I can’t remember how I came across One Girl Band – probably indirectly through iTunes – having developed quite a podcast addiction recently – but earlier on I wolfed down the first 5 episodes back-to-back so decided to dedicate some space to it here on my blog…
Who is One Girl Band? In reality OGB is “a collective for female entrepreneurs and creative who work for and by themselves.” The founder of this empowering small-business group however is Lola Hoad, originally a designer of paper goods and now a coach, speaker and writer with a hugely successful co-working space and podcast series, both named One Girl Band.
What’s all the fuss about? I’m not sure if it’s the sage words or the sheer honesty with which Lola discusses her work, her story and her battle with anxiety, but there is something really inspirational about listening to her talking so frankly and with both feet firmly on the ground. In her signature style of honest storytelling and advice (with a few swear words thrown in), I find myself feeling cheered on from the sidelines and spurred on towards goal crushing, (not to mention wishing I’d been as plucky and focused as her in my early twenties, but I was too busy shooting things with the Officers Training Corps and wondering how I was going to make it to the end of my fashion degree…)! Each episode is brimming with guidance and encouragement, delivered in a way that is easily actionable. Is this stuff groundbreaking? No. And I’m sure I could go out and buy a shitload of glossy life-coach business books telling me much the same things, but where’s the fun in that? I want to listen to a real person who’s funny, genuine and calls a spade a spade without all the woo-woo stuff. She’s like a bullshit filter, saving me the time it would take to wade through a small library of business boredom and serving it up straight like 6 shots of Tequila. Much more fun.
Any highlights? I particularly enjoyed Episode 11 – ‘You are right where you need to be’ in which Lola discusses the reality of feeling like you’re miles away from achieving your goals and heading in some wildly unpredictable and random direction. Who hasn’t felt like that at some point? She weaves in her threads of humour by veering off on a tangent about sat-navs, which only adds to the ‘real-human’ element of this podcast, but brings it back around with this sound piece of advice,
'Things will come up and the best thing you can do is let them. Remember, the only thing you can control is your reaction'Click To Tweet
Who’s it for? Female entrepreneurs and creatives looking for support, a space to connect, interviews with inspirational women and truthful insights into running your own business. Oh and maybe someone who doesn’t like reading thick, glossy ‘success’ books with smug businessmen on the front over. OGB is also a good dose of tips and encouragement when you’re having a wobble, reminding you of the steps you can take to keep (or get back) on track, albeit delivered with the occasional F-bomb!
Anything else? You can download Lola’s podcast free on iTunes. Her One Girl Band co-working space is based in Brighton and regularly hosts monthly coffee mornings, expert sessions and social nights. You can find out more by clicking here. Sounds like a really great networking space and I’m pretty gutted to live so far away. (Lola, if you ever read this, I’m living in Italy. We could run an amazing female entrepreneur’s retreat together one day! What do you say…?!)
I’m curious, has anyone else listened to and enjoyed these podcasts? What did you think? Have you used the co-working space or attended an event there? I’d love to know what it was like so feel free to leave a comment.
Be back soon,
Zoe x