Discover Your Biggest Business Block
Find the business pattern that's getting in your way, why you might keep falling into it, and what you can do differently.
You're great at what you do. You're hitting all your numbers. People rely on you.
And yet, there are days when you seem to spend more time checking other people's work, worrying about what people think, answering messages or trying to prove you're worth what you charge than actually doing the work you started your business to do.
There's a reason for that.
Answer ten questions and find out which of these five core business blocks might be calling the shots. You'll get a result that explains what's going on underneath the behaviour, why it makes sense, and where you might start doing things differently.
No homework. No gold stars. No being told to get up at 5am and manifest a better attitude.
Just a little insight what's actually happening and what to do about it.
Right. Let's find out who's running this business.
You know the business you want.
The one where you can do the work you're brilliant at, make decent money, have a life outside your inbox and stop treating every minor business wobble as evidence that you're fundamentally shit at being a person.
Lovely. Let's work towards that.
First, let's have a look at the subconscious patterns that might be getting in the way.
Maybe you're checking every piece of work that leaves the building because the thought of someone making a mistake and you getting the blame makes your stomach drop through your hoohaa.
Maybe you've hired help, only to discover you're now managing everyone else's feelings as well as your own workload.
Maybe you're still waiting for somebody to tap you on the shoulder and say you're allowed to actually take up some space.
Or maybe you have a perfectly good business and still feel the need to justify every pound you earn by working yourself into burnout.
There are five core blocks in this quiz. You might recognise yourself in more than one. That's normal.
We're looking for the block that's running the show the most at the moment.
Ten questions. Let's go.
Reality check: This is a business-pattern quiz, not a diagnosis or a verdict on your personality. It's here to help you get curious, not give you another thing to get wrong.
It's 4.42 pm. You've nearly finished work. What happens next?
Someone offers to take a job off your hands. What's your first thought?
You've been invited to do a keynote speech and Q&A at a big event. What's your first thought?
A client says they can't afford your price. What do you do?
You've finally got a free afternoon. What feels hardest about it?
Somebody has made a mistake in your business. It's fixable. Nobody's been harmed. What gets to you most?
Which of these sentences could most easily come out of your mouth this week?
You're looking at your business a year from now. What would you most like to have changed?
If you could bin one unwritten rule you live by, which would it be?
Be honest. Which of these would feel most uncomfortable to do tomorrow?
Your result is ready.
There's a reason these things keep showing up for you and you are SO far from alone. Let's have a look at what's happening subconsciously, where it might have come from, and what we do about it.
I have so much more to tell you. Want to know what your result actually means?
You've discovered your business pattern. Now let's look at what's underneath it, how it might be affecting your business, and what you can do about it.
Pop your email address in below to unlock your full result, including the deeper insights and practical guidance. You'll also be able to have a nose around all five results, if you're curious about the other patterns and want to understand yourself (or your business best mate) a little better.
If you'd like to keep learning with me, I'll also send you a short series of emails over the next few days to help you understand your pattern and what you can do about it, followed by occasional emails about my coaching, resources and offers.
See yourself in another result?
You might have spotted a bit of yourself in more than one pattern. That's completely normal. We're complicated people running complicated businesses. There's no rule saying you only get one business wobble.
Curious about the others? Have a nose around.
Explore the other business patterns:
You can explore the other patterns without changing your main result. Think of it as a way to spot what else might be going on, not another five things to add to your to-do list.
Know someone who'd enjoy this?
Send them the quiz. You can compare results afterwards, if you're feeling nosy.
Your result is in
The Micromanager
If you want a job done properly, you might as well do it yourself. And then check it. And then check it again.
You know that feeling when somebody says, "Don't worry, I've got this," and your immediate response is to explain exactly how you would like them to do it?
They've barely finished the sentence and you're already mentally reviewing the finished work.
You might delegate a task, then check every detail. You might find yourself rewriting somebody else's work because you can see six tiny things they'd missed. You might even feel a bit irritated that nobody else seems to care about the quality of the work as much as you do.
And if something goes wrong?
Oh, you'll be the one sorting it out.
Because even if you didn't make the mistake, you can already imagine the conversation where you have to explain yourself. You can hear the criticism before anybody has said a word.
Your result is in
The Reluctant Delegator
You've got help. So why are you somehow doing more work than before?
You've hired somebody. Or you've started asking for help. Or you've spent a frankly ridiculous amount of time thinking about hiring somebody, only to decide that nobody will do it quite right.
And now you're doing the task yourself anyway.
You might tell yourself it's quicker to do it yourself. Sometimes it genuinely is, particularly when you've given someone half an instruction and expected them to read your mind.
You might also find yourself checking whether your team member is happy, whether they've understood, whether the feedback will upset them and whether asking them to do the job properly makes you a terrible person.
Then you wonder why you're exhausted.
Your result is in
The Invisible One
You've got something worth saying. You're just waiting for the moment when you're allowed to say it.
You know your work is good.
You have clients who value it. You have experience that somebody else would find useful. You might even have a brilliant idea for a post, a talk, an interview or an opportunity that could take your business somewhere new.
And then you hear the voice.
Who do you think you are?
What if somebody asks a question you can't answer? What if somebody points out that you're not qualified enough? What if people think you're full of yourself for talking about your work so confidently?
So you wait.
You tell yourself you'll pitch when you're more established. You'll post when the wording is better. You'll apply when you have one more qualification, one more result or one more person telling you you're ready.
And the opportunity goes to someone else who just pressed send.
Your result is in
The Uncomfortable Earner
The money is coming in. So why do you still feel like you need to justify every bloody penny?
You have a good month. Maybe a very good month.
You pay yourself. You look at your bank account. You consider buying the thing you've wanted for ages, or booking a weekend away, or simply having a quiet afternoon without trying to squeeze another billable hour into it.
And then a little voice pipes up.
Have you really earned that?
Could you be charging too much? Should you be working harder? What if your clients find out how much you're making and decide you're taking the piss?
So you leave the money in the business. Or you buy the thing and feel guilty about it. Or you take the afternoon off and spend the whole time thinking about the work you could be doing.
You might even keep working long after the business has made enough money for the month, because chilling out feels strangely uncomfortable.
Your result is in
The Human Call Centre
You can reply to a WhatsApp at 9.47pm. The question is whether you actually want to.
You tell yourself you'll finish work at five.
Then a client sends a message. A team member has a question. Somebody needs a quick answer. You know you could leave it until tomorrow, but what if they think you're ignoring them? What if the delay creates a problem? Being a good business owner means being available when people need you, right?
So you reply.
Then another message comes in. And another.
Before you know it, you're sitting on the sofa with your dinner going cold, answering questions that could quite happily have waited until morning.
You might even feel guilty when you don't reply.
Not mildly inconvenienced. Genuinely guilty.
As though the fact that somebody wants your time means you're obliged to give it to them.
Let's look underneath that
There's a difference between having high standards and feeling genuinely scared when something isn't perfect.
You might truly care about the quality of your work. You might have built a reputation on being reliable. And you might also have learned, somewhere along the way, that a mistake can cost you a LOT more than just a few minutes fixing it.
Looking back through your life, perhaps you were once blamed for things that weren't your fault. Perhaps you were expected to keep everything together and fix things whilst other people got to make bad decisions. Perhaps you learned that if you didn't catch the problem first, you'd be the one dealing with the fallout.
So now you keep an eye on everything.
It makes sense. Your brain has found a way to try to keep you safe.
And it can also mean you're spending your time checking work that somebody else is perfectly capable of doing, rather than doing the work that actually needs you.
There's a rule hiding in here
If I don't keep control of this, something will go wrong, and I'll be blamed.
Who wrote that rule?
And is it an ultimate truth, written in the ten commandments, or a story you've built from experiences where you really did have to be the one watching everything?
Those are different things.
You can take responsibility for the quality of your business without accepting responsibility for every decision another adult makes. You can care about doing a good job without making perfection the price of feeling safe.
And you can build a business where mistakes are dealt with through clear processes, honest communication and sensible checks, rather than through you personally inspecting every single detail, all the time.
Try this first
Next time somebody completes a piece of work, pause before opening it to check.
Ask yourself:
What am I actually checking for here?
Is there a genuine quality or safety requirement? Is there a clear standard the person needs to meet? Or am I trying to make sure nobody can possibly criticise me?
If there's a real standard, write it down and use it.
If the work meets that standard, practise leaving it alone.
If it doesn't, give clear feedback and let the person learn.
You don't have to go from checking every comma to handing over the keys to the building tomorrow. You can build trust in manageable steps.
And if somebody does make a mistake, you can deal with it without deciding it means you're incompetent.
Your job is to run the business. It isn't to prevent every imperfect thing from ever happening.
What this pattern might be costing you
You may have less time for the work only you can do. You may find delegation exhausting because you're still mentally carrying the task after somebody else has taken it on.
You might also find that criticism hits you harder than it needs to, because it feels like a judgement of you rather than feedback about one particular thing.
That is worth paying attention to.
You can be brilliant at what you do and still be learning how to let other people do it their way.
How to change it
The deeper work here is learning that your worth and safety do not depend on having anticipated every possible problem.
Alongside that, you can build clear expectations, sensible quality checks and processes for handling mistakes. You get to care about the work without having to personally hold every corner of it together.
Want help with this?
In my one-to-one coaching, we look at the beliefs and patterns that keep putting you back in the same exhausting position, then work out what needs to change in the way you run your business.
The aim is a business that can rely on your expertise without requiring your constant supervision.
The application doesn't commit you to anything. I'll reply within 48 hours, and if it looks like a good fit, we'll arrange a 30-minute chemistry call.
Prefer to start with one focused conversation? A single 90-minute session is £295.
One 90-minute session to work through the thing that's taking up the most room in your head. If you subsequently book the three-month package, the full £295 is credited towards it.
Let's look underneath that
Delegation is supposed to be a practical business decision.
You have work to do. Somebody else has the capacity to do some of it. You explain the task, agree the standard they should meet and let them get on with it.
Except that, for you, it might not feel like a simple exchange of work.
You might feel responsible for how the other person feels about the task. You might struggle to tell somebody that their work isn't good enough because you can see how hard they're trying. You might avoid giving clear instructions because you don't want to sound bossy.
Or perhaps you've had a bad experience with a team member and now feel like you need to anticipate every possible problem before you hand anything over.
There's a particular kind of loneliness that comes with being the person everybody relies on. You can be surrounded by people and still feel like you're the only one who can actually carry the business.
And if you're used to being the capable one, asking someone else to take responsibility can feel strangely uncomfortable.
There's a rule hiding in here
If I ask too much of somebody, they'll think I'm unreasonable. If they struggle, I've failed them.
Who wrote that rule?
You are allowed to be a kind manager and have expectations.
You are allowed to care about your team and still require someone to meet the standard they were hired to meet.
You are allowed to decide that a role isn't right for someone without making it a verdict on their worth as a human being.
Those things can coexist.
Try this first
Take one task you want somebody else to do for you.
Write down what the task involves, what a good result looks like, when it needs to be finished and what the person should do if they get stuck.
Then ask yourself whether you have actually given them enough information to succeed.
If you haven't, start there.
If you have, let them do the job.
And if the work isn't up to standard, give clear feedback. You can be respectful without pretending something is fine when it isn't.
When hiring, be equally clear about what the business needs. You're not rejecting somebody as a person when you decide they aren't right for a particular role.
You're making a business decision.
People cannot reach a destination you haven't shown them. And they cannot meet a standard you haven't actually set.
What this pattern might be costing you
You might be paying for help and still carrying the mental load of every task. You might be avoiding the conversations that would make the working relationship better, then becoming resentful when the same problem keeps happening.
And if you keep hiring people because you don't want to hurt their feelings, rather than because they're right for the role, you'll keep finding yourself in situations where nobody is getting what they need.
That isn't kind to you. It isn't especially fair to them either.
How to change it
The deeper work is separating your worth from being the person who can cope with everything, and learning that somebody else's disappointment isn't automatically evidence you've done something wrong.
The practical work is building clearer roles, better instructions and the confidence to hold people accountable.
You don't have to become a hard-nosed manager. You can be a decent human being and run a business with standards.
Want help with this?
In my one-to-one coaching, we look at what's making it so difficult to share responsibility, then work on the beliefs and business systems that keep you stuck doing everything yourself.
You get to build a team without becoming everybody's manager, therapist and emergency contact.
The application doesn't commit you to anything. I'll reply within 48 hours, and if it looks like a good fit, we'll arrange a 30-minute chemistry call.
Prefer to start with one focused conversation? A single 90-minute session is £295.
One 90-minute session to work through the thing that's taking up the most room in your head. If you subsequently book the three-month package, the full £295 is credited towards it.
Let's look underneath that
We don't live in a meritocracy. The people who get noticed aren't always the most experienced or the most qualified. They're often the people most willing to take up space.
And for some women, taking up space has come with consequences.
Perhaps you were ridiculed when you spoke up at school. Perhaps you were told you were showing off, being difficult or getting above your station. Perhaps you watched somebody else get punished for being visible and silently decided you wouldn't put yourself in that position.
Those experiences stick.
Your brain can start treating visibility as a social risk. Being seen might mean being criticised, rejected or pushed out of the group.
That can happen even when you're now an adult with a business, clients and a track record.
So you keep yourself small enough to feel safe.
And you might be missing opportunities you would have been perfectly capable of handling.
There's a rule hiding in here
I need somebody else to decide I'm ready before I can put myself forward.
Who wrote that rule?
You might have good reasons to be thoughtful about visibility. There are real risks for some people, particularly if being visible could affect their safety, privacy or livelihood.
You get to take those seriously.
And you can still decide what visibility looks like on your terms. It might mean pitching for an interview. It might mean publishing an opinion. It might mean telling people what you do without apologising for taking up their time.
You don't have to become the loudest person on the internet.
You do have to let people know you exist if you want them to find your work.
Try this first
Choose one opportunity you've been putting off.
Not the biggest, scariest opportunity in your entire life. One you could reasonably attempt this week.
Write down what you're afraid will happen if you go for it.
Then ask yourself:
Is that an ultimate truth, or a story you've built about yourself?
What evidence do you have that you can't do it? What evidence do you have that you can?
You don't need to feel completely confident before you act. You can do the research, prepare properly and make sensible decisions about your privacy.
Then send the pitch. Publish the post. Put your name forward.
You can learn from the response.
You are allowed to be new at something. You are allowed to have an opinion before everybody agrees with you.
And you are allowed to decide that your work deserves to be seen.
What this pattern might be costing you
You may be waiting for permission that nobody is going to give you. You might be doing excellent work in secret, then wondering why the bigger opportunities seem to pass you by.
It can be particularly frustrating when you see people with less experience than you speaking confidently about what they do.
You don't have to copy them. You can take up space in your own way.
How to change it
The deeper work is understanding why visibility feels so scary to you and deciding whether the old rules still deserve to run your life.
The practical work is choosing opportunities, preparing for them and letting yourself be seen before you feel completely ready.
You can build confidence through doing the thing. You don't have to wait for confidence to arrive first.
Because spoiler alert: it won't.
Want help with this?
In my one-to-one coaching, we look at the stories that make visibility feel unsafe, then work on the practical steps that let you get your work in front of the people who need it.
You can be thoughtful about how you show up and still be ambitious about where your work goes.
The application doesn't commit you to anything. I'll reply within 48 hours, and if it looks like a good fit, we'll arrange a 30-minute chemistry call.
Prefer to start with one focused conversation? A single 90-minute session is £295.
One 90-minute session to work through the thing that's taking up the most room in your head. If you subsequently book the three-month package, the full £295 is credited towards it.
Let's look underneath that
We all learn things about money.
Some of us grow up hearing that rich people are selfish. Some of us learn that you have to work incredibly hard to deserve a decent income. Some of us see people spending money and hear that they're irresponsible, or watch somebody struggle financially and get told they must have made bad choices.
Those messages can stick around long after our circumstances change.
And money is particularly difficult because you can't simply go no-contact with it. You need it to live in a capitalist society.
So even when your business starts earning well, you might still be operating according to money rules you picked up yearssssss ago.
You can make good money and still struggle to receive it. You can charge a fair price and still feel like you're getting away with something. You can have enough in the bank and still behave as though one afternoon off will bring the whole thing crashing down.
There's a rule hiding in here
If I haven't worked hard enough for this money, I don't deserve to enjoy it.
But who decided that? And when did being exhausted become proof that you'd earned the right to enjoy your own success?
You can be grateful for what you have and still want more. You can have a brilliant month without immediately pushing yourself to have an even better one. And you can charge properly for what you know without spending the money feeling anxious, guilty or like you need to justify every penny.
You don't have to make yourself miserable to prove you've earned a good life.
Your worth has never been measured by how much money your business makes, how hard you work or how much you can squeeze out of yourself. You were worthy before you started your business, and you'll still be worthy when the numbers change.
Because money is something your business earns. It isn't a measure of your character, a reward for running yourself into the ground or a verdict on whether you deserve to be here.
You are allowed to earn well, enjoy what you've earned and still be a good person.
Try this first
For the next week, notice what happens when you interact with money.
Don't immediately try to fix the feeling. Just notice it.
When you pay yourself, what do you hear in your head? When you buy something you enjoy, what do you tell yourself afterwards? When you consider taking time off, what do you think you need to do first?
Write down the exact phrases. Write down the beliefs underneath them.
Then ask:
Who taught me that? And do I still want to live by it?
You don't need to spend recklessly or ignore the numbers. You can have a sensible financial plan and enjoy the money that remains after you've met your commitments.
You can look after your future and enjoy your present.
Those things get to coexist.
What this pattern might be costing you
You may be making money without ever feeling that you have enough. You might be undercharging because you feel uncomfortable receiving more, or over-delivering because you need to prove the price was justified.
And if you're working every waking hour to earn the right to take a break, you're going to find that "enough" never arrives. You will always find more.
You don't have to keep earning financial safety, or rest, or joy.
How to change it
The deeper work is looking at the beliefs you've inherited about money, worth and hard work, then practising a different relationship with earning and receiving.
The practical work is making sure your prices, business model and financial decisions support the life you want.
You are allowed to build a business that makes good money and leaves you with enough energy to enjoy it.
Want help with this?
In my one-to-one coaching, we look at the stories that keep you undercharging, overworking or struggling to enjoy what you've built, then work on the decisions that will help your business support your actual life.
You can be grateful for what you've got and still ask for more.
The application doesn't commit you to anything. I'll reply within 48 hours, and if it looks like a good fit, we'll arrange a 30-minute chemistry call.
Prefer to start with one focused conversation? A single 90-minute session is £295.
One 90-minute session to work through the thing that's taking up the most room in your head. If you subsequently book the three-month package, the full £295 is credited towards it.
Let's look underneath that
You probably care about your clients. You want them to get good results. You want your team to feel supported. You want to be the person people can rely on.
Those are good things.
And somewhere along the way, being reliable might have turned into being permanently available.
You may have learnt that being useful keeps people happy, that saying no risks disappointing somebody, or that a good service provider should always be willing to go the extra mile.
Perhaps you have built your reputation on being the person who sorts everything out.
Now your clients have access to you whenever they want, and you're finding it difficult to take that access away.
Because who the hell do you think you are to decide your time matters more than answering their question?
There's a rule hiding in here
If somebody needs me, I should be available. If I don't reply, I'm letting them down.
Who wrote that rule?
And when did answering a message become a test of whether you're a good person?
You can care about your clients and have working hours.
You can offer excellent support without being available at every hour of the day.
You can be generous with your expertise and still treat your time as the most premium asset in the business.
Those things get to coexist.
Your clients are paying for the service you've agreed to provide. That doesn't mean they own every hour of your life.
Try this first
Look at the ways people can currently reach you.
Are your working hours clear? Do clients know when they can expect a response? Do you have a process for genuinely urgent issues, or does every message arrive with the same level of access to you?
Choose one boundary to make clearer this week.
It might be stating your response times in your welcome email or your signature. It might be labelling non-urgent messages with "working hours". It might be telling your team what they can decide without checking with you first.
Then practise letting the boundary do its job.
You may feel guilty the first few times you leave a message until morning. That doesn't automatically mean you've done anything wrong. It may simply mean you're doing something unfamiliar.
And if someone genuinely needs urgent support, you can have a clear process for that without making yourself the emergency contact for every ordinary business question.
What this pattern might be costing you
Your working day may have no proper end. You might struggle to concentrate because you're always half-listening for another notification.
You may also be giving away time that could go towards the work only you can do: creating, selling, developing your offers or making decisions about where the business goes next.
And eventually, even the work you love can start to feel like something you're trapped inside.
How to change it
The deeper work is learning that your value isn't measured by how quickly you respond or how much access people have to you.
The practical work is creating boundaries that protect your time and making sure clients and team members know how to get what they need without expecting you to be constantly available.
You are allowed to finish work.
You are allowed to rest.
You are allowed to have a phone that stays quiet whilst you eat your dinner.
Want help with this?
In my one-to-one coaching, we look at why saying no or being unavailable feels so uncomfortable, then work on the boundaries and business decisions that let you serve people well without giving them unlimited access to you.
Your business can be built around your expertise, rather than your ability to reply to a message at any hour.
The application doesn't commit you to anything. I'll reply within 48 hours, and if it looks like a good fit, we'll arrange a 30-minute chemistry call.
Prefer to start with one focused conversation? A single 90-minute session is £295.
One 90-minute session to work through the thing that's taking up the most room in your head. If you subsequently book the three-month package, the full £295 is credited towards it.