February 12, 2025 • 39 mins
Ever felt stuck in your business, wondering if success is truly possible for you? 🚀 In this episode of The Bold Blueprint, Claire Bartlett sits down with Kayleigh Greenacre, founder of Actually I Can, to discuss the realities of entrepreneurship, the power of mindset, and the strategic moves that make all the difference.
Kayleigh shares her journey from education to entrepreneurship and reveals how she turned her passion for empowering female entrepreneurs into a thriving business. She opens up about the challenges of juggling personal and professional life, the importance of defining your ‘why’, and why tracking your progress isn’t just important - it’s essential.
If you’re looking for practical strategies, honest insights, and a dose of motivation to push through challenges and build a successful, sustainable business, this episode is for you!
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:🔹 Why mindset is the foundation of business success 🔹 How to find your ‘why’ and stay motivated through challenges 🔹 The importance of tracking metrics and using data to grow 🔹 How strategy, not just hard work, leads to real results 🔹 Why community and support networks are key for entrepreneurs 🔹 How to balance personal life while growing a business
Key Takeaways & Action Steps:💡 Mindset First: Your beliefs shape your reality - so make sure they’re empowering! 📊 Know Your Numbers: Tracking metrics helps you make informed, strategic decisions. 💪 Your ‘Why’ Matters: A clear purpose keeps you going when things get tough. 🤝 Build a Community: Surround yourself with people who lift you up and push you forward. ⚖️ Balance is Possible: Success doesn’t have to mean burnout - structure your time wisely!
Why This Episode is a Must-Listen:Entrepreneurship is more than just a great idea - it requires resilience, strategy, and the right support system. Kayleigh Greenacre’s insights will inspire you to approach your business with confidence, clarity, and intention, ensuring that you’re not just working hard, but working smart.
If you’ve been struggling with self-doubt, feeling stuck, or wondering how to take your business to the next level, this episode will give you the mindset shifts and strategic tools to move forward with purpose.
Other episodes on The Bold BlueprintThis season is packed with powerhouse conversations, including: 🔥 Dani Wallace – Speaker coach on using your voice with confidence. 🔥 Holly Matthews – Mindset mentor on resilience and happiness. 🔥 Matthew Hughes – The YouTube expert sharing video branding secrets.
Resources & Links Mentioned:🌟 Connect with Kayleigh Greenacre → https://www.facebook.com/kayleigh.greenacre 🌟 Learn more about Actually I Can → https://www.actuallyican.co.uk/ 🌟 Follow Claire on Instagram → @cs_bartlett
Love This Episode? Here’s How You Can Support the Podcast:💙 Follow & Subscribe – Never miss an episode! ⭐ Leave a Review – Your feedback helps us grow & reach more entrepreneurs! 📲 Share This Episode – Send it to a friend who needs a mindset boost! 📢 Tag Claire & Kayleigh on Instagram with your biggest takeaway!
Your support helps The Bold Blueprint continue to bring real, valuable conversations to entrepreneurs like you.
🎧 Hit play now and start building a business that truly aligns with your vision!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of The Bold Blueprint.
Today I am joined by Kayleigh Greenacre, who is the founder of Actually I Can, which Ijust love in itself.
She now helps female business owners to level up their businesses and to get that successthat we all dream of.
So Kayleigh, thank you so much for joining me today.
(00:21):
it's an absolute pleasure.
Thank you so much for inviting me on, Claire.
No, it's good.
I'm excited to delve a bit more into your story.
what I've seen online, find really interesting that you actually started out as you're anassistant headteacher at a school.
And I just love that transition.
So do you want to take us back to when was it?
2020, 2021, when you moved into this space and tell us all how that happened for you?
(00:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
So it was a journey.
It definitely was a journey and a very, very challenging time of my life as well in termsof my personal life as well.
So I was at the time sort of going through a divorce and it was, all COVID was happening,we in the middle of lockdown and there was lots of different things kind of going on, you
know, from the personal perspective side of things and obviously in the world.
(01:07):
And it was at a,
point in my life where I knew that I really wanted to create something to empower womenand to really inspire them.
through kind of a lot of self-reflection, self-work, was very, I was massively intopositive psychology and also was an entrepreneur on the side anyway.
So I'd had a business at the age of 25.
(01:29):
But I knew I wanted to do something more.
And it was almost as if that was my opportunity to really think about, okay, how can Icreate something?
I create that will really support people's mindsets, but also support them with followingtheir dreams, building something that they truly feel aligned with.
And so the whole concept and idea of it stemmed in the middle of lockdown.
(01:51):
And I originally started writing a book and started to share my own thoughts and processesand how to really support people with following their dreams.
And then one thing led on to another and gradually over time, I sort of built
this concept and idea for my business and decided to go all in with it.
And I thought, you know what, I'm going to show the other women out there what is possibleand how we can continue to follow our dreams, regardless of the setbacks, the challenges
(02:20):
and the things that we face, which I'm sure we'll dive into more in this episode andfollowed that dream.
And I was able to launch my business alongside working as an assistant head teacher.
And then I gradually, obviously the business grew very, very rapidly.
and I was then gradually able to kind of step back and then leave education and take mybusiness full time.
(02:41):
Amazing.
And I love what you hit on there because it is, they're so integrated, aren't they, ourmindset and the levels of success that we see really without the mindset being in the
right place and having that self awareness, self respect, self belief, you can't reallyachieve the levels of success that we can dream of.
So how do you support clients with that?
(03:02):
And do you see the connection?
You think it's super important to deal with both sides of your business as well.
I absolutely do.
think when I first launched this business, there's always going to be two sides, isn'tthere?
Especially as a business strategist and business coach, there is the strategy side of it,but there is also that massive element of mindset.
I do believe that those that go all in and lean all into the mindset side of things wherethey're investing in their mindset, not necessarily in terms of money, but investing in
(03:31):
their mindset daily where they're...
you know, really focusing on their self belief, their positive psychology and how they'respeaking to themselves.
It's that self talk I think is so important and so valuable.
And it is those that invest in that on a daily basis, I believe are the ones that aregoing to succeed and rapidly increase their success sooner rather than others.
(03:55):
Yeah, I think that's so true.
I think there's a saying, I'm sure you've heard it, but if you believe that you can or youbelieve that you can't, you're right.
And it's so true that we can so easily limit ourselves and often not actually even realisethat we're doing it in the beginning.
It's only when you start becoming more self-aware and listening to how we speak in ourminds.
(04:16):
I talk about this all the time because so often the way that we speak to ourselves in ourmind, we would never speak to even our worst enemy.
but it's so ingrained in our subconscious that we don't even realise that we're doing itanymore.
how can we, or how did you start switching that on and becoming self-aware and thenchanging that to such a positive mindset?
(04:36):
Yeah, I think again, a lot of it is down to, like you said, it's the self-talk, it's howwe kind of in a sense fall into this habit of how we speak to ourselves and the daily
routines, the daily things that we do.
You know, and absolutely I agree with what you said there in terms of the famous saying,if you say you can, you can't, you're absolutely right.
I think the more that we lean into the concept and the idea of anything is possible andyou can achieve whatever you want to achieve.
(05:03):
the more likely you are obviously to achieve it.
Because I think when you have, when you tell yourself daily that you can do something andwe know we as entrepreneurs and hopefully everyone does know this, but it's not going to
always be an easy ride.
It's not going to be an easy journey.
There's so many obstacles and challenges and things that come up for us, but we are allstrong enough to work through those.
(05:25):
And with your own supportive network and community and things as well, that all, that willalso help.
But I do believe that
you know, it's really, important to keep telling ourselves that we can do this, you know,and I'm sure everyone along their journey in their personal lives or in their careers, et
cetera, have faced other challenges and they've been able to get through those.
So again, I think as entrepreneurs, it is a case of really having that full belief andthere's different ways of being able to, you know, to support you with that.
(05:52):
So I know that some people like journaling, some people like meditation, some people likejust literally going to the gym or going for an early morning walk.
And I think it's about finding something.
that will keep you energized, motivated and focused every single day to keep you workingtowards that end goal.
Yeah.
And I think you, I know you mentioned on your website, for instance, and I've seen yourpost before, that you are very heavily driven by your why, which is your daughter and
(06:20):
inspiring your daughter that she can achieve anything and showing that to her.
So how important is having that why and then keeping that in your mind?
So allowing that to be the driver.
Yes, your why I believe drives so many people and it definitely has, like you've justmentioned, it's driven me, it's been my biggest motivator to show my daughter what is
(06:43):
possible for us as women.
think from my perspective, I've come from the education system as well asentrepreneurship, but I've come from the education system as my main career and I've grown
up in a society where males...
generally do earn more.
Males are the CEOs of the companies or bigger global companies, et cetera.
(07:04):
And what I've always wanted to do is to break the trends.
I've wanted to be able to show women, and especially, obviously, for my daughter, that wecan achieve as greatly as men can.
And we are able to follow those dreams and be able to reach whatever goal we want, as longas we've obviously got the mindset and the strategy.
(07:26):
And I think we have a why, we've, you know, going back to why and everyone has their whyand they have their purpose.
But with your why, it's almost as if it's that background motivator, isn't it?
That little driver.
As long as we're continuing to remind ourselves of our why, it will keep us grounded.
Because I think the online space is so noisy.
There's a lot of distractions.
(07:46):
And actually one of the hardest things I think for anyone is to stay in their lane and tostay focused.
And I think with your why in the back of your mind.
will support you not only with your mindset, but it will also support you of keeping youfocused so that you're not necessarily then distracted from all the noise in the
background.
Yeah, and it can change, can't it?
(08:07):
As your business develops, and as your life evolves, the reason, you know, that why canchange.
But I think it's just knowing, you know, the purpose behind it all, why you are doing whatyou're doing, why you get up every morning and go towards your business.
And for me, mine is, you know, basically the same as yours.
It was my daughter when I gave birth to my daughter.
(08:28):
I wanted more balance in my life and more flexibility with my working, but I also exactlythe same as you.
wanted to prove to her that actually anyone in the world can do anything as long as wehave that belief in us.
And I think one of the things that's been missing from us growing up, you and me, is thatwe just didn't have the visibility of successful women.
(08:49):
just what we didn't have those role models around us.
So if we can be that for our children and we can campaign and support other femalebusiness owners to achieve that so they can be role models in their space, I think it's so
powerful.
I think the
tide is changing slightly.
seeing more and more support and noise around female business owners, really successfulones.
(09:10):
In fact, recently, I don't know if you saw it in the news, but there was a largesupermarket in the UK had a whole aisle that was purely for female founded products.
Did you see about it?
I didn't, but amazing.
This is awesome.
so amazing.
And I was so pleased that we, you know, made this step and it's, know, it's a large brand.
(09:32):
So for them to be making that noise, obviously, they got so much backlash, you know, well,it shouldn't matter.
And I said, the thing is, I did a post on it.
We have presumed everybody really walks into a supermarket and almost presumes that everyaisle is a male owned business aisle.
So for them to just take that time to create that space in their
(09:55):
you know, in their stores and say, no, these are all really proudly female led products.
So many of them are household names that we use every day, but we just didn't know.
So being able to take my daughter there and say, all of these products that you know,they're all made by women, you could have a product on a main supermarket.
And I just think it's amazing to have that inspiration and that visual aid to help us withthat.
(10:18):
And with that dream, you know, that we can achieve any of these things.
So
No, absolutely.
I was going to say as well, and just through years of experience of teaching and educationand actually looking at, you know, younger people.
I know we're sort of, female entrepreneurs and we've been through journeys and we'recontinuing to grow as we scale our businesses and all the things.
(10:42):
But actually, through years and years of teaching and educating children, and it's reallyfascinating to have conversations with the younger generation in terms of what their goals
are.
And so many of them, you know, you're
Stereotypically, you'll hear the boys want to be gamers or footballers and the girls wantto be, you know, normally in the hair and beauty industry or the dentists, et cetera.
(11:02):
And it's really, really fascinating.
And I had a conversation with my daughter the other day actually about this.
And she said, mommy, when I'm older, I want to be, I want to have my own business.
That's the first thing that she said.
And obviously I think it's again for the inspiration that I'm giving her.
But then she said, but I'm also quite interested in being a scientist.
And we started to dive into this concept and then she was quite interested in this idea ofmaybe being an engineer.
(11:25):
And it just lights me up with these possibilities just from conversation with aseven-year-old at the time.
But it does fascinate me.
And I do think over the last at least decade, more and more opportunities, obviously withthe focus of STEM in schools and entrepreneurship and how we're seeing so many successful
entrepreneurs come through now, it's just a perfect opportunity.
(11:48):
for not only children, but actually for any age to see what is possible.
Yeah, yeah, I completely agree.
And I think we're really on like the precipice of great change now.
Finally, I think things are really, really going to start happening.
And it's just, you know, important for us all to continue that message, I suppose, isn'tit, and to continue to inspire.
(12:08):
So you work mainly with female founders, don't you?
And that was a conscious decision for you that that's the market that you wanted to go inand support.
Yes, it was.
So again, I think based on my own personal experiences in my career, and I've always beena firm believer that I can achieve whatever I want to achieve, and no one's going to stop
(12:30):
me.
I'm very, very driven in terms of my mindset and always have done.
But again, through my own experience of working in education, it frustrated me and annoyedme that there was so much male domination in terms of everything.
So I made a really, really strong focus and with my mission for my business to ultimatelyto support just female entrepreneurs.
(12:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's right, you know, first, we're allowed to have these spaces thatare just for women.
I think so often the female founders that I've worked with and that I've spoken to,sometimes they can actually feel quite intimidated if it's a shared space.
And they don't necessarily feel like they can take up the same space and share their voiceas much.
So sometimes to have that, I know that you have a membership as well, don't you havecommunity alongside your business?
(13:18):
Sometimes I think that's what women need.
We need just a safe space where we can show up and be ourselves and not feel that judgmentor that pressure, which to be honest, breaks my heart that that's how things are.
But hopefully, like we've mentioned, that will start changing the title and that willchange.
But the community aspect, has that been something that you knew at the very beginning thatyou wanted, or is that something that's just evolved with your business?
(13:45):
Yeah.
So in terms of building a community, it's always been something that I've always wanted todo.
So again, through my own experiences and just what you mentioned actually, in terms ofhaving a mixed community, I mean, I can take myself back to, you know, basically being in
the senior leadership team of the school.
But around that boardroom table, it was predominantly males with a couple of us beingfemales.
(14:09):
And did I speak out?
No, I didn't because I didn't.
feel that I had that courage.
It took me a couple of years as a senior leader to actually find my voice around thetable, even though the head teacher was very supportive.
He was male, very supportive.
And I think, again, that kind of opens up your eyes that I've always wanted theopportunity to have safe spaces and to be able to be or feel heard.
(14:34):
And I think a lot of people don't always get that or don't feel that they have that incertain situations and communities and circumstances.
So for me, it was always about building a safe space, a safe community and allowing peopleto feel supported, whether they're in my paid community or whether they're in my free
community.
(14:54):
For me, it was always about supporting and being open to listen, being open to supportpeople from any aspect, with any background and to be able to support them moving forward
with whatever their dreams and goals were.
Yeah, love that.
And you've mentioned it a couple of times already, but strategy, obviously you are mainly,it says business strategist is sort of the label that you go by the strongest.
(15:19):
How important is strategy to a business?
So we've spoken about the mindset, you've got your mindset set, what's the next step?
Is that getting the strategy in place?
Yeah, absolutely.
So I always think that, you know, without a strategy, you're going to struggle andstrategy.
Strategy is a word that is thrown around a lot in the online space.
(15:40):
And ultimately, you know, we as strategists are fully aware that business, you know,consists of lots of different areas and you should have technically a strategy for every
aspect of your business.
So I always say that, you know, make sure you've got a strategy in place, make sure you'vegot your systems and your processes.
But before any of that,
put the foundations down first.
(16:02):
And that's a step that a lot of people skip.
I see a lot of people posting on social media and sharing their offers, which isincredible.
But I always say to people, have the foundations laid first and then build strategies uponeach of the layers of your business in order to create a successful business that is able
to be sustainable and obviously to have that consistency.
(16:24):
Yeah, so you've actually sort of hinted onto my next question anyway, but like you say,the word strategy is used in so many different meanings by so many different people.
It just seems to be everywhere.
So if you are a relatively new business and you're hearing this word, but you just don'treally know what it means, can you break down into real simple steps what a strategy
(16:46):
actually means for your business?
Absolutely.
So in terms of strategy, what I would always recommend for anyone that's potentially alittle bit confused or not really certain what it is, have a clear, measurable action
plan, have steps, have something, system in place that will be able to support you.
So if I was to give an example to make it really simple, a lot of people will talk aboutstrategy through content, and that's something that a lot of people want to have, a clear
(17:12):
strategy to be able to make sales through content.
So what that strategy would look like, obviously it will vary and depend for everyindividual as every strategy should be bespoke to them.
But when it comes to, say for example, a content strategy, that would consist of thingssuch as a plan of what to post, obviously daily schedules and posts, what that actually
(17:34):
looks like, take them through what I would call the buyer's journey to support.
support them with the different elements in sales psychology.
So you're looking at breaking down the elements of a particular area of your business,such as content or sales or lead generation, and then making an action-based plan to
support you with implementing it, testing and trying it, and then obviously reviewing itin order to improve it further.
(17:59):
Amazing.
Now in my business, I have a one year, a three year and a five year strategy.
So I look, you know, I break my goals down to these sort of short terms.
What I want to do in the next year, leading them to my three year and then to my fiveyear.
How do you teach it?
What, what length of time do you think a strategy should be made for?
Yeah, so again, it kind of depends on how people enter my world and programs and whatwe're kind of focusing on.
(18:27):
We always look at obviously the long term goals.
So yes, we always look at the one, three and five year, especially if they're working withme for a longer period of time.
But then what I normally tend to do is we have a little, I always say to people, if you'regoing to test such a strategy, try it for 28 days and see what works and what doesn't.
And so one of the beginning stages, especially if people are coming into kind of my midprograms,
(18:49):
is we will work on a strategy, we will aim to test and try it for three months, but thosefirst 28 days are the perfect opportunity for us to really test it and see what works,
what doesn't work, how it performs and all of those things as well.
So there are different ways that I kind of teach strategy in that concept of time.
(19:09):
But absolutely, I mean, I would 100 % agree with you.
It's really important to have strategies that are, you know, for the longevity of yourbusiness, but then also to test and try things that you're looking at to, you know, to
work on certain many areas of your business as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think having, you need to have the site of the three to five year plan, you know,where you're wanting your business to go.
(19:30):
Because if you don't have that, then you're constantly just going to be flying blind, butyou need that to then work on those smaller strategies and those things that you want to
do, you know, in the next three to six months, because they are the steps that will getyou to those, those bigger goals.
So, yeah.
So you were talking then about, you know, having
(19:51):
actions that you can tangible actions that you can track and see if they're working.
How do you do that?
Because this is the area that people really struggle with.
It's tracking it.
Yeah.
I think people feel really overwhelmed.
mean, I sometimes in the beginning, when I was looking at the data, I was like, I can seethe numbers, but I don't really know what it means.
(20:14):
So how do you get people to start understanding that and know where to look for theinformation?
Yeah.
So again, depending on the strategy that we're working on, if I'm just as an example, ifwe're looking at sales content or lead generation data is absolutely the one thing that
you're going to love because it will tell you an awful lot.
(20:35):
So if we're looking at content, you're going to look at the analytics data.
If we're looking at sales, we're looking at actual figures.
If we're looking at lead generation, we're looking at the leads coming in and then theconversions.
So it gives us a great opportunity to look and analyze those dates, that data.
I always provide my clients with templates and systems and ways to be able to obviouslylook at that data.
(20:55):
And then I teach my clients how to use that.
Or for those that are in my higher programmes, I support them and we will look through ittogether and strategise based on that.
But I think for any of the listeners to the podcast, I always would recommend people tofind, first of all, find a system where they can track and then analyse that data.
If you're like me, I am an absolute lover of a spreadsheet.
(21:18):
Most people hate them.
I'm an accountant as well.
So a spreadsheet is my jam.
Love a good spreadsheet.
Mine is also in a spreadsheet form.
Amazing.
I love a spreadsheet where some of my clients hate them and they will use systems online.
And I know there's so much available out there at the moment.
I can't even think off the top of my head, some of the systems that they use to kind ofkeep track of their own things.
(21:39):
But I would always give my clients Excel spreadsheets and templates that everyone canobviously access and then implement their own data and we can analyze it together.
But I definitely think find a system, find a way, even if it's, you know, even...
as simple as a Word document, if you just want to write it down to start with, it's agreat starting point.
But I would always recommend to people, always look at your numbers, look at the data,what does it tell you?
(22:03):
Because if we're not analyzing that regularly, we're not going to be able to identify aseasily what's working, what's not working.
And it's fascinating sometimes, especially when you look at the analytics of things, it'sfascinating, isn't it, to see where the trends are and what's performed really well and
what isn't.
sometimes be really surprising as well.
Actually, sometimes it's things that you thought would be like the least popular.
(22:24):
That's the one that's taken off, you know, image wise and things.
So what I hear a lot though, is when it's a new business, or they're just starting out,well, I don't have any data, like there's nothing for me to track.
and then they think it's not something I need to worry about in the beginning.
But actually, it's quite the opposite.
And yes, you won't have things that you can
(22:44):
market against, know, historically, but if you just start collecting the data in thebeginning, soon enough, it will actually start showing you trends, won't it?
And start showing you useful information for your business that you can then use to keeptweaking to move forward.
So yes, it won't necessarily be meaningful data in the beginning, but it's the start ofall of that, it?
(23:06):
And just building that process in your business, as opposed to, to be looking at the data.
Absolutely, I agree.
Part of your process and actually building into your habits, a little bit of a routine ora habit, whatever you want to call it.
I would call it one of the elements of art.
We call them success lists.
I don't like to-do lists and success.
(23:27):
Success lists are what we focus on.
And actually building that in, even if it's just once a month and you review it at the endof the month and you have a little look at what's performed well in terms of content,
where your sales are, where your leads are, in terms of bringing in new people, newinquiries.
And I think even just the simple things like that, look at the numbers, look at the basicnumbers.
How many inquiries have I got coming that have come in in the last 28 to 30 days?
(23:50):
How many sales have I made and for what offers?
What pieces of content have performed really well?
And just look at the views and the engagement and even just really simple numbers and datalike that to start with is a great starting point without making it too complicated.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
think when we look at social media, I mean, there's a lot of vanity around social media.
It's a lot of, know, I want to get 10,000 followers.
(24:12):
But when you delve into that, okay, why what is the purpose of that goal?
And so I think it's really important to not get blinded by what everyone else is doing insocial media, what you what success looks like to you on other people's platforms.
And actually, you can have 10,000 followers, but zero traction.
(24:33):
Or you can have a hundred followers, but every single one of them is engaged to buy withyou and really, you know, work.
the, the number of followers isn't what's important, but it's looking at how muchengagement you get, how much traction you get on those posts and then copying that style
of posts.
So it might be reels for you.
might be flat posts, but there's loads of different information that you can take thatshows you what to do more of on your platforms, not just getting blinded by what everyone
(25:00):
else is doing.
(25:23):
Hello, my lovely.
Yeah, so metrics and just looking at that, and I think it is so easy, isn't it, as well,to kind of get distracted with things that are online.
I think it's just really, really important to focus on the data, to focus on your goalsand what you're setting yourself out to achieve, to create.
And ultimately, I know we touched on this earlier as well, but kind of bringing it back tothat community.
(25:46):
I think a lot of people worry and focus on...
making up sales as my content performing, you know, as much as it can to kind of to turnthis into a sale.
And although that's the end goal, and that's what we want to do, but you know, at the sametime, I think we really have to think about what's the value that we're giving our
audience, how are we supporting our community?
And then actually, although the data is so, so important in terms of analytics and lookingat what performs best, but the other side to that is actually building that community and
(26:14):
being able to give people value and support.
people as best we can because ultimately then when we create that community, when we'reable to share value and show people what is possible, can then obviously, you know,
they'll be able to see how we can support them and ultimately that can then turn intosales and that can help us grow our businesses.
(26:34):
Yeah, exactly.
It's about creating, you know, warm, interested leads, isn't it?
And creating that community that actually engage with what you do and that learn from, youknow, have that value from your posts, not just having empty followers or paid for
followers as a vanity thing, which I think we can often get really blindsided by.
I know when I was, you know, some of my socials still have really low numbers, I'm honest,because I haven't really focused on that platform.
(27:00):
And it would be easy for me to go on Instagram, for instance, and like, God,
You know, I really should have 10,000 followers by now or look at everyone else in myspace.
They're all doing this, but actually I know that I'm connecting much better with myclients on Facebook, for instance, and LinkedIn.
So that's where I'm focusing my energy.
and it's about being able to prioritize that in my mind and notice that, I could spendenergy on Instagram, but is that actually going to convert, you know, into leads?
(27:30):
Not for me personally at the moment.
I should focus on these other areas.
So it's about, and again, it comes down to strategy, doesn't it?
It's looking at these platforms, which ones are going to work for me best now.
And Instagram will be something built into my strategy in the future when I have moretime, always times, always comes down to time, doesn't it?
So how do you work in your social media?
(27:51):
you, are you on all platforms now or do you prioritize?
Yeah, so I'm on all main platforms.
So Instagram, Facebook are my two main ones.
And then I'm also on LinkedIn and TikTok for slightly different purposes, becauseobviously each platform is different.
And my ideal clients, for example, my communities are again, they do range in terms ofwhere they can be found.
(28:17):
But I do think for some people it is really important to put your focus on one or twoplatforms maximum, especially within your first couple of years.
and then you're able to obviously grow.
So just as an example for TikTok, I am not a TikTok queen.
I'm on the platform to try and test it and I'm spending six months trying and testingTikTok.
(28:38):
I know that my ideal clients are not necessarily.
on TikTok as much as they are on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
So TikTok, it's my experimental platform.
It's the platform I'm having a little bit of fun with and just playing around with.
But ultimately my main ones are Instagram and Facebook and then obviously LinkedIn for adifferent purpose for the other side of my business.
(28:59):
Yeah.
And this is my point, I suppose that if you try and do all of them in the beginning,you'll end up doing none of them very well.
So it's about focusing on the one or two main areas where you think your ideal clientswill be.
And as your business grows, you can grow onto the other platforms, test them out like youare now with TikTok, but it's so easy to overwhelm ourselves in the beginning of business,
(29:20):
isn't it?
And think, I need to be everywhere.
I need to be doing all of these things.
This business for me is alongside another business, so the same as you in the beginning.
I don't have unlimited time to do everything.
So I need to strategize where I'm going to make the most difference in the time that Ihave at the moment.
How did you find that in the beginning juggling having a full-time job and then trying toset up your business and being a single mum?
(29:46):
It was really, really hard.
The juggle was very, very hard.
And I think a lot of people, I'm sure, will be able to resonate with this if they'relistening and they are juggling.
And whether that looks like juggling a business and a career, juggling two businesses,juggling being a mum or juggling everything, you know, it's really challenging, isn't it?
And I think in terms of managing that, I have always been, if I'm being completely honestwith you, I've always been a workaholic.
(30:14):
I've always been very dedicated to succeeding and to getting results in whatever careerand business I've been in.
So for me, that's a massive driver for me as well as my daughter.
It's I've got to work because I need to get the results because I need to do this, but...
you and that can then end to, you know, or follow through to exhaustion, to overwhelm, tothere's lots of different things that, you know, you can experience along the way.
(30:40):
So for any workaholics out there listening, then take my advice of just make sure you giveyourself a bit of a break and, you know, and obviously celebrate the things that you have
done.
But I think, you know, for general advice in terms of juggling, I think it comes down to,and again, strategy, but also organisation and time management.
What are the priorities, you know, having a look at
If you break it down into quarters or then into your months, what are the main things thatI want to do and focus on this month?
(31:06):
And then actually how much time do I have to do that?
As I started off as a coach more than a strategist, I was spending, obviously most of mytime was coaching people or posting on social media.
And so therefore I only had evenings and only evenings without my daughter being here,which was two evenings a week where I could actually coach.
(31:27):
So my coaching...
capacity was six hours, three hours on a Monday evening, three hours on a Thursdayevening, and that is all I could do.
So I had to build a business around six hours of coaching opportunities.
And then social media was when Sophia went to bed or X, Y, and Zed.
So as you can imagine, even that was a juggle trying to build a business with onlylimitations of six hours of actual delivery.
(31:49):
And so that's another thing to consider as well with, you know, anyone that's listening,think about your business model, think about how you can grow a business.
But strategically so, saving yourself time and energy.
Because if you are juggling being a mom or caring for your family, or of course, you know,having a career as well potentially, that's a lot of stress and a lot of pressure on
(32:12):
yourself.
So I think strategically, regardless of whatever you see other people doing online, do andcreate a business model that is going to work for you.
It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing.
It's about you.
It's about your well, you know, your health and wellbeing.
And ultimately that end goal, you can get to whatever that end goal is in so manydifferent ways and depending on your business, of course, but think about how can you do
(32:36):
this in the best way possible so that you can manage your time effectively.
Yeah, 100%.
I think it's about being sustainable, isn't it, in your life?
And this goes down to really what success looks like.
And success should look different for every single person.
know, someone might want that six-figure business working every hour, God sent.
Some people might just want to work six hours a week around their family, and that issuccess for them.
(33:00):
So it's about understanding what success really looks like for you.
And at the time for you, that was filling those six hours with coaching and starting thattransition.
Obviously that goal has changed as your business has grown, which is amazing.
And now you're full time, but that wasn't achievable for you in the very beginning.
So it's about being kind to yourself and not putting so much pressure, I think in thebeginning, because success does not come overnight and being an entrepreneur is incredibly
(33:28):
hard.
And I think sometimes people just take this step and they're like, yeah, I'm going to setup this business and I'm going to be doing this in six months.
It's not necessarily going to happen that quickly.
It's about
understanding that, being kind to yourself and realizing that you need to put work in.
And I think sometimes people can miss that and think it can be an overnight success.
(33:48):
think it's an interesting one, isn't it?
Because again, there's a lot of mixed messaging and potentially misleading messaging, if Idare say the word misleading, but misleading messaging out there that does imply that you
can have success overnight and, or when we say overnight, but we mean quick success, butultimately, you know, it does take time.
You're right.
It takes time.
(34:09):
It takes work.
It takes energy.
takes strategy.
takes...
scheduling, it takes so many different things in order to get to that point.
And even to be honest with you, at the beginning stages of my business, I was sold a lie.
I was sold a lie.
I was sold a dream that I would be able to leave education, leave teaching in six monthsand, you know, have a multiple six figure business.
(34:32):
And when I look back and I think, why did I, why did I believe that?
Why, why?
Because I suppose it could, could happen.
Could, yeah.
the reality is it takes a lot of time and energy.
And because I was already in a career and also a mom and all the things, the reality ofthat was that it's not really going to happen.
(34:53):
So I think, again, it was a bit of a wake-up call to me when I launched my business andthen could only work six hours a week, as we've discussed.
And therefore, that's only going to bring in a certain amount of revenue.
So then how do you scale that?
How do you get to that next level if you've only got a certain amount of time?
So yeah, so I definitely believe that the success overnight thing is very misleading andthere are a lot of messages out there, not so much now.
(35:15):
I feel like it was more so previously a couple of years ago.
I think a lot of, know, integrity is definitely there a lot more now and honesty andtransparency.
But I do think that, you know, for anyone that is listening, overnight success is notreally a thing, but what is a thing is by having a plan, having that strategy and that
(35:36):
mindset and actually
Working a little bit every day can go a long way.
Putting that little bit, whatever you do, even if it is just posting that post or sendingthat email, that is another step in the right direction.
And those little steps, those little things every single day will lead to that end goaleventually.
But it sometimes takes a little bit longer for others, for some than others, depending onthe circumstances and situation.
(36:01):
Yeah.
So that exactly is my word of the year.
I don't know if you have words of the year, Kayleigh, but mine for 24 was momentum.
I just had to move forward and take a step forward every single day towards my businessbecause so this female founders, this business was created in December 23.
So it's still, you know, it's nearly a year old, nearly about birthday time, but I alwaysknew I'm a very driven person, but I had to limit my
(36:29):
goals for this year because I knew I still had my other business to run.
So I wasn't going to be able to give it full-time energy and you know, and it has takencontrol, I suppose, and being kind to myself, like I say, to understand that I'm going to
move this business slower because I have those limitations, but I still have that passionand I still make sure that every single day I take that step, like you said, move forward
(36:52):
with it.
And I know that those goals will happen eventually, but that's again,
moving back to why it's important to have that why and have that driver.
So in on the days where it's been really tough, I can remember that and move forward.
Do you have a word of the year?
Yes, mine for this year for 2024 is the moment that we're recording this episode.
(37:13):
It's currently Impact.
And I set that at very beginning of the year.
I sat down with my partner and we always map out our goals for the year and together andwe analyse and look at where we've come and what we want to do for the year moving
forwards.
Impact was my word for this year because I wanted to positively impact as many women aspossible.
And when I talk about impact, not just necessarily through sales and money, but impact ina positive way where
(37:38):
they would feel better, more confident, their lives would change in one way or another,they'd have more freedom and then ultimately obviously have the wealth and the business
they desire in the end.
Love that.
Love that.
Have you decided on 25th word yet?
I haven't actually, no, it's definitely a job for me in December.
December is always my time to, you know, to have a little look at my business strategy andbusiness development.
(38:00):
So I will be working out my word for next year, but I'm not quite certain what it's goingto be yet.
no, I'm the same.
have a few.
I have about three shortlisted and I need to decide which one I'm going to go with.
But Kayleigh, thank you so much for joining me today.
So you've already mentioned Facebook and LinkedIn are your main ones and Instagram.
is it just Kayleigh Greenacre that they can find you?
just Kayleigh Greenacre.
(38:20):
So it's nice and easy to find me.
Well, I'll put all the links in the show notes for everyone as well.
But yeah, just thank you so much for joining us today.
I really loved that conversation and thank you to the listeners for sticking with us thisweek.
And I will speak to you all next week.
Take care.
Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of The Bold Blueprint.
Today I am joined by Kayleigh Greenacre, who is the founder of Actually I Can, which Ijust love in itself.
She now helps female business owners to level up their businesses and to get that successthat we all dream of.
So Kayleigh, thank you so much for joining me today.
(00:21):
it's an absolute pleasure.
Thank you so much for inviting me on, Claire.
No, it's good.
I'm excited to delve a bit more into your story.
what I've seen online, find really interesting that you actually started out as you're anassistant headteacher at a school.
And I just love that transition.
So do you want to take us back to when was it?
2020, 2021, when you moved into this space and tell us all how that happened for you?
(00:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
So it was a journey.
It definitely was a journey and a very, very challenging time of my life as well in termsof my personal life as well.
So I was at the time sort of going through a divorce and it was, all COVID was happening,we in the middle of lockdown and there was lots of different things kind of going on, you
know, from the personal perspective side of things and obviously in the world.
(01:07):
And it was at a,
point in my life where I knew that I really wanted to create something to empower womenand to really inspire them.
through kind of a lot of self-reflection, self-work, was very, I was massively intopositive psychology and also was an entrepreneur on the side anyway.
So I'd had a business at the age of 25.
(01:29):
But I knew I wanted to do something more.
And it was almost as if that was my opportunity to really think about, okay, how can Icreate something?
I create that will really support people's mindsets, but also support them with followingtheir dreams, building something that they truly feel aligned with.
And so the whole concept and idea of it stemmed in the middle of lockdown.
(01:51):
And I originally started writing a book and started to share my own thoughts and processesand how to really support people with following their dreams.
And then one thing led on to another and gradually over time, I sort of built
this concept and idea for my business and decided to go all in with it.
And I thought, you know what, I'm going to show the other women out there what is possibleand how we can continue to follow our dreams, regardless of the setbacks, the challenges
(02:20):
and the things that we face, which I'm sure we'll dive into more in this episode andfollowed that dream.
And I was able to launch my business alongside working as an assistant head teacher.
And then I gradually, obviously the business grew very, very rapidly.
and I was then gradually able to kind of step back and then leave education and take mybusiness full time.
(02:41):
Amazing.
And I love what you hit on there because it is, they're so integrated, aren't they, ourmindset and the levels of success that we see really without the mindset being in the
right place and having that self awareness, self respect, self belief, you can't reallyachieve the levels of success that we can dream of.
So how do you support clients with that?
(03:02):
And do you see the connection?
You think it's super important to deal with both sides of your business as well.
I absolutely do.
think when I first launched this business, there's always going to be two sides, isn'tthere?
Especially as a business strategist and business coach, there is the strategy side of it,but there is also that massive element of mindset.
I do believe that those that go all in and lean all into the mindset side of things wherethey're investing in their mindset, not necessarily in terms of money, but investing in
(03:31):
their mindset daily where they're...
you know, really focusing on their self belief, their positive psychology and how they'respeaking to themselves.
It's that self talk I think is so important and so valuable.
And it is those that invest in that on a daily basis, I believe are the ones that aregoing to succeed and rapidly increase their success sooner rather than others.
(03:55):
Yeah, I think that's so true.
I think there's a saying, I'm sure you've heard it, but if you believe that you can or youbelieve that you can't, you're right.
And it's so true that we can so easily limit ourselves and often not actually even realisethat we're doing it in the beginning.
It's only when you start becoming more self-aware and listening to how we speak in ourminds.
(04:16):
I talk about this all the time because so often the way that we speak to ourselves in ourmind, we would never speak to even our worst enemy.
but it's so ingrained in our subconscious that we don't even realise that we're doing itanymore.
how can we, or how did you start switching that on and becoming self-aware and thenchanging that to such a positive mindset?
(04:36):
Yeah, I think again, a lot of it is down to, like you said, it's the self-talk, it's howwe kind of in a sense fall into this habit of how we speak to ourselves and the daily
routines, the daily things that we do.
You know, and absolutely I agree with what you said there in terms of the famous saying,if you say you can, you can't, you're absolutely right.
I think the more that we lean into the concept and the idea of anything is possible andyou can achieve whatever you want to achieve.
(05:03):
the more likely you are obviously to achieve it.
Because I think when you have, when you tell yourself daily that you can do something andwe know we as entrepreneurs and hopefully everyone does know this, but it's not going to
always be an easy ride.
It's not going to be an easy journey.
There's so many obstacles and challenges and things that come up for us, but we are allstrong enough to work through those.
(05:25):
And with your own supportive network and community and things as well, that all, that willalso help.
But I do believe that
you know, it's really, important to keep telling ourselves that we can do this, you know,and I'm sure everyone along their journey in their personal lives or in their careers, et
cetera, have faced other challenges and they've been able to get through those.
So again, I think as entrepreneurs, it is a case of really having that full belief andthere's different ways of being able to, you know, to support you with that.
(05:52):
So I know that some people like journaling, some people like meditation, some people likejust literally going to the gym or going for an early morning walk.
And I think it's about finding something.
that will keep you energized, motivated and focused every single day to keep you workingtowards that end goal.
Yeah.
And I think you, I know you mentioned on your website, for instance, and I've seen yourpost before, that you are very heavily driven by your why, which is your daughter and
(06:20):
inspiring your daughter that she can achieve anything and showing that to her.
So how important is having that why and then keeping that in your mind?
So allowing that to be the driver.
Yes, your why I believe drives so many people and it definitely has, like you've justmentioned, it's driven me, it's been my biggest motivator to show my daughter what is
(06:43):
possible for us as women.
think from my perspective, I've come from the education system as well asentrepreneurship, but I've come from the education system as my main career and I've grown
up in a society where males...
generally do earn more.
Males are the CEOs of the companies or bigger global companies, et cetera.
(07:04):
And what I've always wanted to do is to break the trends.
I've wanted to be able to show women, and especially, obviously, for my daughter, that wecan achieve as greatly as men can.
And we are able to follow those dreams and be able to reach whatever goal we want, as longas we've obviously got the mindset and the strategy.
(07:26):
And I think we have a why, we've, you know, going back to why and everyone has their whyand they have their purpose.
But with your why, it's almost as if it's that background motivator, isn't it?
That little driver.
As long as we're continuing to remind ourselves of our why, it will keep us grounded.
Because I think the online space is so noisy.
There's a lot of distractions.
(07:46):
And actually one of the hardest things I think for anyone is to stay in their lane and tostay focused.
And I think with your why in the back of your mind.
will support you not only with your mindset, but it will also support you of keeping youfocused so that you're not necessarily then distracted from all the noise in the
background.
Yeah, and it can change, can't it?
(08:07):
As your business develops, and as your life evolves, the reason, you know, that why canchange.
But I think it's just knowing, you know, the purpose behind it all, why you are doing whatyou're doing, why you get up every morning and go towards your business.
And for me, mine is, you know, basically the same as yours.
It was my daughter when I gave birth to my daughter.
(08:28):
I wanted more balance in my life and more flexibility with my working, but I also exactlythe same as you.
wanted to prove to her that actually anyone in the world can do anything as long as wehave that belief in us.
And I think one of the things that's been missing from us growing up, you and me, is thatwe just didn't have the visibility of successful women.
(08:49):
just what we didn't have those role models around us.
So if we can be that for our children and we can campaign and support other femalebusiness owners to achieve that so they can be role models in their space, I think it's so
powerful.
I think the
tide is changing slightly.
seeing more and more support and noise around female business owners, really successfulones.
(09:10):
In fact, recently, I don't know if you saw it in the news, but there was a largesupermarket in the UK had a whole aisle that was purely for female founded products.
Did you see about it?
I didn't, but amazing.
This is awesome.
so amazing.
And I was so pleased that we, you know, made this step and it's, know, it's a large brand.
(09:32):
So for them to be making that noise, obviously, they got so much backlash, you know, well,it shouldn't matter.
And I said, the thing is, I did a post on it.
We have presumed everybody really walks into a supermarket and almost presumes that everyaisle is a male owned business aisle.
So for them to just take that time to create that space in their
(09:55):
you know, in their stores and say, no, these are all really proudly female led products.
So many of them are household names that we use every day, but we just didn't know.
So being able to take my daughter there and say, all of these products that you know,they're all made by women, you could have a product on a main supermarket.
And I just think it's amazing to have that inspiration and that visual aid to help us withthat.
(10:18):
And with that dream, you know, that we can achieve any of these things.
So
No, absolutely.
I was going to say as well, and just through years of experience of teaching and educationand actually looking at, you know, younger people.
I know we're sort of, female entrepreneurs and we've been through journeys and we'recontinuing to grow as we scale our businesses and all the things.
(10:42):
But actually, through years and years of teaching and educating children, and it's reallyfascinating to have conversations with the younger generation in terms of what their goals
are.
And so many of them, you know, you're
Stereotypically, you'll hear the boys want to be gamers or footballers and the girls wantto be, you know, normally in the hair and beauty industry or the dentists, et cetera.
(11:02):
And it's really, really fascinating.
And I had a conversation with my daughter the other day actually about this.
And she said, mommy, when I'm older, I want to be, I want to have my own business.
That's the first thing that she said.
And obviously I think it's again for the inspiration that I'm giving her.
But then she said, but I'm also quite interested in being a scientist.
And we started to dive into this concept and then she was quite interested in this idea ofmaybe being an engineer.
(11:25):
And it just lights me up with these possibilities just from conversation with aseven-year-old at the time.
But it does fascinate me.
And I do think over the last at least decade, more and more opportunities, obviously withthe focus of STEM in schools and entrepreneurship and how we're seeing so many successful
entrepreneurs come through now, it's just a perfect opportunity.
(11:48):
for not only children, but actually for any age to see what is possible.
Yeah, yeah, I completely agree.
And I think we're really on like the precipice of great change now.
Finally, I think things are really, really going to start happening.
And it's just, you know, important for us all to continue that message, I suppose, isn'tit, and to continue to inspire.
(12:08):
So you work mainly with female founders, don't you?
And that was a conscious decision for you that that's the market that you wanted to go inand support.
Yes, it was.
So again, I think based on my own personal experiences in my career, and I've always beena firm believer that I can achieve whatever I want to achieve, and no one's going to stop
(12:30):
me.
I'm very, very driven in terms of my mindset and always have done.
But again, through my own experience of working in education, it frustrated me and annoyedme that there was so much male domination in terms of everything.
So I made a really, really strong focus and with my mission for my business to ultimatelyto support just female entrepreneurs.
(12:53):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's right, you know, first, we're allowed to have these spaces thatare just for women.
I think so often the female founders that I've worked with and that I've spoken to,sometimes they can actually feel quite intimidated if it's a shared space.
And they don't necessarily feel like they can take up the same space and share their voiceas much.
So sometimes to have that, I know that you have a membership as well, don't you havecommunity alongside your business?
(13:18):
Sometimes I think that's what women need.
We need just a safe space where we can show up and be ourselves and not feel that judgmentor that pressure, which to be honest, breaks my heart that that's how things are.
But hopefully, like we've mentioned, that will start changing the title and that willchange.
But the community aspect, has that been something that you knew at the very beginning thatyou wanted, or is that something that's just evolved with your business?
(13:45):
Yeah.
So in terms of building a community, it's always been something that I've always wanted todo.
So again, through my own experiences and just what you mentioned actually, in terms ofhaving a mixed community, I mean, I can take myself back to, you know, basically being in
the senior leadership team of the school.
But around that boardroom table, it was predominantly males with a couple of us beingfemales.
(14:09):
And did I speak out?
No, I didn't because I didn't.
feel that I had that courage.
It took me a couple of years as a senior leader to actually find my voice around thetable, even though the head teacher was very supportive.
He was male, very supportive.
And I think, again, that kind of opens up your eyes that I've always wanted theopportunity to have safe spaces and to be able to be or feel heard.
(14:34):
And I think a lot of people don't always get that or don't feel that they have that incertain situations and communities and circumstances.
So for me, it was always about building a safe space, a safe community and allowing peopleto feel supported, whether they're in my paid community or whether they're in my free
community.
(14:54):
For me, it was always about supporting and being open to listen, being open to supportpeople from any aspect, with any background and to be able to support them moving forward
with whatever their dreams and goals were.
Yeah, love that.
And you've mentioned it a couple of times already, but strategy, obviously you are mainly,it says business strategist is sort of the label that you go by the strongest.
(15:19):
How important is strategy to a business?
So we've spoken about the mindset, you've got your mindset set, what's the next step?
Is that getting the strategy in place?
Yeah, absolutely.
So I always think that, you know, without a strategy, you're going to struggle andstrategy.
Strategy is a word that is thrown around a lot in the online space.
(15:40):
And ultimately, you know, we as strategists are fully aware that business, you know,consists of lots of different areas and you should have technically a strategy for every
aspect of your business.
So I always say that, you know, make sure you've got a strategy in place, make sure you'vegot your systems and your processes.
But before any of that,
put the foundations down first.
(16:02):
And that's a step that a lot of people skip.
I see a lot of people posting on social media and sharing their offers, which isincredible.
But I always say to people, have the foundations laid first and then build strategies uponeach of the layers of your business in order to create a successful business that is able
to be sustainable and obviously to have that consistency.
(16:24):
Yeah, so you've actually sort of hinted onto my next question anyway, but like you say,the word strategy is used in so many different meanings by so many different people.
It just seems to be everywhere.
So if you are a relatively new business and you're hearing this word, but you just don'treally know what it means, can you break down into real simple steps what a strategy
(16:46):
actually means for your business?
Absolutely.
So in terms of strategy, what I would always recommend for anyone that's potentially alittle bit confused or not really certain what it is, have a clear, measurable action
plan, have steps, have something, system in place that will be able to support you.
So if I was to give an example to make it really simple, a lot of people will talk aboutstrategy through content, and that's something that a lot of people want to have, a clear
(17:12):
strategy to be able to make sales through content.
So what that strategy would look like, obviously it will vary and depend for everyindividual as every strategy should be bespoke to them.
But when it comes to, say for example, a content strategy, that would consist of thingssuch as a plan of what to post, obviously daily schedules and posts, what that actually
(17:34):
looks like, take them through what I would call the buyer's journey to support.
support them with the different elements in sales psychology.
So you're looking at breaking down the elements of a particular area of your business,such as content or sales or lead generation, and then making an action-based plan to
support you with implementing it, testing and trying it, and then obviously reviewing itin order to improve it further.
(17:59):
Amazing.
Now in my business, I have a one year, a three year and a five year strategy.
So I look, you know, I break my goals down to these sort of short terms.
What I want to do in the next year, leading them to my three year and then to my fiveyear.
How do you teach it?
What, what length of time do you think a strategy should be made for?
Yeah, so again, it kind of depends on how people enter my world and programs and whatwe're kind of focusing on.
(18:27):
We always look at obviously the long term goals.
So yes, we always look at the one, three and five year, especially if they're working withme for a longer period of time.
But then what I normally tend to do is we have a little, I always say to people, if you'regoing to test such a strategy, try it for 28 days and see what works and what doesn't.
And so one of the beginning stages, especially if people are coming into kind of my midprograms,
(18:49):
is we will work on a strategy, we will aim to test and try it for three months, but thosefirst 28 days are the perfect opportunity for us to really test it and see what works,
what doesn't work, how it performs and all of those things as well.
So there are different ways that I kind of teach strategy in that concept of time.
(19:09):
But absolutely, I mean, I would 100 % agree with you.
It's really important to have strategies that are, you know, for the longevity of yourbusiness, but then also to test and try things that you're looking at to, you know, to
work on certain many areas of your business as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think having, you need to have the site of the three to five year plan, you know,where you're wanting your business to go.
(19:30):
Because if you don't have that, then you're constantly just going to be flying blind, butyou need that to then work on those smaller strategies and those things that you want to
do, you know, in the next three to six months, because they are the steps that will getyou to those, those bigger goals.
So, yeah.
So you were talking then about, you know, having
(19:51):
actions that you can tangible actions that you can track and see if they're working.
How do you do that?
Because this is the area that people really struggle with.
It's tracking it.
Yeah.
I think people feel really overwhelmed.
mean, I sometimes in the beginning, when I was looking at the data, I was like, I can seethe numbers, but I don't really know what it means.
(20:14):
So how do you get people to start understanding that and know where to look for theinformation?
Yeah.
So again, depending on the strategy that we're working on, if I'm just as an example, ifwe're looking at sales content or lead generation data is absolutely the one thing that
you're going to love because it will tell you an awful lot.
(20:35):
So if we're looking at content, you're going to look at the analytics data.
If we're looking at sales, we're looking at actual figures.
If we're looking at lead generation, we're looking at the leads coming in and then theconversions.
So it gives us a great opportunity to look and analyze those dates, that data.
I always provide my clients with templates and systems and ways to be able to obviouslylook at that data.
(20:55):
And then I teach my clients how to use that.
Or for those that are in my higher programmes, I support them and we will look through ittogether and strategise based on that.
But I think for any of the listeners to the podcast, I always would recommend people tofind, first of all, find a system where they can track and then analyse that data.
If you're like me, I am an absolute lover of a spreadsheet.
(21:18):
Most people hate them.
I'm an accountant as well.
So a spreadsheet is my jam.
Love a good spreadsheet.
Mine is also in a spreadsheet form.
Amazing.
I love a spreadsheet where some of my clients hate them and they will use systems online.
And I know there's so much available out there at the moment.
I can't even think off the top of my head, some of the systems that they use to kind ofkeep track of their own things.
(21:39):
But I would always give my clients Excel spreadsheets and templates that everyone canobviously access and then implement their own data and we can analyze it together.
But I definitely think find a system, find a way, even if it's, you know, even...
as simple as a Word document, if you just want to write it down to start with, it's agreat starting point.
But I would always recommend to people, always look at your numbers, look at the data,what does it tell you?
(22:03):
Because if we're not analyzing that regularly, we're not going to be able to identify aseasily what's working, what's not working.
And it's fascinating sometimes, especially when you look at the analytics of things, it'sfascinating, isn't it, to see where the trends are and what's performed really well and
what isn't.
sometimes be really surprising as well.
Actually, sometimes it's things that you thought would be like the least popular.
(22:24):
That's the one that's taken off, you know, image wise and things.
So what I hear a lot though, is when it's a new business, or they're just starting out,well, I don't have any data, like there's nothing for me to track.
and then they think it's not something I need to worry about in the beginning.
But actually, it's quite the opposite.
And yes, you won't have things that you can
(22:44):
market against, know, historically, but if you just start collecting the data in thebeginning, soon enough, it will actually start showing you trends, won't it?
And start showing you useful information for your business that you can then use to keeptweaking to move forward.
So yes, it won't necessarily be meaningful data in the beginning, but it's the start ofall of that, it?
(23:06):
And just building that process in your business, as opposed to, to be looking at the data.
Absolutely, I agree.
Part of your process and actually building into your habits, a little bit of a routine ora habit, whatever you want to call it.
I would call it one of the elements of art.
We call them success lists.
I don't like to-do lists and success.
(23:27):
Success lists are what we focus on.
And actually building that in, even if it's just once a month and you review it at the endof the month and you have a little look at what's performed well in terms of content,
where your sales are, where your leads are, in terms of bringing in new people, newinquiries.
And I think even just the simple things like that, look at the numbers, look at the basicnumbers.
How many inquiries have I got coming that have come in in the last 28 to 30 days?
(23:50):
How many sales have I made and for what offers?
What pieces of content have performed really well?
And just look at the views and the engagement and even just really simple numbers and datalike that to start with is a great starting point without making it too complicated.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
think when we look at social media, I mean, there's a lot of vanity around social media.
It's a lot of, know, I want to get 10,000 followers.
(24:12):
But when you delve into that, okay, why what is the purpose of that goal?
And so I think it's really important to not get blinded by what everyone else is doing insocial media, what you what success looks like to you on other people's platforms.
And actually, you can have 10,000 followers, but zero traction.
(24:33):
Or you can have a hundred followers, but every single one of them is engaged to buy withyou and really, you know, work.
the, the number of followers isn't what's important, but it's looking at how muchengagement you get, how much traction you get on those posts and then copying that style
of posts.
So it might be reels for you.
might be flat posts, but there's loads of different information that you can take thatshows you what to do more of on your platforms, not just getting blinded by what everyone
(25:00):
else is doing.
(25:23):
Hello, my lovely.
Yeah, so metrics and just looking at that, and I think it is so easy, isn't it, as well,to kind of get distracted with things that are online.
I think it's just really, really important to focus on the data, to focus on your goalsand what you're setting yourself out to achieve, to create.
And ultimately, I know we touched on this earlier as well, but kind of bringing it back tothat community.
(25:46):
I think a lot of people worry and focus on...
making up sales as my content performing, you know, as much as it can to kind of to turnthis into a sale.
And although that's the end goal, and that's what we want to do, but you know, at the sametime, I think we really have to think about what's the value that we're giving our
audience, how are we supporting our community?
And then actually, although the data is so, so important in terms of analytics and lookingat what performs best, but the other side to that is actually building that community and
(26:14):
being able to give people value and support.
people as best we can because ultimately then when we create that community, when we'reable to share value and show people what is possible, can then obviously, you know,
they'll be able to see how we can support them and ultimately that can then turn intosales and that can help us grow our businesses.
(26:34):
Yeah, exactly.
It's about creating, you know, warm, interested leads, isn't it?
And creating that community that actually engage with what you do and that learn from, youknow, have that value from your posts, not just having empty followers or paid for
followers as a vanity thing, which I think we can often get really blindsided by.
I know when I was, you know, some of my socials still have really low numbers, I'm honest,because I haven't really focused on that platform.
(27:00):
And it would be easy for me to go on Instagram, for instance, and like, God,
You know, I really should have 10,000 followers by now or look at everyone else in myspace.
They're all doing this, but actually I know that I'm connecting much better with myclients on Facebook, for instance, and LinkedIn.
So that's where I'm focusing my energy.
and it's about being able to prioritize that in my mind and notice that, I could spendenergy on Instagram, but is that actually going to convert, you know, into leads?
(27:30):
Not for me personally at the moment.
I should focus on these other areas.
So it's about, and again, it comes down to strategy, doesn't it?
It's looking at these platforms, which ones are going to work for me best now.
And Instagram will be something built into my strategy in the future when I have moretime, always times, always comes down to time, doesn't it?
So how do you work in your social media?
(27:51):
you, are you on all platforms now or do you prioritize?
Yeah, so I'm on all main platforms.
So Instagram, Facebook are my two main ones.
And then I'm also on LinkedIn and TikTok for slightly different purposes, becauseobviously each platform is different.
And my ideal clients, for example, my communities are again, they do range in terms ofwhere they can be found.
(28:17):
But I do think for some people it is really important to put your focus on one or twoplatforms maximum, especially within your first couple of years.
and then you're able to obviously grow.
So just as an example for TikTok, I am not a TikTok queen.
I'm on the platform to try and test it and I'm spending six months trying and testingTikTok.
(28:38):
I know that my ideal clients are not necessarily.
on TikTok as much as they are on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
So TikTok, it's my experimental platform.
It's the platform I'm having a little bit of fun with and just playing around with.
But ultimately my main ones are Instagram and Facebook and then obviously LinkedIn for adifferent purpose for the other side of my business.
(28:59):
Yeah.
And this is my point, I suppose that if you try and do all of them in the beginning,you'll end up doing none of them very well.
So it's about focusing on the one or two main areas where you think your ideal clientswill be.
And as your business grows, you can grow onto the other platforms, test them out like youare now with TikTok, but it's so easy to overwhelm ourselves in the beginning of business,
(29:20):
isn't it?
And think, I need to be everywhere.
I need to be doing all of these things.
This business for me is alongside another business, so the same as you in the beginning.
I don't have unlimited time to do everything.
So I need to strategize where I'm going to make the most difference in the time that Ihave at the moment.
How did you find that in the beginning juggling having a full-time job and then trying toset up your business and being a single mum?
(29:46):
It was really, really hard.
The juggle was very, very hard.
And I think a lot of people, I'm sure, will be able to resonate with this if they'relistening and they are juggling.
And whether that looks like juggling a business and a career, juggling two businesses,juggling being a mum or juggling everything, you know, it's really challenging, isn't it?
And I think in terms of managing that, I have always been, if I'm being completely honestwith you, I've always been a workaholic.
(30:14):
I've always been very dedicated to succeeding and to getting results in whatever careerand business I've been in.
So for me, that's a massive driver for me as well as my daughter.
It's I've got to work because I need to get the results because I need to do this, but...
you and that can then end to, you know, or follow through to exhaustion, to overwhelm, tothere's lots of different things that, you know, you can experience along the way.
(30:40):
So for any workaholics out there listening, then take my advice of just make sure you giveyourself a bit of a break and, you know, and obviously celebrate the things that you have
done.
But I think, you know, for general advice in terms of juggling, I think it comes down to,and again, strategy, but also organisation and time management.
What are the priorities, you know, having a look at
If you break it down into quarters or then into your months, what are the main things thatI want to do and focus on this month?
(31:06):
And then actually how much time do I have to do that?
As I started off as a coach more than a strategist, I was spending, obviously most of mytime was coaching people or posting on social media.
And so therefore I only had evenings and only evenings without my daughter being here,which was two evenings a week where I could actually coach.
(31:27):
So my coaching...
capacity was six hours, three hours on a Monday evening, three hours on a Thursdayevening, and that is all I could do.
So I had to build a business around six hours of coaching opportunities.
And then social media was when Sophia went to bed or X, Y, and Zed.
So as you can imagine, even that was a juggle trying to build a business with onlylimitations of six hours of actual delivery.
(31:49):
And so that's another thing to consider as well with, you know, anyone that's listening,think about your business model, think about how you can grow a business.
But strategically so, saving yourself time and energy.
Because if you are juggling being a mom or caring for your family, or of course, you know,having a career as well potentially, that's a lot of stress and a lot of pressure on
(32:12):
yourself.
So I think strategically, regardless of whatever you see other people doing online, do andcreate a business model that is going to work for you.
It doesn't matter what everyone else is doing.
It's about you.
It's about your well, you know, your health and wellbeing.
And ultimately that end goal, you can get to whatever that end goal is in so manydifferent ways and depending on your business, of course, but think about how can you do
(32:36):
this in the best way possible so that you can manage your time effectively.
Yeah, 100%.
I think it's about being sustainable, isn't it, in your life?
And this goes down to really what success looks like.
And success should look different for every single person.
know, someone might want that six-figure business working every hour, God sent.
Some people might just want to work six hours a week around their family, and that issuccess for them.
(33:00):
So it's about understanding what success really looks like for you.
And at the time for you, that was filling those six hours with coaching and starting thattransition.
Obviously that goal has changed as your business has grown, which is amazing.
And now you're full time, but that wasn't achievable for you in the very beginning.
So it's about being kind to yourself and not putting so much pressure, I think in thebeginning, because success does not come overnight and being an entrepreneur is incredibly
(33:28):
hard.
And I think sometimes people just take this step and they're like, yeah, I'm going to setup this business and I'm going to be doing this in six months.
It's not necessarily going to happen that quickly.
It's about
understanding that, being kind to yourself and realizing that you need to put work in.
And I think sometimes people can miss that and think it can be an overnight success.
(33:48):
think it's an interesting one, isn't it?
Because again, there's a lot of mixed messaging and potentially misleading messaging, if Idare say the word misleading, but misleading messaging out there that does imply that you
can have success overnight and, or when we say overnight, but we mean quick success, butultimately, you know, it does take time.
You're right.
It takes time.
(34:09):
It takes work.
It takes energy.
takes strategy.
takes...
scheduling, it takes so many different things in order to get to that point.
And even to be honest with you, at the beginning stages of my business, I was sold a lie.
I was sold a lie.
I was sold a dream that I would be able to leave education, leave teaching in six monthsand, you know, have a multiple six figure business.
(34:32):
And when I look back and I think, why did I, why did I believe that?
Why, why?
Because I suppose it could, could happen.
Could, yeah.
the reality is it takes a lot of time and energy.
And because I was already in a career and also a mom and all the things, the reality ofthat was that it's not really going to happen.
(34:53):
So I think, again, it was a bit of a wake-up call to me when I launched my business andthen could only work six hours a week, as we've discussed.
And therefore, that's only going to bring in a certain amount of revenue.
So then how do you scale that?
How do you get to that next level if you've only got a certain amount of time?
So yeah, so I definitely believe that the success overnight thing is very misleading andthere are a lot of messages out there, not so much now.
(35:15):
I feel like it was more so previously a couple of years ago.
I think a lot of, know, integrity is definitely there a lot more now and honesty andtransparency.
But I do think that, you know, for anyone that is listening, overnight success is notreally a thing, but what is a thing is by having a plan, having that strategy and that
(35:36):
mindset and actually
Working a little bit every day can go a long way.
Putting that little bit, whatever you do, even if it is just posting that post or sendingthat email, that is another step in the right direction.
And those little steps, those little things every single day will lead to that end goaleventually.
But it sometimes takes a little bit longer for others, for some than others, depending onthe circumstances and situation.
(36:01):
Yeah.
So that exactly is my word of the year.
I don't know if you have words of the year, Kayleigh, but mine for 24 was momentum.
I just had to move forward and take a step forward every single day towards my businessbecause so this female founders, this business was created in December 23.
So it's still, you know, it's nearly a year old, nearly about birthday time, but I alwaysknew I'm a very driven person, but I had to limit my
(36:29):
goals for this year because I knew I still had my other business to run.
So I wasn't going to be able to give it full-time energy and you know, and it has takencontrol, I suppose, and being kind to myself, like I say, to understand that I'm going to
move this business slower because I have those limitations, but I still have that passionand I still make sure that every single day I take that step, like you said, move forward
(36:52):
with it.
And I know that those goals will happen eventually, but that's again,
moving back to why it's important to have that why and have that driver.
So in on the days where it's been really tough, I can remember that and move forward.
Do you have a word of the year?
Yes, mine for this year for 2024 is the moment that we're recording this episode.
(37:13):
It's currently Impact.
And I set that at very beginning of the year.
I sat down with my partner and we always map out our goals for the year and together andwe analyse and look at where we've come and what we want to do for the year moving
forwards.
Impact was my word for this year because I wanted to positively impact as many women aspossible.
And when I talk about impact, not just necessarily through sales and money, but impact ina positive way where
(37:38):
they would feel better, more confident, their lives would change in one way or another,they'd have more freedom and then ultimately obviously have the wealth and the business
they desire in the end.
Love that.
Love that.
Have you decided on 25th word yet?
I haven't actually, no, it's definitely a job for me in December.
December is always my time to, you know, to have a little look at my business strategy andbusiness development.
(38:00):
So I will be working out my word for next year, but I'm not quite certain what it's goingto be yet.
no, I'm the same.
have a few.
I have about three shortlisted and I need to decide which one I'm going to go with.
But Kayleigh, thank you so much for joining me today.
So you've already mentioned Facebook and LinkedIn are your main ones and Instagram.
is it just Kayleigh Greenacre that they can find you?
just Kayleigh Greenacre.
(38:20):
So it's nice and easy to find me.
Well, I'll put all the links in the show notes for everyone as well.
But yeah, just thank you so much for joining us today.
I really loved that conversation and thank you to the listeners for sticking with us thisweek.
And I will speak to you all next week.
Take care.
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