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It’s Podmas #3! With Nicky Sutcliffe, Alyson Egan and Tiffany Lay

Nicky Sutcliffe, Alyson Egan and Tiffany Lay

Podmas is back for 2022, and I am so excited to be sharing some of the brilliant people from inside the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group with you.

It’s Podmas #3! With Nicky Sutcliffe, Alyson Egan and Tiffany Lay

On this episode, I catch up with Tiffany Lay from Ladybridge Leatherworks, Alyson Egan from Centaur Line Equestrian, and Nicky Sutcliffe from Equitravel Safe and Sport Horse Select.

We’re talking about best and worst presents, Grinch vs Elf and many other hard hitting subjects

It’s a good one- lots of laughs, leather and festive cheer.

Music credit: “Jingle bells” by scottholmesmusic.com

To find out more about Tiffany Lay from Ladybridge Leatherworks see the website.

To find out more about Alyson Egan and Centaur Line Equestrian see Instagram.

To find out more about Nicky Sutcliffe and Equitravel Safe, see the website.

Small & Supercharged Mastermind

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It’s Podmas #2! With Jane Badger, Harriet Wallis, and Eleanor Lelliott


Jane Badger, Harriet Wallis, and Eleanor Lelliott

Podmas is back for 2022, and I am so excited to be sharing some of the brilliant people from inside the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group with you.

It’s Podmas #2! With Jane Badger, Harriet Wallis, and Eleanor Lelliott!

On this episode, I catch up with Eleanor Lelliott from SpiceMule, Jane Badger from Jane Badger Books, and Harriet Wallis from Harriet Wallis Marketing and Hand Forged Hearts.

We chat must-buys, best and worst gifts, Christmas treats, and there’s also a quiz that isn’t exactly a success!

This is another really fun chat with three of the fabulous ladies in the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group. We chat business (of course!) but also ‘fridge tapas’, most wanted Christmas gifts, and what a hoover has to do with anything…

Get yourself a book, a mug cake, and enjoy!

Music credit: “Jingle bells” by scottholmesmusic.com

To find out more about Jane Badger and Jane Badger Books, see the website.

To find out more about Eleanor Lelliott and SpiceMule, see the website.

To find out more about Harriet Wallis and Hand Forged Hearts, see the website.

Small & Supercharged Mastermind

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It’s Podmas #1! With Sophie Sacco, Jane Brindley, and Louise Gillings!

Sophie Sacco, Jane Brindley, and Louise Gillings

It might be the early November, but Podmas starts TODAY, and I am so excited to be sharing some of the brilliant people from inside the Small & Supercharged Mastermind group with you.

It’s Podmas #1! WithSophie Sacco, Jane Brindley, and Louise Gillings!


On this episode, I catch up with Jane Brindley from Horse Riding with Confidence Scotland, Louise Gillings who makes up 1/3rd of Equiteam, and Sophie Sacco from Foxy Equestrian.

We chat must-buys, best and worst gifts, Christmas treats, and there’s also a quiz that isn’t exactly a success!

Pour yourself a Snowball, get Elf on the TV, and joy!

Music credit: “Jingle bells” by scottholmesmusic.com 

To find out about Jane Brindley and Horse Riding with Confidence Scotland, see the website.

To find out more about Sophie Sacco and Foxy Equestrian, see the website.

And last but not least, to find out more about Equiteam, Lou and the ladies, see the website. 

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Podmas, Small Business Saturday, Your Horse Live and lots more!

Podmas, Small Business Saturday, Your Horse Live and lots more!If a podcast could be a newsletter, this would be it!

Podmas, Small Business Saturday, Your Horse Live and lots more!

As we start Podmas next week (eek!), I wanted to share a bit about that with you, and when I started chatting about that and how it all works and why, I then wanted to share some other bits with you too!

These include:

Small Business Saturday– this BRILLIANT campaign, created by Small Business Britain which is run by the fabulous Michelle Ovens, helps to promote small businesses and how incredible they are to the wider world. Falling just after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday encourages us all to take to the streets- or shop online- and support our favourite small businesses. On the run up to the event, Small Business Saturday also offers lots of support for businesses through webinars and one to one mentoring opportunities. Not only am I one of the very lucky #SBS100 for 2022, I’m also giving a webinar and providing mentoring sessions as part of the campaign. I’m really delighted to be involved.

Your Horse Live– I’m heading over to Your Horse Live for a few different reasons, but one of them is that I’ve been invited to speak on the stage each day and I am genuinely so excited for this. Each day, I’ll be interviewing some brilliant influencers to talk about what it takes to be an influencer, the highs and lows along the journey, and we’ll be answering questions from the audience too. It’s going to be brilliant. In addition to this, I’ll also be helping the BETA team at the event as they have a stand there to help promote their work and the trade, and Dr Diane Fisher will be hosting a live Rider Clinic on the stage each day too! Exciting stuff!

 

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Finding a way, not an excuse, with para showjumper Evie Toombes

 

evie toombes

Evie Toombes is a truly inspiring equestrian. Not only does she showjump competitively and create really beautiful content, she’s also tube fed 20 hours a day and has a number of significant health issues that impact her day to day life.

Finding a way, not an excuse, with para showjumper Evie Toombes


Her influencer journey started when she was just 11 and a school bully decided to ‘expose’ her health issues. Instead of waiting for this to happen and feeling powerless, Evie took control, started a blog, and started telling her story, in her own words.

This open approach is a theme through everything that Evie does, from her work with schools to help promote understanding and conversations around invisible illnesses to her honest social media. This is an absolute joy to follow and gives an insight into what she has to do to not just compete, but also exist.

I had the pleasure of meeting Evie in real life at  Bolesworth in the summer and knew I had to get her on the podcast. She’s great fun, so interesting, and I learnt so much that I had to get her on to chat!

Evie is one inspiring lady, and it’s an absolute joy to share this podcast with you. Prepare to feel very inspired…

Make sure you follow Evie online too- she’s very active on Instagram, and you can find her here.

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What’s an influencer?

whats an influencer

The term influencer gets used a LOT, but do you know what one really is? What defines an influencer? Does the term get attributed to people with a certain following? Does the term kick in at a certain follower number? A certain mission? How does it work? And for those who are, what are you going to use your influence for?

What’s an influencer?

When it comes to being an influencer, how do we make a difference for good? What are good and less than good ways to use our influence ‘status’ online and beyond? Let’s explore a few untruths, shall we…

‘It’s all about the follower number’ – no, no it isn’t. It’s about the engagement. Of course, brands want to work with people who have good followings as that means that whatever they’re promoting gets in front of more people, but if it’s an inauthentic following, it’s useless. Bots and fake account won’t care what you’re doing or saying, so if you focus solely on the number, you’re on a route to nothing. A good engaged following is the key…

‘It’s just people getting free stuff’ – no, it’s not. Or at least it shouldn’t be! Yes, as part of an influencer arrangement, the person will often receive product, but it’s not without anything coming from their side! People receiving the ‘stuff’ described will also have to create and plan content to share that product or service with their audience, so there is a payment there, even if the product is given for free.

‘Influencers can say what they want!’ – well, technically, yes, but for the good of the community and your ‘brand’, please do think about what you’re saying and use your influence for good. This can be through raising awareness for good and important causes and sharing products and services you really love.

‘Click bait and scaremongering is good for engagement’ – yes they are, but for ALL the wrong reasons. If the only way you can make people engage with you is through scaring the living daylights out of them, then you need to revise your entire strategy. Because it’s a weak one.

Influencers can be so good for businesses but also the world at large when power is used for good… so let’s do that, shall we?

 

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Representation, changing the narrative, and winning the Magnolia Cup with Ashleigh Wicheard

ashleigh wicheard

In 2022, Ashleigh Wicheard won the Markel Magnolia Cup. This fabulous charity horse race not only raised funds for a great cause- The Brilliant Breakfast, as part of The Prince’s Trust, but it also brought representation, inclusivity and more into the spotlight. And a lot of the credit for this has to go to Ashleigh Wicheard, my guest on this episode of the Small & Supercharged Podcast.

Representation, changing the narrative, and winning the Magnolia Cup with Ashleigh Wicheard


I would urge each and every one of you fabulous people to tune in. Even if you haven’t and won’t experience what Ashleigh has, we all have the ability to be allies when it comes to supporting inclusion and diversity in our sport. Ashleigh has done a lot to raise awareness around this issue, and there are many other equestrians doing a superb job too, but we really do have the opportunity to help in a bigger way.

We discuss what winning the Magnolia Cup meant, why taking the knee was so powerful, diversity in equestrianism, being open to uncomfortable conversations and how we can all be allies for important issues that we might never experience ourselves, but really matter.

Tune in, learn, enjoy and do give Ashleigh a follow- she’s @missblackequestrian over on Instagram and shares some great content around racing, diversity, representation and so much more.

To find out more about Ashleigh, make sure you follow her on Instagram here at @missblackequestrian 

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6 things you can do to get ready for Christmas RIGHT NOW

 

6 things you can do for Christmas RIGHT NOWChristmas really is coming. We’re probably just days away from hearing Mariah or Slade on the radio… and yet some brands are very badly prepared for Christmas. But don’t worry, I’m here to help!

6 things you can do to get ready for Christmas RIGHT NOW

Christmas is a big time of year for many retailers with profit made over the next few months carrying them over into Winter, and yet, there’s the tenancy to be a bit last minute about it all, isn’t there?

On this episode of the podcast I share six things you can do right now to help your business grow and thrive during the festive season. I hope you find it useful… it’s a good one!

Some of these are time consuming, some not so much, but all are free at an entry level, so there’s no excuse not to get cracking!

  1. Make a plan. Whether you like to make plans on paper or the computer, make a plan. I’m a fan on planning with pen and paper, but you do you! You can use a smart and snazzy planner, or you can head over to Google and print off a month to view. Think of the key dates for you. Things like Black Friday, last order dates, last postage dates, write them all down. This will then help you to see what you’re aiming for and when and it can help you to plan your content to let people know what’s happening and when too. If you’re a brand ambassador, reach out to your brands. If you want to be a good brand ambassador (and who wants to be any other type, right?), make sure you reach out to the brands you work with and ask them what they’re up to and how you can help them achieve their goals.
  2. Get the dates.  If you’re working with magazines and websites, reach out to them and find out when their deadline are. And please, please, comply with the guidelines any magazine or website details. If someone asks for 50 words, supply them with 50 words. There are NO prizes for sending 1000 words. Actually, quite the opposite, you probably won’t be picked…
  3. Strategic gifting. Think who you may like to gift products to on the run up to Christmas. These might be influencers or even customers. However, do the work now. Make sure you’ve identified who you might like to work with, do the research, then reach out and start to get people ‘booked’ in so you can start to formulate a plan.
  4. Grow your mailing list. If you haven’t got a mailing list- NOW IS THE TIME TO START. If you have a mailing list, then put some time into building this and really thinking about the value that you can offer to people, to help incentivise more sign ups. Also plan when you’ll be emailing your people, and what you’ll be contacting them about.
  5. Collateral. Start working on your images, videos. graphics and the other marketing collateral that you can create ahead of time. This means that when things get really busy on the run up to the big day, you’ll have all your imagery ready to go, which will be SO useful for you. Trust me on this.
  6. Your own content. Make sure you’ve spent some time on your own content. Your own blogs, gift guides, etc etc. It’s important we take part in the guides of others, but it’s also vital we make our own content too.

Are you ready?

Small & Supercharged Mastermind

 

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Have you heard about The National Equine Show?

The National Equine Show

If you haven’t heard about The National Equine Show, you are in for a treat! Today I am joined by event director, Liz Ormesher, to talk all about this new show. From amazing guests to skills, shopping and sustainability, Liz talks us through the plans for this shiny new event that will be hitting the NEC in March 2023.

Have you heard about The National Equine Show?


Although The National Equine Show is new in our space, we also talk about Raccoon Media Group, the company responsible for the show, and their heritage in creating incredible events in the outdoor and wellbeing space.

And one last thing, if you hurry up, you can bag yourself a ticket FOR FREE! The show has allocated a certain number of tickets to give away, and although they are fast approaching that number (a lot more have been allocated since recording), you can still grab yourself one!

To find out more about the National Equine Show and to grab yourself a ticket, head over to the website.

And psssst- I might just seen you there! I’m delighted to have been invited to speak at the event and I’m really looking forward to it! If you’re heading over, please do say hello as it would be great to see you.

 

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5 reasons to invest in yourself

 

5 reasons to invest in yourself

The media is full of negative news- there’s no denying that- but even with all that’s going on, today, I want to urge you to not skimp on investing in yourself. More than that, I want to encourage you to invest in yourself more than ever. Don’t worry- I haven’t completely lost my mind, there are LOADS of ways you can invest in yourself for free, and there are loads of them in this podcast!

5 reasons to invest in yourself

 

With everything going on in the world at the moment, you may have decided to cut any learning budget in a bid to save money. I’m not here to say you must spend money on your growth and development if there’s nothing left in your budget- but what I will say is stopping all forms of training and investment in your personal growth is never a good idea.

The good thing is, you don’t have to spend a fortune on training- really, as with a lot of things in life, you can generally invest time or money (and maybe even both!) to broaden your horizons. From super high ticket courses through to free podcasts, audiobooks, video trainings, books, webinars- the list is nearly endless and there is plenty out there to suit any budget. I promise.

Why should you invest in yourself now?

  1. If you’re not learning, you’re going backwards. If you’re not trying to grow, develop and upskill, you’re losing ground if your competitors are committed to learning. Just because you’ve stopped, it doesn’t mean everyone else has. You don’t want to be lapped by taking your foot off the pedal when it comes to growth, training and personal development.
  2. You’re not alone. If you work for yourself, particularly if you work from home on your own, it can be really lonely. But the thing is, what you’re experiencing won’t be unique to you- you’re not alone. If you invest your time and/or your money in a community full of likeminded people, you will reap the rewards, feel more supported, be able to find shortcuts and expedite your growth.
  3. It can save you time. If you learn from others and their experiences and mistakes, you’ll likely save yourself a huge amount of time. The investment needed for this benefit is time. If you opt for a group like Mastermind, it’s money too, but if you go for a free group, it’s time. You can also get involved with free online trainings, books and lots of other methods to help progress your learning and save yourself a lot of time.
  4. Community and connectors creates opportunity. Connecting with people, whether in real life or through groups, can lead to huge opportunities. It’s a side benefit of why you should invest in yourself- time or money- because just one connection can make an introduction that can change the trajectory of your business, maybe even your life!
  5. It can help your business to grow in challenging times. We all need inspiration to help us grow, but particularly when times are tough, it can be harder to ‘dig deep’ and find these. That’s why investing in yourself is key. Investing in your education can help encourage different thoughts, new ideas and connections. And these are vital to surviving and even thriving when times are tough.

 

Small & Supercharged Mastermind

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