Grit & Grace

Self-love isn’t just candles and comfort. It’s boundaries, follow through, and doing what needs to be done even when you don’t feel like it. In this episode of Grit and Grace , I unpack why discipline is the highest form of self-love - not as punishment, but as protection. We talk about the difference between rest and avoidance, how to rebuild trust with yourself one small promise at a time, and h...

Numbers tell a story-but courage writes the ending. In this episode of Grit & Grace , I share a message inspired by a recent women-in-business event built around the theme SOAR: Stories, Opportunities, Ambition and Resilience . We talk about the chapters people don’t see behind the success, why ambition isn’t a dirty word, how opportunities often arrive disguised as disruption, and what resili...

This is a deeply personal episode of Grit & Grace . Marking one year since the sudden passing of her husband, Donagh steps away from business to share a heartfelt tribute to love, marriage, grief and the identity shift that comes with becoming a widow. In this episode, Donagh reflects on what it means to lose the person you built your life with, the courage it takes to keep going, and the quie...

There are contracts you never signed, yet you have been honouring them for years: be easy to deal with, don’t disappoint anyone, don’t charge too much, don’t ask for help, don’t rest until everything is done. In this episode of Grit & Grace , Donagh unpacks the “Silent Contract” — the invisible rules we absorb over a lifetime and unknowingly carry into our businesses and daily lives. These uns...

Some of the hardest battles happen in your own head — while the world sees you as capable, calm and “fine”. In this episode of Grit & Grace , Donagh explores the hidden cost of being the dependable one: the person who keeps showing up, keeps answering, keeps supporting, and keeps holding everything together while quietly disappearing from herself. This episode is a powerful reflection on peopl...

Grief, Grit and Building Again After Sudden Loss In this episode of Grit & Grace , I’m joined by my neighbour and friend Courtney Bowers . Courtney and I both lost our husbands suddenly, with no warning, just seven weeks apart — and this conversation is as honest as it is necessary. We talk about what people don’t tell you about grief while still trying to run a life and a business, and the wa...

Have you ever found yourself typing “sorry” before you have even said what you need to say? In this episode of the Alice series, Alice faces a moment many women in business know all too well. A potential client questions her price, and her first instinct is to apologise, discount and over explain. But this time, Alice pauses. Through a powerful and relatable story, this episode explores the hidden...

In Episode 5 of the Grit & Grace “Alice in Wonderland” series, Donagh steps into the Mad Hatter’s tea party to explore what happens when creativity, conversation and enthusiasm are not supported by structure. This episode looks at the very real cost of “Mad Hatter energy” in business and life — endless meetings, scattered ideas, vague conversations, shifting priorities, unfinished projects and...

In Episode 4 of the Grit & Grace “Alice in Wonderland” series, Donagh explores the Caterpillar’s powerful question — “Who are you?” — and what it reveals about growth, identity, standards and leadership. This episode unpacks the confronting truth that the habits, beliefs and behaviours that helped you get to this point may not be the same ones that will take you forward. Donagh explores the id...

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do.” In Episode 3 of the Grit & Grace “Alice in Wonderland” series, Donagh explores the wisdom of the Cheshire Cat and the confronting truth behind the idea that if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do. This episode is all about direction before speed — why a full calendar does not always mean progress, why being “open to oppo...

In Episode 2 of the Grit & Grace “Alice in Wonderland” series, Donagh unpacks the White Rabbit as the symbol of urgency culture. The always rushing, always behind, always reacting White Rabbit and why “busy” can quietly become an identity rather than a strategy. This episode explores what urgency is often hiding in small business and everyday life: underpricing, weak boundaries, lack of system...

In Episode 1 of the Grit & Grace “Alice in Wonderland” series, Donagh explores what it feels like when life or business suddenly changes the map — cash flow pressure, staffing shifts, unexpected setbacks, or simply entering a new season with different rules. Using Alice’s trip “down the rabbit hole” as the metaphor, this episode breaks down how to lead through uncertainty with calm, clarity an...

In this episode of Grit & Grace , Donagh explores why exit planning should begin from day one — whether your goal is family succession, a management buy out, a third party sale, or simply stepping back without the business falling apart. With a focus on trades, services, rural and retail businesses, we unpack what drives real business value and why it must sit in systems, standards, people and...

In this episode of Grit & Grace , Donagh unpacks a common contradiction: spending money daily on coffees and lunches, yet saying “I can’t afford it” when it comes to investing in personal growth or business support. We explore the psychology behind comfort spending, avoidance, and why time is readily allocated to everyone else’s priorities while financial check-ins are postponed. You’ll learn...

Today’s Grit & Grace episode is a reminder we all need: don’t wait until someone’s business is thriving to support it — support is often what helps it get there. We unpack what real support looks like (and it’s not always spending money), why people hesitate to back others in the early stages, and how to be the kind of person who supports with sincerity, standards, and integrity. I also share...

In this episode of Grit & Grace , we explore a principle that can change everything in business and life: your speed of implementation is directly linked to your results. Information isn’t the problem — execution is. We unpack why capable people get stuck in overthinking, perfectionism and “more research”, and how slow implementation quietly costs you momentum, confidence and cash flow. You’ll...

In this episode, we unpack how to lead calmly and decisively when cash flow feels tight. You’ll learn the cash flow stress loop, the four key numbers to track weekly, and a simple 20-minute “money meeting” that creates clarity without living in your accounting software. We also cover practical cash rules—tax separation, deposits, scope control, late-payment boundaries and pricing integrity—so you...

Perfectionism can look like high standards — but it often shows up as procrastination, overthinking, and a constant feeling that you’re “not quite ready”. In this episode of Grit & Grace , we unpack how perfectionism quietly drives burnout, stalls momentum, and keeps capable people playing small. You’ll learn how to spot your perfectionist patterns, what they’re really protecting you from, and...

Blame is easy. It’s also expensive. In business and in life, it can be tempting to explain everything through external causes: the economy, the cost of living, global conflict, government decisions, the algorithm, “people not spending”, difficult clients. Some of those pressures are real — but if blame becomes your default setting, you hand away your power and you stay stuck. In this episode of Gr...

Self‑sabotage rarely looks like quitting. More often, it looks like being very busy doing the wrong thing — the clean, safe tasks that feel productive, while the real work (the work with stakes) stays untouched. Today, we unpack self‑sabotage as a protection pattern, not a character flaw. If you’ve ever found yourself “just fixing the website”, reorganising your tools, or tidying your inbox instea...

Imposter syndrome rarely appears when you’re doing something easy. It shows up right before you do something that matters: sending the proposal, naming the price, pitching the client, posting the content, taking up space. In this episode of Grit & Grace , we unpack why imposter syndrome often hits at the exact moment you’re about to level up — and how it can quietly turn into bargaining, delay...

Imposter syndrome rarely shows up when you’re doing something easy. It shows up right before you do something that matters: raise your rates, pitch the client, post the content, lead the room, take up space. And self-sabotage usually doesn’t look like quitting. It looks like delay, perfectionism, overthinking, and “just one more tweak” — the tidy, plausible habits that keep capable women stuck. In...

If your business feels stretched, reactive, or harder than it should, this episode is your reset. In this episode I walk through a week where I stopped negotiating with my standards — and the difference it made to cash flow, boundaries, time, and mental load. This is not a lecture and it’s not a “perfect morning routine” episode. It’s practical leadership in real life: the email you don’t want to...

The Hundred Acre Wood Boardroom Some days you’re calm and clear. Some days you overthink everything. Some days you start ten things and finish none. And some days you’re doing everyone’s job because it’s “faster”. That doesn’t make you broken — it makes you human. This episode is the integration session for The Hundred Acre Wood Boardroom series: a practical CEO playbook you can use any time your...

Christopher Robin’s Lesson: Calm Leadership Wins You do not need louder leadership. You need steadier leadership. In this bonus instalment of The Hundred Acre Wood Boardroom series, we focus on Christopher Robin — the integrator and the leader in the Hundred Acre Wood. After exploring the patterns represented by Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore and Owl, this episode is about what holds it all...