What if you took a health day instead of a sick day? In this episode of The Festoon 500 Interviews, Dani Wallace sits down with Emmaline McAndrew — The Slow Business Woman — to talk about building a business when your energy isn't reliable, why chronic illness changes everything about how you work, and why “success doesn't love speed.”

Emmaline helps women with limited or fluctuating energy — including those managing chronic illness, disability, or neurodivergence — learn how to set up and run their own business, whether that's a freelance gig, self-employment, or a limited company. In this conversation, she and Dani unpack “the Great Unlearning” — the lifetime of social conditioning that teaches women to be quiet, be organised, and do it all — and why “work life balance” needs to become “work health balance” instead.

They also get into why professional boundaries work even when people hate them at first, why sharing the messy, unglossy parts of business builds a safer community than hiding them does, and Emmaline's challenge to every founder listening: take a health day, not a sick day.

Website: https://www.theslowbusinesswoman.com

Instagram: @theslowbusinesswoman

Join the Festoon 500 — The Big Festoon's founding community of founders supporting founders: https://highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500

0:00 The Big Idea: Work Health Balance Over Work Life Balance

0:58 Welcome To The Festoon 500 Interviews

3:10 Meet Emmaline McAndrew: The Slow Business Woman

4:14 The Great Unlearning: Hustle Culture, Hormones & Having It All

11:02 Why "Slow Business" Started: Building With Fluctuating Energy

14:56 Redefining Success: Wellness, Perimenopause & Burnout

17:22 Professional Boundaries: Why "That's The Point"

19:10 Sharing Your Story: Building A Safer Business Community

24:37 Neurodivergence & The Right To Be Cared For

25:57 Take A Health Day, Not A Sick Day

29:34 Where To Find Emmaline McAndrew

31:38 Join The Festoon 500: Founders Supporting Founders

Emmaline McAndrew — The Slow Business WomanCHAPTERS

Master community-based marketing by learning how to truly activate your audience. Stop treating your fans like a sausage factory.In this interview, Naomi Rose explains why modern marketing strategy relies on genuine human connection rather than outdated tactics. If you are struggling to build a loyal following, this conversation breaks down how to pivot from transactional messaging to meaningful interactions. We explore why your content often falls flat and how to fix your approach to ensure your message actually resonates with the people you want to reach.True audience engagement is about more than just numbers; it is about fostering an environment where your followers feel heard and valued. By prioritizing authentic connection over cold sales pitches, you can build a sustainable brand that stands the test of time. Learn why brand authenticity is the most powerful tool in your toolkit when trying to cut through the noise of a crowded digital landscape.Subscribe for weekly marketing strategy breakdowns, and comment below: what is one way you currently interact with your community?Catch this short podcast trailer for the upcoming Festoon 500 interview. Get a quick preview of our conversation with Naomi Rose.In this episode, we sit down with Naomi Rose to discuss her experiences and insights. We keep things focused on the stories and perspectives that define her work, ensuring you get the most value out of every minute of the full release.

In this Festoon 500 interview, host Dani Wallace sits down with Claire Bartlett — The Simplified CEO — to talk about a topic that's rarely discussed in business circles: perimenopause, and the very real impact it has on founders, leaders and their teams.Claire built and ran an accounting practice for over a decade before perimenopause forced her to rethink everything — and now she helps perimenopausal coaches, consultants and business owners simplify their businesses instead of burning out inside them. In this conversation, Claire and Dani get honest about brain fog, lost confidence, the "sandwich generation" squeeze, and why hustle culture was never designed with women's cyclical bodies in mind — plus what allies, employers and mixed-gender workplaces can do to genuinely support the 13 million women in the UK currently navigating perimenopause.Whether you're a founder feeling like you're "losing your edge," a leader with perimenopausal team members, or simply curious about a life stage that affects half the population, this episode offers permission, practical language, and a reminder that this can be an evolution — not an ending.In this episode:What "The Simplified CEO" approach actually meansWhy so many women close their businesses during perimenopause — and why that's preventableThe cognitive symptoms nobody talks about (brain fog, word loss, decision fatigue)Claire's own story: 10+ years running an accounting firm before perimenopause changed everythingHow to build policies and support structures for perimenopausal employees and foundersWhat allies in mixed-gender workplaces can do differentlyConnect with Claire Bartlett:Instagram: @theclairebartlett | TikTok: @simplifiedceopodcast | YouTube: @clairebartlettPodcast: The Simplified CEO PodcastFree resource: https://therealclairebartlett.com/webinar-registrationJoin the Festoon 500: highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500Short version (social bio / caption):13 million UK women are perimenopausal right now — and it's quietly reshaping how they run their businesses. Claire Bartlett (The Simplified CEO) joins the Festoon 500 to talk brain fog, boundaries and building a business that works with your body, not against it. 🎙️Chapters

0:00 — Trailer

0:44 — Welcome & Introducing Claire Bartlett

3:34 — Meet Claire: The Simplified CEO

4:34 — Why Perimenopause Is a Business Crisis (the stats)7:17 — Compassion, Care & the Sandwich Generation

10:04 — Claire's Story: From Burnout to Rebuilding

12:47 — The Cognitive Symptoms Nobody Talks About

15:10 — Finding Safety in Shared Experience

17:16 — The Phone Battery Analogy: Understanding Cognitive Load

18:48 — Retreating, Embarrassment & Funny Relatable Moments

21:29 — The Power of "No F***s Given"

22:44 — Advice for Allies & Employers

25:29 — Building Policies as You Scale

26:23 — Where to Find Claire

27:00 — Outro & Join the Festoon 500