Ep.62 The Wilder Way: Redefining Female Entrepreneurship with Nicky Elliott

Nicky Elliott, founder of The Wilder Collective, joins us to shake up the ordinary and reimagine a life of bold purpose. Together, we challenge the conformity of hustle culture and explore Nicky’s transition from creating a kids' unisex clothing brand during lockdown to leading a thriving community for female founders and freelancers. Nicky’s “wild thinker” philosophy inspires us to dance between society’s expectations and our own authentic paths, crafting a life that celebrates the beauty in the everyday chaos.

We discuss modern entrepreneurship and balancing life’s demands, with insights drawn from Nicky’s evolution and personal anecdotes. Inspired by Eve Rodsky's "Fair Play," we explore the intricacies of domestic responsibility and the mental load, advocating for equitable partnerships in both business and personal realms.

The entrepreneurial path is fraught with uncertainty, yet it's this very unpredictability that fuels growth and innovation. From winding up her clothing brand to discovering newfound purpose through community building, Nicky shares her experience and knowledge on leveraging existing skills to create meaningful, service-based ventures with minimal financial risk. You may not consider yourself a rule-breaker but we are all capable of 'wild thinking' to help navigate life's situations with creativity and a rebellious spirit...

*talking of rebellious spirit, watch out for a few stray F-bombs in this one!* 😜

Find out more about Nicky's community https://thewildercollective.co.uk/
Here she is on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wilder.ones
And this is where to follow her on LinkedIn 

Chapters

• 0:00 Designing a Life on Your Terms
• 5:37 Empowering Conversations on Modern Life
• 10:34 Creating a Life With Purpose
• 21:17 Navigating Entrepreneurial Journey With Intention
• 30:37 Exploring Life Design and Personal Passions
• 40:56 Keeping Mischief Alive

Transcript

Nicky Elliott: 0:00

this is too rigid. I'm just not in charge of my own destiny and I wasn't up for it, but it has been a desperate attempt to stay working for myself, designing the life that I want, being around for my kids. Everyone has different priorities and those were mine and I was like I am just not going to do that, hey there, welcome or welcome back to the Mischief Movement podcast.

Zoe Greenhalf: 0:26

Hey there, welcome or welcome back to the Mischief Movement podcast. I'm Zoe, your guide on this journey to shake up the status quo and design a life that truly makes you feel alive. If you've ever felt disconnected, stuck on autopilot or trapped in a life that feels more like a treadmill than an adventure, you're in the right place. I know that change can feel scary, so let's turn down the fear and crank up the fierce as we transform your life from the inside out. Whether it's solo episodes packed with actionable advice or interviews with some absolute badass human beings who've dared to defy the norm by living life their way, we're here to inspire, activate, empower and challenge you each week. My mission is simple to help you reawaken your rebel spirit, break free from mediocrity and design a life that's anything but dull. You only get one wildlife, so what are you planning to do with yours? If you're ready to stop settling, start living boldly and create a positive impact along the way, let's dive in and stir up some mischief together. Now buckle up and let's go. So here we are again, and this week I'm joined by someone who's redefining what it means to run a business on your own terms.

Zoe Greenhalf: 1:44

Nicky Elliott is the founder of the Wilder Collective, a community for free-thinking female founders and freelancers who are doing their own thing, crafting businesses that fit around the messy, beautiful chaos of real life. The Wilder Collective isn't about hustle culture or chasing vanity metrics. It's about connection, support and sparking meaningful conversations between women who just get it. In this episode, nikki opens up about her own journey from running a clothing brand to creating this vibrant community and launching her successful podcast, women's Business. We talk about what it means to build a fulfilling business without sacrificing the life you want to live, how to find your people and the power of doing things your way.

Zoe Greenhalf: 2:31

So if you're over the grind and ready to embrace a more rebellious dare I say it wild and realistic approach to business and life, you're going to love this conversation. So let's dive in and we're off. This is exciting. I've got beyond two seconds of recording, so, oh my God, I can't tell you how excited I am to be finally having this conversation. It's been a bit. Stop start trying to match up schedules and deal with technology and all the rest of it, but finally I get to talk with you, nikki. Nicky Elliott's here with me from. Would you prefer to be called Wilder Ones or The Wilder Collective?

Nicky Elliott: 3:09

because it's the Wilder Collective. Now, yeah, my handle, my handle is still Wilder Ones, but the business is the Wilder Collective, so if you're in the collective, you're one of the Wilder Ones. Amazing, that's kind of how it's going.

Zoe Greenhalf: 3:22

I love it. And what exactly is your mischief? I do love this word wilder, but what is your mischief?

Nicky Elliott: 3:29

it's so funny and I love this question, but it's it's been something that I have to grapple with. Using the word wilder and mischief they're obviously quite aligned, because in my sort of day-to-day life I I'm very rules-oriented. If there are set rules, I'm very observant of them. I don't break rules, I don't break the law, I don't go outside of set parameters. And yet in my work things have been a bit more mischievous of late, and so I suppose my mischief is not staying on the conventional career ladder and going fuck that. There's another way and I'm going to figure out what that is.

Nicky Elliott: 4:15

and so, because there weren't written down rules, I didn't feel like I was rule-breaking, but when I've reflected on it, that is my way of of being mischievous absolutely, and I think I read somewhere, either on your Instagram or on your website, that you even will openly say you're not exactly a wild one in terms of like being an all-out rebel, but you do have this kind of wild thinking, which I really love, because it is that sense of I think I can do this a different way and, yeah, and that's how I'm gonna do it that's how I've reconciled being wilder, and what that means to me is, like it is, being a wild thinker, because we are all living in a society where a lot is constructed and we are all sort of victims of that, if you like. It's none of our faults, um. So yes, if there's a specific set of rules, I'm quite obedient of them. But actually those kind of wider constructs, constructs and stuff, that's what I appear to be happy to fight against but, um, how did wilder the wilder ones start?

Zoe Greenhalf: 5:25

because I know that the collective that you are just sort of moving into now is the evolution of something that's been around far longer, hasn't it?

Nicky Elliott: 5:35

yeah, um, it's an obvious segue. So when I set up wilder ones, it was a unisex kids clothing brand. Um, I set that up during lockdown in 2020 when my son was a baby, and I launched it in the spring of 2021. And I have a daughter and a son and I had a lot of frustration about kids clothing, going back to those constructs that I don't like the pink for girls, blue for boys thing and I was annoyed that I couldn't pass my daughter's clothes on to my son because they were in inverted commas. You know, girly, or would be perceived that way.

Nicky Elliott: 6:13

So I started it as a clothing brand which evolved into a women's wear brand and I gave it the name wilder ones after the kids, a way like because kids are kind of the Wilder Ones. But this amazing evolution happened where actually the sort of the mums, specifically the women, took it to their hearts and it became. It sort of took on a different meaning and so I never changed the name. Okay, now it's evolved from Wilder Ones to the Wilder Collective to signify the community aspect, but it has never left. That sort of like wild meaning at the heart of it has stayed and people have taken that to their hearts and that's been amazing.

Zoe Greenhalf: 6:59

Yeah, and I mean I came across you via the clothing brand and then stayed for the podcast and the conversations, and I love the conversations that you open up in your stories as well. Actually, it feels like a really different way to use stories, in the sense that you're kind of putting stuff out there and being like tell me what you think about this fact.

Nicky Elliott: 7:25

Then being like tell me what you think about this, what are your opinions and your thoughts if I put out a topic like women in the workplace or stay at home, dads or something that gets people talking um feels like a really nice extension of some of the topics that you cover in your podcast yeah, and that happened really organically because I wanted to start the podcast, because when I started my own brand, I met some incredible women, female founders, doing their own thing and I was like we need to hear their stories. I didn't know about these women until I sort of met them online to hear their stories. What happened in doing the podcast was we got into discussions around. You know, being a female founder maybe leaving the workplace because it wasn't working for you, um, you know, being the default parent carrying the brunt of the mental load, all of these discussions and it it sort of took on a completely different thing, and so every time I spoke to someone, I'd be like oh, that's given me something to think about. So then I'd raise that with my community, I'd take it to Instagram and be like you know, what do you think about the mental load, or who is the default parent in your house, or what does this look like?

Nicky Elliott: 8:36

And we just started having these brilliant discussions because I am learning with every single person in my community. I'm on that journey. You know, at home, with my husband, with my family, what we're building like, that's happening for me day to day, and so I just wanted to see, you know what's happening for other people and what are other people's opinions and insights, because I've just learned so much. So it wasn't some strategic move where I was like, oh, I'm going to do this and this is going to really engage people. Strategic move where I was like, oh, I'm going to do this and this is going to really engage people. I did it out of interest and it did and does really engage people because, you know, unsurprisingly, it hits home like it's close to the bone. This stuff, these discussions about the mental load and about parenting and modern life, they're a big deal to people.

Zoe Greenhalf: 9:20

So people respond and they want to put their two pence in, and I love that yeah, and I think that that's one of the the things that's so appealing about listening to your podcast is that we know that you are there doing exactly the same. Um, you know, being a parent trying to run a business, um, organizing your events, having the podcast, um, have you learned anything really game changing from some of your guests that you've then been able to sort of implement in your own life? Whether that's strategic things like this is how I manage my time better so I can get more things done or whether it's just a case of this is the mindset that you've got to adopt, or is there any sort of standout thing that you've taken on? There's conversations that you've got to adopt, or is there any sort of standout thing that you've taken on?

Nicky Elliott: 10:06

there's conversations that I've had with people that have really kick-started a change in my thinking, whether that is about, um, money and status and what's important to us in terms of what you know, how we measure success, and that it's something I talk about a lot. But my thoughts around that were kick-started by conversations with other people and something they said that made me go or hang on. Um. So Stacey Heal was on fairly early on and we spoke about that. Um Steph Douglas, who talks a lot about the mental load and stuff, herself brought a book to my attention by a woman called Eve Rodsky, called Fair Play, which is all about sort of divvying up tasks more fairly at home default parent, all that stuff. So that was a real eye opener. That kicked off a lot of discussions in my house with me and my husband. You know both wanted to read the book and sort of make a plan for ourselves.

Nicky Elliott: 10:57

So, yeah, some of the conversations I've had have had such a massive impact on me and I come off the podcast and I go and find my husband. I say we just talked about this and we have, you know, proper big conversations about things. You know they can get heated because, yeah, my husband's a brilliant feminist and female ally, but he also lives in the world that we live in. He lives, lives within the construct of patriarchy, so he is impacted by those things and we're all having to sort of change our thinking and fight against those things. So those discussions are challenging for us but, you know, fascinating, and they have absolutely changed things for us for the better, without question. So it's had a huge impact on my life.

Zoe Greenhalf: 11:41

I love that. Do you like go into a podcast recording, thinking that you want to make your listeners feel a certain way or come away with something specific? Or is it more a case of whatever comes out comes out, but you perhaps want them to sort of challenge their ideas slightly?

Nicky Elliott: 12:01

It's evolved a lot. You know, when I first first started I was feeling my way with the conversations. Yeah, I want to make sure I always send people questions in advance so they know what I'm going to ask, just because so I can get the best out of them. Um, I do my research and I obviously write the questions based on sort of that person and their journey. So, with someone like Steph Douglas, where I know she talks a lot about the mental load and stuff, I knew we could get into that.

Nicky Elliott: 12:29

I don't necessarily ask everyone about that and I always say when I send the questions we might deviate, and we often do so. I know that most of my listeners are small business owners, women who run their own businesses. So I do now try and ask really sort of tangible advice from the person. If I'm speaking to a marketing expert or if I'm speaking to someone who's scaling a business or, you know, has been through investment or something like that, I do try and get tangible tips for people now and I absolutely want people to take something from it, but it varies week to week in terms of what that might be. My obsession when I'm editing is about the narrative thread of the podcast.

Nicky Elliott: 13:06

You know I do try and cut out the stuff that, whilst it was an enjoyable chat, is it really serving the narrative, is it really keeping the conversation moving? So I'm quite laser focused on that because, you know, getting people to lend you their ears for 45 minutes or an hour is a privilege and I want to make sure that that is all interesting.

Zoe Greenhalf: 13:28

Yeah, absolutely, and one of the things that I want people to feel when they listen to these episodes is that whatever we're talking about is also possible for them. I get really passionate about trying to help people live a life that perhaps they hadn't imagined for themselves. For whatever reason, they've got to a stage in life where they just think this isn't exactly what I thought I'd wanted. They end up feeling stuck or blocked, or you know, and these things come around through sort of like career changes, or they come around through big life transitions like divorce or motherhood, parenthood, whatever.

Zoe Greenhalf: 14:07

And you know, I know so many people who go through that phase in life where they're like I don't know what I'm doing now, and you kind of try thinking outside the box and not being quite so conventional and saying it's got to be a nine to five. I probably end up miserable, but that's just the way it is. That, for me, is really interesting to say look at this person tapping into their passions and actually making it work for them and not everybody turns their passions into a business. It could just be that they are really improving the quality of their life because they found something amazing that they can do on the side. You know, for me at the moment that's my podcast and I love having these conversations um, but that's how I want people to feel like wow, these kind of things, this kind life, that kind of career, is also possible.

Nicky Elliott: 15:13

Absolutely, and I think people can struggle to tap into the idea of doing something like that for themselves. They're like, well, you can do that because you're a certain type of way, but I can't do that because I'm this type of way. And that's why and actually it's not conscious, but I suppose it's a happy accident accident and that's why I've attracted certain people is because I bring my whole self to my page. Now, of course, there's like shit going on in my life that I don't share, but I share about my anxiety. I share, you know, just daily things, because I'm not different from anybody else. I have all the same struggles.

Nicky Elliott: 15:54

Obviously, everyone's individual circumstances are different, but like I don't have a nanny, I don't have childcare, I'm a mum of two, I work part time around my kids, I mostly am the default parent, you know. So I'm challenging that and working through that and I have anxiety and don't think I'm the boss. I have imposter syndrome and I bring my whole self to it because there are people out there who are like the badass coach woman or 10X. Your business and all their brand imagery is like them, standing with their arms crossed and flames going around them and absolutely I hold all women up. I respect all women doing their own thing. I'm here for it, absolutely.

Nicky Elliott: 16:38

But that isn't me, because I couldn't sustain something like that, because it would be bullshit for me, it wouldn't actually represent how I feel about myself. So women who do feel like that about themselves, power to their elbow. But I have to be honest, so women who do feel like that about themselves, power to their elbow. But I have to be honest, like my life is chaotic and messy and beautiful and, you know, kind of same as the next person's, and I think that maybe that can be refreshing in a place where, historically, like Instagram, where the bulk of my community are has been this kind of glossy highlight reel. Of course I share good stuff, but I do share. Probably. I mean, people are probably like, well, this is just mundane, nikki, at this point, but you know it's all in there and I think that that is kind of appealing.

Zoe Greenhalf: 17:24

I think it is too. I think actually it just sends out the message that it's perfectly okay, it's more than okay.

Nicky Elliott: 17:31

It's awesome when you can actually do that, when you feel secure enough in yourself that you can bring your whole self to the conversation and also you can do a hard thing, like if I can start a podcast and I can pivot my business and it's what you were going. Going back to what you were saying about people seeing like, oh, I'm not sure if I can do that, that kind kind of thing. If I can, you can. I'm not faking anything, I'm not it's not smoke and mirrors here Like this is my life. If I've done it, I, you, you can do it as well.

Nicky Elliott: 18:03

And you know, I had a coffee with a woman recently and she was like you know what made you think this was coming from a kind place, by the way, way, but the question was quite amusing to me that she was like what made you think you could start a podcast, like what gave you the confidence? And I was like I just wanted to. You know, I was approaching 40 years old, I was a mum of two. I was at the phase in my life I wanted these conversations to be heard, didn't really matter by how many people, but I felt like I wanted to have them. Yeah, so I just did it and I think the older you get, the more you're like fuck it, let's try yeah, yeah.

Zoe Greenhalf: 18:41

I mean, was it the same with the clothing brand? Have you, have you? Did you ever find anybody asking you what made you think you could start a?

Nicky Elliott: 18:47

clothing brand. Oh, my god, yeah me. I asked myself that question. Um, honestly, like it's taken me four years to find the thing that I feel like I'm sort of meant to be doing and obviously I was meant to do that to get me here but the clothing brand was such a curveball because I don't have a background in fashion or textiles or anything like that. I saw some small brands I admired on Instagram.

Nicky Elliott: 19:12

I was like frustrated by this situation with dressing my kids and I was like I'm going to start a clothing brand and I had a huge, huge amount of naivety about what that would cost, how quickly I would make my money back, that I would make my money back at all. You know, I really didn't know anything about e-commerce, about conversion rates. So I think all my friends I was like I'm starting unisex kids clothing brand were like what. They were also like, well, if anyone in this group was going to do that, it was going to be you and so cool, go you like supportive, but also what? Which fair, a totally fair reaction, because it was fucking random. So, yeah, I think, but I honestly think the biggest person but it's a hindsight thing that I'm like, yeah, what was I doing there, like that wasn't what I was gifted at.

Nicky Elliott: 20:06

And actually, when I wound down the brand, my really core loyal customer base were like will you bring this back, please, can you keep going? And I'm like, no, and I don't miss it. Like who am I doing this for? There were aspects of it that I loved, like I love the creativity, I love the designing and I loved, like doing the photo shoots and getting out there and, of course, I loved the reactions to the clothes and stuff. But it was so many highs and lows it was extremely difficult to bear and a real financial hardship of like is this business viable, which in the end it wasn't. And being beholden to other people. My factory tripled my minimums. They put prices up, brexit happened and trading with Europe became so difficult. So there was a lot of factors and in the end, I was like it's not working and who am I doing it for? You know, I appreciate that hardcore fan base, but like I can't continue to put myself through the ringer for this group of people.

Zoe Greenhalf: 21:06

They can find it on vinted but presumably there was a period in between starting the podcast and ending the clothing, like what was going through your mind in that stage? What were you doing?

Nicky Elliott: 21:18

Oh my gosh, sorry, I had a tough time with. So to begin with I thought I was going to change the business model slightly and I was going to do limited drops in limited windows and I would open the website briefly, I would take all the orders and then I would make to do limited drops in limited windows and I would open the website briefly, I would take all the orders and then I would make to order. I say I because I had a factory doing it, an ethical factory over in Portugal. So I thought about that. And then I was just like, hang on a minute again, this just feels extremely difficult. And there was a point where my husband said to me what are you actually going to do here? Because I was dithering. And there was a point where my husband said to me what are you actually going to do here? Because I was dithering. And again it came from a place of love, but it also came from a place of a bit of pressure on him where, like, he's the breadwinner and he's feeling that, and I was just like, oh, I need to, I just need to stop. And it came to me in the end quite suddenly, after a gradual buildup. I was like this is done, and so I started winding up the clothing brand at the beginning of 2023, and I launched my podcast in the March.

Nicky Elliott: 22:24

And last year was a wilderness for me absolutely a wilderness, because I was releasing the podcast and that grew well and I was really, really enjoying it. It wasn't until the latter part of the year that I started those conversations that we've talked about, you know, doing the polls, engaging people a bit more, which gave me a bit more focus, and then I was invited to do some public speaking around that. So things sort of started to galvanize a bit at that point. But a lot of last year I felt very rudderless and like, yes, I love the podcast, I want to keep doing the podcast, but is that going to be my job? Can I make it my job? Because that's a long term goal making a podcast make actual, like salary type money for you, yeah, so I was really unsure of which way it was going and I think those periods are all so par for the course on an entrepreneurial journey.

Nicky Elliott: 23:14

It frustrates me when entrepreneurs get interviewed and they talk about the thing that made them big and actually often they've had like 10 businesses before that that didn't work or evolved into something else and they gloss over that stuff. But when you're in that stuff it is real, it is the center of your life and it's a big deal. And yeah, so that's what last year was like for me. It was tough.

Nicky Elliott: 23:38

It was really tough because I see my friends around me who've been in their careers for 15 years. So they're advancing, they're doing things, and here's me being like, well, I kind of did that and I don't know what's next. And you know it was hard. So that's why what I'm doing now has been like wow, I sent my husband a voice note last night because he's away, and I was just like thank you so much for sticking by me through every dither and direction change, because now I've got this momentum, I've got all these people joining my community. It's feels like I'm doing the thing that I was meant to be doing, but you have really waited this out.

Zoe Greenhalf: 24:16

So I'm just incredibly grateful oh, I love that, but it's so nice to see everything sort of coming together, um, and also knowing that it wasn't that smooth sailing. Well, first I did this, then I did that, and you know, there were these moments of I'm not quite sure where I'm going, I'm not quite sure what's going to happen next.

Zoe Greenhalf: 24:34

But absolutely you know, I think you just kind of kept tapping into either what feels wrong in this particular moment, like the clothing, or what feels right. Okay, I'm really enjoying the podcast, I'm just going to go with it and see what happens. And so many people get really scared in that moment and talk themselves out of it. They're like well, that's not going to make me a living, then there's no point me doing it.

Zoe Greenhalf: 24:56

Well, it's not about making a living, it's about going through a process of perhaps you'll learn something along the way, perhaps you'll have that conversation that changes your direction. For you, something will happen, something will come out of it, if you can keep following those breadcrumbs and those little steps, and then you'll find the thing. You go, god damn it everything led to this?

Nicky Elliott: 25:18

yeah, absolutely. And you know, yeah, I've had a lot of moments of doubt and fear and wobble and ultimately, those things sort of all led me to that place. But I don't want anyone to think, oh, she did, just did that and that was a success, and then she did this and that was a success. Because that's not true at all and I think when you find the thing that you're meant to be doing, you sort of do get a feeling about it. And when, when I launched my community, it was an idea I had at the beginning of this year, in a very vague, ephemeral way, and I talked about launching it next January, in 2025. I have a co-mentor and we spoke about it.

Nicky Elliott: 26:05

And then I hosted this networking event in March and yesterday I was trying to remember why did I even do that? Because the first one, I had no plans to launch an actual online community. Off the back of it, I was just like I know brilliant women, I want to bring them together. And at that first one, everyone was like this was so amazing. Can we all have access to each other in some way? And I was like I don't know, because you know GDPR, you can't just send everyone, everyone's email address and I was like that community idea that you've had, that needs to happen now and it needs to happen quicker, whilst the momentum is with you.

Nicky Elliott: 26:41

And so, inside three months, I planned the next networking, announced it at the networking and launched it mid-June and, yeah, have collected members really quickly, which has just been absolutely amazing. And, yeah, it happened much quicker than I initially planned, like I said. But I was like, oh, this needs to happen now. So, big girl, pants on, get on and do it and try and create as I said to you before we started recording, try and create a scalable business model with the. Absolutely, the podcast will keep going because I love and adore it and it's relevant. The conversations that I'm having are relevant to my community. Yeah, but those two sort of strands the podcast and the community and the events we do off the back of the community and bringing female founders and freelancers together that's the core of the business now and that just feels so meant and right.

Zoe Greenhalf: 27:36

Yeah, you have some experience within event organizing from before your clothing days, don't you?

Nicky Elliott: 27:42

yeah. So I worked in events for 15 years and I started my own events agency when I was 27. So I've been absolutely in the weeds with events and when I left events I was like get me out of this, I never want to return. And actually what I can do now is use my expertise and events, because I don't find it a challenge to pull an event together. I've already got that sort of in my skillset. But now I'm like oh, I can put together the events that I want to do. They can be during school hours, they can be during term time. I can make sure that the guests are home by school pickup, like they can be where I want them to be, and they can last as long as I want them to last. And if I want it like that, there's probably other people that want it like that, and so you know.

Nicky Elliott: 28:27

I think what's driven me a lot over the last few years is that bottom line, I cannot go back into employment. I haven't actually been employed for years and years because I set up my own business and then that business got absorbed and I was sort of a partner of another business and even in that environment I got to a point where I was like this is too. I'm just not in charge of my own destiny and I wasn't up for it, and so I think what's kept me going with like new idea, new pivot. It might seem scatty, but it has been a desperate attempt to stay working for myself, designing the life that I want, being around for my kids. Everyone has different priorities, and those were mine, and I was like I am just not going to do that. So to land on this thing now is just joyous, because I feel like this and versions of it is what I could do for the rest of my career.

Zoe Greenhalf: 29:28

I love that so much and just the sense of when somebody is willing to put that much commitment into being really intentional about how they steer their life, how they drive the things all right.

Zoe Greenhalf: 29:41

It might not have an immediate payoff, but if you're willing to play the longer game, you do get there and you then are able to say I want to host these things in these places, I want to connect with these kind of people, I want to be able to manage my own timetable without somebody, like you know, phoning me and bringing me back to my desk at seven o'clock at night and that kind of thing which is so lovely to see, and it's always so lovely for me to talk to people who are actually doing that and making it work. Um, have you got any tips or advice for people who are sort of desperately trying to take back control of their life and try to kind of design it around family and business and stuff? Because we are ambitious women and just because we have families doesn't mean that that ambition goes away. It just kind of has to mould itself in a slightly different way.

Nicky Elliott: 30:37

I think sometimes so my advice is always focus on the skills that you already have. And do you have a skill that you can commoditise and turn that into a service that people will pay for? Because I bet you do. I started a products-based business which needed a huge amount of investment my own money, which I lost. So products-based is really hard and you need to have a lump sum to begin with and then it's really hard to scale. You need to be prepared to advertise, you need to understand conversion rates and how difficult it is. If you want to start a service-based business and you say I have a skill in this area and I can whack up a Wix page or a Squarespace or whatever it is and I can put the word out there and I can start being proactive on LinkedIn or Instagram or wherever you think your people are. It's not going to cost you that much money to put it out there and try, and maybe you could do a bit of work for free to get a referral or to get a recommendation. But all of these incredible women who've got these careers behind them, then they have a baby and sometimes they go back and they're like right, I'm desperate to leave this place, but I don't know how. You know, I don't know how to leave conventional employment and you've built up this incredible skill set and you just need to look at yourself and go. What skills do I actually have?

Nicky Elliott: 32:07

And I remember one of my guests, Elizabeth Stiles, who's like a sort of fashion brand expert yeah said, you know, she worked as like a buyer in for big high street brands and and then she got chewed up and spat out by arcadia and when she left she was like started posting in some facebook groups. People were like, oh, does anyone, can anyone talk to me about this? That the other, she was like, yeah, I can. And she had these people clamoring for her time and she was like, oh, my god, I can monetize this, you know. So that was a light bulb moment, but it happened quite organically. So, you know, give yourself the opportunity for that light bulb moment, because you will have a skills base or a knowledge base that not everyone has, that you can commoditize. And I think that that is a good way to test yourself in that market, because it's not a product with a huge amount of investment required. You know, you can just get started with that with a few hundred quid and a website.

Zoe Greenhalf: 33:02

I know. I do want to ask you though. You know, because we have talked a lot about business and about the fact that it's not easy trying to design, design, design a life, you know around the things that you love, um, but what do you do for fun? What really does make you feel alive?

Nicky Elliott: 33:23

um, I have fun every day by singing and dancing around my kitchen. Um, my husband and I have danced in the kitchen together from when we very first got together and we still do that now. You know, if a good song comes on or we put one on, we have kitchen discos with the kids. We have like a little disco light we plug in. So small, simple things, where I get to reflect on how fortunate I am, give me a lot of joy. I work out a lot which brings me back into my body, which is important to me for my anxiety. I absolutely love gardening.

Nicky Elliott: 34:01

It feeds my very soul um, so I do actually find gardening both sort of fun and therapeutic and just such an incredible thing to be a part of, where you see your garden blooming and the cycles of it all. You know. It's quite humbling.

Zoe Greenhalf: 34:16

I wish I could share that passion with you, but I'm the woman who can kill a cactus. I never get to the point of like enjoying the flowers.

Nicky Elliott: 34:24

Honestly, it's just, it's something that has taken me by surprise. When we bought our house, our garden was an absolute wilderness and we essentially raised it to the ground and started again. And you know, my mother-in-law started planting things and I was like I'll never remember what that plant's called, I'll never remember what she's put in there. But you know, over the last seven years since we've lived here, like it's just such a passion for me and to see the garden from where it was to where it is now, like I said, it is humbling because everything happens in cycles. That's the thing about life as well. You know, you don't?

Nicky Elliott: 34:59

I read something that said about you know breathing in and breathing out and said you know, when there's a flat line, you're dead. So people want, you know, consistency and they want steadiness, but actually that doesn't signify good things. You know you're growing and you're going up and down on that growth journey and I love that. In my garden I saw it really does bring me back to myself, um, so yeah, I love that and I love, like seeing my girlfriends and just having a catch-up, because, you know, as you get older and life gets in the way you don't have so much time for that.

Nicky Elliott: 35:31

I'm going away with my girlfriends in a couple of weeks and we just laugh and act like idiots and make stickers out of our stupid faces and that's just so joyful the people that I've been friends with for 35 years which is just gorgeous. So, yeah, I do a lot of things for fun and you know my work is really fun. Next week I'm going to a conference, I'm going to an award show, I'm going to Apple HQ, I'm going to a book launch. That's because of the life that I've designed around my work. And those opportunities come not because I, strategically, was like I'm going to start a podcast and in a year's time I'll be invited to Apple HQ you know I had no idea that would happen but because of the intention that I've put into my work and doing the things that I want to do that feed my passion. I'm now in this position and so you know it's all part of that big picture and I love that.

Zoe Greenhalf: 36:27

Yeah, I think that's such a beautiful way to end our conversation as well, because it just kind of reinforces that sense of this is what's possible. I just want to say thank you for sharing so much of your story and your journey into being a wild thinker. I really love that analogy.

Nicky Elliott: 36:50

I'm really grateful to you, Zoe, because you are an amazing cheerleader to me, to other people. You have an infectious energy, so I'm really grateful to you and I want only good things for you.

Zoe Greenhalf: 37:13

Oh, thank you so much. You're it anyway. Here we go with my takeaways from Nicky's fantastic episode. Number one just because you don't feel like breaking rules in one area of your life, it doesn't mean that you can't be a rule breaker in your thinking or more mischievous in a different area of your life. Two don't get stuck in a mindset of thinking that what's possible for somebody else is not possible for you. Instead, ask yourself what, if and why not me? Three bring your whole self where you can share your lows and difficulties as well as your highs and successes. That way, you are authentic and that honesty is refreshing and appealing to people. Four I love this description that life can be messy and chaotic and still beautiful.

Zoe Greenhalf: 38:04

Number five start something because you just want to. So, whether it's a podcast, like Nikki and I, or a blog, a new hobby, a newsletter, a zine, a book, simply adopting a new habit, don't get caught up in where it's going to lead. Just start it because the idea lights you up. Fuck it, let's try right. Six it can take years before the pieces in your life puzzle start to make sense, but that is part of the journey. Often, the thing that feels right in one moment is the stepping stone into the next right thing, and not the final destination. Seven Nicky wound up her clothing business when it no longer felt like a good fit for her, despite other people asking her to keep going. Remember, whichever way you design your life, it has to work for you and no one else has to understand that or approve of it.

Zoe Greenhalf: 38:57

8. Don't be fooled by stories of entrepreneurial overnight success. There will have been many years of trialling, failing and pivoting that go unseen, as well as periods of deep uncertainty. If this is you, stay the course. Doubts and fears are normal, but use those times that you're unsure to try things, and then you'll create momentum for yourself. Nine trust your gut. Sometimes you'll need to change the plan or act quicker than you'd anticipated because you'll get a feeling. So lean into that. Ten just because you've had a bad experience in a particular industry doesn't mean that you can't then take those skills and create something that feels way better, because you're designing the thing around what you or your audience likes and not the way that somebody else has told you it needs to be done. And finally, number 11, if you're feeling stuck right now, focus on the skills you have and look for a way to leverage them. It might not be your dream career, but it could certainly be the launch pad for whatever comes next, and if we've learned anything in this episode, it's that the momentum is key to all of the rest.

Zoe Greenhalf: 40:12

Anyway, I hope you have loved this episode as much as I have. I will be taking a short break over Christmas, but I will be back in January with some exceptional and exciting new episodes for you to wrap your ears around. So have a fantastic festive period and I will catch you in January. That's a wrap on another episode of the Mischief Movement podcast. If today's content stirred something in you, let's keep in touch on Instagram or connect with me on LinkedIn. You can even click the link in the show notes to sign up to my Mischief Mail newsletter, where you'll get exclusive insights on upcoming episodes and your chance to submit questions to future guests. But shh don't tell anyone, it's our secret. For more info on ways to work with me and some fun free resources, check out the website themischiefmovementcom. Until next time, stay bold, stay rebellious and, of course, keep making mischief. I will stop recording. Shall I see cross?

Nicky Elliott: 41:46

your fingers.

Zoe Greenhalf: 41:47

This is where I just fuck it up right at the end.

Nicky Elliott: 41:49

This is where I freak out every time as well. I always say to people I'm gonna press stop and I just freak out.