Today I have the absolute pleasure of spending time and interviewing one of the most connected, most supportive women I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in my 6 years of running a business. Yes, she’s that good!
About 12 months ago our paths crossed when Emma joined me at one of my group VIP days. Since then, we have continued to work together and I’ve seen herself and her business evolve and of course Thrive!
Emma, like so many of the women I am privileged to work with changed her career after starting her family. And her change was big! Going from a high flying lawyer to now running her hugely successful movement practice for women.
Emma is the founder of Emma Riedo Movement and she’s a Women’s Movement and Wellness Coach specialising in core and pelvic floor rehabilitation in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire.
It’s her mission for all women to feel happy and confident in their body’s ability to function well, so that it can carry them through daily life and any challenges they meet along the way (whether thrown at them or chosen by them).
She works mostly with women who are experiencing some form of core and/or pelvic floor dysfunction, which ranges from back pain to diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal muscles) to leaking pee when running, jumping, coughing, sneezing, to pelvic pain and heaviness or pelvic organ prolapse. Although eventually she would like to work with more women before they have the dysfunction by providing education about how their daily movement patterns and lifestyle choices can affect their body and their mind’s ability to function and to be well. Prehab is easier than rehab!
So Emma, what made you decide to set-up your own business?
I was originally a lawyer and felt like I was drilled to be an employee and do reasonably well, but not to be a business owner or entrepreneur. After having children, I couldn’t see how my old job and new family life could work well together. I really loved travelling in my old job and couldn’t see how that would work with a young baby. We were living in Switzerland at the time, so I didn’t have any family help nearby.
I had a distant dream of being a Pilates teacher, which I started to look at more seriously after the birth of our second daughter. Unfortunately practicing Pilates was not making me feel any stronger, I had a diastasis recti which was not improving and the prolapse that I became aware of after the birth of my first child was now giving me symptoms that indicated that somehow I was making it worse. After a long journey, I found Restore Your Core and could immediately see how it was going to help me find function again. Within a couple of months I had signed up to do the teacher training. I love it and it helped me so much, it made sense to use the training and set up my own business helping others.
And tell us, what does being a business owner means to you?
Being a business owner means that I can better control my own destiny. I can continue to grow my knowledge of women’s wellness (something I love to do) and help other women who are suffering from core or pelvic floor dysfunction to find a functional body again. Once I had begun to learn all of this amazing information that most women are not aware of, I could not keep it a secret! I had to join the growing group of women working to improve our society’s knowledge of women’s wellbeing and particularly in relation to core and pelvic floor dysfunction.
What or who has been your greatest influence in business and why?
That’s a hard one. I’ve had many people influence me. I do enjoy to read about famous successful business people, but the biggest influencers tend to be closer to me, the women who have and still are training me and the women I have met from around the world in the three main mentorship groups that I belong to: the Restore Your Core teachers group, an industry focused business mentorship and of course Thrive Collective: the membership! (phew, pleased to hear that!)
And what is the best thing for you about being your own boss and running your own business?
Having a bit more flexibility about when I work, working at or near home, so I can attend most events at school. I also love mixing with other women in business. I didn’t get the same vibe from networking and mixing with other employed people when I was employed!
What practical advice would you give to anyone about to start, or in the early stages of owning a business?
Find someone to be a coach or accountability partner for you; someone you can bounce ideas off, who encourages you, but also questions you. Surround yourself with other positive women in business and don’t discuss it too much with negative nellies!
What advice would you give to women in business? From your area of expertise or in general.
Set up good working practices and methods from the start. Set yourself measurable goals and then work out all the small steps you need to take to get there. Take those steps one day, week, month at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done. It doesn’t need to be (and almost certainly can’t be) perfect from day one. If you’re a perfectionist like me who criticises heavily everything you do, start working on the basis that done is better than perfect. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you’ll end up procrastinating and doing nothing.
Some things are worth paying others to do, even when you’re just starting out. For example, unless you are fully versed in accounting software or wish to become so, the first outside resource I would invest in is a bookkeeper.
What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve been given in business?
I’ve had so much good advice. I haven’t managed to implement it all yet! I think it has to be to spend time at the beginning working out your why, your ideal client and what you are offering. It will certainly change, but I wish I had invested more time and money (in guidance) in drilling this down more at the start.
What one thing have you learned as a small business owner that has served you well over the years?
To believe in yourself. It may not be all plain sailing but being able to come back to a feeling of self belief that I will find a way through always grounds me.
What skills were you able to bring over from your previous work experience that you found to be most helpful or practical in your business?
My previous occupation required me to be a problem solver and this analytical mind has served me well, as I work with my clients to resolve the root cause of their problems.
What has been the most effective marketing initiatives or programs you have used to promote your business?
Meeting potential clients at events has been very helpful for me. I’ve encouraged those people who I have spoken to, to sign up to my mailing list with the possibility of winning a free 1-2-1 session with me. I found that like me many people are reluctant to give away their email address, so I have ended up with a smaller number of good quality potential clients. I have also found that those who were given a flyer, but didn’t stop to chat have been intrigued enough to look at my website and social media and then have been in contact. I think it is really important to attack marketing from many angles. We are all so overloaded with information, so it takes perseverance from multiple angles to get your potential clients to take notice and then action.
Are there any resources or tools you’d like to share with other small business owners that have helped you run your business? If yes, please describe (and include links if available).
I absolutely love my Dropbox business account. It makes it easy for me to access all my documents and information from my laptop, iPad and phone. It also houses the many videos that I make for my clients both in classes and 1-2-1s.
I have just finished reading a book called Profit First and am about to start implementing the suggestions. The book sets out exactly how you can start making a profit from day one (or whatever day you are on) and shows you how to manage expenses, debts etc to ensure that you get to make a profit from your business.
Thank you so much Emma for taking the time to chat with me today. Wonderful to hear about your how your career change has been so positive and I know how helpful your top tips on setting up a business and making sure you’ve got all angles of marketing covered (my job here is done) will be so helpful to those reading this interview.
Checking out Emma’s website here, her Facebook page is here and Instagram is here.
I’m Sam Dixon, founder of Thrive With Sam Dixon, an experienced Marketing Consultant to ambitious businesswomen who want to launch, grow and scale their business with flexible marketing support.
For a free 30 minute discovery call get in touch by email hello@thrivewithsam.com or come join Thrive Collective, my monthly membership community. JOIN HERE.