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 )

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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 ⬇️

Niall Cleaver

Documenting the journey of crafting a timeless coffee cup brand | CEO & Founder of Cupsly

My story isn’t about a polished entrepreneur. My journey hasn’t been traditional. I left school without an English qualification, uncertain of what the future held. 

That failure shaped me, it forced me to think differently, fall into business, and ultimately embrace creativity, resilience, and the belief that change is possible, even when doubted. Fast forward to today, I’m growing and scaling businesses while sharing the real lessons that come from it.

Founder

Are you struggling to grow an engaging community for your business or personal brand.

Stop right there, I think I have you covered ⬇️

This is me (Niall), I'm a 22-year-old who is fascinated by growing communities in the online space. Actual communities that have meaning and purpose. 

The services we provide at Social Library 

➡️ Personal Branding (LinkedIn)

➡️ Guidance & support consulting


Drop me a message to discuss your social media strategy, review how well your current socials/posts are doing, and research how we can build your community and gain you more followers and leads.

or you can email us @

hello@sociallibrary.co.uk

For years... I thought starting small wasn’t even an option.

This year, I want to start small. You need to read this.

Everyone is so scared to start small and I was one of those people. I used to overthink about creating something big instead of worrying about starting small.

Turns out, starting small is how you build big.

It’s how you take the first step forward.
It’s how you stop overanalysing.
It’s how you actually start.

It almost feels wrong when you say it out loud.

But every successful founder and business you see today didn’t get where they are by massive moves. They got there by starting small and then scaling.

So if you’re starting a business, building a hobby, or whatever it may be… stop worrying about “scaling big” and focus on the small step that gets you going.

Growing @thistlescientific and sharing the lessons while I do

Building vs scaling a business. What's the difference?

A few years ago, I learned one of the most valuable lesson in business. I left school with qualifications that made it hard for me to get any sort of job.

Luckily, my family ran a business. I jumped in and started learning. And here’s what I learned: There’s a huge difference between building and scaling.

Building a business:

Proving the idea
Short-term survival
Doing everything yourself
Energy, speed & scrappiness

Scaling a business:

Letting go of control
Long-term decisions
Patience, systems & people
Making sure it works without you.
Alignment throughout the whole company.

Building feels exciting. Scaling feels uncomfortable. Both are essential. I didn’t realise how different they both were until I lived them.

But the one thing that never changes between both? 
The hard work that comes with it.

I just spent 2 hours yesterday in one of the best meetings of my life!!!

What about? How do we build further on our foundation?

Yesterday was a special day, do you know where you get the team together and you leave feeling excited for what's to come? That's what happened.

It's been a pretty wild couple of months for Thistle, but it always comes back to the same thing. How can we deepen the connection we can have with researchers?

The personal touch.
The real support they deserve.
The professionalism and trust they have in us.

This year, we’re looking at how we double down on that.

We’ve set some big objectives, and the whole team is ready for them. If yesterday was anything to go by, this next phase is going to be an exciting one.

We can't wait to share more on this very soon.

We’re excited to announce our new collaboration.

I'm genuinely proud of the impact we're creating in research at Thistle Scientific. It started with one clear objective to make research the best it can be, not only to impact our lives, but also to impact the lives of generations to come.

Last week was a big reminder of this as we announced our collaboration with arcorisbio AG, which will help accelerate the industrialisation and commercialisation of their breakthrough MUSE® platform.

A collaboration that will help keep the world safe.

One of the best mistakes I learned pretty quickly in business.

Thinking strategy comes first in business. But it doesn’t… 

Understanding who you’re building for is.

I’m nowhere near successful yet. But I’ve been lucky to spend time around people who definitely are. And one topic comes up over and over again: 

Strategy.

How did you come up with your strategy?
Why has your strategy been effective?
When do you adapt your strategy?

The answer usually sounds complicated.
But, it keeps coming back to one word: audience.

Before you can plan anything, you have to understand them. What do they care about? When do they need to hear from you? How do they feel when they see you show up?

This is where a lot of founders go wrong. No strategy is 100% correct. It’s custom‑made based on how well you understand the information your audience is giving you.

So copying what works in another company or industry rarely works. You’re playing a different game, with different people, at a different stage.

Strategy is an understanding game.

I used to panic hearing the word strategy in business.

It sounded complicated... but it wasn’t.

I would hear the word and be like that sounds proper technical. I'd just nod like I understood exactly what it meant, when I didn't but now I get it and it's simple.

It's just a plan.

What are the objectives?
What action will you take to hit them?
Which data tells you it's working or it isn't?

We love to make words sound more complicated than they are. 

It's easy to overcomplicate things when you hear all of the advice online but it's simpler than you think. If something isn't working don't wait, go and find the reason why.

Try something. Learn. Adapt. Evolve. Repeat.
Just enjoy the process of figuring out.

That's what business is!

When I was younger, I hesitated on the idea of working for my family business.

Today, I’m 3 years in, working alongside nearly 50 incredible people.

It’s crazy how life works. Some days you’re completely against something before you’ve even tried it…then you try it and realise it was exactly what you were meant to do.

I always had this doubt in the back of my head:
That I had to prove myself somewhere else first.

That’s why:

- I started posting on LinkedIn.
- I kept looking for “my own thing”.
- I started learning more about business.

Now it feels like all of that happened so I could come back better and help continue to grow a business I genuinely care about. But this growth has hardly been me. It’s been the team I get to work with every single day.

A few things this has taught me:

- Don’t write something off until you’ve actually tried it.
- You can prove yourself elsewhere, but always bring the knowledge back

So don't resist an opportunity just because it didn't fit your picture in that specific moment of your life. It might be worth taking a closer look.

Stop listening to too much advice.

Read that again... throughout my journey, I've fallen for many distractions. Stuff that didn't feel right personally, and so many of us are going through this.

There's advice here, there and everywhere.

And it's very hard to know which is the right or wrong advice, and you know what you'll never really know. The only way to find out is to...

Listen to your gut and try.

In a world full of advice after advice, trust yourself first. 
There's no right or wrong way to do anything.

If it works, it works!

P.S. Have a little day in the life vid

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Lea 🌈 Turner

Niall Cleaver

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The Battle

Lea 🌈 Turner

Niall Cleaver

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Lea 🌈 Turner's LinkedIn Performance

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