Notes From The Not There Yet

Episode Summary Jenny Marshall has spent close to twenty years in mental health and seven years in private practice, working with people at every point on what she calls "the spectrum" - from quiet, low-level dissatisfaction to something far more serious when it's left unheard. In this episode, Jenny takes us back to the school reports that called her a "classic underachiever,&q...

Episode description Janine Isaacs spent decades as a high-level medical negligence lawyer and property developer. Then at 60, she staged a revolution. She walked away from a 23-year emotionally damaging relationship, retrained as a transformative life coach, and decided to find out who she actually was underneath the decades of clay she'd built around herself. In this conversation, we talk abo...

Episode Description We often look at tech founders as polished, unflappable architects of success. But before Tracey Longbottom co-founded Forsyte , disrupting the legal sector with her high-growth AI firm, she was a self-described childhood troublemaker kicked out of her home at 15. Facing £40,000 of university debt, Tracey backed herself, built a staggering sales career, and eventually built a p...

Episode Description To celebrate our landmark 20th episode, host Bethany Wright delivers the ultimate guide to the messy middle of adulthood, synthesising everything learned over the first seven months of powerful, honest conversations. Moving past the multi-millionaire overnight success stories that feel entirely out of reach, this special solo episode explores the real, day-to-day psychological...

In this episode, we talk to Lou Desborough, founder of Cosmic Kinship, about her transition from a 25-year career in design to becoming a professional astrologer. Lou shares the raw reality of navigating the "messy middle" - balancing the grief of losing a parent with the demands of motherhood and the internal "chatter" that tells us we aren't good enough to pivot. We explore astrology as "The Mir...

Episode Summary Carla Bentele, designer and founder of All About Me , shares her journey from navigating redundancy in the London fashion world to reclaiming her creativity in the North. We explore the reality of losing a professional identity you loved, the "deathbed" perspective that helped her take a leap, and how she built a brand rooted in mindfulness and community. Show Notes: An honest conv...

Episode Description Emma Husband is a Financial Planner, business owner and mum - but her story didn’t begin with a clear plan. In this conversation, Emma shares what it looked like to spend years feeling quietly unfulfilled, to question everything during maternity leave, and to retrain as a financial adviser in her mid-30s while navigating grief, motherhood and self-doubt. We also explore her rel...

Episode Description Kimberley Ford has rebuilt her life more than once. From finance to acting, from acting to directing, and eventually founding her own filmmaking business - her path hasn’t followed a straight line. But underneath all of it is a feeling many people quietly carry: being the wrong age. Too early. Too late. Too old to start again. Too young to be taken seriously. In this conversati...

Episode Summary Jordan Stachini never planned to run a marketing agency. In fact, as she puts it: “Complete accidental business owner - it was never ever meant to be the plan.” Today she runs Co&Co, a growing Manchester marketing agency. But the real story behind the business isn’t about strategy or scaling. It’s about the moment many adults quietly experience - when the life you assumed you w...

Life is really hard. It’s noisy. It’s overwhelming. It looks fine on paper but feels misaligned underneath. In this solo episode, I talk honestly about launching The Not There Yet Project from my own messy middle - not from clarity, not from having it figured out, but from burnout, heaviness, and a trip to Scotland that forced a reset. And then I unpack something I’ve realised about myself: I thin...

Episode Summary Jonny Quirk has spent over a decade building communities - from grassroots club nights to global brands like Yelp, Deliveroo and WeWork, to decentralised Web3 networks. But beneath the platforms and strategies sits a deeper concern: loneliness. In this conversation, we explore what belonging looks like in a world shaped by AI, remote work and digital overload - and how leadership f...

Episode description Roxy Heapy lives between two worlds. By day, she’s spent nearly two decades building stability in a corporate career at Fanatics. Alongside that, she’s grown a makeup business rooted in trust, care, and long-term relationships. This conversation explores what it means to navigate two professional identities at once - the tension between security and creativity, the pressure of...

Episode Description In this episode, I sit down with Dr Katie Ford - a veterinary surgeon, speaker, and founder whose work around imposter syndrome has quietly helped thousands feel less alone. We talk about what it’s like to build a life that looks successful on paper, while privately carrying self-doubt, perfectionism, and the fear of being found out. About the masks we wear to cope, the cost of...

Episode Description Sarah Jayne Healey is a registered nutritionist, senior industry leader, and mum - but her journey didn’t begin with confidence or clarity. In this episode of Notes from the Not There Yet , Sarah shares what it’s really like stepping into responsibility before you feel ready, navigating a career that barely existed when she started, and staying evidence-led in a world full of n...

Episode Description This is a short note, a written letter shared - not a lesson, not a launch, and not an announcement. It’s a moment to pause and name where The Not There Yet Project is heading in 2026 - and why. When I started this project, it was never meant to be about content for content’s sake. It was about connection. About creating a space where people navigating life’s messy middle could...

Episode Summary This episode is a closing note - not a highlight reel. Bethany Wright reflects on what the past year has taught her through the stories shared on Notes from the Not There Yet and the conversations that happened quietly in between. From career pivots and identity shifts to community, confidence, mindset and redefining success, this episode isn’t about answers - it’s about better que...

This week on Notes from the Not There Yet , we sit down with Jamie Anne Bradbury - UK & worldwide DJ for 14 years with residencies at Manchester City and the Manchester City Women, Founder of Fit Food Media , personal trainer of eight years, and now, mum to beautiful baby Hallie. Jamie’s story is everything we love at The Not There Yet Project: messy, meaningful, multi-layered. She talks us th...

In this week’s episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Beth sits down with the incredible Donna Timlin - beauty therapist, business owner and self-described “neuro-spicy” creative - to talk about the journey that shaped her long before she ever stepped into a salon. From childhood bullying and being told she “wasn’t beautiful enough to be a beautician,” to retraining at 28 with a toddler on her h...

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing any of it “right” - the career, the parenting, the balance, the boundaries - this episode is for you. Today, I’m joined by Charlotte Rose , one of the North West’s leading bridal hair stylists, a domestic abuse advisor, former children’s hospice worker, and single mum turned multi-hyphenate woman who has built her life with equal parts graft and grace....

Episode Summary This week’s solo episode is one of my most vulnerable yet. What started as a simple half marathon became something I never expected - a release of 21 years of body shame, childhood conditioning, disordered eating, and the belief that my worth was always tied to my weight. I talk about growing up between two homes, using food for comfort, being bullied, losing weight as a teenager a...

What happens when your post-uni plan falls apart, your inbox is filled with 200 job rejections, and the world shuts down? For Danna Richards , it became the start of everything. In this episode, we explore how a psychology graduate who thought she’d become a data analyst accidentally built a global digital agency, became one of the UK’s earliest UGC creators, created content for over 200 brands, a...

Episode Summary Guest: Tom Stocks - Actor, Writer, Poet & Founder of Actor Awareness (aka The Chubby Northerner ) From drama-school rejection to chalking poetry across Manchester’s streets — this is the story of resilience, reinvention, and real northern grit. In this episode, Beth speaks to Tom Stocks , better known as The Chubby Northerner: an actor turned poet and founder of the Actor Aware...

Building Sideways: How Emma Brown Rebuilt Her Brand and Herself A conversation about motherhood, business, and the courage to evolve. Show Notes In this, the first official episode of Notes from the Not There Yet , Beth sits down with Emma Brown — a finance professional, mum, and co-founder of Elena Apparel , the activewear brand born from authenticity, community, and courage. Emma’s story is one...

In this introduction episode of Notes from the Not There Yet , host Bethany Wright shares the story that started it all - the moment she realised she wasn’t lost, or failing… just not there yet. Set against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, this is a story about burnout, belonging, and the quiet realisation that “having it all together” isn’t the same as being fulfilled. From leaving behind...