Episode #31 – Dr Jo Watkins interviewed by Dr Dave Hindmarsh celebrating and reflecting on her…

Podcast Introduction and Mission 0:00

Welcome to the Startup Support Surgery podcast, where we light the entrepreneurial spark in medics and healthcare professionals. Join me, Dr. Jo Watkins, GP, business coach and co-founder of The How People, on a journey to discover where your medical know-how meets the business world. This will help you find some clarity on how to balance work, passions and family so that you can gain more freedom and control over your life but also continue to help people, which is actually why most of us went into medicine to start with.

Embarking on this entrepreneurial adventure is not easy. It is a roller coaster of emotions, but it's hugely rewarding and exciting in the process. Drawing in on my 20 years of blending medicine and business as a GP, I am here to share experiences, insights and lessons. Expect lively chats, expert interviews and real life stories from medics who have taken their own path. Let's break free from traditional healthcare norms and explore more innovative ways of making a real difference to people's health and wellbeing, along with paving the way for a brighter future for us as healthcare professionals.

Oh, don't miss my free PDF called From Stethoscope to Startup, which is an 11-page guide in the show notes full of practical help and advice. This is your roadmap to kick-starting your journey with us. Enjoy the Show. Hello and welcome to the Business Startup Surgery brought to you this week by Dr. Dave Heim Marsh. Don't worry, Jo's OK. She hasn't fallen into a massive vat of testosterone or something like that. What we've done to celebrate her past 30 superb episodes is that we had metaphorically and physically turned the microphone background on her.

So we'll be interviewing her all about her podcast and what's led her to this moment so far. Dr. Jo Watkins is a portfolio GP, business coach and mentor, wife, mum of four and a venture loving entrepreneur with small business owner who contributes coaching, consulting and mentoring with a passion for connection, community building and collaboration into more importantly that one-to-one coaching packages and their thriving group program of medics for which I can proudly call myself one of them. But more importantly, Jo is an absolute phenomenal human being.

She has connected a multitude of people, myself included in this, and being at the receiving end of her words of wisdom and putting in touch with other people she has managed to push and thrive and make others really develop into their own personal careers. I always look forward to her voice notes, so I thought I would use some of the voice-notes that we've been doing backwards and forwards and turn it into an episode. Jo's random fact, which she's got two. You may already be aware that we are both fellow Liverpool graduates.

She is also a Nordic walking instructor.

Why Jo Started the Podcast 2:53

But the third one, what she is going to think I'm weird for picking up, is that she used to play the tuba. I am going ping around to you. Were you in a brass band or an orchestra? I was in an Orchestra and the wind band. To be honest, they needed somebody with a bit of welly in the brass department. And my exploits as a flautist were obviously not needed. Fair enough. So I'm in small world, so I grew up in a brass band. As soon as I saw that, I thought I had to jump on that. I was in the brassband down in Suffolk.

My dad and brother both used to play B flat tuba. We'll talk about that one. Yeah, it was great. I said, Joe, 30 episodes. What a phenomenal, phenomenal achievement. And thank you for handing over the reins just for this episode. That's very exciting. I should get you to introduce me more often as I sound much better when you tell it than I do when I tell myself. Well, I had to do a bit of digging, seeing as you just basically, the only note you gave me was, you know me. And I was like, thanks for that.

But come on. So I appreciate, and maybe a little bit a personal curiosity in terms of content creation, in I think actually it's sometimes nice just to actually get your thoughts behind this. Because clearly you are very successful from a business perspective anyway. jump to then go into creating a quite a big project, even just one series or that initial series for your podcast. Like, let's take a rewind because it was September, 2024. You got your business going from that perspective. What, what mentally when I need a podcast, where were you at?

Yeah. I mean, I think for me I have to every now and again, wind the clock back just to remember. And I did my whole reflections piece on the train yesterday when was coming back from North Wales. This time, two years ago, I had really one client. I'd had Nerys Freighter, who I've worked with. She badgered me to work with her. And I absolutely loved working with, she was flying and I was like, well, what am I going to do with this now? So really starting from zero, Two years, ago I then launched into helping other people and it was, it's been very, very slow, Very organic.

Um, and i've absolutely, loved it. and over the last two, years I helped probably in excess of 50 or 60 people in some form, either one-to-one or in a group program, and then obviously with some of my free stuff as well. So I've created something that I'm really excited about, really proud of, I absolutely love. And I think what it's done is put all of 15 years of experience, all the failures, the learnings, it has put that together in something I really feel is helpful to somebody at the beginning of their journey or in that kind of stuck state, which we get into sometimes as medics, when we go into this different world of business.

But last year, a lot of people had said to me, well, you should do a podcast. You should podcast and I was thinking, Well, I don't know. I just want to do what podcast I'm going to. Do something like that. It's got to, it's, got, to be, You know, something that I really feel passionate about, but also it has got some sort of purpose. Like, there's lots of podcasts out there. Um, and there's lots of people doing sort of podcasts from their, from the kitchen or from that work desk. And then there was, you know, the big flashy ones that we all know about.

and I, I know. I started thinking about the ways, what I could communicate via a podcast. It's very clear to me that one of my, there were two aspects to it that I love and think are special. One is being able to highlight medics and what they're doing. So people I've worked with case studies. people that have done brilliant things are going out there into the world, doing brilliant thing. To be able to tell their story is an advantage to me and them and actually I set about doing it to be to highlight them, to say look at what they're doing in the word, look what this person has actually made happen.

But obviously, as well, it's a great case study for me because they come on and they say the most lovely things about the way that I've helped them, which was kind of not really why I did it. I didn't to highlight them. but actually it is two ways. So that's been brilliant. And then, of course, bringing in some of the experts, because I'm a bit of a, you know, a train geek and a tech geek. Guilty. If that wasn't captured, he just held up his train mug because he is a geek. But I love marketing, sales, learning, online business.

I'm an absolute nerd. So I have got some incredible people I've worked with, listened to, been on coaching calls with being in groups with over the last, particularly the past five years, I just immersed myself in this world of learning. And they have become friends and connections and people that will say, I say you wouldn't mind doing a podcast with you and they'd be like, yeah. And I thought that was definitely going to be a no. So I've got the experts and then the case studies. I though, well, let's just give this a go.

Then I was like where do I even start? I think I had a couple of key conversations as with all of these things. A couple of key conversations with people that have done it and gone out there and started podcasts. So I did what I normally do, which is pick up the phone and say, look, you've done this podcast. What did you do? How did it go for you? What do you recommend? And I basically spoke to three people, I think, all through my own business community. um who were not medics and I traced back their steps you know who they'd worked with what quotes they've had and i found i had three different people that were recommended to me one was an american lady um very very high end um she had a certain element some advice for me which i can come back to and then another couple of younger guys um somebody works with i looked at their pricing looked And then I spoke to Pete and Pete, who is Monkey Pants Production, is an absolute legend.

What a bloke. We just got on a Zoom call, got like house on fire. And Pete produces Tom Dylan and Helen Leathers' podcast.

Finding the Right Producer and Format 9:13

He was my recommendation from Tom, who I also have worked with and trained under. And I just loved him. By the end of the call, I knew I needed somebody to help me do this because I am not a details person. I wanted to do the recording. but I'm not good at the tech and I knew straight away that I had to outsource that to make it happen. Otherwise it would just take over my life. And I didn't want it to take him my wife. I wanted it be part of my offerings. So to do that, I needed help and Pete just was the right person to help me do.

Understood. So you sort of, you realized that there was a big technical uplift in terms of your own abilities. You knew that you'd had loads of people saying, right, You need to do a podcast. And I can see that sort the way forward. It was, it was interesting. We're recording this the Monday after the content creation masterclass where Anisha Patel deep dived into podcasting and you really fit into a lot of that in term of adding value in your expertise. and You got this then personal recommendation.

I think as well what's interesting that you highlight about the personality aspect. And that's why I sort of like, I was desperate for you to invite me on as soon as we'd sort immediately that click. I completely get it. It was like yes, please get me onto your episode. So I'm more than happy to, and it's like you then inadvertently go above and beyond and we'll sort help each other out as needs be. Absolutely. Anyone I work with, that has always been the case. Business has to work around my life.

So my, my live involves, you know, lot of school runs, sitting in the car, having a thought process where I'm halfway around Tesco's and that's the way I work. And Pete knows that, gets that. Doesn't mind me leaving a voice note on a Sunday morning. He knows he doesn't have to listen to it until he's ready. Um, he, He is there to support me and help me. and suggest things and guide me. But he gets me straight away. And I feel like I've known him forever. He's a cheerleader and a supporter in the background, and he'd get stuff done.

Actually, I'm not very organized when it comes to the minute detail. Right at the beginning, he said to me, look, when do you want this to start? I said the 9th of September. Everything happens on the ninth. I want it from the night of the September and I'll do 12 episodes and see how it goes. Okay. And he said, right. I need them all to be, you know, I'd need recordings. Show notes. It all should be in the Google drive before this time. He gave me very specific instructions, which is how you need to manage me.

and I knew exactly what I needed to do. Did exactly. What he. Said, and he did a brilliant job and. Haven't had to think about it. Of course that's cost me, but as far as I was concerned in August, well, it was about this town last year. X amount towards marketing. And I'm going to throw it all into a podcast because it's been the best thing for my business and for me to be able to get out there and signpost. That's what I found most valuable. I have lots of people wanting to go on discovery calls.

And I say this, you know, if you have the same email saying, can I pick your brains about blank? You know? If that happens over and over again, then you need to create some content that means that you can say, yes, listen to this episode, this and this. Read this book, come back to that. And then if. You still really want to take this forward, let's jump on a discovery call. Cause I, I just haven't got the capacity to answer those questions one to one anymore. And the podcast has enabled me to do that.

And most people come on it and they say, oh, I listened to one and then I found myself listening to all 30 of them in two weeks. It's answered so many questions I had and I now feel ready to move forward or business is the last thing I want, or I'll be ready for this when the kids are a bit bigger or whatever. You know, it gives people that ability to make a decision as to what steps they want to take next once they've listened to it. So it really helps. I was going to say, cause you almost then it's another filtering mechanism for you that you've got these people that your supporting your own business in terms of like, go away, listen to this.

And I've seen you comment on other people's posts, certainly on LinkedIn, where I know you sort of hang out majority of the time in term of where you recommend directly to people saying, I got this problem saying like listen, to listen this episode, and then sort leaving at that. So it has there been obviously, so you got it in your mind. I'm going do a podcast. You put all of your marketing budget into it. and you've come out with these business support. You've managed to streamline some of your discovery calls and sort of not get rid of, but sort appropriately educate and move on clients that not being rude, just aren't suitable for you at this moment in time.

Have there been any hidden benefits? I think the biggest hidden benefit is the escalation between somebody finding out about you and somebody trusting you with their time, money, stress, worry. You know, people are feeling really stuck out there sometimes. And, you know I know that you're on your own business journey. We spoke on Friday with Anisha who's on hers. Having gone through, there is no better word than a roller coaster, honestly. what the podcast is enabling me to do is bringing together every aspect of my business experience, which is all self-taught and self taught by doing and creating.

And I'm able to explain all of that. The best way of me explaining it is to have a conversation with somebody. So if somebody comes into my world previously, it would have been like, well, have look at her Instagram. Oh, that's a bit shit. She doesn't really post very often. Look at LinkedIn. Not very good at that either. Oh, just trust me. She's nice or trust. Me. she knows what she's talking about. And so this has just escalated that. So people, you know, and I am genuinely myself. I don't, I, don' ever show up trying to be something I'm not, swear a bit.

and, um, quite relaxed about stuff. But I think the secret benefit has been that people have that little bit of an insight into what it's like to work with me, because I'm not for everybody. And so if you want that shiny, glossy, highly polished business coach, um, who sends you, you know, templates to fill in and all that, I know I much more organic than that. Like what you get is all of me in front of you. When we have a power hour or if we're a part, if your part of the group membership, give and give.

But if it's not the right fit, then I don't try and fit people into the mould. So somebody understands me by the time they come to work with me, having listened to the podcast. Absolutely and I'm going to throw your three words back at you of no like and trust and i think actually the that's what the podcast certainly from my perspective did we've gone from a very generic linkedin hi i might be suitable for you and you just almost end up deleting it to then going you know what i'll listen to one and going hang on a second actually personality wise yes i i really like what you're saying I'm not too bothered about the gloss and the detail.

So actually for me personally, it was like, yep, completely get this as long as it's done is better than excellent. And then you sort of sound like and then after the discovery calls, like yeah, absolutely. We'll see whether we can help each other out. That again, you can see that, but my story is repeated. time and time again you see it from all of your people that you've worked alongside it's that similar bit and going back to friday like anisha was singing sort of saying that she ended up binging your whole podcast as well you know other people saying like yeah yeah i've listened to it i'm listening to all them i did exactly the same within a very short period of time binge the lot of them thoroughly enjoyed it as actually really pleased because I actually missed a couple of episodes and before we booked this you'd given me a Couple to highlight and I was like right.

I'm gonna go back to them as well Oh, I missed them out brilliant. So going to certain case studies that you sort of highlighted one you've already Mentioned there is freight assume.

Benefits for Business and Audience 17:28

Should we start there in terms of why you feel why he highlighted her specifically? Yeah, and i think before I look at specifics I think the really important thing for me is that people aren't listening to these podcasts It's not just about me, it's about these amazing doctors that are out there doing brilliant things. And I think I bring great guests in. I've only ever done one or two individual episodes. You know, I would like to do more, but actually I. One of my, one of mine, well, not a skill, But one thing I really enjoy is just drawing out that confidence that's hidden in people.

Cause I, as doctors, we're not very good at going out and selling and marketing ourselves. But actually being in an interview process where it's just the two of us, um, you know, it feels quite personal and people open up. Um, so I think that's why people listen and I only ever invite wonderful people on. And I know that they're going to go down really well. I don't think I've had one. Well, I haven't had. One, two episodes that I have recorded and they've not recorded properly, Ruth being one of them and the tech failed me.

So we've got that one that has been outstanding as in we have got to get it done. And I'm actually quite glad because now she's at a different stage in her business. I am quite pleased. So it's almost like, it is almost meant to be. But Nerys is really special to me because Neris emailed me back in January 2022. When I was very, very busy, I home schooling Tom, and she sent me an email out of nowhere and asked me to mentor her. She said I've got this group program, started it during COVID, the results are incredible.

I need to make this a thing outside of my practice and my she had some funding locally and she said I just don't know where to start. And I've seen what you've done with the how people and I wonder whether you would consider mentoring and coaching me and i've actually kept all these emails they're part of My group program I go through my my whole sort of pricing journey. And I sort of replied back saying, you know, that's really flattering. I'd really love to, but I'm not a business coach and I don't really have any time.

But, thanks for asking, essentially. I was basically the kind of like, oh, that's really nice of you, but I'm not sure I've got the qualifications as the medic. Oh, OK. We're going to touch on that point. There was a little bit of that going on, I think, retrospectively. But I said I genuinely don't have any time. You know, we all complain about not having enough time, but I think homeschooling just means that you're every minute of your every day. And I have three kids in school, one out of school.

We never did school at home. we always traveled and we were doing all sorts of stuff. So I was already running a business on fresh air and I could hear my husband saying, don't get into something else, Joey. Don't do something. Yes. And then I was a little bit curious. So I's like, well, and she said, I just think you're the right person to help me. You've got the experience I need. you've done loads of stuff. Please give me a hand with this. And I said well I can coach, coach you or mentor you as long as it's at six o'clock in the morning on a Monday, because that's the only hour of the week that I've.

Got. and She said okay, great. Let's do it. so basically I signed her up to some ridiculously tiny package because I thought I'd I needed to see whether it worked for me and it was really special cause she a hundred percent trusted in me. She just was like, I want you to help me, you're the person for to do this. That was in the January. We started in March. Um, we started working together and I think, yeah, it wasn't in this September. I'm I missing six. Anyway, there was a point where Nerys went to the BSLM conference.

So it must've been 2022. Yeah. She went to BSLM in September 2022, she came back from that and she said to me, Joey, at this conference, there were people queuing out of the door for the talk about business. So there was somebody there talking about starting a business and there are people queueing out the doors and it wasn't half as good as what you're telling me. You're really good at it, you need to go out there and do it. And there's a need. And so after she said that to me, I thought, well, come on, can do this.

I kind of put my big girl pants on. So she has helped me. She's not only been my first patient client, but she's also given me the confidence to go out there and help other people. Um, and, um, she was a catalyst for me now. This is what I do most of the time. The How People is something that Polly and I are really passionate about. But from a business point of view, monetizing that business was proving difficult in terms of the membership model outside COVID. And Poli works for a charity full time.

I was homeschooling and knew when Tom went to school because he wanted to try year six. Polly and I had a very, very important conversation. And I said, you know, if we carry on with how and Tom goes to school, I'm going to have a lot more time to put into it. But I've got loads of medics asking me to coach and mentor them. I'd really like to give it a go. Pally was like, well, go and give a a-go then. You've go to do it and 100% go do and do. We've still got this and we actually had to chat last night.

There's still something there. At the moment, I'm spending, you know, 99% of my business time is, is on this. So Nerys is my patient number one, essentially. And her podcast gives her story. and I think the key for me was at the end when she said, I don't need another diploma. I don't need more learning about obesity, about pre-diabetes, diabetic management. What I needed to learn about was sales and marketing. And I feel like that's where I took her and she's, you know, she is flying now. So she a brilliant example of what is possible.

Yeah. She's fantastic. I had to laugh that about a week, two ago, I was doing a diabetic review and we were discussing through it and the patient turned around and said, you would have never have heard of her. I found a lifestyle course by this doctor over in Wales called Nerus Freighter. And I nearly burst out laughing. It was like, exactly what you're on about. Probably recommend a podcast where she talks about it. And for listeners who don't know, I'm up in the Northeast, so good. Probably pushing 200 miles away from where she probably kicked off.

So actually fair play and hats off and what a good patient one to sort of get you going. We're going to touch on qualifications, hopefully a very short part of this. What are your media qualifications then, Jo?

Nerys Freighter and Early Success 24:18

My media qualification is a huge, what I actually did with the first time Nerys paid me a proper amount. I think The first time I put something out, I charged £97 for 12 weeks of group coaching, because I wanted Nerys and a couple of other people. Caroline Gibson, who is one of the LifeMed community leads with Adam Smith, she came along as well. So there was me and Neris and Caroline at six o'clock in the morning for twelve weeks. And then after that, I realized that I, realized the amount of experience and understanding and learning that's in my head because of the years of doing plus the use of learning but I've put in.

And I was able to very quickly step into the shoes of saying, well, actually I want to make this a thing and I need to monetize this properly. So the first a thousand pounds that aren't from Nerys, then spent that on getting a coaching qualification. Cause I did feel like I needed a qualification, which is how everybody feels, but I wanted to do, and I'm actually really glad I have because I've been able to recommend it to others having gone through it myself. So I didn't Tom Dylan's coaching, qualification I, I messaged loads of people and said, i'm thinking about coaching.

But I think it's more business coaching than life coaching but i'd quite like to understand what coaching is because i didn' really get it. And so I'm really grateful I did it for experience, but I really much more of a mentor or a business consultant than I am a coach. You know, I don't sit there listening and letting you come up where, you know I, much, more directive in my approach. So did I need to have transitional life coaching as a qualification? Probably not. Okay. Did I need to go and have an MBA in marketing?

Definitely no. did I have enough in my head? Absolutely. But I am also grateful for, for a slightly different reason that I did that coaching qualification. And I, and I think what Tom and Helen are offering is brilliant. So yeah, I don't have any podcast training. Nobody's told me that. I'm good enough to support anybody with their business, but I I'm safe in the knowledge that having done and I think because my business journey involves essentially four businesses, you know, one product base, Renola business.

Then we had a holiday property that wasn't on Airbnb or booking.com and was the completely unique experience that I marked myself then the how people which was an online membership for teenage girls, then this I kind of feel like I've to jump through different business model hoops, which I think gives me the lens of being able to support people irrespective of what the business is that they're currently doing. Absolutely. And you can, you, can hear it on the podcast episodes that you almost reflect back to one of those four businesses of like, Oh, your more of this.

So let me just draw my experience there and sort of, and to bringing it forward that way. You got the coaching qualification, that, got no podcast training, probably because it's someone overpricing. a made-up qualification, if I'm being so facetious. But we will, I think we need to talk about equipment wise, because everyone, i think, feels that you need fancy microphone, fancy studio, you know. I am recording in my consultation room on my coffee break or on lunch break. You all look like you're in your living room from that point.

So talk me through, what equipment do you have? Do you invest in anything or what's going on? Well, from an equipment point of view, the first thing is that production piece and who's gonna help you with that. And those three conversations, the price points were very different. So the lady in America that I spoke to who was producing a podcast for some people I know, very nice lady, but with that came a huge price tag. Plus she was going to send me backdrops, outfits, things to be able to wear. The message I got about podcasting A year ago.

So 2024 was that you either go big on your production, you know, big Steven Bartlett style production. I've, you know, in-person guests or outfits or like, like a TV show, or you go super niche. So that was the message I was given. Don't go in the middle. There's lots and lots of people trying to start podcasts from their living room, being a little bit beige about it. And really nothing's happening because you've got to market your podcast, just like. You know if you're going to write a book or do a YouTube channel or whatever, You've gotta get out there and tell people you doing it so.

So straight away I was like, well, I'm not wearing ridiculous clothes and having a backdrop and I wasn't giving you that amount of money. So that was out of the question. And I knew that I just wanted it to be really, really organic and me, which involves being in my living room. I mean, i've actually plumped the cushions up Dave, so you'll be quite... Oh,I feel honoured. You can't see that bit of carnage there, but I am literally, and you'd probably go mad at me but i'm literally just, just press play on my computer.

iIve got no microphone, no headphones. and no proper camera. So this could be very much improved, but at the moment this is enough. I use Riverside, which is because Pete and I had a conversation, it makes it a lot easier for him to upload the stuff. It makes little magic clips for me. To be honest, a couple of times it hasn't worked very well and i've used zoom and that's fine too. And then I upload it into a Google drive and then him and he and I share the Google Drive. So I have no equipment, but I do have a Yeti microphone as you do in my bag down there.

Um, I. Do have. A phone that would probably be a better camera again. It's somewhere else. But I know you just need to start. And actually it's all of these like equipment or, um, is it about. I'm worried about not being able to get any guests. I am worried not knowing what to say. I'm worried about the time it takes. These are all barriers, keeping us safe, stopping us doing something scary. And we know what it's about. Is it the right medium for your clients? I think that's the thing. We know from what Anisha said on Friday that podcasting in the healthcare space is very, very underused.

I there's lots of potential, but we've got to think about who we're talking to. There's no point. You know going to the expense and the hassle of creating a podcast if your ideal customer is not going To be listening to a pod cast. So the how people's a really good example, you know We struggled with our social media reach because we were trying to help everyone with everything by just being on Instagram Whereas actually what we needed was to get an influencer to Help us be on tick-tock. Yeah, and then a pot cast would have been perfect for the parents So, so you've got to know, and this is where it all comes back to who you're talking to, who your helping being really specific, not trying to go too broad.

You know? If you helping somebody with low inflammatory diet for rheumatoid arthritis, then that's what your podcast is about. And just like everything, just keeping it super specific because it's really noisy out there now in the podcast, YouTube.

Qualifications, Equipment, and Simplicity 31:28

you know, online space is noisy. So the more specific, the better. I want to learn about my diet for my rheumatoid arthritis from somebody that just talks about that. Understood. And I think actually there, as the Americans will say, the riches are in the niches or however you sort of put it down from that way that, and I agree as well that thinking about your end audience, Sophie, for me, I listened to it Monday morning. I'm in a car, driving to, you know, one of my jobs that I do. It's a 20 minute half an hour drive Monday.

Morning. That's the first podcast that's on. Let's see what Joe Watkins has done from. and on the reverse actually I probably don't have the time as I'm sure a lot of doctors do to sit down and watch a half an hour 45 minute video of you talking through though very interesting about what's going on is something else is happening in the meantime. I completely have to agree in terms of the equipment, keeping it low and keeping its simple just from my own personal perspective. And also I've just started to use Riverside just for some of my video content creation, an amazing bit of software.

So if you're thinking about either podcasting video, content is well worth the investment. Um, and I conceive then offset a lot of the editorial stuff, which is, you know, I'm just about to offset some my editorial staff and realizing even just the idea creation that It's a huge amount of work. I didn't I completely underestimated it from that perspective. So we've talked about Maris in terms of your guests. Absolute phenomenal episode. Make sure you go and check that one out. Anyone else? I've sort of got a list of names here that sort springs to mind that you think, hang on a second.

Do you want to sort talk about from here? Every single one of my clients that I have interviewed, I'm incredibly proud of them. I feel like a proper mother hen when I see somebody out there absolutely crushing it. And I also have this whole, you know, I've got to be that, not that empty nester, but I'm just watching them fly and that's my role. My role is to nurture support, pull out that confidence, put out the clarity of thought and then watch them then go on and do great things. So in that respect, every single one of them that I have interviewed You know, it means a huge amount to me.

I think I have to pick out Bex Ryle because she, we go back an awfully long way. She, actually we met at a GP trainer's day when we were both, uh, We've both just had a child. So 16 years ago and we would both breast pumping, like pumping. as in pump and dump, in the toilets during the lunch break of a GP registrar conference. So we literally met while doing something ridiculous in a toilet. And we just got on like house on fire. That was it then. We became very good friends, but we don't see a huge amount of each other.

But we had just had the same passion and energy for travel, for adventure, building our lives around that being a big part of our life. she was part of the catalyst for us going away for a year. She was the person that was like, what's stopping you? When we were at the Banff Film Festival and it was another year of saying, well, we might do this, you might that. And she like what is stopping? And I think that's probably the final thing that gave us the push. And I've been the person that's introduced her to house swapping, which has totally changed her life and trajectory.

And now she's working for them and she is a travel coach. I just think I love her and her energy and what she does with those kids, her husband Pete is amazing. The way that they travel, the opportunities they've given them on a budget, they make it work. in a way that makes me feel totally ashamed to get a taxi to the airport. Like literally they've got their rucksack in their pack and they hitchhike pretty much to their airport and then their flights go like four different connections to make it as cheap as possible.

They're amazing. So I love talking to her because she just brings me a huge amount of joy day to day and I think I am such that your moments with your children are so precious and I'm so grateful for our time traveling. And since we came back from that year, we now do three months traveling a year. My whole business model has been around being able to do this wherever we are in the world for three month to the point of the timing of Zoom calls, David, like seriously. I only do my live, I do, my life sessions at 2 p.m.

So that if we're in Asia, it's 10. And if were in Canada, at six. My whole business model is based on us not being in the UK all the time. And I only do one to ones when we are in each country, depending on the timeline. So the whole, my whole plan is about travel for a lot of time. And, and I take it then the podcast, you can just fit that in and around when, when you need to really, because the recording, it doesn't, doesn' have to be sort of set. No, I'll be batch recording. I've batch recorded obviously these six summer special series and then the September ones will be sort of in production and actually what I'm going to do from September is I am going have a new episode twice a month And then I'm going to highlight one of the older ones on the alternate months, because as Pete always says to me, you know, don't let the old episodes die.

When somebody finds you, they binge watch, but actually being able to.

Guests, Travel, and Future Plans 37:18

And being to do maybe some YouTube shorts or some little videos around those episodes. Cause I've not really marketed the podcast massively on its own. So that was my plan from September so that I get two new guests a month. Yeah, so, that's the plan. So, we've got the special summer series of six or rearrange the S's as needs be. We've a bit of a space and quite rightly you need a break from this or at least just to adjust the throttle. in terms of production and then we're back in but twice a month in September with the batch recording and release out from that perspective.

I think that has been a superb behind the scenes look. Huge congratulations in producing such a wonderful podcast with 30 episodes that are out there. Continuing on this journey as sort of like we've got the summer series of six to sort to look out for and I cannot but wish you the very, very best of luck for series four. Thank you, Joe. fun way of getting me to talk. I'm much better at talking when somebody interviews me. So thank you and thank to everybody that's taken their time to choose to listen to one of my podcasts.

And I hope that somewhere along the line, somebody's story, somebody struggles, someone's success has inspired you to do what it is that is gonna make life what you want to make it. Not everybody wants a business. There are things out there that you can do outside of your medical profession, whether it's projects or hobbies, and it just inspires you actually to live life on purpose and do stuff because that's what makes you tick. And remembering to keep Keep our own, you know, look after ourselves and look, after our family, because business can run away with you.

And I'd say this to you with young kids, especially when you're an ideas person, there's always something and you'll always slightly distracted by what's going on in your head. I'm trying all the time to be much more, much, more present and connected with, with the requirements of my family while running a business. That is a work in progress. thank you for the opportunity of doing this and thank for interviewing me so wonderfully. Not at all. So we'll see you on the rest of the summer series of six or whatever we've called them.

Thank you very much. I hope this episode has sparked some new ideas or challenged your thinking. Transitioning from medicine to business is not easy. It's about adapting our skills while embracing the unknowns of entrepreneurship. it can be nerve wracking but remember you are not alone on this journey. Please feel free to reach out to me via direct message on LinkedIn or Instagram or just shoot me an email at joe at bendylegs.com for support and don't forget to grab The free PDF from the show notes from stethoscope to start up, which is your go to guide and resource for diving into entrepreneurship.

Many thanks for tuning in. I will see you next time. Thanks for spending your precious time with me. This has been a Monkey Pants Productions Podcast.