Christina Talks Podcast

Today Christina interviews Fran Halsall, a recruiter but also a previous Olympic athlete in swimming! They talk about mindset, swimming, competition and more. An inspiring and perspective challenging episode.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Fran is one of the fastest female swimmers on the planet! From a child she knew she wanted to be an Olympian.
• At the Olympics Fran felt her first true failure and it was extremely difficult for her to deal with as swimming had been her identity for so long. She didn’t know how to deal with it. But ultimately that failing lead her to be at the top of her career.
• Peoples who careers are in sports often have that career end at a really young age. So they then have to decide what to do next.
• Fran decided she wanted to own her own coffee shop, after doing that she became a marketer at a corporate company. It was in doing these things that she learnt so much more about people as well as herself.
• If you are going to be successful in recruitment you must be able to deal with being knocked back but then celebrate the small wins. It’s the same in sport.
• Make time to appreciate the success you have had.
• Common amongst entrepreneurs and sports people, pushing yourself to be the best you can be is one of Fran’s core values. She believes this is how she has got where she is today and it’s something that can truly transform others’ lives.

BEST MOMENTS

03:43 - “That was the dream from 10 [years old]”

07:09 - “My whole identity was wrapped up in this sport and being a swimmer”

19:04 – “I’ve been able to understand more what the skills are and how other people can apply them and adapt them”

21:17 – “Recruiters change lives”

29:52 - “I had to stop those thoughts, they aren’t helping me I cannot control what happens next”

40:05 – “If you have the right mindset you will thrive in this environment”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Today Christina proudly admits she has a lot going on in her head so is treating us to a ‘mind-dump’ episode. It’s time to reconnect, reflect and re-evaluate!

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There is a force out there that is sending a lot of positive energy to Christina right now and for this she is incredibly grateful but it is pretty overwhelming.
• Christina lives for the little lightbulb moments and the jumps of joy from her clients.
• Because of the way of the world at the moment Christina is feeling exhausted. She is constantly switched on thinking about what she needs to do next to help her clients in a time where they need it even more than ever.
• The more you can let people in and show vulnerability the more you will gain. 
• If you are going through the motions because stress is sucking the fun out of life then take some time to reconnect. Spend a day ‘giving’ and then re-evaluate.

BEST MOMENTS

00:46 - “It’s been an epic couple of weeks”

01:53 -  “I’m addicted to success”

03:19 – “We’ve gone balls deep servicing those people”

07:46 – “There’s something about podcasting that just takes that to a whole different level. It’s amazing the respect you seem to get from your peers”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Today the shoe is on the other foot! It is Christina being interviewed by Paul Green, a friend of hers who also runs networking community group 'The Business Community'.

Paul asked Christina if she would be interviewed by him for his Spotlight Series, the questions he asks her are far more about her development and philosophies and makes a really intriguing listen which is why she wanted to share this interview on the podcast.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• When buying a business, it’s important to be impartial. A good way to do this if you are already involved in the business you are buying is to take the figures to a third party to look at.
• Christina first joined Green Umbrella as a freelancer but progressed fast and ended up have a large responsibility for decisions and it was at this point she decided she wanted to buy the business.
• Although because of Covid many businesses have remote workers at the moment this is something Green Umbrella have been doing from the start in a really thought-leading way. They have various ways to ensure that productivity and creativity flows despite employees working remotely.
• Christina does admit though that creativity and problem solving can happen quicker in an office-based environment in some scenarios.
• It can be lonely to be a business owner. Having a mentor or being part of a community is a life line. There are very few business owners out there that have all the answers.
• Christina freely shares resources and information to people. She educates freely. She says if then clients decide to use her company what they are paying for is experience, expertise and time.
• The number 13 is unlucky for some but not for Christina. The number 13 has and continues to appear in so many areas of Christina’s life.
• Making noise on social media isn’t enough. You need to have a strategy, an objective and a purpose for each channel.

BEST MOMENTS

02:15 - “You get to see what it’s like when I’m under a bit of pressure”.

09:45 – “I didn’t like where I was I either needed to go balls deep or get out”.

20:26 – “You need somewhere to go to ask those questions”.

27:48 – “Why not let them get the answer from you, build the trust with you”.

35:49 – “I’m a control freak therefore I don’t believe in luck”.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Today Christina moves away from the marketing heavy focus of the past few episodes and talks about the second lockdown in England.  She talks about the differences between this lockdown and the previous lockdown, the impact personally and her thoughts around what she can do about the situation.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Christina doesn’t think this second lockdown in England will have as much of an impact businesswise.
• This lockdown has so far felt and been different for Christina’s business, she hasn’t had the issues she faced with the first lockdown.
• There are so many unknowns and unexpected things happening but we need to focus on the things that we can control.
• Sometimes you have to know what impact something will have on you personally before you can understand it’s wider impact.

BEST MOMENTS

01:14 - “I don’t care about this lockdown”

03:17 – “I didn’t have that experience I had before with clients in tears”

03:56 – “We have to embrace the lack of control that we’ve got”

10:26 – “I’m privileged to have people around me that I can go to that will help me understand these questions, understand these concepts…without those resources I think this journey would be a hundred times harder than it is. I am privileged”.

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Christina is talking marketer to marketer with Ben Kazinick about what’s happening now and likely to happen in the future from a marketing perspective.

They discuss the importance of communication, trust and always taking the time to listen to what clients are saying along with the different ways as marketers they are providing advice on great content.

When you are producing content, you have to be very clear about what you want to achieve and in this episode you can hear about identifying your ideal client and understanding where they will be hanging out on social media.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In marketing, you learn about making small changes to optimise the result.
• There is an increasing understanding of the value of marketing as a vital ongoing part of business.
• Lots of people have never bought through their own website so they have no understanding of the end to end experience or about any points of fiction.
• Some changes are so small but so significant.
• You should reach out and talk to your customers, it’s the human interaction and the conversation that are really important.
• Trust is currently fragile and genuine communication is vital
• With content you have to be very clear about what you want to achieve with it.
• People don’t remember the first touch they only remember the last touch, the journey to contact with you may have begun some time ago.
• You have to understand who is your ideal client and where they are going to be hanging out on social media
• It’s important the social media platform used is the right one for the objective you are trying to achieve.
• Customer service is huge and people want responses and communication

BEST MOMENTS

22:01 - “The Green Umbrella team do a live show every Thursday with content directed at those who know us”

36:19 - “online marketplaces are becoming huge”

45:21 - “I want people to know, like, love and  buy-in on a deeper level”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Today Christina talks about the challenges she faces in saying no but why she has learnt how to do so and why it’s important you do too.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Christina appears to many people to be someone who is very confident but is actually says that she is a ‘bit of a mouse’.
• Christina is very proud of herself for working so hard to be able to confident and develop herself into being someone that people trust to help them.
• Christina can find it hard to say no, it’s really difficult and something she agnonises over. She feels like she created this world where people ask her for things and she has to really think about the cost of saying yes in order to say no.
• Opportunities will come, we need to look at them commercially, not emotionally.

BEST MOMENTS

00:30 - “I’m actually quite introvert and I’ve had to do a lot of work to create this part of me”

01:55 - “Just because you can say yes, doesn’t mean you should”

02:44 – “Stay in your lane”

03:49 - “Don’t allow that message to be diluted. Sometimes if we say yes to the wrong things we’re putting ourselves at jeopardy”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Today Christina talks to Spencer Lodge, an inspiring motivator and businessman.

Spencer still feels like a true ‘salesguy’ at heart and this is a driving force in so many areas of his life.

Listen in today to hear how Spencer got to where he is and for some inspiring and practical tips.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Christina feels the fact she is talking to someone with as much success and prestige as Spencer Lodge is the product of the work she has put into herself and her brand.
• Christina saw Spencer speak at an event and at the time she didn’t know who he was but he ended up being the most impactful speaker she listened to across the whole three day event.
• As business owners we have decisions to make – Spencer has a great phrase: ‘paralysis from analysis”. This simply means you are not making decisions because you are overthinking!
• Spencer has always been very energetic when it comes to work, he compares himself to a comedian when he is on stage, he is the life and the soul at that moment.
• Spencer’s competitiveness as a young age made him want to be better, he had aspirations, he wanted to raise to the top.
• Spencer’s business model is hugely successful, everything ‘feeds’ into everything else. It allows Spencer to focus on key areas.
• People find it easy to knock sales people, to not treat them as important. Spencer does not believe this is right at all – sales is important, everybody needs sales.
• Spencer has released over 100 episodes on his podcast now, he has very many people requesting to now be on his podcast – a true measure of success!
• Sometimes we need a reminder or a wake-up call to stop us feeling like we are victims. To remind us we are lucky.
• A great way to deal with trolling and nasty online comments is to actually talk with those commenting.
• Anyone who fears negativity online, try and remember the amount of rubbish that is written daily about celebrities and let it reframe your fear.

BEST MOMENTS

02:36 - “For me and my world I am talking to the cream of the crop today”.

09:05 “Every minute seemed to last a lifetime and when you don’t enjoy what you do that happens”

11:52 “If that miserable git can do it then I can do it!”

21:37 “Sales is as taboo as colonic irrigation!”

37:09 - “If someone has something interesting to say I want to talk to them”

50:45- “Why is someone taking the time to write something nasty about you…because they want to communicate with you”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Today Christina talks about strategy and tactics!

Is what you are doing in line with your overall strategy? Do you know what the difference is between strategy and tactics? Listen in today and find out what you and your business should be doing to get this right!

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Christina works with a lot of businesses that come to her about her marketing strategy. Often although clients say it’s their strategy they want help with its tactics they are talking about.
• A strategy is a plan, that’s usually long term that gets you to where you want to be.
• You should be looking and reflecting on your strategy frequently, it shouldn’t be something that is written at the beginning and then forgotten about.
• It’s key that every single thing you ‘put out there’ is in line with your overall strategy and is part of your ‘battle plan’.
• Look at your content. Ensure you are talking about the right things, do a sense check and make certain you are talking about the right things and pitching at the right level.

BEST MOMENTS

02:22 “That battle plan is what is going to get me the results”

03:49 “Is the overall messaging is it in line with those things that I am trying to achieve…to the goal I am heading to”

06:52 “Don’t let a quarter go past without you checking it”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Today Christina switches roles and is interviewed by Azzy Aslam. They talk all things personal branding as well as online privacy, professionalism and more. Tune in today to discover what you need to be doing to have a great personal brand in the workplace and truly ‘market yourself’.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sometimes you don’t realise that a moment was pivotal in your career until you look back years later – Both Azzy and Christina experienced this.
• Personal branding is about people knowing about you, not just the business you work for. If your personal brand is strong enough then people will choose you and your brand rather than a competitor.
• It’s key to get the balance right between the business branding and personal branding
• Your personal brand is all about deciding the perception you want to create.
• Just because you are making yourself personable it does not mean that you have to completely open yourself up to the world – you don’t have to share everything publically. You can still have a strong personal brand without revealing all.
• If you wouldn’t want particular information published on a billboard outside your house for all to see – then don’t put that information online.
• If you ever need to do anything really difficult that requires a lot of brainpower – do something physical, it helps blood flow and kicks in neurotransmitters to make you more alert.

BEST MOMENTS

07:09  “Personal branding is about building the awareness of you as an individual professional”

08:04 “People buy from people”

17:42  “Your personal brand is like a caricature of yourself”

22:29  “Instant gratification in a business sense has created some quite unrealistic expectations”

32:23  “You have to have a plan for yourself, don’t wait for the company to give you a plan”

1:12  “You’d be surprised how much more they can do and achieve when they step into a character”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of

social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t

matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player.

For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

What are you blind to in your business? What is it you are not seeing?

Christina has thought about this and reflected on it multiple time and wasn’t able to see what she was missing, until she finally realised – it was now so obvious!

Find out how to tap into your blind spots when you tune in today.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Christina was on a call with one of her mentors and had a revelation about the next steps she needed to take in her business. It was a pivotal moment.
• It might not be a problem but actually a missed opportunity that you are blind to.
• You can be ‘too close’ to your business, so close that you can’t see what is staring you right in the face. It’s can also be too easy to be comfortable and make excuses for things.
• The number one job a client needs to do before Christina and her team start to work with them is to take another look at their website – your website needs to communicate what you actually do.
• You need to tap into opportunities. Yes, be known, be liked and be trusted but then take the next step and be proactive!

BEST MOMENTS

03:36: “If we can be that blind in something that black and white… then why wouldn’t we have those same blind spots in our businesses”

06:55 : “One line of text…and all of a sudden this problems gone away”

07:20: “It’s easy fixes but you’ve had to have it pointed out to you because you’re blind to it because you’re too close to it”

09:18: “I think I  just get excited a bit too easily maybe, but that’s because I love what I do”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Christina Talks Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST

Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know

how to use them!

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website