Shoaib Ahmed

Founder: Yello Hippo | Host: REBELS Podcast 🎙️ | Building Profitable Personal Brands for Founders & CEOs | 185M+ Organic Views | Winner: Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 | Advisor: Limelight

Hi 👋🏽 I'm the personal brand manager behind top 1% LinkedIn accounts. I've delivered:

300M+ organic impressions → VIRAL content marketing 
2.1M profile views → MILLIONS of eyes on offers
£11.2 revenue → TANGIBLE business growth

Thanks to my:

• 5 years experience (built 195+ Founder-led brands)
• First-party data (I've produced 18,750 LI posts)
• PROVEN LinkedIn growth strategies & models

I work with Founders, Coaches, C-Suite teams, Business Execs, Creatives & Freelancers like you to:

a) Scale your LinkedIn growth & presence
b) Carve out a HIGH-VALUE personal brand
c) Win trust, seriously grow pipeline & make ££

So you can:

Stop wasting ££ on bad lead-gen tactics
Build + scale the business of your dreams
Earn life freedom + attract new opportunities

HOW I HELP:

1:1 & Company LinkedIn Coaching:

- Dominate the algorithm & create viral posts
- Scale your following, traffic & engagement
- Turn LinkedIn into an inbound lead channel

LinkedIn Content Ghostwriting:

- Get 'done for you' LinkedIn posts 
- Turn expertise into monetisable assets
- Earn trust as a thought leader & drive leads

CLIENT RESULTS ↓

✅️ Julius got inbound PR invites (Insider, WebSummit, Harvard)
✅️ Maria landed speaking gigs, earning multi-6-figure revenue
✅️ Alex and Katie sold out 96% of their coaching (400% ROI)
✅️ M and A got 55,700 new followers and 200+ quality leads
✅️ David signed brands 625+ tech brand clients in 9 months
✅️ Drew featured in Washington Post & Wall Street Journal
✅️ Harry hit 6.3 million views & got a 733% ROI in 60 days
✅️ Ryan got 14.3 million views and a 6-figure BBC deal.
✅️ Lauren gained 12.7 million views and an £80K client

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ↓

"I got more value, clarity and practical strategy from a 1-to-1 hour with Shoaib than all 4 of the LinkedIn courses I've purchased elsewhere" - Joey

"Shoaib is a genius at crisp content and a true strategist who always has our KPIs in mind to maximise impact." - Katie

"Shoaib is definitely the go-to person for anything related LinkedIn content. I've paid for coaching sessions with other creators and none have been as insightful as this one." - Mat 

"Working with Shoaib was one of the best investments I’ve ever made." - James

"Shoaib grew my LinkedIn 0-100, securing me global media gigs and attracting a ton of business." - Julius

WORK WITH ME ↓

Book my 1:1 LinkedIn coaching (for individuals)
Book my Company LinkedIn Training (for teams)
Book my Ghostwriting Services (for individuals)

Available for media bookings, keynote speaking and brand partnerships.

DM me :)

Founder & Podcast Host

A brand new podcast where you get to hear from rebellious industry disruptors.

In season one, Shoaib is joined by a curated selection of groundbreaking entrepreneurs, creators and business leaders as he delves into their 'against the grain' stories of success. 

This is a podcast where no topic is off-limits. Each episode is packed with raw, emotional and inspiring stories with guests including Lea Turner, Sophie Miller and Lara Acosta.

Watch & listen to S1 now on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Proudly sponsored by Fabric Academy.

For S2 bookings & sponsorship enquiries visit: www.rebelsbyshoaibahmed.co.uk

Fun announcement 🎉
I'm the Head of Content at Limelight.

I've been advising David Walsh on all things personal branding, content & LinkedIn since he launched his company.

Over two years ago.

We make an excellent team.

Dave gave me full autonomy from the start and we've scaled his brand hard.

______

FYI: I'm still FULLY running my own company. It just means I go deeper (1-2 days a week) with one of my favourite founder partnerships.
______

What started as LinkedIn coaching for Dave quickly became:

→ Brand strategy
→ Lead magnets
→ Social selling funnels
→ Content engines
→ Founder positioning
→ Big-picture growth stuff

And that led to this:

25M+ organic impressions.
Tons of viral LinkedIn posts.
40K+ new LinkedIn followers.
Landing 30 speaking/podcast gigs.
Writing foreword to Amazon bestseller.
Features in major media publications.
Named "Top 50 CEO to watch" 2025.

So when he said: "Shoaib, you're practically my Head of Content"

I replied: "yeah, I kinda am."

So we made it official.

Head of Content (part-time).

I'll be doing more of the same, but on a bigger scale.

When you hear me say things like:

"Instead of chasing new clients all the time, do great work for your existing ones."

This is why!!

From a small freelancer contract in Feb 2024.
To being the fractional Head of Content.

Pretty darn cool.

The LinkedIn Growth Expert with receipts 📝 | Grown 205+ personal brands for founders, coaches & creators | Brain behind 300M organic impressions + £11.2M revenue | Multi-award winning LinkedIn coach, strategist, speaker

I kinda ate February up ngl!!! 🥥🌊
Here's what I got upto...

🎂 Celebrated my 27th birthday with my bunch of school pals in Leeds. Had a Thai curry followed by cheesecake. In bed by 9:30pm. Perfect night.

🫡 Became Limelight’s Head of Content (to extend my current partnership with David). I’ll be leading strategy across personal branding, content marketing and LinkedIn. (The nerdy, data-backed, revenue-generating kind.)

✈️ Flew across the world for 30 days in Indonesia - to island hop, chase sunsets and go into “monk mode” in a few business areas. Escaped the dark, depressing 7am UK mornings. Sorry Britain. I love you. But respectfully, no.

🏆 Won the Lone Wolf Consultancy of the Year Award at the Business Awards UK - the judges recognised “exceptional client results” as the winning factor.

🏋️ Ate 17 smoothie bowls (so far!). Drank 14 protein shakes. Spent 40+ hours lifting weights in the gym and read 3 books (all of them were so good, so I'll pop them in the comments!)

🧠 Ran my 2nd LinkedIn masterclass of the year: “How to write viral LinkedIn posts”. 300+ people signed up to learn my proven, data-driven tactics to amplify the visibility of their content.

🤝 Signed a 3-month creator partnership deal with a brand (co-owned by Steven Bartlett). It’s one of the first AI tools I’ve seen that supports real copywriters without turning everyone into beige, robotic LinkedIn clones.

📈 Two clients upgraded their LinkedIn personal branding package size with me to amplify the scale and output of the work I’ve been doing. Always a good sign when clients say “Let’s do more together!”

🎙️ Took a daytrip to London to appear on James Lamb’s new podcast. Honoured to be his 2nd guest. I spoke all things freedom-building, lifestyle businesses, self-belief, unconventional careers and of course, LinkedIn.

😅 Jumped on my first and very chaotic LinkedIn live (+ overshared, iykyk) with my pals Hannah del Herrera, Karla McNeilage and Louis Butterfield.

📧 Grew my email subs by 200+ founders, marketers and business leaders. Welcome!! I’m really focused on adding insane value. So if you want all my best LinkedIn personal branding insights & breakdowns, subscribe: https://lnkd.in/eVKs-RrT


Negatives:

- I got caught in a 3-day flood in Lombok (an island near Bali) and had to wade through muddy floodwater barefoot to get to the gym / cafes / coworking spots. (By day 3, it was just part of the daily routine 😂)

- I got 2 invites for speaking gigs this summer at big marketing events and BOTH were on the same day. Had to decline one. What are the chances?!?

- I had to end a potential client call because a founder (who wanted me to build his brand) said, "even though you're in Bali, I'd expect you to fully work on a UK timezone to accommodate my diary." Dude... you HAVING A LAUGH?? Bye.


PS. What’ve you been upto? Win of the month?

LMK and let’s celebrate 🎉

I’m a 27-year-old from Yorkshire (England).

I spent Monday morning:

🌴 Trekking through the Balinese jungle.
🌊 Chasing waterfalls (saw 7!)
👣 Wading through rivers.

5 hours later, I was in a tiny lil cafe:

💻 Building email funnels.
🧠 Coaching people on LI strategy.
📝 Writing content for a 7-figure CEO.

I am my own boss. 
With no set work hours.
And the ability to work from wherever.

(And I don't take this for granted).


There are 2 types of “freedom”.

The one you see online and the one that actually exists.

The fake one?

People selling you a lifestyle they don’t even own. 

You know the type.

The dude in Dubai, posing next to a rented Lamborghini with a $15K fake Rolex dangling from their wrist as they broadcast to the followers they paid for... "How to get rich on crypto" 

It looks 'aspirational' until you zoom in.

And then you see how flawed the entire thing is.

Then there’s a version which *I* think is better

(But sadly doesn't get the credit it deserves).

The type of freedom earned from:

→ A skill that genuinely helps people
→ A scaling business built on trust/decency
→ And space to enjoy your life on your terms

It’s less "social media" clickbait.

But it’s meaningful.

And most importantly…

It will last much longer than "get rich quick" schemes because it's not just based on material things.

In a world that equates "wealth" / "success" to money...

I think it's cool to also consider these things as a type of "richness"


→ Good health
→ Doing good work
→ Strong relationships
→ Calm nervous system
→ Time/location freedom
→ Being part of a community
→ Having autonomy and choice
→ Adding genuine value to others
→ Not neglecting hobbies and adventure

Who agrees?

I won at the Business Awards UK! 🎉 

This definitely beats the "Star of the Week" accolade I got in year 4 for "helping tidy up Mrs Drury's classroom."

Pretty dope.

Read my interview here: https://lnkd.in/ePwTbv3E

Thanks for the write-up Dan Marsh.

I passed my driving test 9 years ago but I've never owned a car in my life.

But if I did buy a car...

I'd get a little used one for < £500.

Ideally, a tiny 2 seater.

So I never have to worry about:

1. Parking (I'm terrible!)
2. Someone stealing it
3. Someone crashing into it
4. Reversing into a lampost (likely!)
5. Having to give lifts to people 😂

A crappy old banger will do. 

The only thing that matters is that it gets me from A to B.

But right now, I choose not to have one.

I work from home.
I live in the city centre.
I travel abroad 10-12x a year.

I could buy a car. It's the thing to do. Right?

But the money I would spend on a fancy car, fuel, maintenance, parking, insurance, etc.

I'd rather put into:

- Flights abroad
- Health investments
- Spoiling my friends
- Bucket list experiences
- Investing in my business

Cars are weird.

If you're into cars as a hobby, go you!
(Seriously, no judgment).

I personally am not.

But I find 3 things bizarre:

1. How OFTEN I get asked about what car I'd buy

2. How OFTEN I get asked why I don't own a car (usually they say stuff like "but your business is doing well!!!")

3. The look of HORROR on people's faces when I tell them what my dream car actually is (+ how much it would cost)

It's a metal box on wheels.

I grew up in a community where cars were the ultimate sign of wealth.

Well then, consider me poor AF 😂

For some people cars are a necessity.

But for many people they can be a status purchase DISGUISED as a necessity.

I’ve watched so many people:

- Hit their first decent revenue month
- Immediately finance a “nice” car
- Lock themselves into 3–5 years of payments

These same people say:

"We can't go on a holiday this year."
"We need to stop getting takeaways."
"Don't put the heating on. Put on a jumper."

Meanwhile...

They've got a Range Rover and an Audi parked on their drive.

Make it make sense.

Nobody is driving past you thinking: “Wow. What an extraordinary human. Look at that Audi.”

They're thinking:

"Look at that Audi."

They're romanticising the car. 

Not you.

Buy stuff that makes you feel good by all means.

But don't buy stuff because you think it will make you "look" good in the eyes of other people.

Focus on pleasing your inner self.

Not your neighbour.

I wish I hadn’t binged 3 years of self-help content. 

If you’re Au-ADHD (like me), the “personal development” industry can be dangerous.

In 2022, the self-help industry was worth $38 billion. 

By 2032? Estimated to be $90 billion.

There’s a lot of money in convincing you you’re not enough 🙃



I read 30+ “self-help” books, poured over every page, highlighting bits, taking notes.

Before long, it consumed ALL my spare time.

At the gym, I’d play self-help podcasts.
On the train, I’d watch self-help videos.
In bed, I’d listen to self-help audiobooks.

Silence felt unproductive.

I considered “free time” a bad thing.

Don’t get me wrong, the learnings I took away DID improve my life (to an extent).

I made more money. 
My business grew. 
I made like-minded friends.
I improved my health.
I built better discipline.

But ADHD + optimisation culture is a volatile mix.

ADHD comes with ‘hyperfixation”.

This is when you get complete obsessive or absorbed into something.

When this goes on for a prolonged period of time, it can lead you to:

- Feel disoriented by your surroundings
- Neglect/sacrifice everything else
- Lose track of time and ‘balance’

When it runs unchecked, everything else shrinks.

And that’s what happened to me.

I tried to optimise my mornings. My sleep. My diet. My routines. My friendships. My output.

Nothing was allowed to just exist.

This led to unhealthy standards, addictive behaviours and intense irritation when things were beyond my control.

It affected my daily mood (not in a good way!)

And so a word of warning:

Self-help isn’t evil. But it’s addictive.

Especially if you already struggle with dopamine regulation.


I’d advise consuming it in small doses and then taking time to implement one thing at a time, slowly and whilst being kind to yourself.

It’s also okay to reject some ideas.

I think these things are just as important for “personal development” (but RARELY get mentioned in self-help material)...

→ Community & deep connection
→ Investing in your mental health
→ Rest and recovery on your terms
→ Sitting in boredom
→ Spending time in nature 
→ Doing nothing guilt-free
→ Hobbies with no intent to monetise
→ Indulging in fictional content
→ Experience you can’t ‘measure’

You don’t need to optimise every inch of your existence.

I guess it comes back to that word.

Balance.

You are not a startup.

You don’t need to scale yourself every quarter.

You can reach a point and think:

“I am enough.”

💛

"LinkedIn is a professional platform"

Well shucks.

This photo is from Halloween.

I'm Yoshi. My mates are other Mario Kart charactes.

In this picture, you have senior (& very talented!!!) people who work in architecture, teaching, green transport, regulatory affairs, flood risk management, emergency training, branding, etc.

When I posted this 5 months ago...

It went viral on LinkedIn.

I also signed 3 clients from it - would you believe???

In newsfeeds full of:

AI slop
Corporate buzzwords
Sleazy sales content
"Delighed to announce" posts
Company promotions

I think it's refreshing to see:

- Real humans
- Fun / humour 
- Transparency
- Personality
- Unfilteredness

Because you can be professional and have a personality.

The two things are not mutually exclusive.

If someone sees this post and thinks:

"I wouldn't want to work with *him* in business."

I say:

"Lucky escape for me!"

No boring people here, please and thank you 🤣 

PS. Life is short. Care less what people think.

I left 3 'business communities' this week.

My gosh, they were awful!!

Seriously, wtf is going on?

Incident 1:

A WhatsApp chat descended into saying derogatory things about a female founder's body. From who? A bunch of middle-aged, balding men with beer bellies they can't see their toes past. Most of them use the chat to ask 'does anyone have work going?'

The audacity is something else.

Incident 2:

One person posted their LinkedIn content asking for likes and comments. By Friday? It was a full-blown engagement orgy. Everyone swapping spit under each other's posts. "Well said", "Love this" and "So true."

Mate. You're all marketers. 
And THIS is your marketing strategy? 

Incident 3:

Someone asked for tips on how to 'rage bait' on LinkedIn. People were literally sharing screenshots of other people's posts they could publicly 'quote' and then rip apart for impressions. They figured the more controversial they were, the more people would comment.

Grown adults with jobs.
Behaving like Year 7s needing attention.

So I left all three. 

Should've left sooner tbh!

But I hardly check the chats and most are on mute.

I deffo don't want my name associated with any of them.

If your "community" is just a group chat for insecure people to validate each other's toxic behaviour...

It's not a community. It's a circus.

If you're in any communities / chats that you don't check regularly, I'd advice having a lil looksie to make sure you're not mistakenly associated with some of the garbage they contain.

Anyway... 

If you're looking for awesome positive inspiring humans to follow and add to your social feed...

Here are a few:

Karla McNeilage, Sophie Miller, Luke Redhead, Mischa Collins, Alya Annabi, Mona Ganatra, Kati Harris, Ellie Hines 🍋, Danielle Davies, Jeff Abracen, Stephen Adeoye, Luke Manton.

Feel free to add more lovely people below ↓

2022: Worked every weekend 8am-8pm (said “no” to social invites, locked myself in a box room and went into monk mode). 

2026: Spending weekends hopping between tiny islands in the Indian Ocean with swimming shorts, a book and a water bottle.

In those 4 years, I built a multi 6-figure business from scratch.

And no…

I’m not a trust fund kid.
I don’t have a business degree.
Nobody in my family is an entrepreneur to learn from.

In the first 2-3 years, 90 hour weeks were normal.

I love the idea of “work-life balance.”

But practically, it doesn't work. 

(Especially early on).

To get something off the ground, you have to sacrifice in ways most people simply won’t.

You must be obsessive.

It takes time, graft and commitment to:

Hone your craft (until you’re very good)
Test offers that flop + create good ones
Find your ICP and what niche to target
Set up contracts/ invoicing/ decks
Figure out how to market yourself
Learn how to conduct sales calls
Build standard operating procedures
Make mistakes (hopefully only once!)
Learn the fundamentals of business

These photos are real.

But they’re the reward, not the starting point.

And ALSO a reward that I have to maintain.

I work incredibly hard when I'm in 'business season' so I can indulge in this time off, guilt-free. (And I do it all solo - my marketing, my sales, my newsletter, my content, my client delivery, my operations).

Early self-employed life is stressful, lonely, confusing and financially inconsistent.

Fullstop.

And for context:

I don’t have kids or dependents.
I don’t have a debilitating disability.
I don’t have a pet tying me to one place.

That makes digital nomad life easier.

(There are elements of privilege here for sure!!!)

But it doesn’t remove the work.

You can't shortcut that.

So if you’re seeing posts with pictures like these, but without the context I've given in this post and thinking:

“How do I get there???”

The answer is simple:

Mute the people selling you a false dream.

And focus on the work.

Put in the hours.
Cut out your distractions.
Invest in real experts to help.
Work on needle-moving tasks.
Start building your personal brand.

Do the boring stuff.

Now, 4 years in, I don’t chase “balance.”

I practice work-life integration.

I work in seasons.

Some months I go all in - by choice.

Other months I slow down. Travel more. Live life fully.

Freedom isn’t constant relaxation.

It’s optional intensity.

And this freedom is only obtained once you’ve set up the foundations.

Most people chase this freedom with no foundations.

They never make it.

Build and strengthen your foundations first.

All my life I was told "work hard, be sensible and make sacrifices in your 20s so you can enjoy your 30s/40s"

I say... f*ck that!!!

Why can't you:

- Earn good money
- Lay foundations
- Enjoy your life

DURING your 20s???

Huh?

Maybe this scarcity mindset was drilled into me because I come from an immigrant family. Or because I grew up in a working-class community.

I'm not sure.

But if anyone is reading this in their 20s...

Please know that decades of skipping lattes, cancelling your Netflix subscription and showing "loyalty" to one company all your life won't get you what you're told it will.

Work hard. 

(You can't 'shortcut' this).

But also... make INTENTIONAL choices.

→ Start a side hustle
→ Negotiate your salary
→ Build your personal brand
→ Upskill in your free time
→ Be bullish with promotions
→ Add value in every job you can
→ Say "yes" to things that scare you
→ Ask for intros / DM people
→ Work experience > degrees

Don't "wait your turn" or "know your place."

Crash the system.

Because saving pennies here and there won't give you your dream life.

Increasing your earning potential (and using it to fund your preferred lifestyle) will.

You can - and SHOULD - think bigger.

"Be realistic" is a stick used to beat people and keep them playing small.

But playing small doesn't get you anywhere.

You got this 🙌🏽

Me: *Explains my routine to my therapist*
Therapist: "Shoaib, you're autistic & ADHD."
Me: "Huh? You what, mate?" 🙃

8 1:1 sessions later...

I now realise that the 'weird' little things I *thought* everyone did or went through in life are common traits in au-ADHD people.

I just didn't know it.

Anyone relate to this stuff? 👇🏽


1. Walking out of cafes if everything isn't quite ✨ right ✨ I'm talking the level of natural light, texture of the seat (hard wood vs fabric vs leather vs metal), angle of the chair's backrest, height of the table against my elbows, texture of table, the speed of service, etc. And also - I have to sit in the same seat every time I work from a cafe. If that seat is taken, I go elsewhere.

2. Eating the same food on repeat for months (and then I never eat it for another 12 months). Yes, I will eat Quaker's peanut butter protein porridge for breakfast at 9am every single day for 143 days on the trot. The texture is the best out of all the porridges I've tried. But then one day it'll suddenly change to Fage 0% fat protein yoghurt with blueberries (but it has to be the big ones - Tesco's sweet & juicy blueberries only). And yes... when something isn't in stock nearby, I will travel far and wide to get it.

3. Finding one thing by chance and making it your entire personality (for the 2 weeks that it interests you). Then doing that thing non-stop until you can't do it anymore and you've exhausted it. Like buying £150 binoculars to bird watch (literally everywhere I go!!) after seeing a toucan in Colombia once. But all I see now are pigeons and crows. Ffs. It's not quite the same when you're not in a tropical rainforest!

4. Being able to work incredibly fast on some things e.g. paint your entire house in 3 days and get B&Q obsessed after watching all 6 series of Alan Carr's Interior Design Masters in 2 weeks. But then, spending 9 months procrastinating on very minor tasks you find boring - like putting up blinds in my bedroom after they fell off in the middle of the night 7 months ago. My solution was not to fix the blinds. It was to buy an eyemask from Amazon. 

5. Needing to plan your entire day (hour by hour) the night before so you can mentally prepare for things like travel, socialising, eating times, etc. I do this to avoid having ANY 'empty space' in my day because then I know I'll be super restless and annoying to everyone around me. It's frustrating when trying to make plans (because I am not a spontaneous person - I need prep time).


Please say I'm not alone!! Does anyone else do any of the above??

I'm a multi-award-winning LinkedIn expert.

Here's my “multi-award winning” advice:


1. STOP spending 2 hours a day commenting on posts.

Your future clients are not sitting about exchanging comments with other creators. Spend your entire day doing this and people will start wondering: 

"Do they actually have a business to run?" 

Don't get lost playing LinkedIn ping-pong with other creators while your actual dream clients lurk in the shadows like introverted ninjas.

It's a merry-go-round of mutual back-patting. 

Fun? Sure. Profitable? Meh.


2. STOP joining paid cohorts run by mega creators.

What worked to get a creator to 300K followers over the last 5 years won't work for you Sandra (and your 2K followers) in 2026. 

The algorithm, audience, platform, competition, feed saturation - have all changed. 

Study people 1-2 steps ahead of you. 

Not people who've already landed on Mars and are sipping champers with Elon.

Sorry Sandra. I don't make the rules. 


3. STOP relying on ChatGPT to write your posts.

50% of LinkedIn posts have the personality of a terms & conditions page.

When you simply copy and paste 'done for you' posts from ChatGPT, you lose what makes you interesting. 

The way you phrase things.
Stories only YOU can tell.
Your unique POV / TOV.

AI can help you brainstorm and refine your ideas.

But it can't help you build a PERSONAL brand.

Dude, it's literally a robot.


And instead?


1. START embedding offers into your posts and profile.

There has to be a clear system to move people from "I like this person's content" to "I want to work with them."

If someone lands on your profile after reading a post, what happens next? 

Make it stupidly obvious. 

If you're not signposting people to relevant places (e.g. a free downloadable resource, a meeting booking form, your product demo video), you're wasting traffic.

"Personal branding" is one thing.

Using your brand to grow your business is another.


2. START tracking buyer intent signals.

Who's viewing your profile? Who just followed you? Who's routinely liking your posts?

These are warm leads doing a terrible job of hiding. 

They're basically waving at you from behind a very thin curtain.

Start conversations with them.


3. START treating your content as 'campaigns'.

Want to land speaking gigs this summer?

Don't post once saying "I'm available for events!" and then sit by your laptop like a golden retriever waiting for a treat.

Create a 4-6 week content strategy. 

That's 20-30 speaking-specific LinkedIn posts.
Update your banner to reflect your 'speaker' angle
Add a speaker enquiry form to your featured section.
Post clips of you speaking about your topics.
Tell interesting stories about your past talks.
Illustrate what makes you different as a speaker.
Connect with event organisers during this time.

See? 

Now you're POSITIONED as a speaker.


That's the multi-award-winning advice.

Groundbreaking stuff, isn't it?

Someone call Harvard 😂

Being self-employed is cool, until it isn't.

Here's how I manage the bad stuff:


1. It's very hard to fully "switch off"

Even on "holiday", you either:

a) think about work
b) end up doing work

When your clients need you, you feel "obliged" to be available. As a solopreneur, you are the 'do-er' of all things.

When you love your job, want to do the best work for clients and have a brain full of ideas...

Switching off feels wasteful!

(Though this is also the result of being conditioned to be 'productive 24/7).

How to manage it?

Set boundaries, be strict with working hours, say "no" more often, accept you can't help everyone (it's not your job to), and schedule time off in your diary.

Going away? Work ahead of time. 

If you know you have a quieter period, get ahead with admin / bigger projects. 

This will relieve stress in busy seasons!

Pre-qualify your clients. 
Save time with good systems & ops. 
Delegate admin work if you can. 
Prioritise important tasks, not easy ones.

If you do great work for current clients, you won't need to spend so much time and money trying to get new ones. 

Just saying.


2. It's emotionally battering

In year one, I lost 3 clients in one day, cutting our revenue by 1/3 almost overnight. 

2 days later, I signed 2 HUGE clients.

Both are still clients now - 3 years later - and also pay 3x what they did before.

When you start, things are unpredictable.

Setbacks feel soul-destroying.

But if you do great work and have happy clients, you will always be in demand.  So don't get sloppy with delivery. 

Happy clients = stability = happy you

If you react emotionally to everything that doesn't go your way, you won't survive. 

Your revenue isn't 100% 'predictable'. 

No matter how great the results you deliver for clients, things outside of your control can and do happen.

Tips? 

Set long-term contracts with notice periods to protect yourself against revenue fluctuations. Ask for testimonials and social proof. Build your personal brand and don't stop growing it.


3. Your 'to-do' list never ends

If you're not innovating, you kinda fall behind. 

This is a dog-eat-dog world so 'coasting' isn't an option. 

Keep your standards high.

Learn what's important vs what isn't. And then do what you need to adapt, to grow, to add more 'value' to your service.

Pick your lane and niche.

Don't try to do everything (multi-tasking = multi-failing).

Pick 1-2 priorities and work on them each week! 

For big projects like websites, launches and events - work on them at least 15 min EVERY day.

This keeps up the momentum to reach the finish line.


I love being self-employed.

I wouldn't change it for the world!!!

The freedom, the unlimited earning potential, the choice it gives you, the doors it opens...

All 100% worth it.

But also, not easy by any means.

I think it's important I share both sides.

Reminder: You have got this! 🔥

I think I just hired the best virtual assistant in my business.

And it’s not a real person 😂

Until recently, I was spending 3-4 hours a week doing the most boring admin imaginable:

– Client onboarding
– Sending links and folders
– Chasing forms / invoices
– Drafting the same emails
– Scheduling follow-ups

Now it takes me 15 minutes.

I stopped forcing clients into my internal tools and built one simple, client-facing portal instead.

Everything lives in one place:

Contracts + invoices
Onboarding docs
Forms + files + context
Automatic reminders
Clear next steps (for them and me)

And I’m no longer hunting through Slack, email, Drive, Notion and WhatsApp like a gremlin.

This is the kind of AI-enhanced software I love.

The “get this off my plate so I can do my actual job” type of AI.

I’m a one-man band.

So I quickly fall in love with any tool that:

a) saves me time
b) doesn't sacrifice quality
c) makes clients' lives easier

If you want to see what I’m using, comment "PORTAL" and I’ll send it over.

Brand partnership • The LinkedIn Growth Expert with receipts 📝 | Grown 205+ personal brands for founders, coaches & creators | Brain behind 300M organic impressions + £11.2M revenue | Multi-award winning LinkedIn coach, strategist, speaker

I stood butt naked in my garden at 6am this morning, fingering a purple crystal whilst whispering...

"Success, Success, Success"

I was aligning my chakras.

The kids call it manifesting.

Neighbours phoned 999 and called it public indecency.

Either way, it didn't work.

But here's what actually DOES increase your surface area of luck 👇🏽


1/ Take messy action

When I went freelance, I didn't have a company name, logo or even a proper headshot.

Just a niche skill I believed people needed.

So I built a janky landing page in 3 hours, grabbed free invoice templates from Google and winged the rest.

My first "brand" was a Canva logo I made in 12 minutes. 

It was crap.

But I brought in leads before I'd written a single sales page.

I don't fear imperfection. 

Why this mindset works:

 → You test demand before building anything complex
 → You get feedback while everyone else is “planning”
 → You focus on the offer & client, not the optics


2/ Make failure expensive

Motivation is a myth.

It never shows up when you need it.

So I engineer momentum instead.

Take the first step by

a) finding an accountability buddy
b) making a painfully large investment
c) installing a cost of inaction 

For example, I paid upfront for a PT for 2025.
(So I can't pull out or have 'weeks off')

Once you make the purchase, you want to maximise your return.

Makes sense, right?

When quitting costs you something - money, reputation, pride - you suddenly find the energy.

Funny how that works.


3/ Design your environment

I used to roll out of bed and open my laptop.

(After snoozing my alarm 7 times).

A crap way to start the day.

Now?

I start at 6am - when my brain actually works.
I batch admin so it doesn't bleed into creative time.
I work from bright cafes that signal "it's go time."
I mute everything. No random notifications!
I timeblock every hour. Even my breaks.

I also book quarterly "strategy Airbnbs" with other business owners.

We audit our lives, set big goals and make sure our daily actions actually match our long-term dreams.

(I call it the "get your sh*t together" retreat).

Why all this works:

 → You build the capacity for 'deep work'
 → You force structure into your workday
 → You reduce stress of decision making


People say "Shoaib, you're so lucky."

Maybe.

But I also:

- Am super intentional with my time
- Focus on my goals (nobody else's)
- Live each day how I want to live my life

Luck isn't totally random.

It's what happens when preparation meets "f*ck it, let's go."

PS. How do you "attract" luck?

Are you a crystal fiddler or an action-taker?

I'm not against having a sugar daddy.

Or selling feet pics on the internet 🦶 

Nor am I against a rich family member dying in suspicious circumstances and leaving me a fat inheritance.

🫢 

But sadly, I have none of those.

(I know. Annoying af.)

So I had to do the work myself.

I've built a 6-figure branding business with zero mentors, no funding and no connections.

Just me, tippy-tappying away on my MacBook.
Deciding I don’t wanna die in 9-5 corporate hell.
And drinking my bodyweight in double espressos.

For context:

5 years ago, I was sitting in lecture halls learning about genetically modified jellyfish.

No, I'm not joking.

And now?

I've been asked to become an OFFICIAL PARTNER with Stan - the company backed by Steven Bartlett, Gary Vee and 100s of the world's top entrepreneurs.

Kinda mad 🤯

Why did Stan choose me?

Because I DIY-ed my entrepreneur journey.

I built it all in public. 

Since Jan 1st 2022 (my day 1)

I’ve helped build 200+ personal brands on LinkedIn. For 7 and 8-figure founders. Even won awards for it.

I get pitched AI writing tools every week.

Most are crap. 

Built by some SaaS bro who saw "personal branding" trending and thought: "I could cash in on this."

With no understanding of what creators actually need.

Stan is refreshingly different.

It's the first AI tool I'd genuinely recommend to the business owners I coach.

And that's saying something.

Grab a 7-day free trial.

👉🏽 https://lnkd.in/eBMJswYK)

Stanley AI learns your unique writing voice and suggests content ideas based on your goals.

It's also LinkedIn-specific. 

So the recommendations are spot on.

(I would know 😉)

Have you tried it?

I told a friend I had my most successful month in business ever!!

He said:

“Nice. How much did you make?”

Ermmm 😅

I wasn’t talking about money.

So I replied: “I had only 4 meetings.”

He looked confused.

Let me explain 👇🏽

There are 744 hours in January.

My meetings took 3.

That’s 0.4% of the month.

99.6% of my time was mine.

And it was still a 5-figure profit month.


That’s success to me → OWNERSHIP of my time.


Because it indicates 3 things:

1/ I’ve built long-term trust with my clients.

All of my retainers have been with me 2+ years. We don’t need weekly “alignment calls.” They trust the strategy and have seen the results I help them achieve. I deliver. We move.

2/ My personal brand does the selling. 

Clients come through my DMs already educated about what I do. They’ve seen the proof in my posts, cases studies and website testimonials and know how I think from my LinkedIn posts! By the time we DM, they’re ready to go.

3/ I stopped mistaking “busy” for “important.”

I used to say yes to every call. “Quick chat?” “Can we jump on Zoom?” “Let’s discuss.” Now? If it can be an email, it’s an email. My diary is protected. I never mistake ‘talking about doing work’ for actually doing the work.


Somewhere along the way, we decided:

Busy = successful.

A calendar blocked 9–5 = important.

Back-to-back Zoom calls = "productive"

I reject that.

Success, to me, is designing your work around your dream lifestyle, energy and body clock.

No performative busyness.

Who’s with me?

Can we just cut the bull?? 
Most people don’t want a mansion.
Or a £10M exit. Or a CEO job title.

They want:

• To feel peace, own a home, pay for the small comforts/conveniences in life and not deny themselves little joys like extra legroom on a flight.

• To say “yes” when their friends plan a spontaneous weekend trip - without checking their bank app first or calculating annual leave days.

• To build something meaningful without sacrificing sleep, relationships, or their health to do it. And to enjoy the process of learning.

It's kinda depressing.

Most people will never reach this point.

We get conditioned to play a game we don't even want to win.

- Chasing money goals they never set
- Build businesses they feel chained to
- Pushing back bucket list goals to "later"

So what happens?

We work 14-hour days.

Some people do this in a 9-5pm job!! 

Because we've normalised unpaid overtime as just expected.

Apparently, this is "hard work."

I know... because I was a victim of it all too.

Although I had my own biz - and because of that, I earned more than I ever did.

In fact, I hit £100k revenue by month 9 of being a freelancer, at the age of 22 and fresh out of uni.

But over the next few years?

I grew so obsessed with stacking revenue and growing this 'business' that I burned out, was in and out of hospital and had pretty much f*cked up my body, mental health and relationships.

I did that for 3 years.

And then I shook myself and said:

"Shoaib, wtf are you doing with your life?"

My next move?

I spent 5 weeks totally redesigning my life - burning all my boats, pulling the plug on everything I'd internalised and rebuilding my biz from scratch.

I handed over some clients to other people and rewrote my services / contracts!

Why? Because...

More money means nothing 
→ if you’re too exhausted to enjoy it.

More clients mean nothing 
→ if you never see your friends / family.

More growth means nothing 
→ if it doesn't give you more choices.

(FYI: I don't underestimate the power of money to get yourself out of a crappy situation and open doors - but also, there's so much more to life).


Now I have a successful business AND a happy life.

Spending 45 days in Bali rn, working hard in the AM and chasing sunsets in the PM.


It's hard to get here.

But at the end of the day, until you take a risk, take drastic action or make a statement to reject society's version of 'success' ... 

Nothing changes.

You have to CHANGE your reality to change your reality.

And that starts with the day-to-day.

A morning routine.
Your negative self talk.
How you set boundaries.
The contracts you give clients.
Your microbehaviours.
How you spend an average week.

These things tot up.

Make one tiny change in one area of your life, and the net positive effects will seep into another.

Do this for 6 months.

It will change your life.

Just don't stay stuck in inaction, thinking "this is it, I'm helpless".

You're not.

You can do and you deserve, better!

Someone asked me: “How do you do it all?”

My answer: "I regularly give up" 😂

I just do what matters and IGNORE everything else.

(I give it up guilt-free).

YOLO ✌🏽


My work goals?

- Get solid client results
- Grow my personal brand
- Diversify how I deliver value

My personal goals?

- Build time, location & financial freedom
- Spend more time with loved ones
- Live a more 'adventurous' life

So I've designed my routine for all that.

First step? Accept that:

- Your to-do list will never end.
- There's always 'more' you *could* do.
- More money won't solve your problems.

Then? 


1. Focus on priority tasks.

Most people try to fit as much as possible into their week.

Then fill their to-do lists with crap like:

"Send email to X"
"Create document for Y"
"Go to meeting about Z"

Half this stuff takes 2 mins but people still add it to a to-do list to give them a false sense of achievement.

It's dopamine chasing.

And doesn't actually help you progress at all.

Ask yourself: What are the 3 highest ROI activities I need to protect this week?

Then:

→ Block 3x 2-hr deep work slots to do that stuff
→ Batch all your meetings to stop context-switching
 → Use a “one-tab only mode” when working

My framework is: “CREATE, COACH, CLOSE”

If a task doesn’t fall into those 3 buckets.
I seriously question if I need to do it.

(Delegate, automate and outsource too).


2. Schedule your social and hobby time.

I force myself to "switch off" every day.

Tips:

- Book activities in advance, pay upfront
- Put social stuff into your work diary
- Don't rely on things just 'happening'

Be intentional with your 'out of work' time.

Things I've done this year?

Rollerblading. Games nights. Cinema trips. 
Brunches. Dinners out. Parties. Baking days.
Concerts. Beach evenings. Spa & sauna nights.
Weekend hikes. Wild swimming. City breaks.

My next 7 weekends are fully booked. 

This forward planning is awesome.

It forces me to do all my work Mon-Fri. 
(I don't let it slip into evenings/weekends)

And I'm seeing my friends way more than before!


3. Ruthlessly edit your goals

Just because:

You set a goal
Put something on a vision board
Told a friend you would do X thing

It doesn't mean you *have* to.

If it no longer serves you, discard it.

I review my to-do list weekly.

To simplify & delete.

→ Paused offers I was selling out, but hated delivering
→ Stopped launching new things just because I could
→ Killed goals that were ego-driven (& energy-sucking)

Ask yourself:

- Is this goal aligned with what I want now?
- Would I say yes if I wasn’t already doing it?
- Is this task giving me peace, profit or purpose?

If not? Let it goooooo...

LET IT GOOOOOO 🎶🎶🎶


I used to say:

“I’ll take a break when”
“I’ll relax after”
“I’ll enjoy myself once”

Now?

I book fun in first. And build the week around it.

It's your life at the end of the day.

Start living it how 10 year old you imagined you would.

It's more fun that way!

Woke up at 5am to watch the sunrise.

Fell back asleep. Missed it.

But I won't let you miss my free LinkedIn sales masterclass.

*smirks at his own joke*

Register here: https://lnkd.in/gkHq4PaW

I'll teach you: How to Generate Leads & Sign Clients On LinkedIn 💰

🗓️ Thurs 26th March
⏰ 10:00 - 10:30am UK time
💻 Free. Zoom. 30 mins.

Who's this for?

You're active on LinkedIn with a B2B offer and want to monetise your efforts - secure clients, boost sales, increase signups.

Why trust me?

200+ personal brands built.
18,750+ LinkedIn posts written.
305M+ organic impressions generated.
£11.2M+ in client revenue.
500+ PR opportunities landed.

All inbound. 

Without paid ads, intrusive DMs or joining engagement pods.

I've been doing this for 5+ years. 

It's all I do. 

Ask my best mate. He thinks I'm a grade A nerd. I'm practically married to LinkedIn at this point 💍 

Anyways...

See ya theeerrreee.

P.S. Did YOU catch the sunrise this morning? I need to live vicariously through someone 🌅

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

Execution will humble you in more ways than advice ever could.

And this, by far, has been my best realisation.

It's actually scary how much advice is in the world we live in. And normally, it's not the correct advice. The truth is, advice that will improve your business is hard to come by because everyone is sharing an opinion online.  

But there's one thing that beats any advice:

Saying you'll do something and actually doing it.

In my teens, I told myseIf was going to go all in on business, and that meant learning many things I once never knew. How? Real experience.

Less talking, more doing.

I didn't have a background in marketing, I learned.
I didn't have a background in brand, I learned.
I didn't have a background in R&D, I learned.

And here's what I found out...

When you start facing real situations, real problems, and real outcomes, you quickly see who’s telling the truth and who isn’t.

You learn who to trust.

Advice has its place. But execution is what changes things.

Growing @thistlescientific and sharing the lessons while I do

I’ve just landed back from a week in the mountains.

And it reminded me how easy it is to forget what really matters.

I know I talk a lot about business because it's something I'm passionate about, but let's be real, it will never be as important as family. 

Scaling a business takes a lot out of you, early mornings, late nights, and missing certain celebrations. It's honestly brutal sometimes. 

Because it never stops!!!

You always have something that needs implementing, changing or improving, but what I've realised is that time away with your family allows you the space to think, enjoy and realign. Never take this for granted.

Honestly, had the best couple of days... now super exctied to get back and execute on the plan we've set out over the past couple of months.

We did it!!! Thistle is rebrand ready...

Over the past few months, we've completed a full rebrand at Thistle Scientific, one that has pushed, tested, and shaped the new direction we're heading in. These will be the months I'll remember forever, but...

I want to talk about what goes into a rebrand:

The late nights thinking decisions through.
The transition phase throughout the organisation.
The alignment through the internal team and external partners.

They all hit you! But in a good way.

Because eventually, you see all the pieces of the puzzle coming together, and you appreciate all the details and hard work that went into every part of it.

But this whole process got me thinking about one thing, "change", and how so many of us are nervous about it. This is a good feeling to have. 

It means you're pushing yourself.

Take it all in!!!

The most important skill of an entrepreneur is to do the basics first.

I used to fight this idea because it sounded too simple.

Sticking to a routine 
Doing the things you promised.
Being open-minded to the problems. 
Interacting directly with your customers.
Executing the plan you set out with your team.

It really is simple!!! 

At the start of this year, I told some of my closest friends what I was going to do. Less talking and more just focusing on what creates the moment. 

And I can already feel it. It hasn’t been anything out of this world, it's just been staying focused on what matters most in the buisness. And normally, these are the tasks you repeat.

You've got to understand that most people will dislike doing the basics over and over again, becasue it can become boring and not fun. But these are the tasks that create the difference that changes your life and business. 

It may be boring, but it works.

3 years ago, navigating a merger, improving systems, and building a stronger foundation.

Since then, Thistle Scientific has grown year on year, hired across multiple countries, and deliberately focused on scale. Why?

Equipping scientists around the world requires collaboration, obsession, and teamwork. It’s understanding what will help each researcher improve the work they’re doing.

But there’s an even bigger reason…

Scaling allows us to support even more researchers, and the better support they get, the more impact their work can have on the rest of the population.

Any researchers here... would love to chat with you.

One of the best decisions I've made as a 25-year-old growing a biotech business was to... spend time with people who have already done it.

Not people who're trying to sell you something.
Not people who shut down your ideas every five minutes.

But the people who have lived and breathed the problems you are facing.

The real operators. And what I've noticed is that they don't try to sell you online they are heavily focused on real outcomes. They have this credibility where they've been there and done it. You can just feel it!!!

So, if you're going to surround yourself with successful people:

Do your due diligence
Ask the important questions
Don't waste your time and especially theirs.

That's where real change is created.

Evean, now I've got so much to learn and it's so important to remember that the moment you think you've understood it all will be the moment you stop making progress.

We had a chance to showcase our new design in Thailand.

I pulled it... You only get one first impression.

We had an opportunity to move fast on some new design work. It would've lined up perfectly for our ASIA distributor meeting in Thailand next month, so I pushed for it. 

I thought it would be:

Great to share the new innovation.
Great to share the new Thistle identity.
Great to share our new direction with them.

But I was chasing speed over execution.

The lesson wasn't "slow down". I still believe in moving fast.
The lesson was "speed" without clarity is just expensive.

Coming straight out of a rebrand, it’s easy to chase momentum. But when you do that, you can lose the bigger picture and that costs you.

Growth never happens when you move without clarity. You only get one chance at a first impression, so we are making sure ours is worth it.

"TEST THE LIMIT"  that's what our rebrand was built on.

When we started to plan our rebrand, we didn't view ourselves as successful. We saw ourselves as a challenger brand. A brand that wanted to do things differently from others in our industry.

This was our starting point.

From the first conversations I had with our team, they were all open-minded to it and wanted to be aligned on the bigger picture, but there was something I noticed more special. 

They all wanted to be a part of it.  Contributing, debating, and just being fully curious. Through my years of learning business, I've noticed that one of the best traits in any business is the team being curious. They like to get stuck in. And here's what I've seen:

They adapt quickly to problems and solutions.
They build better products and services.
They spot opportunities others ignore.
They make better decisions.

Being curious is lethal (in a good way)

There's something special about being around an open-minded team. A team that wants to play an even bigger part in this journey. It's pretty cool.

Very proud to announce the next chapter of Thistle Scientific.

Thistle has expanded a lot over the years as a team, company and scientific partner.

Today, we’re updating our entire visual system to convey a clearer, bolder expression of who we are and the purpose we stand behind. Now the time feels right to step into our next chapter and announce the rebrand of Thistle Scientific.

One that will demonstrate the connection and deeper understanding we have for researchers and global organisations who are changing the world for good.  

Just like research, brands must evolve too. We must listen, adapt and strengthen. That's what we're here to do. Committed to the direction we're heading, and that's to equip scientists to be relentless in changing the world for good. 

One hypothesis at a time. 

Welcome to Thistle 2.0

Because science is never done. So, neither are we.

taplio

The Battle

Shoaib Ahmed

Niall Cleaver

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreShoaib Ahmed's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Shoaib Ahmed

Niall Cleaver

Followers

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);}Shoaib Ahmed's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreShoaib Ahmed's LinkedIn Performance