To round up 2020, I thought some might like to learn a little more about me as an individual. And, because I prefer not to talk about myself I thought I'd share an interview that I had with ​Alex Sapala who invited me onto his show, the Business, Wealth And Mindset Podcast. Alex is one of the most successful and ambitious Malawians living in Britain today, he's made a massive success of himself in the work place and also with property investing but you would never know because he keeps himself humble. 

Alex with Heather who shares her fascinating journey and discusses why she has chosen to be employed in a role that offers her flexibility and the time to undertake the hobbies she loves.
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This is a great opportunity to hear from someone who experienced being employed and working for herself before making a conscious choice to be employed. It’s always vital to find out what makes you happy, what is the real you and how to achieve this in life.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Self-employment is not all glamour and I was on call to my customers all the time
• Being employed gives me the stability I want.
• I get paid well and have all the flexibility that I expected but didn’t get when I was self-employed.
• The period when I was self-employed was the period where I was least happy.
• My happiness comes from being able to express myself in my own way.
• I have a job that allows me to pursue the hobbies I want to and I enjoy the diversity of the life I have.
• Time freedom is an important aspect to consider in your life.
• Having a job provides you with work experience and stability, both important elements to have in your life.
• Being employed doesn’t preclude exploring working for yourself and employment works for me and offers the flexibility I want
• The stock markets are a good place to put money over longer periods of time
• Never suffer in silence talking to others is the key to changing things.

BEST MOMENTS

• ‘I depend on my siblings for emotional support’
• ‘I worked hard at school so that at some point further on I won’t have to work so hard’
• ‘Life is about people and staying connected to them through positive interactions’

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Business, Wealth and Mindset podcast series   
• The Money Spot Podcast 

ABOUT THE GUEST
Heather Katsonga-Woodward

Having spent 7 years in investment banking at Goldman Sachs (Corporate Finance) and HSBC (Corporate Derivatives Structuring) and a further 6 years pursuing her own business interests, Heather is currently a civil servant. She describes it as the best job she’s ever had.

Heather is an investor in property, the stock market and as a hobby enjoys creating personal finance digital learning resources that can be found at katsonga.com and on the podcast, The Money Spot™️. Her courses on Udemy (on property and business) had attracted over 10,000 students as at 2020.

Heather graduated with First Class Honours in Economics from the University of Cambridge. She has the CFA Charter, the ACCA accounting qualification and the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP).

She lives in Birmingham (UK) with her husband and two children.

ABOUT THE HOST

Alex is a prize-winning chartered accountant with experience in financial markets from trading finance, capital hedging, structural foreign exchange and interest rates to operational risk from the world’s top financial and advisory institutions including Deloitte, RBS and JPMorgan Chase

Alex has been involved in property development programmes across different types since 2008, building and managing a portfolio that includes standard buy-to-lets, student accommodation and other houses in multiple occupancy (HMOs).

He specialises in raising finance, providing potential investors, investors and joint venture partners with ad hoc (to their specific requirements), hands-free and hassle-free property investments solutions as well as coaching and mentoring

Alex aspires to share business and financial knowledge with upcoming entrepreneurs and experienced business minds to learn and master the concepts and mindsets required to succeed, stand-out, have the edge and make a difference.

Alex is also a keen traveller, cyclist and photographer.

CONTACT METHOD

• Facebook.com/AlexSapalaOfficial
• Twitter - @alex_sapala 
• Alex's YouTube channel

My very best,
Heather 
p.s. subscribe to my podcast and ask me any money question, HERE - do it now!

Hi, my name’s Heather Katsonga-Woodward and I help ambitious women to live the life THEY want!

After 7 years in investment banking, first, at Goldman Sachs and then at HSBC, I started a blog on kinky & curly hair in late 2012 called NenoNatural.com following severe hair thinning issues. Neno being the tiny village in Malawi, Africa where my dad was born. 

I grew from zero to over 410,000 Facebook fans, & 40,000 emails subscribers in under 2 years; plus monthly income equivalent to an annual 6-figure business in under 18 months. 

It all happened very fast, definitely much faster than I expected given previously less successful entrepreneurial pursuits.

Based on that success, I created The Money Spot™ Program. It’s an intense coaching program on How To Build A 6-Figure Beauty Business as fast as is realistically possible even from the comfort of your own home. Beauty, in my definition, includes a wide range of activities from the more obvious Hair, Makeup & Fashion; to the less obvious Craft, Fitness and Health. 

Ultimately, through running my curly hair business I saw that many beauty businesses do not achieve the rapid growth I had because they focus too much of their energy, time and resources on the wrong thing: the product.
The Money Spot™ program is a cure for this growth inhibiting approach; its 3-part framework teaches how branding, marketing and distribution can be optimized from the start to help your business grow as fast as possible; because So many mediocre products out there earn more revenue than higher quality products just by getting these 3-elements right.

The course is fundamentally about helping you Live Life in the way that YOU Want.

The vast majority of women who join the program are in the initial or early growth years of building a business. They’re usually saying one or all of the following 6 things to me:

• Heather, I’m tired of the rigidity & monotony of my day job;
  
• Heather, I’m tired of working so hard but still not having enough money or time with my family;
  
• Heather, I’ve started my business but I feel as though I’m guessing my way through everything;
  
• Heather, I’ve always wanted to build a business based on something I’m passionate about but I don’t know where to start;
  
• Heather, I’m having a baby or I’ve had a baby and I’d love to start a home-based business so that we can spend more time together;
  
• Heather, I want to thrive not just to survive
  

With The Money Spot™ Program I solve all these very much interrelated problems. I help you transition into a more flexible life, where:

• Your passion for a product is structured into a business
  
• Holidays don’t have to be approved; 
  
• Time with loved ones doesn’t have to be before 7am and after 7pm; because we all know that even if you’re lucky enough to just work from 9 to 5, there’s probably a horrendous commute involved;
  
• Annoying managers are but a distant memory; 
  
• Your business grows and …
  
• Along with it your personal asset base. 
  

But, why choose my program? Women choose to join my program for three main reasons:

• Firstly, I supply knowledge that normally takes a few years to learn within one course
  
• Secondly, the course is structured such that you’re guided through 12-months of learning in easily digestible bite-sized chunks so that you don’t get overwhelmed; you can zoom through the course much faster if you prefer
  
• And finally, unlike many business coaches I’m underpinned by an actual physical product– I am a living example of the flexible life they desire and that breeds confidence 
  

Running a business is hard work. Research suggests that 90% of people that start a blog quit within just six-months and committing to a business requires a lot more energy and enthusiasm than this; based on this knowledge, The Money Spot program is designed to make it all easy for you. Our online database hosts 

• Over 50 learning videos, 
  
• A comprehensive Training Manual and 
  
• Importantly, a structured execution and planning calendar 

to give you the best chance of actually implementing the work and succeeding. 

The value offered by the course was very much summed up by a comment from an attendee who said, “Why are you charging £1,000 for a £10,000 course?”

As for scale, because the core course is hosted online, workshops can be delivered by any trained professional and sales boosted by an army of independent telemarketers the program is supremely easy to scale.

To living the life YOU want!

Heather

p.s. there's plenty more about me on LinkedIn