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Russell White is a co-owner of a recruitment company after years of experience as a recruiter including working with a variety of FTSE 500 companies. Russell joins Christina to talk about his wealth of knowledge in the industry including what real inclusion in the workplace looks like, the demands on agency-style businesses and account managers and how the pandemic revolutionised how we work forever.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Recruitment has evolved over the years that Russell has worked in the industry, it now has recognised value across industries Sadly Russell still comes across unconscious bias and attitudes towards people based on their race, age, neurodiversity and other traits. It’s up to businesses to accommodate those who are neurodiverse in the workplace. Bias towards them or not understanding the differences can be a detriment to the company, being neurodiverse is a positive. Inclusion can look very different depending on the company and the employee, it’s about looking at workers as individual people and recognising their needs, seeing them as part of the organisation. Making your people and employees feel part of something is a key element in creating good company culture as they will respect your company ethos, values and approach. Meeting people face to face is much more nuanced, the communication flows more freely and the conversations had are different and have a different energy. As a business owner you have to wear many different hats, you need to be analytical yet great at relationships alongside knowing all the moving parts of the business and its people. BEST MOMENTS 04:05 “[recruitment] Supported the life and careers of so many people who have gone on to help other people” 04:34 “You evolve the values of what a recruiter should be doing, for me it’s very much about helping the individual whilst understanding the cultural ethos and values of a business” 12:33 “Businesses need to adjust how they talk to them [neurodiverse], the environments those people work in” 16:31 “Being neurodiverse is not a negative, it’s a positive” 24:10 “It’s all about making people feel part of something, your people will respect the brand, the organisation, the ethos, the approach” 41:26 “As a business owner I do feel like a bit of a chameleon at times” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darin Adams from Keap (previously Infusionsoft) joins Christina in this episode to talk about the strength and power behind AI and automation for businesses and entrepreneurs. Darin has shown people across the world how to run their businesses via the power of automation and how to utilise this to make their small and medium-sized businesses more successful. He talks with Christina about how he does this and shares the many benefits of automation and AI beyond just saving time as well as defines why no one needs to feel worried or overwhelmed when integrating these tools into their business. KEY TAKEAWAYS Small businesses and entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of thinking they need to do everything themselves but automation is one of the best solutions to this. Automation isn’t new, it’s just being talked about a lot at the moment. Keap actually started using automation over 20 years ago. People are often intimidated when they hear the words automation and AI, but it’s simply because people don’t understand it. You don’t have to automate from start to end, you can break processes down and automate parts of it, this alone can save you a lot of time. To make a business successful you need good processes and structures, automation can aid you in doing this. Automation and AI aren’t just about saving time, the benefits go way beyond this. Sometimes we can get too focused on various new tech when instead we should be focusing on one thing at a time and making it work for us and our business. If you can use automation to compile and validate the right data you can then use this to aid your strategy, marketing and follow-ups. It’s actually a benefit of being smaller when start to integrate automation and AI into your business. If it is just you, you build the systems first before having to teach anyone else. BEST MOMENTS 02:17 “If you can automate things you can grow your businesses without manually having to do it” 05:47 “If it’s a technology we don’t understand and it feels overwhelming to us…it seems intimidating” 09:58 “Just find one or two things that you’re crap at the things that you can just streamline and maybe get the most amount of impact from the smallest investment” 14:16 “If you want to build a business that has value you need to build structure, you need to have process, and that’s all automation is” 17:35 “There are so many benefits beyond saving time” 45:10 “They’ve looked at the data but they haven't read the data, they haven’t understood the data, they haven’t taken intelligence away from it” 50:39 “If you get it right, the urgent things on your to-do list are presented to you” 53:53 "It's [AI] so flexible, we just need to get started with it" VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nishi Patel is a fellow podcaster and specialises in helping businesses with their cashflow management and getting their pricing right, which is even more important in the current economic crisis. He joins Christina to talk about his approach to business and marketing, including how he created his business as well as budgets, podcasting and mindset. KEY TAKEAWAYS Focusing on content creation has allowed Nishi’s company to build interest and generate leads for a part of the market that didn’t exist. Results take time, there is always a delay of at least six months in marketing. A mindset shift was necessary for Nishi to transition from simply accountant to becoming a marketing director. Marketing is an investment, not a cost. Surround yourself with the right people with the same mindset as you. Content creation and the social media age are the new gold rush. The podcast space is still growing. Nishi likes to compete where others aren’t competing as you get better growth, and this is why he is focusing on podcasts. The more time people spend with you the more they trust you which is why podcasts are a unique vehicle for developing relationships with potential clients. Build a referral strategy, it’s an essential way to generate strong leads. Marketing is important but you have to spend just as much time on your offering. BEST MOMENTS 06:32 “The results you get today are the benefit of what you put in place 6 months ago” 11:02 “That’s the bit that really got me down about marketing, is the amount of money we wasted to get it to work” 18:11 “You spend money on marketing, your business gains value” 25:38 “Content creation is the goldrush, social media is the vehicle” 30:25 “There’s no hype you can generate that with override a weak offering” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As entrepreneurs, we can’t underestimate the importance of health, both physical and mental and Lauren Lepley joins Christina in this episode to talk about exactly how we can prioritise it. Lauren is a multiple business owner including a wellness centre she also coaches and mentors people around strategizing them as a human, to better themselves and their business. She joins Christina to talk about all things wellness including the importance of sleep, finding out the things that count for you and gives tips and advice on what we can do to make a difference in our health to impact our lives and business. Christina and Lauren also talk about aligning your people, clients and business relationships with your vision and goals and why it’s ok to say no. KEY TAKEAWAYS When it comes to business, there are a few things we need to prioritise staying on top of and one of them is our health, both mental and physical. If we can be the best version of ourselves, recognise our weaknesses and utilise our strengths then we can create better businesses too. The world itself is simple, the only thing that complicates it is human beings. If you can only do one thing for your wellness and commit fully to it, then focus on sleep as it impacts everything. Sleep is how our body regenerates, including our brain. There is often a domino effect for health and wellness. As individuals, we have one element or habit that then impacts everything else, for the better. For Lauren, eating well is the thing that keeps her on track and dictates her sticking to other good habits. Lauren doesn’t believe we should think of life as being balanced, as it gives the illusion that different areas should be equal and this is never the case. Instead, we should think about things as being ‘blended’, that we blend them alongside each other to suit our needs. If we aren’t living in alignment with our needs then we won’t be living in our flow state, we will feel out of control and overwhelmed. You need to have someone you can talk to, who is in your corner, whether that is a friend, coach or mentor it is vital. Be authentic and unmasked whenever you engage, communicate and talk with people. Just be you and stay true to your vision, values and mission and the right people will find you. You need the bad times and negativity to feel and be positive. The lows have to come with the highs. There is nothing bad about saying no and turning clients down. You need to recognise when you can’t work well with someone. Think about if you are the right person for the job as well as if they are the right client/partner for you. BEST MOMENTS 03:28 “I work with people on their health, their psychology to help them become better for themselves and that makes their business better” 03:40 “Whenever there is an obstacle with in business, a human has created it” 07:22 “The way you feel today is dependent on the way you slept, it always starts with sleep” 16:22 “People say listen to your body, it’s quite a hard thing to do and then your head gets in the way” 27:28 “To be in flow is a complete control state, overwhelm is a lack of control” 31:08 “There’s so much pressure to always be Instagram filtered, to live that trailer life that we forget, rewind, that I’m human” 41:15 “Things don’t happen to you they happen for you” 45:10 “I work with as many people as I say no to” 46:43 “It doesn’t take a lot anymore for someone to say they are a coach which is a sad thing because it’s such a powerful place to be in”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cliff Spolander, CEO and founder of Business by Design talks with Christina about the importance of having an exit plan in place right from the very beginning He explains the importance of working on financial, personal and business plans to make sure that  you can successfully operate your business with effective strategies in place that mean you are prepared for the future and can exit well, whenever this happens KEY TAKEAWAYS It’s a flexible framework that people can use to understand where they are from a business personal and financial perspective A successful exit is when the personal and financial plans of  the business owner are met Exit planning is a good business strategy and by removing the emotion you can view the company realistically Its understanding the objective of the seller looking at it through the eyes of the buyer If you are going to sell what are you going to do next Most people start with a vision but can find the business all-consuming resulting in the business becoming their identity For the majority of people, their business becomes their baby but around 50%  will end up being forced out   People exit for a variety of reasons but the key is to be prepared and have a plan in place BEST MOMENTS ‘I’m getting a double buzz of building something helping people in the business world and it's kicking off cash that I can give away’ ‘Over time the owner's identity can become completely wrapped up in the business’    ‘Exit planning is like insurance you hope you’ll never have to use it in a bad way but should life throw you a curveball you are prepared for it’ RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE https://www.businessbydesign.co.uk/ https://www.thesmarterexit.com/ VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SMEs since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Osborne Founder and CEO of the Business Forum Group talks with Christina about the emotional rollercoaster of being a business owner and how being part of a community with other business owners with shared experiences makes such a positive difference In a time where being a business owner is more accessible than it’s ever been, hear about the key elements you need to get in place and why building the right team is so important KEY TAKEAWAYS It’s a human need to want to be part of something and belong There is a shift in drivers and values when you start a business and you can end up feeling isolated UKBF takes people who all have shared experiences and brings them together These communities are a massive support for small business owners and their mental health Small businesses are small teams, they are micro families and you can’t not get close to people Being a business owner has become more accessible and the pandemic resulted in a huge increase in  e-commerce-style businesses There are more people starting up in business but education doesn’t include any of the necessary aspects of starting a business BEST MOMENTS ‘You spend more of your time with the people you work with than your spouse and children’ ‘There is no education about starting a business’ ‘There are more people starting businesses than ever beforeABOUT THE GUEST Richard Osborne is the founder of UKBF, the UK’s largest and most active community for startups and small business owners. He also founded Business Data Group which, among other things, is the UK’s leading company formations platform.  You might also know Richard as the host of the DRIVE podcast, where he shares small business owners’ stories and what motivates them to keep pushing despite all the odds. Christina Talk podcast Richard Osborne is the founder of UKBF, the UK’s largest community for startups, and Business Data Group, developer of the UK’s leading company formations platform. In this episode, we talk about the challenges Richard’s faced, from overcoming a difficult childhood to scaling a community. VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode with Christina, she talks about the importance of having a distinct tone for your business when outsourcing social media and marketing activities, and why working on, and with, that tone throughout all you do is essential in remaining authentic and trustworthy to your audience. KEY TAKEAWAYS The more conversations you have with the people helping you with marketing, the more they can help you and your brand get your messaging right. Using something like AI for your copy can be a fast solution but you can also easily lose your tone of voice and with it, your authenticity. Think about the perception of the words you use with your audience. What words would you want your clients and audience to use to describe you? What values are important to you and your business, these will provide clues to what your tone of voice should be. Look at businesses in the same sector as you and what they are doing, there are lessons you can easily learn here, what is working for them? Can it work for you?  BEST MOMENTS 02:11 “It’s so important that you do it in a way that protects your sound, the voice that you have for your market” 03:11 Your tone of voice is how you say what you say, it’s how you communicate your message” 04:27 “Think about how you communicate naturally when you talk with people, listen to how you speak” 07:20 “If we define our tone of voice we can define what we’re not going to sound like as well” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura Perkes is a PR strategist, brand storyteller and the founder of PR with Perks. She joins Christina in this episode to talk about how she supports and teaches entrepreneurs and small business owners, what PR is all about in the modern world and also her most recent book How to Get PR KEY TAKEAWAYS Laura has over 18 years of experience in the PR industry and alongside her PR consultancy business, has also started to coach entrepreneurs on how to manage PR themselves. PR is communicating yourself and your message to your audience, to influence behaviours. In terms of marketing, PR is a ‘top funnel’ activity as you are taking one message and broadcasting it to as big an audience as possible. If you are trying to get the attention of a journalist you need to put yourself in their shoes. Mainly you need to stand out to get their attention and do your research, this begins with the email title. Copy and pasting emails and responses are no longer good enough. You need to personalise it. Your audience isn’t always where you immediately expect. Especially in the b2b world, not everyone reads industry press. You need to decide what you want your PR message to be. Then the next thing to do is to test it, testing it via social media is a great first step because it tests your audience too. When you are new to PR it can feel overwhelming. But you just need to focus on what you want to achieve and take it step by step. PR visibility isn’t just about how you look, but about your message and whether you are being heard. Becoming visible isn't about volume. You don't have to post more on social media, you need to instead be intentional and purposeful with what you post; does it align with your message? BEST MOMENTS 01:20 “There’s so much stuff that gets in the way of entrepreneurs knowing where to start, how to start [in PR]” 02:54 “Technically everything we’re doing is PR” 05:07 “For me, PR is getting as many people into your business as possible the role of PR is done, we are then going to pass you over to marketing” 12:35 “Personalisation always works from a marketing perspective” 24:16 “Get your message down first and the best way to test your message is on social media” 40:28 "Everyone is born with a personal brand, you choose whether to leverage it or not"  42:30 "Be intentional, why are you there? What are you sharing [on social media]" VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Knight is the founder and head trader at Trades Tribe. The Trades Tribe was created from Ben’s belief that trading should be so easy that anyone can do it. Listen in to learn all about all things trading and become more educated about investing for your financial future! KEY TAKEAWAYS When Ben started trading, he set out to look for a strategy that was quick, simple and collaborative. This is how Trades Tribe was born. Ben avoids day trading as that’s one of the most popular strategies, he instead focuses on what he called ‘medium investing’. Christina’s mentality around investing was that she could instead spend that money on something like horse racing. She feels like she might as well do trading and have a chance of getting a return. Ben advises that investing and trading should never feel like a gamble and it isn’t a gamble if you have the right strategy. Money mindset affects how a person views trading and investing. You have to bear this in mind when working with them, to know what risks they will take but also how you explain and rationalise things to them. Time, risk and lack of self-belief are the three main deciding factors that are why people prevent or stop themselves from trading. Risk is such a large deciding factor on whether people invest because of two main reasons, one because of the number of horror stories out there and second because people don’t have the right education around trading and strategy. Anyone can trade successfully in just 5 minutes a day using Ben’s Strategy. Tap into the power of compounding, by reinvesting most of what you make Never invest more than you can afford, no matter how tempting it may be.   BEST MOMENTS 03:07 “I invested a lot in my education” 09:30 “How the hell do you know what to buy, what not to buy” 12:17 “There should be no doubt in your mind when you know you’re going to exit” 17:25 “Risk is one of the biggest reasons [people don’t invest] because there are so many horror stories out there” 23:02 “It’s taking something that’s just so complex and just bringing it down” 39:47 “A good company to invest in will be dependent on what strategy you’re using” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is a marketing mindset and what impact does it have on your results? Join Christina in this episode to find out the answers to these questions and why it’s important to determine your clients' mindset before working with them. KEY TAKEAWAYS One of the key things behind your marketing, particularly in social media, comes down to mindset. Social media marketing won’t bring you overnight success unless you are willing to put all the work in that’s needed including time and money. Having realistic expectations and self-belief allows you to become more open-minded about what can be done to help you achieve the results you want.   BEST MOMENTS 02:52 “When you really want results there are certain things you’re going to have to do” 04:13 “ If we don’t fix this mindset before we begin then we’re going to be disappointed” 07:10 “We know this stuff works over a long period, not over a few weeks” 08:30 “Our mindset is this is going to work so we’re open to all the ways it’s going to work, open to all the results we are going to see” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you need to build your email list, have you run out of ideas on what you can do? Join Christina in this episode where she shares over 20 innovative ways to build your email list! KEY TAKEAWAYS Sign up form on your home page and contact us page Make sure you have a call to action in your emails Allow people to sign up for content that they will only receive via email Create personalised sign-up options, and allow people to pick and choose what they want to be emailed about Put together a mini-course delivered by email Create a competition with an email opt-in Previews and teasers, incentivise people to sign-up to find out/hear more about something Collaborate with a business that serves the same audience as you and collect email addresses from their audiences too Reactivate ‘stale data’ Create quizzes that give personalised reports   BEST MOMENTS 05:19 “Now you’ve got their data, you can market to them” 13:07 “Who do you know who serves the same audience as you, the same ideal clients, maybe you could do guest blogs for each other” 13:46 “Think about collecting your email addresses when you’re offline, things like old-school networking, giving your details seems like second nature but asking for theirs does not” 23:19 “Make sure all your systems are integrated correctly, so everything is tidy”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Ikhenemoh is a GP, mental health specialist and author. He joins Christina in this episode to talk about how he found his passion for psychological health, what it means to have a mission in life and how you can help yourself, or others when they are struggling with their mental health. KEY TAKEAWAYS Starting medical school in Nigeria, Dr Ikhenemoh then spent some time in Russia, he left Russia for Holland where he continued his medical studies. ¼ people have an episode of depression in their life. Asking the right questions, in the right way for the individual, is essential when talking with an individual with mental health issues. Dr Ikhenemoh believes the word depression is often misused. All humans feel down sometimes, this is normal, but it doesn’t mean you are depressed. In order to diagnose clinical depression, there are two questions you can ask a patient, if they have feelings of hopelessness combined with a lack of interest in life and they have been feeling this way for two weeks. There are conditions that can mimic depression, such as thyroid gland dysfunction, it’s important to be able to distinguish when something physical is affecting a patient's mood. One of the upsides of the pandemic is that it lead to people talking more about mental health. It has become less stigmatised and more recognisable. Depression doesn’t define the individual, Dr Ikhenemoh doesn’t believe anyone was born to be depressed, he believes you have to find yourself outside of depression. You have to be able to recognise your own symptoms of low mood and/or depression. You can then start to deal with them, preventing spiralling.  BEST MOMENTS 08:05 “We are all human beings; we can’t be happy all of the time” 18:08 “Depression is not you, it’s a state, it’s a condition, it’s not you” 22:30 “No human being should suffer depression” 33:50 “Every second of every day, I have the power, I have the control, I have the responsibility to choose my state” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/ ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christina is joined by Simon Leslie, an author and entrepreneur who founded and built one of the biggest Travel Media Companies, Ink Global. They discuss mindset, the severe impact of covid on businesses, how to rebuild after a major setback and more! KEY TAKEAWAYS Innovation was critical to Simon’s business as both travel and media have continually and vastly changed over the past few decades. In tough times, you need to be united as a team. You need to recognise opportunities and stay focused on what you can do in difficult circumstances. The easiest way to build rapport is to ask questions and remain interested. It may take time for your message to hit a customer. It’s about building trust and loyalty over time. We are all given opportunities every day, we just have to be able to recognise them and be in the right places, with the right people. People are focusing on the wrong benefits when looking at employment, what they should be looking at is whether the company is going to look at you as a human and invest in you as so. The pandemic has accelerated so many aspects of businesses, especially in marketing and advertising. In over 30 years of experience, nothing has ever stopped Simon from doing business, until covid. He recognised it wasn’t his fault but it was his responsibility to deal with. If you find yourself asking multiple people a question, it usually means you’re scared to make a decision and take action. BEST MOMENTS 09:58 “The only thing the person in front of you cares about is are you a good listener, do you understand what my problem is and can you help me fix it” 11:20 “At the end of the day if you want that conversion to happen you have to have a human involved” 18:34 “Every day we are presented with opportunities” 30:20 “Culture is everything, stop selling jobs, no one is selling jobs” 45:20 “If you ask yourself poor questions, you’ll get a poor answer” 51:38 “You’ve got to get rid of the negativity in your life and find people who have done what you want to do”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE GUEST Simon Leslie https://www.luckyleslie.com Over the last few decades, Simon has learned one or two things about surviving – and thriving – in global business. His company, Ink, has helped some of the world’s largest brands advertise across hundreds of airlines and airports worldwide, in media that’s been translated into over 17 languages. As a leader, and a salesperson, Simon has weathered a few storms, and overcome some massive hurdles. The thing that kept Simon going throughout all the years has been belief. Belief in himself, his product, and his team. Books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/There-Sales-selling-market-condition/dp/1916105106/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=no+f+in+sales&qid=1566911923&s=gateway&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/Equanimity-Diary-Crisis-Simon-Leslie/dp/1916105130   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A short but informative solo episode with Christina. Christina talks about how you can build your Instagram audience, the mistakes you might be making and some quick wins to help you in your audience-building journey! KEY TAKEAWAYS Think about what you want to get out of your Instagram before then focusing on your content. Look at the past 10 posts and stories you have been using, are you being authentically you? Can you see the people behind the brand? Engagement is key, it’s not just about likes but people meaningfully engaging with your content. Can you ask questions or deliver content that invites people to comment and respond to your posts? Think about where your audience engages with you already, is it on your stories, your grid or are reels going to build your audience faster for you?   BEST MOMENTS 00:45 - “Instagram requires a lot of effort and sometimes it feels like a lot of effort for not a lot of reward” 03:08 “We just have to be persistent…earn your audience, make it genuine” 05:55 “I know the things the people tend to engage with more” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christina joins Clare Davis on the Women’s Power Hour. Clare is an expert on emotional fitness and she talks to Christina about all the things she has done and continues to do to work on her emotional fitness. Christina also opens up about the trauma and difficulties she had to face before developing her own emotional fitness and how you can work on yours too!   KEY TAKEAWAYS   Success is about how you feel, it doesn’t have to be something big it’s actually all about a feeling and this is what Christina is addicted to! Emotional fitness to Christina means awareness. Being self-aware of your emotional state, knowing when to take a break and having the strength to recognise what you need and advocate for those needs. Being able to say ‘I love you’ to yourself is an incredibly hard thing to do. But when you can do it, it’s so powerful. At age 21 Christina was doing really well, But just a few months later she had lost everything. This happened because her emotional fitness didn’t exist. By her late 20s Christina had resigned herself to things just happening to her, she almost had a victim mindset. But in 2018 she decided enough was enough and she was going to change the course of her and her families life. Realising that her life wasn’t supposed to be how it was, made her recognise that she had control over what happened next. Build yourself a support network that can recognise when you are struggling and help you with the tools to getting back to being emotionally fit!   BEST MOMENTS   11:17 - “If you don’t work on it, it will trap you” 13:13 “You kid yourself that you’re such a failure that you have to do the next thing” 20:05 “That message changed, the thought in my head is my life isn’t supposed to be like this” 20:58 “Sometimes you get out of bed and you don’t feel right, that just being human, that’s normal” 29:02 “When your emotional wellness drops, so does the self-love, so does your self-worth” 31:45 "We all deserve to put ourselves first, if we can love ourselves we can love other people" VALUABLE RESOURCES https://www.novaassociates.co.uk/radio-shows\ Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After meeting at a charity event Christina has invited retired professional rugby player and Public Speaker George Chuter onto the podcast.  It was during their conversation at the event Christina realised George had a wealth of wisdom, knowledge and skills relevant to business. Christina and George talk about George's career, the importance of strategy and instincts in decision making as well as why relationships and teamwork are essential to success.     KEY TAKEAWAYS George never anticipated being a professional rugby player when he first started playing. The sport only became professionalised during his first year of University in 1995. George discusses with Christina how he has relied on his intuition during career decisions and following what makes him happy rather than strategy and planning.   George outlines the transferable skills which being a profession sportsman has given him. These include the ability to connect with lots of different kinds of people, self motivation, discipline, confidence and learning to talk to people.   What are the secrets to good rapport when interviewing people during public speaking? Since he has started doing interviews George has tried to create an open conversation. Know your subject but then just talk and try to get behind the usual stories. This creates a more engaging talk rather than hearing the same stories.   The best advice George can give is just to talk to people. Step outside your comfort zone and make relationships with people.   Taking the opportunity to speak with lots of different people brings lots of rewards, including making you a more rounded human and opening networking opportunities.   Hard work is key. George explains how he wasn't the most gifted athlete but he worked hard to maximise himself to compete at the level he was at.    In sport, like in business, reflection is key to success. Analysing what went well, what didn't and how to improve.    Resilience and stubbornness to succeed is essential. Better athletes than George fell away while he rose to professional level.    A great team has honest and open communication. George suggests the best coaches are able to hand over control to the team, this builds resilience and learning. Christina agrees and notes how her team will tell her when her ideas are bad as well as good which allows business to grow. She trusts her team to perform without her.    BEST MOMENTS 15:40 - “The sort of things that are almost natural to sports people in general, but in my experience rugby in particular, are [also] priceless commodities when you get into a world of  business” 33:45 - “If you want to be successful for a sustainable period of time you've got to work on your weaknesses” 34:32 - “Having a growth mindset, having the mindset of an elite performer because actually we’re not focusing on the fact we didn't succeed in that moment, we’re focusing on what we do to make sure we do it next time” 38.21 “I wasn't the best player by any means, certainly not the best athlete or anything like that but I had a bit of resolve and a bit of grit about me.  Better players than me fell by the wayside and I ended up making a career out of it” 43:17 “Good teams contain good people, simple as that”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2022 has been quite hectic for Christina but exciting things are starting to happen now so Christina wanted to come back with a renewed focus to share her knowledge and expertise as well as what she has learnt from the great people she is surrounding herself with at the moment. When people first start in business, their website isn’t always their first focus. They can mistakenly think it’s something that will be expensive and time-consuming to organise but this doesn’t have to be the case at all. Listen in to this episode to hear Christina's 10-Point Marketing Website Checklist she created to help score her clients websites. KEY TAKEAWAYS   When businesses are first starting, they just need something that will help them be found on google, will help reassure potential clients and somewhere that can generate leads. You can just think of it as a shop front but even then you should be making it work to help generate something for your business.   A call to action is one of the first things Christina looks for on a website. The website should take her on a journey, with every click she is building trust with that brand. The call to action that is created should be the most logical next step which also engages them.   When reading the website content, the individual needs to feel like they are being spoken to personally. Think about the language you are using on your website and how you can make the user feel like it’s aimed directly at them as an individual.    News or blog pages are a great way to ensure people keep coming back to your website. Ideally you want to try and get people to come back every two weeks. This is a good regularity to have, it’s enough for google to pick it up without overwhelming your potential customers. It’s also a good tool to use and share on social media too.   Make sure there is a lead generation capture on the website, for example a blueprint, guide, poster, quiz or even filling in a form to receive a freebie.   If you can get data from potential customers, try and mix up the communication. For example, sometimes send an email, sometimes send a text message.   People love sharing. On your high value pieces of content, include a share button!   Always include your social media accounts on your website banner.   Make sure your website is mobile friendly, always check it.   Have a visible phone number, make it easy to find and also make it ‘click to call’. If people find it difficult to contact you then it creates a negative start to their interaction with you.   Include testimonials on your site. You don’t need a specific section or page necessarily, you can simply scatter them through the web pages.   One of the best ways to communicate your brand on your website is simply through images. The more visual your site is the easier it is for people to engage with the content that is there.   Consider the variety of media you use on your website, can you add audio or video to make it more interesting and engaging to your potential clients?   BEST MOMENTS   01:15 - “I’ve got some really cool guests lined up!” 05:27 “When I land on a website I’m looking for there to be a call to action” 08:15 “How can you make the content, how can you make the text on your website feel more personal?” 21:34 “If you can have one page where they are all there [testimonials], they probably won’t look at that page much but when you’re pitching, it can be really powerful” 22:49 “We need to use visuals to communicate the message of the brand” 25:29 “How can you make your website more interesting through the use of imagery, video, audio”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Johnson is a successful business owner and coach. Lisa grew up in poverty and was bullied her entire life. She worked incredibly hard to build a career in an investment bank but it was when she had her twins that her perspective changed; this was the start of her journey to building a passive income. Listen in to hear all about her story and what it takes to run a successful business, how you can turn that into passive income and the personal development industry. Christina and Lisa also talk about how adversity fuels success, what needs to change in the business world and the importance of patience. KEY TAKEAWAYS Everyone in Lisa’s family had lived in poverty, she made a conscious decision to change the pattern. She could only do this by taking risks and making changes. She didn’t want the poverty to continue on to her boys so this is what she did. After turning her own business round into a success, Lisa found people kept asking her for advice so she decided to create a consultancy firm and teach people what she did! Unfortunately, although the business was successful, it was burning her out and she was working far too much. So, she began to consider different business models and then learnt about passive income. Having a tough life where you have faced adversity prepared Lisa for business. It meant she always found a way to do things and to make things happen. She continues to use adversity to fuel her fire in everything she does. It’s ok to use the negative things that happened to you to push you forward. You don’t learn from one person. You learn from many. Lisa understand that’s the strength in her business comes from her entire team not her alone. Not everyone’s measure of success is about money. It’s easy to lose sight of this. Patience in business is essential. It’s incredibly unusual to have success overnight, it takes time and hard work to make a successful business. Hurt people hurt people and Lisa recognises this. She was passionate about doing something to help both those who are bullied as well as the bullies themselves so she became an ambassador for Bullies Out. People think women can and want to do it all. But that isn’t the case for so many, women don’t want to do everything, they want help. BEST MOMENTS 02:20 - “I realised that I was going to have to leave that job that I had worked so hard to get” 05:10 “Business isn’t complicated, but people really make business complicated” 11:07 “There is always another way, there is a million ways to find a million pounds you just have to choose one” 28:52 “It’s definitely not passive in the first year, you’ll work harder than you ever have in your entire life”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE GUEST Lisa Johnson   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Christina in this episode as she speaks to entrepreneur, coach, speaker and fellow podcaster Nick James! Nick has a growing business empire and contributes a lot to the world of entrepreneurship in the UK, through various means including his podcast Empire Builders and his own event company Expert Empires. Christina and Nick talk about entrepreneurship, Nicks own story and the importance and value of self-development for everyone. KEY TAKEAWAYS Nick was exposed to personal development and self-improvement from a young age. Nick’s mum was actually a trainer for Tony Robbins so it was no surprise that at just 12 years old he had a natural interest in events, coaching and self-development and by his late teens he was working for Tony Robbins himself! Expert Empires is Nick’s event company. It is the culmination of over 27 years of being in and around the world of personal development. It’s Nick’s version of giving people the best experience in self-development and building their business. When you surround yourself with the right people, those who have a growth mindset, the lessons you learn are huge. The best way to introduce your children to ‘alternative education’ is to be the best example of that education and what it can do. Education, information and self-development is more accessible than it has ever been. You can simply go onto Spotify or Apple Podcasts and find millions of hours of education for free. The success of Podcasting has changed the landscape of self-development and the information world. Christina compares events like Empire Builders to a retreat. It gives you time to stop the everyday, refocus and realign yourself to work on your own development, business development or both. You can take the time to work on your life rather than in your life. Everyone has at some level, limited beliefs. Whether that is what they can achieve in work, at home or even financially. You get what you believe you are capable at that point in time so it is so important to increase and grow your belief in yourself throughout life. The vision comes first the ‘how’ comes later. Make a decision and create the space for it to happen. Vision is made up of purpose, mission, and values     BEST MOMENTS 04:33 - “I learnt about running amazing events from Tony Robbins all through my teens and early twenties” 13:09 - “You can get access to this information for free, so easily now. This is why I believe self-development is becoming more mainstream because it’s becoming more accessible through podcasts and social media” 33:36 – “I do believe that everyone has, at some level, limited thinking”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE GUEST Nick James Nick dropped out of university at the age of 21 and failed spectacularly with his first coaching business, which forced him to take a £16k/yr telesales job.  Within 12 months he was the top performer and left to start his second business at 24. This time he discovered a winning formula and before long had a multi-six-figure company. He then made a huge mistake which nearly put him out of business and cost him £50,000 in personal cash! Fortunately, Nick kept it afloat, turned it around, and sold that business 2 years later in a seven-figure deal.  He then co-founded a multi-million-pound marketing company, which he exited in 2015, and created Expert Empires. Today, Expert Empires is known as the UK's number one business event for Experts, with world-renowned celebrity speakers like Gary Vaynerchuk, Grant Cardone, Chalene Johnson, David Goggins, and Lewis Howes gracing the stage. Nick also specialises in helping Coaches, Consultants, Speakers, Trainers, and Authors take their businesses from zero to six figures and beyond through his Expert Empires Mastermind programme.   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dillon is a philanthropist, economist, consultant and most of all, a humanist. He has so much love and understanding for the world and this alongside his passion for everything in life is why Christina was drawn to his message. In this episode Christina and Dillon talk about media, how the tech world is changing, the impact this is having, and will continue to have on our evolution as well as mindset and how we can all have a net positive impact on the world around us. KEY TAKEAWAYS We all learn from our parents, they and the trauma they have had often unwittingly gets passed down to us. Both Christina and Dillon are the children of refugees and this has shaped them in more ways than one. We all exist on a dual field of existence. Both the material and the metaphysical. Dillon believes having a true understanding of both is important for true and lasting success. When Dillon thinks of how humans should move forward, he thinks about evolution and how moving past the 5 senses is necessary to move the entire human species forward. Right now, we are stuck in living to own, living in our senses, in fear and in insufficiency.  Facebooks shares and followers have dropped, could this be the beginning of the end for big tech? Dillon supports TikTok because it has created a true opposition to the giants such as Facebook. He welcomes change and the 'alternative'. It’s important to think about how world events, rhetoric and the media are linked. Are we playing into the hands of those who want to remain in control?  Can certain things be linked and if they are, think about why? We are living in a shareable world. We need to protect ourselves in this sense but also, if you have something positive to share then you have a responsibility to do so. It’s not a numbers game, it’s a passion game. The more passionate you are about what you are talking about the more likely people are to listen to you. We can all have a net positive impact on the world by elevating our individual levels of consciousness. Moving away from compulsive actions, thoughts and behaviours and instead, monitoring how we are thinking and how and why we are behaving as we do. BEST MOMENTS 04:53: “If I was to label myself as anything, I think it would be a humanist” 15:14 “The highest good of all is defined as moving the species forward, on the evolutionary spectrum” 19:21  “TikTok might be the thing that has broken the mould” 28:04 “It’s like being on the cusp of a revolution” 39:46 “We live in a world where we expect things to happen quickly, not we live in a world where we expect the success we desire if we continue modifying the action” VALUABLE RESOURCES Christina Talks Podcast https://www.green-umbrella.biz/how-to-launch-anything-using-social-media/   ABOUT THE HOST Christina has been working with SME’s since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. In 2019 Christina made the move from employee to business owner of a successful digital marketing agency focused on educating business owners in the use of social media. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player. For small businesses, the tools are just as accessible – you just need to know how to use them! LinkedIn Twitter Website See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.