It’s time for another quick on with Dawn and Tracy. In a snippet taken from Episode 98 the ladies are discussing anxiety, fear and how to be the master of it. The fear of ‘what if’ can often make us behave in ways that are not conducive to our personal or professional success. And this is not healthy. Luckily, Dawn and Tracy are here to share some practical tips and advice, collected from two lives well lived, so that you can become the master of your fear instead of it being the master of you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Dawn has a healthy approach to managing her anxiety, she talks about her relationship with it and how she has developed skills to help her manage it.
• Tracy muses of the dangers of catastrophizing and how we can self soothe in order to prevent this from happening.
• Dawn and Tracy discuss their past experiences related to fear of failure and how these experiences have helped them to develop tools to cope should it appear.
• The ladies discuss the concept of ‘Surrendering to the Fear’ using the example of Dawn’s friend who is currently going through a breakup.

BEST MOMENTS

“Anxiety isn’t a weakness but I can see how people might think it’s a weakness.”

“When we come back to the present we can look with much more clarity at what is going on.”

“If you let go of your fear, what would you do?”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Original Episode

Real Women on Instagram

Real Women Website

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

This week, Dawn and Tracy are joined by Christine Van Bleom, founder of the Empty Nest Kitchen. Christine, for many years, ran a cooking school, but when covid popped up and closed her business she found herself lost and dejected. She looked at her own life and realised that people of her generation were being left behind. Determined to do something about it, Christine established the Empty Nest Kitchen, a place where people over 50, whose families have left home, can come together online and cook for fun. In this interview with Dawn and Tracy, Christine talks about her experience and recruits Dawn and Tracy into her tribe.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Christine, who is 56, came to the realisation that society was leaving behind people of a certain age and how this was making them feel neglected and alone. This, as she explains, is her reasoning for starting her empty nest cooking course.
• Christine's previous business was a cooking school, however, when Covid hit, she lost her company. She talks about how she picked herself up and the challenges she faced in setting up a new company.
• Once a month, Christine hosts a free course with over 500 attendees. Through sharing the story of a man who recently became a widower, she details the amazing benefits the participants receive.
• Dawn gets emotional as the ladies discuss the numerous benefits that come with cooking in a ‘tribe’ and how it fundamentally changes the experience of cooking from something you have to do to something you want to do.

BEST MOMENTS

“Business and work will one day pass, but life does not finish there, so find something worth living for.”

“After Covid, I think people really began to realise how important connection is.”

“There’s a beauty in rediscovering the fun in something when you have sent so long doing it because you have to.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Real Women on Instagram

Real Women Website

ABOUT THE GUEST

Christine Van Bloem is the founder of The Empty Nest Kitchen, teaching live, online cooking classes to empty nesters re-learning how to cook for one or two, while finding the fun in the kitchen with a healthy-ish vibe.

A heart attack survivor, Christine has reformed her butter-loving, heavy cream worshiping ways by making changes in how to cook, taking food in a healthier direction, while still keeping things flavorful and delightful. Plus, there's always room for dessert!

Christine hosts the Empty Nest Kitchen podcast and lives in Maryland (US) with her husband John.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

This week Dawn and Tracy are joined by master Pilates teacher, CoreAlign master instructor, posture and gait specialist and Neurosomatic Intelligence coach, Kristen Iuppenlatz Grech. After 2 car crashes, Kristen experienced chronic pain for over 15 years. One day, whilst in her kitchen, she had a revelation - what if she could incorporate her pilates knowledge into daily life? Not only did this work, it eventually led Kristen to launching her programme “Seven Good Reasons to Dance in Your Kitchen”. In this interview, Kristen will motivate you to become more energetic, alert and healthy and, at the end of it, will have you dancing in your kitchen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Kirsten, who has been a long time pilates tutor and suffering from chronic pain, recognised that the amount of time she spent in the kitchen was not good for her posture. She explains how implementing some of her pilates practices into her cooking, which ultimately led to ‘Dancing in the Kitchen.’
• Most people at work spend their time in unnatural, unhealthy positions that can have negative long term consequences. Kirsten shares some simple tips on how to adopt a better posture.
• Moving your body isn’t just good for posture and pain, there are so many long term health benefits. Kirsten focused on seven of them to create her ‘Seven Good Reasons’ programme. She breaks down what they are and the benefits of each one.
• What Kristen has discovered through her community is that implementing exercise and positive body movements don’t just impact your health, but your wider world. She explains how the positivity you feel is transferred to your work life and relationships.

BEST MOMENTS

“You’ve got to embrace who you are today, not wait for a time that may never come.”

“It’s not just you that will benefit from positive movements, your co-worker, friends and family will feel the positivity bouncing off you.”

“The bottom line is, if you move, you will feel better. It is the only guaranteed way to elevate your mood.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Kristen’s Free Mini course

Kristen’s Facebook

Kristen’s Instagram

Kristen’s Youtube

Real Women on Instagram

Real Women Website

ABOUT THE GUEST

Kristen Iuppenlatz Grech is a master Pilates teacher, CoreAlign master instructor, posture and gait specialist and Neurosomatic Intelligence coach. She's also an actor/dancer/musical theatre nerd who loves to dance anywhere!

Kristen struggled with chronic pain for over 15 years after two car accidents within two years. She studied with incredible mentors over the past 25 years trying to figure out how to heal. Now she shares all the insights and hard earned wisdom she's gained that she wishes she’d been able to find back then.

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

This week the ladies are here for a quick one. In a clip taken from episode 121, Dawn and Tracy are talking to property investor Micheal Wildig. When Micheal was caught up in a property scam that cost him over £150,000 he fell into a deep depression and contemplated suicide. In this short episode, Michael, Dawn and Tracy discuss the importance of speaking openly about mental health struggles, the stigma around men's mental health and how it’s possible, with love and support, to climb out of the deepest holes.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Through her martial arts classes, Dawn works with a lot of men that she can see are facing mental health issues. She discusses the need for men to speak out so that other men can see them as a role model and realise that it’s ok to not be ok.
• When he decided to start his own business, Micheal faced opposition from his friends and family. And when things turned sour, he found it incredibly difficult to admit failure to them. He discusses how he kept these feelings inside.
• Tracy and Micheal discuss the changing views in mental health over the last few years, why they think this has happened and the positives that have come from it.
• Michael, whose partner was pregnant during his troubles, talks about his realisation that he had more to fight for than just himself, and how this gave him the strength to get through his drastic situation.

BEST MOMENTS

“I took the whole thing on the chest, but I wish that I had spoken to more people. Don’t make that mistake, talk to people.”

“Sometimes it just takes one small thing to take somebody from being ok to being depressed.”

“Men have more trouble talking about their emotions because they are used to being the provider and the protector.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Michael’s Instagram

Real Women on Instagram

Real Women Website

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn has recently been on a business retreat and she participated in a workshop all about identity, which has got her thinking about some big questions, such as “Do we choose our identity or is it a product of our nurture?” and “Is our identity who we are or what we do?”. As always, the ladies leave no stone unturned in their quest to get to the bottom of this subject. From the factors that make up our identity to our perception of it over time, the ladies go full Descartes, I think therefore I am, in order to solve this mystery.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Dawn and Tracy muse on the idea that people define their identities by what they do, a property investor, a mother, and not who they are as people. And the problems that arise when they no longer do the thing they've hung their identity on.
• The ladies, reluctantly, agree that they are getting older and whilst their bodies are ageing, their minds are as young as ever. But, how has their perception of their identity changed over this time?
• Do we make a mistake when meeting people for the first time and introducing ourselves by our job titles? The ladies speculate what it would be like to introduce yourself based on your true identity.
• Tracy argues that our identity is made up of three factors. Who we are in private, who we believe people see us as and how we behave based on who people see us as. But, does that cost us our authenticity?

BEST MOMENTS

“How different would your life be if you introduced yourself as who you are and not what you do?”

“Who are we, at our core, when nobody else is looking?”

“Is authenticity who you are at your core or is it who you are as a result of what you believe other people see you as?”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Real Women on Instagram

Real Women Website

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn's community of business owners are hitting their 40’s and 50’s. As they are all self employed or business owners, they are starting to worry about life after work, from a financial perspective. A lot of them are considering investing in property, so Dawn has decided to interview an expert in this field…Tracy. In this episode, Tracy breaks down the reality of property investment, the many routes to entry, the multiple ways in which you can make extra income, and, if done right, how it can provide a nest egg for your future.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Becoming involved in the property business is a great way to make money to secure your future, but it’s not as easy as most make out. Tracy lays out the reality of becoming a property manager.
• Buying property and selling it on at a profit is one way to make an income, but the more popular, and economical, approach is ‘buy to let’. Tracy walks you through how this process works and how to get the best out of it.
• What if you don’t have the cash in the bank to go out and buy a property? You’re not alone, most people don’t. But, there are many strategies to raise finance, as Tracy explains.
• Once the money starts coming in, it’s just as important to manage it as it is to keep making it. Tracy outlines all the best ways to make sure you’re money is safe, to reduce your tax bill and how to keep making it grow.

BEST MOMENTS

“Make sure you get professional advice. Do you really want to build your future based on the opinions of the guy down the pub?”

“Before you do anything, ask yourself the most important question “What do I want out of this?””

“Property isn’t 100% passive, and anyone that tells you it is, is lying. Make sure you understand this before you jump in.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Real Women on Instagram

Real Women Website

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.

Dawn and Tracy, who both run successful businesses, are getting overwhelmed with the number of options available to them when it comes to marketing. This past year, Dawn has decided to “chuck the book” at a number of marketing options in an attempt to find the one that works best for her. But, what she’s discovered is that it’s not as simple as just commissioning a marketing agency. From branding, to messaging, to understating your business and yourself, the ladies are here to walk you through the fundamental aspects you have to get right first before any adventures in marketing can begin and the dangers you’ll face if you don’t do the hard work first.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Marketing is more than Facebook and Google ads, but a lot of new businesses don’t understand this. Dawn explains how marketing hasn’t really changed since the 50’s and recaps some of the lessons you can learn from the ‘old boys.’
• The foundations are key to any form of marketing, such as a logo, slogan and strong branding. Dawn and Tracy share their tips on getting these foundations right so that the marketing you do, does not fail.
• Even the best marketing idea in the world will fail if it doesn’t reach the right people. Tracy talks about the importance of understanding your perfect customers to make sure you get your message in front of the people that matter most.
• There are thousands of marketing companies out there, but how do you know which one is right for you? Dawn and Tracy share their ‘red flags’ to look for when commissioning a marketing company.

BEST MOMENTS

“In order to win certain deals, it’s not just about marketing your company, but marketing who you are.”

“If you don’t understand who your perfect client is, you’re doomed before you start.”

“What do you do, what problems can you solve, what is special about what you do, who are your clients? - if you can nail those four things, you’ll have strong, focused marketing.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Real Women on Instagram

Real Women Website

ABOUT THE HOSTS

Dawn and Tracy are real women who are fed up of all the “noise” out there in the real world. Life isn’t simply rainbows and unicorns, it's broken relationships, hard work, hot sweats and never ending laundry baskets. But life as a real woman is also about being honest, having good gossip and speaking our truths. Whether it’s peeling yourself into your spandex for a night out, or running a business meeting barefoot because the heel has fallen off your stilettos, there is always something to laugh about in life.

Dawn is mid 50’s mid menopause straight talking business maverick. Four kids, three grandchildren, two businesses, one husband and a self proclaimed “hottie”.

Tracy is a mid 50’s awesome mum, business and property mentor. Proud of her raw, honest nature, “bonkers” sense of humour and good old-fashioned northern humility.

PODCAST DESCRIPTION

The business of being a real woman juggling life, love and work for many of us is pure sweat, grit & hustle. This podcast is for those of you who are tired of the “noise” and just want real down-to-earth gossip with no filters or fluff. Dawn and Tracy bring heartfelt humour, raw honesty, spandex, stilettos, and intelligent conversion on being a real woman in today's world.