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Find Nicola here: https://nicolasemple.com/

In this episode of TimeFree, Michelle speaks with Nicola Semple, career coach, leadership coach, author and host of The Career Confidence Podcast, about motherhood, identity, career change, confidence, flexible work and building a life-first career.

Nicola shares her journey from a successful corporate career in business change consulting, including starting on the Accenture graduate scheme and working in professional services, to leaving corporate life after becoming a mother and creating a self-employed career that eventually evolved into career coaching and leadership coaching.

After the birth of her first child, Nicola realised that returning to a demanding corporate role involving extensive European travel would not work for her family.

This conversation explores the reality many professional mothers face after maternity leave: the loss of identity, the pressure to return to work, the financial impact of stepping away from a corporate salary, the challenge of building a business in small pockets of time and the emotional complexity of wanting ambition, income and purpose while also wanting presence, flexibility and time freedom.

Nicola talks about the early years of motherhood and how she built Life After Maternity Leave, a business supporting mothers deciding whether to return to work, stay at home or create something more flexible around their families. She also shares how that work evolved into the Mum’s Business Academy, small business support, coach training and eventually career coaching during COVID, when many professionals began questioning whether their careers still fitted the lives they wanted.

Michelle and Nicola discuss mum guilt, career guilt, confidence, self-doubt, comparison, depression, fear of judgement and the importance of giving yourself permission to evolve. Nicola explains why confidence is not something you magically receive, but something you build by deciding what you want, taking action, learning from what works and continuing even when it feels uncomfortable.

They also explore what time freedom really means. It is not only about coffee dates, long lunches or school pick-ups. It is also about being able to support elderly parents, manage family responsibilities, attend exercise classes, work around teenagers’ schedules and continue earning while life changes.

Nicola shares practical insight on how to make intentional career decisions, stop wasting energy on guilt, use the “would you rather?” question to understand your real priorities and take a life-first approach to your diary.

This episode is for working mothers, professional women, founders, freelancers, coaches, consultants, career changers and anyone feeling stuck between ambition, motherhood, money, identity and the desire for more freedom.

Topics include motherhood and identity, life after maternity leave, leaving corporate life, returning to work after children, flexible working for mothers, career confidence, leadership coaching, self-employment, portfolio careers, mum guilt, financial freedom, work-life balance, building a business around family, redefining success and choosing presence over traditional success.

Nicola’s message is clear: you are allowed to evolve. What you want will change. Your circumstances will change. Your work can change too. You do not have to stay trapped in a version of success that no longer fits your life.

TimeFree is a podcast about motherhood, money, work, identity, flexibility, financial freedom and building a life where your time is your own.

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Find Rebecca here: https://getaheadva.com/about-us/

In this episode of TimeFree, Michelle speaks with Rebecca Newenham, founder of Get Ahead, about motherhood, entrepreneurship, flexible work, confidence, networking and what it really means to build a career and life on your own terms.

Rebecca shares her journey from working in retail buying for major UK brands including Superdrug and Sainsbury’s, to stepping away from corporate life after becoming a mother and eventually building Get Ahead, a flexible outsourcing business that supports clients, freelancers, virtual assistants, business owners and franchisees across the UK.

This is a powerful and honest conversation about the identity shifts that come with motherhood, the pressure women feel to “have it all” and the courage it takes to choose presence, flexibility, impact and family life over a traditional corporate career path.

Michelle and Rebecca explore how motherhood can change your priorities, how confidence can grow over time and why careers do not have to follow one fixed path. Rebecca reflects on the early years of starting a business, the challenges of working for yourself, the importance of networking and community and how she created a business model that gives other people access to flexible, meaningful work.

They also discuss the realities of running a business as a mother, including financial uncertainty, client pressures, phone boundaries, self-care, exercise, coaching, friendship, outsourcing household support and protecting time for family.

Rebecca’s story is especially relevant for mothers, founders, freelancers, virtual assistants, consultants, franchise owners, women in business and anyone wondering whether it is possible to change direction, start again or create work that fits around the life they actually want.

This episode is for you if you are thinking about leaving corporate life, starting a business after having children, building a flexible career, finding more confidence, creating a portfolio career, growing through networking or redefining success beyond job titles and traditional career progression.

Rebecca’s message is simple but powerful: nothing has to be forever. You are allowed to evolve. You are allowed to change direction. You are allowed to build work around your life, not the other way around.

Topics covered in this episode include:

Motherhood and career identity
Leaving corporate life after children
Starting a business as a mother
Flexible working and time freedom
Virtual assistant businesses and outsourcing
Building Get Ahead
Franchising a business model
Networking for women in business
Confidence, visibility and personal growth
The pressure to “have it all”
Work-life balance and being a present parent
Career change after motherhood
Self-care, exercise and coaching
Creating a business that supports other women
Why nothing has to be forever

TimeFree is a podcast about motherhood, money, work, flexibility and building a life where your time is your own. Through honest conversations with mothers, founders, freelancers and professional women, we explore how women are creating income, building wealth, finding purpose and choosing presence while raising children.

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Find Roz here: https://rozdavies.com/work-with-me/balanced-mum-academy

In this episode of Time Free, Michelle speaks with Roz Davies, founder of Balanced Mum Academy, about motherhood, ambition, burnout, IVF, identity and the power of choosing who you want to be now.

Before having children, Roz built a successful corporate career in sales and marketing for major global consumer goods companies. She was ambitious, driven and proud of her ability to deliver big targets, lead teams and keep pushing forward. But after becoming a mother and especially after having her second child, the old formula of “effort equals success” stopped working.

Roz shares her journey through fertility struggles, IVF, pregnancy loss, corporate leadership, relocation, motherhood and eventually burnout. She speaks honestly about trying to be a brilliant professional and a brilliant mother at the same time, while slowly realising that she had changed, even if she had not yet allowed herself to accept it.

Together, Michelle and Roz explore why so many high-achieving mothers feel disappointed in themselves, why capability is not the same as capacity and why resilience is often used to push women beyond their limits.

They also discuss the emotional load of motherhood, the pressure to “have it all”, the importance of asking for help and why learning to trust yourself is essential when your identity shifts.

Roz introduces a powerful reframe: instead of focusing only on time, we need to think about bandwidth, where we choose to spend our energy, attention and effort. For Roz, time freedom is not about doing everything. It is about choosing what gets the best of you, without guilt.

This is a thoughtful and validating conversation for working mothers who feel stretched, burnt out or caught between ambition, parenting, financial pressure and the desire for a more meaningful life.