Last year, I had the privilege of working with Natasha Britton, a brilliant business strategist who helped me take the leap and start my own business. I was working as a supply teacher in June 2024 and shifted to taking the leap of running my business full time in November 2024. After a year of learning, growth, and big changes, I was honoured to join Natasha on stage at her Shift Event on 22 June 2025 to share my journey and celebrate how far I have come.
Natasha specialises in helping salon and business owners boost their profits and reclaim their time. If you are in the hair and beauty industry and want expert support, I highly recommend checking out her mentoring programme at The PV Consultant.
Here Is The Youtube Transcript Of My Business Journey
Emily and Mary.
So, what we’re going to do, um, these are both academy members. I believe Emily joined last year, June. And you were January. Yeah. So, six months ago. And what we’re going to do is just really ask like where where was you when you first started? We’ll start with you, Emily.
Hi, everyone. So, yes, introduce yourself as well. So, what do you do?
Hi. So, my name is Emily. I’m a public speaking coach. I’m Yeah. Nothing to do with the hair and beauty industry. I came last year because a friend recommended that I come to see Natasha because she’s a great business strategist and I was just so inspired by her story when I came to her event last year and I was like, “Wow, this is the person that I need to work with.” #
So, I didn’t have really a business to begin with. I was working as a primary school teacher. I was doing supply work. So I was going to different schools every single day trying to build my business. And I was building this business for quite some time. Like I had the idea. I did a master’s in voice specifically in 2018. That’s when I had the idea.
And then I was like, well, this could be a really good business idea because I studied acting and how I got into acting was through, you know, doing drama at school. And I thought to myself, well, to become a really good actor, you need a really good voice. And then that’s how I got into the masters in voice. And then I thought, oh, these techniques that I’m learning isn’t just for performers and actors. It’s actually for everybody who has a voice who needs to communicate.
So I had this idea and it was on the back burner for ages and ages and I was trying to create something. I did a logo one year and then I did a design for my website another year and it was just slowly going but not really growing. And this is when I I said to myself, okay, last year 2024, I need to do something about this. It’s not just, yeah, let’s just grow a business. I wanted something more.
I didn’t want to have the lifestyle of being a teacher. And for all you people who know of any people who are teachers, the stress that you’re under, the paperwork, it’s not just teaching anymore. It’s literally admin and marking books and really timeconsuming things. And I just didn’t want that lifestyle anymore. I was like, “Okay, let me just do something I really love.” And I think with Natasha’s mentoring program for the last year, I have changed completely as a person. I have not just grown a business, I have actually embodied myself to become the person that I wanted to be last year.
So now I’m just really excited to take the next steps in life and really embellish that and grow more and grow my business and help more people in the area who need to be able to think about being confident with speaking. So I’m not just only helping people to speak on stage. I help people to be confident within themselves, confident to be able to talk about themselves, whether it’s online for social media, whether it’s to their clients and what they do and what they sell.
Any part of communication where you have to talk to people whether you’re training people as well that is something all down to who you are and people need to see that authenticity within you the passion that you give the way you talk to people is how people kind of buy your products they buy your services because of you so that’s what I give to people and I think through Natasha’s program I’ve learned all of that within the last year. So, it’s not just about making the money, it’s really thinking about who you are as a person, why you’re doing it, and what it helps other people to achieve.
And yes, without Natasha, it’s just been yeah, just a whirlwind of a journey trying to find that process within myself because I think one of the things that I think Natasha really helped me was to open doors. You know when you think you have an idea in your head or you’ve read something somewhere and you’re like, “Okay, it’s just in the back of your mind, but you never really do anything about it.” So, you ponder on that thing, you forget about it.
And then you go to one of Natasha’s calls and you’re like, “Oh my gosh, yes, I I think I heard something about that or read something about that before, like long, long time ago.” And then it just comes back to you and then you’re like, “Oh, oh, okay. So this could be something that could be implemented into my business.
I just didn’t realize at the time that that was something that I needed. So I think that was something that you really pushed me to do was to be able to think creatively that I could do those things and to be able to open those doors for myself, meet more people, to do more networking. So then therefore I was able to become the person that I am today.
Oh, I love it. Thank you. And would you say that you were you’re more productive now?
Oh yes.
Procrastinating.
Yes. Yeah. Because when you feel stuck, you just don’t know who to go to, especially if you don’t have a coach. Cuz before I was like, oh, ing anding whether I should join cuz I didn’t have much savings and I was like, okay. So when I did the pay monthly plan with you, it was much more affordable than paying everything up front. And I was like, okay, if I’m going to commit to this amount of money, then I should be more productive.
I should be able to think about, okay, take on board everything you’re saying, the feedback and everything, and to be able to work on it in my own pace. And sometimes I would say to you, oh, I’m working on that, but it’s taken me a little bit longer than it has done. And there is like no timeline for these things.
You think, oh, I’m going to do this project. I’m going to do social media for, you know, the next year or so. And then you realize you encounter so many problems along the way with social media or whatever it is that your project is. And then you just stop. You just don’t do it. And then I think you know the procrastination comes in and then you doubt yourself and then you have lack of confidence and then you see the cycle going round and round like that. And I think for me the most important thing was when I was doing the tasks yes I could do it.
You know there’s no hesitancy of me putting in that hard work. It was just me doing too much and also working too hard on the wrong things. Because I think as business owners, especially if you’re a soloreneur, you try to do everything. You are a social media manager. You are also operations. You also do this and you also do that. You do the emails and then you have to do a phone call and then you’ve got your clients.
And so then because I was doing everything plus working as a teacher as well, right? Plus working as a teacher. It just becomes a lot to handle. And yes, everybody can work hard on hard on their business and yes, everybody can do everything but it’s not realistic you know and you do get burnt out. Yeah, you do. So I think doing the right things moving forward having you as a person to go right what is your most highest priority? What do you need right now?
Sometimes they go I don’t know.
Yeah, I don’t know. Help me. And I’m like, “Okay, we need to concentrate on this.” And and multiple times I’ve had that where I’m like, “I just don’t know what I want.” Like, “How do I move my business forward?” Because we’re always thinking about how to move our business forward. How do we move that needle, okay, to where we want to be? But sometimes when you’re stuck, you’re stuck and all you do is ask for help. And that’s the most important lesson that I’ve learned is there’s always somebody I could turn to.
And that’s why I signed up to a mentoring program with Natasha because whenever I needed help, I knew I could go to that person who could be the person who could give me the answers and if she didn’t know, she’ll find somebody who would know. And that’s how yeah, I just became really confident in myself. And therefore, when I’m confident in myself, I have the energy to be able to give to my clients. When you don’t have that energy, you always feel stuck. then you go backwards in yourself and therefore when you’re seeing your clients you don’t show up as your best self.
Yeah, I love that. Thank you so much for sharing your story as well as well.
Thank you.