Career Strategist I Change advisor for Leaders | I help successful professionals build freedom, income & impact through portfolio careers | Speaker I Ex-Citi COO | Follow for modern leadership, career and change

Over the past 25 years, I have built a successful international banking career.
Most recently, I was the Regional COO for Citibank’s $2Bn business across 16 countries in Asia - leading large-scale transformations in digitisation and culture.

But in 2021, I walked away from my high-paying executive role.

Why?

Because I wanted more space.
More time with family.
More alignment between who I am and how I work.

But I didn’t want to start from scratch.
So I asked myself a question:
What if I could build a career around everything I already know - and love?

That’s how my portfolio career began.
And it changed everything.

Now, I help other professionals do the same.

What I’ve built since 2021:
→ A 6-figure portfolio business with 3 income streams
→ Founder of Change is Possible - a business community for professionals redesigning their next chapter
→ 100K+ LinkedIn followers (grew from 17K in under a year)
→ Coached 100+ professionals through successful career transitions
→ Host of a Top 20 global podcast on career change, Change is Possible
→ TEDx speaker, Forbes columnist, and Bloomberg TV guest

Want to build your own portfolio career?
🚀 THE PORTFOLIO CAREER ACCELERATOR (Launching January 2026) 
Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1thkmph_EwRxLGfuL9muCsRir1uKDdF2nXYeI7X_1oSA/edit

This is an 8-week program designed to help you:
→ Turn your expertise into income
→ Build a personal brand that opens doors
→ Create your first income stream - even before you leave your job

Only 20 spots. 12 already claimed.

Other ways we can work together:
✔️ Join my business community — Change is Possible https://changeispossible.co.uk/ - doors open for new members on Sept.10, 2025
✔️ Book me to speak — I deliver keynotes on leadership, change, career reinvention, and the future of work - send a DM.
✔️ Hire me as an advisor — I support companies navigating complex transformation - send a DM to meet and explore.
✔️ Book 1:1 coaching — For senior execs ready to design their next chapter - send a DM.
✔️ Book my LinkedIn Growth Bundle — A 2-session intensive where I teach you the exact system I used to grow to 100K+ followers. Apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bLp7wmK8xhIpfFu8beImvD5JZQHYsbraTBx5Orjx0zs/edit

P.S. Still wondering if change is really possible?
🎧 Tune in to my podcast Change is Possible — where 100+ professionals share how they redesigned their careers and lives. Watch here - https://www.youtube.com/@ChangeIsPossiblePodcast

Ani Filipova

Scrolling LinkedIn, you will think everyone is operating at 100% every day.

5 am routine ✅
10 client calls ✅
Launched 3 products ✅
Ran a marathon ✅

Meanwhile, I'm over here thinking:

• My video production is weeks behind
• I have zero content prepped for this week - I'm creating as I go
• That Substack I promised myself I'd launch in January is still in drafts
• My follow-up list has a follow-up list

And you know what?

My business is still growing.
My Portfolio Career Accelerator starts in 10 days - with brilliant people already inside.
My community is thriving.
My podcast just passed 30,000 subscribers.

Nobody posts the hard days.
But those are the days that matter the most.

They teach you:
• Perfect doesn't exist
• Decisions get made with incomplete information
• Momentum matters more than intensity

That's why I didn't build my Portfolio Accelerator as a blueprint for perfection.

I built it as a framework for sustainable progress.

Because the move from corporate to a portfolio career isn't about doing everything right.
It's about continuing when nothing feels right.

Sustainable success isn't showing up at your best.
It's showing up anyway.

Some days you are on fire.
Some days, you are just keeping the fire from going out.

Both count.
Both compound.

If you are ready to build a portfolio career that works with your real life - not some imaginary perfect version of it - applications for the Portfolio Career Accelerator close soon.

A few final spots remain. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

We start in 10 days.

Build something that survives your ordinary days.

Follow me, https://lnkd.in/g6R7Yb8t, for daily doses of career, leadership and change truths

-----
Image credit: Jen Blandos

If you followed every piece of “good career advice” you were given, you would be less employable today - not more.

I was repeatedly warned that changing roles this often would destroy my career.

It turned out it didn’t.

They called it professional suicide.
Now I teach executives how to do it deliberately.

19 job changes.
5 countries.
25 years of “destroying my career.”

When I left my first job after 15 months, my mum was appalled.
Stability was everything to her generation.

Two years later, I left again.
Then again.

At Citi alone:
10 role changes.
5 countries.
21 years.

Every move came with the same warnings:

“You are ruining your CV.”
“No one will trust someone this unstable.”
“You’ll regret this later.”

And there were moments I wondered if they were right.

I watched peers climb neat ladders while my path looked… messy.
Hard to explain.
Easy to judge.

At 50, I walked away from a COO role and started again.
That’s when the concern turned into outrage.
People never understood the audacity to want something different.

Here’s the mental model most people miss:

• One skill = one solution
• Two skills = multiple options
• Ten skills = leverage from angles others can’t see

Experience doesn’t add up.
It multiplies.

Today’s market doesn’t reward narrow specialists who need the world to stay predictable.

It rewards people who can:
→ Connect dots across functions
→ Solve problems from multiple lenses
→ Rebuild themselves without panic

A “messy” career isn’t a liability anymore.
It’s optionality.

In a world that reinvents itself constantly,
your ability to change IS your stability.

That’s why I now help experienced professionals turn unconventional paths into:
income, 
impact, 
and freedom - without starting from scratch.

The Portfolio Career Accelerator starts January 26.

20 people.
8 weeks.
A clear system for turning what you already know into a career that compounds - a portfolio career!

10 places remain.
Apply here: https://lnkd.in/g8bpRmYN

Most people don’t need a new career.
They need a better way to frame - and monetise - the one they’ve already lived.

♻️ Repost this for someone still apologising for evolving.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for daily career and change truths.

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No one can ruin your day.

Unless you let them.

Most people think their emotions are caused by other people or events.

“They made me angry.”
“That ruined my day.”
“I had no choice.”

But that’s not how it actually works.

Nobody makes you angry.
You choose anger as the response.

That choice happens fast, but it’s still a choice.
The most underrated skill in life and business?

⚠️ Emotional control.

Not suppressing emotions.
Not pretending you are calm.
But responding instead of reacting.

Here is a simple framework I use when I feel triggered:

1️⃣ Name the emotion
Say it out loud or in your head: "I'm feeling frustrated."
Naming the emotion reduces its intensity by up to 50%.
You can't control what you don't acknowledge.

2️⃣ Delay the response
Wait 90 seconds before responding. 
Emotions trigger a chemical reaction in your body for only 90 seconds.
Anything beyond that - it is you feeding the story!

3️⃣ Reframe the situation
“What response helps me win long-term?”

This approach applies everywhere:

Before replying to a passive-aggressive email
Before reacting in a meeting
Before saying something you’ll regret later

Calm people don’t have fewer problems.
They just solve them better.

Your reaction is your responsibility.
And emotional discipline compounds faster than motivation.

♻️ Repost this for someone who needs the reminder.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for more on leadership, career, and change.

Image credit: A.G.E on Pinterest.

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Talks about #leadership, #careerpivot, #futureofwork, and #transformation

Skills don't predict performance. 

Character does.

I once hired the most qualified candidate on paper. 
Impressive CV. Perfect experience. 
They quit in 3 months.

The problem is that most interviews rely on rehearsed answers to predictable questions.

Here are 10 "non-predictable" questions that reveal who someone really is:

1. If money wasn't an issue, what would you choose to do for work?
→ Reveals intrinsic motivation vs. external rewards

2. When was the last time you felt proud at work—and why?
→ Shows what success truly means to them

3. What would you do if you knew you were going to miss a deadline?
→ Tests accountability and honesty under pressure

4. What do you think you owe an employer—and what do they owe you?
→ Exposes work ethic, expectations, and entitlement

5. What are your strongest strengths—and the weaknesses you're actively working on?
→ Reveals self-awareness and growth mindset

6. What's a belief you hold that most people disagree with?
→ Shows independent thinking and confidence in values

7. What do you do when you strongly disagree with your manager?
→ Reveals emotional intelligence and conflict maturity

8. If you could change one past decision, what would it be—and why?
→ Tests reflection, learning, and accountability

9. How do you handle working with someone you don't like?
→ Assesses professionalism when emotions are involved

10. Tell me about a decision you made that disappointed people.
→ Reveals leadership courage and ethical reasoning

Most bad hires don't fail because they lack skills.
They fail because their character was never tested.

📌 Save this for your next interview.
♻️ Repost this with someone building a team in 2026.
→ Follow me, Ani Filipova, for leadership, career and change insights.

Use these in your hiring process

I spent 20 years in banking, thinking I understood how the world worked.

Then I moved from Singapore to Hong Kong to become a COO, and as we began setting up our life again, I realised something uncomfortable:

I’d been living in a professional echo chamber.

My friends were bankers.
My network was bankers.
My entire view of “career” was shaped by one industry and one employer.

I didn’t even realise how limited my perspective was.

I was making decisions - about work and life -
based entirely on my own small bubble,
surrounded by people just like me.

And that’s when it hit me:

I was doing the exact same thing with my career.

I was looking at my future through a banking lens.
Surrounded by banking people.
Measuring success by banking standards.

I had no idea what else was out there.

Not because the opportunities didn’t exist.
But because I wasn’t in rooms where anyone talked about them.

The creator economy?
Never heard of it.

Portfolio careers?
Didn’t know that was a thing.

Multiple income streams?
Honestly, it sounded like a scam.

I genuinely believed my options were:
→ Stay in banking
→ Move to another bank
→ Or try consulting company

That was it.

The problem wasn’t fear.
It was visibility.

When everyone around you is on the same path..
That path feels like the only one.

So how do you break free?

1️⃣ Get outside your bubble 

Find one person doing work that fascinates you but seems "impossible." Talk to them. You'll be shocked how possible it actually is. 

2️⃣ Audit your inputs

Whom are you following? What are you reading? If it's all corporate content, you are trapped in an echo chamber. 

3️⃣ Take one small step into the unknown 

Attend an event outside your industry. Message someone in the creator economy. Learn about one business model you've never heard of.

The moment you step outside your professional bubble,
you realise the world is far bigger than what you’ve been shown.

That’s why I created the Portfolio Career Accelerator.

To show you the massive world of opportunities you can’t see yet,
and guide you if you decide to explore any of them.

We are starting Jan 26, 2026.
A few spots are still open. Apply here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

or

👉 DM me and let's talk

Most career advice about “staying relevant” is useless.

People tell you to “keep learning”, “stay curious”, or “embrace change.”

Great. 
Super helpful.
I’ll just add that to my list right after
“drink more water” and “get enough sleep.”

Here’s what actually works - and you can start building it today, at any stage of your career.

It’s called being "T-shaped."

And if you are not developing this right now, you are quietly making yourself obsolete.

After watching careers stall, pivot, and accelerate at every level, this pattern shows up every time.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧-𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀

Think of the letter T.

• The vertical bar = depth.
Deep expertise in one core area.
What you are known for. What people trust you with.

• The horizontal bar = breadth.
Adjacent skills. Not mastery - just enough to connect dots, make better decisions, and create leverage beyond your lane.

What this looks like in practice:

➡️ Software developer
Depth: AI
Breadth: UX, delivery, business context

➡️ Marketing professional
Depth: campaign strategy
Breadth: data, psychology, financial thinking

➡️ Senior leader
Depth: decision-making
Breadth: technology trends, data literacy, change

➡️ Portfolio careerist
Depth: executive coaching
Breadth: content, products, community, speaking

This is why T-shaped people win.

Specialists struggle when their niche dries up.
Generalists struggle to stand out.

T-shaped people adapt.
They go deep when required 
and zoom out when it matters.

And if their depth becomes redundant (which happens more often than people admit), they don’t panic.
They pivot from a position of strength.

How to Build Your T-Shape (Without Overthinking It)

➊ Know your T
Be honest about your depth and your gaps. Most people are either an “I” (all depth) or a “—” (all breadth). Both stall careers.

➋ Use the 80/20 rule
80% of your effort: deepen your core skill
20%: build adjacent skills that compound it

Depth gets you hired and gets you projects.
Breadth gets you promoted and paid differently.

➌ Don’t dilute your edge
Breadth only works if your depth stays sharp. 
If your core skill slips, rebalance and go deeper before going wider.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲

You don’t future-proof yourself by predicting the future.
You future-proof yourself by becoming someone who can adapt to any future.

And that’s exactly what a strong T-shape gives you.

If you are ready to build a portfolio career with both depth and breadth - combining personal branding, monetisation, speaking, board and fractional opportunities, wealth creation, and AI leverage - the Portfolio Career Accelerator starts January 26, 2026.

10 spots are already filled.
10 remain.

Apply here: https://lnkd.in/g8bpRmYN

------
In my newsletter today, I break this down in more detail. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/gzDCH9t9

In 8 days, we go live with The Portfolio Career Accelerator.

I’ve been planning this accelerator for the last 6 months - and it’s finally here.

Not as a course you “consume.”
But as a transition you actually make.

My goal is simple:

• Show corporate professionals the opportunities they are missing
• Build a bridge from corporate expertise to multiple income streams
• Be the translator people need - someone who speaks both corporate and creator

Because most professionals aren’t stuck. They are just operating inside a very small bubble and the accelerator will show them what is outside it.

This is an 8-week program, built around the 5 principles of a portfolio career, plus how to use AI to implement faster - not someday, but now.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Module 1: Build Your Brand & Audience
LinkedIn optimisation, content strategy, high-performing posts, lead magnets, newsletter creation

Module 2: Create Your Products
Turn expertise into courses, workshops, and programs. Pricing, sales process, launch strategy

Module 3: Become a Speaker
Craft keynotes, master delivery, build a speaker kit, and land paid gigs

Module 4: Advisor / Board Member / Fractional Exec
Shift from doer to advisor. Structure engagements. Find and land real opportunities

Module 5: Become an Investor
Investment fundamentals, portfolio building, diversification, and working with brokers

Module 6: Leverage AI
Prompt engineering, custom GPTs, AI agents

And you are not learning from me alone.

We’ve brought in incredible guest trainers - experts in their fields - speaking, investing, advisory, board and AI.

We start on January 26th.

And we already have amazing professionals signed up and ready to start. 

This cohort is capped at 20 people.
Why?

Because this isn’t passive learning.
It’s a transformation - with guidance, accountability, and a room full of people who get it.

If you are tired of living inside a professional bubble…

If you know there’s more available to you than one job title…

If you want someone who’s actually done this to show you how…

👉 Secure your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gpEqqqFs

8 days until we start building your portfolio career.

Let’s go.

♻️ Repost this to help another corporate professional see what’s possible
💾 Save this if portfolio careers are on your 2026 radar

Lea 🌈 Turner

If Carlsberg made LinkedIn Trainers | 1-1 & Company Training | Join 470+ solopreneurs & small business owners in my membership community, The HoLT (ask me how)

You've tried communities before but they never live up to the hype, do they? The founder only shows up for calls, the chat is dead or clique-y, they're either women only, or full of d*ck swinging sales bros pitch slapping you into oblivion, and you only get the *good stuff* if you pay for the upsells...and you're left feeling...deflated, womp womp. 

*clears throat, stretches out arms, JAZZ HANDS* until... The HoLT!

We have none of that malarkey. 

No upsells, no tiered memberships, and categorically, absolutely, without question... no knobs. 

"But LEA, what is The HoLT?" I hear you cry. It's an inclusive, vibrant, fun, affordable community of over 500 small business owners, freelancers, side hustlers and employees, coming together for weekly masterclasses from ACTUAL experts, teaching every business skill you could possibly need to improve how YOU do business, from copywriting to confidence building, AI to automation, PR to passive income. 

And unlike other communities, we record every masterclass, add it to the library, and no matter when you join, you get access to ALL of them (currently over 150!)

But there's so much more; weekly community calls for informal networking, content support, tech clinics to tackle your IT nightmares, in-person co-working days, online co-working, wellbeing sessions, LinkedIn clinics... I could go on but I'd ruin your surprise and delight when you join. 

And unlike most founders, I am in The HoLT every single day (in sickness and in health, til death do us part) because I genuinely care about the members, love connecting people, nurturing them and supporting them. 

I was sick of being a lonely solopreneur. I had no one to share my wins & failures with, who'd understand, not judge me, to ask for reliable advice when I needed it without making me feel stupid, to learn with, grow with, and make it fun along the way. So, I created a safe space for others who felt the same. It has grown and evolved over the past 3 years, to become a magical space full of the sorts of people you WANT on your side in business, cheering you on and encouraging you when sh*t gets tough. 

We open the doors to 25 new members every month, and we'd love you to be one of them (unless you're one of the aforementioned knobs). Check us out and get on the waiting list at www.the-holt.com or DM me if you want to know more, I promise I don't bite!

PS. If communities aren't your *thing* we have The Vault. Access 150+ masterclass recordings with new ones added weekly, for just £20/month, no contract or commitment.

Director

Providing bespoke 1:1 and group LinkedIn training, digital courses and in-person workshops for businesses. 

This goes out to all the parents doing it alone. 

It may be hard 
And sometimes lonely 
But it’s absolutely worth it

🩷🩷🩷

You can sit with us (unless you're a knob) | The-HoLT.com

This is how you can easily create a LinkedIn feed with NO ADS. 

No promoted posts. 
No “random person commented on another random person’s post”

It’s 90 seconds long. 

That’s all. 

Share it. Tag someone. Be helpful. Cos no one’s enjoying this feed that looks like corporate QVC. 

*skips off*

Tips like this plus my entire Making LinkedIn Simple course are all inside The HoLT community. Doors open next week https://the-holt.com/

I hoped I'd never have to write this post. But there comes a point where preventing harm to others is more important than my peace. 

Please read to the end, and DON'T send me DMs.

2 years ago I had the worst, most stressful week of my life, and the guilt & responsibility weighs heavy still.

I trusted the wrong person, and dozens of people lost a lot of money. 

I booked a trip to climb Kilimanjaro, 29 others booked to come with me and paid £2k+ each. On the day climbers started to arrive in Tanzania, we received an email to tell us the man we all trusted wasn’t coming, our trip hadn’t been paid for, and all the money was gone. 

I was on the motorway to Heathrow, my younger sister already in Tanzania when my phone exploded with panicked calls.

My PA share an urgent statement online so no one else would pay more money. Enough damage had been done. 

My phone was non-stop. Journalists, DMs, messages from other people who had lost money. My team spent days collating accusations & stories, speaking to police, all while helping raise cash for the charity we were climbing for, so we could actually do the climb.

What we discovered left us stunned.

- The guides in Tanzania hated him. Instead of climbing he'd stay at the hotel getting blind drunk all week then refuse to pay & blackmail the poor Tanzanian guides “If you don’t pay, I won’t bring you any more clients”.

- He had told us he summitted Kili multiple times a year, but the tour guides said he hadn't in 7 years. 

- He used high pressure sales tactics to get £2.5k from a solo mum on Universal Credit the night before our trip. Money loaned to her by her godmother with Parkinson's - which he knew.

- He’d bragged that his company made £180k in bookings that year. He’d not paid any tax OR VAT. 

- He took an additional £400 from Hope4 for tent hire hours before we received the email, which still hasn’t been repaid.

- We had MANY messages from other charities he'd screwed over.

These are just a few of the awful things we discovered. 

We tried taking legal action. After a year of investigations there wasn't ‘sufficient evidence’ to prosecute. But that doesn’t make the points above any less true. 

Why am I speaking out about this now?

Because he is back on LinkedIn, claiming to be a victim of a “social media witch hunt”.

And marketing himself as a ‘Business Mentor’. 

Wish I was making that up. 

I’m not going to name names but you can Google the story. 

Most of us still managed to climb Kili, thanks to the resourcefulness of the climbers already in Tanzania, and my team helping to raise an additional £20k - a lot of which was later recouped from insurance companies and sent to Hope4. We raised nearly £60k for them, despite the chaos. 

This was never a social media “witch hunt”. It was about safeguarding my network out of a sense of responsibility, guilt & respect. 

And it’s safe to say I am a LOT more discerning about people I trust now. That was a very hard-earned lesson.

Just made the biggest sale of my life. 

Goodbye, LinkedIn, I no longer need you 👋

I’ve been doing some ‘competitor’ research over the past few days and I am shook. 

- social media visibility memberships for £40/month
- video content memberships for £75/month 
- LinkedIn growth memberships for £100+/month

And for a second I thought “fk, I’m really under charging for The HoLT”. 

Because we offer trainings on all of that, but we also have a WHOLE lot more inside. 

Community calls, book club, wellbeing circles, speed networking, in-person meet-ups, massive discount library, and over 500 people actively helping and supporting one another every single day. 

For just £65/month 😬

Not one person in 3.5 years has ever said “it’s not worth the investment”. 

Logically, this means I could increase the price for new members this year. Especially as we’re adding even more features and opportunities (like another 4-week LinkedIn mastermind starting in 2 weeks). 

But… I’m not going to. 

Because I’ve got lots of other ideas for creating income within the business that don’t increase the costs for new or existing members. 

And because I *always* set out to make The HoLT an affordable resource for the people who need it most. 

So the price for The HoLT is NOT increasing this year. 
But I guarantee you, the value of it IS. 

Starting today, as we get ready to launch The HoLT Directory tomorrow 🩷

And you’re gonna love it!

(If The HoLT community is on your 2026 wish list, we’re opening the doors again very soon ➡️ https://the-holt.com )

No alternative text description for this image

Hahahah oh holy fk. My head is spinning!

We launched The HoLT Directory on Tuesday, and since then have had... wait for it...

𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗤𝗨𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗦

SEO ranking has gone through the roof.

Members in the directory are getting tens of profile views daily.

Dozens of bots have been trying to break it or scrape it (unsuccessfully 🤪).

Sneaky sausages have been trying to figure out how we've built it.

But we currently have a patent pending and if you 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 want to recreate our directory, we'll be selling it as a white label product. 

If you want to be PART of The HoLT Directory, you need to join the community and be there for at least 3 months. Them's the rules!!

Selfie of me and my partner in crime for this brilliantly fun project Robyn MacMillan 

But don't ask her to create you one. She won't. Her loyalty to me is unwavering and I LOVE her for that! 

Now, back to coffee and world domination. 


Find the community and the directory here ➡️ https://the-holt.com

This is how I want to to take my business from £350k/year to £500k + in the next 2 years, WITHOUT relying on increasing member numbers:

🌈 White labelling The HoLT directory tech as a subscription for other communities to use
🌈 Selling sponsorship slots for The Directory web page as it's a highly visited site
🌈 Short courses and low-priced guides to support new business owners (sold on the website via ads)
🌈 More members in The Vault (all 200+ of The HoLT masterclass recordings for £20/month) using digital ads - check it out on the link above.
🌈 Speaking engagements (sparingly)
🌈 Consultancy for communities (I already do this, but again, sparingly because I don't want to go back to the time for money model that burned me out before)

I'm also considering the option to allow companies with relevant products/services the opportunity to present a masterclass/workshop to our 550+ HoLT members and 150+ Vault members... but I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. 

I am limiting the HoLT to 750 members, to maintain the quality and personal service members get inside. That's intentional, and non-negotiable. But that means limiting the income we can make directly from the member numbers (no, not increasing membership cost!). 

What would YOU do with a community with over 500 amazing members to further monetise the brand?

I'm always open to ideas!

When I first started my businesses, I needed so much help. And I got scammed or fooled by several people who claimed to be amazing, and turned out to be absolute knobs taking advantage of my naivety. 

I didn't have the time or energy to suss out everyone fully. 
They made big promises that sounded sexy and enticing...but the follow through was underwhelming. 

But inside The HoLT members are constantly collaborating. 
The feedback about each other's services is consistently positive. 
I, myself, haven't hired 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 outside The HoLT for over three years, and not a single one has let me down. 

Every week I get dozens of messages:

"Lea, you know good people, who do you recommend for [insert the service they need]" and I respond with a selection of HoLT members I trust to do a good job. 

So, now there's somewhere YOU can go. 
To hire small business owners. 
To support YOUR business. 
Without worrying that they're going to be knobheads. 

Members of The HoLT pay a (very) low annual fee to cover the build and maintenance. 
And YOU can access it for free. 
Any time you need. 

Good people. Great services. No knobs. 

Check it out now https://lnkd.in/eXhGeA5Z

(And for all the sneaky fckers trying to scrape the data -we see you - good luck, it was built by our resident tech goblin Robyn MacMillan and she's prepared for your antics)

I'm hearing about a lot of communities shutting down lately.

And even more struggling to attract new members.

The HoLT continues to thrive, with over 55 new members joining this month, but our experience is NOT typical, and in most cases, not replicable, and here's why:

- I'm active on LinkedIn, Facebook, Threads and Instagram, with a combined following of over 200,000 people, and we get members from all of those places. I have a team of VAs and a social media manager supporting me with this. I could not manage it all alone.

- I pay Alex Thompson and his marvellous team a handsome sum each month to manage all the email marketing and launches. We would not achieve these numbers without them. 

- I had a pre-existing brand, authority, and online presence long BEFORE I started The HoLT, and we've been going for 3.5 years now. Most communities launching today won't hit the numbers we do, because there are now SO MANY communities to choose from. 

- The HoLT isn't just one thing for one type of person. There is something for everyone, at all stages of a business journey. We're for all online small biz owners (as well as some offline and some employees). Pretty much anyone can join us and find plenty of useful resources and contacts. That's fairly unique in the market.

- The HoLT is my full time job and has been for over a year now. It gets my full attention, so do the members. I'm in there watching, listening, and creating solutions for the problems I notice, because I have the time to do that as I'm not trying to also juggle other work commitments. 

The reality is, most people thinking of starting a community do not have these advantages (that I've worked hard for, but they're still advantages).

And I would hate to think people look at it and think 'That looks easy, I'll try that' and then be disappointed by their results.

That's not the reality of launching a community in 2026 for 95% of the people thinking about it.

Don't fall into the trap of comparing your journey to others further ahead than you. I've been there, I've done it, and it's miserable and disillusioning. 

Is it still possible to make a decent income from launching and running a community?

Yes. If you're willing to put in some serious graft, have a lot of good advice, and ample time to dedicate to it. But for the vast majority, who don't have the advantages I had, it's going to be a very tough uphill struggle. 

Just needed to get that off my chest, because I've been having some really heart wrenching conversations with people closing their communities, and I always want to be real with you.

There really is nothing like the sense of achievement as a business owner, when you figure out how to do something yourself. 

I'm a self-confessed technophobe. 

I really struggle because it's all process driven and you have to be accurate and organised, and my (AuDHD) brain just says NOPE!

But today I am patting myself on the back.

Because I've set up workflows, automations, tags, triggers and all those previously scary words inside HighLevel, and it is GLORIOUS. 

New blog submitted? They're directed to a thank you page and an email goes to the right team member to get it on the website. 

New masterclass application received? I'm alerted by email to review, the applicant gets sent to a nice little thank you page, and the spreadsheet is updated. 

No, I don't need to be doing these things myself. 
BUT, I just love the feeling of finally mastering a new skill. 
When it just clicks and you go "OH, I get it!"

Anyway, just thought I'd share this smug sense of achievement. We can DO HARD THINGS!

What hard things are you learning to do at the mo?

PS. Yes I am as tired as I look. Launching The HoLT Directory has been A LOT this week. 

PPS. If you wanna give High Level a try, I have a 30-day free trial (they usually only give 14 days) here ➡️  https://lnkd.in/erJvVnzj

In the most "Lea" move ever... today I launched The HoLT Directory to promote our amazing small business owners...

... and completely forgot to put myself in there. 

🙃  🤦‍♀️ 

Thanks to the eagle-eyed people who spotted that. 

Also, sorry not sorry if you've had The Directory ALL OVER YOUR FEED today. We want you to remember it!


https://lnkd.in/eXhGeA5Z

My favourite thing about today is that I got 100+ business ‘professionals’ to post the word KNOBS on their LinkedIn profile. 

*laughs herself into next week*

😂💁🏼‍♀️🍆

I was roused from peaceful slumber at 6am this morning by the sound of a blackbird…

…screeching for help from the jaws of my feral kitten, while my son yelled for help, and a chair crashed to the floor. 

There really is nothing like a frantic dawn animal rescue, in your PJs, to set you up for the week. 

Mr Blackbird was safely released away from the cats. 

Apologies to my neighbours that caught a glimpse of me in wellies and pyjama shorts on their dog walk 🙈

I think I’ll need an extra coffee before week 3 of the HoLT’s LinkedIn mastermind with Viktoria Jancurova this morning. 

If you spot a rogue feather in my hair, you’ll know why. 

Hope your morning has been less dramatic than mine 😵‍💫

It's been a VERY long time coming, but it's finally happening!

The man, the myth, the legend that is Richard van der Blom is joining me for a live Q&A inside The HoLT! 

Every year, Richard releases an algorithm report with hundreds of hours of research into what has changed, what works, what doesn't, and where we should be focusing our time and attention to remain visible on LinkedIn. 

And with some unsubtle flattery and shameless begging (kinda), he agreed to join me to answer mine and HoLT member's questions as part of our 4-week LinkedIn Mastermind. 

For those already inside, see you at 10am. 
For those not... well, it'll be available to watch back when you pull your finger out and join us. 

What an exceptionally good start to the week this will be!

Knowing where to turn for help as a solo or small business owner is tricky. 

But not when you’re in The HoLT. 

This is just a snapshot of the support I’ve personally seen inside the community app this past week. 

There’s far more that goes on (members feel free to share in the comments!)

Christine hosted her first speaking event, and several other members spoke at or attended it. 

Alex hosted a LinkedIn live with other men from the community about what it is to be a man in 2026. 

Andy had Simon on his podcast. 

Lea B interviewed me for her university course. 

…I could go on and on but you get the picture. 

Unrivalled support. No matter the issue. Everyone putting their skills together to ensure no one gets left behind. 

That’s what a real community does. 
And that’s exactly what we are. 
🩷🩷

graphical user interface, text, application, chat or text message

Behold, a selection box of Backdoor Barrys for the new HoLT Members' area.

All the helpful links for members to make the most of their community perks! 

Modelled by our resident security guard who keeps the knobs out. 

It should be illegal to have this much fun and call it work. 

(The HoLT is like no other community out there - we're serious about business, without taking ourselves too seriously https://the-holt.com/)

I had a very exciting call with Adam Jones today, because he's going to be hosting a HoLT 𝗠𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧!! 

We'll be able to bring together members from 5 (or maybe 6?) continents for an evening of treacherously fun online networking. 

Date TBC
Fun guaranteed!! 

But who will I pick as the suspects?
And should I dye my hair black and cut a fringe for the occasion...?

There's a murder to be solved. 

And it's down to our Sherlock HoLTies to figure out whodunnit. 

Members from Australia, America, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Scotland, Canada and more will come together in teams over Zoom to interview suspects, pour over evidence, and solve a grizzly murder on The Ashworth Estate. 

Thanks to Adam Jones and Cinderella Events, we're hosting a unique, spine chilling, and no doubt brilliantly fun networking event inside The HoLT Community in March.

But who will solve the murder?

I can't wait to find out!  

Wanna join in on the next one? You best get on The HoLT waiting list. Link below ⬇️

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