It was never about the sweat

Let’s be honest, exercise is one of those things most of us know we should do.

But that 'should' doesn’t make it any easier to walk through the door.

Especially if you’ve already decided you’re not fit enough. Or sporty enough. Or that you’re simply not “one of those people”.

I was an indoor cycling instructor who looked quite different to the traditional ‘instructor’ you might picture from an instagram reel, being a solid and strong size 16.

And when I was teaching indoor cycling, I took a different approach to many other coaches. I wasn’t trying to build a room full of athletes. I wasn’t even trying to help people ‘get fitter’.

Some classes had triathletes training for competitions.

Next to them would be someone who’d spent all day talking themselves into coming.

They rode the same class, to the same music.

I wanted to build a room where everyone felt like they belonged.

Because when people feel comfortable, seen and safe, they feel able to do the scary things. The things that were uncomfortable. The hard things.

And that was the goal.

Because it was never about who worked the hardest.

It wasn’t even about the sweat.

It was about doing the thing.

And realising you were more capable than you’d given yourself credit for.

Thousands of rides later, I've realised the coaching was never really about the cycling (don't get me wrong, I still love indoor cycling and the music and the energy).

I’m not on the bike but I'm still coaching - it’s just that now it's around business finances.

My superpower was never explaining numbers. It's helping people do the thing they've been avoiding.

Helping them build their confidence so they can trust themselves.

Helping them realise they’re far more capable than they think.

It isn’t magic.

It’s 20 years of bringing together my qualifications and experience in accounting, teaching and coaching.

And it's one key lesson.

People do difficult things much more easily when they don’t feel like they’re doing them alone.

If this resonated with you...

I run workshops and create resources for women business owners who'd rather do literally anything else than their bookkeeping. If you're ready to feel more confident with your business finances (without becoming an accountant), you're in the right place.

→ Join the waitlist for the Female Finance Social Club.

→ Sign up for the mailing list here

Want more?

You might also enjoy the following articles:

I'm Coming Out

The Six Figure Business Con

Why do I avoid looking at my business finances? Avoiding your business finances is usually an activation problem rather than a laziness problem. The task itself is rarely the hard bit. Opening the software, sitting down and starting is. Most business owners can do the work perfectly well once they're in the room. The struggle is getting themselves through the door.

Do I need to be good at maths to run a business? No. Running a business well is about understanding what your numbers are telling you, not about mental arithmetic. Your accounting software does the sums. Your job is to read the story it's telling and make decisions with it. That's a skill anyone can build with repetition and a bit of translation.

How do I build confidence with my business numbers? Confidence comes from doing the thing, not from waiting until you feel ready. It's built through repetition, familiarity and evidence. You look at your numbers, you survive it, you do it again, and it gets easier. Confidence rarely arrives before action. It's usually the result of it.

Is it normal to feel anxious about bookkeeping? Completely normal, and far more common than anyone admits. Business finances carry fear, responsibility and history, so of course they feel heavier than a simple admin task. Successful business owners procrastinate, avoid and second-guess themselves too. You're not uniquely bad at this. You're just human, and unaccompanied.

Does accountability actually help with financial admin? Yes, and usually more than discipline does. Most business owners already hold themselves to impossibly high standards. What's missing isn't willpower, it's company. Working alongside other people lowers the activation energy, makes starting easier, and turns a dreaded task into a normal one. Humans do difficult things better together.

What does financial coaching for business owners actually involve? Financial coaching helps you understand your own numbers well enough to make decisions confidently, rather than handing everything to someone else and hoping. It combines explanation, accountability and decision support. The aim is autonomy, not dependency. You should end up trusting yourself more, not needing your accountant more.