In my next episode of Eavesdrop, I’m in conversation with author and business strategist, Alice Benham.
In this interview, we discuss:
- Entrepreneurship
- Self-care
- Working with purpose
- Prioritising fun
Here’s a brief recap of our conversation. To hear the full conversation, give my podcast a follow on Podbean, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts!
An Interview With Alice Benham
Alice, tell us a bit more about who you are and what you do.
“So I work as a business strategist, which I feel like sounds super fancy, but in reality is not. I mean, I love it. I get to spend my days helping business owners with their growth. So I do a lot of work around business models, operations, marketing, and goal setting. So I work a lot with clients one-to-one, and then there’s also quite a few other arms to the business. I’ve got a podcast, I run retreats, we’ve got a stationery range, there’s a book that’s just come out, there’s online courses, and all of that fun stuff.”
“So yeah, lots going on, but all under the umbrella of helping people grow their businesses in a way that feels intentional, and then ultimately take action. That’s kind of my big thing is to get people from the thinking and planning to the implementing stage.”
“I’ve been doing that for about eight, nine years now and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
When you were a child, did you think ‘I’m going to go into business growth strategy’? What did you want to be as a kid and how does that kind of translate to what you’re doing now?
“Definitely not. I think the only thing I really had clarity on was I liked making things. I had a little business when I was about 14, making wooden signs, and all my mum’s friends on Facebook would buy them from me. So I guess there was something entrepreneurial in me there, although I’m not sure that business ever made any profit. I think I was just spending my pocket money.”
“I actually quit school when I was 16 and then started a business when I was 17, but it was all really accidental. I don’t know if you hear this from people, but I often notice that not many of us sit down and think ‘I’m gonna start a business’. You maybe say yes to an opportunity, which is what happened in my case, and it kind of snowballs from there.”
“So yeah, all I knew was I didn’t like being told what to do and I liked making stuff, which I guess now I’m like, ah, business is a pretty good way of getting that.”
So do you feel your work is purpose-driven? Does it fulfil you? Do you feel like your work is sort of part of who you are?
“For sure, yeah. I think being purpose-driven, for me, I guess my language I use a lot is being value-driven, but I think it’s very similar, isn’t it?”
“To me, it’s just the idea of running a business in a way that feels good and does good. That’s kind of my mantra with things. External impact is really important to me and that’s almost the first priority, but I’ve definitely learned in the past by doing it the wrong way that if you ignore what you need as well, that doesn’t work out. I think I just live to serve and then actually, you know, burn out.”
“I’ve definitely had a few moments where I go, okay, I need to make this work for me as well. So yeah I think the big thing for me is just doing everything in a way that aligns with my values. I think in business, you can do something a million ways and that’s amazing – but also it can feel really overwhelming. I find that knowing what I stand for almost helps to narrow my focus a bit, and it makes it much easier when I’m offered an opportunity or I’ve got an idea. Instead of it being like, oh, do I do it? Do I not? I don’t know. I’m like, okay, does it align with these values that I’ve got?”
“I’m a big gut instinct person – so I guess it’s just getting to know that feeling, isn’t it? I think you get very good as a business owner at just sensing if something feels good, if something doesn’t feel good, and then learning from that and working out how you get more of that moving forward.”
What would you say your highest value is? Would you be happy to share that?
“I think there’s so much power in naming a lot of those internal things. I talk a lot to my clients about the idea of having an internal compass, which is really just having internal clarity that then helps to guide your decision-making and how you navigate things. I think one of the biggest things that makes up your internal compass is your values. We all have them, but obviously, naming them can be the next step to help you realise them.”
“So the ones that I’ve got are impact, transparency, kindness, playfulness, and messy action. I added messy action very recently because I’d started working with a new teammate and I was like, oh, there’s something else here that’s not feeling honoured. What’s the other thing I want to align with? So those are kind of the five things, and I’ve got a really clear kind of manifesto for myself. I actually have it on my website as well so others can see it, like here’s what all those things mean.”
“So, for example, (and I’d probably say this is the value that is most like, I wouldn’t want to sacrifice on any) is all around transparency. That’s just always been my thing. And to me, that’s about running my business in an honest way and talking really honestly about what it looks like to run a business. I think the online space is amazing, but there can be so many glorified, shiny things. And whilst I think we need to see what’s possible, I also think we need to admit what it really takes to get those wins.”
“So if someone asked me to present a view of business that was over-shiny, I think I would just have to run in the opposite direction.”
How do you stay emotionally okay? Like how do you make sure that whilst you’re taking on everyone’s ambitions and goals, you don’t become exhausted, tired, or drained? How do you manage that?
“It is hard, isn’t it? Like I do feel responsible for how my clients’ businesses are going. All my clients have direct WhatsApp access to me, and that I’d say is one of the most impactful parts of my work, but definitely the thing that I have to be most mindful of – because they basically have a straight line into my head. If they’ve sent me something saying ‘this launch is going really badly’ or ‘this stressful thing’s happened’ – obviously, they’re looking to me for support.”
“So if I’m not having a day where maybe I’m feeling top-top, or sometimes everyone at once just seems to have something going on, and then for like a week I don’t hear from anyone. And then one day, it’s like all at once. It’s funny, isn’t it? You notice these weird trends that are definitely not correlated but feel like it. I think on those days, I do notice myself getting a bit overwhelmed.”
“I think the biggest thing that helps me, is realizing that I often end the day really feeling really tired mentally, but not physically. And I’ve noticed that I need to make time to be tired physically. So I now have a habit every day I do exercise, and that’s not really for any reason other than just I’ve realized I need that time each day.”
“It is draining holding space for other people and I think we always need to consider if that’s our job, how do we then hold space for ourselves in a similar way? So I have a therapist, I work with a business mentor, I’ve got people that can be that for me. But it’s hard, isn’t it? I definitely don’t feel like I’ve ever solved it. I think I’m always trying to figure out how to help myself better.”
How do you prioritise fun? Do you get a chance to have fun in your life?
“Good question. I think for quite a few years, I always thought I’ve got to be quite serious because I started the business when I was 17. You know, I felt like I didn’t fit in. I’m not the person that’s in these rooms. I felt like I almost had to put on this kind of persona to be respected, to be listened to. And probably to an extent for some of the rooms that I was in as a 17-year-old, that was probably needed.”
“I think to an extent, that was how I got started and how I kind of ‘faked it till I made it’, as people say. But now, I think there came a point probably three or four years in where I was like, this doesn’t really feel like it’s reflecting me. I’m not having fun. And I was seeing other people being quite playful in their businesses. I don’t know, their content would be quite fun or playful. They wouldn’t speak in a really formal tone. If they hosted a workshop and they messed up, they’d make a joke about it. They wouldn’t just fumble and pretend that nothing had happened and make it awkward. Tiny things like that.”
“Years ago, I did actually quite intentionally have to choose to kind of give myself permission to bring that in. I can be professional and respected, but I can still be playful. I think outside of work is one of the things that I do struggle to make time for. My therapist often talks about the pie chart of work, rest, and play. For me, work and rest are where I sit quite comfortably because I’m quite an introvert. So anything involving other people after I’ve done a big workday, it’s not often something I desire.”
“I think the thing I’ve learned is that for me, exercise is where I play. I once heard someone say a gym is a bit like an adult’s playground. And I think that’s kind of how I find it. Like I don’t really work out for how it makes me look or being able to lift heavier or whatever – those things aren’t that relevant to me. For me, it’s a bit of a time when I’m just in my body and having a bit of fun. But yeah, I think I do have to choose to have fun because I can get a bit too serious sometimes.”
You’ve recently launched a book. Can you talk to me a little bit about, first of all, the process of that? What was it like for you to write your first book?
“Oh, it was a lot. That’s probably my immediate answer. It was a two-year journey from first being approached about writing the book through to publication day, so it was a long journey. I think the biggest realisation for me was writing it, if anything, is the easiest part. There’s editing it, and tweaking it, and the design, and all of the decisions to be made.”
“If I did it again, I would enter it with much more intention of knowing what it’s going to take from me. I guess also I didn’t expect it to take so long. I’m quite impatient. I’m used to being able to bring things to life very quickly. I have an idea and I implement it very quickly. So it was weird to be kind of in this very structured process, working with quite a big team, not having the final say over things. I think it’s probably been the hardest, and the biggest, and the most lesson-filled project I’ve ever done.”
If people want to find out more about you, where can they find you?
“My website, www.alicebenham.co.uk, has my book, stationery shop, all my online resources, free advice, and my one-to-one packages. You can also find my podcast, Starting the Conversation, on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!”
Catch the Full Episode!
This was just a snippet of my conversation with Alice! You can download and listen to the full episode by following the links below:
- Podbean: S5E6 – Creating a value driven business with Alice Benham
- Spotify: S5E6 – Creating a value driven business with Alice Benham
- iTunes: S5E6 – Creating a value driven business with Alice Benham
Never miss an episode by subscribing to ‘Lily-Jo Presents: Eavesdrop’ on Podbean, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts!
Further Resources on Purpose and Self-Care
If you found this interview helpful, check out these additional recommended resources on purpose and self-care:
- The Lily-Jo Project’s self-care resource
- The Lily-Jo Project’s article, The Science of Self-Care
- The Greater Good Magazine’s article, Seven Ways to Find Your Purpose in Life
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