Grab your coffee (or your glass of wine, no judgement here) and pull up a chair — today I'm taking you behind the scenes of my very first mastermind day. I'm sharing the real patterns I'm seeing across established and newer business owners alike, and spoiler alert: the challenges aren't as different as you think. If you've ever looked at someone further along and thought "they've got it all figured out," this one's going to hit different.

In this behind-the-scenes episode, I break down:

1. The illusion that everyone else has it figured out — why even established business owners with corporate contracts and beautiful funnels are asking the same questions you are
2. "Different level, different devil" — why every stage of business comes with its own version of the same core challenges
3. Three patterns from the mastermind that I see coming up time and time again with my clients
4. The difference between visibility and presence — and why one gets you seen and the other gets you clients
5. Navigating the "sticky space" — that uncomfortable in-between where clarity drops and momentum stalls

1. Content creation day with Claire & Hester @studiocontentco
2. Breathwork with Ellie 12-week breathwork transformation for expansion

1. Come say hi on Instagram @mills_gray — DMs are always open
2. Join the community: Facebook group Mind Your Mindset

Mentioned in this episode:

10 Minute Workshop

Stop starting from zero every month. Map your next 6 months in the workshop!

10Minute Workshop AD

Sit back and settle in because this week I'm doing something a bit different. No frameworks, no audits — just a proper honest, raw, behind-the-scenes look at what's actually been going on in my world. If you've ever felt paralysed opening up your Stories, lost your creative spark, or wondered why 80% good news still makes your brain fixate on the 20% that isn't — this one's for you. Spoiler: having predictable income changes everything about how you handle these moments.

In this raw and honest episode, I share:

1. Why I couldn't post for a week — and why a year ago that would have sent me into a full spiral
2. The power of predictable income — how knowing your next six months of revenue changes your entire nervous system in business
3. 80% renewed, 20% didn't — and why our brains always fixate on the negative (plus how I reframed it)
4. Changing ads that were working — the gut-pull to switch things up, the anxiety of turning off what's performing, and why I trusted it anyway
5. Getting personal with content — why I'm leaning into personality-driven posts and oversharing rather than pure strategy content right now
6. The emotional side of life and business colliding — last ever parents' evening after 14 years hit me harder than expected

Come find me on Instagram @mills_gray and share your thoughts. I love hearing how these episodes land with you!

1. Bottleneck to Breakthrough private podcast https://millsgray.kartra.com/page/bottleneckgeneral
2. 12-week breathwork transformation programme https://breathingspace.thrivecart.com/12-week-deep-dive-transformation/

Mentioned in this episode:

10 Minute Workshop

Stop starting from zero every month. Map your next 6 months in the workshop!

10Minute Workshop AD

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Tara Punter from The Thriving Business Woman, and we have a proper good old chinwag. Tara went from managing a tea room to becoming a business coach — and it all started with a random conversation and a blog about retraining racehorses. She's a real "say yes and figure it out" kind of person, and she gets brutally honest about the stuff most coaches won't touch — like going from 25K months during COVID to 2K months after grief hit, and navigating the "shouldn't I be further along by now?" spiral. This one's a proper deep dive.

Topics covered on From Tea Room Manager to Business Coach:

How a chance conversation in a tea room sparked a 10-year career The evolution of pricing: from £75 coaching sessions to £750 (and why she dropped her prices too) Going from 25K months to 2K months — and what it really takes to rebuild Why "say yes and figure it out" has been her biggest business philosophy The mindset loop that still gets her: "I should be further along by now" Morning routines, NLP and why mindset unlocks everything strategy can't Why those big cash months during COVID actually came with a calendar she hated

Let's Connect

1. Come find me on Instagram @mills_gray
2. Tara's Instagram: @thethrivingbusinesswoman
3. Tara's website: https://thethrivingbusinesswoman.com
4. Join 10x your launches free challenge!: https://mailchi.mp/thethrivingbusinesswoman/10x-your-launches

If this resonated — especially the honest stuff about rebuilding after a tough time — share it on your Stories and tag us both. We'd love to hear from you.

Mentioned in this episode:

10 Minute Workshop

Stop starting from zero every month. Map your next 6 months in the workshop!

10Minute Workshop AD