Part of my series: ‘Real-life Personal Brand Examples’.

I introduce you to Penny Hopkinson, the UK’s go-to expert on planning and developing ENGAGING Operations Manuals. Her specialism is in the franchise sector which is where I met her back in the early 2000s.

She has written an Amazon No 1 Bestseller called: “Manual Magic: Create the Operations Manual Your Franchisees Need to Succeed.” It is the definitive work of its type, endorsed by the British Franchise Association.

Never to let her 70s stop her, she also founded Manual Magic AI in 2025, which turns her Manual Magic 3-step process into a "Done with You, Done by You' SaaS product, which you can hear more about on the show.

Penny is a treasure trove of stories and she even shares how she was the first woman to get a rare Saudi visa to cross the Saudi Arabian Pipeline route from Muscat to Stuttgart in a rare racing green Chevrolet Camaro, in the late '70s.

Working on your personal brand strategy means digging into the stories that have made you who you are today. Come hear Penny’s.

- - -

𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢:

After training as a trade and tech journalist and international editor in her early working years, and a brief flirtation with public relations, Penny Hopkinson spent over a decade as a socio-economics correspondent and travel writer reporting on the emerging Arabian Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. Here, she interviewed ministers, merchants, and members of the ruling families.

For almost four decades however her professional specialism has been in the world of franchising and licensing - she is the UK’s go-to expert on planning and developing engaging Operations Manuals. She has written an Amazon No 1 Bestseller, “Manual Magic: Create the Operations Manual Your Franchisees Need to Succeed.”

In 2025 she founded Manual Magic AI as a follow-up to her book. This tool turns her Manual Magic 3-step process into a "Done with You, Done by You' SaaS product.

Penny lives with her husband, Steven, in Warwickshire in the UK.

𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗥𝗢̈𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗜𝗢:

Shelley is a systems-led personal brand strategist working with knowledge experts… those who teach, educate, consult, advise or mentor others. Her specialism is in helping her clients to uncover their genius gifts which the world needs and translate that into something that can be marketed and communicated in a way that’s comfortable for them.

South African born and British-grown, Shelley has worked with 150+ brands across 30+ industries through her consultancy and agency work. She runs her specialist marketing agency Harbour 32, with her magically gifted friends, where they focus on personal brand strategy and podcast show positioning.

==================

All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes at shelleyrostlund.com/podcast, or on YouTube. (Click here for the full audio transcribed version).

I share what I’ve learnt from my conversation with Jake Moore, a Global Cybersecurity Advisor and ITV’s This Morning’s go-to cyber security expert. As well my discussion with Matthew Attfield, a strategic specialist working in the UK healthcare training space.

These two conversations, much like the others in this series will hopefully inspire you to shape a version of yourself that you feel happy sharing with the outside world.

In this episode I share three things that came up for me after reflecting on both Jake and Matthew’s episodes, and those centre around these thoughts:

#1 Openness and curiosity can shape your path

#2 Ideas grow from disparate pieces of information & experiences

#3 Your brain wiring can be an indicator your special talents

Both conversations have urged me to re-think my definition of a subject matter expert, as well as take on board some of the tips they’ve inadvertently shared about how they navigate their work worlds.

Would you do me a favour? Could you let me know what’s swirling around in your head when you listen to this one and the conversations in this series. I’d love to know if they are hitting home or are useful for you. I respond to everyone.

Instagram : @shelleyrostlund Or LinkedIn: /shelleyrostlund

- - -

𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗥𝗢̈𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗜𝗢:

Shelley is a systems-led personal brand strategist working with knowledge experts… those who teach, educate, consult, advise or mentor others. Her specialism is in helping her clients to uncover their genius gifts which the world needs and translate that into something that can be marketed and communicated in a way that’s comfortable for them.

South African born and British-grown, Shelley has worked with 150+ brands across 30+ industries through her consultancy and agency work. She runs her specialist marketing agency Harbour 32, with her magically gifted friends, where they focus on personal brand strategy and podcast show positioning.

==================

All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes at shelleyrostlund.com/podcast, or on YouTube. (Click here for the full audio transcribed version).

Part of my series: ‘Real life Personal Brand Examples’.

I introduce you to Matthew Attfield, Founder and MD of Ashfield Services, a specialist healthcare training provider.

I invited Matthew to come and share his career journey so far, and how he has navigated getting to know himself, what lights him up and how to bring that into his every day.

You’ll get to hear how a chance meeting late at night, while he was on holiday spurred what has now become his thriving business.

Matthew is an absolute joy to talk and listen to. He is enthusiastic, open to the questions I ask him, and he was up for us working on his strengths LIVE on the episode. This gives you a working LIVE example of what it’s like to learn what your strengths are that show up in your everyday and is what other people value about you.

This is at the heart of doing the marketable value and positioning work I do in personal brand strategy.

Come listen!

- - -

𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢:

Matthew Attfield is the founder and managing director of Ashfield Services, a training provider dedicated to working in the healthcare sector and focussed on mandatory, clinical and specialist areas that mostly impact nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals.

He is essentially a strategic systemic generalist who is passionate about making things better for people, so they can be healthy, happy and thrive.

He co-founded The Good Slice of Pizza, a community food-based pop-up monthly charity fund raising campaign with his best friend Adam Cherry after being inspired from a trip India.

Outside of work he loves the cultural, tactile experiences he gets through travelling, trying new food, as well as going to the theatre and meeting new people.

𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗥𝗢̈𝗦𝗧𝗟𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗜𝗢:

Shelley is a systems-led personal brand strategist working with knowledge experts… those who teach, educate, consult, advise or mentor others. Her specialism is in helping her clients to uncover their genius gifts which the world needs and translate that into something that can be marketed and communicated in a way that’s comfortable for them.

South African born and British-grown, Shelley has worked with 150+ brands across 30+ industries through her consultancy and agency work. She runs her specialist marketing agency Harbour 32, with her magically gifted friends, where they focus on personal brand strategy and podcast show positioning.

==================

All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes at shelleyrostlund.com/podcast, or on YouTube. (Click here for the full audio transcribed version).