Ever think that the odds are stacked against you? 

Jo Franco arrived in America with her mother when she was five, only able to speak Portuguese, the language of Rio de Janeiro, where she was born. She helped her mum clean at weekends to make ends meet, but also started to develop a passion that would shape her whole life, a love of languages.

She learnt English to help her mum and other immigrants understand the language, to translate documents, and interpret everyday life. Although she couldn't physically travel, the idea of travel and language excited her, and so she expanded her world through learning French and Italian too.

Jo's world expanded when she moved to Manhattan for university before studying abroad in Paris (when she started a YouTube channel) and then moving to Los Angeles before being offered a job in New York, which she didn't take despited the $65k of student debt.

And then, one day in LA, Jo's life changed again when she was pitched to front her own travel show. From this point on, Jo's career has continued to skyrocket in many different ways, including a travel show on Netflix and the development of her own online communities and platforms that support journalling and languages.

Prepare to be seriously inspired. And to find out more about Jo, read her story and advice in You've Got This, the book!

If you love Emma Bridgewater the brand, you're going to adore this latest episode of the podcast with founder and all round legend, THE Emma Bridgewater!

Emma started her company when she couldn't find the perfect gift for her own mother. Through starting small, trying and testing, asking for help, developing and carefully growing, her eponymous business grew to the one we see today with a factory in her beloved Stoke-on-Trent (which produces around 1.9 million pieces of pottery a year!) as well as HQ in London.

Emma was a complete delight to talk to. Her journey is inspiring, her manner so warm, and her advice so on the money. So pour yourself a cuppa- ideally in an Emma Bridgewater mug, and have a listen. 

Astrid & Miyu is an incredible jewellery brand that now has stores all over the world - it's come a long way since founder, Connie Nam, started the business in 2012, in her London flat.

Connie created the brand after identifying a gap in the market for jewellery that sat in the 'affordable luxury' area, paired with the warm shopping experience she'd enjoyed when browsing boutiques in Seoul, Korea, where she was born. After spotting this gap, Connie got to work, building up the brand before she wanted to take the next step and get a physical store. For this, investment was needed, which was incredibly hard to come by, but she did and opened four stores pre-pandemic. Since, she has continued to open jewellery shops, piercing and tattoo studios all over the world.

What started off as a career in investment banking following an MBA has now morphed into more than the founder of a global brand. Not only is Astrid & Miyu known for its jewellery, it's also known for its eco credentials, giving to charity, and supporting many other small business leaders too.

To find out more about Connie and Astrid & Miyu, grab your copy of my new book, You've Got This!

Kasia Bromley's career started at Alexander McQueen in haute couture after she came over from Poland to study fashion in Edinburgh. Soon after her graduation, she started designing clothing, but it wasn't until 2016 that the brand we know today as ACAI officially launched.

Kasia and her husband, Joe, co-founded the brand when they were expecting their first child. Kasia had previously identified a gap in the market for outdoor clothes for women that allowed them to confidently explore the outdoors- something she'd really wanted as she always had an affinity with spending time in nature and knew of the positive impact this could have.

Utilising her fashion background and her extensive knowledge of technical fabrics, ACAI was born, but it took a long time to build it to the brand that's so well known and loved today. At one point, financial issues led to the couple having to move out of the family home and live apart in different countries to make ends meet, but this only served as fuel for Kasia and ACAI.

A change in strategy saw ACAI launch online in 2017 and the business has grown at an incredible rate since then.

I was delighted to speak to Kasia for my latest book, You've Got This, and it's a joy to share this interview with you here today. Don't forget, you can grab your copy of You've Got This through Amazon, Bloomsbury direct and all good bookshops.

Laura Tenison is an incredible lady- who I was lucky enough to have as a panellist at my book launch event in January too!

Laura always had a passion for business, starting in her teenage years, and this grew into a desire to create a clothing brand. Her initial idea didn't quite work out, and Laura had to take a detour via French property development to get the money she needed to start her fashion company. Then, a horrific car accident saw Laura hospitalised and sharing a room with a terminally ill mum who was buying clothes for her children, and the two batted ideas back and forward about clothing for children and babies that actually helped, didn't cost the earth but was still great quality. The seeds for JoJo Maman Bébé were well and truly sown.

Laura developed her company alongside raising her own family, growing the business until ultimately selling it in 2022. Since this time, she's gone on to found an award winning holiday company called Wonderful Escapes in Wales that runs retreats, offers self catering holiday accommodation and so much more. 

Nicola Elliott's journey to NEOM Wellbeing began when she realised that her lifestyle (which included jetting around the world as a journalist working for some of the most popular glossies) was taking a toll on her health as she began to suffer from really bad anxiety. She needed to do something, and started to address areas in her life that were lacking- exercise and daylight being the first two- before developing a keen interest in nutrition and then the world of aromatherapy and essential oils.

She trained as an aromatherapist and started making blends for her friends after she noticed the significant impact they were having on her life. This led Nicola to develop a blend called Real Luxury to help her feel calm and in control. This is now one of the company's best sellers.

Using aromatherapy to support wellbeing in this way scaled to four products available to buy before growing 'brick by brick' into NEOM Wellbeing, a brand that has over 200 products and stores all over the world.

Find out more about Nicola's journey, NEOM Wellbeing, some true golden nuggets and so much more in You've Got This- out now! 

Lisa's journey to become a driving force in the wellness industry started some 15 years ago when a trip to the doctors got her thinking about 'food as medicine'. This concept changed her life.

Although Lisa is now known for the incredible brand, Kroma Wellness, she was also the founder of Beaming Wellness, a superfood cafe that developed a cult following.

In 2021, Kroma Wellness was born, launching just as the global pandemic began. This caused many pivots but ultimately led to an incredible brand that has gained investment from 100 powerful women including celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Seinfeld, and being featured in some of the best publications in the world.

Read all about Lisa, Kroma Wellness, and the journey she's taken in You've Got This- out now! 

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know about Wild Cosmetics. The company that made deodorant... well... interesting! And more than that, made influencers start actively promoting it to their audience.

Charlie Bowes-Lyon is the co-founder of Wild Cosmetics, a brand that, initially, couldn't get any investment in its idea for sustainable yet effective deodorant because the market was 'too small'. To get that initial support, the team needed to prove their business prowess with another product before achieving their ultimate goal which allowed them create the product we know as Wild deodorant today.

But even then, it didn't come easy. It took over 20 iterations to get to a product the team were happy with... and then covid happened as the brand was launching! And yet, Wild thrived.

This is a story of a Wildly successful brand, but also how 'failure' isn't final, why it's important to think around the issue, and how believing in your own vision is so important for success.

You can find out all about Charlie, Wild Cosmetics, and lots more in my book, You've Got This, available now.

SPECIAL EPISODE- You've Got This, Tracey Cole!

Change your thoughts, change your world? Abso-flipping-lutely!

There's no doubt that the power of the mind is incredible. It can allow us to confront issues and face fear head on, or it can make us retreat and play small. When we understand this and work on our mindset, just like we would other aspects of our wellbeing and health, the results can be truly remarkable, as an individual and as a business owner.

Enter Tracey Cole, an Accredited Master Trainer of NLP. I've been lucky enough to train with Tracey and was delighted when she agreed to share some of her words of wisdom for my book, You've Got This, and for this podcast too. We chat about limiting beliefs in all their guises, neuroplasticity, and how when we understand and start to challenge our values and thoughts, we can change our world and the opportunities available.

You can find out all about Tracey, as well of her words of wisdom and tips for a better mindset, in my book, You've Got This, available now.

SPECIAL EPISODE- You've Got This, Jo Tutchener Sharp!

Before Jo founded Scamp & Dude, she'd enjoyed a successful career in PR, running her own agency. After her children, she decided that the PR lifestyle wasn't compatible with two young children, so she decided to sell her agency and set up her own skincare brand with a friend. But then, a horrific headache landed her in hospital and, eventually, she faced brain surgery to remove a 'lump' on her brain. Unsure if she'd survive the operation, she started to go back over her life and was worried that she hadn't done enough to leave a legacy and help others. She vowed, should she wake up, she'd do something different.

Needless to say, she did wake up, and with a new passion for life, launched Scamp & Dude. Originally, the brand was aimed at children with the Superhero Sleep Buddy and clothing range that launched in Liberty, but it quickly became apparent that the real market was women... and so started the route that led to the Scamp & Dude we see today.

As Jo's business has continued to grow, so has her drive to help others- her Super Scarf campaign is testament to this, with over 60k scarves donated to women with cancer at this point.

Jo's journey is inspiring, fascinating, and absolutely heart wrenching. You can find out all about it, as well of her words of wisdom and tips for success, in my book, You've Got This, available now.