Beyond Earbuds: Rachael and Helen Share Insights on Audience Input, Podcast Evolution, and Business Impact

In this week's episode, I'm chatting with Helen Calvert, host of The No Bullsh*t Guide to Happiness.

Helen has been a guest before back in May 2022 and it's no secret that I LOVE Helen's podcast so it's lovely to be chatting with her again, seeing how she is doing with her podcast and her business.

Helen has published a book since we last spoke (in October 2022 and yes I have a copy!) The book is very much based on the first series of the podcast which as Helen explains contains, "crucial elements of being a business owner and having a happier life."

Helen and I also chat about audience engagement, podcast growth over the past 12-18 months, show notes, reviews(take note podcast apps!!), and how the podcast supports Helen's business.

A top tip that we touch on is the importance of reaching out to others and how your network and community can contribute to your podcast's success.

About Helen

Helen Calvert is The No Bullsh*t Coach who has been running the successful business support agency Clear Day since 2018. A divorced mum of two boys, Helen has twenty years of experience in admin and organisation, and also, knows well the personal challenges of anxiety, family health problems and just trying to get it all done! She qualified as a life coach in 2020 and her passion is in helping women to treat themselves with excessive kindness as the best strategy for gaining confidence and making progress.

Her podcast gets around 7,000 downloads per month and includes all of her no-bullsh*t tips for a happier life. It has proven so popular that Helen has turned the first series into a book which was published in October 2022.

Podcast: https://podfollow.com/the-no-bullsh-t-guide-to-a-happier-life

Book: https://www.clear-day.co.uk/product/the-no-bullsht-guide-to-a-happier-life/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clearyourday/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-calvert-manchester/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClearYourDay

Transcript for Episode 51 - Helen Calvert

Rachael Botfield: [00:00:00] Hi everyone and welcome to this week's episode. I am very happy to announce that I have the lovely Helen Calvert back on the podcast. She came on as a guest May 22. So very early in the life of this podcast. And we're here to hear about how Helen has got on and you know, how things have the podcast.

So hello, Helen, welcome.

Helen Calvert: Hello, thank you so much for having me back, Rachael. It's really kind of you to have me back again and you know, to give me a second go. I obviously didn't do too badly first time round.

Rachael Botfield: No, it was lovely. I love chatting about your podcast and I, as many of you know, or hopefully many of you know, I always talk about Helen's podcast and how much I love it.

So, and I always recommend your podcast to everybody that I speak to. So yes, I absolutely love love your podcast. So to those that might not know what Helen's podcast is called, it's the No Bullshit Guide to a Happier Life. And Helen has started [00:01:00] this podcast, it's been over two years now, hasn't it for, for the podcast?

Helen Calvert: Yes, I started it in May 2021. So I'm just coming up to the end of my third season, I've a season a year ish, you know, in my head, I've had a each time. But yeah, it's again, we were saying before. The interview started, how quickly time goes and yeah, it's flown by since the launch, I have to say.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah.

Cause I was thinking, Oh, what year was it? It's those COVID years that make you kind of question what year it was. And you're like, was it that long ago? Was it not?

Helen Calvert: It's all a blur. Yeah,

Rachael Botfield: it is. So I'd love to catch up with you a little bit about how things have been going and what you've been up to in the interim between we last chatted.

One big thing I know that happened was that your book launched last year.

Helen Calvert: It did indeed. Yes. So the first season of the podcast became the book, the no bullshit guide to a happier life, which I [00:02:00] published in October, 2022. Which was so exciting. I think I will always remember the day when my lovely, cover designer and, and print coordinator, Vicky turned up at my door with the boxes and I opened them and there was my book in my hands. It was so exciting. And it's got this beautiful yellow cover that Vicky's designed. It stands out. It's just brilliant. So yeah, even a year on, I still look at my book.

It's here beside me at the moment. I'm like, Oh, it's so pretty. So yes, that was a real, a really exciting moment to launch the book. And what was wonderful was you launch a book and of course. Bless them. All your friends say, oh, I'll buy a copy. And you think I'll, that's really, you know, that's nice. And then they come back and they tell you that they've read it and they liked it.

I'm like, my God, I wasn't expecting you all to read it . I thought maybe you'd get a copy 'cause you feel sorry for me. But no, actually it has, I've sold quite a few and it's. The feedback's been amazing. It has actually proven to be really popular, really well received, which is just, yeah, I couldn't ask for more really.

It's so exciting. [00:03:00]

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, I have your book and I was saying to you before we hit record that I keep it on my bedside table and I. Read it and I dive into it when I, when I need it. And, and the same with your podcast as well. There are definitely a few of your earlier episodes that I go back to that are my favorite ones.

And the idea for the book came from. Season one of your podcast.

Helen Calvert: It did. It's funny, you know, Rachael, cause you're not the only person who says that to me that it's on the bedside table, ready to reach for when needed. You're definitely not the only person to have said that. So yes, it very much came from the first season.

It's got some. Extra bits added in, it's got a bit of my story, it's got a few other reflections, it's got bits that sort of tie it all together. But season one was very much the crucial elements to me of being a business owner and having a happier life. So it's got all the good business stuff, marketing, networking, productivity, then it's got all the life stuff, so parenting, sex, relationships, it's got [00:04:00] self-worth, it's got money, it's got self-care, so all of that good stuff is in the book as well.

And then last year, so 2022, when the book was in production, the second series of my podcast focused a lot more on what I call the toolkit for a happier life. So I referenced that early on in the podcast and I talked about how we all need a toolkit and in that toolkit is all the different things we can pick out on any given day that might help us to feel better or feel healthier or feel happier.

I'm not a big fan of consistent habits. We can sort of dig into that a bit more if you want, but I don't really believe there's one thing that solves everybody's problems. Like if you just meditate every day or do yoga every day, I think they're brilliant tools, but there's a time and a place for each one.

So in the second season, I took a load of different tools that either I know work for me or other people had said work for them. And I kind of did a bit of a [00:05:00] dive into each one and reported back and how it works and are there any bullshit elements, you know, maybe how it doesn't work. And we looked at just all the different tools that are available, because I think when people are feeling stressed or overwhelmed or a bit low, it's easy to forget what there is that can help. And everyone kind of thinks, Oh yeah, I'm supposed to exercise. It's like, well, yeah, but that's just one tool out of many that are out there for us.

So I really enjoyed doing that as well. And then this year, series three has been all about our relationship with ourselves, which again is a whole other huge topic that I've had a wonderful time diving into. That's been really interesting.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, I love talking about the second series. About when you talk about the consistency , doesn't necessarily mean it's every day.

Like, you know, if you meditate every day, you're going to be okay. . You don't always need those tools either, do you? There are days where you feel better and you feel like you don't need to dive into your toolkit today.

Helen Calvert: Absolutely. And as [00:06:00] women, we're not consistent, we're cyclical.

So I don't know if this is true. I've heard, well, this is one of these anecdotal things that I've heard, but I have heard tell that men actually have a 24 hour hormonal cycle, which would make sense because that is why they can be consistent because every day It's the same, whereas regardless of whether that's true or not, women definitely don't have that.

We have a monthly hormonal cycle. So trying to be consistent is just, it's setting us up for failure. And the amount of times somebody says to me, Oh yeah, I started doing Pilates, but then, Oh, then I kind of got out of it. And now, Oh, you know, I feel bad about it now. I don't really want to think about it because I failed.

I stopped doing it. And I'm like, I assume what happened was you started in your up phase, your inner spring, if you like, of your menstrual cycle, and then you stopped in your premenstrual phase, when we don't want to do anything except eat chocolate, and that's like, totally normal, so just start it again when you're in the mood.[00:07:00]

That's how, that's how we work. It's really important

Rachael Botfield: to that we're well I know myself, big on that. And I know this is one of your, you know, phrase of be kind, excessively kind to yourself. That is one area that we are not, that we tend to not be kind to ourselves about starting these things that are supposed to help us with self care. And then it turns into something that's not self care at all.

Although we've just made it about. Something that we've failed at, quote unquote.

Helen Calvert: We make it into a rule, like, if I try this and I'm not going to do it because it'll make me feel better. I'm going to do it because I should do it every day. Like, I'm going to do this 30 days of yoga. It's like, well, why don't you just do some yoga and then tomorrow do something else?

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. There's so many tools. Yeah, I still find myself falling into that, like, I wanted to do stretching every day and I wanted to do walking every day and I [00:08:00] was like, well, it's just not possible every day because actually things change, things happen and my schedule is different. Like I can't get out at the same time like every day or the same time every week even.

And yeah, but then you get, beat yourself up about it, but that's, I love that the different things that you explored during that series and the different things that you tried out to see whether or not you felt it worked for you or whether there was a bullshit element to it as well. Was the one on like flotation tanks, I remember noticing that one.

Helen Calvert: Now that's a really good example of what we're talking about because I happen to enjoy a flotation tank. I don't do it a lot, but I have done it and I do enjoy it. Now. As with all of these tools, but particularly with something like flotation, where it has a lot of different elements to it that you might or might not like, it's not going to be for everyone.

And yet the amount of people who felt the need to explain to me why they couldn't do floating. And I'm like, it's, it's fine. It wasn't me telling you you had to, it was me saying you could

Rachael Botfield: do it. This is, yeah, [00:09:00] this is one of the options.

Helen Calvert: It's not a rule, but we, we seem to be, we, not consistently, but we seem to be always looking for rules to follow.

It's like, tell me what the rules are and then I'll just follow those rules. And my only rule, as you say, is to be excessively kind to ourselves. So I find myself thinking some days I'm achy, I've got a headache. So I'm like, I definitely need to stretch. I realize I need to do some stretching. I don't have to, it doesn't matter if I don't, but it will make me feel better if I do.

If I'm feeling overwhelmed and my head is absolutely full and you know, those days where it's just like a clown car inside your brain and it's all going crazy, then what I actually need to do is sit down with a coloring book and do some coloring. Or it could be that I need some fresh air, or it could be that I need a bit more of a break, or it could be that I need to see a friend.

I did that on Sunday. I was a little bit in my head about things like we get. And I suddenly had this revelation, Rachael, that I could reach out to another human being. Imagine that. [00:10:00] They had a and I must go to the gym. That's not always the tool that we need to reach for.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. And I think it's it is important to remember that.

And especially like you say, as business owners as well, we often feel like, especially solo business owners or with small businesses, you know, a lot of the time you're doing it on your own or with a very small team. And there's a lot of, and. You know, with life, family life, whether you've got kids or not, there's a lot of pressure there, and it's easy not to take care of yourself and forget about some of the simple things that we could do that could actually just make us feel a bit better and be able to deal with the day.

Helen Calvert: Yeah, absolutely. And if we think, yeah, this is it. And if we think of them as just tools that we can pick up and put down, then there's no pressure. So if I think to myself, do you know what, I bet if I went for a run, I'd never think let's go for a run. Cause I personally am not a runner, but if I thought I bet I'd feel better if I went for a [00:11:00] run.

I just go for a run. I wouldn't think to myself, Oh, I should do this every day or am I faster than I was last time? It's like, just go for a run. If it feels like it'll make you feel better, do that and then do something different. And there's no kind of pressure to have a hobby or be progressing or reach a certain target unless you want to.

just makes us feel good to begin with.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, I think some of those things can get completely lost you know, depending on things that you might've done in the past, a long time ago, so, you know, doing exercise and things like that is something that I've gone through different swathes of wanting to do different things and now I'm just like, I just want to do something that makes me feel better and that's the attitude that I'm trying to have in, in those situations to make.

To just with feeling pressure of business life and, you know, all of those family life. I just wanna do something that makes me feel better. Yeah, absolutely. And that's where I wanna start. So I think yeah, the, the series there is really great for [00:12:00] helping you. Thank you. You know, look at, explore those different types of things you can do.

So then moving on to the third series. So how did you, how did you kind of think of the themes for these? Did you have these kind of planned out beforehand? Or was it like a natural flow of kind of progression between the series?

Helen Calvert: A natural progression. I think after the first season. Because I talked about the tools in our toolkit and I work as a life coach, so I was dealing with a lot of clients who, I think, one of the things that came up was people didn't know what their needs were or didn't know.

what would make them feel good, or didn't really know what they enjoyed. Because I work with a lot of midlife women who, especially if you've had children, you tend to have lost yourself a little bit. And you say, well, what do you like doing? And they're like, I can't remember. I thought a deep dive into a lot of these tools would be helpful.

It's like a little tick list reminder of this is what we could do to enjoy life or feel better or get healthy or whatever. And then for [00:13:00] this current season, season three, By the time I came to be planning this one out, the work I'd done with my clients, it was so apparent that the absolute silver bullet for everything is the relationship we have with ourselves.

There's nothing more important or more fundamental to our healing, our happiness, our success. So that just became an obvious choice for what I wanted to dive into. And it's been really interesting because I've kind of done it with my audience. So some of it was things that I'd thought about a lot and other things were like, well, let's do this together and have a little think about what this means and dive into it a bit.

But it's been so, to be honest, I think season three is almost like a little self directed coaching course at this point, because it takes you all the way through sort of meeting yourself. Who are you? What do you value? What are your boundaries? Allowing ourselves, allowing our emotions, kind of seeing ourselves just all [00:14:00] kinds of different.

Areas of who we are, and then it gradually brings us towards sort of more nitty gritty, if you like, like body image a bit about our mental health, a bit about our money mindset blocks and then for the business owners amongst us, a little bit about promoting ourselves. So it's just everything to do with how we see ourselves and how we look after ourselves, because I really don't think there's anything more important.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, you're absolutely right. Those are, I was having a little quick look through and the, you know, the topics that you've been doing and yeah, it's really interesting what you're talking about. And I do love how the whole seasons have flowed from where you're going to. And of course, when you're talking about, you know, you're taking, you know a guide from your audience and then, and the people that you're helping, which are the people that are listening to your podcasts.

Helen Calvert: You know, women like us. It's a lovely kind of cyclical thing because people who listen to my podcasts become my clients and as I work with them, they give me ideas for podcasts.

So it kind of goes round and round, which is [00:15:00] lovely. Certainly this season we've had a look at healthy and unhealthy relationships. Because that's something I talk about with my clients a lot. And I know some of my audience, I think one audience member said that she'd found. I think she used the word triggering.

I'm almost certain she did. She said she'd found one episode a bit triggering, you know, like a bit confronting. But it was exactly what she needed to listen to that day. So I said, well, I feel like my work here is done really, because I don't want it to be such a fluffy, easy listen that it doesn't make you think at all.

But equally, I don't want to be upsetting anyone. But she said, no, no, it was just what I wanted to hear. I just need to kind of take a minute and think it through. So it's like, yeah, that's, that's what I'm here for. I think.

Rachael Botfield: That's great direction then from people who are listening. Cause , you're creating episodes and talking about topics that are relevant to, to what they want to hear about. Not necessarily the easy thing. And like when you talk about saying, you know, it sounds simple, but it's not necessarily easy [00:16:00] to do. Yeah. You think, Oh yeah, well, I've just got to do that.

Have I?

Helen Calvert: Yeah, I've just got to figure out what my values are and live them up. According to them. Oh, that's a piece of cake. Yeah. Yeah. Simple to say what you need to do.

Rachael Botfield: Write them down. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah, I love that. And talking of kind of your community and your listeners, how have you found Has there been a lot of growth in your, in your podcast and your community in the last year?

I know you have a Facebook group that goes alongside the podcast so people can come in and talk to you or each other about the different topics that have come up. Yeah. So how have you kind of found that over the last kind of 12 months?

Helen Calvert: It's been really interesting actually, Rachael, because I do have a Facebook group, the Happier Life Facebook group, and anyone's welcome to join.

And it's, it's got, you know, a few hundred members and it's actually a really engaged group. So in terms of. participation in the group, it's brilliant, and I do get a lot of good feedback in there. But it's a drop in the ocean compared to the download numbers I've got. I've actually got really healthy, [00:17:00] I'm surprised by my download numbers, but I think that's really interesting because in my show notes it mentions the Facebook group, when I send out my emails promoting my episodes that mentions the Facebook group and I also talk about how you can leave feedback and different things like that.

But I think like, I listen to podcasts myself and hardly ever read the show notes. I probably am not on a mailing list for the hosts. So I think a lot of people listen and never really become part of a community, which on the one hand, it's lovely that they're out there. But on the other hand, it's like, come, come and talk to me.

I want to hear more from you. So I think, I suspect a lot of podcast hosts would probably say this. It's converting those listener numbers to an engaged community. And. I don't have to, you know, my listeners are very welcome to just listen and carry on with their lives. They don't have to engage with me in any other way, but I'm curious.

I want to know a bit more about them. I'm fascinated to know who's, who's listening. One thing that did make a difference[00:18:00] was actually a fortuitous bit of free advertising. I think I'd seen someone post somewhere like they do that somebody was looking for books to review for psychologies magazine.

So I submitted mine. And nothing came of that. They obviously had, you know, plenty of books to choose from, but the woman came back to me and I think I'd mentioned my podcast and she said, Oh, but I'll, I'll pop your podcast in the magazine. So she just literally on their podcast review page, but a tiny little thing directing people to my podcast, but my listener numbers jumped and it really showed me that, you know, a recommendation in, a trusted publication obviously made a big difference and people reading Psychologies magazine, they're interested in personal growth. They're interested in how people work. So it was ideal. And so, yeah, that was very interesting. But I think there is definitely a discrepancy now between my, what I think of as my community and the actual number of listeners.

Whereas at the start, the two were one in the same for sure. Yeah.

Rachael Botfield: That's interesting. I think [00:19:00] you're right. If I think about the podcast that I listen to. I'm, some of them I am part of the community, but some of them I'm not. So I guess it depends on the reason that you're listening to that podcast, I guess.

So, you know, like yours is about as well. So something like, you know, different style of podcast, maybe there wouldn't be. The want? I mean, I suppose there's always a want for community because it's always nice to find your people around, you know, the subject that you're talking about, but I suppose it depends on how many of those people, I don't know, some people just like listening and lurking.

Helen Calvert: If I like someone that I'm listening to or if I'm watching a TV show that I enjoy or anything. I'm more likely to look them up on Instagram and follow them there. And I do every now and again get, you know, Instagram followers that I've no earthly idea where they've come from. Maybe that's where they come from.

Maybe they're listening to them find me on Insta rather than wanting to find me any other way. I do [00:20:00] wonder though, for people who are not... You know, not really into podcasts. have never had one have never produced one. I do often wonder whether people even know what we mean when we talk about show notes.

It's only because I listen to Tim Ferriss and he used to talk about his show notes all the time and how there was all this other information there that I figured out how to find them on Spotify. Before then, I had no idea that there were such things as show notes. So maybe a lot of listeners just have no idea they can find other information on the episode.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, I mean, I know that a lot of the bigger podcasts, so some of the, like one of the ones I listen to Go Love Yourself on Spotify, they only have a very small description and then they don't actually have any show notes or description really. . And I myself use my, put my full kind of show notes as my description. And somebody in my podcast community was talking about how he has a shorter description, but then links to full show notes in that.

So you would put a link and say, you [00:21:00] see the full show notes here. Yeah. So I guess it depends on how much information you're planning on putting in your show notes.

Helen Calvert: I mean, this year I've started taking a little bit of sponsorship for my episodes, which is really exciting. So of course I want to make sure that my sponsors get noticed and I talk about them at the show notes.

To make sure people can find those the sponsors there. So that's another use for it. The other thing that people understandably get confused about is how to leave a review. Because of course you can leave a review on Apple, can't leave a review on Spotify, but you can leave a five star, or maybe you can leave a comment, but you can't leave, it's really complicated where and how you can review.

Rachael Botfield: I absolutely, I was going to ask you about that because this came up the other week as well. So one thing that somebody did say to me do you, how do, who do you use to host your podcast?

Helen Calvert: I have a producer, the lovely Lisa. So I would have to direct you to [00:22:00] her to answer that question because Rachael has no bloody idea.

I send my stuff to her and she does something magic and it appears on the internet.

Rachael Botfield: Brilliant. So so I don't know if you've heard of, well, Spotify have, they used to call it Anchor, but it's Spotify for podcasters. So, like, I use Captivate to host this podcast. But when you distribute it, which is what your producer would do, you link it all up to the different platforms and it appears there.

But a tip that somebody gave me, so in Spotify if you have a Spotify for podcasters account, and not just link it through your hosting platform because they like, they provide like a link to Spotify. You can put you can add polls and you can ask people to leave, people can leave a comment on the episode now.

So what I did the other day was I literally just... went to create an account with them and added my RSS feed and it pulled all the information and then it should now with, if somebody listened to my podcast [00:23:00] on Spotify, it should come up with the comment box. So even if you're not hosting it on there fully.

Yeah, it comes up with that. So you can ask a poll question or you can ask a standard question. I think like, you know, what did you think of this episode? Or you can put a specific question. Oh, that's a great idea.

Helen Calvert: I'm glad they pulled that through because I also have the episodes on my website and they, they go onto my website in the same way that you would put up a blog post.

So there's the option to comment on each of those if people find the episode they like. on my website. But yeah, it isn't always clear to people how they can leave feedback. And of course, as podcasters, we want feedback.

Rachael Botfield: We love feedback. Oh, absolutely. I really struggled to to get reviews. I, I direct people to Podchaser.

So I claimed my podcast on Podchaser and you can go on there and rate and review other podcasts you've listened to. So I actually, I think I have two there now. One lady I was talking to, we said, Right. We were listening to this podcast and I said, we're going to [00:24:00] go ahead and leave a review. So I always try to, because I know that I would like people to leave podcast.

So, and when I do listen to episodes, I, I do, I think I need to write a review, but I tend to listen in Google app and my phone, and that's awful. You can't leave anything in Google, in the Google. I don't, I can't actually figure it out. So I'm just like, and I don't have Apple, so I can't just leave. Yeah. So I can't just leave a review.

I always do the follow and do if I've listened to it in Spotify, but I often don't listen in Spotify, but I've, I mean, I have a bit of industry news. Someone sent me the other week. I think Google podcast is going, it's been absorbed into YouTube. So that won't be available much longer. So I guess I would have to change my app.

So perhaps. With Spotify adding that feature. I know in Podbean I listened to someone's podcast in there, they had some kind of feature, but I found the whole website quite busy. Like [00:25:00] it wasn't, I didn't find it very user

Helen Calvert: friendly. There's so, as well now for listening to the, that's why we say, isn't it?

Listen, wherever you get your podcast, 'cause there's so many places people can get their podcast .

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. I, I must say, I dunno what the review is like on, you know, the Stitcher and geezer and stuff, I guess. I should probably have a look and see whether there's any functionality within that. But you would think it would make it easy.

They would, the apps would make it easier for you to listen because you want to keep people on your platform and if people can leave reviews, surely that would help drive. Podcast listens as well because people are going to be coming back and listen to that. So if you're listening, anyone from anywhere else, make it easier.

Helen Calvert: That's just, that's just the inside of confusion of hosts not knowing how things work. So goodness knows how listeners are supposed to know how things work. Yeah,

Rachael Botfield: absolutely. But I think leaving like I say, I leave a link to Podchaser. Yeah. You couldn't. It makes it very difficult, [00:26:00] well if you're on Spotify, do this, if you're on so and so, do this, it makes it very convoluted, and ideally you only want to leave a single call to action or a single thing for somebody to do, because otherwise it's like, no, there's too much here to do, and I would find that as well, if you go, oh no, I only want to do one thing,

Helen Calvert: I don't, you know, we haven't got time for

Rachael Botfield: more than one thing, no, yeah, exactly, that's it, you've only just had a chance to listen to the episode, now I've got to do all of this so yeah, reviews is one thing I, I thought about as well.

So how do you feel with your podcast and your business? Do you feel that they are? Well, they still, they still sound like they're very aligned with what you are doing as a business. Like how do you feel that the podcast supports your business?

Helen Calvert: Yeah, it all, it all fits together quite nicely actually, Rachael and I've, I've seen how it works as I've gone along.

What does happen sometimes people listen to the podcast [00:27:00] and then they inquire and they want to become a client, which is obviously fantastic. What also happens though is that. It can be a really good kind of taster for people. So I'll often get people say, Oh, my friend, so and so, you know, she, she should coach with you.

And you always think does poor so and so realize they should coach me, or is this just your opinion? But, you know, fair enough. But I always say, well, get her to listen to the podcast, because that gives people a really good indication of who podcast.

That's what you get when you coach with me. So equally, if you don't like it, people can kind of self select away and I never have to hear about it, but it's like, right, I had to listen. Nope. Can't stand her or, oh my goodness, absolutely love her. And then that kind of helps people to understand if they would want to work with me or not.

So for that, I think it's been brilliant. And then the book obviously, you know, goes alongside that compliments that very nicely. I've had a fair few speaking opportunities over the last 12 months. And I've definitely [00:28:00] found that that is when I sell the most books, because people will hear me speak and then, Oh, okay.

Really like your style. Definitely interested in the book. And I've got some bookmarks with links to like a QR code on for the podcast as well. So again, that brings in listeners cause they've enjoyed hearing me speak. So they want to hear a bit more of what I'm doing. So it does, it all kind of pulls together really nicely.

And It was all pulling together so nicely, Rachael, that I decided to do something else because why would we ever want to be bored or not have enough to do? So I decided that in April 2024, I'm bringing the podcast to a live event and I'm doing the Happier Life Live two day event in Manchester in April.

As I say, because clearly I was I needed more things to do. But I'm hugely excited about it. And what's lovely about that, just going back to what we were saying about community. Because my Facebook group, my community have been with me since the podcast. [00:29:00] When I started talking about doing an event, they got it immediately.

You know, sometimes you're like, I've got this brilliant idea, but no one seems to understand. But no, this time around, everyone totally got it straight away. And it's been really exciting because people have been very enthusiastic and keen to sort of see it all brought to life and have other speakers, but on the same sort of topics I talk about.

So yeah, so that's happening next year, apparently.

Rachael Botfield: Wow. That sounds fabulous. So a live, are you going to record an episode at the live event? No, it's not. You're just going to do the.

Helen Calvert: Yeah. It's kind of linked to the podcast in the sense that if you love the podcast, you'll love the event and the event is for and about my podcast listeners.

completely. But no, we won't be recording at the event. I'll be speaking. I've got a lineup of other amazing speakers and much like, well, exactly like the podcast. It's not a business event, but most of the people there will be female business owners because that's my audience. So there'll be a lot of [00:30:00] talk as if people are self employed, for instance, even though employed people are more than welcome.

There'll be a lot of talk as if everyone is. You know, female, although every gender is welcome, you know, but it's just that happens to be my audience. But I think it's going to be really, it's going to be really good. We're going to have a lot of people there talking about the different tools that we were talking about earlier.

The different tools for wellbeing and happiness and just all the things I talk about kind of my, my core values of freedom, passion, joy, adventure, owning our own story, all that good stuff. Of course, excessive kindness. So I'm very, very excited.

Rachael Botfield: Oh, that does sound exciting. Well, if, if you would like to leave any.

If there's any links, any more information, I can pop those in the show notes or the description. Yes. Well, yeah.

Helen Calvert: And those, it's actually, I don't, I don't want to sound too cocky because these things never, never sell out straight away, but it's selling quite

Rachael Botfield: quickly. Quietly [00:31:00] confident,

Helen Calvert: but yes, I will definitely give you the link to where people can get tickets.

Yeah, where

Rachael Botfield: is the event? Just out of interest. You said Manchester, but what kind of venue is it at?

Helen Calvert: Yeah, so it's in Greater Manchester. So it's actually in Sale, where I live, which is part of Greater Manchester. And this is, this is one of the reasons this event seems to have come together because My network now, I seem to know everyone who has anything useful to offer for such a thing, because one of my friends is hugely connected to the Trafford Metrovic's rugby club.

So as soon as I mentioned this, she said, Oh, come and see the rugby club. It would be perfect. And I went down there and it is perfect. It's got, it's got what people actually want at these events. Because we've all been to a lot of these events and sometimes they can be, you know, in gorgeous hotel type venues in the centre of town, but there's no parking, or there's no outside space, or, you know, it's not ideal.

Whereas this, it's a lovely venue inside, but then outside, it's obviously got the rugby pitches, it's right [00:32:00] by the river, lots of parking. Nice loos, Rachael, which apparently people told me was very important. It's got to be nice loos. So I checked the loos. The loos are acceptable.

Rachael Botfield: So

Helen Calvert: it's got all these things that people actually care about, you know, but it's a really, really friendly team.

They're taking very good care of me. So I know we're going to make it into something really special. Oh, fantastic.

Rachael Botfield: Well, best of luck with all the planning and everything to do the event. I'll have to take a look about when it is myself, see whether or not I can make, yeah, to, to make the trip up to to Manchester.

I've not been able to make any of the events that you do. And also Caroline Boardman, who is how I met you originally. Through like the organized entrepreneurs club Caroline Boardman is my accountant. And that's, I know that you guys also do some events, which is together, which

Helen Calvert: is a lovely community.

I mean, I, I joke, but she really is my business wife. She's my accountant as well. I'm her coach or one of her coaches and we run the [00:33:00] organized entrepreneurs club together. And that is a network of. Our clients, our team, our suppliers. So genuinely our network, there's no one in there that doesn't actually work with us or we work with them in some capacity.

And that's, I mean, that's another community that's just been absolutely fantastic and we have done events. We've done some down South. We do a lot up North where we live. We try and. Kind of reach out as much as we can, but there's only two of us, but we absolutely love it because it's such a supportive community.

So yeah, watch this space for different OEC things coming up next year as well. We have plans. We always have plans, Caroline and me.

Rachael Botfield: Well, it's lovely. And I always I was, I was actually, I emailed her the other day, actually, because I was recommending someone and I met. A lady called Jenny who was also Caroline's, she introduced me to a different networking group.

So we're part of the WIBN now, I found a group of ladies there as well. So it was really nice to kind of like have a bit of a full circle. Yeah, you know, meeting different people [00:34:00] and. you know, recommending because Caroline was recommended to me by a fellow VA that I knew as well. So it's yeah, it's all really lovely.

And it's it's nice to be part of that. I just love how Caroline worked and got me involved when I, when I signed up with her and she's good with you as well.

Helen Calvert: She's fantastic. She really has created something. Brilliant for, again, not just for female entrepreneurs, but that is a lot of her client base and she just takes such good care of us, doesn't she?

So thank goodness.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah, absolutely. I know everything is sorted. I have full confidence in Caroline. It's brilliant. Well, thank you so much for coming on and sharing all about your journey in the past 12, 18 months. Just wanted to ask one last thing. What's your biggest learn from your podcast kind of as a whole or in the last 12 months.

Yeah,

Helen Calvert: that's a good one. And it's something that some people don't have to learn. But with my kind of brain I have had to learn to reach out and [00:35:00] talk to other people, which is not news to many people, but to me it is.

What I mean by that is that I am the kind of person who will plan everything out in my own head, which is what I did with the first series of the podcast. I had it all planned out what I was going to do and it went brilliantly. You know, it's great. But I've realized that there is so much power in reaching out to your audience, asking them what they want, asking them what they would enjoy, especially with this event.

It's been very collaborative and listening and thinking about, you know, other people's views. And like I say, with this venue, you know, when I actually asked what do people want in a venue, it wasn't what I thought it would be. So I've reached out to talk about. What season four of the podcast is going to be about.

And again, some of it's like, Oh yeah, that's what I thought. And other things, Oh yeah. Wouldn't have thought of that. So I have definitely learned to trust in my audience as much as they trust in me, which I think is a really important learning because yeah, we're all just stronger if we work [00:36:00] together, aren't we?

Rachael Botfield: Absolutely. I do. That's a great, a great a great learn reaching out. Sometimes it is easy to forget to speak to people. You become, you know, insular in your planning. Especially if we're working at home alone. Yeah. I often find myself doing this and I found that within my business as well. And you think, Oh, why can't I?

Why is no, why am I not getting any, Oh, because I'm not talking to anybody. I've not gone out and actually had lovely conversations with people because I'm not talking to them. Yeah. So I remember that last year I did that a lot. And this year I've really pushed myself to . And I've really enjoyed it.

I have really enjoyed it. I do find it quite draining sometimes. Like I did a conference a few weeks ago, which was such a fantastic day, but after talking to lots of different people and it was, I had an expert pod and I was so over the moon that I was booked out. I was so pleased. I was so very worried.

I had no one would book in with me and I was very scared. You know, it's one of those things like, well, what [00:37:00] if no one comes? So that was such a lovely surprise. It was wonderful. But yeah, I was, I was very drained the next day. day, but I did feel a real big sense of achievement for actually I've built up this year to go and speak to people.

And there was lots of women there who were just like us and they wanted to start their podcasts and they just didn't know where to start and that is. You know, that's what I want to help with, getting,

Helen Calvert: you know. And I think you're so right there, Rachael. We have to block out time after things like that to recover.

It's so important. You can't just push on through after something as draining as that. You need a bit of time to rest and recuperate. Even if it's been brilliant. Well, maybe especially if you've been brilliant, because that's just as exhausting as if it doesn't go well.

Rachael Botfield: Yeah. Cause you, you kind of want to high and you're like, Oh, cause I've got a back and I was like, Oh, this is so great.

It's such a great day. But yeah, I was like, Oh no, I need to, I need to wind up and chill out after that. But yeah. So get out there and talk to people.

Helen Calvert: Absolutely. Yes. Top tip.

Rachael Botfield: Top tip. Yeah. Brilliant. Well, thanks again, Helen. It's been lovely chatting to [00:38:00] you. Maybe we look at each other in another year's time and see where you are then and see how your events gone on.

That'd be fantastic.

Helen Calvert: Oh, thank you so much for having me, Rachael. It's been a really lovely time. . Take care, Helen. And you. Bye bye.