In this episode of Stories That Sell, I’m joined by Staffordshire-based Emma Hine, Business Growth Strategist, author, podcast host and creator of The Growth Event, for a conversation about success, happiness, freedom and what happens when the business you built starts taking more than it gives.

Emma’s story started with a comment that stayed with her for years. As a teenager, she was told by a teacher that she would never make anything of herself. After leaving school at 16 and becoming a mum, part of her wondered whether that teacher had been right.

She went on to spend 14 years in the building society world before launching an online card and gift business with her husband Adrian in 2006. From the outside, it worked. The business grew into a 7-figure success, with premises, growth, money and all the things that should have made it feel like she had made it.

But behind the scenes, Emma was working 80 to 90 hours a week and building a life around proving other people wrong, instead of asking what would actually make her happy.

In this episode, we talk about the moment Emma realised something wasn’t right, including sitting in hospital with her daughter after she broke her femur and wondering why she was thinking about the business instead of being fully present.

We also talk about how success can become your identity, why money and freedom are not always the same thing, what happens when business gets too noisy, and the three questions Emma asks to work out whether something is actually worth your time.

This episode is for anyone who has built something that looks good from the outside, but knows it no longer feels right on the inside.

Connect with Emma:
Website: www.emmahine.co.uk
Instagram: www.instagram.com/iamemmahine
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/emma-hine

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In this episode of Stories That Sell, I’m joined by Bedlington-based Stephanie Ward, Rapid Implementation Specialist, founder of Stephanie Ward & Co, Spicy Brain Energy and The Spicy Brain Collective, for a conversation about autonomy, neurodivergence, health, business, intuition and what happens when you stop accepting the status quo.

Stephanie grew up with entrepreneurship around her, but her original plan was to become a doctor. Then life took a very different turn. Born with hip dysplasia, Stephanie was using a wheelchair by the age of 25 and spent years navigating surgeries, physiotherapy and long stretches in hospital.

But it was during that time in hospital that her entrepreneurial story began, all because she refused to eat tuna sandwiches three days in a row and really wanted fried chicken. What might sound like a small moment became the start of something much bigger.

After a suggestion from a friend, Stephanie became a VA and landed her first client within 24 hours.

Since then, Stephanie has built businesses around implementation, neurodivergence, access and autonomy. Through The Spicy Brain Collective, she has created a community for neurodivergent entrepreneurs and people who think differently, giving them a space to feel supported, understood and less alone.

We talk about unmasking, trusting your instincts, advocating for your health, building a business that doesn’t hurt you, the 391 Days Project, giving yourself permission to leave, and why brilliant business owners often don’t need more strategy. They need the right support to actually implement what they already know.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt misunderstood, underestimated or trapped inside a business, body or structure that wasn’t built with them in mind.

Connect with Stephanie:
www.instagram.com/iamstephanieward
The Spicy Brain Collective: www.thespicybraincollective.com
Community: community.thespicybraincollective.com

Get 3 Months of Reels in JUST 3 Hours

If the thought of creating reels makes you cringe, or you sit there wondering what on earth to film, this is for you.

Enjoy a Reel-ly Fun Filming Day with me and 3 other amazing business owners to create a bank of content in one go, so you’re not trying to think of ideas, or putting filming off until next week.

Find out more here: https://go.naomicrose.co/Ree

Support the show

Thank you for listening to this episode of Stories That Sell.

Remember to hit that subscribe button and give this podcast a review too.

Please do follow and connect with me on Instagram and LinkedIn.

If you want to find out why your content isn't converting into clients, you can take my quiz, and get a free content planner to help you plan 30 days of content in 20 minutes.

If you're interested in working me, take a look at my website.

In this episode of Stories That Sell, I’m joined by Oxfordshire-based Clare Nash, architect, author, mentor and founder of Clare Nash Architecture, for a conversation about sustainable homes, solo travel, questioning the expected path and designing a life that actually works.

Clare’s route into architecture wasn’t exactly straightforward. She grew up around building sites, originally wanted to be a racing engineer, studied interior architecture, retrained as an architect and later travelled alone through places including China, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and South America while researching sustainable housing.

One of the stories we talk about is Clare travelling across China to visit a cave-dwelling settlement, taking two trains, a bus and then walking for an hour to get there. Not exactly your average research trip.

After coming back from six months of travel during a recession, Clare had no job, no savings and no clients. So she started her architecture practice with postcards in local shop windows, a very simple website and a lot of determination.

We talk about homes, family rhythms, why people often think they need more space when they actually need better space, and why Clare believes good design should support how you want to live, not make life harder.

We also talk about building a flexible business before flexible working was normal, designing around real life, and why Clare has never been interested in following the traditional route just because everyone else does it that way.

This episode is for anyone who wants to question the way things have always been done and create a home, business or life that feels more like them.

Connect with Clare:
clarenasharchitecture.co.uk / clarenash.co.uk
linkedin.com/in/clarenasharchitect
instagram.com/clare_nash_architecture

Get 3 Months of Reels in JUST 3 Hours

If the thought of creating reels makes you cringe, or you sit there wondering what on earth to film, this is for you.

Enjoy a Reel-ly Fun Filming Day with me and 3 other amazing business owners to create a bank of content in one go, so you’re not trying to think of ideas, or putting filming off until next week.

Find out more here: https://go.naomicrose.co/Ree

Support the show

Thank you for listening to this episode of Stories That Sell.

Remember to hit that subscribe button and give this podcast a review too.

Please do follow and connect with me on Instagram and LinkedIn.

If you want to find out why your content isn't converting into clients, you can take my quiz, and get a free content planner to help you plan 30 days of content in 20 minutes.

If you're interested in working me, take a look at my website.