About Reflective Rebels Podcast: Human Stories, Brave Business
For business owners who feel like their days define them instead of the other way around - and are ready to do something about it.
Real stories of brave action from people who stopped pretending everything was fine and actually made a change. Not polished success stories or corporate LinkedIn bullshit. Just honest conversations about the leaps people took, what they risked, and what's happened since - the messy, the meaningful, and the still-figuring-it-out.
We talk about what shaped you, the moments that changed you, and what joy looks like now that you're building a business without selling your soul.
You'll feel less alone in whatever you're going through, find courage in someone else's story, and maybe get the push you need to take your own brave action.
A business podcast for UK business owners who want real growth without selling their soul.
Life's too short to be shit.
Do I Deserve Lots of Money? Money Blocks, Self-Worth and Why You Undercharge
Ever quietly shave your price down before the client's even seen it? Theresa did too, and it took four voice notes to Ben before she worked out why.
What she found underneath it, a childhood without money, client quotes she still under-charges for, ideas she shelves before she's even tried, will probably feel familiar to you too.
In this episode, Ben unpacks the beliefs sitting underneath our feelings about money, why they hold us back, and sets two bits of homework that will help you start closing the gap between what you charge and what you deserve.
In this episode:
Where money blocks actually come from
Why you can believe you charge what you're worth and still be underselling yourself without noticing
The link between the ideas you shelve and the beliefs you hold about money
Homework: your money beliefs, and Ben's ten-answers exercise
About Theresa
Theresa runs Ribeiro Ceremonies, crafting wedding and life ceremonies.
Website: https://www.ribeiroceremonies.com/ (https://www.ribeiroceremonies.com/)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ribeiroceremonies/ (https://www.instagram.com/ribeiroceremonies/)
About the podcast
Reflective Rebels is hosted by Ben Hickman, business coach and founder of Reflective Rebels, helping business owners build a business (and a life) that doesn't cost them everything to run. Real conversations, real people, no polish.
About Ben
Ben Hickman is an ILM Level 7 qualified business coach with 14+ years' experience, working with business owners who want more than survival mode. Find out more, or book a free chat, at reflectiverebels.co.uk (http://reflectiverebels.co.uk).
Get involved
Got a question or a money block of your own? Email ben@reflectiverebels.co.uk (mailto:ben@reflectiverebels.co.uk), you might end up on a future episode.
30 Jun 2026
Why the F*k Is Building a Business So Lonely? (Solo episode featuring Abigail)
There's a version of running your own business that looks great from the outside. Freedom, flexibility, being your own boss. And then there's what it actually feels like at 2am when you can't switch your brain off, surrounded by people you can't be honest with because they're either competition or clients or colleagues you need to look capable in front of.
Reflective Rebels community member Abigail asked the question 'why the f*ck is running a business so lonely?'. In this experimental solo episode, Ben weaves in Abigail's raw voice notes (recorded on a dog walk!) and reflects on what she's bravely sharing.
Listen if you...
Feel like you're performing a version of yourself every time you show up to a networking event
Have had a nightmare client and had absolutely nobody to vent to about it
Know you're winging it as a leader but can't admit that to anyone
Feel lonelier running your own business than you ever did working for someone else
Are exhausted by maintaining the "it's going really well" version of yourself
Wonder if everyone else has got it more together than you do
Keywords
business owner loneliness, entrepreneur isolation, imposter syndrome, leadership loneliness, self-employed mental health, business owner burnout, vulnerable leadership, belonging vs fitting in, small business owner struggles, people pleasing business owner, self-employed overwhelm, authentic leadership
About Ben
Ben Hickman is an ILM Level 7 qualified executive coach based in Carlisle, Cumbria. reflectiverebels.co.uk (http://reflectiverebels.co.uk)
Support the Podcast
The best thing you can do is share this episode with one person you think needs to hear it.
Get in Touch
reflectiverebels.co.uk (http://reflectiverebels.co.uk)
23 Jun 2026
From the Top of My Career to a Black Hole... and Back: Emma Sherlock on Joining the Family Business
Emma Sherlock had her own show on BBC Radio Cumbria. She'd been a journalist for the best part of two decades. She knew exactly who she was and what she was doing and she was very good at it.
And then she walked into the family business and none of it counted.
She went in as a very experienced journalist and a very green businesswoman. Made mistakes with people. Was quite strongly disliked. Felt physically sick going into work some days. And all of that was happening during COVID, living in a caravan whilst building a house, and trying to keep other people's salaries alive when the whole sector had crashed.
It was, in her words, horrendously awful. It's taken her till now to talk about it without crying.
But she kept going. Made the calls she had to make. Lived with the fallout. And learned, as she puts it, hard, sharp, steep lessons. Now the business is in its best years. The team is twelve people she genuinely loves. And she's chartered a yacht for the summer!
This one's for anyone who's brilliant at what they do and terrified they might be getting the other stuff completely wrong.
Listen if you...
Feel like a fraud in a role you chose but didn't feel ready for
Are making bold decisions and losing sleep wondering if you got them right
Have ever been disliked for doing the right thing and found it harder than you expected
Know you need to make a change in your team but can't face the fallout
Are in the middle of something horrendously awful and need to know there's an other side
Can't motivate the people around you the way you'd motivate yourself and don't know why
About Emma
Emma Sherlock is co-director of Stan Sherlock Associates, a financial services firm based in Carlisle.
Keywords
career change, joining the family business, imposter syndrome, business owner, people management, redundancy, leadership, self-doubt, reinvention, starting over, vulnerable leadership, entrepreneur overwhelm
About Ben
Ben Hickman is an ILM Level 7 qualified executive coach based in Carlisle, Cumbria. reflectiverebels.co.uk (http://reflectiverebels.co.uk)
Support the Podcast
The best thing you can do is share this episode with one person you think needs to hear it.
Get in Touch
reflectiverebels.co.uk (http://reflectiverebels.co.uk) or find Ben on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/reflective_rebels/) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/benhickman109/).
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
12 ratings
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