GillHB & Friends – Détails, épisodes et analyse

I last spoke to Janet in episode 25 about her business as a divorce coach specialising in narcisstic abuse and why she has now decided to close her business. She explains that having reached a milestone birthday that she feels she is in the 'departure lounge' of life, but absolutley not ready to board just yet, so wants to make sure she makes the most of it and has the time to do what she wants. 

We chat about the pressures of the type of coaching she has been doing and that she was doing it more to help people and get information out there rather than build a six figure 'Instagram' business. She felt the constant pressure of being told that as a business she 'had to be' on social media and show her face and how that really wasn't for her.  She uses a good anaolgy for Instagram as it does have some good content on there but it's like looking for a needle in an ever growing haystack. 

It leads us into a discussion about the changes we see on social media: the increase in adverts and posts selling things, pyramid or MLM (multi-level marketing), the one model fits all type courses, the 'acting' in posts, why people mute rather than unfollow and how we prefer more authentic accounts. Janet also raises the point that it's impossible to stop the 'cold calling' type messages from people who bombard you with the: buy now, early bird price, only 10 places left, offer ends, last chance to sign up! 

Janet explains why there are a lot of covert female narcisist hiding out on Instagram / social media and how important it is to them to get a constant supply of attention in what ever way they can. 

We both agree we're not in favour of membership groups for various reasons and how important it is to constantly review the groups you belong to and what you get from them. We are both surprised how little due diligence people do these days before signing up to something or someone and simply believe what they see on the person's social media output. 

We acknowledge that we're all different and as Janet says it's about finding the needle [or our needle] in the haystack of social media that we like. 

Lastly we chat about YouTube, (as I've started a channel for many reasons), is it or isn't it social media? What makes it different and the reasons we are both using it far more these days. 

Jess tells me her story as to why she left a senior role in corporate banking to follow a little idea she'd had in the backof her mind for a few years. 

She retrained and is now a fully qualified coach and mentor. As people are often confused about the difference between a coach, mentor and sponsor Jess uses a great analogy to explain them. We chat about the importance of making sure a client knows when we are coaching or mentoring.

As Jess's background was in a predominantly male environment she recognised the importance of supporting and enabling women to thrive and grow in their own way. She now runs her own business 'The Female Mentoring Alliance' and within that offers a programme called TransformHer as well as group and 1 to 1 coaching. 

https://thefemalementoringalliance.com/   IG @thefemalementoringalliance LinkedIn: The Female Mentoring Alliance

Clare and Catherine met at the school gates when their children were young and started  running an after school club together for many years before deciding it was time to do something new.

Gill finds out what made them decide to star a new environmentally friendly business. What were the driving forces behind it? How do they decide what to stock and how much to stock when starting a new business? 

She dsicovers that they test all the products themselves to ensure they work and really are environmentally friendly. As Clare tells Gill they realised that one downside is that because a lot of things they sell are long lasting customers don't need to keep returning to buy them! This is just one of the challenges because inevitably the products are more expensive than the equivalent suppermarket item as they last longer - like their bamboo kitchen roll - so it's getting customers to make the mindset switch that in the longer run they do actually work out much cheaper. 

We chat about everything from green bleach to ragbags (remember them? and yes I still have one) to terry nappies. @planetfriendlyliving.co.uk

How would you cope for 13+ yrs on 4 hours sleep a night normally, let alone whilst raising a family of 3 children one of whom has non verbal autism plus additional sensory processing needs? 

Katrina shares her very practical approach to, what she describes, as the very contented family life they now all have. She tells of the challenges they have had to face with Clayton, now 16yrs old, along the way. How they've moved many times and as he grew up his 'meltdowns' which could go on well into the night would bring complaints from neighbours and the police knocking on their door. 

The move to their own home in Scotland brought about a dramatic change in Clayton and all he needed was a very quiet environment and to be out in nature. It took Katrina and Peter 2 years of kidding themselves, when he became of secondary school age that a new teacher, support worker, term, classroom... would make school better for him before realising that it was never going to be right and taking the decision to homeschool him. 

Now not only does Katrina home school Clayton as well as supporting his younger brother and sister but she writes books and articles, designs and sell merchandise, grows their own food, recycles or upcycles everything they can, cooks and bakes with Clayton, crochets, is active on social media...the list goes on!

Have you heard of breast implant illness? Serena hadn't and put her symptoms of not feeling 'quite right' then 'very ill' down to the peri-menopause / menopause. She went for tests and was told all was well but she certainly didn't feel it was. One day she came across another woman's story and realised that the symptoms she was experiencing were those of breast implant illness. 

Serena shares the hurdles she faced to be able to have 'explant' surgery, what that actually means and involves and why it's important to have the capsules removed as well. Post surgery she discovered she had actually had the PIP implants. It is still early days for Serena and she is finding out more about what the lasting implications are for her going forward.  

She reflects back on why she had implants originally and what she has learnt about herself as a result. She is one of thousands of woman suffering from BII but luckily could afford to go privately to have them removed. She advises anyone thinking of having implants to ensure they also have the funds in place to have them removed. We discuss the role of the NHS when things go wrong and should it 'pick up the tab' for those that have chosen to have implants. 

As a means of paying his tuition fees for his horticulture course Andy started selling herbs at farmer's markets. Little did he know that it would lead to him not finishing the course but running his own company and writing a book as well as starting a new experiment of growing food in his front garden. 

Andy's story shows how we never know where a decision will take us, how to overcome the ups and downs and for every negative comment there is a lot of encouraging ones. He also shares some exclusives with us on the podcast! IG: @andygrowsherbs @urbanherbsuk  https://urban-herbs.co.uk/

Jenny is now an award-winning mentor, high impact coach and business owning CEO, She has regularly appeared on the BBC throughout the UK and speaks on the topic of professional visibility nationally and internationally.

Jenny chats to Gill about leaving corporate life to a start a new business and a family.

In the first half of the podcast she shares how her mindset helped her navigate her way through assisted conception and then the tragedy of loosing her twins at 18 weeks. She recognises how getting the right support at the right time was crucial and how that experience taught her resilience. She has evolved her business over the years into becoming knows as: 'The Queen of Being Seen' a visibility expert that helps others, as well as being the Creator of the Visibility Activator System™, Jenny’s five key pillars show you ways to be visible, and how to raise your professional profile.

www.jennykovacs.com   https://www.youtube.com/c/JennyKovacs

Following on from the previous podcast I chat to Alex Manos, also from Exhale coffee, to find out all about the 'science bit' behind coffee. I learn a lot about chlorogenic acid which is a polyphenol. I have no idea what are they and exactly what is so important about them as well as a lot of other things I've never heard of! Alex explains how they impact on our health and debunks several myths around coffee.

If you're a coffee lover then this episode is for you! 

Having experienced his own health issues Alex, previously an accountant, had a passion for good coffee, had heard about the health benefits and wanted to find out more about what makes coffee healthy. Not only did he find out but then he and his wife started their own company, Exhale coffee just as lockdown began! Gill wants to know more about: when his passion for coffee started, what EXACTLY is meant by a healthy coffee, how he and his wife not only launched but have grown their company with the help of Instagram, their commitment to sustainability and what have the companies Patagonia and RedBull got to do with their vision for the future!

Alex's story is an inspiring one for anyone who is suffering with their health and struggling to find any answers for their symptoms or has a dream they'd long to follow.  

Part 1 of 2 episodes - in part 2 Alex Manos talks in depth about the research and science behind 'healthy coffee'.

This is part 1 of 2 episodes. In the next episode I talk to Alex Manos all about the science of 'healthy' coffee. 

Gill was assisting on a Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) course when she met Sarah who was an attendee and discovered they both lived in the same town. From leading a sales team Sarah has now become a self-employed consultant who works with leaders and teams in the luxury goods market. She and Gill discuss the reasons it's important to have a cohesive team and what it takes to be a good leader.