Your Business Boost

Shivani Gupta has had a most extraordinary career as an entrepreneur. She has owned, scaled and exited multi million dollar businesses, presented to over a quarter of a million people all around the world and has authored eight books.

When Shivani and I first met, she was in the process of selling her business and facing an uncertain future.

This led to her decision to take a six-month sabbatical and in this episode of Your Business Boost, Shavni talks about what came up for her during this time.

She grappled with questions about her identity and purpose outside of her professional and personal roles.

Who was she if she wasn’t a business owner?

She shares very openly about how challenging she found it to “let go” and her struggle to find joy in the absence of familiar identities.

I’m going to let Shivani tell you in her own words how this played out but… spoiler alert… It has led her to her most important work yet.

CONNECT WITH SHIVANI

Shivani on LinkedIn

-------------

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I LOVE a plan. Sitting down and formulating the pathway to achieve mine or my client’s dreams is the stuff I live for. And I LOVE working with women who love planning as much as I do. 

One of those women is the episode’s guest, Melissa Marsden.

Mel is the Founder of workplace strategy and interior design studio, COMUNiTI. She has spent over 20 years guiding organisations to leverage their physical environments to elevate employee experience, empower high performing teams and unleash productivity.

Her design and business brilliance have been recognised by the Australian Institute of Management, Design Institute of Australia and Telstra Business Women’s Awards among many others.

She is also the host of the Work Life by Design podcast which I have been a special guest interviewing her about her recently published book, The Next Workplace. 

She sounds like a rock star right? She is! 

But even rock stars get thrown curve balls and that is what Mel is sharing with us in this episode.

Because about 18 months ago - behind the very polished, gorgeous looking business and woman, life was most definitely not going according to her well-thought out plan.

Business was exploding, her team was imploding, there was a surprise pregnancy, looming book and client work deadlines coming in one after the other. 

I have been privileged to have worked with Mel before, during and after this period and I have marvelled at her grace and resilience through all of these plot twists. 

In our chat, Mel shares her experience of what it's really like to build a business, write a book AND have a baby all at the same time. 

I am so thankful that Mel agreed to have this conversation because I know that right now, a lot of people’s businesses and lives may not be going according to plan. If this is the case for you, please know that you are not alone. I hope that this conversation provides you with some much needed comfort and perspective.  

Connect with Mel

Connect with Mel on LinkedIn

-----------------------------

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we are in the month of June, our business focus this month is on all things finance so that we can wrap up the financial year in the best position possible.

In this episode I am sharing five things you can do this month to finish the financial year on a high and set yourself up for success next year. 

These are actions that I take in my own business and have done over the last 7 years to not only minimise my tax obligations but maintain a financially healthy business.

Don’t procrastinate and leave this until the end of June. Start this week while there is still time to take action that will have a positive impact on your business. 

-------

If you need further assistance to set your business up for a strong start to the new financial year, get in touch about my Power Planning Sessions.

Email me at: [email protected]

-------

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s that time of year. The calendar ticks over to the month of June this week which means end of financial year.

With the focus on finance, I thought it would be the ideal time to have a chat with my client and oracle of all things finance, Hilary O’Dwyer.

Hilary is a Virtual CFO and the founder of Titian Consulting. She is a numbers ninja and champion for small business owners. She helps everyone from one-person start-ups to international enterprises untangle their numbers and achieve financial success. 

Hilary’s gift is sharing her financial knowledge in an easy to digest manner and demystifying the hard stuff - and that’s exactly what she is doing for us in this episode.

In this episode, Hilary and I talk about the role a CFO plays in our business. She shares tips for how we can be more financially savvy in our businesses and where we should put our attention to ensure we are building a business that can survive long term.

To learn more about Hilary and how she can support your business - visit

Connect with Hilary on LinkedIn

For more information and resources for this episode, please visit:

Michelle Broadbent

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As business owners, we are all generating content every day. Not just social media content - you are sending emails, people are visiting your website, you might be sharing worksheets or questionnaires with your clients.

Do you ever consider how this content could be received by one of the 1 billion people worldwide who are living with disabilities?

No judgement here - because if you aren’t, you are in the majority.

My guest on this episode is Kathryn Collins, an accredited Accessible Document Specialist who has built a successful business helping organisations make their documentation accessible to everyone, especially people with a disability, a vision impairment or who are neurodivergent.

Kat is committed to helping businesses of all sizes to understand the importance of accessibility when creating bespoke document designs.

And that is what she is here to talk to us about today.

It’s definitely an area that gets overlooked - and like so many things in business, we don’t know what we don’t know and Kat is the woman to educate us.

To learn more about Kat.

Connect with Kat on LinkedIn

For more information and resources for this episode, please visit:

Michelle Broadbent

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No matter what business you are in, loyal client relationships are key to building a sustainable business.

This is part 2 of my two part series working through ways you may be negatively impacting your existing client relationships.

These are things that you may not even realise you're doing but they are causing your clients to go looking for love elsewhere.

You don't want to waste all the time, effort and money you spent getting clients by not retaining them. Being aware of these potential red flags will help you here.

For more information and resources for this episode, please visit:

Michelle Broadbent

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maintaining loyal client relationships is a sure fire way to build a sustainable business. Yet far too many people spend an enormous amount of time, effort (and $$$) acquiring new clients and not enough energy retaining them.

Over the next two episodes, I share with you 10 ways you could be sabotaging your business and causing your hard-won clients to go looking for love elsewhere.

Being aware of these potential red flags will ensure you take action that encourages your clients to stay with you for the long haul.

Because the success of your business depends on having clients who value you and what you do for them.

For more information and resources for this episode, please visit:

Michelle Broadbent

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breaking up with a client is not exactly the most fun part of our job as business owners but sadly it does need to happen from time to time.

In this episode I am sharing some practical tips to consider when you find yourself in this situation.

Yes - it can be a stressful and dreaded experience but I want you to feel confident that you can manage the situation in a way that is damage-limiting and maintains your professionalism and integrity. 

Clear communication, leaning on terms of business and your internal processes are going to serve you well here.

You can’t control other people’s behaviour but you can control how you respond to it and there is no need for you to stay in a working relationship that is unsustainable. 

For more information and resources for this episode, please visit:

Michelle Broadbent

Connect with me via email at [email protected]

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever considered building a business with your life partner?

You may have romantic notions of working alongside your loved one day-in and day-out. Or perhaps you couldn’t think of anything worse??!

How about building a second business with your husband within the first year of becoming new parents??!

That’s exactly what my guest today has done and she is here to tell us what it’s been like.

Amy Faulkner and her husband Alex founded their brand strategy consultancy Starts with A in 2016 and have been working alongside each other ever since.

Just over 18 months ago they became parents, moved countries AND started a second business together.

Amy shares her learnings and exactly how she has made it all happen. She will be the first to tell you that she is NOT superwoman but she is an Action Taker. And she and Alex have taken considered action to live the life of their dreams. Right now.

Links:

For more information and to purchase Really Good Conversations visit Here 
Amy has given listeners a discount code: MB23
(for 15% off, valid until 5th June 2023)

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn
Follow @startswitha on Instagram

Amy’s recommendation was the Headway App which you can download here

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

Michelle Broadbent

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to themes of depression and anxiety.

As business owners, it’s easy to fall into a trap of working in a bit of a bubble. There is a world full of amazing people who think, learn and behave in diverse ways and it’s important to expand our knowledge and exposure so that we can be even better service providers, and humans.

As a supporter of neurodiverse women in my business, I am learning more every day about the nuances of assisting women who work, think and process information completely differently to me.

Which is why I asked today’s guest, Sarah Spence, to join me for a chat.

Sarah has grown her content marketing business from a solopreneur to an agency with a team of 20 in just 2 years. During this time of amazing growth, Sarah was diagnosed with ADHD.

In our chat, Sarah shares openly about her experience of ADHD and how it's impacted her as a business founder.

Sarah is a champion of neurodivergent people and gives us some great tips for working with neurodiverse people in our lives. I learned so much during my chat with Sarah and I know you will too.

Connect with Sarah

Follow Sarah on Instagram

And if you loved this episode, please share it with your Business Buddies or leave us a review on your podcast player.

Michelle Broadbent

Follow @michbroadbent on Instagram

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.