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For Hollie Savage, farming has always been a part of her life. But how do you help children who haven’t grown up around farms understand where their food comes from? It’s this question that fuelled the inspiration behind Moor Farm Stories, Holly’s new venture creating children’s books that bring farming to life in a way that’s gentle, engaging and rooted in reality. Her first book A Christmas to Remember which is being officially published tomorrow (November 2nd), introduces little readers to the journey from seed to harvest, with a festive story woven in along the way. But as Hollie tells Emma in their conversation today, the idea grew from more than just a love of farming. Writing gave her the opportunity to find a little piece of herself again after becoming a mum and, to take a leap into something that was entirely her own. From the moment that helped her finally take the plunge, to the rather lovely reaction from her own children, Hollie’s story is a reminder that it’s never too late to give an idea a go. Listen to the full conversation with Hollie on Episode 65 of the Countrywoman’s Guide podcast - available now wherever you get your podcasts Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

Retail looks very different from the industry Bethan Bithell first stepped into age 13 working in her parent’s own retail store in North Wales. Now 49, she has spent more than three decades learning the rhythms of retail, navigating its changes and finding new ways to keep a business moving forwards. Bethan is the woman behind Cherry Tree Country Clothing, a business she runs with her husband, Tony, still in her home of North Wales. Back in the days of her parent’s Army and Navy store, online shopping was far from the norm, but after completing a degree in business and returning to the family shop Bethan was quick to recognise the potential of the modern day shopping world and consumer. But experience alone doesn’t guarantee that a business will keep moving forwards, and it was Bethan’s ability and confidence in recognising when change was needed that led Cherry Tree Country Clothing to the place it is today - not only a physical shop but one with several online platforms and new opportunities very much on the horizon. Despite her the business’s success, it certainly doesn’t mean every decision has been straightforward. New avenues take time and money, and knowing which opportunities are right for your business requires more than simply following the latest trend. You need an understanding of your customers, a willingness to keep learning and the judgement to know when a familiar approach is no longer working. In this episode of the Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast, Emma talks to Bethan and discovers the real journey behind Cherry Tree Country Clothing and what more than 30 years in retail have taught her. It’s an honest conversation about adapting as you go, making decisions when the answers aren’t the clearest and having the confidence to try something new. There is a great deal to be learnt from someone who has not only witnessed an industry change, but has continued to find her place within it. Listen to the full episode of The Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast now to hear Bethan’s full story. You can shop from Cherry Tree Country Clothing online here and follow them on Instagram here and Facebook here. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

We first met Seb Powell, founder of Twelvebore, at The Game Fair this year. He kindly reached out to us via Instagram and invited us to pop by his stand, say hello and learn more about the story behind what he has created at Twelvebore. It was a real pleasure to meet Seb and some of the team, and we instantly knew he would make a fantastic guest for the Countrywoman’s Guide podcast. So here we are today, joined by Seb for Episode 63 of the Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast. In today’s episode we explore Seb’s far from conventional route to building the brand you see today… After studying Mandarin, spending nearly a decade in China and working in private equity, he began questioning what he really wanted from his working life. The answer brought him back to the countryside and field sports, with an ambition to challenge some of the accepted norms along the way. Twelvebore began with the mission to change women’s field-sport clothing from being an afterthought in the industry, to an element that was considered and through through. With a simple focus on fit, function and clothing that didn’t ask women to compromise, Twelvebore achieved exactly this but it has also gone on to do so much more. From using buttons made from milk (such a fascinating story) to working with small British manufacturers, Seb’s business decisions reflect a desire to think carefully about where products come from and who benefits from making them. But holding your values firm isn’t always straightforward, more considered materials and local manufacturing come at a cost, and even customers who care deeply about sustainability and supporting rural businesses have budgets to work within. Our conversation with Seb also explores the wider impact of where we spend our money, from the network of local businesses supported by a day’s enjoying the countryside to the unexpected opportunities that led Twelvebore into tea and coffee. So how do you build a business around your values, make sure it remains commercially viable and venture into a whole new field than you began in? You’ll have to listen to find out! Listen to Emma’s conversation with Seb Powell on the Countrywoman’s Guide podcast now, wherever you get your podcasts. You can shop from Twelvebore via their website here, and follow them on Instagram here. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

Every now and again you meet someone who seems to have collected several lives worth of stories along the way, today’s Countrywoman’s Guide guest, Sue Reed, is certainly one of them. Sue is an author living in Northumberland, but the world of writing is a relatively new chapter in her story. She spent many years as a teacher, working with students with multiple and profound learning disabilities, before a period of ill health forced her to step away from teaching. She began writing a blog about country living, organic gardening and sustainable living, which unexpectedly grew into a business making recycled knitwear. Years later, after another period of burnout, Sue found herself returning to something she had always loved: writing. At 58, Sue showed everyone that you’re never too old to head back to university and now finds herself, at 64, with two published books and a third in the works - alongside several other exciting plans and hobbies. It’s quite a story. Some of our biggest takeaways? * It’s never too late to start something new, we still have “plenty of stories to come” * Follow your curiosity, it’s amazing where a hare in the garden can lead you… * Rejection doesn’t mean you should stop, even after you park the book in a drawer for a while * You don’t have to do it all alone, there’s a lot to be said about the people who help us to become the people we are becoming. * Maybe we should all take a trip to Venice? Just because you don’t need to go somewhere, wanting to go can be enough of a reason to. Episode 62 of the Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast with Sue Reed really is an episode for all, packed with so many wonderful stories, anecdotes and heartfelt honesty. It’s available to listen to now, wherever you get your podcasts. Sue has recently launched the second book in her Molly Mcflynn Trilogy, you can find signed copies of all her books here. Sue also writes regularly on her own Substack Channel, RIPE, which you can find here. If you would like to keep up with Sue on social media you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

“I was just blown away with how putting one foot in front of the other gave my brain time to… think.” Now there’s a line many of us can relate to. It’s quite incredible, the power that a ride, a walk, a few hours outside with the dogs or simply stepping out for some fresh air can hold. It creates space, proper uninterrupted space, for our thoughts to come through, for a problem to untangle, and a decision to become a little clearer. Having grown up spending every possible moment outdoors, usually with the horses, that sense of freedom was certainly not unfamiliar to Lisa Supple, this week’s guest on The Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast. But it wasn’t until later in life, after Lisa donned a backpack and a pair of trainers and embarked on the rather ambitious idea of walking the Two Moors Way across Devon, that she began to see just how much clarity the outdoors could offer her. Lisa is a self-confessed Horse Mad Mum, with a career that has taken her from banking and publishing, to running her own marketing company, and now working in the equestrian charity world. Throughout all these different chapters, one thing has remained a constant - some of her best ideas usually arrived when she was outside. Whether she was with the horses, swimming, or walking, time outdoors always ended with her brain feeling quieter, calmer and bursting with ideas. That first long-distance walk in Devon was just the catalyst for Lisa’s next venture, an experience that stayed with her and lead to the newly launched Wild About the Walk. A space dedicated to exploring what can happen when we give ourselves time outdoors to think and talk. The walking itself is the vessel, but it’s the conversations and connections that happen along the way that really makes Wild About the Walk stand out. It’s about showing others how a simple change of surroundings can shift your perspective without you necessarily realising it. In this week’s conversation, Lisa and Emma talk about the mental baggage so many of us carry around and why walking alongside someone can make difficult conversations feel very different. Moving through the landscape together can make it easier to work through a problem, without the pressure of sitting opposite someone and trying to find all the answers at once. They also get into the less predictable (and very realistic) side of trying something new, including Lisa’s own experience of feeling completely out of her depth during her recent outdoor leadership training. Alongside lovely conversations about the different versions of ourselves we can hold at once, and how moving into something new doesn’t necessarily mean leaving everything else behind. It’s an episode that might just make you look at your next walk a little differently. It will no longer be something to squeeze in around everything else, but instead be a little space of your own to finally give your brain the time it needs to think. If you would like to discover more on Walk About the Wild you can find their website here, Facebook page here and Instagram page here. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

How well do you know what is being produced just down the road from you? It’s a question that is at the heart of today’s podcast. This Sunday, Emma chats to Kate Todd, founder of Produced Nearby, a guide created to help us find the farmers, growers and makers producing proper produce close to home, and then actually connecting us with them, helping us buy what they produce and support their businesses. It’s an idea that grew from her own childhood in rural Cumbria, where local food was simply part of everyday life. They enjoyed milk from Tom’s cows in the village, beef from Airey’s Farm Shop because they could tell Kate’s dad which field the cow had grazed in, and baked goods from the local bakery in town. Finding good produce wasn’t something you had to think about, you just knew where to find it. Years later, after a career in corporate marketing and a long battle with Long Covid, Kate found herself travelling around Scotland in a camper van with her dog, Sybil. She began looking for the local producers she remembered from childhood and realised how difficult they had become to find. The village noticeboards, local magazines and pub conversations that once pointed people in the right direction had been replaced by an online world where, despite all the information available, brilliant local producers were still be remarkably hard to discover. So Kate decided to put them in one place. Produced Near-by is now a UK-wide guide, with farmers, growers and makers able to list themselves for free. Kate also travels around the country meeting producers and finding the people and places she thinks are worth discovering, from small farms and market gardens, to farm stays and unusual experiences. It’s one guide, with four uses - to buy from them, eat their produce, stay with them and learn from them. On occasion, the connections Kate makes lead to ideas of their own… Just like the ‘Pub Pig’ initiative, an incredible idea that connected people across the village - take a listen to find out more! The ‘Pub Pig’ is just one of the lovely examples of what Kate is trying to make easier - not just finding good produce, but finding the people behind it and creating a connection that might not otherwise have happened. There are plenty of lessons in Emma and Kate’s conversation for anyone building something of their own, too. Kate talks about being on her third version of the Produced Near-by website, learning to stop waiting for perfection and, perhaps most importantly, getting out and talking to the people she is trying to help rather than assuming she knows what they need. They talk about finding your niche, knowing where your time is best spent and learning, the hard way, that looking after yourself has to be part of building a business that lasts. A very CWG conversation. And her advice for buying local is wonderfully simple: just switch one thing… Listen to this week’s episode wherever you get your podcasts and hear more about Kate’s journey, the people she has discovered along the way, and what she has learnt from building Produced Near-by. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

Some of you will know me as Emma from Countrywoman’s Guide, but in my day job, I’m MD of Hiho Silver, I run Dimpsey Somerset (shepherd huts on our farm), I do the business development and marketing for Blackdown Shepherd Huts (who build beautiful shepherd huts) and I also mentor another growing hospitality business. As a family, we also have a farm business that our eldest son and his girlfriend are starting, so for him I am currently website designer and marketeer. We have a second son who has just graduated and lots of dogs, cats and various farm animals. I know it sounds a lot, but in the middle of all of this, I also manage to find some time for myself. But it hasn’t always been like this, I worked up until eight days after our first son was due (he arrived two days later - what was I thinking of?), I was back at work for my first Board meeting ten days after having a Caesarean (utterly stupid of me) and eventually jumped out of my corporate manufacturing job a year after my second son was born, because my long hours meant I wasn’t seeing my boys. Then I started my own business and the hours started creeping up again, but you can’t just stop when you’re establishing your business. So I knew that something had to give, and managing time better was my way of achieving it. But how could I actually do that? I see so many women struggling with this and always feeling like they’re falling short and in the wrong place at the wrong time, running here and there and pleasing nobody, least of all themselves. A lot of the time, these ladies don’t lack capability, but with every single minute of their day filled, they don’t think they have the capacity to change anything. They keep adding things to their lists of things they are responsible for and to make things worse, the voices in their head admonish them and tell them that they’re not doing well enough. So they keep on, keeping on and the situation gets worse and feels even more overwhelming. The continuation of that story is often burnout and having hit that wall early in my career, I know that is not a good place to be. So I developed a way of working that lets me live my life alongside running my businesses and have some time for me. This is why we always introduce our podcast as helping you to live life well and do business better, because my life mantra is that both are possible - they’re not mutually exclusive statements. At times, the life bit takes priority over the business and at other times it’s the other way round, but work/life integration works. But you have to be disciplined enough to take the time to change the way you work. I’m sharing the behind the scenes of how to move towards working like this with our paid members, and in today’s podcast I share some of those tips with you too. We start with making sure that you are spending time where it matters and adding value when you spend your time on something. Again, having the time to delegate even small jobs, seems like an impossibility sometimes, so in our group, we talk about how you can make that work, sharing tips and ideas. Then, over the next few months, we’re going to get clear on your values as a decision making tool, the importance of knowing where you’re going and how to focus on getting there, as well as actually harvesting the money your business ideas. If this sounds like it would be helpful to you too, then please do join us by hitting the subscribe button below and upgrading to our paid membership. If it’s not for you at the moment, then take a listen to this podcast as I’m sure you’ll find it helpful in some way or another. As always, thank you for reading and thank you for listening. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

As we find ourselves midway through September and settling into the rhythms of the month, we wanted to take a moment to look ahead at the last quarter of the year and share with you three suggestions for how you can make the last few months of 2026 brilliant ones. This stage of the year can often feel just as daunting as the beginning. You find yourself looking back at the things you haven’t ticked off your list yet, wondering where the year has gone, mourning summer’s long evenings and warmer days, while also starting to dread the inevitable wind, rain and shorter days heading your way. It can be very easy to look at September as the point where the year starts running out. But what if you looked at it differently? This episode explores ways of enjoying the last quarter of the year and taking the load off as we approach the busy time of Christmas. Why not join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Photography credits: Jake Eastham, Kate Cullen, Rachel Collins, Matt Sweeting Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

Here at CWG, we’ve had a busy old few weeks. With visits to the Game Fair and Defender Burghley Horse Trials and the launch of our Countrywoman paid membership, it doesn’t feel like our feet have touched the ground really. The Game Fair is one of our favourite events and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Clear Scribbles, Charlotte Hurst and I went up on the day for Friday and it totally lived up to its reputation as a proper country day out. We’ve got a post coming up covering it in more detail very soon and have secured podcast dates to share some great brands we discovered. Burghley Horse Trials is one of the premier events of the Equestrian Eventing calendar, with its elite 5* eventing competition and an extensive shopping village. Charlotte and I went up to Stamford for a few days to see all the action. It’s always a treat to be there with our Hiho Silver stand, and getting to see all the horses and competitors up close when Hiho judges at the Fairfax & Favor Best dressed at the First trot-up. On August 5th, we launched our Countrywoman paid membership. It’s something we’ve talked about for some time, and hitting 50 podcasts recently really spurred us on. Our intent for the meeting was to invite you to pull up a chair at our virtual kitchen table, (it’s very much come as you are), and start creating a Community of like-minded business women, Women juggling a lot, getting it wrong sometimes, getting it right sometimes and often feeling that they’re never quite in the right place - guilt trips about being at work and missing out on family life, then going home and having a guilt trip about not being at work! We’re going to be meeting up once a month for an hour online and are hatching plans to meet up in real life at Countrywoman events. It’s all about creating a group of women who look out for, support and cheer for each other. Women who want to run a business that fits their life, that they can be ambitious about, but then still have the time to enjoy their lives and their families. For the record, it doesn’t matter how experienced you are, it’s always daunting starting something new. Over the years I’ve learnt to go into groups I’m facilitating with a topic and knowledge that I want to share, but then to be brave enough to let the room take over, and the ladies who joined the Community didn’t let me down. I was there to go through my ADD Time Method, it’s a system that helps you free up some time in your busy days, and then look at how we can use that time usefully to add value or joy into our days. But once we were all on the same page for the possibilities of creating more time for ourselves, the conversation in the room opened up so much wisdom and gradually, through their own supportive comments and ideas, the ladies in the room helped each other come to realise that often they were the blocks to their own liberation. We talked about why “nobody will do it as well as me” keeps so many of us doing things we shouldn’t still be doing. About the difference between something being done our way and being done perfectly well by somebody else. About how doing something quicker because we came up with a better system often leads us to think we should charge less for it, rather than realising we can add more value for our client if we’re not spending hours doing tasks that don’t really add value. Above everything else, the power of the women in the room meant that we all left that call feeling a little bit less lonely and a lot more supported. It was a really uplifting and insightful session, I cover all this and more in the podcast so please do take a listen when you have a moment. Join our growing Community of women who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. If you’re interested in more information about our Countrywoman Membership, take a look at our post explaining all about here. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

We asked the CWG team a question this week. What are the best words of encouragement you’ve ever been given? Why? Because today is National Encouragement Day. A bit cliché, we know, but it also feels like a rather good excuse to stop for a moment and think about something we believe in all year round. Encouragement can come in all sorts of forms. It might be someone giving you the confidence to just go for it, a nudge when you’ve found yourself stuck, or simply a reminder that you’re actually doing a pretty good job (even when you’re struggling to believe it yourself). We’ve all experienced the difference a few well-chosen words of encouragement can make. The funny thing about encouragement is that we often don’t realise just how much the words we hear can stay with us. A sentence said in passing can become something you come back to years later, right at the moment you need it most, or at a time when someone else needs to hear them to. So, in honour of this day and the reminder it’s given us of the power of encouragement, we asked the women behind CWG to share the words that have stayed with them. Emma “Boldness has a genius and magic to it, whatever you can do or dream, you can do. Begin it now.” Emma’s quote comes from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and, although the wording may be slightly paraphrased, it’s one she has carried with her since she was around 19. There’s something very Emma about that idea of simply beginning. Not waiting until everything is perfectly lined up or you feel completely ready, but having the boldness to take the first step and see where it leads. If you listen to our podcasts, it’s a belief of Emma’s that you’ll notice popping up quite regularly. It’s clearly a sentiment that has stayed with her for a very long time. Rachel “If I dismiss the ordinary while waiting for the special, the extreme or the extraordinary to happen, I may just miss my life.” Rachel is not particularly drawn to the endless stream of national days that seem to fill the calendar, although she’ll happily get behind the more unusual ones! Her feeling is that encouragement and celebration are at their best when they happen naturally, not because the calendar tells us we should do it. A kind word on an ordinary Tuesday can mean every bit as much as one attached to a particular day. That feels rather relevant here. National Encouragement Day might give us a reason to talk about encouragement today, but there’s really no reason it needs to stop there. There is plenty to be said for noticing the ordinary moments too, and remembering that they matter. Rachel’s words are a lovely reminder of that. A reminder of not being so busy waiting for the big moments that we miss the good things happening in the everyday ones. Jess “Anyone can promise you the stars, but only you can reach them.” Jess admits this one is a little cheesy. But it’s also one she has never forgotten. A PE teacher at school said it to her, and over the years it has become a reminder that other people can encourage you, believe in you and tell you that you can do something until they’re blue in the face, but ultimately, you’re the one who has to get up and do it. It’s a very useful and important distinction don’t you think? Encouragement can give you the nudge, the confidence or the belief, but nobody else can take the steps for you. Charlotte “If it was easy, everyone would do it.” Charlotte’s is probably the simplest of the four and perhaps not quite as profound as some of the others! It’s something her parents have said to her throughout her life, at times of trivial teenage tantrums over homework, to university, jobs and plenty of other moments when things have felt difficult. It’s even a phrase she’s reminded herself of when out riding the horses. What Charlotte likes about it is that it doesn’t try to tell you that something isn’t hard. Quite the opposite. Instead, it acknowledges that sometimes things are hard but that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong, and it certainly doesn’t mean you should give up. You're just doing something that requires a little extra effort and brain power. A quote of few words, but a reminder that there’s nothing particularly unusual about finding things difficult. You just have to keep having a go. Encouragement - it’s not reserved for just one day Our team’s quotes are all very different, but there’s a common thread running through them. Encouragement is about giving someone the confidence to begin, reminding them to acknowledge what’s already in front of them, and sometimes it’s a gentle nudge that says you’re the one who has to do this. These reminders are a big part of what we’re creating here at Countrywoman’s Guide. We want CWG to be a community that encourages one another. A place to ask a question, share an idea, have a wobble, celebrate something that’s gone brilliantly, or simply hear from someone who has been there before. You don’t need to be a paid member to be part of that. Our wider community is here every day, and we hope that encouragement is something we all give and receive naturally along the way. For our members though, they’re part of our inner circle if you will. A circle that gives you a little more. You become part of a group that you can turn to when you need a second opinion, a bit of advice, a cheer from the sidelines or just someone who understands what you’re juggling. A group we could benefit from. So yes, we’ll happily make the most of National Encouragement Day. We’re just not planning to stop when the day is over. Perhaps that’s the nicest thing we can take from it… you never really know when a few words might be exactly what someone else needs to hear. Over on our Instagram today we’re inviting our community to share their favourite words of encouragement, we’d love you to be a part of it too. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business.. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

What happens when an agriculture graduate decides she doesn’t want to be a farmer, dreams up a fabric business, gets turned down for funding… and ends up becoming a full-time artist instead? Well, you get Tilly Lock Art. This week on the Countrywoman’s Guide podcast, Emma sits down with Tilly Lock to talk about the rather unexpected route that took her from studying agriculture and working in interior design to building a creative business of her own. Tilly had always loved art and design, but it wasn’t initially the plan. After university, she started working for an interior designer and began developing an idea for a fabric business, combining UK-made fabrics with sourced and repurposed antiques. The problem? Getting fabric made in the UK required a much bigger initial investment than the funding available to her. So, while trying to bridge that gap, Tilly started selling a few art prints she had originally made for friends. One thing led to another, her Instagram took off, and the art prints gradually became the business. Just a year and a half later, she has gone from selling prints at £20 village fairs to exhibiting at Badminton and preparing for some of the biggest Christmas shows in the country. But, as we talk about in the episode, that growth hasn’t exactly been a straight line. Tilly talks honestly about the reality of building a business while working part-time, training for a marathon and trying to keep everything moving. We talk about burnout, learning to say no, knowing when to invest in the next stage of growth and the slightly daunting realisation that your business has outgrown your parents’ living room. We also get into one of the less talked-about challenges for creative businesses: copying. Tilly shares what it feels like to see your work reproduced by someone else, the difficulty of protecting creative work and why, ultimately, she has had to learn to stay in her own lane and keep creating. There’s plenty of practical wisdom in the conversation too, from the value of having a mentor to learning how to do things yourself before handing them over to someone else. And perhaps one of the biggest takeaways is that you don’t need to have the whole thing figured out before you begin. Tilly certainly didn’t. She followed an opportunity, tested an idea, learned as she went and built something that now looks very different from where she thought she was heading. It’s an honest conversation about building something of your own, learning as you go and having the confidence to keep moving forward when the path changes underneath you. Listen to the full episode with Tilly Lock here. 💚 Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

On Monday 17th August, we held our first CWG Community Zoom, and the following Thursday evening we landed in your inbox with a brief insight into just what our Membership Community could offer you. On today’s Podcast and through this article, we’re exploring the membership even further. Diving deeper into its offerings, and shining a light on the discussions we had during our call. Monday was simply an opportunity for those who have been following along with Countrywoman’s Guide to hear more about what we’re creating through our newly launched membership and, perhaps most importantly, a chance for us to discover what you would like the Countrywoman’s Guide Community to become. It was a rich conversation full of discussions about business, but also about finding your people, wanting somewhere to ask questions without feeling silly, and the simple value of having people around you who understand. It was the kind of conversation we see at the heart of CWG time and time again, and demonstrated exactly what we want to encapsulate in our community. Finding your people Running or working within a rural business can be brilliant, but it can also be complicated, lonely, exhausting, and at times, completely overwhelming. The response to our article last Friday and discussions had on Monday really cemented this for us. There’s often many decisions to be made, things you’re unsure of how to manage, and days when you wonder if any of your ideas are actually going to work. Whilst our friends and family can be wonderfully supportive during these times, there’s something refreshing about being able to ask a group of people “Has anyone else dealt with this? How did you tackle it?” and do so knowing that someone in the group probably has, and will be able to help. On Monday, Elaine talked to us about wanting a wider circle of people to call on across all the different parts of country life, from business questions all the way through to canine and equine ones. Jess spoke about how moving away from home has meant she’s needed to build a new network around her, and how valuable it has been to be surrounded by people who have “been there, done it and understand you.” It’s that last bit that’s really important to us. Our membership isn’t trying to create a community where everyone is at the same stage, doing the same thing or even has the same ambitions. Quite the opposite. Instead, it’s a place for different ages, experiences, businesses and lives to gather and share. You’ll be amazed how talking to someone who understands your way of life can offer you a different perspective on the question that’s been keeping you awake. Often, you’ll already have the answer but just need a little confidence boost, sometimes it may lie in someone further along their journey, or perhaps you just need a younger fresh set of eyes to see it from a different angle. As Emma put it during our conversation,“Your obvious might be someone else’s amazing” and that feels like a rather good principle for a community. One we want to honour. Monthly Monday Masterclasses The Membership community isn’t just about having people to talk to, we also want to give you some dedicated time to step away from working in your business, to work on it instead. On the first Monday of every month we will gather online with our paid members for a one-hour Business Masterclass with Emma and invited guests. They will be practical, useful sessions covering a range of topics from business values to seasonal living. One thing we can assure you is that these masterclasses won’t become just another addition to that list of things you should be doing. We’ll be taking your lead on the subjects most useful to you, making sure each one offers you maximum knowledge value. So please do let us know what would be useful for you - pop us an email at [email protected] or send us a DM on Instagram. Our first six sessions are already in the making and will be covering the following topics: September: Time HacksLet’s start as we mean to go on and find you some extra time. October: ValuesYou’ll be amazed at how useful understanding your values can be as a decision making tool - regularly saving you time and worry. November: Non-Hustle Business GrowthLet’s talk about how we can harness seasonal thinking so that running your business becomes a little more effective and a lot less pressured. December: Christmas Wrapping and ChattingA gentler session for an already busy time of year. A chance to get the bulk of your wrapping done while sharing any last minute gift ideas, seasonal tips and delicious festive recipes. Let’s come together and share ways to make Christmas a little easier on ourselves. January: VisionIt’s an oldie but a goodie. A clear vision of where you’re going can make moving forwards so much easier. As part of January’s Vision theme, we will be running a paid in person Vision Workshop Day, (see below for the full details). Ten spaces will be available, with our members getting early access to tickets and 10% off the price. February: FocusWith January being spent dreaming up and pinning down the vision, February will be spent turning this dream into an action plan. We do this because the actual doing is where the revenue is - dreams without actions stay in the clouds. March: Member ShareWe will be reaching the six-month mark for our CWG Membership Masterclasses, and we want to use it as an opportunity to learn more about you and the community we have built in that time. You will have the chance to share your wisdom, and we’d love for two of our members to lead part of this session. Our monthly Masterclasses will be recorded for anyone who can’t make the live call, but being there gives you the chance to ask questions, contribute to the conversation and get to know the other members so we’ll always encourage you to join them if possible. Gathering around the table - for real! As much as we love a Zoom call, there was one thing that came through very clearly on Monday - we want to meet in-person, too. There’s something about gathering people around a table that a screen simply can’t replicate so, alongside our online community, we’ll be creating opportunities to get together throughout the year. We’ll be hosting leisurely lunches, meet-ups at events up and down the country, alongside focused business strategy days. While these events will be open to all in the Countrywoman’s Guide Community, our members will get first access to these events, and receive 10% off the ticket price. We’re already planning our first few events… * Cotswold Meet Up When: 7th of October, time TBC. Where: Specific location TBC, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire Details: We’re up in the Cotswolds on the 7th meeting a wonderful rural brand, we’ll be stopping for lunch afterwards (we’ll let you know a date and location nearer the time) and would love for some of you to come and join us? * Countrywoman’s Guide Lunch When: 17th of November, 12pm - 2pm Where: South Somerset, near Taunton (specific location given when you buy your ticket) Details: An opportunity for our Community to gather in person around our very own kitchen table. A long lunch full of good food, good company and authentic conversations. This event will be limited to just ten tickets, with members getting early access to purchase. If all spaces are not snapped up by our members, our free community will then have the opportunity to purchase them. * January Vision Workshop Day When: 14th of January, 10am-4pm Where: South Somerset, near Taunton (specific location given when you buy your ticket) Details: Join us for a full day around the table at Emma’s farm to create a work/life vision that will guide you throughout the year. We will be cutting, pasting, and assembling vision a board for you to take away, but more importantly we’ll be working on how to juggle those work and life priorities so you can approach things in a different way. Lashings of cake, lunch and ginger beer will obviously be consumed and you’ll be chatti… Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

So here we are. I’ve switched on the Paid Membership for Countrywoman’s Guide, quietly and without a lot of fanfare, because we want you to have the space to decide if we’re the right group for you, rather than we hustle you in and you realise we’re not. I’ve chatted in the video above about why we’re doing what we do, and how we believe that a group with a mutual aim of helping each other to move forward can help you in your day-to-day lives. So what’s going to be included in your membership? We’ll be having a one hour call per month where we will work on some of the things that I have been helping individual businesses with over the past few years. We’ll start off by looking at getting you committed to your vision and what you want to be doing, then we’ll do a session on focusing on getting that done. There will be zoom sessions where we work on you and how you cope with what you’re doing, as well as fun things like cooking and making time for you. We’ll also be doing some more practical business sessions on things like trademarks, legals, understanding your finances, substack skills and all sorts of other useful topics to help you run your business better. You will also get first access to our events - we’re going to set up a schedule for lunches and joint working days - where you can literally come and pull a chair up at our table and we’ll work through things together. As a paid member you will get a discount code that you can use on these events. That’s the bones of what’s involved - the key thing for us is building a community that is supportive, that you can learn from in a way that helps you feel less lonely as you build your business. Once you have signed up on Substack, you can just receive everything in your emails, so don’t worry if you don’t want to do anything on Substack. As already stated, the podcasts that we currently do will continue to be available to everyone, as it’s really important to us that everyone gets to hear the wisdom that our interviewees pass on during their interview. The paid tier is for you if you are looking for extra business support and community or you wish to support Countrywoman’s Guide in our mission to help rural businesses. As always, please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Thank you. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

Some businesses begin with a five-year plan, months of arranging, organising and every fall back plan put in place before they even begin. Others begin with a couple of suitcases full of jackets. And that is more or less how the amazing Peshawar Jackets came about. The business was born from a connection between Pakistan and the British countryside, when founder Bertie Alexander returned from running riding holidays in the Hindukush Mountains with beautiful Chitrali-style jackets they quickly attracted attention from everyone who saw them. Lucy joined the business almost by accident, bringing with her 25 years of experience in the events sector. Alongside Bertie and her son Jonty, she has helped turn this initial idea into a growing business, while learning plenty along the way herself. We talk about what it is like to build a business across generations, and the rather wonderful exchange of skills that happens when experience and enthusiasm sit around the same kitchen table. An episode with plenty of business conversation, but also a resounding message about taking the skills you already have and being brave enough to use them somewhere new. And perhaps most importantly, Lucy talks about why she thinks it is worth starting a business later in life - and why there is no need to rush the process of building one. It’s a conversation about people, patience and finding out what happens when you give an idea room to grow. Listen to the full episode of the Countrywoman’s Guide Podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts. Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe

There’s a lot more to Chapman than just making very good bags, as we discovered when we first met Cedric at Badminton Horse Trials in the early May of this year. What began as simply admiring the quality and craftsmanship of the products on their stand, grew into an inspiring conversation around building a business that cares deeply about their values, materials, quality and customer experience. Not only was it a new brand that we wanted to introduce to our Countrywoman’s Guide community, but also a story we had knew we wanted to explore further and share with you. So join us on today’s podcast as we talk to Cedric Stonex, owner of Chapman Bags. Chapman began in 1984, and Cedric has worked his way through almost every part of the business before becoming its owner in 2019. Today, the business continues to grow, but the principles behind it remain firmly in place. Cedric takes us through his journey in the business, the uncertainties he’s faced along the way, and shares why and how Chapman’s strong brand values inform each business decision he makes. We also talk about the less visible but equally crucial sides of running a business, from the responsibility that comes with employing people, to having the patience to build something with true longevity and the making of decisions when the safer option isn’t necessarily the right one. It’s a listen that we know will resonate with so many of you, and offer you reassurance as you navigate your own business’s. You can listen to the full conversation now, wherever you get your podcasts. If would like to keep with Chapman, you can find their website here, and their Instagram here. Photography Credits: Team Chapman & Barney Curran Join our growing Community of people who value building a business that fits your life, rather than a life that fits in round your business. Get full access to A Countrywoman’s Guide to Work and Life at countrywomansguide.substack.com/subscribe