From Adversity to Entrepreneurial Success: Cheryl Sharp’s Journey to Building a Thriving Accounting Business

Summary

Podcast Summary: You Can! Inspiring Women In Business

Episode: From Adversity to Entrepreneurial Success: Cheryl Sharp’s Journey to Building a Thriving Accounting Business
Release Date: October 18, 2024
Host: Sarah Jolley-Jarvis
Guest: Cheryl Sharp

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of You Can! Inspiring Women In Business, host Sarah Jolley-Jarvis sits down with Cheryl Sharp to explore her transformative journey from overcoming personal adversity to establishing a successful accounting business. Cheryl’s story is a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of seeking support during challenging times.

Cheryl’s Background and Early Challenges

Cheryl Sharp, a business owner, mother, and wife, began her entrepreneurial journey in 2014 under challenging circumstances. Shortly after leaving an abusive marriage, Cheryl sought to regain control over her life, focusing on achieving financial freedom and creating a stable environment for her children.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [00:21]:
"I set up my business in 2014 as an accountancy business... it was an opportunity for me to take some control back of my own life, to get some flexibility around the boys and to get some financial freedom and just freedom in general."

Navigating Initial Employment and Balancing Responsibilities

Upon leaving her marriage, Cheryl found herself without a job or financial independence. She secured a role at a counseling practice in London, which allowed her to set her own hours—a critical factor in balancing her professional and personal responsibilities.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [01:20]:
"I didn't actually have a job at all when I first left him, so I had absolutely no financial freedom... I was working five days a week but around the boys."

The demanding schedule took a significant toll on Cheryl, underscoring the challenges of maintaining work-life balance as a single mother.

The Catalyst for Entrepreneurship

A pivotal moment arose when Cheryl had to relocate, making her current job untenable due to the increased commute and lack of local support. This situation prompted her to explore alternative avenues, ultimately leading her to establish her own accounting business.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [04:11]:
"I was like, what can I do?... set up the business and do other people's bookkeeping and accounts and stuff. So I was like, okay, let's do it then."

Despite initial setbacks, such as the accounting practice not fulfilling their commitments, Cheryl remained resolute in her decision to pursue entrepreneurship.

Building the Business: Overcoming Networking Challenges

Cheryl faced significant hurdles in finding clients, especially as traditional networking events like breakfast clubs were not feasible for a single mother. She discovered Women in Business Network (Wibn), which provided more flexible networking opportunities tailored to her situation.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [07:09]:
"I have now started going back out and I'm starting to go to different groups... it's really nice to meet new people outside the area."

Transitioning to online networking became a strategic move for Cheryl, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when face-to-face interactions were limited.

The Role of Coaching and Support Systems

A crucial factor in Cheryl’s success was her decision to engage with a business and mindset coach. This relationship not only provided her with accountability but also significantly accelerated her business growth.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [17:10]:
"My coach has helped me to believe in myself, give me the confidence and self-worth and everything else that I needed to be able to go on and grow."

Cheryl emphasizes that without her coach, she would not have achieved the same level of success, highlighting the importance of mentorship and professional support.

Personal Growth and Evolving Business Vision

As Cheryl’s business expanded, so did her personal aspirations. She envisions creating a center to support women who have experienced abuse, offering them resources to rebuild their lives and businesses. This dream underscores Cheryl’s commitment to giving back and empowering others facing similar challenges.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [12:43]:
"I would love to have some kind of center where women who have been in abusive situations can come... learn how to run a business, they can learn how to be themselves again."

Empowering Others: Cheryl’s Mission

Cheryl’s mission extends beyond her personal success. She aims to inspire and assist other women in overcoming adversity and achieving their business goals. By sharing her story, she provides hope and practical guidance to those who may feel stuck in difficult circumstances.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [26:07]:
"If I can do it, then so can other people. It is possible. It is hard work... but if I can do it, anyone can."

Conclusion

Cheryl Sharp’s journey is a powerful narrative of resilience and empowerment. From leaving an abusive marriage with no financial security to building a thriving accounting business, Cheryl exemplifies how adversity can be transformed into opportunity with the right mindset and support systems. Her ongoing mission to help other women underscores the impact one individual can have in inspiring and facilitating positive change.

Notable Quote:
Cheryl Sharp [28:24]:
"What I want to show is it is possible and there is hope afterwards. You don't have to stay stuck and it's not."

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Connect with Cheryl Sharp

For those inspired by Cheryl’s story and looking to connect or seek her guidance, you can find her on Instagram:

• Instagram: @iamsherylsharp
• LinkedIn: Cheryl Sharp

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Thank you for tuning into this episode of You Can! Inspiring Women In Business. Stay motivated and keep striving towards your entrepreneurial dreams!

Transcript

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Hello, everybody and welcome to the UCAN podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Jolly Jarvis, and today I am joined by Cheryl Sharp, who we're going to be talking around. Kind of out of adversity comes opportunity and Cheryl's journey to starting up her business and all that involved. So welcome Cheryl. Please do tell us a little bit about yourself.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Hi, I'm Cheryl and thank you for inviting me on today. So I'm Cheryl, I'm a business owner, I'm a mum, a wife and a question. And I set up my business in 2014 as an accountancy business to. It was just after I left an abusive marriage and it was an opportunity for me to take some control back of my own life, to get some flexibility around the boys and to get some financial freedom and just freedom in general generally, but specifically that financial freedom that I desperately needed and wanted. Yeah, and I'm sure we can go into a lot more detail as we go through.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

So, you know, when you set up your business, so, you know, you left that marriage and you had the boys with you, you know, from what, what were you looking, what were you currently doing? What was your job?

[Cheryl Sharp]

So I didn't actually have a job at all when I first left him, so I had absolutely no financial freedom. I then went and joined a counseling practice in London and I was working five days a week but around the boys and luckily it was a friend that given me a role there and they would let me just set my own hours. So I literally would drop the boys at school at 9, run down to the train station, jump on a train, get into London for 10 to start at 10, leave at half two again, running back down to the train station to pick the boys up at half three and then on a Friday they would generally go to their dad. So I'd say do like a full day. But yeah, it was very.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

That must have been stressful.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah, it was hard. It was a lot. It took. Took a big toll really because it was just constant on the go.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

And how long did you do that for.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Timelines? A bit out now, but probably about a year or so.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

It's quite a decent length of time. And before that, were you, were you a stay at home mum, that's why you weren't financially dependent?

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah, I stay at home, Mum. I did, I did his account. He ran his own business and I ran his accounts and things and some other bits and pieces. So I kind of had my hand in it, but wasn't working full time at all. It was more just.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

That was A massive change.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah, massive.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

That was. That. That must have taken a real. A real big kind of leap of. Of everything.

[Cheryl Sharp]

It did. But I also enjoy working and I enjoy having that independence and being my own person. So, yeah, I. I enjoy working, which is probably a bit sad, but I.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Do, I do too, because I feel quite good at it. So I'm like, actually the parenting time side of things, sometimes I'm like. I feel like I'm really winging it and I'm really. I don't feel quite as good, but it's quite nice to be able to go to work and have something that you're. You think, you know what? I'm. I'm really. I'm really good at this. So how did. So you're setting up your own business. How did that come about? How did you fit that in?

[Cheryl Sharp]

So I was moving house and where I was initially, I could get into London in an hour, so it kind of fitted and worked. But where I was moving to was another hour away, so there was. I had no chance at all. I wasn't even near a train station, so there was just no way it was going to work. So I thought, what can I do? I was like. I spoke to a few people in the area and there was nothing available in school hours, because back then school hours wasn't really a job.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

How long ago were we going back? How long?

[Cheryl Sharp]

That would have been 11, 12 years ago.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Sharp]

So, yeah, school hours, working was not a thing and the flexibility side wasn't. It was either part time, a few days, a week or nothing else. And obviously term time as well. You couldn't get any term time, only jobs, literally. You have to work the full 52, obviously, with holiday, but a full 52 weeks of the year. So I was like, oh, this is not going to work, because I had no help whatsoever and I knew nobody where I was moving to. So it's not like I could even ask friends to help me out because I didn't know anyone and no family.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

What possessed you to move somewhere? Where did that come around?

[Cheryl Sharp]

Oh, it was. Long story short, I was seeing a guy at the time and all his friends were there and I had no real ties where I was. So I was like, yeah, okay, let's move. And, yeah, I went with that. Although I really believe that everything happens for a reason. And it was. There was something that was meant to get me out to that location because that's where I met my current husband, who is my Prince Charming. And if I hadn't have done that move, then I would never have met him.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

So I do feel like. I do feel like that. I think with big moves, it's definitely. There's something that's meant to be around it.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah, definitely. So I was just like, oh, well, this is not gonna work. I can't find another job. And the accounts practice I was working for said they'd give me some bookkeeping to do from home. That's how I initially started with them in the first place. It kind of was going in a bit of a full circle and they'd outsource some to me. And I was like, okay, well, maybe I can set up on my own and I can do other people's bookkeeping and accounts and stuff. So I was like, okay, let's do it then. So I set up the business. One of my friends was doing some tax returns on the side, so I kind of chatted to her a little bit and understood how it all works. Set up the business and then the accountancy practice never actually followed through with the work they promised me. So I was like, okay, what do I do now? But I'd already kind of committed and I'd already got myself in that mindset. So then it was a case of, right, well, now I need to find out how to get clients. And the only thing I knew from my ex's business was he went networking and he did B and I all the breakfast ones. But when you're a single mom with two children, you cannot go to breakfast club. So it was a case of, right, well, why now? So it was then a case of, right, I need to find some daytime NETWORKING. Which again, 11 years ago was not that many around. So it was just wibn that I found and went along to one and then I guess the rest is history from there, which has grown and grown and grown and things now are a lot more flexible. There are a lot more freedoms around and there's a lot more networking that is good for mums in my situation. So definitely.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

So how. When did you transition? Because I found you and became aware of you and we had conversations online, so you're on Instagram. So how did that. How did that fit in? Where does that fit in? And where does. Where does the in person stuff? How much in person stuff do you still do?

[Cheryl Sharp]

So I went for a stage where I did no in person networking because I'm a complete introvert and not my type of thing. I don't find it easy or enjoyable and it really drains me. So for a long time I stopped and we completely went online, word of mouth and I didn't really, I don't want this to come across big head. I didn't need to network because we had enough and I still had a bit of handing because I'd made the connections, I'd made all the. Built all the relationships and things. So I still had a lot of people that were referring and I didn't need to go out face to face. And then obviously Covid happened and everything, so nobody was.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

So nobody was going face to face.

[Cheryl Sharp]

And yeah, recently it's been a case of, right, I'm ready now to go back out and do a bit more. So I have now started going back out and I'm starting to go to different groups and it's really nice because where, where with the businesses go in, we're kind of in different locations as well. So it's really nice that I can branch out and go to different areas that I hadn't before because before I was very much in like Bishop Swartford and Hertfordshire way, where now I'm more in the Essex way and I'm branching out more up there in North Essex and even going up to Cambridge and things. So it's really nice to meet new people outside the area. Scary and it drains me and I dread. But once I'm there it's quite nice and I do like meeting people and getting to build those relationships but I still enjoy it. I think the online, it feels safer.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you're pretty active online as well, aren't you?

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah, I've taken a little bit of a break at the moment because I've been open a little bit. Figure the business pages are really active still because the team look after them. But my personal page, yeah, I've been a little bit less active recently because I've just been trying to work out. I think a lot of business owners will fears. Every time you get to a different stage in business you start having a little bit of like, where am I? Who am I? Because, because you're leveling up and it's like.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

And it evolves. You evolve, don't you evolve and you.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Got to meet the new version of yourself. And I think I'm going through one of them stages at the moment where I'm not quite sure. Well, I wasn't, I'm there now, but now I've just got to replan now to where I know where I am. But I went through a stage of. I wasn't quite sure where I was, what my role was, where I'd stepped back from the accountancy business on the day to day side. So I'm just running it now. So it's like, okay, like I am still technically an accountant because I am qualified and trained. However, I don't actually do accounts anymore. So I'm not an accountant. I run an accountancy business and trying to get my head around that a little bit and some of my passion bits as well. It's like how do they all intertwine and connect everything? So yeah, it's been a bit, but I will be back very soon.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

So that kind of. Because it is, it is a real journey, isn't it? If you think about where you start off from and the way that you connect with clients and then how it evolves and you evolve, your business evolves, your ideal client evolves. And so yeah, your messaging does evolve. Was this an intentional evolution or is this just what you've, you know, you did you sit down and look at business trajectory where you want to go with it and make intentional shifts or has this been a kind of evolving thing?

[Cheryl Sharp]

It's been an evolving thing. A little bit strategic, a little bit let's see where it's going kind of thing. So initially I knew I wanted to work with mums and I knew I wanted to help people similar to me get freedom through their business. And let's face it, accounts is scary for most people. If you're not trained accountant or bookkeeper or have any interest in that kind of line of work, it's very scary for business owners. And it's one of the unfortunate parts of. For most people anyway, it's one of the most unfortunate parts of running a business. You have to deal with it.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

It's like sales and marketing. Yeah, I feel like we're the unwanted extras.

[Cheryl Sharp]

So. So yeah, I wanted to be able to help women with that and to do it. So predominantly I was working with women and mums specifically. And then as my team grew, my team were mostly mums at the time, so kind of that felt natural. But then as my team grew even more, they wasn't all mums and. But they had their own families on what they deemed as family. So like their pets, their friends, it's the family they make.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

It's not priorities, it's priorities outside of, isn't it? It's outside of work. Yeah.

[Cheryl Sharp]

So it felt in authentic, not inauthentic, but it didn't feel quite aligned, our messaging and everything. So that kind of evolved to be more the family, the lifestyle that you want. So it was still there, but it just was, I suppose sharpened a little bit. Yeah. And I think as I'd done more work on myself, my mindset and I voiced one of my long, long term aspiration, if I won the lottery goals to my coach, that sharing.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Which was, which was what? What was your long term aspiration?

[Cheryl Sharp]

Oh, I really haven't shared this with many people. I would love to have some kind of center, I guess some kind of place where women who have been in abusive situations can come. They can have some, not respite, but they can come. They can learn how to run a business, they can learn how to be themselves again, have help with mindset, have daycare. So you've got, you can bring the kids and the kids on a barrier and just somewhere safe to work with other people where you know it's safe and people just get you. So some kind of centre like that and a bit more.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

But yeah, that's amazing.

[Cheryl Sharp]

I'd love to.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

That would be good. That would be good. So are you making steps towards that? Hopefully. Your coach was like, right, okay.

[Cheryl Sharp]

She's like, okay, well that is a dream. Not unachievable dream, but it is a longer term dream. She said, so what can we do now? She's very much like, let's take the first, first step. What's the baby step? And so the baby step initially was, well, I need to share my story. I don't need to, but that's part of it. To raise awareness, to share that it is possible for people who've come from adversity, not just abuse relationships. There's all different types of adversity. But it is possible for you to turn your life around and that not be your story, that be part of your story. A chapter, couple of chapters, depends on how long it's been. But that's, you can do it, you can go on and do whatever you want to do afterwards. So I think that was the first step for me. And then helping other women to set up their business is my next step. And that's where I am at the moment, is I want to help people that have been in that situation and are free. Because I'm not the right person to help people get free.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

No, no.

[Cheryl Sharp]

But I have plenty of contacts so I can help people point them in the right direction, but it's not me. But once they are ready to then start that next chapter, I can be there to help them to set up a business, to grow a business if they've already got a business to get back into it to grow it to however they want it to be. And that's kind of my steps towards what I want to do longer.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

And that's the thing, isn't it? Is you don't have to have the whole shebang to be chipping away at. And also it's like, well, what with that are you trying to do? And it's like, actually you can provide the support, the aspiration, the opportunities without having that physical center. And that's the thing is sometimes we have. It's like, well, I've got to wait. I've got to wait until I've got this and I've got to wait until I've got that. And it's actually, you can be doing those things in the meantime. And that's, you know, it's what can I do right now with the resources I have?

[Cheryl Sharp]

So 2.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Two questions of that. Because I. Yeah, because you said about first. First steps before, isn't it? And it's really is breaking it down. Did you have help when you decided to leave? Did somebody. Or did you do that off your own back?

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah, I felt all off my back, but I wished I'd had somebody.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Sharp]

But I didn't have anything. And I guess part of that was I wasn't admitting to myself I needed the help because I think that's a big thing as well. A lot of people are scared to ask for help, but also scared admitting that they need the help.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Sharp]

But I think it's a really, really brave thing to ask for help. And I wish I'd felt brave enough to do it sooner. But again, things happen for a reason. And I truly believe that the reason I wasn't ready is because I hadn't met the right person. And when I met the right person to help me, I asked for help and I got the help and I was able to work on myself. And for a long time, I did have a counsellor and my coach. My coach is a business and mindset coach. So we've got that perfect blend. And I needed the counsellor to get me over the initial real depression and anxiety side of it. And I wouldn't say I'm cured. No one's ever cured. But I've got that under control. Mostly now I just need the business and mindset side. So I've been with her now for four years and. Yeah, worth her weight. Gold.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

And do you think you would be where you were? Because actually, it's interesting because a couple of episodes ago, I was talking to somebody over mentoring and, you know, do you think that you would be where you are without your coach?

[Cheryl Sharp]

No, definitely not. No. She's really has. I can't even describe it and put it into words, but she's helped and it's not. She's unlocked something in me. The work we've done together is. Yeah, she's helped me to believe in myself, give me the confidence and self worth and everything else that I needed to be able to go on and grow. And the proof's in the pudding because beforehand. And I'll stick with the business success because it's quantifiable. But literally when you look at my business before working with her and within two years of working with her, I don't doubled what I'd done in six years, I doubled in two. So I think there's proof there. Yeah, definitely.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Definitely. It works. It works. And yeah, it does pay for itself, doesn't it?

[Cheryl Sharp]

It definitely does. And I now it's really weird because as I speak to a few other people who work with her as well, it's like I know now when I'm needing a session because. Or I get close to a session because I feel like I'm dip in, dip in, dip and dip in dipping, have the session and top up and then carry on. It's really weird. That probably doesn't explain it very well.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

No, it doesn't make sense because I think it is you, you get the momentum, don't you? And I think that's the thing with working on your own, is it? It can get really lonely. And even if you're not in a position to have a coach or a mentor or anybody like that right now, it's having, it's, it's getting those boosts. And that might be listening to a podcast or talking to other people in a similar position to you or just tactic tapping into, like listening into conversations, for example, on podcast, but also in groups of other people where you can see actually, yeah, other people are going through a similar thing. For me, this person's really inspiring because they've gone beyond inspiring books. It can all help you to kind of top up that energy and momentum to kind of keep going, isn't it?

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah, definitely. And I think the thing is working for yourself is when you have a boss, you, you're generally going to have deadlines on things that you're working on. And for me as an accountant, I've always had deadlines because we've got the HMRC filing deadlines. So the client work has always had the deadlines, but the working on the business has never had deadlines. It's never had anything. And if I don't do something, well, you know, I haven't done it. I'm not accountable to anyone. So even just that side of having a coach, I'm accountable to someone now. And if I say I was going to do something by the next time I saw her, you can guarantee I'm going to do it. Because not that she's going to tell me off, obviously, but it's that whole, you know, like, when your parents says they're disappointed, is that. Isn't it?

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

And also I think there is, because I read the Chimp Paradox, and in there he talks around. Your chimp, likes to. Like, if you're gonna. If it says it's gonna do something, it likes to follow through on it. And I think there is that. I mean, I think the analogy he used in the book was like, something like, if tell people, you invite them around to see your newly decorated room, because then you'll decorate it. So, you know, there is definitely something to that, which is a lot harder to do on your own. It's a lot harder to give yourself a pep talk. And there is that kind of feeling of like, well, you know, no one's. No one's telling me. In fact, it was interesting because there's a couple of correlations with you that I hadn't realized, the horsey side of stuff, because you put out a post about which I was like, oh, I knew. I knew there's a reason I like that woman. And so, yeah, you know, obviously I'm very fond of my horses. And then the other thing was you running the London Marathon. And I think sometimes it's very much. I'm going through the training now. I applied for the last 11 years, I've applied, and I've managed to get a place with macmillan, which is a charity very close to my heart. And so. And so I'll be running for them. And. But it is that. Because you're on the treadmill and you're like, I could walk now if I could just. And it's like my little. My head's actually going. Just press that button. That button, that button. Now we'll slow it down. You could just walk. And I'm like, no. And it's that constant. But that's the thing is you can press that button, you can walk and no one's noticing, but you're not progressing. You're not developing as you want to be. And that's the thing. But on a day to day basis. It's so hard to keep, to keep pushing and to not give yourself that easier ride just for me it can be very difficult. I've spoken to people who they're in relationships which are abusive and they don't necessarily know because you've got the blaming and the gaslighting and everything else that can go with it. For somebody who's like, you know what? This person makes me unhappy and I feel unhappy and I'm less and less confident in myself. What would you say to that person? What's the starting point with this?

[Cheryl Sharp]

I think the first one is recognizing this isn't what I want. And that's really hard for a number of different reasons because quite often you'll be like, well, it's me. Generally it's not you, but you're made.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

To feel it's you. And then the confidence in you, isn't it?

[Cheryl Sharp]

That goes. But also then it's like, well, I think you become resigned to it because you're like, well, I know this, all right, I'm not happy or it's not perfect, but I know it. And it's, it's safe for that reason. Not safe as in you are safe, but it's safe because you know the situation, it's familiar, but you don't know what anything else looks like. And that's scarier than staying quite a lot of the time. But I think the first step is recognising yourself that something's got to change. And then when something, when you're ready for that, reach out to somebody. Women's Aid and Refuge. Refuge. You've got the DASH or helpline which I can give the details for. We can put in the show notes if you want and somebody there will be able to help you and help point you in the right direction and help you to make those arrangements to leave. I would also recommend speaking to your employer because not many employers will have policies or any references where to go. But that's the mission that I'm on, to change because I think all employers should, because it's an easy way you can support your team, so why wouldn't you? But just see what they can do to help as well. Because even like simple things like if at the moment you're wages are paid into a joint account, asking your employer to put them into a separate account can make all the difference because then you've got your own money and you can do leave. So it's little things like that that people can start doing. And if you are a friend of someone that you can see someone else is going through, a loved one or a friend, again, speak to refuge. Because they've got people, they're trained to support friends and family, to help them support their friends. And just listening and not judging. I think that's a really big thing, is a lot of people on the outside can't understand is why don't they just leave? And it's not that simple. For what I've just said most of the time is because they're scared to leave or they've got this image in their head, especially if they've got children, mom, dad and children who don't want to break the family up. So there's all these things as well as not feeling that they can or they should or anything else. So it's. You can't force somebody to leave. You have to. They have to make that decision for themselves.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah, definitely. And I guess from an employer point of view, there will be employers who. They'll be able to see the change in that individual. And, you know, they're probably like, oh, thank goodness you've realized too. Or, you know, they're able to see that that's what's wrong. And it is first step, I suppose, is, is admitting it and saying it out loud, isn't it?

[Cheryl Sharp]

It is. And just to a trust, sometimes it's easier to say it to a trusted friend. Sometimes it's easier to say it to a stranger. It just depends on who that person is. But even. Even if somebody wanted to reach out to me online, on Instagram or Facebook, I'm not Facebook, I'm on there, sorry, Instagram or LinkedIn, for example, just reach out to say, I think this is me. Yeah, do it. I mean, I'm here to lend a hand, lend an ear. I can't necessarily help you get out of it directly, but I'm always open to listening and. Because sometimes it is easier to speak out to a stranger because it feels safer because you're not committing to telling somebody, you know, you know.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. And you know, from your story where you are now, you've got your business, you've got very clear aspirations, you're on a team day, you know, it is. That is. It is very, very possible. You know, you. You left with no job, no financial stability, no nothing.

[Cheryl Sharp]

No.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

You are proof that it is doable.

[Cheryl Sharp]

It is. If I always say, if I can do it, then so can other people. It is possible. It is hard work. Don't get me wrong, there's Been some hard work. There's been lots of tears. I've had to ask for help. I've had days where I thought, I can't do this. I'm just gonna give everything up and why am I doing it kind of thing. But they're the bad days, the good days way outweigh the bad days. And, yeah, if I can do it, anyone can. I'm not. I'm nothing special.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

And that's the thing is, is it makes. I was talking to somebody recently on a podcast, and we were saying about how, like, when you're. When you're in a situation, even if it's not a good situation, as you say, it's. You're not necessarily actually safe, but you haven't died yet. And so your body wants to keep you in that situation. Your head wants to keep in that situation because they know that you're not dead in that situation. Whereas. And it's that whole, like, that's. That's the thing with our kind of programming is it's very. It's very sort of. It's very outdated. And the thing is, it's not around there. Isn't this thing over. You know, actually, it's your. Your body, your brain is not designed to keep you in a place to make you happy. It. It's the happiness or anything else or actually feasibility. It's. In the short term. We're all right here because we're not dead.

[Cheryl Sharp]

And it is. Yeah, your. Your body, your brain is like, you're safe here because, you know, here. But, oh, that's scary over there. We don't know what that is. And with the horses, even more so now, I get that because they. This still amazes my husband. They are scared of the tiniest little things. They literally are scared of their own shadow sometimes. And it's because their brain doesn't know that that's okay and it's fine. And that's exactly how we feel in those kind of situations. We don't know the other side. We don't know what's coming. We don't know. And that is scarier than the current situation.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah. Which is, you know, absolutely understandable why people stay put. But there is. There is a way.

[Cheryl Sharp]

And.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

And you know, you've. You've lived that. And, you know, you are proof that you can make that happen. And, you know, you're on your mission to help other people do the same thing.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yeah. And I think that's the biggest thing I want to show people through telling my story, is not to show off or be arrogant or anything like that. I'm not. What I want to show is it is possible and there is hope afterwards. And I think that is the thing I'm desperately want to share and show that it is possible and you don't have to stay stuck and it's not. Yes. Don't get me wrong, it is going to be hard. There are going to be moments that are scary, but once you push through and you're there, it's worth it.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Well, thank you so much, Cheryl, for your time. It has been so lovely to chat to you. And guys, we will pop those bits of information and where you can find Cheryl in the show notes. Cheryl, where's the best place to find you?

[Cheryl Sharp]

Probably on instagram. I'm @iamsheryl sharp.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Okay.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Cheryl c h e R Y L Sharp with no E.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

But other than that. A totally uncomplicated name. Very Googleable.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Yes, my son says that all the time when his friends Google me at his school.

[Sarah Jolly Jarvis]

Oh, the joys. Well, thank you so, so much, Cheryl. It's been a pleasure speaking to you. Join me again next week, guys, where I'm going to have a solo episode. We're going to be talking more around growing your business. So that's it for me guys, this week. Bye for now.

[Cheryl Sharp]

Thank you.