Send us a text

We met a cleaner who built a business with zero experience. A flooring pro radiating full wizard energy. A travel lead, financial advisors, and even a DJ.. because why wouldn't we.

Throw in IT, private investigation, PR, and business consulting, and the show quickly stopped feeling like a podcast and started feeling like a dinner party where everyone has a wildly different job and far too much insight for one table. Somewhere along the way, we also talked menopause and aromatherapy… because leadership lessons show up in unexpected places.

Across six months, we collected amazing guests, big laughs, and more than a few “wait…what?” moments.

There was wisdom. There was chaos. There were stories we’re still unpacking.

Support the show

Send us a text

What if the “dream job” isn’t actually the dream?

This week we’re chatting with Emma Propter King, whose career has taken her from conservatoire practice rooms to celebrity contact lists and even a private 737 (casual). On paper, it’s all very glossy. In real life? Exhausting, all-consuming, and quietly wrecking everything else.

Emma tells us about her ultra-disciplined early years, before lifting the curtain on life as a PA to the mega-rich. We’re talking 24/7 availability, wild requests, Christmas-morning emergencies, and fixing couture disasters in Paris. Yes, there are famous names… but the real story is how fast “excess” becomes normal, and how much it costs in sleep, sanity, and missed life.

Then comes the plot twist: Emma steps off the jet, heads back to Suffolk, and builds a calmer, meaningful career as Head of Communications at Churchmanor Estates. Same high standards, zero private planes. She shares how those elite skills actually translate brilliantly to real-world impact—brands, websites, community, and work that ends at a sensible hour!

If you’ve ever questioned whether status is worth the stress, or dreamed about choosing peace over polish, this one’s for you.

Support the show

Send us a text

Steve Wright’s career path zigzags so wildly it should come with a seatbelt.

He started out aiming for carpentry, and somehow ended up in a darkroom below deck on 1980s cruise ships, snapping photos and selling memories one slightly forced smile at a time - welcome to the glamorous reality of ship photography.

Then came Casino Royale. One throwaway comment later and Steve found himself launched into a completely unexpected second career as Daniel Craig’s double. What could have been awkward lookalike gigs turned into confident performances after an acting coach taught him how to “walk into a room'

Along the way, there were near-disasters , cinematic moments, and plenty of “how is this my life?” stories. Think blue trunks in Saint-Tropez and Norwegian TV! It’s a story of graft, guts, good timing, and saying yes before logic kicks in!

Support the show

Send us a text

One minute she’s an airline professional carving up the ski slopes; the next, she’s watching people drift out of Reiki sessions as if someone’s hit the refresh button on their souls.

Donna dives headfirst into holistic training, sneaks into a fully booked course, and discovers a natural talent for creating aromatherapy “potions” tuned to emotions—fear, frustration, even full-blown chaos.
Add kinesiology wizardry, tapping, eye movements, phobia-busting, yellow filters, and sensory overload, and you get small tools, big shifts, and wonderfully unexpected stories.

Support the show

Send us a text

Developer John Howard joins us to spill the real tea on Ipswich’s most argued-about buildings. Also, construction timelines? Think “dog years,” but slower.

Then we head to street level, where things get spicy. Business rates seem designed by someone who’s never met an actual business.

We wrap with skills and leadership: more homes need more plumbers - and a mayor who runs the region like a project, not a popularity contest.

Support the show

Send us a text

We skip the clichés and get into the good stuff: growing up between the US and Ipswich, a hairdressing dream that went spectacularly wrong, fast climbs in retail, and the wild days of selling store cards and PPI. Then comes the curveball—launching the Suffolk Wedding Show, moving into hotel business development, and helping flip a struggling property with pure graft and people skills.

Then the pandemic hit. The workload exploded. Mel’s confidence tanked. Anxiety, fog, flushes—then... menopause kicks in!

We cover what actually works, what’s nonsense, and why honesty wins in the wellness world. It’s also a mini survival guide for partners, bosses, and teams: the signs to spot, small tweaks that help people stay brilliant, and why psychological safety isn’t just a buzzword. We even dip into andropause—the quieter male hormone drop that gets renamed “midlife crisis.”

Like the chat? Follow the show, share it with a friend, and drop a quick review.

Support the show

Send us a text

We sit down with travel consultant Nathan Rose, whose path runs from bar shifts to optician training to fifteen years of police response—then into crafting highly personal holidays that fit real lives.

What sets his approach apart is the detail: building trips around a clear wish list and honest budget, arranging airport wheelchair assistance without fuss, flagging room access needs in advance, and even sourcing restaurant menus to avoid all-inclusive regret. He explains when DIY booking makes sense and when a personal travel consultant saves you hours, money, and stress—especially with multi-centre itineraries and group travel like destination weddings. And yes, he cuts through TripAdvisor noise by reading what reviews actually say, not just the stars.

If you want less scrolling and more living—tailor-made itineraries, fair pricing, and a real human who has your back from booking to touchdown—this conversation will change how you plan your next escape. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a holiday, and leave a review to tell us where you’re heading next.

Support the show

Send us a text

Andy Hayward’s whole career basically kicked off because he got curious and tore down a moped on his parents’ driveway. That one moment sent him from the factory floor to running sales for multi-million-pound engineering groups—and eventually building a consultancy that’s lasted 15 years. Every step sharpened Andy’s sense of pace, process, and ownership—and showed him exactly what falls apart when those things are missing.

The plot thickens when he joins a screen-printing company, nails ISO 9001, and accidentally makes himself redundant by making everything work too well. So he learns sales the gritty way—walking industrial estates, cold-calling from phone books, figuring out markets by actually talking to people. When a failing telecoms project blows up, he rebuilds the whole sales approach, lands blue-chip clients, and proves that knowing why something works beats copying tactics every time. Later, boardroom trust issues and the 2008 crash force another reset, but also shape the method he teaches today.

His philosophy? Research first, respect always, qualify hard. Right person, right need, or walk away. No Wolf-of-Wall-Street nonsense—just honest conversations that lead to deals people feel good about.

Support the show