The Countrywoman’s Guide to Work, Life & You…

I met Sam Cooper-Gray last year at an event for the launch of the HSBC Fearless and Thriving report about midlife female entrepreneurs, which was researched by Eleanor Mills from Noon.Sam was so passionate about raising both the profile of, and access to funding for, female entrepreneurs and the words that she spoke to the assembled room stuck with me for many weeks afterwards.Shortly after we met, Sam made the transition from 25 years in the banking world and became an entrepreneur, establishing her own business, The Wisdom Studio, which was a big change in her life. A chance comment about putting a phrase on a T-shirt also led to the establishment of Sam’s Women are Good Business Campaign which is now a rallying cry for women entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and allies who understand that supporting women-led businesses is not about charity — it's about economics.The statistics that Sam shared with me on the level of equity funding that goes to female entrepreneurs were really quite shocking, and for this reason our conversation most definitely emphasises the need for women to amplify their voices in the business world and the importance of understanding your relationship with money.This is true, regardless of the size of business you run or the size of your aspiration for your business - getting a better grip on the money side of things will always stand you in good stead.With also being the host of The Beginner's Guide to Being a Grown-Up, a podcast mixing wit, wisdom, and real-world insight for navigating life's big questions and the Chair of the Gender Index, Sam is one busy lady. Her work as the Chair of the Gender Index, leading the Conditions to Scale workstream for the UK Government's Invest in Women Taskforce, positions her at the heart of policy-making that will shape the future of female entrepreneurship.So if you’ve ever wondered about making a big change in your life, or thought that everyone else steps into things and it all happens easily for them, this podcast is a must listen for you.It’s also a great one to listen to if you want to understand more about how to run a business, both in terms of understanding your finances and for some insight into the types of things a bank might expect to see if you are going in to see them. Sam also shares insights on navigating business growth, the significance of mentorship, and the personal growth that comes from overcoming adversity. We’d love to know what you think - please do comment below with questions for Sam or me or let us know what in the interview really made a difference for you.As always, thank you for listening, we really appreciate it and please do like and share if you feel it’s appropriate to, it really helps us to connect with other readers.PS : A little glossary for you in case it’s helpful, as we mention these in the programme:B2B means Business to Business, where one business sells to another businessB2C means Business to Consumer, where the business sells to an individual consumerIf you like our work, please subscribe for free below to receive our articles straight to your inbox.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Sam Cooper-Gray05:51 Career Journey and Transition to Entrepreneurship12:55 Challenges for Women in Business20:52 The Importance of Experience and Mentorship25:45 Embracing Autonomy in Entrepreneurship27:14 Navigating the Emotional Journey of Entrepreneurship30:03 Finding Balance: Money and Joy in Business32:58 The Reality of Passion Projects and Viability36:12 The Impact of Social Media on Business Perception38:24 Understanding Financial Needs for Business Growth45:10 Embracing Your Money Archetype46:54 Life Lessons: The Importance of Authenticity50:23 Daily Actions and Their Impact on Success This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit countrywomansguide.substack.com

🌿 Discover the beauty of rural creativity with Kate Cullen.I finally met Kate at an event run by Charlie Dobbs and Matilda Carr earlier this year, having followed her on instagram for some time. We only had time for a brief chat but just before Christmas, Kate came down to Dimpsey in Somerset and took some beautiful photos for Dimpsey and Fablefaine, her location listing website.After we finished the shoot, Kate sat down with me for a mug of tea and a chat for the CWG podcast.Kate’s journey has been an interesting one - from archaeology to entrepreneurship. We also chat all things balancing family and business. Kate shares her insights on the importance of personal connections and integrity in building a successful rural business. Her ventures, including Fablefaine and Poetica Lane are centred around rural locations, friends and family, offering unique opportunities for photo shoots, retreats, and workshops.Tune in to this podcast episode for a heartfelt conversation that celebrates resilience, creativity, and the beauty of rural life. Thanks for reading A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life!  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit countrywomansguide.substack.com

Georgia Tanner (who edits our articles and does a lot of our social media) and I had a meeting this week to discuss upcoming content for CWG.As part of that meeting, we were talking about the CWG lunch we held recently and all that we have learnt over the past year of working together. CWG has changed during that time, and to set us up ready for next year Georgia asked me if I could note down what CWG is to me and some of our values and how I see them working together.I was about to write her one of my wordy lists and then I thought about all of you, and how important you are to us.So I decided to pull the headlines together in notes and then to record it as a podcast, together with some anecdotal advice as we go. That way, Georgia gets the information she asked for and as a billy bonus, I can bring you behind the scenes to hear some of our thinking.You see, we’re growing too and I’d love you to come on that journey with us, your feedback helps us to shape where we go in the future, so please do comment or direct message us with your thoughts and ideas.As always, thank you for reading and thank you for listening.Emma Photo credit : Rachel Collins: Lens & Pen Thank you for reading A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work, Life and You, please subscribe to be the first to receive our notes from the field. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit countrywomansguide.substack.com

I used to suffer from this too…And it took me a lot of years to get the past tense into the above statement!* When I was in the corner at a family function, on the phone, frantically gesticulating that I would be done soon - my heart was torn in two. I felt I was being ‘less than’ at doing my job, because I wasn’t fully present, I felt I was being ‘less than’ at being a family member, because I wasn’t fully present.I’d look around the room at everyone else and wish that I too could be like them, and not be the bonkers entrepreneur in the corner. I felt well and truly judged by them and found wanting.* When I was in a Board Meeting and my phone rang with a school call - my heart was torn in two. I felt I was being ‘less than’ at doing my job, because I wasn’t fully present. I felt I was being ‘less than’ at being a Mum because I wasn’t fully present.I’d look around the room at everyone else and wish that I too could be like them, and not be the bonkers Mother in the room. I felt well and truly judged by them and found wanting.* When I was taking some time out for myself, maybe reading a magazine with a cup of tea, and someone walked in, I felt guilty. I invariably jumped up and moved ‘do something’, I felt I was being ‘less than’ in my household. I wasn’t busy doing something to add value to my day. I felt like I was skiving and needed to justify taking some time out. I felt well and truly judged by them and found wanting.* When I was…I’ll stop here with the scenarios, I could go on adding to this list for you, because, believe me, there were many of them. I also think that you probably recognise yourselves in my story and that you too could add even more instances of feeling pulled in many directions at once to my list. I couldn’t work it out, I couldn’t see what I was doing to myself, I had silently bought into the myth that I had to do it all, somehow be omnipresent and that the success of many elements of my life solely depended on me.I could feel myself getting more and more frustrated by this, and also more and more run down. I was taking on too much and as our lives changed and my work responsibilities grew, I was still trying to do it all.Having lost my father in my late 20’s, I absolutely knew that work shouldn’t be the be all and end all.Having had pleurisy in my early 30’s and ending up off work for 8 weeks, because I pushed on through in the early stages of it I absolutely knew that work shouldn’t be the be all and end all.But despite the above, I still believed I had to be it all…Gradually, as life continued to layer in its lessons along the way, and I learnt more about me and how I tick, I started to realise that I was in an absolute ‘emperor has no clothes situation.’Yes absolutely, in any of the situations I had been in and found myself wanting, someone in that room may well have been judging me, many of us have opinions about what someone is doing.But I have no control over that, I don’t know what’s gone on in their life to lead them to have that opinion, but in reality it was probably nothing to do with anything that I was doing. In fact, in most cases I actually had no clue about what they were thinking - in reality, the judge and jury in the room was me, and only me.And I was judging myself harshly, I was speaking to myself in a way that I would never speak to anyone else…The defining moment for me, was when my husband, affectionately known in my online musings as Mr W, held both my hands, looked me straight in the eye and told me, ‘You are enough…’Don’t ask me why, but this particular time, it really landed with me and I realised that he was absolutely right.I put my objective head on and stood back from my own situation and realised that I needed to change my habits if I wanted to remove this limitation that I was putting on myself.I talked to my mentor, friends and Mr W, found positive role models to follow and over time, these became my new mantras…* The only person you have control of is yourself and the only thoughts you really know about are yours. So you should stop worrying about what people think, as in reality you do not know what they are thinking. * Only worry about things that you have control of.* You are enough! If you’re doing your best and with good intention, you need to give yourself a break and know that you are enough.* Congratulate yourself about what you are doing, rather than booting yourself about what you’re not doing.* Family first, book in to take breaks together, prioritise getting to important events, but don’t worry if that involves some compromising between your conflicting priorities.* You matter! Look after yourself because you are a precious resource.* And finally, you can have it all, just not all at once. This last one was an absolute game changer for me. It’s like when you’ve got shopping in the car and in reality, it’s a bit more than you can carry but you try and make it into the house in one trip. Invariably, a bag handle breaks and you end up chasing oranges around the drive and it’s just a bit of disaster!That’s what happens when you are trying to excel in all the areas of your life at once, you just can’t carry it all - so choose carefully what you want to carry and when.So for me, my family and my career are both important to me and to be my best in both those capacities, I have to make sure that I make time for me too. So I choose to not care what my house looks like too much and to only say yes to going to things that I really want to do.I don’t need to be superwoman in all the areas of my life and neither do you.And when I know something is going to be really busy in one area of my life, I try my best to organise ahead and cut some myself some slack in the other areas.It is possible to be a Mum, have a career and enjoy both elements, and I’m stating this here because I know that many women that I speak to feel it has to be an either/or choice.In fact, I’m saying it’s possible to be what you want to be, in whatever form makes you happy.I’m not saying it’s perfect and I have it all worked out - I still have Mum guilt, business guilt, you name it guilt occasionally - but that’s OK, I’m human. The fact that I don’t let the guilt consume me any more makes a huge difference.For me, starting Countrywoman’s Guide, provided an opportunity for us all to share stories, to throw light into the shadows and to inspire others through difficult patches because you can see that you’re not alone in not having all the answers.So that you can see that you too are enough.You’ve shared some amazing stories over the past couple of years, and I know from the comments we get, just how helpful our community have found hearing other people’s journey.So if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, I’d encourage you to take a breath and create your own version of my list above and then start out on the journey of changing your approach. It won’t be overnight and you will have stops and starts along the way. But keep reminding yourself about your list and what you want to achieve and you can keep yourself on the path.Then start believing that it’s true - you are enough…Thank you for reading - if there’s someone in your life you feel would benefit from reading (or listening to) this too - please do share with them using the button below.Please subscribe to receive future posts by email. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit countrywomansguide.substack.com

I’ve got to be completely honest with you and say that when I started doing the podcast I wasn’t sure exactly how many episodes there would be.* Would I find enough people to talk to?* Would you be interested enough to listen?* Could I handle doing the tech side of things?Well, happily none of the above provided to be a problem, our interviewees have been unfailingly generous in sharing their experience and knowledge and the CWG podcasts have become one of my very favourite things to do, so we have lots more to come!Plus I have to say a big thank you to all of you for your support - your comments, your messages and just the fact that you take the time to read our articles and listen to our podcasts are very much appreciated.So this episode is an overview of where we’ve got to and the things we’re thinking about going forward, as well as a little bit of life advice from me.Please do comment or message me with any ideas you have about what you’d like to see - or if you have a moment we’d love it if you would fill in the very short survey below to let us know your views. We have a lovely prize of some Rock and Ruby socks and some Dimpsey chocolates made by Cathy’s Chocolates to give away to one lucky winner - to be drawn from the list of the names of people who complete the survey by Sunday 14th September 2025.As always, thank you for reading and thank you for listening, your support really does mean the world to us.And for more conversations like this one, please do make sure you’re subscribed to Countrywoman’s Guide - bringing stories from countryside businesses straight to your inbox This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit countrywomansguide.substack.com