Posts

Episode #75 Simply Smart Business with Gemma Went

/0 Comments/in /by

Today I am happy to have Gemma Went with me. Gemma and I have been friends online for quite some time, but we don’t get to spend much face time together, so we were so excited to have this chance to speak over video! Gemma Went is a Digital Marketing & Online Business Consultant who works with small business owners to help them bring their dreams to life online. She won an entrepreneur of the year award for her first business 10 years ago, a digital marketing agency, before becoming the Social Media Director at two London agencies. She regularly speaks and writes on the topic of business strategy, social media and digital marketing.

Our conversation today is focusing on how Gemma got her start in online business. She’s had more than one business, but she started her current business 3.5 years ago when she was pregnant and found herself without a job. She really had to make things work. We also talk about the importance of having multiple income streams when you are self-employed and Gemma’s suggestions for getting yours started.

To check out Gemma’s Academy go here. To sign up for the waitlist for her next mastermind, go here.

Quotes 

  • “I’ve got a real passion for small businesses and mums that want to make it themselves, because that’s how I got started.” – Gemma
  • “For me it was about really understanding how much I needed [for childcare and living expenses] and I started there.” – Gemma
  • “No one’s going to stop a mum with a plan, right?” – Gemma
  • “I find launches quite overwhelming and stressful, so I want to streamline [my launch process] and find something I’m really comfortable with.” – Gemma
  • “I think one of the hardest parts of online business is going from having the idea to actually making The Thing.” – Jen

Remember, you can highlight to share any text on this page, give it a whirl!

Resources 

Denise Duffield Thomas on The School of Self-Mastery with Adrienne Dorison

Bushra Azhar’s Sold Out Launch Framework

gemmawentGemma Went is a Digital Marketing & Online Business Consultant who works with small business owners to help them bring their dreams to life online. She won an entrepreneur of the year award for her first business 10 years ago, a digital marketing agency, before becoming the Social Media Director at two London agencies. She regularly speaks and writes on the topic of business strategy, social media and digital marketing.

She recently launched The Simply Smart Business Academy, an online membership site that teaches small business owners everything they need to create, manage and grow a business online.

To connect with Gemma, check out her website, her Facebook page, her Twitter, and her LinkedIn.

Episode #74 The Two Week Wait Challenge with Lindsay Fischer

/0 Comments/in /by

This week on Financial Fluency, I am so excited to have my first ever returning guest, Lindsay Fischer! Lindsay is here to speak with us about her new book, The Two Week Wait Challenge, so you know what that means: this is a book club episode! The Two Week Wait Challenge is a book of daily self care for women hoping to conceive and dealing with the high stress (read: trauma) of the two weeks between possible conception and the first time they could possibly know for sure whether or not they are pregnant. Lindsay is in the midst of her fertility journey right now and provides this book as a balm to other women from someone who knows.

Our conversation also covers the true costs of IVF: mental, emotional, financial and physical, and the other options available for couples looking to have children in these times. Lindsay Fischer is a trauma-tested author who writes about her own experiences to help others feel less alone. A former English teacher and dance coach, a domestic violence survivor, and – now – a seemingly infertile Myrtle, she refuses to be silent about the things that change our lives. For her, those issues are domestic violence and infertility.

Quotes 

  • “[The Two Week Wait Challenge] is a way to feel good about yourself during a time when you probably don’t.” – Lindsay
  • “Trama is trauma, and for women who are given an infertility diagnosis, it is as stressful as getting a cancer or HIV diagnosis.” – Lindsay
  • “In this whole process, there’s disappointment, there’s heartbreak, and there’s frustration, especially when you are throwing the kind of money that you are at it because people assume it’s so expensive because it definitely works.” – Lindsay
  • “Adoption is not off the table, but the further we’ve gotten into looking at all of our financial options [for children], adoption is just as expensive.” -Lindsay
  • “I already feel like I’m mothering, I’m mothering that embryo.” -Lindsay

Remember, you can highlight and share any text on this page! Give it a try!

Resources

Here are Lindsay’s Books:

The Two Week Wait Challenge: A Sassy Girl’s Guide to Surviving the TWW

The House on Sunset

Lindsay’s Website

lindsay-fisherLindsay Fischer is a trauma-tested author who writes about her own experiences to help others feel less alone. A former English teacher and dance coach, a domestic violence survivor, and – now – a seemingly infertile Myrtle, she refuses to be silent about the things that change our lives. For her, those issues are domestic violence and infertility.

To connect with Lindsay, check out her website, her Facebook page, her Twitter, and her Instagram.

Episode #66 Equality Pays with Michelle Gyimah

/0 Comments/in /by

Today I have the very lovely Michelle Gyimah with me on Financial Fluency. Michelle is a tech gender equality consultant, a tech startup improver, trainer, and speaker. She worked for over six years at the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the UK, helping employers work within the bounds of equality law, especially in regards to maternity leave. In the midst of her own maternity leave, she decided that she wanted to strike out on her own and provide consulting for businesses and employees as an entrepreneur.

In our discussion, we cover in depth the feelings of vulnerability and fear that women encounter when revealing their pregnancy to their employer. We talk about how women might choose to become self-employed because of how their employers treat them around pregnancy and child care. We talk about how startups can provide a safe and comfortable culture for women.

Quotes

  • “Even though my employer was quite amazing, when I was pregnant I had this sense of vulnerability, thinking ‘I hope I’m able to keep my job because I really need to keep it.’” – Michelle
  • “Even though the legislation in the UK and the US is on polar opposite ends of scale in terms of leave, many of the social issues are the same.” – Michelle
  • “Even if you can take 12 weeks of unpaid leave, what if you can’t take 12 weeks of unpaid leave? What if you need the money?” – Jen
  • “The message is you can have a career if you don’t have a baby, which is wrong.” – Michelle
  • “It’s like we’re telling women from a young age that they can be anything, but as soon as they decide they want to have a family we’re like ‘Oooh, we forgot to tell you, you can’t mix the two.” – Michelle
  • “It’s only a short amount of time that you are going to have a young family that’s going to depend on you in terms of time. That’s a very limited way of looking at people.” – Michelle
  • “[In startup culture], we want to view women as more than consumers, we want to view them as creators too. Women need to feel safe, valued and wanted. It’s not just a boys club for start-ups.” – Michelle
 To connect with Michelle and learn more about her advice for employers and employees alike, check her out on LinkedIn and at www.equalitypays.co.uk.

Remember you can highlight and text in this post and share it, give it a try!

michelle2Michelle is a tech gender equality consultant, startup improver, inclusive business builder, speaker, and trainer.

She’s passionate about working with tech companies (whatever their size) to help them improve their gender diversity, specifically how to attract and keep female staff and working mothers and how to save their organization money by not ending up in employment tribunal.

Through customized company assessments she can identify problem areas and produce a customized plan of action that will dramatically improve your gender diversity and your return on investment.

She’s dedicated to partnering with UK and US Women in Tech thought-leaders to mainstream the improvement of gender diversity in tech.