B. with Anna Brand

Made redundant at 48, spent two years facing rejections — and a creeping sense that her age was the problem. Followed by a total reinvention: building a business almost by accident, discovering she has hyperphantasia, and realising decades of thinking she was “thick” were just her being wired differently. A raw, funny conversation about rejection, reinvention, and giving up on being normal.In this episode:•⁠ ⁠Getting made redundant at 48 after 25 years in a job she loved — and the brutal two years of interviews and rejection that followed •⁠ ⁠⁠Discovering hyperphantasia•⁠ ⁠⁠Why "rejection is redirection," and how being turned down for job after job pushed her into work she'd never have found otherwise•⁠ ⁠⁠Vision mapping: getting ideas out of her head and onto paper•⁠ ⁠⁠Why there's no such thing as "normal" — and the freedom in finally stopping pretending to beIf you've ever been told you don't fit the mould, or spent years thinking you were the odd one out, this one's for you.

Laurie Sterling didn't set out to become a growth and exit strategist, she stumbled into it through 14 years of running her own web design business, a leap-of-faith email that landed her a coaching role with a top US operations company, and a string of "pivots" that took her from COO work to building her own method for helping founders escape the hustle.In this episode, Laurie sits down with Anna to unpack the real cost of building a business that can't run without you (spoiler: 80% of businesses that go to sell, fail to). She breaks down her bottleneck framework and explains why the secret to scaling isn't working harder, it's identifying your "golden goose" activity and teaching it to your team, not just to yourself.They also dig into AI's role in extracting IP from founders' heads, the "transfer of trust" needed to truly delegate. If you've ever felt like you're the bottleneck in your own business, this one's for you.

Nic Redman has a master's degree in voice studies, a background in stand-up comedy, and a very strong opinion about AI-generated scripts.In this episode:•       Why slowing down doesn't automatically make you a better speaker•       The real reason people freeze on camera — and it's not confidence•       Why your voice is tied to your identity in ways you haven't thought about•       How to write for speaking — and why you should never start with a script•       Accents, bias and why being told you're well-spoken isn't a compliment•       Why authenticity on camera is nonsense if you haven't put the practice inStill hiding behind the script?

Becca Brighty is a business psychologist, occupational psychologist, and ADHD coach who spent years watching RSD run her business before she even knew what RSD was.In this episode:•       What rejection sensitivity dysphoria actually is and why it's probably running your business too•       Why imposter syndrome and masking aren't the same thing•       How coping mechanisms that got you through school are now holding you back•       Executive function, spiky profiles and interest-based nervous systems — explained properly•       Why being brilliant at what you do isn't enough if your brain is working against you•       What changes when you finally understand how your brain worksStill think it's just a bit of disorganisation?

Sarah Mills was the shyest girl in the room for most of her life. Now she speaks on stages, runs Wow Women, and has plans to keynote in Vegas.In this episode:•       Why you have to do it badly before you can do it well•       The role other people's belief plays before you have any in yourself•       Building a brand within a brand — and why personality is the whole point•       Why she finally started the podcast after telling everyone else they should•       Silk boxer shorts, Vespas and the Greek islands — early business ventures that didn't quite work out•       Why not giving a f*** is a skill you develop, not a personality traitStill waiting until you're ready?