Stacey Lowman is a financial coach at Claro, the new digital financial coaching app and partner of ours here at Raise The Bar.Due to the high costs of financial advice which is inaccessible to many of us, the advice gap is a trend that has triggered a surge in demand for financial support and guidance. This demand has seen a myriad of solutions coming into play: financial coaching, robo advisors, challenger banks, and influencers. The market is still forming and is still fragmented, with fina...

Laura Farris is the Conservative MP for Newbury and co-chair of The Women and Work All-Party Parliamentary Group.Following the Chancellor’s 2021 budget announcement on Wednesday, I ask Laura how her party’s government plans to support women who have been left behind during the pandemic, particularly those who failed to receive full SEISS support due to periods of maternity leave and working mothers who have been balancing work and homeschooling.I put your feedback about the consequences of re...

Georgia Stewart is the CEO and co-founder of Tumelo, a startup fintech platform giving everyday investors a transparent view of the companies they own and a shareholder voice on issues they care about.Starting as an activist campaign at Cambridge University, Georgia and her co-founders championed the sustainable investment of the university’s £6 billion fund. They recognised a global problem: Millions of us contribute to our investment system through ISAs, workplace pensions, and other invest...

Jess Ratcliffe is an entrepreneur and creator of ‘Unleash Your Extraordinary'.Jess had the idea for her first business, a video game swapping website when she was just 15, which Jess subsequently launched after dropping out of University aged 19. Jess went on to raise £55,000 and was one of the youngest entrepreneurs to pitch on Dragons’ Den.In 2016 Jess was working in Silicon Valley when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disease called PNH. Jess left the startup she was working...

Sarah Townsend is the author of the bestselling guide to self-employment, Survival Skills for Freelancers.Sarah has been self-employed for over 20 years and since publishing her book has been on a mission to raise awareness of the importance of mindset, mental health and wellbeing for freelancers and the small business community. She is an Enterprise Nation adviser and a FreelanceHER 100 ambassador and mentor.In this episode, I ask Sarah how to know if you're really cut out for self-employmen...

Tobi Asare is the founder of My Bump Pay, an online platform and community that helps women to overcome the motherhood penalty, navigate maternity leave and achieve their career goals whilst growing their family.In this episode, I ask Tobi some of the big questions about what it’s really like to have a baby and manage a career, particularly if you’re self-employed or run your own business. Tobi tells us how to prepare financially and practically, with some great tips on staying visible whilst...

Lotte Jeffs is is an award-winning journalist, author, podcaster and creative consultant.Since leaving her role as Acting Editor in Chief and Deputy Editor of ELLE, Lotte pivoted into advertising and worked for Portas, and Ogilvy as Head of Content and Creative Director, respectively. Lotte is the cohost of a queer parenting podcast called Some Families.Lotte published her first book ‘How to be a Gentlewoman: The Art of Soft Power in Hard Times' a few months before the pandemic, and during ou...

We're changing our name to Raise The Bar! Find out more here https://www.thewotpod.com/article/new-beginnings-2021Tell us what you think, email us [email protected].

For our last episode of the year, I’m so pleased to be chatting with stand-up comedian and corporate speaker Toni Kent. Having grown up on a council estate, and spent her early teenage years in circumstances described by social services as “chaotic”, Toni set out on a path to create a life different to what had been predicted for her. This involved leaving home and the town Toni grew up in and led to a career in the tech industry and 10 years at Microsoft.Toni is focused on humanising discuss...

My guest today is Rosie Ferguson, CEO of The House of St Barnabas, a private members’ club which works to end the cycle of homelessness.The House of St Barnabas offers a three-month employment preparation programme where people can learn hospitality, catering and office skills to help them get their lives back on track.The conversation explores the future and patriarchal history of private members’ clubs, and how The House of St Barnabas is an innovative club rooted in social change, inclusiv...