Becoming Fearless
Welcome to Becoming Fearless, the personal growth podcast for YOU if you are ready to overcome fear and step into your greatness.
Our purpose is to help you overcome your limits and have loads of fun along the way, unlocking your fullest potential in life, business, health and relationships every single day.
I'm your host Charlotte Carter, a high performance coach and entrepreneur, with over 20 years experience. I've supported many highly driven talented people like you who dream big and are ready to take action to overcome what’s holding them back.
Each week my guests and I will be sharing hacks and habits on how to build self belief, courage and confidence to master your mindset and navigate your emotions - so that you reach your human potential in a way that feels light, fun and easeful and help you become fearless.
Let’s go!
Becoming Fearless
36. Empowering Women's Confidence with Sandra Garlick MBE
What drives someone to leave a stable career in law to champion women's visibility and personal branding?
In this episode I chat with Sandra Garlick MBE, a dynamic entrepreneur who transformed her frustrations with the corporate grind into a mission to empower women in business. Discover her journey from law to entrepreneurship, motivated by the need to provide for her children and escape the constraints of a corporate job. Sandra's story is a beacon of hope for anyone feeling stuck and seeking a new path.
Confidence isn't built overnight—it’s nurtured through challenges and support. Hear Sandra's take on how confidence can be developed by facing fears and embracing failure as a stepping stone. From introducing a celebrity on stage to conquering a high ropes course, she shares personal anecdotes that highlight the power of putting oneself in uncomfortable situations. Learn why having mentors and positive influences around you can make all the difference in your personal growth journey.
Sandra discusses the transformative process of coaching women to unleash their confidence and share their stories. From hesitant Zoom meetings to commanding keynote speeches, witness the profound changes in those who overcome their fears. Sandra also shares her inspiring nine-year journey of creating a ripple effect in the women in business community, including her prestigious MBE recognition.
CONNECT WITH SANDRA
Website: https://womanwho.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandragarlick
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SandraGarlickMBE
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandragarlickmbe
Sandra's book recommendation: Bold As Brass by Hilary Devey
CONNECT WITH CHARLOTTE
Website: https://www.idaretoleap.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlotte_highperformancecoach
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/idaretoleap
Join my Becoming Fearless Community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebecomingfearlesscommunity
Sign up to receive my weekly newsletter, packed full of high performance hacks, positive vibes and fearless energy:
https://www.idaretoleap.com/newsletter
Interested in working with me? Schedule your free no-obligation call here:
https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/charlottescalendar
Welcome to Becoming Fearless, the personal growth podcast for you if you are ready to overcome fear and step into your greatness. Our purpose is to help you overcome your limits, have loads of fun along the way, unlocking your fullest potential in life, business, health and relationships every single day. I'm your host, charlotte Carter, a high performance coach and entrepreneur with over 20 years experience. I'm your host, charlotte Carter, a high-performance coach and entrepreneur with over 20 years experience. I've supported many highly driven, talented people like you who dream big and are ready to take action to overcome what's holding them back. Each week, my guests and I will be sharing hacks and habits on how to build self-belief, courage and confidence, to master your mindset and navigate your emotions so that you can reach your human potential in a way that feels light, fun and easeful and helps you become fearless. Let's go. Hello and welcome to another episode of Becoming Fearless.
Speaker 1:I am excited today to bring you this fabulous guest episode that I wanted to bring to you for a number of reasons, really, and it was very, very intuitive when I look for people that I want to bring on the podcast. If you've listened to some of the episodes, you'll know that some of the people I've worked with. Some of the people have been clients. Some of the people I have been in spaces with for quite a long time, some of the people I have just intuitively thought with for quite a long time. Some of the people I have just intuitively thought I want to get this person on the podcast and Sandra's totally in this space, totally in this space. It's like I need you to be on the podcast. I need my listeners to hear a bit about your story. So, sandra, do you want to introduce yourself to everyone and just let people know a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Speaker 2:Thank you. Thank you so much for having me here and it's nice that you wanted me on here, so thank you for sharing that. Basically, I help women in business to power up their personal brand and get visible, and I do that through my academy, my awards and my speaker boot camps. I like to create the opportunities for them to share that, find their story and share it confidently, whether that be on stage, in print, the media, podcasts, whatever and that's my mission to create more women in business role models.
Speaker 1:I love it, and we met at a um, a business event, um, where there were speakers there, there were people speaking, and you just held an event and we were just like having dinner or having a few drinks or whatever, and it was just. It was just a conversation that led to another conversation led to another conversation.
Speaker 1:It's like, yeah will you let would you do you want to come on and share with the world a little bit about your story? What? What do you think if you rewind now? Do you think you've always had that drive to want to help people, right from being a young age? Has it been that part of your journey, or was it a pivot, or what's the way back when?
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, the way back when. I think it was frustration. I think it was born from frustration more than anything is being in the workplace, in the corporate world, and basically being in a situation where I was always felt as if I got a barrier there. I couldn't take the next step. There was always somebody or something blocking me, whether that was me, whether that was other people, or whether that was just circumstances. That was me, whether that was other people or whether that was just circumstances.
Speaker 2:And even when I started my first business, the first thing I did was to create everything in that business for my employees that I didn't have when I worked. You know the flexible working, the working from home, that you know all those sorts of things. And I had an all female team at one point and it was just lovely. You know, we used to have days out where we'd go for manicures and spa days and things like that. So I wanted to create everything I didn't have.
Speaker 2:But I was always, I don't know, wanting to make a difference, wanting to develop people, wanting to, you know, see a change in people, not a change for change's sake, but enable them to reach their full potential. Think it is how I would sum it up um, which I could see in people and I think, oh my word, you know, if only, but you can't tell people, you have to let them discover that for themselves. But you can provide the tools and you can facilitate that and you can inspire them to make the change themselves, and that that, I think, is where it was born from, really and what were you doing?
Speaker 1:let's just paint the picture, because I have a lot of people listening who are in corporate and they're either at the stage where they're like this just isn't happening for me, or I want to get off this treadmill and I want to go into something different, but I just I'm stagnant in it. I don't know where I'm going or what I'm going to do. When you were in that space, what was it that you had within you to make a change?
Speaker 2:Well, I was on the hamster wheel for a long, long time and my career was back to front. So I got married at 18, had my children, did the mum's stuff, always worked, but was always striving for something more. And it wasn't until I got divorced and I was on my own that I realised I had to make a career for my two boys to give them the opportunities in life. So I went into law, trained to be a solicitor, was in legal world for a long time and because I was a single mum bringing up two boys and wanted to give them those opportunities, I stayed far longer than I should and I was planning my business, various businesses, for years before I actually did anything about them.
Speaker 2:Because it was that fear of giving up the salary, giving up the benefits, all those things that trap us in life the mortgage, the bills. I've got two boys. They had gym memberships, they wanted tennis lessons, wanted badminton lessons, they played football. You've got to pay for all those things and I had nobody else to financially support that. So it was a big leap. And back then when I started out in business, you know I literally started with no clients and there was no such thing as social media and all that. It had only just started, so it really was building a business from the ground up in your local area I love that.
Speaker 1:So that's like what I call a big leap of faith, a real belief within yourself that it's got to work, because there was no plan b. It just had to work because you've got your two boys. You have to make a go of it it did and it had to work.
Speaker 2:So I stepped, stepped out to the corporate world and I basically had no clients. But I decided because I'd started to do this visibility thing and build a name for myself locally. I didn't realize what an impact that would have. When I started to step out and say, well, I've started this business, that people started to gravitate towards me and I do everything different. I'm an innovator, I'm a big one for testing the market, testing something new. And I remember my first website. You know all the solicitors practices were dependable, blue, trustworthy blue. So I said to my website designer build me a red one. I want to stand out from everybody else. And everyone said you can't have red as a solicitor, you know it's dangerous. I said no, it's energy and excitement.
Speaker 2:You know it was all those sorts of little things that I did and it attracted people to us. It attracted the right people to us. Um, and before long, you know, I was only three months in my home office at home. Then I got an office and I was employing people. So it was a very, very quick rise.
Speaker 1:And I say to people, if I hadn't taken that leap when I did, I don't think I ever would have done whereas some people that they want to do that steady change, gradually change things, go down to part-time while they're building their side hustle up. I have clients where they fall into two camps. There's people like you and I were like I'm going to leap because this feels right and I'm just going to go for it and I will fly because I trust where I am and that's just the nature of me and my energy. And then I've got clients who, may you know, watch for years and then decide that they're going to do a little bit and then that's their journey. Do you think that there are two types like that or do you think that really everybody has this big leap in them but they might not have the bravery yet?
Speaker 2:I think it's the security thing and it's your risk factor. Some people are risk takers and some people have to to have all the i's dotted, all the t's crossed and everything in place. And I see this with a lot of people where you know, when I've talked to them about developing themselves or maybe speaking, and they said I'll do it next year or I'll enter your awards next year, it's as if we have to have everything perfect. And I, because I was networking a lot amongst a lot of men, I realized that nothing's perfect, they just go for it. And I was in a world where I felt that, ok, I'm going to do a bit of that and take a few risks and not everything worked out by any means.
Speaker 2:Covid was a huge thing for my business and I did have to step back into what I call the corporate world and take a contract. And it's been very hard to give that contract up because, again, the security, the money and all those things, the nice holidays, I get to go on. But I've flipped it the other way and thought, oh, hang on, because of that contract I only get to take three or four holidays a year. Now I've ditched the contract, I can now take 10 holidays a year if I want to. It's flipping it to find the best bits of it really, and then thinking, well, if I've got that passion and drive for my own business that I had for their business, then if I channeled all that my way, wow, I could do so much. And it's having the confidence, I think, in your own abilities to actually put yourself in that situation and say, well, yeah, you know I can do this and I will make a success of it.
Speaker 1:And do you think confidence? Let's talk about confidence because it's a big topic, isn't it? It's a big topic. Let's talk about confidence because it's a big topic, isn't it? It's a big topic. Do you think it's something that people are unaware, that they are actually quite confident at, or do you think it's a muscle that they build, or how do you?
Speaker 2:approach confidence with people. Well, it's interesting because I actually did a post about this on socials today, in fact, and I said you know, confidence is something that we're either born with or we're not, but we're all born the same. We are all born the same and it's the I think it's what's around us that influences whether we're confident in certain situations. But we can have confidence. We can lose our confidence. We can be confident in some situations but not in others. And we can generate confidence when we have to or appear to be confident, even though we're quaking inside. And I think anybody can learn tools and techniques to look and appear confident, even when they're not.
Speaker 2:And the more you do something, such as speaking or whatever, but the more you do it, the more or whatever, but the more you do it, the more you visualize it, the more opportunities you get to do put yourself in that situation. You then suddenly become confident because you've done it already and nobody, you know, booed you and nobody heckled you. And you know this is what I say to my clients Nobody knows what you're going to say and nobody knows. You know that nobody's going to want you to fail. And the same with business. You know you go into business, nobody says on your first day I hope you fail, because they don't. They want you to do well, they genuinely want you to do well world.
Speaker 1:I think it's that um mirror piece, isn't it? The only person that's going to hold you back is yourself, isn't it? And I think it's the same with the confidence piece. If you, if you believe you're lacking in confidence, then you'll show up and lack confidence, as if you believe you're building your confidence and you're learning it and you're practicing the art of it, and you will, by nature of that process, get better and better, better, and I think then, before people know it, they're suddenly like wow, I'm suddenly in this space and I'm now looking at these opportunities. And if I look back six months a year, there's a real change in people with the element of confidence. It opens up so many doors, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:It does. And there's so many things in life that we're nervous about doing, or you know, whether it's jumping out of a plane or doing anything. You know we fear the unknown, we fear the steps we haven't taken. But once we've taken those first few steps, we think, oh gosh, it wasn't that bad after all. And then we take the next few steps, and I think that's how we instill confidence in ourselves. Oh, I've done it, you know I can do it again. And I think that's how we instill confidence in ourselves. Oh, I've done it, you know I can do it again. And that's how we do it Just baby steps, small steps, but I do believe that everyone can, as I say, appear to be confident, even when they're quaking inside.
Speaker 1:What has been a moment in your life where you might have been like that? Has there been a moment where you may have been, appeared confident to others, but really your heart was racing? You were all over the place. Can you remember any? Have there been big moments like that?
Speaker 2:oh gosh, it's been all sorts. I mean, the first time I had to introduce a celebrity to stage, uh, many years ago, and I was absolutely petrified. I could see my hands quivering because I didn't want to get it wrong. It was too important. You know, there was a massive audience and I thought and even though I was scripted for that, because when you're doing an introduction you're reading their bio I was still really nervous. But once I'd done it, I thought, oh, I like this, I'll do it again. Um, so it's those sorts of things.
Speaker 2:I mean, even if I take something personal, I was invited to go to Go Ape, okay, with a group of people, and I was absolutely petrified, climbing up the first post and you clip yourself on and you get ready for your first task, and I was rooted, absolutely rooted to the spot, and I can remember everybody else doing it and thinking, well, the only way I can go is down or I can go across, like they've done, and literally my legs wouldn't move. But I willed myself and they were willing me to, and I think the fact that they were my cheerleaders, in effect, and they were willing me to do it, it was just so easy to do and it. You know I absolutely loved it. Once I got going the same thing again.
Speaker 1:You know, it was just taking that first step do you think some of it just on that go ape, I'd be the person that would be like, come on, come on, I would have gone right ahead because I've got that daredevil in me. But do you think something like that go ape? Example do you think sometimes finding your willpower within yourself is really difficult on your own? Do you think sometimes those people around you the mentors, the coaches, whoever it is do you think they are essential?
Speaker 2:Do you definitely. I always say every coach needs a coach, every mentor needs a mentor. You need to be around people who are going to take you to that, help you, facilitate that next step. It's not you're always striving for the next thing, striving for the next thing, but if you want to do something and you've set a goal to do something, you need people to help you. You need people to be on that, on that journey with you. And if you've constantly need people to be on that journey with you and if you've constantly got people pulling you back and putting that sort of resistance around you and constantly dragging you back, you're going to feel as if you're having to work twice as hard.
Speaker 2:So, as I say, it's like wading through treacle and you don't want that. You know you want to be dancing up a mountain in your flip-flops, really, and that's how you want it to feel. You want to feel light. You want to be dancing up a mountain in your flip-flops, really, and that's how you want it to feel. You want to feel light, you want to feel motivated, you want to feel inspired. Don't get me wrong. There are going to be days when you literally plummet and you think I can't do this, but it's knowing how to get yourself out of that and talk yourself out of that. And I think I can do that now on my own if I need to. But I always have coaches. I always have mentors. I'm always sitting in other people's rooms listening to other speakers. I'm a continual learner. I love to soak up anything, even though I've heard it before. I love to soak it up from a new perspective, because I think we can learn so much from that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I think. I think we were talking about that when we met, weren't we? You? We all take on different things when we learn in different ways, and we're always a product of our environment as well. And the dog is joining us in an agreeing with this.
Speaker 2:Yes, sorry he's, he's kept quiet. He's occurred um, but unfortunately he's decided to go for it. Apologies, he wants to be a part of it.
Speaker 1:The whole thing of the whole learner piece is around. So many people that I have seen see this piece around learning that they think that they're still not good enough because it shows up for people in this external validation. And I want to just clarify that actually for some people that will be the case. It was for me up until a certain point when I realized that actually I just love learning, it's part of my growth, it's part of my business model and it actually helps me and stretches me in all other ways. Then you frame it differently, don't you, and stretches me in all other ways. Then you frame it differently, don't you? You go into the situations you're like where's that very small refinement piece? That I know is why I'm here at this event what I know, I can take away and I can learn, and I think you must have been to loads. Do you always take something away?
Speaker 2:Always I take a lot of notes. I always take a lot of notes. Wherever I go, people see me scribbling down, but what I'm doing is I'm not necessarily taking notes of what the speaker's saying. I'm writing down all those light bulb moments I'm getting Because listening to somebody else's perspective triggers something in my innovative brain and off I go thinking, oh my gosh, yes, I can input something right now and I draw these little light bulbs and I'm doing little squiggles and notes and things and I read them back and I look at them.
Speaker 2:I'm not a person that puts my notebooks away and I'm now using a Remarkable simply because of that, because I can tag things. I pick up these things. As I say, you hear it from a new perspective and it's not that you copy what they say. It just triggers something in me relevant to me and my business and I think, oh my gosh, that's the missing piece of the jigsaw, or I could do that next, or oh, I just get some completely random thoughts that I keep. I capture everything, even though I may never implement it, but I capture things and I think my learning now is to expand my mind. It's not because I need to learn something to implement it. I just need to expand my mind further than my own capacity right now, because I come up with great things, and the only way I can continue to innovate is if I keep listening to other people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and very much taking action on what you've heard.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, I'm huge on action, oh gosh. Well, I'm not very woo, I'll just come out with that now. I'm not very woo, although I think I'm a bit spiritual, but we had that conversation. Now I'm not very woo, although I think I'm a bit spiritual, but we had that conversation. But I do believe you've got to take action to make something happen. There's no point sitting there, closing your eyes, doing a bit of meditation which I don't, by the way sitting there going yeah, I'm going to manifest this now. It just isn't going to happen. You've got to do something to make that happen. You've got to take that first step. So, yeah, I'm huge on taking that, those steps, and you know, not every step will take you in the right direction and you've got to correct that.
Speaker 2:It's a bit like I learned to play golf. I try everything. Once I learned to play golf and I couldn't hit the ball very far, but I can hit it really straight. I was actually beating people that had been playing for years because their balls were going in the rough, they were going in the water. I'd maybe take four strokes to get to the green, but because of all the penalties and lost balls, I'd end up beating them to the green. You don't always have to take just so. You know what I mean. Maybe, as long as you're going in the right direction, it doesn't matter how small those steps are that you take, because you'll get there. It's not. It's not a race. It's not a race. It's, you know, everyone at their own pace, really, but I love that story.
Speaker 1:I'd love to know what the people the people thought that you could. Just came in and then swiped past them on the leaderboard. Um, do you think that that's part of your approach? In terms of that, like reflection with the golf, do you think there is a directness in that how you help people, in that you know, yes, we're going to take the steps that are going to help for you, but we're also going to get the easiest path and the most direct path to get you the success quicker I think so because and this is why I mean I trained to be a coach I can't be a coach because I can't keep my mouth shut, and that is not in a bad way.
Speaker 2:it's in a way that I I suddenly get these light bulb moments for my clients and say, oh my gosh, have you thought of doing this? Right? This is the path you need to take. And if they choose to do so but I can suggest things and put those ideas to them and they go oh my gosh, why didn't I think of that? So I can almost lead them directly. And, yes, maybe I am more direct than maybe some other mentors and things, but if I see an idea and I think it will help them, why not give it a go?
Speaker 1:If it takes them in the direction they want and you can't not share it, can you? If you've got an idea that you could, you can't not. It's up to them, isn't it, whether they take it or not and that's it.
Speaker 2:When I started coaching, I was saying you know the answers within and and how do you feel about that? And I love coaches and I've got my own coaches as well, but I just couldn't, you know, I just couldn't be that person. I've just got to get in there, get my hands dirty and say right, you know you want to do this, let's make it happen, yeah.
Speaker 1:So do you think that you do attract women like that, or do you attract the opposite that actually need that? You know it's a mirror for them.
Speaker 2:It's interesting because I've attracted a lot of people that are, maybe have always wanted to do something but have not had the confidence. And we end up having to do that confidence piece first, that self-belief, the mindset work, because quite often they come from a place of not believing that they're good enough. You know, they see something, they think, oh, I could never be like that, I could never do that, I could never stand on that stage and share my story. And you know, when I launched my academy at the start of COVID, there were people that were too frightened to speak on Zoom. Start of COVID, and there were people that were too frightened to speak on Zoom.
Speaker 2:And yet I've had them standing on a stage delivering a keynote to a room full of, you know, 200 people, confidently, and you think, wow, the journey. They've come to do that, but they've done it and they've gone on to do other things as well. I see myself as the first stepping stone to their journey, as in, you know, once I help them get over that fear, that confidence issue, and help them, you journey every step of the way. By the time they've done it, they enter in awards nationally and whatever, and the same with the speaking. You know I give them that opportunity and that they're flying, then they're speaking at all sorts of events which I just love to see. I love to be that stepping stone in their, in their journey, and I bet it's so rewarding.
Speaker 1:Do you go and listen to any of them?
Speaker 2:I do some of them. Yeah, I mean, the opportunities I tend to create are at my events, which are the easiest ones to do. Yeah, but I've been at other events and seen them speak as well, and it's I get my, what I call my proud moment, um, you know, to see how they're developing their style, because I believe everybody's style is unique. My style isn't for everybody, but you know, it's what you take from it and then develop your own style, because you've got to live in your own uniqueness. You can't go and copy somebody else, you've got to be you.
Speaker 1:And what are your thoughts on energy, around all of this energy on people standing on stage, or energy on people having their story? Because I know for me, obviously I'm major in energy, but when I first had to stand on stage, when I first wrote a chapter in a book, I was like overwhelmed with it draining me. I was like, well, I don't know who I am, and ever all the identity piece came up and then my energy was all over the place and then when I did it, I was like super energized, like well, this is like I feel epic. Now this is going to be great. Do you see that, with the people that you worked with, do you think there's this piece around them holding themselves in a different way and carrying themselves and that sort of proud element about themselves as they go through the journey with you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did a program last summer with a group of women and one of them did come up to me or a few of them have come up to me since and said but one in particular. She said I've been hiding and it wasn't until I did that program with you and finished it that I realized I could do these so many different things. And she is just everywhere now. She's just doing so much. And she said she's. It's taken her 30 years to come out from from behind you know the logo, as it were and actually be herself. Um, and that that's. That was so such a powerful thing that she, she's now got, as you say, the energy within her and there's nothing that's going to stop her. You know she's, she's writing, she's speaking, she's researching, she's doing so much now and again, I think you know I've done four of these, published four of these collaborative books.
Speaker 2:And when the women used to submit their chapters for the books, they'd say, but I haven't got a story, I've got nothing to say. Who'd want to read my story? And so it was teasing that out of them and saying, no, you have got a story, you have got something to share. And once they'd realized they've got a story. I said now you can craft that into a keynote, now you can share your story on stage and it's sort of a natural progression, um, and it's yeah, that their confidence and their energy does. You know, it does get more. It's if they almost euphoric when they realize they've done it I know that's what I was like.
Speaker 1:I was like that's just blown my own mind. I was like this is just. I was so surprised by the fear that held me when I was first approached to write the chapter. For, for example, I was like, well, I've got to put a bit in my story. And I was so surprised how much that fear took over my body, my mind. I was like I was racing ahead with what everybody's gonna think, rather than just like focusing on what it was that I did. Then I just wrote the chapter super quick, because that's how I work.
Speaker 1:And then it was like out and then it was like, well, this, this is, that's it done. But I remember the fear. There's been a few moments where I felt fear, like, well, that was one of them. You know, you put me on an obstacle course, that's fine. But if somebody said to me at that stage you know, I want you to write a bit about your story and I want you to talk about it, a bit about yourself, no, I'm not in that space. So I think it's so, so good that you're here for those women for certain, because there's many of them. There's many of them that are hiding and they're so fearful that have got such a fabulous, fabulous story that's going to help more and more people. It's just that you're, you're the mentor to help them get their message out to more people.
Speaker 2:It's like that ripple effect it's interesting because you know, way, way back when I started with this business um, yeah, sort of nine years ago now, and it was when I met um various organizations I was asked to sit on a national task force and they said go back to your region, find the women, find what their barriers are.
Speaker 2:And that's when I started unearthing these stories and that's when I said, no, I want to create local women in business role models, not women that are upon a pedestal. I want women that you could have a coffee with, that you could have a conversation with, because if each role model then shares their story and inspires one other woman in business to take that first step, then it's going to have this rolling moss effect and it's going to gather and gather and gather. And you know, when I first started, there wasn't much women in business events around, which is why I started doing it. They're everywhere, and so are the awards for women in business now as well. So you know, I've sort of feel, you know, I've achieved something for myself, but I've achieved something for a lot of other people as well well, you've created a ripple in a different way, haven't you?
Speaker 2:by being the leader yeah, I like to be first. I'm not competitive in any way, shape or form. I'm not competitive, but I love to innovate first. I love to come up with a new idea. This year it was removing categories from awards, you know, so people don't have to pigeonhole themselves and shoehorn themselves into a specific category. So, I thought why do you have to have them? So I think I'm the only awards that doesn't have categories. So an administrative nightmare, but it works.
Speaker 1:Yeah well it's the whole looking at how you can keep growing with your innovation, isn't it? It's one of your superpowers, yeah? Yeah so let's just talk briefly about your mbe, because people are going to see your name on there and go. You know they'll want to know a bit more about that story. Can you share, you know, that journey?
Speaker 2:well, it was largely um around the women in business networks that I was running um and you know they weren't regular, they weren't every month, but I used to put on these events get women in business in a room, encourage them to share their stories. Then I'd get more people to share their stories. Publishing, publishing the books, the collaborative books, and, unknown to me, somebody had put me forward for an MBE for the work I was doing with women in business and apparently it took about 18 months for it to come to fruition. I was none the wiser. You can't nominate yourself and I won't go into the full story because I've shared it loads of times.
Speaker 2:But I nearly didn't get it because I missed the post and the cabinet office called me up to see if I was going to accept it, because some people don't accept them, and I submitted the form. I thought it was too late but it wasn't and I was awarded my MB for my services to women in business. Sadly I couldn't collect it because Covid hit and my dad passed away as well, so it was all at the same time. So it took I went back probably a couple of years later to collect it, still within COVID restrictions, but I got to go to Windsor Castle. But it's the ultimate award for me, because it wasn't me that put myself forward for it, it was somebody else who recognized the work I was doing within the women in business space that decided no, you know she needs recognition for that and I'm so proud of it, so proud yeah, and so you should be.
Speaker 1:It's a lovely, lovely story. Do you know who it was, now that put?
Speaker 2:you forward. I do now. Yes, they're not allowed to tell you but they do, and it was for the work. It was when I was doing a lot of work with the Federation of Small Businesses and I was doing a lot. I was going down to London and I was on their national task force and I was doing work in the local region and everything. So yeah, it was. It was around that.
Speaker 1:So, so good. I love it when people get recognised, when somebody else spots it. It's wonderful, isn't it? So how can people work with you? They've been listening to this people with and they know that they've got this confidence and this belief and this mindset piece, and they also have this piece within them that that's what they want to do. They want to achieve those things, but they know they can't do it on their own. What are the options that people have to work with you?
Speaker 2:I run. I've got an online academy which is a membership um so they can join that. I've got two different levels. I've got a basic level and a mastermind level, and then I also do one-to-one work now as well. So, um, not too much one-to-one, uh, but I do a little bit of one-to-one um really to help people get there faster. It's all about, you know, accelerating their, their opportunities, because why sit around waiting to do something until next year when you can do it now?
Speaker 1:exactly. I hear you, I'm on the same page as you, um, and all of those details will be underneath the in the show notes so that you can get hold of sandra. Um, if you want to, you know, look at any of those options or have a call and see which one feels good with you. And, like I said when I first opened this podcast, I just went intuitively. Sandra's got a lovely warmth about her. She will, you know, answer any questions, be able to share her wisdom with you, and I'm sure you'll say if it's not right for them, or if it is right for them and whether fear is holding them back say if it's not right for them, or if it is right for them and whether fear is holding them back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and not everybody wants to stand on a stage in front of an audience of people, and that's perfectly okay. There's other ways to reach your audience. There's other ways that you can communicate with your client base and potential clients.
Speaker 1:yeah, Sounds good. So the final question that I always ask everybody that comes on the podcast is what is a book that you have read that has either helped shaped your life or helped overcome some fears, or just has made an impact for you?
Speaker 2:um, well, I read a lot of books and I'm a judge for the business book awards, so I get through an awful lot of business books, um, but I rarely read fiction and if the nearest I get is reading autobiographies. And the book that had the most impact on me was Hilary DeVay's book, um, bold as brass, and she? Um had a very challenging story, um, and it was a book I couldn't put down right from a young girl. She had challenges in her life. But what I loved about the book and her story was she saw an innovation. She saw a different way of doing things.
Speaker 2:She was a woman in a male dominated industry. She was in the logistics industry and she thought why are all these logistics places going all over the place? Why don't I create a hub? And she saw this new way of doing something that revolutionized the industry. And it just had that effect on me to think there's always another way. You don't have to always follow mainstream. You know, at the time I read it and I got my own legal firm, I was thinking, yeah, there is another way, I don't have to conform, I don't have to be like all the other law firms. I was the first law firm to go paperless in 2008. You know, I can do these things in a very different way and her book when I read, read it and I mean obviously, um, she's no longer with us, but it was a very, very powerful story and, uh, yeah, it stuck with me and it resonated with your innovation, I'm sure yeah, absolutely yeah so I could talk to you for ages.
Speaker 1:There's we. I'm sure we will meet at another event over a glass of wine and carry on a conversation in a different way, but thank you so so much for being on. I have loved it. I've loved hearing about your story and also hearing about how you help people. Is there anything else you want to add before we wrap up today?
Speaker 2:Well, I would just say if anybody is frightened of putting themselves forward or has got that fear, um, there's always a way, and my mum said to me when I was very small you can be anything you want to be. But I realized the power is within me to do that, and I think anybody you know. If they set their mind to something, they can't really achieve anything they want to achieve. I've got one more question for you.
Speaker 1:What's your next goal? What's the next thing you've set your eyes on? What's the next thing, achievement for you?
Speaker 2:Gosh. Well, I'm developing something new.
Speaker 2:I've become very yeah, very innovative. I'm thinking of a new way to deliver my business mentoring. I set a goal at the start of the year. You know everybody comes up with their word and my word was intentional and that's to be intentional about everything I do and I was around my health, my wealth and my happiness, and I'm developing now something which involves health, wealth and happiness all in one, but aligned to business growth. So I think we do that about ourselves, but we don't put that into our business. So, yeah, working on that, I'm excited about that and I've got a few of the projects in the pipeline. I normally break bones. We haven't got time to talk about that. I normally break bones before I innovate, but I've decided to do it without breaking the bones thank you so so much.
Speaker 1:They sound. That sounds really exciting, and I'm sure you've got many, many other ideas that haven't come to fruition yet that you'll probably think of as you get more space in your life. So thank you so so much for being on. I have loved it and I'm sure the listeners will go and have a look at what you do and see if you're the right person for them. So thank you so so much for sharing your story. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me, it's been great.
Speaker 1:You are welcome. Thanks, listeners. I will see you on the next one. Remember all the infos below the show notes. Thank you for tuning into this week's episode. I hope see you on the next one. Remember all the infos below the show notes. Thank you for tuning into this week's episode. I hope that you're feeling energized, fearless and inspired to take action today to stand in your greatness. I share even more tools and resources on my I Dare to Leap email newsletter. By signing up, you not only get early access to the I Dare to Leap products and services, but you also get brand new podcast episodes delivered straight to your inbox every Monday, meaning you'll never miss your weekly dose of becoming fearless energy. Sign up now at wwwidaretoleapcom. Forward slash newsletter or click the link in the show notes below.
