What happens when the entire safety net underneath your business is… you?

In this episode of the Good Girl Rebellion Podcast, Anna is joined by Emma Cowling, founder of Refresh Rewards, for a conversation about self-reliance, risk, support and what it really means to build a business that can support you back.

For many capable women, being good at coping becomes part of how we create security. We keep the day job for longer and keep our costs low. We do things ourselves because we know we can. We put off hiring, getting advice or creating support because I’ll deal with that when the business is bigger. And sometimes we keep the business small enough that we can continue to hold everything together.

It can look like sensible business planning. Sometimes it absolutely is. But sometimes there is an Invisible Rule underneath it: Keep Coping. I should be able to manage this myself.

Anna and Emma explore what happens when competence becomes the reason we don’t ask for support, the difference between planning responsibly and trying to eliminate uncertainty, and why Can I do this myself? is not always the same question as Should I be doing this myself?

They also talk about the ways women can unconsciously put limits around what their businesses are allowed to become. Why might our old salary become the amount we aim to replace, rather than something we are allowed to exceed? Why can doing work we love make us feel we should charge less? And why do flexibility, freedom and financial success so often get presented as though we have to choose between them?

Emma brings more than 20 years’ experience in employee benefits to the conversation, including her own experience of becoming self-employed and realising that many of the structures and protections she had previously taken for granted were now hers to think about. Together, Anna and Emma look at how we can move from simply relying on ourselves to building the support, expertise, systems and safety nets that allow both us and our businesses to grow.

Ultimately, this episode asks a bigger question: are you building a business that depends upon your ability to keep coping, or one that is capable of supporting you too?

About Emma Cowling

Emma Cowling is the founder of Refresh Rewards, an independent employee benefits consultancy with more than 20 years’ experience, including working with global organisations such as Apple. After becoming self-employed herself, Emma became particularly interested in the support and protection women may leave behind when they step out of employment, and how we can become more intentional about building our own support systems.

Find Emma on LinkedIn at Emma Cowling or on Instagram at @RefreshReward.

This episode is for general information and discussion and does not constitute financial, tax, pension or insurance advice. Please seek appropriately qualified professional advice for your individual circumstances.

It’s time.