Is work/life balance a myth? This is a question I’ve asked myself a good few times when I’ve felt like there aren’t enough hours in the day to do it all… and questioned why I just can’t switch off at five or six (or seven, eight, nine and ten!). The struggle is real. And it’s not understood by everyone. Which somewhat fuelled my believe that I MUST be doing something wrong… can you relate to this? So, I thought I’d put an end to this ‘idea’ once and for all… and discuss it openly on the Small & Supercharged Podcast Live. And that’s exactly what we did…

Is work/life balance a myth… and lots of other chat

This episode of the Small & Supercharged Podcast is a little bit different for a few reasons and, for me, it’s broke a lot of new ground. Because not only is this a live (as in, it was recorded live in front of real people!), but it was recorded with FOUR others. Because of this, you might notice the sound isn’t quite the quality it is usually, but please stick with it as what’s discussed is genuinely game changing.

The four ladies who joined me around the microphone are all great friends of mine, who I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with in various different ways and for quite a while. As you’ll hear, although we are all similar in some ways, we couldn’t be more different in others. And that’s what made the chat all around work/life balance even more interesting.

So, the panel…

Melanie Clarihew– Melanie is the co-founder of Mackenzie & George, a high quality British brand that’s best known for its incredibly beautiful, well made British belts, in addition to feather brooches, fedoras, and an ever growing collection of accessories. Check out Mackenzie & George here.

Victoria Bodey – Victoria is the founder and fearless leader of Cirencester tack shop Equiboodle. Victoria kindly allowed me to host the Small & Supercharged Podcast Live at Equiboodle and, more than that, was interviewed on her own for the first Live recording on the night – which you can listen to here. Victoria’s shop is incredible, as the business she has built, and as 2019 comes to an end I would say that she’s definitely one to watch with her new Equiboodle branded collection. Check out Equiboodle here.

Emma Warren – Emma is the managing director of equestrian jewellery company Hiho Silver, runs Dimpsey Glamping with her lovely husband Andrew, and is involved in a number of other businesses too, including Blackdown Shepherd Huts. I’ve been working with Emma for a number of years and love the way her mind works and her ability to embrace and grow new ideas- whether it’s a new jewellery design or Hiho & Co. Find out more about Hiho here.

Sophie Callahan – Sophie is the most incredible equestrian photographer… but she’s so much more than that too. She’s a lifestyle blogger and vlogger, social media superstar… and brand ambassador for a few of my favourites. She’s grown a personal brand from literally nothing and started equestrian portrait photography when it wasn’t a thing! Find out more about Sophie Callahan here.

And now for the chat, which starts at work/life balance and takes a few detours!

We started the chat talking about the idea of a work/life balance and whether it existed in real terms. If you’re having the work/life struggle, I would urge you to listen. Everyone around that table had a very different mix of ‘stuff’ going on in their world and shared strategies and struggles in a really open and completely lovely way. As with most chats, the talk moved on at speed and we also cover highs and lows of business and balancing in addition to so much else. There’s also a great section where the audience asked their questions and shared issues that they’re struggling with.

This is one of my favourite podcasts ever – and I really hope you love it. As ever, if you listen, please do screenshot, share to stories and tag us all – our Instagrams are @rheafreemanpr, @vikbodey, @equiboodle, @emmawarren_1, @hihosilveruk and @mackenzieandgeorge.

Enjoy!