Explore every episode of the podcast Notes From The Not There Yet

Episode description

Zeva Bellel has spent her adult life following the same pull more than once: toward a truer version of herself, even when it meant leaving what was stable and secure. First it was a one-way flight from Brooklyn to Paris at twenty-five. Then it was walking away from a decade in journalism to build her own blog from scratch. Then, after ten years at Yelp building a marketing team from nothing, she was made redundant in one of the company's most brutal rounds of layoffs - and instead of going back into marketing and community, she retrained as a certified career and leadership coach.

In this conversation, Zeva talks about the pull toward France that started with a French TV programme in a Brooklyn classroom, what it actually felt like to be jobless on a friend's couch in Paris at twenty-five with no plan, the manager who taught her everything about how not to lead, and the single phone call that ended her time at Yelp for good. She also explains why she coaches women specifically, why "transformation" is almost never the lightning bolt it looks like from the outside, and what she's learned writing her first book.

Show notes

Zeva Bellel built a career across three countries and three completely different industries - journalism, tech marketing, and now coaching. Twice, she chose an uncertain, truer path over a stable one. The third time, the choice was taken out of her hands entirely - and what she did next is really the heart of this conversation.

This episode moves from a Brooklyn childhood shaped by a French TV programme, through a semester abroad that didn't go to plan, a one-way move to Paris at twenty-five, a decade building a career in magazines and blogging, ten years at Yelp that ended in a single phone call, and into the coaching practice, podcast and forthcoming book she's built since - instead of going back to marketing.

Themes:

• Chasing an inexplicable pull toward another life, and trusting it anyway
• What a toxic manager teaches you about the leader you want to be
• Building something of your own from nothing, twice
• "We're not a family" - what a mass redundancy teaches you about work
• Choosing to coach women, and why self-trust is the real subject

Key Takeaways

• Transformation is almost never a lightning bolt - it's a long, messy, doubt-filled process, and the myth that it should feel instant does real damage.
• A company can be brilliant and still not be a family - you can love your colleagues completely and still recognise the difference.
• A door closing on you without your permission doesn't mean you have no say in what happens next.
• Watching a bad manager up close can teach you as much about leadership as a good one.
• Coaching is fundamentally about helping someone trust that they already know what they want.

If this one landed, send it to a woman who's ever had a pull toward a different life she couldn't quite explain. Leave a review, or send us a message and tell us what stuck with you. And if you're new here, hit follow - Notes from the Not There Yet is out every two weeks.

Find the The Not There Yet Project:

• Website⁠⁠
• Instagram⁠⁠
• LinkedIn⁠⁠
• Substack
  
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Episode description

Holly Louise Ditchfield found out she was pregnant at thirty-seven weeks. Not a missed period, not a hunch - thirty-seven weeks, with three left to go, after she'd poured water on the test hoping it would lie for her too.

Eight years later she built a business, Lash Lounge, from her bedroom, fitting clients around school pick-ups. And in 2024, at twenty-nine, she went on Married at First Sight and became the woman a lot of the country remembers for remembering who she was as she wrote 'Leave'.

In this conversation, Holly talks about what was really happening behind that decision, what the show didn't show, and the six months between filming ending and it airing, when no one around her knew where she'd been.

Holly also shares something she's never spoken about publicly before - a loss, and what happened on the exact same day one year later.

Now engaged to Aaron, training to be a midwife, and expecting twins, Holly talks about the difference between chasing fame and choosing yourself.

Show notes

Holly Ditchfield became a mum at sixteen with no warning at all, built a beauty business from her bedroom as a young single mother, and later became known nationally through Married at First Sight - a process she says she'd never repeat.

This conversation moves from a Greater Manchester and Yorkshire childhood through the relationship she left at twenty-one, the years spent building Lash Lounge from nothing, the reality of what happens once the cameras stop rolling, and a loss she's never spoken about publicly before - up to where she is now, expecting twins and training to become a midwife.

Themes:

• Becoming a mother with no run-up, and what it costs to grow up in public
• Building a business alone, and the "mum guilt" nobody warns you about
• What reality TV is actually like once the cameras are off
• Remembering who you are under public pressure and public opinion
• Loss, timing, and choosing to try again

If this one landed, send it to a woman who's ever had to remember who she was before she could move forward. Leave a review, or send us a message and tell us what stuck with you. And if you're new here, hit follow - Notes from the Not There Yet is out every two weeks.

Key takeaways

• Losing yourself in a relationship or a role doesn't mean you can't find your way back - it might just take one decision, made quickly.
• "Great in a crisis" isn't the same as okay - the strength people see from the outside is often the least of the story.
• You don't need qualifications or permission to build something; a passion will push you through the hours nobody sees.
• Public opinion is built on an edit, not on you — the people forming it don't know what you know about your own life.
• Not every loss needs to be shared right away. It's allowed to wait until you're somewhere safe enough to say it.

Find Holly Ditchfield

• ⁠Instagram⁠
• TikTok

Find the The Not There Yet Project:

• Website⁠
• ⁠Instagram⁠
• ⁠LinkedIn⁠
• ⁠Substack

Episode description

Faye Roddy is a strategic business coach who built one of the UK's biggest cleaning franchises from nothing and sold it in a single thirty-minute meeting. But the version of Faye people see today didn't start in a boardroom. It started on market stalls in Salford, counting pennies for her mum at ten years old.

In this conversation, we go back to the decision that shaped everything, leaving school at fifteen, and the year that nearly broke her: becoming a mum at twenty-two, a medical emergency with her baby son that changed how she saw the world, and walking away from her marriage with £10,000 and nothing else. We talk about the fourteen years she spent building a flagship franchise business while quietly carrying a cancer diagnosis she kept from her own children. And we talk about the "ice queen" mask - what it costs to be the strong one, and what happens when you finally put yourself on the list.

Faye Roddy went from waiting tables in her mum's café at eight years old to building one of the UK's largest franchise businesses - and then walking away from it, twice: once when it was sold out from under her, and once by choice, on her own terms. This conversation moves from a Salford childhood built on graft and independence, through single motherhood and a secret cancer diagnosis, to the moment she handed her life's work to her team in a thirty-minute meeting - and what she's building now, for herself and for other women.

Themes:

• Growing up "old-headed" - independence as both a gift and an armour
• Becoming a mother, and nearly losing a child, at twenty-two
• Rebuilding a life from a £10,000 car sale and nothing else
• Building a flagship business while carrying a cancer diagnosis in secret
• The "ice queen" mask, and what it costs to always be the strong one
• Choosing to sell, choosing to develop others, and choosing freedom

If you've ever been the one everyone else leans on, send this to someone who needs to hear it. Leave a review, or send us a message and tell us what stuck with you. And if you're new here, hit follow. Notes from the Not There Yet is out every two weeks.

Key takeaways

• Being independent from a young age can be both the reason you succeed and the reason you struggle to let people in.
• You can hold a business together while your personal world is falling apart — but it has a cost, and it's worth naming.
• Selling something you built isn't a single ending. Sometimes you have to let it go twice.
• Developing other people's confidence can be the thing that finally sets you free.
• Freedom isn't the reward at the end. It's a decision you make on the way there.
  

Find Faye Roddy

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook
  

Find the The Not There Yet Project:

• Website
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Substack

Not lost, not arrived, just not there yet.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Gemma Lees is a performance poet, journalist, facilitator and fine art installationist from Bury - and a proud Romani gypsy. In this episode, she talks about growing up in a creative, self-employed Romani family, multiple breakdowns and period of homelessness in her early twenties, being diagnosed as dyslexic and dyspraxic at 21 and autistic at 41, and living with fibromyalgia after years of being dismissed by doctors. We talk about what people get wrong about Romani and Traveller identity, why she turns insults into material rather than shame, and how creativity - protest art, poetry, performance - became both her advocacy and her survival. She wants her work to make people "laugh till they cry, and cry till they act."

SHOW NOTES

Gemma Lees is a performance poet, journalist and installation artist who has spent her career turning her own story - Romani identity, late diagnoses of autism and fibromyalgia, a breakdown and homelessness in her early twenties - into work that dispels myths and refuses to be quiet about it. This conversation moves from an oral storytelling childhood through a difficult chapter at university, to the funeral that brought her back to creativity, to the advocacy and installation work she's building now.

Themes:

• Romani and Traveller identity, and the myths that surround it

• Late diagnosis (autism at 41, fibromyalgia after years of being dismissed)

• Creativity as both advocacy and catharsis

• Rebuilding after a breakdown, one decision at a time

• Turning insults and stereotypes into material, not shame

  
  

Key Takeaways

• You don't have to look like what people expect your identity to be for it to be real.

• Creativity isn't a luxury - for Gemma, it's advocacy, protest, and catharsis all at once.

• A late diagnosis doesn't erase the years before it. It just finally explains them.

• Rejection can become material instead of a verdict - turn the insult into a t-shirt.

• "Not there yet" can mean building something, one decision at a time, with no fixed finish line.

If this episode moved you in some way, please send it to someone who's ever been told they don't "look like" what they are. Leave a review, or send us a message and tell us what stuck with you. And if you're new here, hit follow - Notes from the Not There Yet is out every two weeks.

Find Gemma Lees:Website: https://gemmaleesartist.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gemmathepoet/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gemmathepoet83Find the The Not There Yet Project: Website: https://notthereyetproject.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notthereyetproject/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanydwrightSubstack: https://thenotthereyetproject.substack.com/Not lost, not arrived, just not there yet.

Episode Summary

Jenny Marshall has spent close to twenty years in mental health and seven years in private practice, working with people at every point on what she calls "the spectrum" - from quiet, low-level dissatisfaction to something far more serious when it's left unheard.

In this episode, Jenny takes us back to the school reports that called her a "classic underachiever," through the acute eating disorders unit she walked into at 23 with no idea what she was signing up for, to the traumatic birth that made her, for the first time in her career, the person in crisis instead of the one holding it together.

We talk about the marriage, the senior NHS role and the M&S-stocked fridge that looked like having it all and felt like nothing at all, and why she walked away from all three at once. Jen also takes apart the stereotype of the older man with a notepad and a couch, and makes the case that you don't have to be falling apart to deserve a space to talk.

Show notes

Integrative counsellor Jenny Marshall spent her career being the calm one in other people's crises until a traumatic birth put her on the other side of the bed and forced her to look at why "coping" had always come so easily.

This conversation moves from an underachieving childhood to an inpatient eating disorders unit at 23, through a marriage and NHS career that looked right on paper, to the moment Jen chose herself instead. Along the way, she and Beth take apart what people get wrong about therapists, and why "not there yet" isn't a crisis point - it's a spectrum.

Themes

• Being "great in a crisis" as a learned response, not a personality trait
• The gap between a life that looks right on paper and one that feels right underneath
• Why therapy doesn't require a crisis to be valid
• The stereotypes that keep people from asking for help
• Choosing yourself as an act of showing your children something, not just yourself

If this one lands, send it to the friend who's always the calm one in a crisis. Leave a review, or send us a message and tell us what stuck with you. And if you're new here, hit follow - Notes from the Not There Yet is out every other Tuesday.

Key takeaways

• Being "great in a crisis" can be a learned response you don't recognise until something forces you to stop performing it.
• You don't need to be falling apart to deserve therapy - not there yet exists on a spectrum, and it's easier to hear early than late.
• A life that looks right on paper and a life that feels right underneath are not the same thing, and you're allowed to notice the gap.
• The fear of being perceived as having failed is often bigger, and more paralysing, than failure itself.
• AI and social media can be a front door into therapy but they were never meant to be the destination.

Find JennyWebsiteLinkedInFind the The Not There Yet Project WebsiteInstagramLinkedInSubstack

Episode description
Janine Isaacs spent decades as a high-level medical negligence lawyer and property developer. Then at 60, she staged a revolution. She walked away from a 23-year emotionally damaging relationship, retrained as a transformative life coach, and decided to find out who she actually was underneath the decades of clay she'd built around herself.

In this conversation, we talk about the Golden Buddha - and why we spend half our lives covering ourselves in clay just to survive. We talk about the avalanche, and how to tell which way is up when your world is shifting beneath your feet. We talk about age being a myth, and why 60 is actually a brilliant time to be a newbie. And we talk about the grip of the messy middle, and how you can find your way back to yourself just by breathing.

This episode is for anyone who has ever lost themselves slowly, without knowing when it happened - and wondered whether it's too late to find out who they actually are.

Show notes:

In this episode, Bethany sits down with Janine Isaacs - transformative life coach, former medical negligence lawyer, and someone who made the most radical decision of her life at 60 - to explore what it really means to start over. Janine's story is not about a dramatic single moment of collapse. It's about the slow, process of losing yourself, and the equally slow, deeply intentional process of finding your way back.

Themes explored:

• The golden Buddha - why we build layers of clay around ourselves and how to strip them back
• Fear as the driver - how people-pleasing and avoidance lead to self-erasure
• The night everything changed - and what it means when the walls close in
• The avalanche - navigating complete chaos without knowing which way is up
• Finding stillness - why doing is the wrong response when life falls apart
• Age as a myth - starting a business and a new life at 60
• Perspective from professional grief - what working with tragedy teaches you about gratitude
• Finding the gold - and why the gold is always love

If this conversation resonated with you, share it with someone who is navigating their own messy middle right now. And if you've ever found yourself making yourself smaller to survive - this one is for you.

Key takeaways:

• The clay isn't you. Everything you've built around yourself to survive can also be dismantled - by you.
• Doing more is not the answer. Find the stillness. Start being, not doing. Breathe.
• Fear of being too old is just another layer of clay. Your years are a qualification, not a handicap.
• Perspective doesn't come from success. It comes from sitting with other people's pain.

• You can't think your way out of an avalanche. You have to feel your way through.
• The gold underneath all of it is love. That's where the digging leads.

Episode Description

We often look at tech founders as polished, unflappable architects of success. But before Tracey Longbottom co-founded Forsyte, disrupting the legal sector with her high-growth AI firm, she was a self-described childhood troublemaker kicked out of her home at 15. Facing £40,000 of university debt, Tracey backed herself, built a staggering sales career, and eventually built a powerhouse company. Yet behind the commercial metrics lies a raw, unfiltered story of massive personal trade-offs.

In this deeply honest conversation, Bethany and Tracey unpack "Mulberry Gate" - the exact moment a luxury handbag purchase triggered a divorce two months after marriage - alongside the reality of the domestic power dynamics that shift when a woman makes more money. Tracey shares her raw experience with severe postnatal depression, the claustrophobia of feeling like a "vessel" during pregnancy, and why she proudly put her daughter into childcare at three months old to reclaim her mind and her career. We also dive into what it means to be a direct, ambitious woman in a male-dominated tech space, and why true success requires accepting that you simply cannot have it all.

This conversation is a supportive, un-sanitised hug for any woman who has ever worried that her fierce ambition makes her a bad version of what society expects a woman to be.

Show Notes

Bethany is joined by Tracey Longbottom, co-founder of Forsyte, to tear down the sanitised myth of the "perfect female founder". Moving from her working-class roots in Bradford to high-stakes legal tech boardrooms, Tracey reflects on how early family rebellion prepared her to break corporate rules, how financial independence shifts relationship dynamics, and the immense mental load of balancing a scaling business with motherhood.

Themes Explored

• The Roots of Rebellion: Growing up as the anti-authoritarian "black sheep" in a traditional police officer’s household.
• The Independence Drive: Viewing financial freedom not as a status symbol, but as the essential tool required to make your own life choices and escape £40k debt.
• Shifting Power Dynamics: Unpacking "Mulberry Gate" and the relational friction that occurs when a woman's professional success outpaces traditional marital roles.
• The Vessel Trap: Facing the loss of professional identity during pregnancy and navigating the unspoken realities of postnatal depression.
• Embracing the Underestimated Self: How showing up with curls and vintage fashion in male-dominated tech boardrooms can become an elite corporate strategy.
• The "Can't Have It All" Truth: Rejecting performance-driven hustle culture to acknowledge that scaling a business requires conscious, daily trade-offs.

Key Takeaways

• Financial Independence Means Freedom of Choice: Money isn't about luxury; it is the tangible asset that ensures you are never trapped in a domestic or professional situation against your will.
• Being Underestimated is a Superpower: Walking into an environment where people make assumptions about your appearance allows you to control the room the moment you display deep, undeniable credibility.
• You Cannot Have It All (And That is Okay): Trying to score a 10/10 across business, parenting, and relationships is a direct path to burnout. True sustainability requires choosing your compromises consciously.
• Reclaiming Your Identity is a Maternal Right: Choosing early childcare or opting out of societal pressures like breastfeeding are completely valid personal choices if they protect your mental health and autonomy.
• Sales is an Act of Integrity: True commercial success isn't about being a "hit-and-run" salesperson; it relies entirely on extreme accountability, building deep human networks, and standing by your word when things break.

If you are currently navigating your own messy middle, feeling torn between the ambitions in your head and the expectations of society, please share this episode with another woman who needs to hear that she is not alone.

Episode Description

To celebrate our landmark 20th episode, host Bethany Wright delivers the ultimate guide to the messy middle of adulthood, synthesising everything learned over the first seven months of powerful, honest conversations. Moving past the multi-millionaire overnight success stories that feel entirely out of reach, this special solo episode explores the real, day-to-day psychological transitions we all face when life looks great on paper but feels disconnected underneath.

We walk through the six distinct themes defining modern adulthood - from breaking made-up societal timelines and overriding our biological fear of uncertainty, to managing identity shifts and choosing human presence over digital validation. Bethany frames this phase not as a midlife crisis, but as a midlife awakening. This episode is for anyone who has ever done well on paper but found themselves asking: Is this really the life I want?

Episode Summary

In this special 20th milestone episode, Bethany reflects on the first seven months of Notes from the Not There Yet Project. Sharing the raw story of her own emotional breakdown in Scotland that catalysed this platform, she maps out the collective wisdom gathered from 19 past conversations. This solo episode reframes the messy middle as an ongoing, evolving journey through adulthood, offering a strategic toolkit to help you navigate pivots with clarity and intention.

Themes Explored

• Theme 1: Timelines & The Rules We Break – Recognising that traditional milestones are utterly made up and that it is never too late to retrain or start over.
• Theme 2: Tearing Up the Script – Understanding the neuroscience behind our fear of uncertainty and entering the highly creative "Neutral Zone".
• Theme 3: Identity - The Loss and Rebirth – Moving past identity foreclosure and utilising the "portfolio approach" to diversify self-worth across values and interests.
• Theme 4: Choosing Your Own Path – Rejecting the philosophical trap of living in "Bad Faith" to slow down and protect what actually matters.
• Theme 5: Redefining Success – Realizing your ladder of ambition might be leaning against the wrong wall and trading grand metrics for daily acts of aligned bravery.
• Theme 6: Community is Everything – Dropping the isolated "I'm fine" mask and prioritising human presence over digital validation.

If this conversation resonates with your current chapter, please share it with a friend navigating their own messy middle - let us stop navigating this space alone.

Key Takeaways

• The Milestones Are Made Up: You cannot hold yourself to outdated societal schedules anymore; you are never the wrong age to begin again.
• Fear is Biological, Not Factual: When you introduce uncertainty, your brain's amygdala treats it as an immediate threat—navigating transition requires consciously overriding our biology.
• Diversify Your Sense of Self: Pinned worth on a single role makes your identity incredibly fragile; use a portfolio approach across your values and interests.
• Deceleration Signifies Clarity: Choosing your own path isn't about moving faster; it is about having the courage to slow down and protect depth over constant output.
• Check Your Ladder: We often spend the first half of our lives climbing the ladder of success, only to realize at the top that it is leaning against the completely wrong wall.

In this episode, we talk to Lou Desborough, founder of Cosmic Kinship, about her transition from a 25-year career in design to becoming a professional astrologer. Lou shares the raw reality of navigating the "messy middle" - balancing the grief of losing a parent with the demands of motherhood and the internal "chatter" that tells us we aren't good enough to pivot.

We explore astrology as "The Mirror in the Sky" - a language for self-understanding that helps us navigate identity shifts and understand the "default settings" of those we love.

This episode is for you if:

• You feel like your life looks "perfect on paper" but feels unsettled underneath.
• You are navigating a career pivot or a "beginner" phase in midlife.
• You are curious about how ancient tools can provide modern clarity.

Episode Show Notes

Lou Desborough joins Bethany to discuss the "slow eroding" of her identity in her early 40s and how astrology provided the language she needed to rebuild. From the grit of the design industry to the depth of birth charts, Lou explores how we can use our "blueprint" to find balance and grace in the juggle of adulthood.

Themes Explored:

The "Sliding Doors" of Career: Navigating the path from Art School to professional astrology.

Grief as a Catalyst: How the vulnerability of a parent's illness puts professional "deadlines" into perspective.

The Perfectionism Trap: Moving from "1000% effort" to the mantra of "done is better than perfect".

Parenting without a Manual: Using astrology to recognize the innate nature of our children rather than trying to change them.

Key takeaways

• Astrology is a Language, Not a Sentence: It reflects our potential and patterns; it doesn't dictate a fixed destiny.
• The Cosmos as a Mirror: Planetary movements reflect our internal state, offering a way to look inward. Done is
• Better than Perfect: In transitions, the need for 1000% perfection can be a shackle; sometimes, simply "doing" is the breakthrough.
• Accepting the Juggle: It’s okay to run two careers side-by-side while you build your dream; the "limbo" is part of the process.

If this conversation resonates, share it with someone navigating their own messy middle.

Connect with Lou Desborough:Website: cosmickinship.comInstagram: @cosmic__kinshipConnect with The Not There Yet Project:Subscribe to our the newsletterRead the Reflections on Substack.Follow on Instagram: @TheNotThereYetProject

Episode Summary

Carla Bentele, designer and founder of All About Me, shares her journey from navigating redundancy in the London fashion world to reclaiming her creativity in the North. We explore the reality of losing a professional identity you loved, the "deathbed" perspective that helped her take a leap, and how she built a brand rooted in mindfulness and community.

Show Notes: An honest conversation about ambition, creativity, and learning to build a life that actually fits who you are.

Themes Explored:

• Redundancy and Identity: What happens when the job you built your life around disappears.
• The "Deathbed" Perspective: Using a long-term view to make brave short-term decisions.
• Starting Again: The reality of launching a business while navigating motherhood and a new area.
• Manifestation: How vision boards and belief can guide your next chapter.

If this conversation resonates, share it with someone navigating their own messy middle.

Episode Description

Emma Husband is a Financial Planner, business owner and mum - but her story didn’t begin with a clear plan.

In this conversation, Emma shares what it looked like to spend years feeling quietly unfulfilled, to question everything during maternity leave, and to retrain as a financial adviser in her mid-30s while navigating grief, motherhood and self-doubt.

We also explore her relationship with money - how it shaped her confidence, why so many women feel “behind”, and what it means to finally feel in control of your finances.

It’s a conversation about identity, money, and slowly realising that nothing has gone wrong.

This episode is for anyone who feels like they should have figured things out by now… but hasn’t.

Show Notes

Emma Husband, Financial Planner and Founder, shares her journey from a stable corporate career in health insurance to retraining as a financial advisor in her mid-30s.

What began as a sense that something wasn’t quite right grew into a life-changing shift - shaped by motherhood, grief, and a desire to build a life (and career) that actually fit.

Themes explored:

• Feeling “behind” in your 30s (career + money)
• The dissatisfaction with a life that looks fine
• Motherhood as a catalyst for change
• Starting again as a financial adviser
• Grief, pressure and rebuilding identity
• Women, money and financial confidence
• Redefining success on your own terms

If this conversation resonates, share it with someone who might need the reminder that they’re not behind - just in the middle of things.

Key takeaways

• Feeling behind - in life or money - doesn’t mean you’ve failed
• You don’t need a perfect financial plan to start again
• Money confidence is learned, not something you’re born with
• Growth rarely happens in clean, controlled conditions
• You’re allowed to change direction, even if your life looks “fine”
• Nothing has gone wrong — you’re just still figuring things out

Find out more or share your story.

Not lost, not arrived, just not there yet.

Episode Description

Kimberley Ford has rebuilt her life more than once. From finance to acting, from acting to directing, and eventually founding her own filmmaking business - her path hasn’t followed a straight line.

But underneath all of it is a feeling many people quietly carry: being the wrong age. Too early. Too late. Too old to start again. Too young to be taken seriously.

In this conversation, we explore identity, reinvention, and what it means to move forward even when your timing doesn’t seem to make sense on paper.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever felt behind, out of place, or unsure if it’s too late to begin again.

Show notes

Kimberley Ford’s journey is one of starting again - not once, but multiple times. From leaving a stable career in finance, to navigating the uncertainty of acting, to returning to education in her late 30s and building a business that feels aligned. At the centre of it all is a feeling many people recognise: being the “wrong age.” This conversation explores how that feeling doesn’t mean you’re behind - it might mean you’re still in the middle of things.

• Feeling like the wrong age at different stages of life
• Leaving stability to follow something uncertain
• Starting again in your 30s and 40s
• Navigating self-doubt and not feeling like you belong
• Returning to education later in life
• Redefining success beyond external expectations
• Choosing alignment over societal timelines

If this conversation resonates, share it with someone who might need reminding that they’re not behind - they’re just in the middle of things.

Key takeaways

• Feeling like the wrong age doesn’t mean you’re on the wrong path
• You don’t waste experience — you build from it
• Confidence is often something you grow into, not something you start with
• There is no single timeline for a life that feels right
• Starting again doesn’t mean going backwards
• Nothing has gone wrong — you’re still in it

Links referenced in this episode:

• Kollab Kreate
• Kollab Kreate YouTube channel
• Not There Yet Project
• ‘Unseen Strength’ - Won ‘Northern Excellence in Directing’ award at WomenX Film Festival
• Grey Area (First Ever Short Film Directed at University) won Best film award
• Escort - Rime Suspex Music Video

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Kollab Kreate
• Aldi
• L'Oreal
• Iceland
• Empower
• UCLan

Episode Summary

Jordan Stachini never planned to run a marketing agency.

In fact, as she puts it:

“Complete accidental business owner - it was never ever meant to be the plan.”

Today she runs Co&Co, a growing Manchester marketing agency. But the real story behind the business isn’t about strategy or scaling.

It’s about the moment many adults quietly experience - when the life you assumed you would live suddenly stops feeling right.

In this conversation we explore:

• Leaving a long-term relationship when your futures no longer match
• Burnout, therapy, confidence and rebuilding yourself
• Choosing to live child-free despite social expectations
• Financial independence and personal freedom
• Gender, masculinity and the way we talk about equality
• Why she refuses to build a huge agency
• What great marketing looks like today, AI and overhype

This episode is for anyone who has ever thought: “Wait… what if I actually want something different?”

Show notes

Jordan Stachini describes herself as an accidental business owner.

But the story behind her marketing agency Co&Co is really a story about something deeper - learning to listen to yourself when the life you thought you wanted starts to feel wrong.

In this conversation Jordan speaks candidly about the hardest decisions she’s made: leaving a relationship, recovering from burnout, setting boundaries as a business owner and choosing a life without children.

What emerges is a story about independence, honesty and the courage to design a life that genuinely fits you.

• The accidental path to building a marketing agency
• Why Jordan refuses to grow her business beyond 10 people
• Saying no to clients and opportunities that don’t align
• Leadership and the expectations founders create
• Burnout and therapy
• Leaving a long-term relationship when your futures diverge
• Living child-free by choice
• Financial independence and freedom of choice
• Gender, masculinity and the International Women’s Day debate
• Why women should never treat career as optional

If this conversation resonates - or challenges something you thought you believed - share it with someone navigating their own messy middle.

Key Takeaways

• Sometimes the most honest sentence in adulthood is: “I don’t want that life.”
• Independence gives you something many people underestimate: choice.
• Growth doesn’t always mean building something bigger. Sometimes it means building something that fits.
• The hardest decisions in life are often the ones that make you most honest with yourself.
• Success on paper doesn’t solve the deeper questions about how you want to live.
• Becoming who you are often means letting go of the version of life you once imagined.

Life is really hard. It’s noisy. It’s overwhelming. It looks fine on paper but feels misaligned underneath.

In this solo episode, I talk honestly about launching The Not There Yet Project from my own messy middle - not from clarity, not from having it figured out, but from burnout, heaviness, and a trip to Scotland that forced a reset.

And then I unpack something I’ve realised about myself: I think I’m both the hare and the tortoise.

The part of me that wants momentum, growth, quick wins and visible proof.

And the part of me that knows slow, steady, consistent effort is what actually builds something meaningful.

If you feel impatient…

If you feel like you should be further along…

If your mind is sprinting but your life feels steady…

Maybe nothing is going wrong.

Maybe you just need to stay in the race.

In this episode, I talk about:

1. Why life being “hard” is something we don’t say enough
2. Launching The Not There Yet Project from burnout, not clarity
3. Changing my job and intentionally choosing community
4. Building spaces where people can belong before they’ve arrived
5. The voice in my head I call “Aggie Ange”
6. Wanting faster growth, quicker wins, stronger proof
7. The real lesson behind The Hare and The Tortoise
8. Why speed isn’t the problem - disengaging is
9. Invisible progress and why it isn’t failure
10. Staying in the race when no one is clapping

1. Life is hard - and saying that out loud matters.

Honesty isn’t weakness. Sometimes it’s comfort.

2. Messy middles don’t look dramatic from the outside.

They often look “fine on paper.”

3. You can be ambitious and steady at the same time.

The hare’s energy isn’t wrong. It’s unsustainable alone.

4. Speed isn’t the issue. Assumption is.

The hare loses because he disengages, not because he’s fast.

5. Invisible progress is foundational, not failure.

Not everything meaningful is loud or measurable.

6. You don’t need to win the race. You just need to stay in it.

Not faster. Not louder. Just steadier.

Episode Summary

Jonny Quirk has spent over a decade building communities - from grassroots club nights to global brands like Yelp, Deliveroo and WeWork, to decentralised Web3 networks.

But beneath the platforms and strategies sits a deeper concern: loneliness.

In this conversation, we explore what belonging looks like in a world shaped by AI, remote work and digital overload - and how leadership feels when you’re still becoming yourself.

This episode is for anyone who has felt surrounded… but not always seen.

Community is everywhere as a word. Belonging feels rarer.

In this episode, Jonny Quirk reflects on loneliness, automation, fatherhood, sobriety and the tension between scale and depth. It’s a conversation about what remains human when technology accelerates — and why gathering still matters.

1. Why humans aren’t wired for isolation
2. Audience vs belonging
3. The pressure to scale versus the need for depth
4. The “first 50” principle
5. AI, automation and purpose
6. Third spaces and disappearing gathering spots
7. Fatherhood and recalibrating ambition
8. Sobriety and clarity

1. Loneliness isn’t weakness — it’s wiring.
2. Scale doesn’t create belonging. Proximity does.
3. Starting with fifty people isn’t small — it’s human.
4. Technology can accelerate connection, but it can’t replace presence.
5. Leadership in the messy middle looks like care, not certainty.
6. Nothing has gone wrong for craving real community.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. communityrocket.co
2. somethingelse.network
3. notthereyetproject.co.uk

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. City Socializing
2. Yelp
3. SubKit
4. WeWork
5. Deliveroo
6. Shares
7. Reddit

Episode description

Roxy Heapy lives between two worlds.

By day, she’s spent nearly two decades building stability in a corporate career at Fanatics. Alongside that, she’s grown a makeup business rooted in trust, care, and long-term relationships.

This conversation explores what it means to navigate two professional identities at once - the tension between security and creativity, the pressure of appearing “settled,” and the reality of still questioning your pace and choices along the way. We talk about growing up fast, using work as safety, redefining success without burning everything down, and learning to trust a life that doesn’t fit neatly into one box.

This episode is for anyone balancing more than one version of themselves - and learning to live in the middle without needing to resolve it all.

In this episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Bethany sits down with Roxy Heapy to talk about life lived between roles. From holding a long-term corporate career alongside a creative business, to navigating expectations around stability, success, and timing, Roxy shares what it’s like to build a life that doesn’t follow a single-track narrative.

This is a conversation about identity, balance, and allowing different parts of yourself to coexist - without forcing clarity before it’s ready.

1. Living between two careers without choosing just one
2. Stability as safety — and the questions that come with it
3. Identity beyond job titles and linear paths
4. The pressure of looking “sorted” while still feeling uncertain
5. Balance as something you manage, not master
6. Trusting a life that doesn’t fit into one label

1. You don’t have to collapse your life into one path for it to be valid.
2. Stability and questioning can exist at the same time.
3. A career can be both grounding and limiting - neither cancels the other out.
4. Balance isn’t a destination; it’s an ongoing negotiation.
5. Living in the middle doesn’t mean you’re undecided - it means you’re intentional.

Find Roxy

1. Roxy Makeup
2. Fanatics

Episode Description

In this episode, I sit down with Dr Katie Ford - a veterinary surgeon, speaker, and founder whose work around imposter syndrome has quietly helped thousands feel less alone.

We talk about what it’s like to build a life that looks successful on paper, while privately carrying self-doubt, perfectionism, and the fear of being found out. About the masks we wear to cope, the cost of holding it all together, and the slow, often uncomfortable work of learning how to see your own worth.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever wondered whether they truly belong in the room — or felt like confidence was something other people were given, not something they’re allowed to grow into.

Show notes

A calm, honest conversation about imposter syndrome, burnout, identity, and the quiet shift from proving yourself to trusting yourself.

Themes explored

1. Feeling like an imposter - even when you’re capable
2. The pressure of being “the clever one”
3. Perfectionism as protection
4. Burnout and emotional armour
5. Being seen by the right person
6. Learning to belong to yourself

Key Takeaways

1. Feeling like you don’t belong doesn’t mean you don’t - it often means you care deeply.
2. You don’t become worthy by achieving more - worth was already there.
3. Coping mechanisms can harden us without making us broken.
4. Self-kindness can feel unfamiliar before it feels safe.
5. Belonging doesn’t come from certainty — it comes from staying with yourself.
6. Sometimes the work isn’t becoming someone new, but remembering who you already are.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Katie Ford Vet
2. Vet Empowered
3. Katie Ford Vet Instagram
4. Books by Kristin Neff

Episode Description

Sarah Jayne Healey is a registered nutritionist, senior industry leader, and mum - but her journey didn’t begin with confidence or clarity.

In this episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Sarah shares what it’s really like stepping into responsibility before you feel ready, navigating a career that barely existed when she started, and staying evidence-led in a world full of nutrition noise.

We talk about:

1. Taking on huge responsibility in your early 20s
2. Why social media has made nutrition both powerful and dangerous
3. The reality of breastfeeding, pressure, and maternal guilt
4. Why “what can I add?” matters more than “what should I cut?”
5. How simple, non-judgemental food choices can change family life

This is a conversation about trust - in your knowledge, your body, and your timing - when you’re not there yet, but you’re showing up anyway.

Show Notes

In this episode, we cover:

1. Choosing an unconventional degree — and backing yourself
2. Rejection, NHS cuts & finding your first role
3. Stepping into “too big” jobs at 22
4. Social media, misinformation & nutrition myths
5. Sports nutrition, endurance & fuelling performance
6. Breastfeeding, birth plans & maternal pressure
7. Family food without perfection or fear
8. Feeding millions — and why small exposure matters
9. Quick-fire wisdom + Not There Yet reflection

Guest: Sarah Healey

Registered Nutritionist | Senior Industry Leader | Mum

Instagram: @sarahjnutrition

1. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re unqualified — it means you’re growing
2. Nutrition should be evidence-led, not algorithm-led
3. “Add, don’t restrict” is the most sustainable mindset
4. Small exposure creates lifelong habits
5. You can hold expertise and vulnerability at the same time
6. Feeding people is about trust, not perfection

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Heinz
2. Mitchells and Butlers
3. Home Start
4. Sure Start
5. Harvester
6. Toby Carvery
7. Browns Brasserie & Bar
8. Association for Nutrition
9. British Dietetic Association

This is a short note, a written letter shared - not a lesson, not a launch, and not an announcement.

It’s a moment to pause and name where The Not There Yet Project is heading in 2026 - and why.

When I started this project, it was never meant to be about content for content’s sake. It was about connection. About creating a space where people navigating life’s messy middle could feel less alone.

Somewhere along the way, I realised I’d built something that was helpful - but noisy. And this year, I’m choosing to come back to the original intention: community, conversation, and spaces people can actually stay in.

In this episode, I share:

1. Why connection matters
2. Why I’m not building a personal brand
3. And what it means to create a space to belong before you’ve arrived

There’s nothing you need to do after listening.

Take what you need. Stay if it resonates.

You’re welcome here.

Key Takeaways

1. Connection matters more than content. Helpful content has value - but without community, it can still feel noisy and lonely.
2. Belonging comes before becoming. You don’t need to be fixed, finished, or figured out to earn a place.
3. This isn’t a personal brand. The goal isn’t visibility or scale - it’s creating spaces people can actually stay in.
4. The messy middle is allowed. Feeling in-between doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. It means you’re human.
5. There’s nothing you need to do. No urgency. No pressure. Take what you need, when you need it.

Episode Summary

This episode is a closing note - not a highlight reel.

Bethany Wright reflects on what the past year has taught her through the stories shared on Notes from the Not There Yet and the conversations that happened quietly in between. From career pivots and identity shifts to community, confidence, mindset and redefining success, this episode isn’t about answers - it’s about better questions.

It’s an honest, unedited reflection on building something from the messy (and meaningful) middle, choosing rest over hustle, and stepping into 2026 with three guiding focuses: Curiosity, Connection and Community.

If you’re ending the year feeling proud, uncertain, hopeful, tired — or all of the above - this one’s for you.

Show notes

In this solo closing episode, Bethany reflects on the first chapter of Notes from the Not There Yet and what this year has revealed - not just about building a project, but about becoming human in the middle of it all.

This episode covers:

• Why you don’t need permission to begin
• How identity shifts are signals, not failures
• Why community is essential (not optional)
• What confidence really looks like behind the scenes
• Why success is quieter - and more personal - than we’re taught
• The power of mindset, gratitude, and self-awareness
• Closing out the year with rest, not burnout
• Setting intentions for 2026: Curiosity, Connection & Community

This episode is intentionally unpolished. It’s a pause. A breath. And a reminder that not being “there” yet doesn’t mean you’re behind — it means you’re still becoming.

Key Takeaways

You don’t need permission to start — clarity comes from action

• Identity shifts are signals for growth, not signs of failure
• Community changes the weight of everything
• Confidence is quiet, earned, and rooted in trust — not noise
• Success doesn’t have to be loud, fast or visible to be real
• Mindset matters more than milestones
• Rest is part of the work, not a reward
• Not there yet isn’t a problem - it’s a place to belong

This week on Notes from the Not There Yet, we sit down with Jamie Anne Bradbury - UK & worldwide DJ for 14 years with residencies at Manchester City and the Manchester City Women, Founder of Fit Food Media, personal trainer of eight years, and now, mum to beautiful baby Hallie.

Jamie’s story is everything we love at The Not There Yet Project: messy, meaningful, multi-layered.

She talks us through building a career from saying yes before she felt ready, turning a cold Northern studio into a full food-content operation, DJing the Champions League Final, pivoting out of the gym industry, and finding a whole new pace through motherhood.

It’s a conversation about identity, fear, courage, self-employment, sport, creativity, and starting again - even when on paper, you look like you’ve “made it.”

Because as Jamie says: “If you give it 100%, you can never regret it. And if you mess it up, you mess it up - but you’ll regret not trying.”

Show Notes

In this episode, we explore the many chapters of Jamie Anne Bradbury’s life - DJ, PT, food-content founder, partner, and mum - and how each chapter shaped her understanding of work, identity and fulfilment.

Topics covered

• Growing up in a sport-obsessed household and how it shaped her work ethic
• The early PT days: £30 in month one and saying yes to everything
• How Fit Food Media started from clients asking for recipes
• Turning a closed gym unit into a food studio
• Leaving the commercial gym after eight years - and why the scary “yes” was the right one
• How a missed gig landed her a DJ residency at Manchester City
• DJing Istanbul for the Champions League Final & Wembley with the Lionesses
• The behind-the-scenes graft of DJing stadium events
• Adapting to the fast-moving world of content creation
• Motherhood, identity, slowing down & unexpected clarity
• Feeling like the only mum in the DJ world — and finding community anyway
• What “Not There Yet” means to Jamie now

Key Takeaways

Say yes before you feel ready. Jamie’s entire career - PT, food content, DJing - grew from small yeses that built confidence and opportunity.

You don’t have to choose one identity. Sport, music, content, motherhood - everything can coexist if you give yourself permission.

Pivots aren’t failure. Leaving the gym wasn’t an ending, but an evolution that created more time, money and freedom.

Motherhood can slow you down in the best way. For Jamie, it brought presence, clarity and a new understanding of success.

Movement is medicine. As she says: “I walk into the gym fuzzy and come out fine.”

Being “not there yet” is a beginning. The studio, the DJ gigs, the nap-time work windows - it’s all part of the becoming.

Links & Mentions

• Fit Food Media Studio
• Manchester City FC & MCWFC
• @fitfoodmedia
• @djjamieanne
• Pinterest Predicts - Cabbage Crush

Episode Quote

“I’ve never felt more not there yet. Having Hallie feels like starting again - in the best way.” - Jamie Anne Bradbury

In this week’s episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Beth sits down with the incredible Donna Timlin - beauty therapist, business owner and self-described “neuro-spicy” creative - to talk about the journey that shaped her long before she ever stepped into a salon.

From childhood bullying and being told she “wasn’t beautiful enough to be a beautician,” to retraining at 28 with a toddler on her hip, Donna’s story is a masterclass in rewriting the narratives that once held you back.

We explore how she rebuilt her confidence, why she believes beauty should be accessible to everyone, and how ADHD fuels her creativity, empathy and drive.

This is an honest, warm and deeply relatable conversation about resilience, motherhood, identity, and the quiet power of starting again — even when you’re not there yet.

Show Notes

In this episode, we sit with beauty business owner Donna Timlin, whose journey spans bullying, self-doubt, redundancy, single motherhood, career reinvention and the courage to follow a long-silenced passion.

In This Conversation We Explore:

• Growing up with bullying and the long shadow it cast on Donna’s confidence
• Why she abandoned her dream of beauty at 15 — and what finally brought her back
• How travel work and finding “her people” helped her rebuild her sense of self
• Becoming a mum at 26, redundancy, and the turning point that changed everything
• The moment her dad nudged her to “just go for it” and enrol in college
• Retraining at 28 with anxiety, panic attacks — and ultimately graduating with full distinctions
• Building The Beauty Boutique and leading with encouragement, not fear.
• Living and working with ADHD, and how her “neuro-spicy” mind thrives on variety
• Why beauty is for everyone, and how Donna creates accessibility in her salon
• Boundaries, balance and the art of saying no — even to 4am brow appointment texts

Links & Resources

The Beauty Boutique, Royton

Donna on Instagram: @the_beauty_boutiqueroyton

Perfect For You If…

You’re navigating a career pivot, rebuilding confidence, exploring neurodiversity, or trying to find your way back to yourself after life knocked you sideways.

Key Takeaways

• Bullying doesn’t define you - you can rewrite the story others gave you.
• It’s never too late to start again - Donna retrained at 28 with a toddler.
• Support beats fear - the best leaders build people up, not break them down.
• Neurodiversity is a strength - ADHD fuels Donna’s creativity and energy.
• Beauty belongs to everyone - every age, every size, every background.
• Boundaries matter - protect your energy, your time and your peace.
• Confidence grows when you show up as yourself, not who others expect you to be.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing any of it “right” - the career, the parenting, the balance, the boundaries - this episode is for you.

Today, I’m joined by Charlotte Rose, one of the North West’s leading bridal hair stylists, a domestic abuse advisor, former children’s hospice worker, and single mum turned multi-hyphenate woman who has built her life with equal parts graft and grace.

From accidental beginnings in hairdressing to supporting vulnerable women and children, to rebuilding her life as a single parent and learning to protect her peace, Charlotte’s story is a powerful reminder that you don’t need one path to be successful - just the one that feels like yours.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses domestic abuse. If this is a difficult topic for you, please listen gently and reach out for support if you need it. National Domestic Abuse Helpline (UK): 0808 2000 247

In this episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, we sit with Charlotte Rose, a Greater Manchester bridal hair stylist and domestic abuse advisor who has spent over 14 years building a business rooted in connection, care and consistency.

Her story blends motherhood, graft, emotional labour, boundaries and resilience - all shared with the warmth and honesty that defines the in-between.

• How Charlotte accidentally fell into hair styling

• Growing quietly - before Instagram, before the trends

• Switching off from emotionally heavy work

• Boundaries as a mum and multi-career woman

• Why graft matters, but peace matters more

• Burnout → clarity → choosing weddings as her niche

• How she attracts dream clients without oversharing

• Rebuilding after difficult breakups and solo motherhood

• Choosing stability over “scale at all costs”

• Redefining success as a woman in your 30s

• Charlotte’s Instagram: @charlotterosehairstylist

• Website: charlotterosehairstylist.com

• National Domestic Abuse Helpline (UK): 0808 2000 247

Charlotte Rose on Graft, Grace & Building a Business With Heart

Episode Summary

This week’s solo episode is one of my most vulnerable yet. What started as a simple half marathon became something I never expected - a release of 21 years of body shame, childhood conditioning, disordered eating, and the belief that my worth was always tied to my weight.

I talk about growing up between two homes, using food for comfort, being bullied, losing weight as a teenager and suddenly being treated differently… and how all of this shaped the way I see myself even now. Running became my turning point - not because I’m a runner, but because crossing that finish line cracked something open in me.

If you’ve ever struggled with food, your body, or the stories you were told about yourself growing up, I hope this one lands gently with you.

Trigger warnings: Body dysmorphia, bullying, disordered eating, mental health themes.

Show notes

In this solo episode, I explore:

• How my half marathon became an emotional breakthrough
• Growing up with food as comfort and control
• The moment teenage weight loss changed how people treated me
• Why Slimming World became both a lifeline and a lifelong mindset
• My journey through body dysmorphia, restriction and self-worth
• How running — from Couch to 5K to 13.1 miles — helped me untangle my relationship with myself
• The battle between fuelling your body and fearing weight gain
• What I wish I could tell younger Bethany
• Why so many millennial women still hear the same old stories in their heads
• Running cracked open 21 years of body shame

Key Takeaways

• Childhood conditioning shapes adult self-worth
• Weight-loss validation created long-term dysmorphia
• Food became control instead of comfort
• Training forced a healing around fuelling instead of fearing
• Achievements hit differently when your younger self never felt enough
• You’re not defined by your weight or your body
• Healing is slow, messy and nonlinear
• You can always rewrite your story

What happens when your post-uni plan falls apart, your inbox is filled with 200 job rejections, and the world shuts down?

For Danna Richards, it became the start of everything.

In this episode, we explore how a psychology graduate who thought she’d become a data analyst accidentally built a global digital agency, became one of the UK’s earliest UGC creators, created content for over 200 brands, and rebuilt her career (and confidence) after losing everything at once.

We talk about:

• Navigating the messy middle after graduating in a pandemic
• Starting a white label marketing agency from a living room
• The truth behind UGC and influencer work
• Manifestation, mindset and why gratitude changed everything
• Building DuoVision Creative and finding joy in wedding storytelling
• How to create a life you enjoy — long before you “arrive”

Danna’s journey is proof that no experience is wasted — and that sometimes the restart becomes the real story.

• Success doesn’t have a timeline - you’re allowed to build or rebuild again and again.
• Follow curiosity, not comparison - the “wrong” path often becomes the right one.
• UGC is a business, not a hobby - contracts, usage rights, negotiation and retention matter.
• Practice gratitude daily — it shifts your mindset, your mood and your momentum.
• Don’t rush — slow, steady, repeatable actions win long-term.
• Invest in your mindset as much as your skills — meditation, visualisation and journaling all matter.
• You can build a life you enjoy — even if the journey looks nothing like you planned.

Links

• Book: Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert T Kiyosaki
• DuoVision Creative Instagram – @duovisioncreative
• DuoVision Creative TikTok - @duovisioncreative
• LinkedIn – Danna.R
• Book: Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself – Dr Joe Dispenza
• Book: The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

Episode Summary

Guest: Tom Stocks - Actor, Writer, Poet & Founder of Actor Awareness (aka The Chubby Northerner)

From drama-school rejection to chalking poetry across Manchester’s streets — this is the story of resilience, reinvention, and real northern grit.

In this episode, Beth speaks to Tom Stocks, better known as The Chubby Northerner: an actor turned poet and founder of the Actor Awareness campaign — a movement that opened doors for working-class creatives in an industry built on closed ones.

Tom’s journey takes us from Bolton to the West End, from rejection letters to viral pavement poetry, and from self-doubt to purpose. Through his words - and the lives they’ve touched - he reminds us that creativity isn’t about arrival. It’s about connection.

Because sometimes the most powerful stories aren’t performed on stage — they’re written in chalk on the streets.

In this episode:

• How Tom turned rejection from drama school into the Actor Awareness movement
• The real barriers facing working-class actors - and how he challenged them
• What it’s like to have your words go viral across Manchester’s pavements
• The evolution from actor to poet - and why poetry still belongs to everyone
• Finding purpose in helping others feel seen, heard, and hopeful

Listen if you’ve ever:

• Felt like the door wasn’t open for you
• Wondered if creativity can really make a difference
• Needed a reminder that you’re not alone — and that you’re enough, right where you are

Key Takeaways

• You don’t need permission to create. If one door closes, build your own stage.
• Resilience beats talent. Grit, connection, and showing up matter more than credentials.
• Community changes everything. Real progress happens when you bring others with you.
• Art belongs to everyone. From pavements to poetry nights, creativity can meet people where they are.
• Keep showing up. Even when you’re not there yet — especially then.

Follow Tom:

• Instagram → @thechubbynortherner
• TikTok → @chubbynortherner

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Actor Awareness
• The Acting Class
• Pendleton School of Theatre
• Spotlight
• The Stage
• East 15 Acting School
• RADA
• Royal Exchange Theatre
• BT SPORT 2021 Champions League Final Poem

Building Sideways: How Emma Brown Rebuilt Her Brand and Herself

In this, the first official episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Beth sits down with Emma Brown — a finance professional, mum, and co-founder of Elena Apparel, the activewear brand born from authenticity, community, and courage.

Emma’s story is one of balance and rebuilding — of learning that success doesn’t always look like scaling up. Sometimes it looks like slowing down, shifting focus, and finding yourself again in the process.

Together, we talk about:

• Building a business sideways, not skyward — and why that’s okay
• The impact of motherhood on identity, creativity, and confidence
• Learning to pause and rebrand when your work no longer feels like you
• The power of community, collaboration, and female partnership
• Protecting your peace, your income, and your purpose

It’s an honest conversation about letting go of perfection and choosing presence over pace.

• Growth doesn’t have to mean scaling up — you can build sideways.
• Motherhood shifts everything — identity, pace, priorities.
• A pause isn’t failure; it’s space to realign.
• Letting go can create room for what’s next.
• Collaboration fuels clarity and momentum.
• Community is your brand’s strongest asset.
• Protect your peace — and your paycheque.
• Confidence comes from showing up, not perfection.
• Slow growth is still growth.
• You can start again without starting over.

Links referenced in this episode:

• elenaraparell.com
• nottheryetproject.co.uk
• contentaura.com
• depop.com

In this introduction episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, host Bethany Wright shares the story that started it all - the moment she realised she wasn’t lost, or failing… just not there yet.

Set against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, this is a story about burnout, belonging, and the quiet realisation that “having it all together” isn’t the same as being fulfilled.

From leaving behind a fast-paced marketing career to rediscovering what truly matters, Bethany unpacks how The Not There Yet Project began — and what it means to find purpose in the middle.

In this episode, we explore:

• The moment that sparked the Not There Yet Project
• What it really feels like to be in “the messy middle”
• Why success on paper doesn’t always feel like success
• How community and connection can reignite purpose

Listen if you’ve ever thought:

“Is this it?”

“What’s next?”

“Why do I feel stuck when everything looks fine?”

Because you’re not behind. You’re just — not there yet.

Resources & Links

Website: notthereyetproject.co.uk

Substack: Notes from the Founder

Listen & Subscribe on Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts

💌 Want to share your story? Reach out hello@notthereyetproject.co.uk — everyone has one worth telling.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• ChatGPT
• Google
• Emma Brown
• Katie
• Johnny Quirk
• Dry Waffle
• Seth Rogen
• Mel Robbins
• Diary of a CEO