Sometimes the simplest exercise is the most powerful one, and this might just be the one that shows you what needs to change.

Today I'm walking you through a two-column exercise that will show you exactly what's working in your business, what isn't, and what to do with the gap between the two. I also share my own results from when I did this a few years ago, including the not-so-pretty column that showed me I was stuck in a business that felt like a cage, working with clients I dreaded hearing from and doing work I could do but didn't love.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• The two-column exercise that takes minutes but will show you things about your business you might have been avoiding
• What my own columns looked like during the worst period of my business, and why seeing it written down in black and white was the wake-up call I needed
• How to spot the gap between your two columns and what it's telling you about where changes are needed
• Why change doesn't have to mean flicking a switch or going cold turkey — and how small decisions compound into real momentum
• And the reminder you might not have heard in a while: your business is yours and it can be anything you want it to be

The big takeaway: The only way to make changes is to see what needs changing first, and once you see it written down, you have the control and the ability to do something about it, and that is an incredibly empowering place to be.

Grab a pen, draw a line down the middle of a page, and let everything come out.

Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

I want to share a question with you today that might be one of the most important questions you ever ask yourself in business. I'd love you to answer it honestly, not with the version you've been telling yourself.

The question is: If you carry on your current path, what will happen?

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why where you want to go and where you're actually heading are not always the same place, and how easy it is to confuse the two
• The moments in my own career where this question would have saved me years of going around in circles
• Why intentions don't produce your future but actions do, and why "next year," "when the time is right," and "someday" are the most dangerous words in business
• The difference between feeling busy and actually moving towards something you want
• And how even small course corrections can change the destination without overhauling the entire journey

The big takeaway: You are moving somewhere whether you like it or not, but this question isn't about whether you're moving, it's about whether you're moving towards something you actually want.

Grab a pen, answer it honestly, and bring your answer to Thursday's episode where we get practical.

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

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Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

What does it actually look like when a founder builds a business entirely around the life they want to live, and refuses to apologise for it?

That's what today's conversation is about, and my guest Sarah Banks is one of the most quietly disruptive examples of it I've come across.

Sarah is an Online Business Manager who has built a business that fits around her family, her freedom, and her love of travel, including interrailing across Europe for two months with her family while still working with her clients from apartments and cafes along the way. She doesn't work Fridays, goes swimming on Wednesday afternoons, and keeps her summers quieter because she wants to be outside, AND her business has thrived for over a decade because of it, not in spite of it.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How Sarah built a business around her children from day one and what she said to the person who told her she'd never be successful if she prioritised her kids
• What it actually takes to work from a different country every few days for two months, and why the personal planning is harder than the business side
• Why she ditched packages, stopped writing business plans, and started saying no to clients who don't fit her way of working
• How she defines success, and why it has nothing to do with six figures and everything to do with freedom, time, and never having to ask permission
• The one thing she wants every founder listening to hear: you have full permission to build your business in whatever way works for you

The big takeaway: Sometimes the most quietly disruptive thing you can do is simply decide that your life comes first and build everything else around that.

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

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Connect with Sarah:

Website: https://banksbusinesssolutions.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/banksbusiness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banksbusinesssolutionsuk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-banks-63273150/

More About Sarah:

Sarah Banks is an online business manager who has been supporting female founders since 2014, taking the tech, systems, and operational overwhelm off their plates so they can focus on what they do best. She works alongside her clients at their pace, building the foundations that make everything else easier.

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Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

Sometimes you need a new perspective, and that's exactly what today's episode delivers. I'm sharing a completely fresh take on what social media platforms are actually for and how you can use them your own way to find and connect with the people you genuinely want to work with.

I walk you through three practical shifts that change how you show up on any platform, and not one of them involves posting more, performing better, or trying to crack a code that doesn't exist.

Following on from Tuesday's episode about why the algorithm isn't the villain, today I'm taking that active approach further and walking you through what it actually looks like to use social media as a directory of people you can start real conversations with, rather than a stage you're performing on and hoping the right person happens to be watching.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why being you in your content and writing specifically for the client you want to help is the thing that turns a generic post into a signal that stops the right person in their tracks
• How to see every social media platform as a directory — like the old yellow pages — full of people you can find, connect with, and start conversations with right now
• The difference between pitching and being curious, and why intentional outreach that starts with genuine interest is one of the most powerful tools in your entire business
• Why you don't have to use any platform the way everyone tells you to, and what it looks like when you shake off those imaginary rules and figure out what actually works for you
• And a micro step you can take today to put all three shifts into practice immediately

The big takeaway: You have access to millions of people at the click of a button on platforms you're already using, and a quietly disruptive founder uses that to their advantage, not by shouting louder or posting more, but by being intentional, being curious, and being brave enough to start the conversation rather than waiting for someone else to start it for them.

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

###

Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

What if the algorithm was never actually the problem, and the real issue is that you've been expecting it to do a job it was never designed to do?

The thing nobody tells you about social media platforms is that they're businesses, and every time you post more content, spend more time tweaking your strategy, and pray to the algorithm gods to send you clients, you're giving them exactly what they want: your data, your attention, and your time.

That's what today's episode is about: a completely different way to think about social media, the algorithm, and how you actually find clients, because posting and hoping is one of the least effective strategies available to any founder, and there is a much better way.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why the algorithm isn't working against you and what's actually going on when clients aren't arriving despite your content being genuinely good
• The difference between a passive founder who broadcasts in one direction and an active founder who uses a platform as a room full of potential relationships and conversations
• What I discovered when I asked real founders whether LinkedIn was working for them, and the one thing that separated those who said yes from those who said no
• Why chasing volume and reach pulls you further from the people you actually want to work with
• And the dance floor analogy that might just change how you show up on any platform from now on

The big takeaway: You don't need the algorithm to find your clients. You need to stop waiting to be found and start going to find them, and every social media platform you're already on gives you the tools to do exactly that.

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive (and please stop praying to the algorithm gods, you don't need them.)

###

Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

What if there was one question you could ask yourself before every single decision in your business — every client, every project, every marketing move, every use of your time — that would cut straight through the noise and show you exactly what's really going on?

That's what today's episode gives you, and it's simpler and more powerful than you might expect.

Following on from Tuesday's episode about the difference between thinking like a founder and thinking like an employee, today I'm handing you the question that makes that shift practical and usable, and I walk you through a scenario so you can see exactly how it works, including what happens when fears start dressing up as logic, professionalism, and practicality.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• The two-part question that works on literally any decision including clients, marketing, pricing, how you structure your day, all of it
• Why fears don't always show up looking like fears and how this question strips away the costume to reveal what's actually driving your choices
• A full worked example of a brand strategist facing a client decision that looks like a no-brainer on the surface but isn't, and what changes when they ask the question
• And the difference between accepting without question and questioning to find a better way

The big takeaway: The only way to change what's really going on underneath your decisions is to face it, but to do that you need to see it first, and this question shines the light into every corner.

Take it with you into your week and ask it before every decision you face: is this serving my vision for my business, or am I choosing it because of a fear?

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

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Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

Every founder wears multiple hats - marketing one day, sales the next, management the day after - but there's a layer underneath that hat-wearing that nobody really talks about, and it's the one that quietly shapes everything you do in your business.

It's the mindset you're in when you're wearing those hats, and it comes down to one question: are you operating as an employee or as a founder?

There is a difference between saying yes to a project because it landed on your desk and there was space in the diary, and pausing to ask whether that project actually adds to the business you're building, and most of us don't even realise which one we're doing.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The subconscious beliefs you picked up from working for someone else that are still quietly running your business today
• What it actually looks like when the employee mindset is in the driver's seat, and why it so often disguises itself as being productive and professional
• The simple reframe that changes how you approach every decision, every client, every demand on your time
• And a question to take away that will show you exactly which mindset has been making your decisions lately

The big takeaway: An employee does without question. A founder questions before they do anything, and that single shift changes the direction of your entire business.

Sit with it, think about your last three decisions, and join me on Thursday where I give you the one question that will help you make decisions like the founder you are.

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

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Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

Your niche isn't something you pluck out of thin air. It's something you go hunting for, grounded in evidence, built from knowing who you actually are and what your clients genuinely want and need.

That's what today's episode is all about, and there's no fluff here either, just a practical walkthrough that you can actually use to figure out the niche that fits you.

I take you through the full process step by step, from understanding what you love to do and what brings out the best in you, to standing in your clients' shoes and doing the detective work to find out what they're really searching for, to putting those two halves together and seeing where they meet.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The questions that reveal what you genuinely love doing versus what you can do, and why that difference matters more than most founders realise
• How to look backwards at your last five to ten clients to uncover the values and conditions that bring out your best work
• Why so many founders build offers their clients don't actually want, and the simple detective work that stops you making that mistake
• How to put both halves of the equation together to find the space where who you are meets what your clients need
• And why your niche isn't a tattoo or a box but a lens that puts everything into focus and can change whenever you do

The big takeaway: There is nothing worse than trying to squeeze yourself into a niche that wasn't made for you, and you don't have to, because when you do the work to find the one that genuinely fits, your marketing, your offers, your pricing and how you speak to people all fall into place.

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

Most niching advice tells you to pick an industry, become known for one thing, and the money will follow, but what if that's only half the equation?

You can choose the most profitable niche in the world and still dread Monday mornings, and you can build an offer you absolutely love but find that your clients don't actually want or need what you're selling.

That's what today's episode is about, the missing piece in most niching advice that nobody talks about, and why the right niche isn't just a marketing decision, it's a founder-led one and a client-led one in equal measure.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why a niche that ignores who you are as a person can quietly become your cage, no matter how profitable it looks on paper
• What happens when there's a mismatch between what you love to offer and what your clients actually want and need
• The moment niching clicks: when your clients see what you do and instantly know you understand them, and you know you can help
• And the simple equation that makes your niche fit like a glove for both sides

The big takeaway: Your niche isn't just about narrowing what you do. It's about finding the space where who you are as a founder and what your clients need genuinely meet, and when those two things come together, everything else gets easier.

And don't forget to tune into Thursday's episode where I walk you through exactly how to figure that out in three simple steps.

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com

You are the only person who can do what you do in the way you do it and when you build your marketing around that instead of formulas, templates and whatever everyone else is doing, everything gets clearer and stronger.

That's what today's episode is all about, and I'm making it as practical as possible by walking you through two imaginary businesses I brainstormed to show you exactly what opinion-led marketing looks like when it's working. I share how one core belief can fuel completely different types of content without ever feeling repetitive, and why this approach works for both service and product businesses in surprisingly similar ways.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• How one opinion can power thought leadership, storytelling, helpful content and more, without ever feeling forced or like you're running out of things to say
• The simple three-step process for getting your opinion out into the world on the platforms that actually make sense for you and your customers
• Why formulas and templates work up to a point but ultimately make everyone sound the same, and what happens when you replace them with something only you can say
• What changes when you stop trying to be clever or performative and just share what you believe instead

The big takeaway: Your opinion isn't just a nice-to-have extra, but the fuel you need for your marketing and your entire business. 

Until next time, stay quietly disruptive.

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Ready to go further? Sign the pact and join the Quietly Disruptive movement. It's free and takes seconds.

Sign the Pact and every week you'll receive Field Notes, my weekly letter where I share what the Quietly Disruptive path really looks like behind-the-scenes. You'll also receive exclusive invitations to workshops, in-person meetups, and experiences you won't find anywhere else.
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com/signthepact

Read my story of how I became a Quietly Disruptive business coach, which involves over twenty-five years of building businesses and model horses (#notatypo).
Link: https://www.beckybenfieldhumberstone.com