In this episode, Janet and Matt speak to the founder and creative director of Pretty Clever Studios, John Burton.

John explains how the team at Pretty Clever are passionate about maintaining an ethical stance towards business, local communities and the planet. 

During the podcast, John discusses how his journey through education was always backed by a passion for creativity, laying the foundations for his future career in graphic design.

Having discovered the corporate world was not something he saw himself being a part of, John taught himself the basics of graphic design software and began his business journey. 

Since their foundation in 2019, John and the Pretty Clever team have maintained their focus on doing good for local communities.

From working with like-minded individuals who share his passion for ethical business decisions to becoming a B-Corp certified business earlier this year, John discusses his plans of continuing to enjoy business while sustaining a morally focused team.

In this episode, Janet and Matt are joined by Antoinette Daniel, the Founder of cleaning agency, Just Helpers.

Launched in 2012, Just Helpers provide professional cleaning services whilst fighting social inequality by ensuring each Helper is paid at least the London living wage.

Antoinette shares her journey into the cleaning world, and the ambitions that led her there.

Discussion turns to the challenges that they faced as a result of Covid 19 and what they learnt in response.

Antoinette highlights the importance of wellbeing and equal pay throughout her business and details how she supported her colleagues through the pandemic.

As the episode comes to a close, Antoinette discusses her plans for the future of Just Helpers including the opportunity for expansion and achieving her personal goal of taking a two-week holiday, which is now non-negotiable.

Everyone agreed that we should all set ourselves a similar goal.

In this episode, Janet and Matt continue their exploration of sabbaticals, discussing the benefits for leaders and employees alike.

They speak to Mark Granger, the operations director for Centric Talent, who took time away from the office to sail from mainland Spain to Eastern Greece.

Mark tells us how this transformative experience improved his mental health by changing his perspective on work. He discusses how he now feels more relaxed even after returning to his role. He has managed to maintain this calmness by reminiscing on memories of “the sun rising in the morning” and even “a little turtle swimming in the water”.

By exploring the anxieties and fears many people face when looking into the prospect of taking time out, Matt, Janet and Mark find that they are often self-imposed. It is in fact possible for anyone to challenge the expectation of working five days a week until retirement, and to instead take a break to explore new challenges, regardless of your role.

Ultimately “no man is an island”.