NOT An Inspirational Business Podcast

By Sian DannBusiness Entrepreneurship

NOT An Inspirational Business Podcast episodes

May 09, 2022 010 Sian Dann (Me) | OBM & Consultant
This week, I thought I would mix it up a little with a solo episode! This is a small insight into my business journey, what I do, how I got here and why I do what I do. I loooove talking to giving me free rein like this is probably a little dangerous but if you stick it out for the full 30-mins, let me know! Feel free to slide into my DMs on IG @siafecreative if you have a question, want to connect or just have a chat.
Next week we'll be back to regular guests - I have some seriously amazing people coming up.
30 min
May 02, 2022009 Irene Baker | 99AuPairs
"AuPairs, Opportunities & Giving Back"
Juggling family and work can be a lot to handle. No one knows this better than episode guest Irene Becker, full-time working mum.
So when Irene found a personal solution, she quit her corporate job in marketing to start 99aupairs and bring this solution to busy families all over Australia.
Irene joins me in this episode, and we discuss:
Irene’s transition from corporate marketing to business ownership

Challenges Irene has faced since starting 99aupairs, and two things that help her persevere

Initiatives that 99aupairs is putting into place for local young people
Key Highlights
00:45 About Irene Becker

02:09 How 99aupairs started

03:57 Why Irene left her corporate job in marketing to start 99aupairs

05:35 Challenges Irene had to overcome at the beginning of her business

07:40 How Irene’s boss handled Irene’s announcement that she would quit to focus on her business

09:21 Irene talks about dealing with COVID-19

11:35 Two things that help Irene persevere even when she feels like giving up

14:29 What is an au pair?

20:43 Why Irene currently prefers male au pairs for her family

22:48 Irene on partnering with a charity

28:10 Competition Irene faced when starting her business

34:53 Irene talks about placing local youth with host families who will inspire them
Rapid-Fire Questions
26:30 What’s a fundamental value that you’ve woven throughout everything that you do, and why is it important to you?
27:15 What is your secret sauce?
29:24 What’s your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?
30:01 What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt so far in your business?
31:17 What is the big dream?
32:45 What is a resource/tool/system that you use in your business that you couldn’t live without?
34:07 What is something that has happened recently in your business that you’re proud of?
39:51 What is a hot take about your industry that people might not know?
40:43 What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who’s thinking about starting a business or at the beginning of their business journey?
41:25 Final word for listeners?
Connect with Irene Becker
99aupairs Instagram

99aupairs website
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
45 min
April 19, 2022008 Serena Milada | Men's Intimacy Coach
"Intimacy, Identity & Fear"
Men’s Intimacy coach, Serena Milada, joins me in this episode to share insights into how men can overcome insecurity and build intimacy with their current partner.
We talk about:
What to focus on if you want to build deeply fulfilling and authentic relationships

How understanding polarity can help you better navigate relationships and, even, work

How fear can limit you on your business journey, and how to deal with fear and failure
Key Highlights
00:46 About Serena Milada

02:20 Serena on transitioning from coaching women to coaching men

03:36 The question that set Serena on her path

03:55 How can a woman be a men’s coach? Serena on overcoming self-doubt and just going for it

05:08 How Serena’s family and friends handled her decision to coach men

06:41 Serena on the main difference between working with men versus women

12:38 What is polarity?

16:01 Weaving polarity through work and business

21:23 Serena talks about overcoming her fear of failure and starting her business
Rapid-Fire Questions
29:51 What is a fundamental value that you’ve woven throughout everything that you do, and why is it important to you?

36:44 What is your secret sauce?

38:00 Don’t wear these colours on a date

43:52 What’s your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?

49:44 What is the most important lesson you’ve learnt so far in your business?

51:35 What is the big dream?

52:23 What is something that has happened recently in your business that you’re proud of?

1:00:15 What is a resource/tool/system that you use in your business that you couldn’t live without?

1:01:36 What is a hot take about your industry that people might not know?

1:03:04 What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who’s thinking about starting a business or at the beginning of their business journey?

1:07:04 Final word for listeners?
Connect with Serena Milada
Serena Milada website

Serena Milada Facebook
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
1 hr 10 min
April 04, 2022007 Christina Spoerer | Remote Photographer
"Photography, Purpose & Travel"

Warning: This episode might make you sell everything you own, buy a camera, and go live somewhere incredible.
Christina Spoerer didn’t study photography in college. But that didn’t stop her from travelling around the world, earning a full-time income as a personal branding photographer.
Founder of The Remote Photography Masterclass, Christina joins me in this episode to share how she discovered passion for photography and monetised it.
We discuss:
How Christina took a chance to become a digital nomad, burned herself out, and then found her soul's calling

Making a full-time income from remote photography

How Christina helps other photographers become location-independent and follow their dreams.
Key Highlights
01:34 About Christina Spoerer

03:42 What is remote photography?

04:25 Christina on her digital nomad journey

13:00 Christina on rediscovering herself in Ubud and finding out that photography is her passion

15:45 Christina set herself two months to see if she could make enough money in photography to cover her living expenses

16:54 Why Christina dropped all of her online marketing clients before going into photography

17:40 Significant mistakes Christina made at the beginning of her photography business

20:38 How Christina picked a photography niche

21:19 Christina on losing clients due to the pandemic and finding new clients within three weeks

22:10 Christina on launching the Remote Photography Masterclass to teach photographers everything on the business side of photography

25:10 How can people find Christina if they want to work with her?

26:27 How often is Christina able to get home and see her family and friends?
Rapid-Fire Questions
27:24 What’s a fundamental value that you’ve woven throughout everything that you do, and why is it important to you?

28:30 What is your secret sauce?

29:15 What is your core motivator? ?

30:20 What is the big dream?

31:44 What’s your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?

32:25 If you could go back to the beginning of your business journey, what’s something you would tell yourself?

33:47 What is a resource/tool/system that you use in your business that you couldn’t live without, and what’s one that you think is overrated?

34:41 What is something that has happened in your business that you’re really proud of?
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38:09 What was one of the hardest lessons you learnt in your business?

39:11 Final word for listeners
Resources Mentioned
-Notion
-Pic-time
-The Remote Photography online course
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
41 min
March 21, 2022006 Victoria Richardson | System Strategist
"Systems, Social Media & Pivoting"

System & Automation Strategist, Victoria Richardson, helps small businesses build systems so they can become the big businesses of tomorrow.
Victoria joins me today to share her journey from a corporate job with BMW to founding Paperclip & Cloud, a system and process strategy company.
We talk about:
Workloads, systems, and procedures

Automating business processes

Setting boundaries to avoid burnouts

The importance of being flexible and able to pivot
Key Highlights
02:16 About Victoria Richardson
06:24 Helping small businesses think like the big businesses of tomorrow
15:26 There is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Not even if the companies are in the same industry.
17:58 Automation is not a reason to stop being personal with your clients
19:36 What Victoria struggled with when she decided to start her own business
28:43 Business is a never-ending cycle of evolution and growth
31:06 Victoria on impostor syndrome and comparing yourself to other people
32:28 Victoria on facing her fear of public speaking
35:44 Victoria on the importance of going with the flow and getting out of your comfort zone
41:09 Striking the balance between saying yes to clients and establishing boundaries
Rapid-Fire Questions
45:02 What is a fundamental value that you’ve woven throughout everything that you do, and why is it important to you?
46:54 What is your secret sauce?
48:33 What is your core motivator?
52:13 What is the big dream?
55:51 What’s your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?
1:00:43 What is a resource/tool/system that you use in your business that you couldn’t live without, and what’s one that you think is overrated?
1:11:02 What is something that has happened that you’re really proud of?
1:13:16 What’s a hot take about your industry?
1:21:06 Final word for listeners
Resources mentioned
“The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage” by Mel Robbins

Calendly

Zoom
Connect with Victoria Richardson
Paperclip & Cloud website

LinkedIn
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
1 hr 24 min
February 16, 2022005 Valery Colli | Podcast Manager
"Podcasts, Pricing & Strategies"
Founder and CEO of The Podcast Planners Valery Colli helped me kick off my podcast journey and launch this podcast.
Valery joins me today to share her professional journey from freelance VA to building a podcast management business.
We talk about:
How Valery pivoted from virtual assistance to podcast management

The launch of her podcast managers' academy

How Valery juggles friendships and family commitments while running a business and travelling the world
Key Highlights
01:15 Valery on the build-up to launching Podcast Managers' Academy and launch fatigue
05:06 About Valery Colli
06:15 How Valery discovered podcast management
One way ticket to Bali to start her VA journey [06:30]
07:57 Podcasts as a way to maintain communication with your audience
09:20 What is podcast management?
10:40 Mistakes Valery made when she started her podcast management business
Charging by the minute and undercharging
12:20 Outsourcing saves you time and energy
14:02 How Valery’s parents and friends feel about her business
Parents didn't realise how much work goes into running an online digital service-based business.
18:30 How the pandemic affected Valery
Leaving Vietnam just before the pandemic got worse
20:29 Valery on setting boundaries and achieving work-life balance
27:30 Has anyone ever come to Valery with a terrible podcast idea?
28:02 Why Valery only works with people who use their podcast for their business
Rapid-Fire Questions
30:49 What’s a fundamental value that you’ve woven throughout everything that you do, and why is it important to you?
31:36 What is your secret sauce?
32:28 What is your core motivator? Why do you keep showing up, doing what you do?
33:16 What is the big dream?
36:03 What’s your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?
36:45 If you could go back to the beginning of your business journey, what’s something you would tell yourself?
38:37 What is a resource/tool/system that you use in your business that you couldn’t live without, and what’s one that you think is overrated?
39:04 What’s a hot take about your industry?
40:53 What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who’s thinking about starting a business or at the beginning of their business journey?
44:24 Final word for listeners?
Resources mentioned
“Lucky Bitch: A Guide for Exceptional Women to Create Outrageous Success” by Denise Duffield-Thomas
Connect with
The Podcast Planners Instagram

The Podcast Planners website

The Podcast Planners community on Facebook
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
49 min
January 31, 2022004 Kirsty | eCommerce [Nutraceuticals]
"Trends, Respect & Resilience"
Kirsty Strowger’s entrepreneurial journey into the supplement space began when she received a cheeky spam mail from Dr. Oz about a “miracle weight-loss supplement”, garcinia cambogia.
Since then, she’s gone from manufacturing supplements in her kitchen to supplying over 400 supplement stores across Australia.
Kirsty joins me in this episode to discuss:
- Founding Nature’s Help, an industry leader in the nutraceutical space.
- How she started a successful ecommerce business in her kitchen with the help of local kids
- Managing cashflow and budgeting
- The importance of your team
- How she stays ahead of trends and continues to evolve her business
Key Highlights
01:10 About Kirsty Strowger

01:48 Sian was once Kirsty’s employee

02:07 Kirsty’s first foray into the nutraceutical space

08:58 Why Kirsty dumped garcinia cambogia for turmeric and the birth of Turmeric Australia

10:10 Kirsty on social media transforming advertising and how you reach clients

15:30 The biggest surprise for Kirsty when it came to finances

22:18 Kirsty on the importance of your team to the success of your business

24:46 What’s kept Kirsty going through the highs and lows of running her own business?

26:05 Kirsty talks about the Menopause Collection – evidence-based natural supplements to tackle menopause

30:48 How has working in the nutraceutical space changed Kirsty?

34:47 How the pandemic brought a different demographic of online shoppers to the supplement space
Rapid-Fire Questions
36:41 What’s a fundamental value that you’ve woven throughout everything that you do, and why is it important to you?

37:40 What is your secret sauce?

37:51 What is your core motivator?

38:58 What is the big dream?

40:01 What’s your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?

41:13 If you could go back to the beginning of your business journey, what’s something you would tell yourself?

42:08 What is a resource/tool/system that you use in your business that you couldn’t live without, and what’s one that you think is overrated?

42:50 What’s a hot take about your industry?

43:07 What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who’s thinking about starting a business or at the beginning of their business journey?
Resources mentioned
- “Lucky Bitch: A Guide for Exceptional Women to Create Outrageous Success” by Denise Duffield-Thomas
- Asana
- Xero
Connect with
- Nature’s Help Instagram
- Nature’s Help Facebook
- Nature’s Help Website
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
48 min
December 21, 2021003 Michelle Anne | Intuitive Healer
"Transitioning, Intuition & Insight"
What does spiritual awakening have to do with finding a dead bird? Former police officer Michelle Anne joins me in this episode to talk about her intriguing transition from law enforcer to energy healer.
We talk about:
- Michelle’s spiritual awakening,
- How Michelle found her soul’s purpose and how she helps others do the same, and
- What all of this has to do with finding a dead bird.
Key Highlights
00:45 Introduction to Michelle Anne

02:30 Here’s why you should step out of your “spiritual closet”

05:31 Michelle’s spiritual awakening

07:23 How Michelle’s transition from policing to spirituality impacted her relationships

11:47 Journey into shamanism: Why a dead pigeon presented itself to Michelle

19:53 Soul University – Helping people come into alignment with their soul’s purpose

20:35 Michelle’s view of the COVID-19 pandemic

22:34 Those 2 Sisters – Why Michelle merged her business with her sister

24:29 The biggest barrier Michelle has faced since starting her business

- What Michelle did to overcome her biggest barrier [26:38]

27:52 How Michelle juggles business with parenting

30:07 How Michelle’s spiritual journey has impacted the way she parents
Rapid-Fire Questions
31:15 What’s a fundamental value that you’ve woven throughout everything that you do, and why is it important to you?

31:40 What is your secret sauce?

32:04 What is your core motivator?

32:37 What is the big dream?

33:24 What’s your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?

36:26 If you could go back to the beginning of your business journey, what’s something you would tell yourself?

37:07 What is a resource/tool/system that you use in your business that you couldn’t live without, and what’s one that you think is overrated?

39:40 Michelle’s hot take about spirituality.

42:11 Final word for listeners?
Resources mentioned
- My Soul Journey | The Soul Stories Episode 1
- Soul University
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
44 min
December 21, 2021002 Lauren | Business Education
"Empowerment, Education & Brunch"
What do you do when you can’t get a job? If you’re anything like my guest this week, you start a business instead.
Founder of Empower House Lauren Bryant joins me in this episode to share her unconventional path to becoming a business owner.
We talk about:
- How Lauren figured out that the service she initially wanted to offer wasn’t the service the market wanted,
- The amazing government programme that helped Lauren start her business,
- Lauren’s solution to icky networking events, and
- The one tool Lauren thinks every entrepreneur must have in their business.
Key Highlights
00:46 Introduction to Lauren Bryant

02:09 Lauren couldn’t get a job, so she started a business

03:30 NEIS – The government-funded programme that helped Lauren start her business

05:38 There’s a disconnect between what business courses teach and what you actually need to know to successfully start and run a business

07:00 The Brunch Club – Lauren’s solution to icky traditional networking events

11:09 Making quality business education more accessible with The Business Club

13:48 Common struggles people face when starting a business How much should I charge? How do I get to the next step?

16:16 Lauren talks about “sex fingers” and dealing with impostor syndrome

19:02 Lauren on the COVID-19 pandemic, how she dealt with the isolation and having her partner at home all the time

24:04 How Lauren wove charity work into her business

28:48 What’s next for Lauren? - More live Brunch Club events - Brick-and-mortar Empower House
Rapid-Fire Questions
31:08 What is a fundamental value you’ve woven through everything you do, and why is it important to you?

31:24 What is your secret sauce? What sets you apart?

32:20 What is your core motivator?

33:22 What is your go-to remedy when you’re having an off day?

35:44 If you could go back to the beginning of your business journey, what’s something you would tell yourself?

42:36 What’s a resource/tool/system you use in your business that you couldn’t live without, and what’s one that’s overrated?

44:31 Give me your hot take about your industry

46:54 What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone who’s thinking about starting a business or at the beginning of their business journey?
Resources Mentioned New Enterprise Incentive Scheme (NEIS)
Contact Lauren Bryant
- Empower House Instagram
- Empower House Website
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
51 min
December 21, 2021001 Katie | Rodan + Field Consultant
Adapting, Misconceptions, & Motivation
Four years ago, Katie Lawson would have rather done “live nudes” than do network marketing.
Today, she’s a Rodan + Fields consultant.
What changed?
Katie joins me in this episode to talk about what sold her on network marketing. She addresses common misconceptions people have and reveals what you need to succeed in the direct sales industry.
We also discuss how Katie adapted when COVID-19 decimated two industries she was working in and show she balances working four jobs.
Key Highlights
00:47 Introduction to Katie Lawson

01:49 How Katie feels now that lockdowns have ended

02:11 Katie on working four jobs

04:15 How it was working in two industries decimated by the pandemic (health & fitness and the travel industry)

06:50 Rodan + Fields consultancy – From a hobby to a business

07:34 Common misconceptions people have about network marketing

09:58 How network marketing differs from pyramid scheme

12:36 Rodan + Fields’ ratio of customers to consultants is 70-30 split

12:58 Katie earns enough with Rodan + Fields that she doesn’t need to work Fridays

13:55 The biggest assumptions people have about the direct marketing industry

16:28 Katie is naturally very distracted. How does she keep herself accountable and achieve so much?

21:36 Katie’s network marketing journey and massive pivots she had to make during the pandemic
Resources mentioned
Rodan + Fields
Connect with Katie Lawson
As always, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @siafecreative; I would love to know what you thought of this episode!
34 min

About NOT An Inspirational Business Podcast

From the publisher's feed

FULL DISCLAIMER: this is NOT an inspirational business podcast but you might be inspired. I’m not here to give you business tips and tricks or inspire you to make your first 100k but hey, stranger things have happened.

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NOT An Inspirational Business Podcast

NOT An Inspirational Business Podcast episodes

About NOT An Inspirational Business Podcast