In this week’s episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Beth sits down with the incredible Donna Timlin - beauty therapist, business owner and self-described “neuro-spicy” creative - to talk about the journey that shaped her long before she ever stepped into a salon.

From childhood bullying and being told she “wasn’t beautiful enough to be a beautician,” to retraining at 28 with a toddler on her hip, Donna’s story is a masterclass in rewriting the narratives that once held you back.

We explore how she rebuilt her confidence, why she believes beauty should be accessible to everyone, and how ADHD fuels her creativity, empathy and drive.

This is an honest, warm and deeply relatable conversation about resilience, motherhood, identity, and the quiet power of starting again — even when you’re not there yet.

Show Notes

In this episode, we sit with beauty business owner Donna Timlin, whose journey spans bullying, self-doubt, redundancy, single motherhood, career reinvention and the courage to follow a long-silenced passion.

In This Conversation We Explore:

• Growing up with bullying and the long shadow it cast on Donna’s confidence
• Why she abandoned her dream of beauty at 15 — and what finally brought her back
• How travel work and finding “her people” helped her rebuild her sense of self
• Becoming a mum at 26, redundancy, and the turning point that changed everything
• The moment her dad nudged her to “just go for it” and enrol in college
• Retraining at 28 with anxiety, panic attacks — and ultimately graduating with full distinctions
• Building The Beauty Boutique and leading with encouragement, not fear.
• Living and working with ADHD, and how her “neuro-spicy” mind thrives on variety
• Why beauty is for everyone, and how Donna creates accessibility in her salon
• Boundaries, balance and the art of saying no — even to 4am brow appointment texts

Links & Resources

The Beauty Boutique, Royton

Donna on Instagram: @the_beauty_boutiqueroyton

Perfect For You If…

You’re navigating a career pivot, rebuilding confidence, exploring neurodiversity, or trying to find your way back to yourself after life knocked you sideways.

Key Takeaways

• Bullying doesn’t define you - you can rewrite the story others gave you.
• It’s never too late to start again - Donna retrained at 28 with a toddler.
• Support beats fear - the best leaders build people up, not break them down.
• Neurodiversity is a strength - ADHD fuels Donna’s creativity and energy.
• Beauty belongs to everyone - every age, every size, every background.
• Boundaries matter - protect your energy, your time and your peace.
• Confidence grows when you show up as yourself, not who others expect you to be.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing any of it “right” - the career, the parenting, the balance, the boundaries - this episode is for you.

Today, I’m joined by Charlotte Rose, one of the North West’s leading bridal hair stylists, a domestic abuse advisor, former children’s hospice worker, and single mum turned multi-hyphenate woman who has built her life with equal parts graft and grace.

From accidental beginnings in hairdressing to supporting vulnerable women and children, to rebuilding her life as a single parent and learning to protect her peace, Charlotte’s story is a powerful reminder that you don’t need one path to be successful - just the one that feels like yours.

Trigger warning: This episode discusses domestic abuse. If this is a difficult topic for you, please listen gently and reach out for support if you need it. National Domestic Abuse Helpline (UK): 0808 2000 247

In this episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, we sit with Charlotte Rose, a Greater Manchester bridal hair stylist and domestic abuse advisor who has spent over 14 years building a business rooted in connection, care and consistency.

Her story blends motherhood, graft, emotional labour, boundaries and resilience - all shared with the warmth and honesty that defines the in-between.

• How Charlotte accidentally fell into hair styling

• Growing quietly - before Instagram, before the trends

• Switching off from emotionally heavy work

• Boundaries as a mum and multi-career woman

• Why graft matters, but peace matters more

• Burnout → clarity → choosing weddings as her niche

• How she attracts dream clients without oversharing

• Rebuilding after difficult breakups and solo motherhood

• Choosing stability over “scale at all costs”

• Redefining success as a woman in your 30s

• Charlotte’s Instagram: @charlotterosehairstylist

• Website: charlotterosehairstylist.com

• National Domestic Abuse Helpline (UK): 0808 2000 247

Charlotte Rose on Graft, Grace & Building a Business With Heart

Episode Summary

This week’s solo episode is one of my most vulnerable yet. What started as a simple half marathon became something I never expected - a release of 21 years of body shame, childhood conditioning, disordered eating, and the belief that my worth was always tied to my weight.

I talk about growing up between two homes, using food for comfort, being bullied, losing weight as a teenager and suddenly being treated differently… and how all of this shaped the way I see myself even now. Running became my turning point - not because I’m a runner, but because crossing that finish line cracked something open in me.

If you’ve ever struggled with food, your body, or the stories you were told about yourself growing up, I hope this one lands gently with you.

Trigger warnings: Body dysmorphia, bullying, disordered eating, mental health themes.

Show notes

In this solo episode, I explore:

• How my half marathon became an emotional breakthrough
• Growing up with food as comfort and control
• The moment teenage weight loss changed how people treated me
• Why Slimming World became both a lifeline and a lifelong mindset
• My journey through body dysmorphia, restriction and self-worth
• How running — from Couch to 5K to 13.1 miles — helped me untangle my relationship with myself
• The battle between fuelling your body and fearing weight gain
• What I wish I could tell younger Bethany
• Why so many millennial women still hear the same old stories in their heads
• Running cracked open 21 years of body shame

Key Takeaways

• Childhood conditioning shapes adult self-worth
• Weight-loss validation created long-term dysmorphia
• Food became control instead of comfort
• Training forced a healing around fuelling instead of fearing
• Achievements hit differently when your younger self never felt enough
• You’re not defined by your weight or your body
• Healing is slow, messy and nonlinear
• You can always rewrite your story

What happens when your post-uni plan falls apart, your inbox is filled with 200 job rejections, and the world shuts down?

For Danna Richards, it became the start of everything.

In this episode, we explore how a psychology graduate who thought she’d become a data analyst accidentally built a global digital agency, became one of the UK’s earliest UGC creators, created content for over 200 brands, and rebuilt her career (and confidence) after losing everything at once.

We talk about:

• Navigating the messy middle after graduating in a pandemic
• Starting a white label marketing agency from a living room
• The truth behind UGC and influencer work
• Manifestation, mindset and why gratitude changed everything
• Building DuoVision Creative and finding joy in wedding storytelling
• How to create a life you enjoy — long before you “arrive”

Danna’s journey is proof that no experience is wasted — and that sometimes the restart becomes the real story.

• Success doesn’t have a timeline - you’re allowed to build or rebuild again and again.
• Follow curiosity, not comparison - the “wrong” path often becomes the right one.
• UGC is a business, not a hobby - contracts, usage rights, negotiation and retention matter.
• Practice gratitude daily — it shifts your mindset, your mood and your momentum.
• Don’t rush — slow, steady, repeatable actions win long-term.
• Invest in your mindset as much as your skills — meditation, visualisation and journaling all matter.
• You can build a life you enjoy — even if the journey looks nothing like you planned.

Links

• Book: Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert T Kiyosaki
• DuoVision Creative Instagram – @duovisioncreative
• DuoVision Creative TikTok - @duovisioncreative
• LinkedIn – Danna.R
• Book: Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself – Dr Joe Dispenza
• Book: The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

Episode Summary

Guest: Tom Stocks - Actor, Writer, Poet & Founder of Actor Awareness (aka The Chubby Northerner)

From drama-school rejection to chalking poetry across Manchester’s streets — this is the story of resilience, reinvention, and real northern grit.

In this episode, Beth speaks to Tom Stocks, better known as The Chubby Northerner: an actor turned poet and founder of the Actor Awareness campaign — a movement that opened doors for working-class creatives in an industry built on closed ones.

Tom’s journey takes us from Bolton to the West End, from rejection letters to viral pavement poetry, and from self-doubt to purpose. Through his words - and the lives they’ve touched - he reminds us that creativity isn’t about arrival. It’s about connection.

Because sometimes the most powerful stories aren’t performed on stage — they’re written in chalk on the streets.

In this episode:

• How Tom turned rejection from drama school into the Actor Awareness movement
• The real barriers facing working-class actors - and how he challenged them
• What it’s like to have your words go viral across Manchester’s pavements
• The evolution from actor to poet - and why poetry still belongs to everyone
• Finding purpose in helping others feel seen, heard, and hopeful

Listen if you’ve ever:

• Felt like the door wasn’t open for you
• Wondered if creativity can really make a difference
• Needed a reminder that you’re not alone — and that you’re enough, right where you are

Key Takeaways

• You don’t need permission to create. If one door closes, build your own stage.
• Resilience beats talent. Grit, connection, and showing up matter more than credentials.
• Community changes everything. Real progress happens when you bring others with you.
• Art belongs to everyone. From pavements to poetry nights, creativity can meet people where they are.
• Keep showing up. Even when you’re not there yet — especially then.

Follow Tom:

• Instagram → @thechubbynortherner
• TikTok → @chubbynortherner

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Actor Awareness
• The Acting Class
• Pendleton School of Theatre
• Spotlight
• The Stage
• East 15 Acting School
• RADA
• Royal Exchange Theatre
• BT SPORT 2021 Champions League Final Poem

Building Sideways: How Emma Brown Rebuilt Her Brand and Herself

In this, the first official episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Beth sits down with Emma Brown — a finance professional, mum, and co-founder of Elena Apparel, the activewear brand born from authenticity, community, and courage.

Emma’s story is one of balance and rebuilding — of learning that success doesn’t always look like scaling up. Sometimes it looks like slowing down, shifting focus, and finding yourself again in the process.

Together, we talk about:

• Building a business sideways, not skyward — and why that’s okay
• The impact of motherhood on identity, creativity, and confidence
• Learning to pause and rebrand when your work no longer feels like you
• The power of community, collaboration, and female partnership
• Protecting your peace, your income, and your purpose

It’s an honest conversation about letting go of perfection and choosing presence over pace.

• Growth doesn’t have to mean scaling up — you can build sideways.
• Motherhood shifts everything — identity, pace, priorities.
• A pause isn’t failure; it’s space to realign.
• Letting go can create room for what’s next.
• Collaboration fuels clarity and momentum.
• Community is your brand’s strongest asset.
• Protect your peace — and your paycheque.
• Confidence comes from showing up, not perfection.
• Slow growth is still growth.
• You can start again without starting over.

Links referenced in this episode:

• elenaraparell.com
• nottheryetproject.co.uk
• contentaura.com
• depop.com

In this introduction episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, host Bethany Wright shares the story that started it all - the moment she realised she wasn’t lost, or failing… just not there yet.

Set against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands, this is a story about burnout, belonging, and the quiet realisation that “having it all together” isn’t the same as being fulfilled.

From leaving behind a fast-paced marketing career to rediscovering what truly matters, Bethany unpacks how The Not There Yet Project began — and what it means to find purpose in the middle.

In this episode, we explore:

• The moment that sparked the Not There Yet Project
• What it really feels like to be in “the messy middle”
• Why success on paper doesn’t always feel like success
• How community and connection can reignite purpose

Listen if you’ve ever thought:

“Is this it?”

“What’s next?”

“Why do I feel stuck when everything looks fine?”

Because you’re not behind. You’re just — not there yet.

Resources & Links

Website: notthereyetproject.co.uk

Substack: Notes from the Founder

Listen & Subscribe on Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts

💌 Want to share your story? Reach out hello@notthereyetproject.co.uk — everyone has one worth telling.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• ChatGPT
• Google
• Emma Brown
• Katie
• Johnny Quirk
• Dry Waffle
• Seth Rogen
• Mel Robbins
• Diary of a CEO