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

This episode was one I originally recorded for Do Radio, who have very kindly said I can also share the podcasts with you.
As with the other ‘Do’ conversations, the interviews are so rich with honesty about the entrepreneurial journey and so rich with wisdom and experience that they match up really well with the things that we talk about on our CWG podcasts.
I am so pleased to introduce you to Mandy Powell, who started The Goodwash Company at her farm kitchen table in 2018, creating an ethical Welsh skincare brand for humans and dogs.
Goodwash is an ethical skincare brand and Mandy’s guiding lights are her values and the changes that she wants to see in the world.
As her website proudly states, “Wales has the best natural larder in the world and we wanted to create the finest ethical skincare from as much of our natural environment as possible. Combining the best products with a genuine social and environmental conscience.”
The Goodwash range of skin and haircare products are beautifully packaged, ethically made and absolutely lovely to use.
From the very beginning, Mandy was determined to support her local area, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales and the wider Welsh Community, so that “each time you wash good things happen for the people and communities of Wales”
As well as the products working for humans, Mandy wanted them to also work for her dogs. Her two original fur founders: Maisy (a gorgeous Westie with sensitive skin) and Duffle (a gorgeous Labradoodle) were the inspiration behind the legendary and much loved natural Fur range.
Dilys is now her fellow ffwr director and you can check out Dilys' daily work adventures on her Instagram here
This is a humble, reflective and honest conversation from a genuine, kind and brilliant entrepreneur - and if you’re wondering what Mandy did with her fledgling business after the feedback from the London Media agency, she does reveal all in the podcast.
There are also some reflections from me at the end about the first 4 episodes of my Do Radio season. Next week we’ll take a break from the Do Radio podcasts with a podcast I recently recorded and then we’ll do another batch of 4 of the programmes.
PS: If you think you might know the name, Goodwash products were featured in the 2024 Gavin and Stacey Christmas special (in Gwen’s kitchen and behind Smithy having a bath.
PPS: You can catch all the current Do Radio programmes by listening live here or by downloading the App and listening to the Archive here.



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Kresse Wesling, CBE, is a multi-award winning environmental entrepreneur. After first meeting the London Fire Brigade in 2005, Kresse launched Elvis & Kresse, which rescues and transforms decommissioned fire hose into innovative lifestyle products and returns 50% of profits to the Fire Fighters Charity.
The company now collects 12 different waste streams and has several charitable partnerships and collaborations across industries.
In 2021, Kresse and Elvis, her business and life partner, also took on a farm in order to establish a regenerative agriculture project, generate their own renewables and implement a host of environmental initiatives.
Talking to Kresse was a real insight into founding and running a business with a social purpose, initially doing everything themselves to move the business forward and learning and growing as they progressed.Elvis & Kresse’s dedication to reducing waste, and always challenging themselves to do more is second-to-none.Kresse reminds us that kindness is embedded in our humanity and also that there is no perfect company, we can always learn more.PS : I purchased a desk tidy from Elvis & Kresse, part of their collaboration with Burberry and it really is gorgeous.
PPS: My grateful thanks go to Janet Hitchen who was my Do Radio Channel Producer. You can catch all the current Do Radio programmes by listening live here or by downloading the App and listening to the Archive here.
Thank you for reading A Countrywoman’s Guide to living life well and doing business better. Please join us by subscribing for free below



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

If you’re an ambitious entrepreneur scaling your business or you’re feeling stuck and can’t quite see where to go, then this interview with Les McKeown that I originally recorded for Do Radio should be on your list of things to listen to this week.
Les developed his own trademark @predictablesuccess model and has worked with thousands of people running businesses over the years, so his insights are profound.As Les himself says, “if you truly want to not just grow, but scale your organization, then I can help you achieve, accelerate and sustain that growth.”Whatever size business you run, Les has identified the stagesyou will go through and explains how to navigate them to achieve Predictable Success.
if you’re at an early stage in your business, forewarned is forearmed and you’ll learn about some of the decision points that will come up at some point for you.Take a listen - I’ve never nodded so much during an interview -Les’s advice is absolutely golden.
PS: You can catch all the current Do Radio programmes by listening live here or by downloading the App and listening to the Archive here. Our grateful thanks to them for allowing me to share this on CWG.



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 known Lara for a few years now. She first popped up on my radar when she approached me to ask for advice about running her holiday let business at Combe Head House because she’d seen Dimpsey and knew that we were nearby. We met up and have become friends, chatting about business and life in general when we see each other.
With three generations living together, two small children, properties to renovate and a holiday let business to build - Lara is a very busy lady and, like many of our interviewees, her instagram is absolutely dreamy and would have you believe that her life is all about choosing paint colours and styling interiors with the occasional trip to see her gorgeous sheep, goats and chickens.
However, the reality is that, as always, there is huge amounts going on behind the scenes to make it look that easy and more often than not when I pop to see Lara, she emerges from a dusty corner with a broom or a paintbrush in her hand.
In our chat, Lara shares how important the local Community has been to her, providing support and knowledge - and how a wide range of local women-led businesses have been her salvation through the times when it all seemed a bit too much.
If you’ve ever wanted to renovate a house, or running your own business at the same time as having a family feels totally bonkers, Lara’s insights will most definitely be of interest.
Outside of the above, it’s a great chat about women helping women and the countryside community being such a strong support.
I’ve scheduled this one to go out on International Women’s Day as I think it exemplifies the Give to Gain ethos that is already part of the countryside community.
Other Podcast listens that we mention during the episode :
Maddie Beaumont - Redefining Hospitality for 2026 and beyond
Kate Cullen of Fablefaine - Connecting brands with powerful rural properties Kate Cullen
Tamsyn Froom Architecture - Designing spaces that work for your life
As always - thank you for reading and thank you for listening. Please do like and comment if you enjoy the interview as it does help us to be seen by more people.
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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

Over Winter 2025, I hosted the Making Stuff Up Channel on Do Radio for 12 episodes, Do Radio is a new initiative which was the brainchild of David Hieatt and a fabulous team of people who came together to make it happen.
Do Radio is a radio station for people who believe in the power of doing something. Featuring thought-provoking shows from inspiring minds, over the eight channels there is always a show to listen to throughout the day and night.
It’s been an absolute privilege being an early part of the team and I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing really inspiring entrepreneurs and hearing their take on the entrepreneurial journey.
Now you know that one of our key beliefs at Countrywoman’s Guide is that through sharing our journey, warts and all, we can help others feel less alone and inspire them that they too can get through whatever they are struggling with.
So, I’m going to share the interviews with you over the next few weeks in batches of 4 episodes, as the nuggets of wisdom that are shared by our interviewees are too good to miss.
This first episode was to introduce me to the audience, as I was taking over from another presenter. So the tables were turned and I became the interviewee with Janet Hitchen, who produces the Making Stuff Up channel interviewing me about my life and what brought me to this point.
Janet is a very wise Corporate Communications professional and she and I had an absolute ball working together, and our behind the scenes conversations were wide-ranging. I learnt so much from Janet and she has become a firm friend, you’ll hear me talking about serendipity in the interview and I am so glad that fate brought us together.
Anyway, I’m going to hand you over to the podcast now, I hope you enjoy!



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