Happy New Year and welcome back to the Building Your Brand podcast for 2026! I am so excited for what I have in store for this podcast this year.

To kick things off, I'm thrilled to welcome back a returning guest for her third time on the show: Alice Benham. Alice is the perfect person to start the year with because I love how she thinks about goals and working on your business rather than just in it.

In this episode, we demystify the difference between those two concepts (because I honestly get confused all the time!). We also discuss why it is so important to make time for big-picture strategy, even when it doesn't feel urgent, and how to create a vision that actually motivates you.

I hope this episode serves as a lovely motivational start to your year and helps you make a plan to grow your business in a way that feels really good to you.

Key Takeaways:

• The difference between "on" and "in" the business: Working in your business is employee mode (admin, client work) where you notice immediately if it stops. Working on your business is CEO mode (growth, strategy) where the impact is seen months down the line
• The urgency trap: We often neglect working on our business because it lacks the immediate urgency and dopamine hit of client work, but it is essential for long-term growth.
• The AB Method: Alice breaks down her strategy into three key habits: casting vision, setting goals, and tracking progress
• Hold the vision tightly, goals loosely: Your vision is the ultimate destination or feeling you want, while goals are just the vehicle to get there. It is okay to change your goals if a better path appears
• Track what matters to you: Don't just track arbitrary numbers like revenue if they don't serve you. Create a "scorecard" with 3-5 metrics that align with your specific goals, such as how aligned your work feels or revenue from a specific offer

Episode Highlights:

• 02:27 – Alice explains the "Dummies Guide" to the difference between working on and in your business
• 11:59 – Why documenting and tracking is vital to stop you from being led purely by emotion
• 18:41 – The danger of "vanity metrics" and why Alice recommends a simple scorecard with a maximum of five data points
• 23:25 – How to avoid "goal distraction" by ensuring your goals are actually your own and not just what you see others doing
• 30:08 – Why vision work is like taking a spatula to the inside of your brain to scrape out ideas

About The Guest:

Alice Benham is a business strategist who helps business owners grow by working on their business, not just in it. She is the founder of the "On It" programme, which provides the structure and space for business owners to set goals, track progress, and cast their vision.

You can find Alice on her website or Instagram.

Mentioned in this episode:

On It: Alice's programme for business owners to work on their business. Use code LIZ10 for 10% off

I would love to hear what you think of this episode, so please do let me know on Instagram where I'm @‌lizmmosley or @‌buildingyourbrandpodcast and I hope you enjoy the episode!

This episode was written and recorded by me and produced by Lucy Lucraft lucylucraft.co.uk

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review!