Conversations of Inspiration

The recent months have moved the conversation around flexible working forward at a dramatic pace, but as employees realise the huge benefits, will businesses change the way in which they ask their most valuable assets to work?
Anna Whitehouse, also known as Mother Pukka has been leading the Flex Appeal campaign for flexible working since 2015, and throughout this conversation she shares her own personal journey, from lawyer, to journalist and then finding her voice leading the campaign for...

A funny, straight-talking and brilliant storyteller, John’s journey will have you enraptured from start to finish, in what must be one of the most iconic social enterprises in existence today.

Lord John Bird’s story is one of the greatest Holly has had the pleasure to share on this podcast.

From his early days in an orphanage, surviving through fighting and stealing, John’s childhood was not an easy one...

Resilience, embracing the unknown and how business leaders can lead the way in societal change are just some of the topics that Holly covers with Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, founder of The Black Farmer and Lauren Currie OBE, founder and CEO of Stride.
 
SME: SOS is a topical podcast to support small businesses through this turbulent time of the Coronavirus. Offering advice from experts and founders, these 30 minutes are designed to empower and support you through this climate...

How does a beauty counter girl, become the beauty industry’s most powerful women at 50?

This week, Holly speaks to Caroline Hirons. Born in Liverpool but her childhood spent in Mississippi, Caroline’s greatest influences on her life were her grandmother and mother both of whom were beauty counter girls. With a love of the glamour and strong memories of the scents and makeup so loved by her heroines, you would imagine that Caroline’s path to beauty industry powerhouse was set...

As the high street shops reopen this week, this episode focuses on the future of retail, from retail giants including Mark Constantine, founder of LUSH, and Roger Wade, founder of Boxpark.  We also hear from Bill Collison, founder of Bill’s restaurants - and they all share the same ethos, that being special to your customer, the vital importance of physical connection and the power of retail theatre are the key to a thriving retail sector of the future...

Tough times don’t last, tough people do - are the words shared in this episode by Rob and Paul, the founders of Gandys.

But what do you do, when the very worst happens? How will the experience shape your life, and what will life look like on the other side?

Recounting their experience of the Tsunami where Rob and Paul, were orphaned at a young age, resilience, building a legacy and purpose sit at the very core of this conversation...

The crucial importance of small businesses to the UK economy has never been so acute, and this week Holly is joined by two fundamental pillars of support for small businesses at this time - Instagram and NatWest. Both brands share their insights, tools and support for small businesses beyond COVID. We also revisit a past podcast with Joe Wicks, as he shares his view on the role social media has played in his brand success...

With a strong mission to empower women in the boardroom as well as the bedroom, Jacquline revolutionised a male-dominated industry. 

Beginning her career at 21 when she started working for her father’s company, Jacqueline quickly saw the potential to change the focus of the business. Using her passion, ambition, and creativity Jacquline developed the concept of at-home parties and forever changed the way women could shop for lingerie and sex toys...

In a world in which we are acutely aware of what is out of our control, this week Holly speaks to two brilliant experts, who share insights on what we can control - albeit in very different forms. 

The first being supercharging our social media presence with Kathryn Tyler, co-founder of Digital Mums and the second how we can determine our own mindsets, and build our own happiness with Samantha Clarke, author of Love it or Leave it...

What does living with cancer do to your perspective on life? If Deborah James is anything to go by, it gives you a hunger for life, and a drive to make fundamental and long-lasting change to the system.

Mum of two, Deborah James, also known as Bowel Babe, joins Holly in this episode to discuss her formative years, how she navigated the news every person would dread and how she is spending each day driving to make a change to the system...