Smashing The Ceiling

Siobhan Daniels grew up in a care home as one of eight children amongst the elderly people her family looked after. She's subsequently had an incredibly varied and colourful life, first working as a nurse in the NHS before joining the BBC as a trainee in broadcast journalism. Siobhan spent 30 years as a presenter, reporter and producer at the BBC, before selling her property and setting off on a new round of adventures in her camper van! She's now a freelance broadcaster and journalist, and a pro-age campaigner. Since the age of 50 she's run two marathons, and is currently writing a book. Siobhan is a huge advocate of supporting women through the menopause in the workplace, and talks about all this and more in this chat. She's a total delight, and great fun. Enjoy.

Trigger warning: This episode contains references to parental abuse

Useful Links

Siobhan's website: https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk

Siobhan in the news: https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk/features

Follow Siobhan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shuvonshuvoff/

And Twitter! https://twitter.com/SiobhanDaniels

When you think about human rights, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Maybe it's the treatment of prisoners overseas, or working conditions and pay in a place of employment, or freedom of speech, or the right of an individual to live freely and safely in whatever manner they choose? Maybe it's a multitude of other things, because the subject of human rights is broad and deep. It's also vitally important.

My guest today is Vicki Prais, a human rights lawyer and consultant, podcaster and writer. We love women with adventurous and challenging careers on this podcast, and Vicki has that in spades. She's worked for the UN in Kosovo, Amnesty International, Penal Reform International and the British Government. She's worked in Ukraine, Russia and Armenia, and consulted on cases involving Guantanamo Bay.

"We are all experts in our own little niches" she says. Vicki Prais, welcome to Smashing The Ceiling.

Useful Links

Vicki's Website: https://vickiprais.com

Connect with Vicki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicki-prais-5862151/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vickiprais?lang=en

To open Season 4, I’ve got two guests with me with this week, and if you’re looking for inspiring women in your life, then these two are it. 

Kirsten and Aiyven Mbawa are sisters from Northampton, England and they’re 13 and 12 years old respectively. Nothing unusual there. What is unusual is that both Kirsten and Aiyven are published authors and business owners. Their love of reading has driven everything they’ve done so far, and you’ll hear in this chat the effect on their lives that they both attribute to books. Their company, Mbawa Books, produces monthly subscription boxes for teens containing diverse titles with relatable, representative heroes from a wide range of authors, as well as stories written by Kirsten and Aiyven themselves. Their output is prolific, and having tasted success with their first books, which they self-published but subsequently got onto the shelves of Waterstones through their hard work and tenacity, they are well on their way with their next novels. 

Kirsten and Aiyven are the face of their brand. They have help from their mum, Ndah, but have themselves appeared on Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4 and in various local and national press. Kirsten confidently told me she wants to be prime minister, and I just wouldn’t put anything past these two.

Useful Links

Mbawa Books Website: https://www.mbawabooks.co.uk

Subscribe to Kirsten and Aiyven's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1-zobH5aogUrGF02gIW3lw

Follow Mbawa Books on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbawabooks/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mbawabooks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mbawabooks/

To many people, the world of burlesque may seem distant, mysterious and unknown. You might have heard of Dita von Teese, but how much do you know about the art of it, the glamour, and the people, who are, by all accounts, a brilliant bunch of welcoming human beings?

My guest today is Tigz Rice, who combines her career as a burlesque and boudoir photographer with an ambition to leave her mark on the world creatively. She has shot for Cosmopolitan, and produced work that the HuffPost described as the 'most diverse lingerie shoot of its time'. But like many of my guests, she didn't expect to end up where she is. Tigz harboured a strong desire to be a forensic pathologist, and it was circumstances that led her to art college, then into photography.

She's an amazing advocate for people celebrating their bodies, taking pride and joy in what society may view as physical flaws, but often actually are a sign of strength and resilience. She is storyteller of the highest order, and I hope you enjoy this conversation about her life and career.

Useful Links

Tigz's websites: https://www.tigzrice.com and https://brandingbytigz.com

Follow Tigz on Instagram at @tigzrice and @brandingbytigz

Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk

Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

Hannah Roper is an incredible woman with a varied career forged out of a combination of inspiration and necessity. Not many people can say that they've worked as a teacher, a policeman, a country music singer and an entrepreneur. Hannah has worked in both primary and secondary education, founded a country music festival, been on the beat and with suspects, and released several successful albums. In the midst of all of that, she's also survived domestic abuse and harassment at the hands of her ex-husband, also a police officer.

Her life and career are quite extraordinary. It has certainly not always been an easy ride for Hannah, and as a survivor of domestic abuse there was a time where confidence and self-esteem were not the norm. She spent many years rediscovering herself, in the process finding her love for entrepreneurship and developing skills in business, branding, marketing and web design.

After launching her company The Female Creative in 2020, she was named in Yahoo Finance as one of their Top Ten Business Start up Coaches in 2021. Hannah also recently launched her podcast, The Female Creative Talks earlier this year, which is well worth a listen!

Please note this podcast contains references to domestic abuse and coercive control. If you need further help or advice, Women's Aid and Refuge are always available.

Useful Links

The Female Creative website: https://www.thefemalecreative.co.uk

Find Hannah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefemalecreative/

Follow Hannah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_femalecreative/

Listen to Hannah's podcast: https://www.thefemalecreative.co.uk/podcast

Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk

Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

We hear so much about side hustles and entrepreneurship and it seems that every second person on social media is starting a successful new business and scaling it to 7 figures from their kitchen table. But if you've had an idea, how do you get started? How do you balance your day job and the need to earn a living with launching a new venture? What's the best way to go about that, and why does it seem so damn easy for other people when you're finding it pretty hard? If these questions have ever popped into your head, then this episode is for you.

Elizabeth Ogabi has balanced life in the corporate world with founding and progressing multiple businesses, both in London and Lagos, Nigeria. She's worked in communications for some of the world's most successful companies, whilst also being an inspirational entrepreneur.

Liz is a huge supporter of women in business, and always knew she wanted to make a positive change in the world. In 2016 she founded For Working Ladies, a digital media platform focused on equipping women with the information and tools they need to start a successful business. Most recently, she co-founded Leicour.com a community network focused on accelerating women within organisations into leadership roles. Whether it’s starting a side hustle, breaking through the corporate glass ceiling or pursuing full-time entrepreneurship, her ultimate goal is focused on the advancement and economic empowerment of women.

Her new book, Side Hustle in Progress, is a brilliant practical guide to kickstarting your business, and is well worth a read if you're starting something new this year. She also has a successful podcast, How I Made It Happen, and we chatted a little about podcasting later in the interview.

This conversation is packed full of entrepreneurial and business wisdom. Enjoy.

Useful Links

Order Liz's book Side Hustle in Progress from Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/side-hustle-in-progress/elizabeth-ogabi//9780008455002

For Working Ladies website: https://forworkingladies.com

Find Liz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizogabi/?originalSubdomain=uk

Follow Liz on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethogabi/

Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk

Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

Have you ever had a moment when you met someone for the first time, but you felt like you'd known them your entire life? It's a weird and rare but wonderful thing. I had that feeling when I chatted to Nikki Trott prior to this interview, and I knew I had to have her on the show.

Nikki is an entrepreneur, podcaster and coach on a mission with her company, Conscious Accelerator. That mission is to help entrepreneurs with a real purpose in their business to thrive. She believes that purpose and profit don't have to be mutually exclusive (something I wholeheartedly agree with) and that business can be ethical, meaningful and financially successful all at the same time.

But she started her working life singing in a choir and working in Topshop during her teenage years, before beginning her career post-university at a tech startup. She's had huge experience in business development, branding and the tech sector, and has done a variety of different and roles that have led her to where she is today. We talked in this interview about how experience in retail and service early in Nikki's career shaped her attitudes going forwards, why 'success' isn't always what it seems, and how the realisation that her personal values and professional life were poles apart led to some pretty significant changes.

Useful Links

Nikki's website: https://www.nikkitrott.com

Find Nikki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkitrott/

Follow Nikki on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkitrott/

Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk

Follow us on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

My guest this week is an incredible woman, whose life and career were turned upside down by circumstances. We talk often on this podcast about how circumstances shape the careers of women, but in the case of Victoria Jenkins, the circumstances were becoming disabled in her mid twenties.

Before becoming ill, Victoria was forging a successful career as a garment technologist, working for the likes of Sweaty Betty, Jack Wills and Victoria Beckham no less. She was doing well, and that’s an understatement. But at the age of 26, her life turned upside down - I’ll let her tell you her story in the podcast, but suffice to say, she ended up founding her own fashion company, Unhidden, to cater to people requiring adaptive clothing that’s stylish, beautifully made and affordable. 

Victoria is now an entrepreneur, business owner, disability advocate and brand ambassador for Models of Disability. She’s a tour de force, and I’d urge you pop out and buy her book The Little Book of Ableism. We started, as ever, talking about her early life as one of six kids.  

Useful Links

Victoria's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_is_unhidden/

Unhidden Clothing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unhidden_clothing/

Find Victoria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-jenkins-812b7027/

Victoria's website: https://www.victoriaann.online

Unhidden Clothing website: https://unhiddenclothing.com

Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

We've often talked on this podcast about how our upbringing shapes our attitudes to work, ambition and success. Mira Patel's parents ran a newsagent, and she started working in the shop at an early age, before forging a successful career in HR. She understands the value of hard work and determination in building a business. She stepped away the HR world to train in neurolinguistic programming, and she founded her company, Prana Coaching in 2019. She now specialises in coaching young people through their teenage years, equipping them with the tools and skills they need to navigate the modern world.

Mira is one of the most accomplished women I know, seamlessly managing her business, motherhood, a house build, fundraising challenges galore and organising huge events for the Gujarati Cultural Society in Brighton. She's quite the tour de force, and one of the kindest people you could hope to meet.

Useful Links

Mira's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prana_coaching/

Mira's website: https://www.pranacoaching.co.uk 

Our website, with details of the International Women's Podcast Awards - www.skylarkcollective.co.uk

Check us out on Instagram - www.instagram.com/theskylarkcollective.co.uk

When you're in a box career-wise, it can be hard to get out of it. Sometimes it's pressure from others, or from society that keeps you in that box, or sometimes it's your own internal monologue telling you that you can't do anything else. Sometimes, life events send you on a different path.

Imogen Tinkler is a total inspiration in this area. After an adventurous childhood in Pakistan, and studying Russian with politics at uni, Imogen thought she was going to be a lawyer. After losing her mother, she re-considered her priorities, and subsequently forged a successful career in the charities and non-for-profit sector, becoming a director at the age of 31 and working with David Cameron and Gordon Brown. After her dad became ill, Imogen re-invented herself again though, quitting her job and starting a food  business Bangers and Balls with her husband Duncan.

Imogen and Duncan are aiming to start a revolution from your kitchen table. They began with pop-up restaurants, but now take foraging expeditions, telling the tales of food surrounding you in the natural world and have written a new book, Foraging Fairytales, which has just gone straight into the Amazon Top 10.

As well as being a successful businesswoman and master marketeer, Imogen is also a keen wild swimmer with a love of the ocean and being in water, and she tells me about how swimming saved her after the loss of her 8 week old baby daughter in the midst of the pandemic last year. Her positivity and infectious enthusiasm despite everything she's encountered made me just want to be her friend and move to Kent immediately to join her gang of swimmers. As a trigger warning, we do discuss grief and loss in this podcast, but listen in if you can for warmth, energy and lots of great advice from Imogen.   

Useful links:

Bangers and Balls website: https://bangersandballs.co 

Bangers and Balls Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bangersandballs/ 

Imogen's Girls Gone Wild swimming page: https://www.instagram.com/girlsgonewildswimming/

The Government's Kickstart Scheme that Imogen mentioned: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme