In this Episode we are talking to the lovely Rayner Mayers

Rayner started, scaled and successfully sold 40% of her business shares, which saw her exit her Cleaning Business in December 2021 at the age of 36. At the point-of-sale Rayner employed 358 staff members and had a Turn Over or nearing £4.5M.

Rayner left school at 16 with very few qualifications, pregnant and claiming state benefits. She made a promise to herself then, that one day she would make something of her life. 22 years on, a lot of time spent working long hours, making huge sacrifices, completing several courses and self-developing, at the age of 38 Rayner has achieved extra-ordinary results.

You can find Rayner at the following places:

Instagram: Rayner (@rayner_mayers) • Instagram photos and videos

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rayner.davies.1/

LinkedIn: Rayner (Rayner Davies) Mayers | LinkedIn

You can keep up to date with the host Helen here:

https://linktr.ee/Helencorsicadmore

Liked this episode? Remember to subscribe and leave a review! Or if you want to be a guest then contact me at hello@helencorsicadmore.com

Thank you,

Hels x

Hello and welcome to another episode

of my podcast, fabulous and Female.

2

And this week I am super, I know I say

this for all my guests, but I'm so excited

3

to talk to the lovely Rainer Mayers.

4

Um, Ray Rainer and I have got very

similar stories about starting and

5

selling a business, so I'm really,

really excited to talk to you about.

6

Your exits and your startup story.

7

Um, so a little bit about Rayna.

8

So Rayna is a multi awards

winning Welsh entrepreneur.

9

Another fellow Wels, she, which I love,

having Welsh guests on, uh, Rayna started

10

scaled and successfully sold 40% of

her business shares, which saw her exit

11

her cleaning business in December, 2021

at the age of only 36, 1 achievement.

12

At the point of sale, Raina

employed 358 staff members

13

and had a turnover nearing 4.

14

5 million.

15

This wasn't all glamorous

though from the start.

16

Raina left school at 16 with

very few qualifications, pregnant

17

and claiming state benefits.

18

She made a promise to herself

then that one day she would

19

make something of her life.

20

22 years on, a lot of time spent

working long hours, making huge

21

sacrifices, completing several

courses, and at the age of 38 Rainer

22

has achieved extraordinary results.

23

She has two beautiful children who

are now 22 and 19 and Rainer's has

24

faced many of life's challenges and

battled with depression for 20 years.

25

She is now a qualified NLP

practitioner and Rainer's mission

26

is to help inspire people to get

them to believe in themselves.

27

She has now dived, I'm going to say

dived, into the world of property,

28

purchasing five properties in two years.

29

Um, all posing different challenges.

30

So there's so many similarities in

just that bio between me and you.

31

And I just, I'm so excited to talk

to you, but before we get into sort

32

of the business side of things, I

would love to know Raina, what is it

33

you love doing outside of business?

34

What brings you joy in your life?

35

Um, this might sound a little bit weird,

but what brings me joy outside in my life?

36

There's probably three things.

37

I love keeping fit and running.

38

Um, haven't done so much of it lately.

39

Um, but keeping fit, love being in

the open space up in the mountains.

40

It's probably, it's where

I switch off the most.

41

Um, Me too.

42

I think another thing that I

absolutely love doing outside or

43

away from work is Learning, listening

to podcasts, researching, webinars,

44

seminars, and, and it's not just

all about learn, learn, learn.

45

It's about learning, growing,

developing, implementing, taking action.

46

Yeah.

47

I just, you know, any, any free time

that I have, I'll sit there and I'll read

48

something or I'll listen to something.

49

I'm in the car and I've got

Audible on, listening to a book.

50

Yeah.

51

I know that might sound a little

bit, um, weird for some listeners.

52

No, not at all.

53

It just excites me, you know, I just get

a real sense of when somebody would wake

54

up in the morning and put the news on and

listen to what's going on in the world.

55

I'll listen to something

that's motivational, inspiring,

56

something that will energize.

57

Yeah, do you know what?

58

I love that because we're

so, it's so easy, isn't it?

59

To turn the news on and listen to

all the, the really depressing stuff

60

that's going on in the world, right?

61

We can't, it's happening, but we can

choose to actually switch off from that.

62

Um, what kind of things do you listen to?

63

What, who's, who's inspiring you

the most at the moment on a podcast?

64

Um, I, there's a few I love, absolutely

love, um, the diary of a CEO.

65

Do you?

66

Yeah, I just think, I think

that's probably one of the

67

most, you know, popular ones.

68

It's very, um, just, just

the types of individuals.

69

Uh, there's another one

which I love, Cody Sanchez.

70

Oh, okay.

71

I don't know that.

72

She's a phenomenal, inspirational woman.

73

She's worked in the

stock markets for years.

74

Oh, okay.

75

And then, uh, I think she's got

around about 80 million worth of

76

portfolio now in terms of businesses.

77

She buys and sells businesses.

78

So, so that's really

interesting to me at the moment.

79

So, so Cody Sanchez, she's got a lot of,

um, YouTube videos and content and things.

80

And yeah, just, I think her

business is called Contrarian.

81

So yeah, she's a really good Okay, right.

82

So I'll definitely listen to them.

83

I'm always interested.

84

I, I am not a massive fan of Stephen

Bartlett, but I love his guests.

85

Like his guests are phenomenal.

86

I could listen to the,

the guests all day long.

87

Yeah.

88

Brilliant.

89

It is a brilliant podcast.

90

He's done fantastic, hasn't he?

91

Really, really good.

92

Really good.

93

Anyway, I'm going to talk

about Stephen Bartlett.

94

I want to talk about you.

95

So let's take a step back.

96

Um, when you left school at 16 and now

to where you are now, when you look back

97

at that 16 year olds, um, young woman.

98

What inspired you?

99

What really did inspire you to

think, right, let's do this, let's

100

do something different with my life?

101

Two things.

102

There was, um, the, just the reality.

103

And I think the realization of when I,

I remember when I walked down to collect

104

my GCSE results, I had So I was going in,

the headmaster was there, the teachers

105

was there, and one of the teachers said to

me, and it kind of almost stayed with me,

106

it still stays with me now, and I think

in the early years that those comments

107

were the drive inside of me to prove

to others that I was more than a team

108

member of Benefit, and the comment was,

Um, oh, we all know what was going on in

109

your mind, uh, going on, going on within

your mind at the time of doing my GCSEs.

110

And she could say that then because

when I opened the envelope, I

111

pretty much failed all my GCSEs.

112

So she knew I failed my GCSEs.

113

None of them knew I was pregnant

up until I walked down to collect

114

my results a few months later.

115

It was about five months later.

116

Wow.

117

Okay.

118

Um, I did have a nice little,

uh, little round bump.

119

Yeah.

120

Yeah.

121

And I think it's all of the comments

that Just going to antenatal clinic and

122

seeing the mature mums and grandparents,

seeing the kind of life that they

123

are right behind closed doors, nobody

knows what happens behind closed

124

doors, but what looks like the perfect

mum and child and the relationship.

125

I just felt, I just couldn't help

but feel a failure to, to, to myself

126

and to my family and to people around

me that I just, you know, pregnant,

127

16, on benefits, it's not really.

128

something that, you know, you

write to social status on Facebook

129

back in the day and go, you know,

really proud to share it with you.

130

Can you imagine if it was around then?

131

Like, flippin heck, yeah.

132

So you were inspired to do something

that Not a lot of people would have

133

thought you would have done because,

you know, society, it does, doesn't it?

134

It leans into She'll just, she'll

have a baby and she'll be on

135

benefit for the rest of her life.

136

But Raina, that six year old,

was like, no, I'm actually

137

gonna do something with my life.

138

So what got you into,

um, going to cleaning?

139

It, well, it all started with

an iron and ironing board.

140

I was Oh yeah, of course!

141

It did, yes, it did.

142

I, I had my second child, and I was 18 and

my second child, so I was living on my own

143

at the time, I moved out when I was 17.

144

And I was just penny

pinching all the time.

145

People think living a life on benefits,

you have the plasma TV, you have this.

146

It really depends on what type of parent

you are and where you spend the money.

147

My priority wasn't a plasma TV.

148

Everything I had, and I mean every

single thing I had was second hand.

149

The pram, the cot,

everything was second hand.

150

And I would be ringing my

parents, can I borrow 5 for gas?

151

Can I borrow 10 for fuel for the car?

152

And this was constant.

153

And when I had my first proper job, uh,

as a travel assistant, I I was still

154

struggling to make ends meet and I,

it came to Christmas when I was 23,

155

my daughter would have been five and

I just said, I cannot spend another

156

year living life like we are, that I'm

responsible for my children's future.

157

I'm responsible for my future.

158

And I just said to myself, I said, six

months prior, I'd said, I'm going to

159

set a buy in and a few family members

and close people to me, laugh and said.

160

Oh, that's a ridiculous idea.

161

You don't, nobody's going to be ironing

and, and then some people were saying, oh,

162

there's a pandemic, um, not a pandemic.

163

There's um, uh, recession.

164

Yeah.

165

Yeah.

166

I know.

167

God, don't say that.

168

We missed one.

169

Not in 2009, but get it, recession,

and to be, to be honest with you,

170

in, in 2009, I had absolutely no,

I, no clue what a recession was.

171

I was naive, I was 23.

172

Yeah, yeah, we didn't get taught any

of that stuff, did we, in school?

173

Anyway, when we were there, you know,

even if you did listen or didn't listen,

174

we didn't get taught those things.

175

So what, what, tell me about

the ironing board then.

176

And I just, yeah, I just rung

my dad and I said, that's it.

177

I found a van.

178

It was on, I think it was on Gumtree.

179

I found a van up in Swindon.

180

Um, I actually met the gentleman in a

petrol station to buy the van up him.

181

So do you know what?

182

That's what we used to do though.

183

Yeah.

184

Yeah.

185

We used to do stuff like that.

186

I'll meet you in like a

hotel car park or something.

187

And so just sounds the most bizarre

thing now, but that's, that's

188

exactly what used to happen.

189

Wasn't it?

190

Yeah.

191

Um, I had a little bit left

over after I borrowed 1, 000

192

off my father to buy the van.

193

And I had a little bit left over

so I went to Tesco's and I bought

194

a 70 iron and a 30 iron aboard.

195

And that was my money gone.

196

And a 70 iron though?

197

Would it have been like

the top of the range then?

198

Yeah.

199

Because like, irons and, you

know, they're not cheap now.

200

But I remember you could probably pick

up an iron for about 15 quid back then.

201

So yeah, 70 quid.

202

Okay, this is when you

knew you mean business.

203

You're going to get a

top of the range iron.

204

Well, yeah, that's all I had.

205

It was, and it wasn't

even a steam generator.

206

So you can imagine doing

this for like hours on end.

207

Every single minute of work that day.

208

Yeah.

209

But yeah, just.

210

It was, it was just the initial, I

need to change my life and I have

211

to take responsibility and I just,

I was working in my care job and

212

within four months, I went to my

local shop and I put a handwritten

213

sign up, I had a service offered and

my phone number and that was it, the

214

phone was ringing and then I was in.

215

The, the local, the local Bridgend

paper, I think it was the Gazette,

216

so I put a little ad up in there.

217

So, and it was just, just, yeah, just

word of mouth spread and within four

218

months I was earning more than enough

to be able to give up my care job

219

and then focus solely on the ironing.

220

The ironing.

221

That's amazing because so

many people hate ironing.

222

Like, I hate ironing.

223

I don't mind putting the hoover

over, anything like that.

224

Ironing?

225

Oh no.

226

If ever my husband ever said

to me, can you iron a shirt?

227

I was like, no.

228

So I get it.

229

People go, yes, Reina, you can

have the ironing, take it off me.

230

Yeah, well I suppose in, in, in business,

it's, it's the same right way to work.

231

You're solving people's

problems and pains.

232

Well, ironing is a huge pain for so many

people, and it gives them back freedom

233

on the weekends where they can, if

they've got children or family or elderly

234

parents or whatever that looks like.

235

So at the time I didn't realise

I was actually solving a big

236

problem and a painful issue.

237

Yeah.

238

Now I look at it more as a, you

know, with a business brain, where

239

I was back then, I was like, oh,

it's ironing, it's a bit of money.

240

I'm just getting the money.

241

Yeah, that's it.

242

That's all you thought about.

243

So how did it evolve then

into obviously the 4.

244

5 million business that you acted on?

245

Wow.

246

What a whirlwind.

247

Sometimes I sit there and just

think, I actually asked myself that.

248

Yeah.

249

How did it all happen?

250

Um, It was just, just the sheer drive and

determination of, um, I suppose I just

251

always set, I always move the goalposts.

252

Okay, yeah.

253

And it's not, maybe some people on

the outside would have, well actually

254

did say to me, when is enough enough?

255

When are you going to stop?

256

When are you going to start pushing?

257

You're going to.

258

That's interesting, isn't it?

259

Yeah, people on the outside.

260

One thing I've learned is that

a lot of people say things, well

261

you're close to us, because.

262

It comes from a place of care.

263

Oh, absolutely.

264

Yeah, yeah.

265

It's not really, there were some

of the things they say, it doesn't

266

really, for you, show care.

267

It shows more of a deterrent or,

you know, you're putting me off.

268

But, you know, with most people it

does come from a place of care from

269

them, because they care about you.

270

Absolutely, yeah.

271

You don't see that, though.

272

It makes you drive even more, doesn't it?

273

Like, I'm not going to stop.

274

No, I'm going to keep going.

275

Yeah.

276

I mean, it's, it's uncapped.

277

The cleaning industry is uncapped

and I was doing people's ironing

278

and I would have my ironing client

say, do you do house cleaning?

279

Yeah, I can.

280

Well, actually I don't, but I can.

281

Uh, I learned quite a lot of lessons

in the first few cleans that I did

282

because in other people's homes.

283

It's not the same.

284

It's not the same.

285

No, no.

286

What kind of things were you

coming up for when you were going

287

through people's hiring tips then?

288

You, you kind of What you, what you

think is your touch is not how a

289

client would like certain ways they'd

like, say, bed sheets and certain ways

290

they'd ask for blinds or curtains.

291

Some were very, very specific

and others were absolutely just,

292

you walk in and you think, Oh my

God, you've just been burgled.

293

Like a bomb sitter.

294

Yeah, yeah.

295

I suppose that just adds to the

challenge of what it's like to run

296

and manage a cleaning business.

297

You never have two houses the same.

298

No.

299

No, different people, different walks

of life, but it's, it's a fantastic

300

industry and I absolutely loved the fact

of going in and turning a premises from

301

whether it's just a regular clean or a

rundown, you know, even some people, we,

302

we did a lot of work for the elderly or

the venerable through social services

303

and things and allowed out a hospital

until their homes had been sorted.

304

So that level of satisfaction,

you're always helping those people.

305

It's the beds, I can't,

I can't, it's difficult.

306

No, I, I, I get it.

307

It's the beds of making a difference,

knowing that you can sleep at night

308

going No matter how big the company

gets, I'm, I'm doing my little bit

309

to make a difference to the world.

310

And that's employing people,

training people, educating

311

people, um, serving our clients.

312

Yeah.

313

Amazing.

314

I love that.

315

And I'm like massively relate to that

because completely different industry.

316

But when, when I had Tiger, it was very

much about bringing the experience and

317

knowing that people, if they bought, you

know, whatever they bought from us, that.

318

They would be happy with that,

with that product, you know,

319

and they've had good service.

320

So yeah, massively relate to that.

321

So what were the stages then?

322

You've gone from ironing board

to going into cleaning people's

323

houses to being at this 4.

324

5 million when you exited.

325

Like what, what happened?

326

I think, if you look at the, we'll talk

about the financials first of all, if

327

you look at the kind of financials,

it, it took, um, in the early years,

328

it was a lot of, even in the latter

years, it was a lot of hard graft.

329

Um, there was a lot of kind of

spreading ourselves very thin.

330

So promotional adverts and our own social

media, we offered pretty much anything

331

and everything within the cleaning sector.

332

Yeah.

333

So we.

334

I've been cleaning, window cleaning,

jet washing, carpet cleaning, just

335

anything you could think of, even one

point delivering a client's passport

336

because they were in the airport and

they forgot their passport, so it was

337

just anything that we were like, yes,

yes, we were almost yes people, and

338

saying yes, yes, yes, and I think It

339

in 2010, it took from 2010 to 2018,

sorry, to get to that first million.

340

So it took us 8 years to climb that

ladder of, you know, the goal was 1

341

million, it was kind of strategically

align the business as we were moving from

342

the 300, 000 to more commercial work.

343

Yes, yeah, I was going to say, was it

predominantly commercial towards the end?

344

Yeah, 100 percent

commercial when I saw it.

345

We pivoted and realized that the

way that we were able to scale the

346

business was by going commercial.

347

And that's what we did in 2018.

348

We sorely was commercial.

349

We restricted um, a lot of the

services and we pulled things back

350

and said, right, this is who we are.

351

This is our brand.

352

This is what we stand for.

353

These are the services, and this

is how we're going to push forward.

354

And then from the 2018 to the 2021,

we went from 1 million to just

355

under four and a half million.

356

So the growth.

357

Yeah, in that, yeah, it was a lot

of implementations of strategies.

358

I was the one that was

responsible for creating the

359

yearly strategy from that point.

360

So I would create the yearly strategy

and break it down and make sure

361

that everyone was comfortable and

on track for what our goals were.

362

Yeah.

363

To be honest, we pretty much hit every

one of them and I'm quite proud of that.

364

Of course you did, your determination,

you just said that you, I, you're

365

not going to not hit those.

366

I'd love to know, when you

were doing all this decision

367

making, was it, was it just you?

368

Did you speak to any, you know, advisors,

consultants, and did anyone come into

369

the business and say, right, Reina,

this is where I think you should go,

370

or was it literally just all you?

371

Do you have any support?

372

Definitely not me.

373

It was, I was responsible

for creating a strategy.

374

Yeah.

375

So kind of looking at sectors,

industries, and, and even constantly

376

looking that the cleaning industry

is evolving massively with tech, with

377

products, with chemicals, with eco.

378

There's a lot around that now

where the cleaning industry is

379

changing and it's changing rapidly.

380

So, you know, there's a lot of

responsibilities on, um, on myself for

381

the, the, the change in how we address.

382

Business forward from that side.

383

Yeah, but no, um, my ex husband

was the finance director.

384

So he always had his finger on the

pulse when it came to the finances

385

because without having somebody

who's got a keen eye on the finances.

386

A business can go from one end of the

pendulum to the other quite quickly

387

if you haven't got that cash flow.

388

I mean, a point to say, we have

358 staff being paid every month.

389

It's a lot of responsibility, isn't it?

390

How did you feel from going, you know,

to just you, to, as you said, on exit?

391

Having over 350 staff, like, what, what

does that, what did that feel like to you?

392

Oh, wow.

393

I think I woke up the next

day and I was just thinking,

394

oh my god, right, he's quiet.

395

Yeah.

396

I was starting to be removed from

whatsapp groups and Um, emails were being

397

cancelled and I was being removed from

as, as you would expect, you know, that's

398

what happens when you sell a business.

399

You, you, you're, you're removed.

400

Um, and it was just, it was just

a surreal feeling because there

401

was a lot of personal stuff going

on that I was contending with.

402

And I generally will honestly say I

I didn't know where to turn, didn't

403

know how to deal with the feelings.

404

I felt probably around about three months

in, I felt I had no purpose in life

405

and I was, I think I was asking myself

every day in the mirror, who's Reyna?

406

Yeah, where's she gone?

407

My identity was So we'll run into

my business because I get life.

408

Yeah.

409

That's a big lesson that I've

learned is that, you know, it

410

was my first proper business.

411

I started, scaled and exited.

412

I staffed that I absolutely

cared and loved for.

413

Yeah.

414

That would amazing.

415

And I allowed a huge part of

Raina to become the business.

416

So, when I was no longer, or the business

no longer had me in them, I wasn't there,

417

I had to do a whole brand new journey of

discovery and who What do I stand for?

418

What are my values?

419

Yeah, yeah.

420

How do I deal with this?

421

Values.

422

Yeah.

423

How did you do that?

424

Because it's so, I'm, I feel

like I'm listening to myself.

425

So like, same, all of these

things came up for me.

426

So how did you find your, you know, that

whole saying of finding yourself again.

427

But how did you, how did you come back

to like, you know, getting Raina back?

428

Do you know, I'll be brutally honest.

429

Um, two years.

430

for sale.

431

And I would genuinely

say a hand on my heart.

432

It is only the last probably six weeks.

433

Yeah.

434

I felt that I'm standing

in my own shoes as Raina.

435

There's a couple of stuff going on

personally, again, still personal

436

stuff going on that I need to

contend and deal with and things.

437

But for the, for the first time in

the whole two years, I feel as if

438

I can breathe and I feel content.

439

Yeah.

440

I can show up in places and not feel

that I don't know how to, if people say

441

introduce yourself, when I was doing

some, I still showed up in networking

442

events after I sold the business, and

I was like, oh, hi Rainer, um, hi, I'm

443

Rainer, and, um, I'm currently confused.

444

Because I was!

445

Yeah, I love that, the honesty, and it's,

it's so interesting because people think.

446

And this is probably, it's definitely a

misconception when you start a business,

447

you are going to be overnight, a

millionaire, depending on the business,

448

you have loads of money in the bank

and think, right, I know what I'm

449

going to do with the rest of my life.

450

And it takes bloody ages to get

to a place where you are now.

451

And I'm, I'm so glad you said

about two years, because for me,

452

it was a really similar time.

453

And even to this day, and I'm.

454

Five years post sale now, and even

sometimes I kind of go, right, hang on,

455

who am I, what am I doing, what's going

on, and it, and certain things like

456

trigger for me as well, and I sort of

relive and, um, yeah, so it's not all

457

bloody glamorous, you know, it's, it's

almost like you lose You're dealing with

458

trauma because you've, you've lost your

identity, you've lost your business, you

459

know, you've lost the people that you just

said you cared about and, and they don't

460

often know what's going on in your head

because you're living in your own head.

461

Um, so is there anything specific

that you, you can really pinpoint

462

that only, only like six weeks ago,

so just before Christmas, you felt

463

like, yeah, I'm, I'm back to me.

464

Is there anything that

you did specifically?

465

Was it just been a natural

sort of progression?

466

I think it's kind of, maybe it's

a level of acceptance internally.

467

Yeah.

468

Maybe it's the level of just going, I

am no longer a part of that business.

469

And that's okay.

470

That's, that's okay.

471

It's, it's okay that I'm

not a part of that business.

472

However, there is a life out there

right now that you can explore

473

and can go and do what you want.

474

Because you have a level of freedom

now that I never had in the business.

475

Yeah.

476

I think it's learning to

appreciate and be grateful to

477

be in that position as a person.

478

Kind of almost long, the, the, the 14,

18 hour days or whatever it looks like.

479

I kind of missed all day.

480

Yeah, I know the structure and

then routine and knowing what was

481

coming, whereas now you're a bit

like, oh, what am I doing tomorrow?

482

What am I doing?

483

Yeah.

484

People always ask me this and I'm

hopefully you can be as candid as

485

you can, but what did make you sell,

sell your shares in the business?

486

What made you exit?

487

Um, it was the, it kind of, the plan

was to double the business and, um,

488

I always had, uh, in my mind, I never

shared it with the team, but I shared

489

it with Ash, I always had a plan in my

mind where I would have loved to have

490

exited the business when I was 14.

491

Okay.

492

I wanted to get a business

to 10 million turnover.

493

That was my goal.

494

So I created this strategy, which I think

I might've got it somewhere because I

495

was working on it as a promptive sale.

496

The, the, the strategy and what it looks

like to get to the 10 million and I

497

reverse engineer all what does it look

like staff numbers, people, mobile,

498

everything from an ops point of view.

499

And I, um, I kind of worked worked

worked out what that would look like.

500

And then Ash came to me, we have long

moved house and Ash said to me, do

501

you want to, you know, we've had a

couple of people reach out, we were

502

having letters all the time, you

know, yeah, it could be worth this.

503

Do you want to sell?

504

I mean, they, I think they're standard.

505

Yeah, they are.

506

Yeah, yeah.

507

And Ash asked me, would I like

to get the business valued?

508

And I think.

509

When we met with the company

that dealt with a sale, it was, I

510

think I'd already got on the bus

of the excitement of potentially

511

having more freedom in my life.

512

I'd sacrificed the best part

of 13 years to my business.

513

Raised two young children

throughout the whole of that.

514

So I missed a lot of

moments with the children.

515

There was holidays that I'd have to

cancel that I couldn't go on, I think.

516

In the early years, we were short

staffed, whatever that looks like.

517

And I think.

518

If you let in a business, it can take

over your life, and I definitely am

519

the type of individual, that's me

personally, where I allow that to happen.

520

I kind of got excited about the sale,

and then a few months later, Ashley

521

decided to stay, he changed his mind.

522

He wanted to stay and run the business.

523

So, you know, it's sort of, we

were both on different paths then.

524

Yeah.

525

Yeah.

526

And I think timing, isn't it as well?

527

You, you know, sometimes it's,

it's just the right time.

528

And I remember when we were selling, in

all honesty, I think we probably should

529

have exited about two years before.

530

Would have been a different position.

531

Yeah.

532

Um, But we, we loved it, and we loved

what we were doing, and yeah, you know,

533

we, we stayed for about two years longer

than I, me, personally, and Kate probably

534

said the same thing, but yeah, we

probably should have left at about three

535

years, but it's interesting, isn't it?

536

It's just timing.

537

Um, so, so you've exited, you,

actually, no, let me ask you a question.

538

Would you do anything differently to

what you've done, to where you are now?

539

Yeah, I think I've learned so

much about, the world of business.

540

I'm not saying the way that I would run

another business is the right way, but it

541

would be my way from what I've learned.

542

And you can only do things your way.

543

You can learn from others, but you've

got to be authentic to yourself.

544

There's a lot of things

I would do differently.

545

I would, I mean, when

we grew the business.

546

I mean, I had staff that became friends,

and I think that's always difficult when

547

you then scale and get to a point where

your business is no longer the kind of

548

family feel hub that you've created.

549

Yeah.

550

It becomes difficult, I think, on

time to, to implement boundaries when

551

those lines have already been crossed.

552

Yeah, I completely agree.

553

Yeah.

554

I think for me that would be one thing

that if I was to go into business and

555

run another business where I had teams

of departments and people and staff,

556

I would ensure that the boundaries

were kind of a bit more defined.

557

Yeah, yeah, more stuck in place.

558

Because it's easy though, isn't it?

559

Especially when you've,

you know, started from.

560

Started from scratch and you know, those

people do become friends and it is really

561

hard to have that separation because

they're friends but it's your business.

562

So yeah, I completely get that.

563

Completely get that.

564

So They all spend so much time in

an office and a working environment.

565

Yeah.

566

And they're up to eight and

twelve hours a day, you know.

567

Yeah.

568

So it, it is difficult to not allow

those waters to become murky or, you

569

know, to cross over because Ultimately,

you spend more time with people in

570

your working environment than you do.

571

Yeah, you're family and friends, isn't it?

572

I know completely.

573

So two years now post sale and I mentioned

the beginning, you've dived into the world

574

of property, purchasing five properties.

575

How's that been?

576

Interesting.

577

What have you come up?

578

What challenges have come in from them?

579

Ah, where do I even start?

580

Um, well, let's just say the property

market's taken a bit of a turn.

581

Um, yep.

582

The interest rates on the mortgage,

and I mean, I'm in a different

583

position, so I haven't been

stung by them, uh, thankfully.

584

But it, you know, we, it's sort of,

it's, it's, it's a difficult industry.

585

It's the renovations I've learned,

and I suppose it's just testament

586

to who I am as an individual.

587

I throw myself in, I

wanna learn, learn, learn.

588

Yeah.

589

And I'm not afraid to say that,

you know what, I messed up, I

590

made a wrong decision or whatever.

591

I think, I think you've got two options.

592

You either allow fear to control you and

you never step outside your comfort zone,

593

or you step outside your comfort zone.

594

It works out or it doesn't work

out, either way you learn a lesson.

595

Yeah, absolutely.

596

I'm definitely the type where I see

something, I'll go all in and say, Oh,

597

shouldn't have done that, never mind.

598

That's the thing, isn't it?

599

Until you try, you're never going to know.

600

I was talking earlier to somebody

else, um, on a podcast, and we

601

were talking about fear and how

it can hold so many people back.

602

But all it's doing is trying

to keep us safe, isn't it?

603

It's trying to keep us safe.

604

And I, I do really despise the

saying of, um, you know, face

605

the fear and do it anyway.

606

It bugs me, but actually the, the

meaning behind it is relevant.

607

So with these, these properties

that you've gone in and bought,

608

are they rental properties?

609

Are they going to flip and sell on?

610

What's your purpose around the property?

611

path you've gone down?

612

Actually the property was to

keep me busy because you're

613

being used to it for so long.

614

Yeah, I, I just kind of,

I exited the business.

615

I was going through a divorce.

616

I found out I had skin cancer, so I

had to have an operation there on that.

617

And I just thought, Oh my

God, all of this stress in

618

literally the first three months.

619

I just thought I, I need something to

keep me busy and occupied because I

620

cannot be the type of person to just sit

around and wallow and mope and things.

621

So I just, I just thought, I'd

already had one Airbnb that I

622

bought just before I exited.

623

So I, I went and bought

three renovation projects.

624

Um, and then one mixed use, which is two

shops downstairs and two flats upstairs.

625

So the renovation projects

have been interesting.

626

I've learned a massive amount.

627

That perhaps I didn't encounter in my

budgeting that I've learnt and, but

628

I just see that as, you know what,

the next one and the one after that

629

and the one after that is going to

be even more successful because with

630

anything the first two or three years

or first two or three properties in

631

any business or whatever venture you go

down, you've got to make those mistakes.

632

You've got to learn.

633

Absolutely.

634

Yeah.

635

Don't get me wrong.

636

It's been, they've been successful.

637

They've got three on the market now.

638

Uh, one has just sold one is, well, I

have a couple of offers, but the, uh,

639

buyer needs to sell their property first.

640

And the other one.

641

on the market as we speak.

642

So yeah, you know, they are successes.

643

And as you said, you know, you, you've

learned loads from them yourself as well.

644

So is this, is this the direction

that you're heading now?

645

Or is this just a little bit of fun?

646

I'm in a little bit of a situation at

the moment that I can't really discuss or

647

talk about, but yeah, I'm just, um, in a

little bit of a situation at the moment.

648

The property is, I'm going to continue

with the property because it's.

649

What I love, what I, there's two

things that I look at the property.

650

The property doesn't give me the

buzz that running a business does.

651

Yeah.

652

Yeah.

653

However, if you get the property

right, it can give you freedom

654

that running a business doesn't.

655

Absolutely.

656

Yeah.

657

And you're learning loads of different

things with property, aren't you?

658

You know, like you said, the

renovations, you're still.

659

If you are doing it yourself, so managing

the project and managing the people,

660

but then when that ends, it ends,

you know, there's no sort of ongoing.

661

Yeah, yeah.

662

I just, for me, one thing that's

come up a lot is the word freedom.

663

And, and I think that is definitely

one of my values is that I don't

664

want to be tied to something where,

you know, it's 10, 14 hour days.

665

I like, I like being spontaneous,

booking a last minute holiday, having

666

my nails done, and you know, and I

think for me, to my core value, it is

667

important that whatever I go on to do.

668

Yeah.

669

Not many people can say that they.

670

I never had balance previously.

671

Good God, I didn't know what balance was.

672

I wouldn't say I've got

balance now because I work all

673

the time, morning and night.

674

I'm always learning and researching,

but I think I definitely do have a nice

675

way of living now and I appreciate that.

676

Yeah, absolutely.

677

And I think, you know, you, you,

you've worked already for, you

678

know, 20 years of your life.

679

really hard.

680

So it's like, yeah, let me,

let me go and do my nails.

681

Let me go and have that holiday.

682

You deserve it.

683

And that's not to say you're not going

to go on to do other things and whatever

684

that looks like for you, I'm really

excited to see where it leads to you.

685

What would, um, what would you say,

or what sort of top, top tip or top

686

advice you would give to somebody

that's There's maybe in that 16 year old

687

position that you were in, or even in

a 36 year old position, what would you

688

say for somebody that's starting out?

689

What would be your advice to them?

690

What would be my advice

to anyone starting out?

691

I think, yeah, initially or firstly,

it doesn't matter what age you

692

are, you can start at the age

of 60 if you want to, like, age.

693

Yeah.

694

is irrelevant.

695

I think a few things I'd say is, I mean,

one thing I, one thing that drove me, and

696

this might not even fit into anybody's way

of living, but one thing that definitely

697

drove me, especially on the tough days,

is that there's a saying that spend a few

698

years of your life like most people won't,

so you can spend the rest of your life

699

like most people can't, and on some of the

like really Long days where I was maybe,

700

you know, working longer hours, tendering,

whatever that looks like in running a

701

business, we all know it's not easy.

702

And it's not glamorous.

703

No.

704

If anyone tells you that, they're lying.

705

They're absolutely lying.

706

A hundred percent.

707

It's not easy, we all know that.

708

You know, no matter how glamorous

it looks on social, it's not, it's

709

difficult for any business, any sector.

710

And I think for me it was, it was

just knowing that and I think what the

711

youngsters say these days is they're like,

um, fast fire is called, where they'll

712

I love the way you said the youngsters.

713

What does the youngsters?

714

What is that?

715

He said that the younger generation,

their ethos is to create as much

716

wealth as they can in a short space

of time so they can retire younger,

717

rather than retiring at the age of 68

or 70 and you're unable to enjoy Yeah.

718

Quality of life, because maybe your

finances are tight, or maybe you, you've

719

had to repair loads of things in the house

over the years, and, well, whatever that

720

looks like, I just think for me, retiring

at the age of 68 or 70 was never a dream.

721

Never in your plan.

722

No.

723

Never.

724

Like, absolutely not.

725

No.

726

I couldn't think of anything worse.

727

I might run a business when I'm 68

and 70, I might be running a business,

728

but that's through choice of my own.

729

I think it's, it's.

730

It's understanding, first of all, what

do you want to achieve in your life?

731

What's important to you?

732

What do you want to achieve in your life?

733

What's important, and then just every

single day just, just show up and be

734

authentic, just don't be afraid to show

up because you'll always have the ones out

735

there that will laugh and put you down.

736

Yep, it's always going to be

those people isn't it, always.

737

And do you know what, sometimes it knocked

me off my perch and sometimes I'd go

738

into hiding for, you know, I wouldn't

show up online or I would be scared to

739

go to networking events or whatever.

740

When you get the kind of naysayers, but

I just think you've just, you've just.

741

You've got to build your resilience

and you've just got to keep showing

742

up and keep driving forward.

743

And I think one of the biggest

things, I would say, is know what

744

it is that you want to achieve.

745

So for me, I've always had a vision.

746

I always kind of, I might not have

achieved everything on my vision board.

747

I might not have achieved all of my

dreams and aspirations as of yet.

748

However, when I can see them,

when they're almost there.

749

Like, it's like, they're so close.

750

Yeah, I want to get them.

751

When you can see what you want

to achieve, you're almost kind

752

of on the way to receiving it

because you can actually see it.

753

So it'll pull you out

of bed in the morning.

754

It'll make you work those late nights.

755

It'll make you re evaluate your life.

756

Yeah, brilliant.

757

Absolutely brilliant.

758

Um, I've just realised the time,

so I'm going to have to wrap up.

759

But there is a very, very important

question I always ask all my guests.

760

Because if you know anything

about me, you'll know I love food.

761

And do you have a favourite cake?

762

Oh, a favourite cake?

763

Yeah.

764

Oh, it would have to be Something along

the lines of a salted caramel cheesecake.

765

Oh, that's very specific.

766

Yeah, you know what?

767

That's one of my husband's

actually favorite is cheesecake

768

and anything that's salted caramel.

769

So yeah, okay.

770

Lovely.

771

Brilliant.

772

Rayna, I could talk to you and I haven't

even asked you many questions actually

773

because you just, everything that I

wanted the listeners to hear you've said.

774

Um, so if anyone is interested in

getting to know you a bit more or

775

finding out what's happening for you in

the future, which I'm really excited to

776

see what happens for you, um, how can

we find you or where can we find you?

777

Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, uh,

just venturing a little bit more with

778

TikTok, and YouTube, going to be starting

creating a lot more YouTube content.

779

And they're just, just,

just, just mainly online.

780

So a lot of people might find me

under the name Reina Davis, but I now

781

go under the name of Reina Mayers.

782

I just thought I'd put that out there.

783

Yeah.

784

Okay.

785

I'll put that in the show notes as well.

786

So if anyone is looking, either

Reina Davis or Reina Mayers.

787

You've been wonderful.

788

Thank you so much.

789

And like I said, um, anyone out

there that's, that's interested in

790

learning more from Reina, um, and

we haven't talked about so much.

791

There's so much more I'd love

to talk to you about, but,

792

um, yeah, thank you so much.

793

Being a wonderful guest.

794

Thank you.

795

Thank you very much.

796

Thank you for asking me, Helen.

797

Thank you.