How to build a start a business & stay healthy, Rhian Stephenson, Artah

Rhian Stephenson is a nutritionist, naturopath and founder of ARTAH, the practitioner-led supplement brand built around a core belief: performance starts with your health.

In this episode, Rhian shares the realities of building a company in the wellness space, how to stay healthy while navigating the pressures of entrepreneurship & why understanding your physiology is one of the most powerful business tools you have.

We cover: 

• Think of yourself as your business’s most important asset
• Your performance will affect the whole team
• Your health is vital: try keeping a one-month food/energy log
• Know that protein is fuel
• Understand your needs and proactively manage your mind/food/exercise
• Prioritise and be disciplined about doing what you can in these areas
• Try having a mentor, like a sports coach, to help you keep improving
• Being self-employed is both the hardest the most rewarding way of working
• Fibre (we should all be having 30 gm a day) affects mood, energy and immune systems
• Female founders have to accept they are cyclical, and that ageing affects oestrogen levels
• If in any doubt have your hormone levels checked
• Magnesium aids good sleep
• Try to speak to other founders
• Know that constant comparison via social media is simply destructive - try breaks from it

Rhian has seen first-hand, both in clinical practice and as a founder herself, how many people push themselves to the point of burnout while building businesses. Her mission with ARTAH is not only to create targeted, science-backed supplements but also to empower people, especially entrepreneurs, to protect their minds and bodies as they grow their careers.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR & produces podcasts.
Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2024 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason. 

FF&M recommends: 

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link &  Licence

Transcript

Speaker 3: [00:00:00] Today we are joined by Rian Stevenson, nutritionist, naturopath, and founder of aar, the practitioner led supplement brand built around a core belief performance starts with your health. Rian had seen firsthand, both in clinical practice and as a founder herself, how many people push themselves to the point of burnout while building a business.

Her mission with AAR is not only to create targeted science-backed supplements, but also empower people, especially entrepreneurs, to protect their minds and bodies as they grow their careers. In this episode, re is. So honest about her own story and give such practical advice for anyone starting or already running a business because you cannot ignore your health. And as we know, adrenaline can only get us so far. So keep listening.

Rhian shares in this episode some very practical advice as to how you can look after yourself so you can look after your business.

Juliet Fallowfield: Hi, Rhian. It is wonderful to have you on how to start up. Today [00:01:00] we are gonna get into talking how to build a business and stay healthy, which I'm so excited about because we're recording in December and it's bleak out there. But before we get into that, I'd love it if you could introduce Arta, the brand that you founded.

Rhian Stephenson: Yes, absolutely. So as you say, my name is Ian. I'm a nutritional therapist and founder of arta. Arta was founded about four years ago now. and we do evidence-based. Nutrition plans and supplements, just to help you live that high performance lifestyle, whatever that means for you. And, um, I'm really passionate about Arta because as a practitioner, I know how impactful good quality nutrition and supplements can be someone's life, especially to someone who's trying to build a business in the midst of everything else.

Juliet Fallowfield: Thank you for doing it because it's so needed and I think a lot of people who haven't started businesses are like, oh, you are so lucky. You have so much freedom and what a wonderful life you live. I'm like, it's the. Hardest job in a good way and a bad way sometimes. But Why do you think founders are [00:02:00] so much more inclined to say burnout or not look after their sleep or what?

What do you think is driving that?

Rhian Stephenson: I think founders perpetually live in that red zone, right? Where you are responsible for everything. everything is uncertain, So there is quite a high level. Of anxiety, you can always do more, right? There's never a night where I come home where I'm like, I've done all my work.

Like I could literally work every single day, every single hour. So it's really hard to draw yourself that boundary. And then when you add on kids, financial pressure. So lots of founders will often at the start, work for no money, which is very common. And then you have kids and you have school fees, and then you're responsible for the team's salaries and trying to raise money.

it's just the perfect storm. Of no time, high stress. And I think when that happens, and then your sleep starts to get impacted, because again, unless you're proactively doing something every single day to manage your mind at night, you just lay there and think about what more can I do?

What can I do about that? And so then once sleep also to [00:03:00] suffer, you're in that perfect storm of being time poor, overly stressed, and utterly slept. And I think that is just a disaster for health.

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah, burnout hideous and anyone, and it's I don't wanna say it's glamorized, but people say, I really burnt out. And it's like a badge of honor, especially in Britain, I think in the. Us. Maybe not so much in

Australia, not so much. 'cause health and wellness is so much more at the forefront there.

But what would you recommend founders start as a basic habit to get going with their balance.

Rhian Stephenson: I think the first thing is a shift in mindset, right? Because if you're a founder led brand or business, you have to view yourself as the primary asset, right? You are the most important thing to that company to making sure it can be successful. So if you don't take care of yourself. it, it just won't work, right?

Like you can only go for so long. So I think understanding the importance of self care, not in a negative way, right? I think especially as women, we're trained to think about food and fitness in terms of body weight and how we look, but actually thinking about it in terms of [00:04:00] mental performance, mental energy, your ability to make good quality.

Decisions. and stay calm when things get tough, that is completely related to your health and how well you feel in your body. And so understanding that you can't separate those two, I think is one of the most important things at the start.

Juliet Fallowfield: Very good point. And I'm beginning after what, six years of being self-employed

to understand when everyone says you've got to be okay with the weight of responsibility

and. Everyone has said this and it comes in different ways. You're like, oh, I'm responsible for a team, I'm responsible for my clients.

no, I'm responsible for myself. Which when you're under so much pressure anyway, is another level of pressure and that's really hard. say, You've said performance is personal.

When did you realize that your health was directly impacting you and showing up as a founder?

Rhian Stephenson: I think, it's hard to hide from a team, right? So when you're a founder, when you're a team of one or two, it's easy. But when you're showing up and you're supposed to be the leader and. You get a bit moody and you're negative [00:05:00] and you're on edge and you're irritable, that's contagious, right?

You can't expect your team to stay positive and stay motivated if you can't do it for yourself. So I think just having a team is like holding up a mirror and it can feel like a lot, but. It's one of the thing, it's kinda like having kids, right? It's the same, it's the same thing, like when you can't show up for your kids because you're moody and you're snappy, you can't expect them to be calm because it all starts from you.

And I think that understanding that and not getting angry at it, 'cause at first you can be like, oh, it shouldn't matter what kind of a mood I, because you can fight it a lot, but really, like being a founder is about taking ultimate responsibility, right? And so it's all about that. keeping the growth mindset, being like, okay, like it's all about me.

Not in a self-involved way, but how I show up will be reflected in how my team shows up, right? 

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah. 

Rhian Stephenson: So I think things like that. And then also just understanding so when I was young, I was a competitive [00:06:00] swimmer, so everything I did was about making my performance as good as it could be, whether that was sleep or recovery or food.

And then you go into the world and you don't have that and it takes you quite a while to link. Well, actually it's the same, right? Likeif you wanna run a business well or. Even be a top employee or run your family? you need to give yourself the tools, to perform because it's tough, right?

So really, when you are a founder, I think it's about understanding that, like how you show up every day, that's your performance, right? Not in a performative, inauthentic way, but just like what you wanna do, is really linked to how you feel, right? So I think again, it's just going.

Over that and making sure that is at the front of mind all the time.

Juliet Fallowfield: So definitely I have learned from every single guest that it's mandatory. You have to look after yourself,

 but you had some professional training and some obviously great coaching in younger years. For people that haven't been a professional swimmer, what would you recommend to them to understand their own biology?

Rhian Stephenson: [00:07:00] It's super hard. So look, I think, one of the things that nutritionists love to get people to do, and people find it quite dull, but it's so powerful, it is just a food and energy log, right? just track yourself for three weeks, for one month, not for three days, and just see, what am I eating, how. Am I fueling?

Am I crashing with energy? Am I sleeping well? Like understanding how you eat as a overall pattern I think is really important. And we don't often think about it in a realistic way, right? If you ask me now how many coffees I have a day, I'd probably say two. 'cause in my head, two's my limit.

But actually, if I tracked it. it creeps up to four very easily. Very easily, right? So it's not that we're lying intentionally, it's that you get into automatic mode and you just start doing habits that maybe don't necessarily feel you as they should. So first of all, understanding your dietary pattern I think is really important because everything starts with food, right?

Even if you don't have time to exercise, you have to eat. So making sure that [00:08:00] food is the fundamental kind of pillar of your health is extremely important, and it's the thing we Know the least about and are taught about the least. And so we really need to take it upon ourselves to understand that whether you do the research yourself or you see a nutritionist, it has to work for your lifestyle, but that really is the core.

Then you have to think about movement, right? Like movement is so important, especially for founders who can be trapped at their desk for 16 hours, right? 

Juliet Fallowfield: Tech Neck. Yeah.

Rhian Stephenson: yeah, and just not even getting air, not even getting movement, right? So you have to find a way also to get. Some type of fitness in that A, you enjoy, and B, you can do right.

So like one of the mentor shifts I had to make when I left my first business, which was, a fitness brand where I could train anytime for free for a whole hour. I didn't have kids, right? So like I could easily go and do a couple classes, than to being a founder at home with two kids. Is that. I'm never gonna have the perfect workout.

It just won't happen now. So I just have to [00:09:00] be super positive about what I can do. So now, like I am super happy. If I can do a 20 minute hit, I'm happy. Whereas five years ago, if you said, you can work up for 20 minutes, I'd be like, it's not worth it. I'm not gonna do 20 minutes. It's gotta be an hour.

Because you have this idea of what the perfect wor, so you also really need to let go of that. 

Juliet Fallowfield: so something's better than nothing,

Rhian Stephenson: Absolutely. Yeah. And it's about that consistent habit. And the more you do, the more you can do, right? Because I think also when you're unstructured and you are thinking about adding things into your life, it can feel very overwhelming.

But actually, once you have fitness and nutrition as a backbone, you unlock so much more energy because when you train you, you have time to switch off, right? You get the clarity you can get. Ideas, or you just have a break from your phone and from your computer when you eat well, so your blood sugar is controlled.

Instead of going like this, you feel more calm. You aren't as irritable, right? So it feels like a lot at the start, and that's normal, but actually [00:10:00] it gives you a lot more freedom within your weak 

Juliet Fallowfield: It's interesting we are talking now 'cause I'm coming up to the end of a 12 week week program. I've worked with someone who's looked at my hormones, my nutrition and my movement, my

fitness and my water, and my sleep and my brain fog.

and. it's all talking to each other and having a good night's sleep where you feel rested and energized.

You can do anything. You can take over the world if you set well

and then if you added movement and strength and then upping your weights and things like that. I'm in my mid forties. It's, I can see the difference and I am a better version of myself at work

and I enjoy my day more.

But it feels weird when you are busy and you've got an endless to-do list to take that time out for yourself. And actually bumped into a few people at the gym yesterday. Say like, I haven't got any time, but I needed to take the time to do the , gym workout. ' cause you are then more efficient. So if you have to hack it the other way, like you'll actually be better at your job if you do that.

Rhian Stephenson: A hundred percent. Yeah. I forget who said it. I think it, was an athlete, but they were talking about if you don't have the discipline [00:11:00] to train, you're a slave. You're a slave to your mood, to your energy, to what you feel like that day. Right? So it all starts with that self-discipline, not in a punishing way.

In a way where it's no. This is how I take care of myself and this is how I perform. Because if not, if I had to rely on motivation to go and have a run, I just wouldn't do it. I've always got work. I'm tired, like it was pouring with rain this morning. I went for a run and I was like talking myself out of it for a good 20 minutes.

Like I'm not gonna run all day. I did it and I feel so much better. I feel so much happier. I can't wait for the perfect. Whether or the perfect amount of energy or the perfect anything, because you're just gonna be waiting forever. So I think something that people ask me tons is how do I stay motivated?

And I just say, I don't, I'm not always motivated. Sometimes I find it so hard, I miss so much with my kids. I don't see my friends as much, but I'm disciplined and the discipline is the stuff that gets me through. And that's when I can enjoy myself more. I can feel better, I can feel healthier. I can [00:12:00] be more present with my kids because I've taken care of my mind.

Juliet Fallowfield: Oh, I love that. And then also you, when you show up for work and your team, you'll be the best version of yourself as well.

So if somebody's thinking about starting a business and they're currently employed by somebody else and they've got a kind of mandated week, and I miss this in a way that's, I used to get up at six, go to the gym, get the bus to work, be at my desk by nine, do what was I was told and having someone else tell me what to do felt like quite a luxury. Now,

Rhian Stephenson: just tell me what to do. I don't wanna make any more decisions. I don't wanna have to decide for everybody else. Yeah, I know it's really hard. There's a huge mental load,

Juliet Fallowfield: I miss having a boss some ways. There's also, there's no one that you can, and this sounds terrible, but there's no one you can blame. There's no one. You, oh God, that person's asked me to do this. I don't.

It's all me. 

Rhian Stephenson: So hard. Yeah.

Juliet Fallowfield: What would you recommend a new founder do to prep themselves if they're about to enter the world of self-employment?

Rhian Stephenson: I think just going in eyes open, right? Like understanding that this is a test of your mental capacity I think is really the key. I think you really need. To [00:13:00] have a plan to take care of yourself, to understand that, it's gonna be mentally super challenging and something has gotta give. And so you have to prioritize that.

I think you have to surround yourself with a really good team. I think sometimes founders are inclined to hire people like themselves 'cause you build the rapport really easily and you're like, oh 

Juliet Fallowfield: It's familiar. 

Rhian Stephenson: Yeah, you need people with the right skillset and they don't necessarily need to be like you, but they need to be able to contribute.

So understanding how important a good team is, I think is really important. And then even maybe finding a mentor, right? I remember when I ran the fitness business. At the start, I was so overwhelmed, but because I was like, I don't even, I don't know how to do this. Like how do you even be a CEO O Like what does CEOs do?

And I remember calling this person who then became a mentor and I was like, but what do I do? what? How do I get this done? And he said, look, being a CEO is just making calls all day every single day. Like 80% of 'em are gonna be wrong or not quite right. And then you have to wake up and do it again.

The same And [00:14:00] it's just. Repeat. You have to learn from every decision that you make. You have to be completely open. To critique, right? not in a bad way, but again, it's in that way. think of yourself like an athlete. Even when athletes win, their coach will tell them, okay, your arm was good here.

Your elbow could be higher, da. Because every single time you do it again, you wanna be better. So it's about understanding that everything you do is a bit of a test. You test learn, and go again. And just understanding that so much of it. Is a mental game I think is really important.

And then because of that, just being super passionate, right? Because I think there's a romanticism of being like self-employed or being a founder. everyone's oh my gosh, it's super hard. Like you said, it's super hard in the best way, but it is not romantic. I sometimes see my brother and he goes home from work at five 30 and he doesn't look at his phone.

his weekends are free and he is like 

Juliet Fallowfield: Paid annual leave.

Rhian Stephenson: Holiday and I'm like, oh my God, I'm so jealous. And so it's understanding also [00:15:00] that it's super hard work and it's so rewarding and it's so soul destroying sometimes and it's two sides of the coin, right?

it's like being a parent, right? It's one of the hardest things ever, but it's one of the best things ever. And so you have to be ready for that ride, I think, which a lot of us, I think aren't, when we start.

Juliet Fallowfield: Oh God. Now I started off

the back of redundancy. And just thought, I'm just gonna start a company blindly 

And everyone else says this as well. I was like, if you told me today what I'd have had to have done to get here today, there

was no way I'd have done it.

Because you are ignorant, naive, and blind optimism. You just run and go for it and see what happens.

But a lot of what you were saying was around resilience. It's something that you need a deep bucket of.

How would you recommend people work on building their resilience?

Rhian Stephenson: and especially if you have to raise money, right? when we raised, I think I got a hundred. Nos to get three yeses. So it it's the rejection, or, sorry, it, that's not what it is, but that's how you take it, right? You're like, oh my God, I'm not good enough.

They don't [00:16:00] like me. So in terms of building the resilience, so again, it all goes back to those foundations. What are you proactively doing to manage your mind, whether it's meditation, yoga. Walking, you know, pages, whatever it is for you, you've got to make sure that's a priority. That's also again, why I love fitness, because when you train, you teach yourself.

You can do hard things, right? Like you push through, you feel better afterwards. It's really hard. You build confidence when you train, and I think people who haven't gotten into training yet don't understand how powerful that aspect of it is. It's so powerful, 

Juliet Fallowfield: Well, it shows you in a completely different environment what you're capable of

doing that you can then bring back. Into the work environment. It's

like also if worked really hard, you can go to the gym, switch off, let off some steam, And your brain has a rest. 

Rhian Stephenson: yeah, and then again, look, understanding that what you eat and how you feel your body will impact how resilient you are is really important. One of the things I've had to do in the [00:17:00] last few years is I've just cut out alcohol, and it's not because I am. Saying it's horrible for health, which look, there's obviously no 

Juliet Fallowfield: it is, 

Rhian Stephenson: but Yeah.

Yeah. But the reason I did it is because I can't cope, right? I cannot cope with the pressure of being a founder and being a mom to two super young kids if I'm drinking at the same time. And that's just, and. And I'm not saying I'll never have alcohol again. Like I, but right now, 

if I drink alcohol, I mean I'm anxious for 10 days.

I can't sleep. I'm snappy with my kids and then I feel guilt and shame, which I already feel 'cause I'm not there as much. So you have to understand that all of these things will impact you. And so it's understanding, how do I have to fuel? Myself to perform. and it's all about, your mind, your nutrition and your fitness.

Juliet Fallowfield: And I, I feel for you because you founded a brand in the health and wellness space, you of all people having even higher bar to live up to in terms of leading by example, what led you to found [00:18:00] ata?

Rhian Stephenson: Yeah. Look, I mean that, that's a good point. But thankfully I don't feel that way because I founded Arta because when I was young, I had such a struggle with. So I was chronically ill as a child, and then it took us about 10, 10 or 12 years to figure out what was wrong, and it was a food allergy. So I changed how I ate and I.

Kind of transformed my health through nutrition and supplementation, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so powerful. Like this is what I wanna do. I do have an intrinsic motivation and an understanding of, it's far more painful to feel unwell than it is to eat a high fiber breakfast or make a good food choice.

I, so because I've been through that and. Most people who have been through that will say the same, right? It doesn't feel like a chore because I know what the other end of the spectrum feels. so in a way I think I was really lucky to go through that because it's made being healthy, like a far more natural choice than not being healthy.

And then because my [00:19:00] education is layered on top of that, I understand which levers I can pull when I need to help myself out, right? Like when I haven't slept, if I don't eat a breakfast, that has a very high amount of protein in it. I'm starving, I'm tired the whole day. So there's little things that you can do.

There's little levers you can pull. And that's one of the reasons I started Arta, right? Because I know how transformative taking care of your health can be to every aspect of your whole life.

Juliet Fallowfield: Well, I love that in terms of the leave is that all is not lost. So I was,flying yesterday. I'd slept really well and I'd taken actually the art on magnesium

and I'd gone to the gym and I did da andI, I saw the person I'm doing the training with. He's oh my God, I, my sleep is back. and then I completely jinx it.

I woke up four times last night. I felt really tired this morning.

But knowing that you've got tweaks that you can go,I'm gonna have a really high protein breakfast that's gonna

maybe take the edge off the tiredness and drink more water than I would normally go from a little bit more of a walk, get some more fresh air. it's the tweaking, but 

 it [00:20:00] is a part of the mental load of factoring it into your day. You can't just go into your laptop, into your emails and assume that you're gonna be all right

and no one else is gonna do it for you. I think that's the responsibility that you really have to own it,

which nobody talks about.

Everyone's oh yes, you travel the world and endless holiday. I was like, whatever.

Rhian Stephenson: who, what founders are doing that, that at least not in the first five years of their business.

Juliet Fallowfield: and actually I it, I found it really interesting 'cause when I became self-employed, I started working at co-working offices and I'd see most of the gang in the gym before the office. And I thought, God, everyone's so healthy, but you have to to survive.

It's a non-negotiable, and actually we're talking about fiber. It's something that I'm seeing a little bit more and more of in the press, and you've just launched Essential Fiber plus one of your newest products,

which highlights how overlooked fiber is

despite its profound effect, and I didn't know this, that it

impacts energy, digestion, cravings, and metabolism. Why hasn't it been talked about sooner?

Rhian Stephenson: I think it has been talked about. So, I mean, nutritionists have been talking about fiber for forever. I remember my [00:21:00] grandparents used to take Metamucil, right? so fiber is something that we've definitely talked about. For decades, but we used to think of it just in relation to going to the bathroom, right?

So if you were constipated, you took some fiber. What we know now because of all the research with the microbiome is that fiber not only, yes, of course, it helps you feel. Regular and have, good pooey today to be blunt, but, it fuels your microbiome and the balance and the health of your microbiome is integral to everything, to your immune system, to your energy, to your mood, to everything.

So understanding that and seeing that there actually is a massive and real health gap, right? Only one in 10 people in the UK get enough fiber. It's wild. the RDA, which is how much they say we should have is 30 grams a day. So, but that's the minimum we should have. That's not the, that's not the ideal.

Most adults in the UK get 18 grams out of that. Women get slightly less and so it's really key to just that foundational health. If you want to feel full and balanced and have good energy and have a good [00:22:00] mood, you really need to up your fiber intake. So.

I'm not saying you should take a supplement overeating food, but sometimes you know, the supplements are just the things that can help you get there fast, right? Because changing how you eat. especially as a founder, it can take months. It's really tough. So yes, you absolutely should work on that foundational nutrition in terms of fiber, veggies, your protein.

But if you can take something that helps you get there and helps you feel better faster, as long as it's safe, you do it,

Juliet Fallowfield: as we know, we talked at the top, it's mandatory, but taking those small steps to have new habits that set you up. And then once they're habits, you don't think about them, you just roll through good day doing these good things that bolster you.

But as a practitioner led, uh, brand Artah taps into a lot of clinical insight.

What health patterns are you seeing repeatedly in people that are trying to do it all?

Rhian Stephenson: so I think the number one thing is, Their blood sugar is very erratic. So whether it's from skipping meals or over fasting or just a bit of a lack of understanding of how important your [00:23:00] blood sugar is. There's a lot of people who have quite a sugary breakfast and then they have tons of coffee and then at.

Lunch, they may make a healthy choice of a salad, but the salad has not very much

fiber in it doesn't have a lot of protein in it, so you go your whole day under chronic stress without much substance, without much nutrition. So then you're prone to snacking, right? you're starving, you're stressed, so you're grabbing the chocolate, so you're grabbing the biscuits or you're having those things that you really don't want to have.

And so quite a challenge to. To shift that. I think it's really important to look at your day, like I said, at the start, and say, okay, how am I starting. My day. If there's only one thing I could do, it's let's change my breakfast to make sure that even if the rest of my day goes completely not as planned, that first meal is really gonna fuel me.

It's gonna satiate me. I'm gonna have protein, I'm gonna have fiber, I'm gonna have some plants. And really just start with that one thing and you'd be amazed at how much of a knock on effect that can [00:24:00] have.

Juliet Fallowfield: this is it an. Lynn can only get you so far. And I looked back at my first three to six months and I was waking up at four, five in the morning, so excited that I was starting a business and totally fine. And normally I'd be an eight hour sleeper and suddenly I was like flying. I was like, this is great.

And my friend's oh, no wonder you are doing so much. you are basically not sleeping at all. And I'm like, I've got so many more hours in the day, I can do so much more. And then I hit a wall. And I was so tired

and jet lagged from it

because your body, whether you want to override it or not, it won't let you, it will stop you and send you massive alarm bells if you don't listen.

and on that, with female founders, they're also carrying the hormonal and emotional loads that aren't talked about enough.

What would you recommend female founders pay attention to when they're building their businesses?

Rhian Stephenson: it's even, I think it's even more important for women, right? Because again, like you say, we are, we're cyclical. we don't have the same biology as men, it changes every week. And then on top of that, quite often we carry the [00:25:00] emotional load at home. Not always, but it's very common.

So understanding that, Your biology is very changeable and that it's not about willpower and trying to white knuckle through cravings. It's about under right? it's about how can I fuel myself, how can I nourish what my body needs. and just understanding from there. And I think you said something really good there, which is like your body is saying it like it's telling you stuff, right?

You have to listen. To your body. All of these things like your periods might start to change. Your bowel habits might start to change. It's really important to just notice what's going on and then just take a moment and say, okay, hold on. Is this just a one-off or is this becoming a pattern?

So it's understanding that we do need to make sure that we prioritize. Because whilst you can definitely go pretty hard in your twenties,I did and I was like, I'm fine. I still look great. I got tons of energy, like,I'm, I'm great. no way I can do that right now.

And so what you do in your twenties preps you for your thirties, And so like [00:26:00] each kind of five to 10 years preps you for the next. And as we go towards perimenopause. Understanding that your physiology changes, you will become less, 

Juliet Fallowfield: Whether you like it or 

Rhian Stephenson: right?

Like we become more insulin resistant, we lose the estrogen. So, our mind, we're just so much more complex in a great way, but in a way that means if we don't take care of ourselves, we're in for a pretty rough ride. and so making sure you're doing it. As soon as you can, I think is good. And not out of fear, not out of kind of panic, but just out of I wanna feel great, like I wanna still perform really well and feel great and look great and have a strong mind, for as long as possible.

So it's about taking that power back, 

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah. It hit me a year or two ago when friends started talking about perimenopause and I'm a problem solver. especially in comms and podcasting, there's always a way around a problem and you don't give up. And I'm Chanel trained and you get that result at the end with perimenopause, I was like, oh, this is gonna happen to me.

I can't avoid it.

I'm gonna have to [00:27:00] accept it and work with it and.

Rhian Stephenson: Yes.

Everything that I'm learning, very fortunately from this podcast series is around that, and it's something that I just just have to accept is going to happen. I'm like, oh, this is so unfair. I think female founders should have different tax benefits. It's Yeah, 

that's a whole other conversation about

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah.

Rhian Stephenson: helping pay for childcare and all that stuff. But, Uh, look, I think something else that's really important for women is we are trained to have that kind of higher pain threshold to push through to suffer in silence.

So, one thing I would say was really important is, if you think something's up,go to the doctor, go get some advice.

You don't have to suffer in silence. we usually wait far too long,to get help especially now that we know that HRT can be so impactful, it can be so powerful when it's done in a proactive way, right? Not waiting until after menopause. Understanding how important your hormone balance is and your hormone health is to your mind and to your overall kind of [00:28:00] energy is paramount.

So making sure that you're also like, okay, actually this isn't quite normal. I actually had that experience. Last year I went to see a hormone doctor because I was like, I just feel flat. Like my motivation was gone. Quite frankly, my sex drive was on the floor. Like,like mentally I wanted it, but I just, I couldn't be asked.

And it's so easy to tell yourself like, ah, I'm just stressed. I'm a parent, I could just feel it in my body because I was like, mentally I'm just a bit dull. And I just wanted to check it out. So I went to the doctor, we did a hormone profile, and my testosterone was on the floor, like on the floor.

which makes sense, right? And so I, because I had kids late, I, pushed through. So I did six months of testosterone and it transformed how I felt. It transformed me, right? So I. You can use things in a way where it doesn't mean you have to be on it forever, but just using the tools at your disposal, I think is really important.

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah, and taking [00:29:00] the time

out to go and seek that support because

. You have to prioritize yourself 

Rhian Stephenson: Yeah. It's too easy for us to think that, we're a failure or we're weak. You know what I mean? But actually, like women are so strong, weak is the opposite of. What kind of a word I would think of to describe a female founder who also has a family. So I think it's understanding like there's only so much you can take and when you're stressed your hormones can suffer.

Juliet Fallowfield: So just get it checked out, make sure your nutrition and your fitness are in check, and then you go from there. Thank you. That's really good advice for anybody listening, just take notes. but with early stage founders, , they're doing something for the first time that they've never done with before. Probably in a new market with a product that may not have been launched before. So overwhelm and exhaustion is inevitable

at points, hopefully not all the time. What would be the first three changes you'd recommend to help 'em stabilize and support their wellbeing at that stage?

Rhian Stephenson: it is that nutrition piece, so taking care of your food. look, , I'm obviously a really big fan [00:30:00] of how supplements can help you. So seeing if there's anything that you need that can really help optimize you, like one of the biggest.

levers that I have is magnesium, right? Like magnesium at night gets me into the sleep that I need, right? I can't sleep for as long as I'd like, but it helps my sleep quality so much that, that is just one thing that I have as a non. Negotiable. And then your fitness. I mean it, it's the same stuff, right?

Nutrition, your fitness, and it doesn't need to be a crazy fitness program, but it just needs to be enough where you're taking care of your body and you're making sure that you stay as resilient as you can. I think only one in five women in the UK meet the minimum exercise guidelines, so At least make sure you're meeting the minimum, right?

so it's understanding where you are now and what are the small tweaks you can do to really optimize. If you know that, like proactive stress management is one of your hardest, right? For me, that's my hardest, right? I find fitness easy because of my background, [00:31:00] I find. Nutrition easy for me, it's like meditation or journaling or breath work.

Oh my gosh. Like I find it so challenging, but when I do it, it's so impactful. So the thing that I've had to do is really find what's the best way that I can make sure that I do this. So what's the easiest way I can get it done? And for me, it's the breath work, right? Because I'm not quite at the stage where I find.

Meditation, relaxing. I'm sure I need to push on more, but like right now, mentally I just can't, whereas the breath work, that's where I feel like a visceral change. I feel so good afterwards. It really calms me. It's a program I can follow so I don't have to think for myself. So one of the little things that you can implement that really help your mind.

Yeah.

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah, I'm exactly the same as you. I'm a doer. I'd much rather go for a run than try and sit with my thoughts, 

But it's finding a way that I can't avoid it because it's magic when it happens.

Rhian Stephenson: Yeah. 

Juliet Fallowfield: Something that we do is a question from our previous guest on our last episode has a question for you and our last guest is Andy [00:32:00] Varley Founder of Insanity.

He started his business at 13.

He registered at 18 and he's been doing it for 28 years, since, uh, in the media space. And his question for you is, if you weren't in this role, what would it be instead and why?

Rhian Stephenson: Oh, that's really interesting. 

Juliet Fallowfield: It's a hard one because everyone's no, I love the one I'm in right now.

Rhian Stephenson: Yeah, look, I mean it would for sure be in the health and wellness space 'cause it's my ultimate passion. Whether it was some kind of a coach or, I'd love to, to, I'm sure everyone says this, but I'd love to write a book. I'd love to teach. I just love helping people understand their bodies and how they can access that change in health that I accessed.

So. I don't know what exact role it would be, but it would be something to the tune of that.

Juliet Fallowfield: Amazing. And what would your question be for our next guest? 

Rhian Stephenson: What has been the most impactful change you have made to drive success?

Juliet Fallowfield: Oh, I love this.

Rhian Stephenson: Please tell me, love this 'cause. it's so funny. a lot of founders are like, it [00:33:00] is in that moment. Este deland was amazing. She's I'm really on the fence. Do I do this business? what should I do to keep going? It was a really heartfelt question. And then David Bra from Grind, he's like,work life balance. How uck do I find that? And I was like, but you are David Abramovich from Grind. you've nailed it. And he's no. I need advice on work life balance, so people are very humble in this question, 

 one of the things you asked me previously was, what advice would I give? And the advice that I would for sure give is to speak to other founders is like whenever you can speak to someone else. Because when you get into your world, sometimes it can feel so heavy and in healer and it's quite isolating sometimes being a founder.

'cause you can't talk to your team the way you talk to a friend. You have to maintain a level of, Professionalism and so being able to speak to other people who are going through the same things you are like, oh, okay, so it's not just me. It's the same thing as when moms speak to other moms.

to like, just being like, does your child do this? And they're like, and you're like, oh, thank God. And so it's just really understanding, like [00:34:00] it's gonna be tough. it's not you like speak to other people and it's gonna help you stay mentally light.

Juliet Fallowfield: I think I need to rebrand this podcast. A problem shared as a problem halved because that's why I started it. 'cause people kept calling me with advice. It was like, great, I'll just start recording it and then I'll share it. And

it it is that mutual, not even mutual mentorship, but it's my work therapy because I get to ask people all these lovely questions

and then share it out.

But

thank you. Yeah. It's such good advice for anyone thinking of starting.

Rhian Stephenson: Someone told me once, you can't eat an elephant in one sitting. And that's really stuck with me. it's such a great, it's such a great saying because we often like approach problems or breakups or mental problems like, I have to get over this now or I have to find to solve now. And actually with big problems, you really need to be patient and 

You can't do it all at once. So it's gonna take time. It's gonna be challenging. You'll have months where you're flying, where you're hitting targets, you're exceeding targets. There'll be months where you're like, am I gonna make payroll? what am I gonna do? I'm gonna need funding.

And it's all just a part of it. So it's about being like, okay. this is just [00:35:00] gonna take time. I think also a lot of founders think, yeah, I'll do this and in three years I'll be here. It really takes three years to get going, right? it's not gonna be three. So whatever timeframe you set yourself, for most of us, there's obviously some great businesses that just fly like that.

But for the rest of us, add a couple years onto that goal, so you're not 

pressuring 

yourself with something that doesn't matter.

Juliet Fallowfield: With anything. And going back to that fitness analogy, the longer you build your strength, the longer it lasts. And it's, it is a slow race. if you build slowly, you are probably not gonna make too many irrational decisions. You're not gonna burn through budget as much. you learn by doing.

So the more you are in your business, the more time. And I just, the last five years, the world has fallen apart about six times. And as long as I can keep our heads above water and the team are happy, client's happy, and I'm happy. I'm learning and that's our success metric. But it's a lot of people put the pressure on.

It's you must scale and you wanna sell. And it's Nope, nope. Don't know that answer yet. I'm fine. I'm gonna just not even tick over, but just take [00:36:00] it a bit slower than all of the Instagram content says otherwise. Actually, my last question for you would be, how do you manage social media as a founder?

Because there is a lot of bragging out there on social that makes you feel insufficient or your business isn't doing that well. How do you manage that boundary?

Rhian Stephenson: Not well. I find it really hard if I'm honest, because right now I'm in the stage where I'm probably using social media in the worst way, right? I am not producing enough content led by me, but I'm looking at things a lot, right? Because a part of. My job is also to see like what's going on, what are other people doing?

and so I often find myself comparing the business to businesses who have been open for 15 years. And I'm like, oh my gosh, look what they're doing. They've nailed it. And I'm like, what? It's just, it's really hard. And then I compare myself to people who do social media and content for a living, and I'm like, oh my gosh, my content's terrible and I'm not doing enough.

So I am actually, I'm still navigating. I find it very challenging. I haven't nailed it. and it's something I'm definitely [00:37:00] working on.

Juliet Fallowfield: It is really

Rhian Stephenson: If I had my way, I would be completely social media free. Like I, it's not something that's good for my mindset, right? Like I know myself. And just that constant comparison and that constant like looking at other things and the lack of productivity and you can get into a hole where you've wasted a whole hour when you've got so many other things.

Like it's just not something that suits me. So, 

Juliet Fallowfield: is so interesting and so reassuring to hear you say this. I think you'll give a lot of listeners comfort because on social media you are killing it. You've got an amazing following. It's very engaged, gorgeous content. Your brand looks so strong, the packaging's beautiful. You've got kids that you are cooking for wonderful meals and it's, you are sharing such useful advice and I've saved so many of your posts of, oh, I, yeah, that's like good learning for me to do that.

So you are helping your followers, but at the cost to your. Wellbeing sometimes. 'cause it can feel overwhelming and awful when you're on Instagram. And actually last weekend I deleted it and it was incredible. I had a weekend off Instagram. I was like, this is amazing.

But you do need it for business.

So it's [00:38:00] finding that boundary I think is really hard.

Rhian Stephenson: Yeah, so I think art is, Instagram is great and that's fine, but. I was answering kind of me, my, myself, my personal relationship. About two years ago, I, went to Italy with my husband and it was my first holiday in a year and a half. And I got locked out of my Instagram for some reason. And at first I panicked, and then I was like, oh, great, I'm just gonna do the whole, and I ended up taking eight weeks off the same thing like the whole summer I took off and.

The mental

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah,

Rhian Stephenson: clarity and calmness that I felt. So since then, I've tried to reframe my relationship with it. But I think until I'm in a place where I feel confident in the amount of content that is self-led from me rather than me just consuming content, that's definitely a balance that I've gotta hit.

And I haven't hit it yet. It's really tough.

Juliet Fallowfield: It. It is tough. thank you for sharing that and being so vulnerable about it as well. It'll give a lot of people some

reassurance that they're not alone with it. Problem shared, problem halved.

So 

you. 

Rhian Stephenson: new name.

Juliet Fallowfield: Yeah. thank you

so [00:39:00] much for in, for your time.

I've loved it. I've learned so much. And please continue doing what you're doing 'cause it's helping so many people.

And yeah, thanks for your

time. 

Rhian Stephenson: too. Thank you so much.

Speaker 3: If you'd like to contact Ian, you can find all of her details in the show notes along with a recap of the advice that she has so kindly shared. I also encourage you to check out our show notes where Rian has very kindly shared a discount code for our listeners.