In this sixty-eighth episode of My Kind of Business, Alex is joined by Chardét Ryel, a behaviour change specialist, serial entrepreneur and Forbes-featured Top 200 podcaster who helps female founders use their voice to build authority and trust without relying on algorithms or constantly proving themselves online.

Chardét's story is a winding one, from childhood performance instincts and dreams of diplomacy, through building and losing a wellness business, to finding a new direction in business and podcasting. It's an honest conversation about how failure, fear of visibility and big life disruptions can reveal what you actually want, and what shifted when she stopped forcing a fixed identity and let her business evolve with her.

If you've ever felt like you should have it all figured out by now, this is one to sit with.

In this episode Alex and Chardét explore:

• The childhood creativity and performance instincts that hinted at her future
• Failing the Foreign Service exam and what it set in motion
• The messy, non-linear route into entrepreneurship, and why feeling "not ready" doesn't mean you can't begin
• Leaving a toxic workplace and learning to trust her intuition
• Starting her first wellness business, and facing imposter syndrome and a fear of being visible
• Moving from New York to London and rebuilding her business model
• Losing her in-person business when COVID hit, and rebuilding online
• Starting a podcast, and realising a successful business can still feel misaligned
• Losing her voice just before a launch, and the link between stress and physical symptoms
• Pivoting into visibility, and why a business doesn't have to stay fixed forever

Key Highlights

• Why failure can create permission to change direction, rather than proof you've gone wrong
• That feeling "not ready" isn't a reason to wait
• How visibility is a skill you grow into, not something you're born comfortable with
• Why a business that looks successful can still feel misaligned, and that feeling is worth listening to
• Why you don't have to build alone, because no one is truly self-made

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome and introducing Chardét's story
02:56 - Studying politics, languages, and failing the Foreign Service exam
03:44 - How failure created permission to change direction
09:16 - Why entrepreneurship began to feel possible
13:35 - Leaving a toxic workplace
16:32 - Starting a wellness brand after job rejection
17:33 - Early imposter syndrome and feeling too old at 27
18:44 - Avoiding visibility and staying off camera
22:14 - Opening day in London with no attendees
25:25 - Losing the business when COVID hit
27:15 - Starting a podcast and reconnecting with her voice
33:25 - Turning the podcast into the business itself
34:49 - Losing her voice just before launch
40:02 - Choosing visibility as a new business focus
45:03 - Chardét's advice: don't do it alone
46:27 - My kind of business is open ended

Connect with Chardét
https://chardetryel.com/
instagram.com/chardetryel

Connect with Alex
alexmccarthycoaching.com
instagram.com/alexmccarthycoaching