Turning Setbacks into Success with Georgia Williams

‘Why am I trying to fit into a version of who people say I should be?

If they're always going to have their own opinion based upon what they make that up to be or what they see and they judge that, then I literally can't do anything to win people over.’

Georgia Williams

[00:00:05.380] - Lucy Critchley

Life is a series of chapters. Some we write and others are written for us. But what happens when we reach a turning point? Welcome to Untold Chapters with me, Lucy Critchley. In this podcast, we'll explore the real-life stories behind those pivotal moments, the heartbreak, triumphs, and decisions that changed everything. These are the moments that are sent to challenge us, inspire us, and remind us that we're never alone.

[00:00:34.320] - Lucy Critchley

On this episode of Untold Chapters, I'm joined by Georgia Williams, the founder of Ray of Social. After facing redundancy, Georgia turned a challenging situation into an opportunity by launching her own business during the pandemic. Her story is one of resilience, creativity, and adaptability.

[00:00:54.060] - Lucy Critchley

Today, Georgia reflects on how moments of uncertainty shaped her path from an appearance on a national talent competition to the challenges and triumphs of creating her own business.

[00:01:08.380] - Lucy Critchley

Hi, G. Thanks for joining us on the podcast. I really appreciate you taking the time to come and tell me about your story. I think the whole premise of this podcast is that there are those moments in our lives that we don't really expect to happen and they change things. I would love for you to share what that story was for you.

[00:01:29.200] - Georgia Williams

Okay. So I have worked in marketing for, I think it's eleven-ish. I say 'ish' because I never quite remember when I started. Eleven-ish years. But I previously worked in all sorts of careers, like as a barmaid, in call centres. And I just always felt like one of those people that was a bit like a floater.

[00:01:50.340] - Georgia Williams

They could just float about and do a bit of everything as long as it was interesting and not too analytical. I was interested in just seeing if I could give it a go. So I never really had any career aspirations. I never even had a drive to have a career, really, at all. I just became really interested in social media.

[00:02:12.650] - Georgia Williams

Loved Instagram, Instagram through and through, girl since the beginning. I was the original avocado toast poster back in the day. Shameful to admit, but I was. And I was just so intrigued by these images, these pictures, this aesthetic that Instagram offered. And I just always love the app. Started working in it, just voluntary for a couple of charities and also my own music work and things like that. Got really interested. Then decided if I'm going to have a career, I'd love to have a career in marketing.

[00:02:46.260] - Georgia Williams

So did some qualifications, obviously got on the long journey to trying to find a job in marketing at entry level, which pays absolutely nothing to begin with. So, climbed my way up a little bit. Worked in-house, worked for agency side. Obviously, this is a brief synopsis of my entire career of 11 years. And then during the pandemic, I was made or put on furlough, but then made redundant.

[00:03:13.430] - Georgia Williams

And I just said to my husband at the time, I don't know what to do. Should I continue working in marketing and try and find another job? Obviously, we're in uncertain times. Don't know what that would look like. Because I have this thing that I feel like I can always make money doing whatever. There's so many ways in this world to be able to make money. You could sell your pants, sell pictures of your feet. The possibilities are literally endless.

[00:03:38.190] - Lucy Critchley

They are, yeah

[00:03:38.730] - Georgia Williams

I kept saying to myself, I can always make money in this world. I can always make money to live and to feed my family, to pay my mortgage or whatever. So I wasn't worried about what that looked like. I just was like, I just obviously need to make something so that I can pay my bills.

[00:03:53.280] - Georgia Williams

And my husband said, 'Well, it's up to you. I'll support you'. He was still in a paid position. So I was very fortunate to obviously have that wage coming in. I had a bit of furlough money left over, and then we made redundant, so I had a bit of redundancy money as well. So I was like, 'Okay, feels like the right time'.

[00:04:11.190] - Georgia Williams

One of my really good friends who has a very successful company. I sent her a message and I was like, I don't know what to do. And she replied saying, When are we setting up your own company then? And I was like, 'No'. I was like, 'No, no, no, not for me'. I don't want to do that. And she just was like, 'I wasn't asking if'. I was saying, 'When are you doing this?' And I'd done some freelance work for her in the past. She'd given me a lot of opportunities. I just felt like she was my champion anyway, whether or not I was good. So I was like, 'Oh, maybe I don't know'. Then Ray Of Social was born. From that conversation, I went back, said to my husband, 'I'm going to set up my own business'.

[00:04:54.440] - Georgia Williams

And he obviously was supportive, but obviously concerned as well at the same time because 'You want to do what in a pandemic?' Of course you do. You are Georgia. So here we go. And yeah, it will be four years this year that I'll have been in business. So crazy time.

[00:05:14.070] - Lucy Critchley

It's a similar length for me as well. I feel like this is the job that I've had the longest. This is my longest role, I suppose. And I think there's something about the variety of it and getting to be your own boss and that freedom that just means that I think no two days are the same, are they? And I think I'm learning the person that I am. It made such a difference to how I communicate, the work I take on, the people that I want to work with. And I don't think I would have had that in a traditional employed position.

[00:05:51.330] - Georgia Williams

And I think also when I first became a freelancer, I had this impression that I just had to do everything. I was like, whatever brings the money in, that was my main focus. I just said to my husband, I just want to make, I think it was like £800 a month so I can cover my mortgage. That was my only focus because I knew that as long as I could pay that, my husband could help out with food, food and a roof, that's much what you need initially. Everything else we can cancel or delay payments or whatever. But those two things, I was like, I need to pay those things. So that was my intention.

[00:06:24.090] - Georgia Williams

And I just wanted anything. I was like, I'm just going to do this. I'm just going to do that, whatever. And I found I got to a place where I was like, you know what? I don't like half the stuff that I have to do for this. I was under that impression that as a freelance marketer, a social media marketer, you just had to do whatever was being put on your desk because I'd obviously worked in an agency and that's what I was always given.

[00:06:50.290] - Georgia Williams

'We've got this client, can you do this?' And I didn't have as much initiative as I now found myself with as a freelancer. And it did take me maybe 18 months to two years to really bed into the freelancer journey and think, actually, this is what I like about what I do every day, and this is the bit I enjoy the most, and could I explore niching into that part or is that something that would work for me? Do I love every aspect of it? And it wasn't until that time that I actually made the pivot from offering a full-rounded social media marketing service to just creating content and focussing on Canva graphics and creating content for people instead.

[00:07:33.000] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah. And so what was that moment that made you realise, Oh, I could just do this bit that I love the most?

[00:07:40.770] - Georgia Williams

I'd love to say it was something profound, but I was on holiday and I'd had a few two many pina coladas! And I just sat there thinking, I don't think I want to do this.

[00:07:53.630] - Lucy Critchley

That's amazing.

[00:07:54.620] - Georgia Williams

So, yeah, it wasn't anything profound, but I knew that I wanted to scale and I knew that I wanted to travel. And those two things don't always come hand in hand. I am a mum. I've got an eight-year-old, so I know that travelling, I can't be a hermit and go across the world and leave her, just yet. I have to wait till she's a bit older. But I wanted a business that fit around me being able to travel and work while I was travelling and not have those commitments of having to be on social media, having to check someone's account or having to schedule something in real time and post it. And I knew that I wasn't able to do that in its current format. So that was the motivation behind. Obviously, Pina Coladas is how I make my business decisions.

[00:08:41.250] - Lucy Critchley

Well, they are yellowish.

[00:08:42.730] - Georgia Williams

Well, exactly. On brand.

[00:08:46.130] - Lucy Critchley

So I'm curious. Have you always been a quote 'creative person'? Because I know, like we follow each other on social media and I always see that you're doodling away or you're making really fun, joyful reels and things. Is that who you've always been?

[00:09:02.370] - Georgia Williams

I would say it's who I've been the longest. I think as a person, we have so many different versions of ourselves, don't we? From being a child to an adult, and obviously we change And there was a time in my life when I wasn't very confident. I didn't want to ever be outspoken. I was a very quiet person, if you can even ever believe that. I know it's hard to believe, but I just wasn't sure of who I was. I didn't really love who I was. I was very happy to hide in the corner, didn't really do anything public, never would put my face anywhere. I just didn't have that confidence. So there was a version of me that was that version. And if I'd have told that version 10, 15 years ago, you'll be making content where you dance like a lemon and do all sorts of stuff. I'd have been like, that's somebody else you are talking about. That is not me. So yeah, I think I've probably always been this person deep down, but it took a while to dig her out and get it to the surface.

[00:09:59.880] - Lucy Critchley

Do you mind me asking what that catalyst was from you coming more out of your shell to being more confident?

[00:10:08.000] - Georgia Williams

Yeah, I think there's been a couple of things over the years that have happened, but recently, or the most recent one, about 10-ish years ago, and I was on a TV programme and had such a public reaction to me being on a TV show that made me just think, actually people dislike me for what they see whether that's me or not.

[00:10:32.010] - Georgia Williams

Why am I trying to fit into a version of who people say I should be? If they're always going to have their own opinion based upon what they make that up to be or what they see and they judge that, then I literally can't do anything to win people over. And it just gave me a real comfort. Of course, it was not very nice time to go through, but it gave me that comfort to know that the only person that matters, that thinks about me, is me. As long as I like me and I think you're a kind person, you're a nice person, you're a decent person, you've got good intentions, then that's what matters. We all make mistakes, of course we do. I'm not saying I'm perfect and everything else, but it just gave me that confidence to go, This is who I am.

[00:11:12.140] - Georgia Williams

And you know what? I love dancing in my office with no one else here to tell me I'm rubbish. I love dancing all the time. I love everything yellow. It is my life. It's what I live. And so that felt true and authentic to me. If people don't like it, that's okay as well. You're all allowed your own opinion. And that's what makes this world so diverse, isn't it? The fact that we've all got different preferences and things.

[00:11:35.330] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah, that's it. And to your point, you cannot be all things to all people. And I'm 35 now, and it's probably taken me the past four years or so. I think for me, it's been since becoming a parent. All of your own things are really laid bare, aren't they? When you have a kid and you're like, oh, right, why do I do that? Why do I act that way? Why do I react like that? Or whatever it is. It's quite comforting, isn't it? For you to realise that person that you're trying to be for other people is not an authentic version.

[00:12:10.940] - Georgia Williams

Yeah. We're looking at the generation before us as well sometimes, aren't we? And we think if we didn't have a parent who was openly able to express who they were, even though you as a kid are like, 'Oh, my mum should be like this, or she should be like this'. When you grow up, you think, 'Actually, this is who I am, and I want my child to embrace whoever they are, whatever that looks like'. But how can they do that if you're not living your best version or you're not able to just say, 'Yeah, you know what? Let's dance in the kitchen. I don't care. This is what I do'. And you want to encourage them to do that as well.

[00:12:42.150] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah, this is it. There's definitely so much stuff isn't there from your parents' generation or your friends and their parents. We are definitely a kitchen disco family, but it was absolutely not a thing when I was a kid. So I couldn't imagine my mam getting her groove on to a kitchen disco. I just couldn't imagine it at all.

[00:13:09.330] - Lucy Critchley

Whereas- She missed out. She did miss out because... This is terrible, but my memories of my memories of my mam when I was a kid and music were that she loved Tom Jones. She quite fancied Tom Jones. She loved Robbie Williams, and she loved Take That. I get it. People love that kind of thing, I'm not going to say anything else.

[00:13:32.760] - Lucy Critchley

But we just have the radio on and we have some music on or whatever. And whatever it is, we're chatting about it or we're dancing about it. But she used to put that on to do the ironing. It was a very different. It was a very different vibe for me as a kid. And I think actually, I don't know what it was like for you, but I think being a bit more loose and more willing now to let myself go a bit and have a bit more fun makes me a kinderu nicer parent.

[00:14:06.390] - Georgia Williams

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, my family is very creative. My mum and dad are both creative people. Musical, my mum's really crafty They always had art projects on the go. Growing up, we moved a lot. So as we moved, it would be we'd have boxes, but we'd always get the craft stuff out first or the projects would go first. And they'd be around. Drying in a corner would be something all hung up or whatever.

[00:14:30.530] - Georgia Williams

So we were around that quite a bit, and we did have that freedom to express yourself, but it wasn't anybody will accept you. And I think back in that day and age, the world wasn't as accepting as it might be now. It wasn't as liberal. So it might be okay to... We had a lot of music growing up in the house, but it was very religious music. So you could express yourself, but within this box, you were allowed to express yourself. So it still was confined, and it wasn't And as free as I would like to think that my house now is. My child was playing the chicken nugget song for about 20 million times the other day.

[00:15:09.060] - Georgia Williams

I only danced to it twice, and then I'm like, 'We're done now'. But there's more opportunities for her to express what that looks like for her.

[00:15:18.190] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah. On that, creativity within your family, your daughter and your husband and stuff, what's that like? Do you make time for crafts? Do you draw? What's that for you all?

[00:15:31.580] - Georgia Williams

So it's interesting because my husband is an opposite person to me in terms that he's not really creative and he struggles with that a little bit. It's a good balance for me because obviously there's no competition because he's not bothered if I want to dance and stuff like that. But it also really grounds me as well, because if I come to him with an idea and creatives can go off on a tangent, right? So we're like, 'Oh, and this, and this, and this'. And he's like, 'Okay, what does the budget look like? What's the ROI?' He brings me back to the KPIs.

[00:16:03.920] - Georgia Williams

So I'm like, 'All right, okay'. And it helps my brain a little bit. But when I had my little girl, I was like, I don't want to push her into being creative because I am. And I also, unfortunately, I'm aware that creative industries are not very well paid. They tend to be underfunded and undervalued as well. And that was always a concern of my parents growing up for me because I was musical. So they were like, 'Yeah, that's great, but what else are you going to do? You could be a singer, but actually you might not earn any money'.

[00:16:34.700] - Georgia Williams

My dad is a musician, and he's had to have another avenue of work as well to be able to survive. It was a tried and tested thing of you can be a musician, but you have to do something else because no one values musicians unless you're famous and everything else. So I have that in the back of my head quite naturally thinking, I just want my little girl to do whatever she wants to do, but please just make her able to live comfortably.

[00:17:00.690] - Georgia Williams

But actually, she's a little bit of both, of me and my husband, I would say she's sometimes creative. She loves music and dancing and singing, and she's always very theatrical. But then she'll also sit down and do something really mathematical. She likes science. She does have a balance at the moment. I think for me, it's wherever that goes, it goes. I want to encourage her, but in both ways, she started doing hand chimes, which I know is very niche.

[00:17:27.720] - Lucy Critchley

That's interesting.

[00:17:28.510] - Georgia Williams

But she did it at...Yeah, she did it at school. She was like, Mum, I really want to do hand chimes out of school. Then when I looked, I realised that she was thinking about the notes, so it's still in that analytical way of being creative.

[00:17:43.710] - Georgia Williams

And I found that really fascinating. In that she's merged the two. So yeah, she does that. I think there's a little bit of both. There's a bit of creativity, but then there's also the other side in her.

[00:17:52.890] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah. And I know we've talked about this a little bit already with your musical talents and stuff. Did you think that when you were younger, was your aim to be a professional singer? I know you do that as well as this, running Ray Of Social, but when you were younger, was it like, When I grow up, I'm going to be a singer? Or did you have other aspirations?

[00:18:13.770] - Georgia Williams

Not really, which I know is awful to say

[00:18:17.430] - Lucy Critchley

It's not awful at all

[00:18:18.270] - Georgia Williams

Because I am now doing that and I love it, and I do love it. I was very much presented with the struggles of being a full-time musician and grew up as a child of two musicians. So It always felt like something nice to be able to do and something that I find really joyous. And every time I sing, I absolutely love it, and I feel like it's that great release.

[00:18:41.490] - Georgia Williams

But I've never really had any plans to be famous or have that as a career. I think it's actually a very hard career to have. I know that lots of people think, oh, you're going to be touring the world. It's very lonely. You can be on your own quite a bit. You have late hours. You have a lot of dedication that nobody really sees. There's a lot of pressures that come with that. I think I didn't really like the idea of somebody else telling me what my journey would look like, as I know that you have record labels that say you have to sing this. I was like, there's too much. It stifled creativity there.

[00:19:15.970] - Georgia Williams

It was never really a focus of mine, which is why I was always just floating in between whatever came my way. Worked a little bit in fashion, love that. I was like, Oh, maybe that could be the thing. But I never was hell bent on being a singer, necessarily.

[00:19:31.010] - Lucy Critchley

When you mentioned the TV programme, was that a singing programme that you went on?

[00:19:35.100] - Georgia Williams

Yes, I went on The Voice back in... 2013.

[00:19:39.590] - Lucy Critchley

How did I not know this about you? I didn't know at all. No! I thought you were going to be like, Oh, I was on... I don't know. I don't even know what it was going to be.

[00:19:52.180] - Georgia Williams

I think because it's just been so long ago, I just forget about it or I just think, Yeah, it was a while ago now.

[00:19:59.190] - Lucy Critchley

Oh my God.

[00:19:59.250] - Georgia Williams

I've slept since then.

[00:20:00.210] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah. If you're happy to talk about it, anyway, you might be like, This is a long time ago. But what was the motivation to give that go?

[00:20:11.630] - Georgia Williams

Genuinely, the reason why was because my sister decided to apply for it, and I found out, and I was like, 'Well, I'm the singer in the family. Why is she applying for it? That's not on'. So I applied basically because she had applied, and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm just going to have to give it a go'. I thought to myself, If she gets through and I don't apply, I'm going to be sat on the sofa thinking, 'Well, I wanted to go on. Well, I should have done it and I should have given it a go'. And that was purely the reason why. But I didn't tell anybody because I also thought, what if we both get through or what if one of us doesn't get through? It's one of those things, isn't it? Because it's in your family. And then I just kept getting through. I just kept getting through to the next stage. So my parents and everybody didn't know until it was live on television.

[00:21:00.190] - Lucy Critchley

Wow.

[00:21:01.400] - Georgia Williams

Because I just didn't tell anyone. I was like, 'oh, this is too much'. But yeah, it was a really good time of my life. It was a really good journey that I went on.

[00:21:11.670] - Georgia Williams

It was a great experience, even though it had points in it that I was like, This is intense, and also low points. It was a really good thing to have been able to say I've done. And it also made me realise it's great, but actually the 'fame' thing isn't for me. Thanks very much. I'm going to do this instead. So it was that great decider as well.

[00:21:33.320] - Lucy Critchley

Oh, that's amazing. And I have to ask, how did it go for your sister?

[00:21:36.670] - Georgia Williams

She didn't get through. I know. And the producers said to me, How are you going to tell your sister that you're on this TV programme? And I was like, 'What if I put it on a cake or a cookie or something?' But yeah, I just awkwardly avoided it. And then obviously she found out. And she was absolutely happy and fine. There was no fall out or anything. But I think sometimes we have those things in our lives that we probably know we should do. And unless someone else is doing it or unless we think, well, I should do that, you just never do it. So I'm glad that she was going to go for it because it made me get a move on and sort myself out.

[00:22:19.900] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah. I mean, it's interesting, isn't it? When it comes to bringing it back to business, I didn't tell any of my family or friends that I started my own business until it was well down the line. I'm not even really sure why. Maybe I felt like it was going to be a bit of a... I don't know, like they were going to be... I felt quite cringy about it being really open in that way.

[00:22:43.700] - Lucy Critchley

Like, I've started this new thing. Look at me putting myself out there. I like it's almost easier to do that with strangers that you've met on the Internet than it is to your own family and friends who have genuinely been nothing but supportive. But I think at the time, I remember being like 'No, I can't tell anyone'. Just simply cannot tell anybody. So I get the not saying anything side of it because I think I would probably have acted in a similar way.

[00:23:11.550] - Georgia Williams

I think it makes it real, doesn't it? That's the thing when you think when people know about it, it's a real thing. And sometimes you've not got all the answers figured out in your head as well. So you don't want anybody to ask you any questions. I obviously couldn't say how far I'd got. A lot of it was pre-recorded, so I knew I'd got to a certain stage, and I couldn't say that. So I was thinking, if anybody asks me, I can't lie. So my face is going to give it away.

[00:23:37.610] - Georgia Williams

And I just don't want those awkward questions. I don't want people saying, 'Who turned or what team are you in and what was it like? And give me all the goss'. And it was just too much and it was too overwhelming. And maybe like you with your business, you didn't want people saying, 'Oh, so what's your hopes and dreams? And how is that going to look in five years?' And all those questions that coaches ask you. And you just think, I don't know. And when your family and friends ask you and it's too much.

[00:24:02.200] - Lucy Critchley

That's it. And at that point, you're just putting one foot in front of the other and you're just getting going, aren't you? So you're right in that you do have to manage it in the way that feels right for you in that moment. So, yeah, I totally understand and respect why you would have done that, because I think I would have done the same thing. I just can't believe I didn't know this about you, which just feels absolutely nuts. This is very exciting. And like, well done as well. Look at all these that you've achieved. What really isn't that long a space of time, is it? When you look back on it. So I would love to know when you look back on all those experiences and those Untold Chapters and those pivotal moments in your life, If there were somebody else in a similar situation, what advice would you give them?

[00:24:50.290] - Georgia Williams

Probably to try and find a way to love yourself sooner than later because it is a journey. Obviously, I'm still on that journey, and it's not like, oh, yeah, tick, love myself, next thing. It's not like that. It's every version of yourself. You have to love and every day you're like, okay. I think that that was the turning point for me that made me go, I'm all right. I'm actually okay. I don't need to live up to anything.

[00:25:15.470] - Georgia Williams

And it stops that constant worry that you're not enough or you're thinking, 'Oh, I've got to be this person. I've got to have so many followers or look at them'. You never really know someone's journey, do you? Always what you see is what you compare yourself to. But if you can find way of loving yourself. And the way that I always try and encourage people to do this is start with what you like about yourself and think about it all the time. So well, at the time, I was like, I'm blind. I need glasses. Can't see without them. And I was thinking, should I wear glasses or contacts and tried all sorts of stuff.

[00:25:48.140] - Georgia Williams

And I thought, I don't want to wear boring glasses because I know that I'll wake up and be like, I'm not that person today. I'm a mood dresser, all these different people. So I tried to like that about myself myself and think, what would make me like that about myself even more? And that was, try different frames, try different shapes, different colours, that thing, and find what you like. And I own 42 pairs of glasses, the moral of the story.

[00:26:13.530] - Georgia Williams

But it was something that I like about myself, which made me accept the fact that I need glasses to see. It's not a thing that I can do for fashion. I need them. They help me. And I'm going to embrace that individuality about myself.

[00:26:28.140] - Georgia Williams

And then we go on to, right, what else can we do? Do you like your hair? Do you like anything about you that's kind or your personality and things? And just do that work and that will help you gradually learn to love yourself. But loving me was the moment that I said, 'I'm just going to have the business that I want my way and present myself online who I am'.

[00:26:50.500] - Georgia Williams

I want people to meet me in real life and go, 'You are the same person that I know on Instagram in front of me'. If I can do that, then that's authentic to me and that's genuine. So that makes it all as well.

[00:27:01.690] - Lucy Critchley

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's from one glasses wearer to another. Mine aren't anywhere near as jazzy as yours, but there is definitely a moment when you're in the opticians and you're like, 'These are the pair that are calling to me'.

[00:27:16.380] - Lucy Critchley

I want them to be a further extension of my personality. I've had all sorts of pairs. I'm due new ones in September and I'm already thinking what style I'm going to go for. So I get it. I totally get it. I am so blind that it would cost me a fortune to afford so many pairs. But there is a moment, isn't there, where you're like, these are the ones, and it's like, 'Aahhh, they're calling me'. Absolutely. I have to wear these, bad boys.

[00:27:48.630] - Georgia Williams

And it's not even about them being the most colourful, the most bold and in your face. If you are a person that just loves a pair of black round frames, and that is your personality, and you put them on, they make you feel amazing, that's you still, and that's good. That's what it should be. And I think we miss that point. We always try and look like somebody else or be like somebody else, and then we feel bad about ourselves. And I just think, Why do we do that? So yeah, loving yourself I think has been the moment and the thing that I would say, if I could do that sooner, I feel like I would have got further. But it's fine. We accept where we are. We move still.

[00:28:26.600] - Lucy Critchley

I mean, hindsight is powerful, isn't it? And it helps you to see, 'Oh, maybe I would have acted this way, whatever'. But if anything, that puts you in a good position to be able to offer advice or support if anyone else ever is in that situation. And I suppose on that, what's been the biggest learning for you? Is it that you've had this change of like, no, I'm going to be more myself and love myself more? Or is there something else that's come out of it that's been the one light bulb moment?

[00:28:55.790] - Georgia Williams

Yeah, I think loving yourself was definitely the thing that I knew needed to do and somehow find and get sorted. But I would say that having resilience as marketers and how we present ourselves as brands, I keep coming back to that and I keep thinking Just keep going, G. Be resilient. You know what you want to do is correct. You know it works. It's not a great idea that's never going to amount to anything. You have a strategy. You know what you're doing. You have the experience. You have the skills. Just keep going with it.

[00:29:30.760] - Georgia Williams

Be resilient. Don't listen to people that are saying, 'Oh, why is she doing that?' And she dances like this. They're not your people. Just be blinkered and you attract. I do attract the right people for me. I can hand on heart say that my clients are beautiful, wonderful people that are also happy to be presented like I present myself, and I just attract them.

[00:29:53.240] - Georgia Williams

So when I have somebody that's maybe a bit unaligned, it doesn't work. We always come together and we're like, 'Oh, yeah, I don't think you're for me'. And they're like, 'Yeah, you're right'. And that's fine. We part ways amicably and things. So I do think that when you are resilient and you are consistent, and then you are just who you are, which is, I know, very cliché to be like, Just be who you are. But actually, when you do do that, it has results. It's not a sexy quick fix, so people don't like it. They're like, 'But what can I do that's better, that's quicker?'

[00:30:24.140] - Georgia Williams

Find who you are, love that version, be that, be resilient, put blinkers on, and keep going, and you will build that momentum. There's all sorts of things you can do to add to the mix, but that is the basic foundation. And I think I just keep coming back to that, year in, year out. Whenever I do a six-month plan for the couple of months ahead or I do a yearly plan, whatever, I just keep coming back to that. What is the thing I want to do? What's my mission? How can I be resilient in that? And how can I make it consistently?

[00:30:51.740] - Lucy Critchley

I love that.

[00:30:52.520] - Georgia Williams

Boom! Mic drop.

[00:30:54.520] - Lucy Critchley

I love it. I'm like, I'm going to be taking loads of notes. I just love how simple it is because that's just the best advice is, I think, is that simple be more be resilient or think about the alignment and stuff, because I could definitely relate to clients that haven't been a good fit. And the relationship doesn't work quite so well or what you're trying to get out of them isn't coming or whatever that might be. And I think that's just a really powerful thing that you've expressed so succinctly and simply, yeah, I totally get it.

[00:31:33.310] - Lucy Critchley

Thank you very much for sharing that with us and for sharing your story with us. It's been ace. Thanks for coming on the podcast. I really appreciate it.

[00:31:40.610] - Georgia Williams

Thanks so much for having me.

[00:31:43.420] - Lucy Critchley

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Untold Chapters. I really hope you enjoyed it and found something that resonates with your own story. If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to rate, review, and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Your support will help us share even more incredible stories. Untold Chapters is an Untold Creative production. Until next time.