I just wouldn’t put anything past these two.
Useful Links
Mbawa Books Website: https://www.mbawabooks.co.uk
Subscribe to Kirsten and Aiyven's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1-zobH5aogUrGF02gIW3lw
Follow Mbawa Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbawabooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbawabooks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mbawabooks/
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To many people, the world of burlesque may seem distant, mysterious and unknown. You might have heard of Dita von Teese, but how much do you know about the art of it, the glamour, and the people, who are, by all accounts, a brilliant bunch of welcoming human beings?
My guest today is Tigz Rice, who combines her career as a burlesque and boudoir photographer with an ambition to leave her mark on the world creatively. She has shot for Cosmopolitan, and produced work that the HuffPost described as the 'most diverse lingerie shoot of its time'. But like many of my guests, she didn't expect to end up where she is. Tigz harboured a strong desire to be a forensic pathologist, and it was circumstances that led her to art college, then into photography.
She's an amazing advocate for people celebrating their bodies, taking pride and joy in what society may view as physical flaws, but often actually are a sign of strength and resilience. She is storyteller of the highest order, and I hope you enjoy this conversation about her life and career.
Useful Links
Tigz's websites: https://www.tigzrice.com and https://brandingbytigz.com
Follow Tigz on Instagram at @tigzrice and @brandingbytigz
Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk
Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk
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Hannah Roper is an incredible woman with a varied career forged out of a combination of inspiration and necessity. Not many people can say that they've worked as a teacher, a policeman, a country music singer and an entrepreneur. Hannah has worked in both primary and secondary education, founded a country music festival, been on the beat and with suspects, and released several successful albums. In the midst of all of that, she's also survived domestic abuse and harassment at the hands of her ex-husband, also a police officer.
Her life and career are quite extraordinary. It has certainly not always been an easy ride for Hannah, and as a survivor of domestic abuse there was a time where confidence and self-esteem were not the norm. She spent many years rediscovering herself, in the process finding her love for entrepreneurship and developing skills in business, branding, marketing and web design.
After launching her company The Female Creative in 2020, she was named in Yahoo Finance as one of their Top Ten Business Start up Coaches in 2021. Hannah also recently launched her podcast, The Female Creative Talks earlier this year, which is well worth a listen!
Please note this podcast contains references to domestic abuse and coercive control. If you need further help or advice, Women's Aid and Refuge are always available.
Useful Links
The Female Creative website: https://www.thefemalecreative.co.uk
Find Hannah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefemalecreative/
Follow Hannah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_femalecreative/
Listen to Hannah's podcast: https://www.thefemalecreative.co.uk/podcast
Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk
Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk
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We hear so much about side hustles and entrepreneurship and it seems that every second person on social media is starting a successful new business and scaling it to 7 figures from their kitchen table. But if you've had an idea, how do you get started? How do you balance your day job and the need to earn a living with launching a new venture? What's the best way to go about that, and why does it seem so damn easy for other people when you're finding it pretty hard? If these questions have ever popped into your head, then this episode is for you.
Elizabeth Ogabi has balanced life in the corporate world with founding and progressing multiple businesses, both in London and Lagos, Nigeria. She's worked in communications for some of the world's most successful companies, whilst also being an inspirational entrepreneur.
Liz is a huge supporter of women in business, and always knew she wanted to make a positive change in the world. In 2016 she founded For Working Ladies, a digital media platform focused on equipping women with the information and tools they need to start a successful business. Most recently, she co-founded Leicour.com a community network focused on accelerating women within organisations into leadership roles. Whether it’s starting a side hustle, breaking through the corporate glass ceiling or pursuing full-time entrepreneurship, her ultimate goal is focused on the advancement and economic empowerment of women.
Her new book, Side Hustle in Progress, is a brilliant practical guide to kickstarting your business, and is well worth a read if you're starting something new this year. She also has a successful podcast, How I Made It Happen, and we chatted a little about podcasting later in the interview.
This conversation is packed full of entrepreneurial and business wisdom. Enjoy.
Useful Links
Order Liz's book Side Hustle in Progress from Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/side-hustle-in-progress/elizabeth-ogabi//9780008455002
For Working Ladies website: https://forworkingladies.com
Find Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizogabi/?originalSubdomain=uk
Follow Liz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethogabi/
Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk
Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk
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Have you ever had a moment when you met someone for the first time, but you felt like you'd known them your entire life? It's a weird and rare but wonderful thing. I had that feeling when I chatted to Nikki Trott prior to this interview, and I knew I had to have her on the show.
Nikki is an entrepreneur, podcaster and coach on a mission with her company, Conscious Accelerator. That mission is to help entrepreneurs with a real purpose in their business to thrive. She believes that purpose and profit don't have to be mutually exclusive (something I wholeheartedly agree with) and that business can be ethical, meaningful and financially successful all at the same time.
But she started her working life singing in a choir and working in Topshop during her teenage years, before beginning her career post-university at a tech startup. She's had huge experience in business development, branding and the tech sector, and has done a variety of different and roles that have led her to where she is today. We talked in this interview about how experience in retail and service early in Nikki's career shaped her attitudes going forwards, why 'success' isn't always what it seems, and how the realisation that her personal values and professional life were poles apart led to some pretty significant changes.
Useful Links
Nikki's website: https://www.nikkitrott.com
Find Nikki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkitrott/
Follow Nikki on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkitrott/
Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk
Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk
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My guest this week is an incredible woman, whose life and career were turned upside down by circumstances. We talk often on this podcast about how circumstances shape the careers of women, but in the case of Victoria Jenkins, the circumstances were becoming disabled in her mid twenties.
Before becoming ill, Victoria was forging a successful career as a garment technologist, working for the likes of Sweaty Betty, Jack Wills and Victoria Beckham no less. She was doing well, and that’s an understatement. But at the age of 26, her life turned upside down - I’ll let her tell you her story in the podcast, but suffice to say, she ended up founding her own fashion company, Unhidden, to cater to people requiring adaptive clothing that’s stylish, beautifully made and affordable.
Victoria is now an entrepreneur, business owner, disability advocate and brand ambassador for Models of Disability. She’s a tour de force, and I’d urge you pop out and buy her book The Little Book of Ableism. We started, as ever, talking about her early life as one of six kids.
Useful Links
Victoria's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_is_unhidden/
Unhidden Clothing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unhidden_clothing/
Find Victoria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-jenkins-812b7027/
Victoria's website: https://www.victoriaann.online
Unhidden Clothing website: https://unhiddenclothing.com
Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk
Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk
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We've often talked on this podcast about how our upbringing shapes our attitudes to work, ambition and success. Mira Patel's parents ran a newsagent, and she started working in the shop at an early age, before forging a successful career in HR. She understands the value of hard work and determination in building a business. She stepped away the HR world to train in neurolinguistic programming, and she founded her company, Prana Coaching in 2019. She now specialises in coaching young people through their teenage years, equipping them with the tools and skills they need to navigate the modern world.
Mira is one of the most accomplished women I know, seamlessly managing her business, motherhood, a house build, fundraising challenges galore and organising huge events for the Gujarati Cultural Society in Brighton. She's quite the tour de force, and one of the kindest people you could hope to meet.
Useful Links
Mira's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prana_coaching/
Mira's website: https://www.pranacoaching.co.uk
Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk
Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk
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When you're in a box career-wise, it can be hard to get out of it. Sometimes it's pressure from others, or from society that keeps you in that box, or sometimes it's your own internal monologue telling you that you can't do anything else. Sometimes, life events send you on a different path.
Imogen Tinkler is a total inspiration in this area. After an adventurous childhood in Pakistan, and studying Russian with politics at uni, Imogen thought she was going to be a lawyer. After losing her mother, she re-considered her priorities, and subsequently forged a successful career in the charities and non-for-profit sector, becoming a director at the age of 31 and working with David Cameron and Gordon Brown. After her dad became ill, Imogen re-invented herself again though, quitting her job and starting a food business Bangers and Balls with her husband Duncan.
Imogen and Duncan are aiming to start a revolution from your kitchen table. They began with pop-up restaurants, but now take foraging expeditions, telling the tales of food surrounding you in the natural world and have written a new book, Foraging Fairytales, which has just gone straight into the Amazon Top 10.
As well as being a successful businesswoman and master marketeer, Imogen is also a keen wild swimmer with a love of the ocean and being in water, and she tells me about how swimming saved her after the loss of her 8 week old baby daughter in the midst of the pandemic last year. Her positivity and infectious enthusiasm despite everything she's encountered made me just want to be her friend and move to Kent immediately to join her gang of swimmers. As a trigger warning, we do discuss grief and loss in this podcast, but listen in if you can for warmth, energy and lots of great advice from Imogen.
Useful links:
Bangers and Balls website: https://bangersandballs.co
Bangers and Balls Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bangersandballs/
Imogen's Girls Gone Wild swimming page: https://www.instagram.com/girlsgonewildswimming/
The Government's Kickstart Scheme that Imogen mentioned: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme
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