E15: I Didn't Think I'd Ever Own a Business but Life Made it Happen with Andrea Rainsford

Nothing...and I mean nothing can stop Andrea from following her dreams.

In this episode we explore how her successful career was cut short and how her resilience and passion for life got her through extreme personal challenges, poor health and a university degree.

Dreams really can come true...we just have to believe!

Andrea Rainsford is a seasoned business development professional with over 30 years of experience in corporate growth, having worked for prestigious firms like EY and Eversheds.

She has secured partnerships with industry giants such as Peugeot, Orange, and RBS. In 2014, Andrea transitioned to entrepreneurship, balancing life's demands and working part-time while becoming the primary breadwinner. Her journey highlights resilience and adaptability.

Andrea now inspires heart centered female entrepreneurs with her blend of empathy and passion, guiding, teaching and inspiring them to create sold out businesses built around freedom.

Andrea's Link:

https://linktr.ee/andrearainsford

Want to connect? Find me here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamemmahine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/behappybesuccessful

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-hine

Website: https://www.emmahine.co.uk

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaHineStrategy

Transcript

Hello, Andrea, great to have you with us today.  Hello, it's, it's, it's an absolute pleasure to finally be here because I can't remember, how long has it been going? 22nd of May started, wasn't it? And then we, and then we started, we tried before, didn't we? And then, and then you weren't very well, I'm not very well.

And here we are finally at last. We are at last. Yay.  Right. Let's dive straight in. Let's go back to the beginning and tell us why you decided to join this entrepreneurial world.   

I don't think, do you step into this entrepreneurial world, you know, is it a decision? I think for me it was, um,  I think it was a little bit different.

I don't, I don't think I ever, ever, if I'm being brutally honest, I don't think I ever thought  that I would own my own business. I don't think it was, I think my family were very working class and they were very hard workers. And I think I thought that was going to be it for me until the day I died. Um, you know, hard work working in corporate, working in a, working in a, in a nine to five, um,  nine to five, I'd other ideas. 

So, um, I think.  I ended up running my own business because I didn't have any other option. So, um, it's, it's a, it is a very long story and I'm going to, I'm going to cut it  quite short. So, um, I worked in, uh, in corporate for Ernst Young for about, I think I've been there about 17 years and it was just a very, it was just a very high profile, high, high pressure job as most corporate jobs are.

Um, and, and it's that little bit harder for women, isn't it? It's always that little bit harder, especially back then, because we're going back quite a few years. I think it's been  20, 23 years since I worked in corporate. So it's been quite a long time, but back then you just had to go that extra mile to prove yourself.

And you just weren't seen on the same level as, as, as, you know, as, as your team, if they were male, you just, you weren't treated the same and, um,  just had to go that extra mile. And sadly, um, I, I broke my body. And, um,  I can remember I just met Ian and, um, we went on holiday to, um,  Rhodes for the first time. I think it was our second holiday together.

We hadn't been together very, very long. And I can remember, I can remember the day as clear as, as, as clear as a bell. Um, we were pitching to Renault in, in Leeds. And I can remember flying down the M1 like an absolute lunatic because I was going to miss the flight. And that's just what life was like. You know, the cases were packed the night before, they were waiting by the door and, and everything was like breakneck speed.

Everything was, I didn't ever get a chance to enjoy life. I was doing everything at a hundred mile an hour. And we went on that holiday and I just, I was just very sick when I came back.  So we came, we went, we spent a week, you know, horizontal, basically lining the sun and then I came back and I was just very poorly and, um, I had to go back to Leeds on my first day back.

 Um, and I can remember driving up the M1 and it was like a car park and I was feeling really unwell in the car and I was sick in the car and I thought, Oh God, that's not great. First day back. But I carried on all the way up and I collapsed in the, in the boardroom while we were doing the presentation and I never went back to work.  

I went to the doctors on the way home. I was very lucky that I had private health care and, um,  They, they diagnosed me after about two or three months, then they said I had ME, um, which back then was classed as Yuppie Flu.  And the, the press around ME was that it wasn't a proper illness, and so I  kept fighting against it, thinking that I'm, I'm, I'm going to beat this, I'm going to get back to work, I'm going to get back to my career, I'm going to get back to where I was.

 And Ian and I got married. Um, during that time, so I was sick before we got married, and I wasn't very well on our, on our wedding day. And then, um, a year after we got married, I still hadn't made it back to work. I was still pushing. And then Ian came home one day and found me unconscious, and I'd had a stroke.

 So, um, the ME came first, and the burnout came first, and my body, um,  just gave out on me. Um, I thought I could beat ME. I thought that it was just Being a bit tired and that I could find my own, my own way back, um, and I actually had a stroke and, um,  yeah, it's been, it's been a, it's been a hell of a recovery.

 Um, and  I think I knew that I was never going to be going back to work. It took me a long time to,  I was in a hospital bed for, for five years. Um, I think I didn't, I didn't sleep upstairs in our bed for,  for five years. And then I think it was 12 years before I went out on my own. So it was, it was a hell of a recovery.

 And, and I think I always knew that I weren't going to be going back to corporate and that's the reason why  I did a degree and thought I need to set up my own business, but it never entered my head to do a start a business with what I used to do because. I couldn't relate to her anymore. I didn't know her.

 I'd lost my identity. I didn't know who I was, didn't know what I was capable of. I think because my body was broke, I felt that everything that I knew and everything that I'd done before, I couldn't do that anymore. And so I started an SEO agency, um, because I'd just done my degree and that felt like the most comfortable thing to do at that time.

 Um, so it wasn't a conventional, I'm going to start a business. I want the freedom. It was basically circumstances really that forced me into it. 

 Yeah. And do you think, Andrea, if you hadn't have been poorly, do you think you would have continued with that career, pushing yourself, pushing your body as hard as you clearly were pushing yourself? 

 I think I was always out to prove something to myself.  Um, I think I never felt good enough ever right back from being a child. And I think that was it. That was what was at the heart of it. Um, and I think that  something had to give, and I think those that know me know that even now, I've still got lessons to learn.

 I. It has to be something catastrophic to stop me. I think I am, I'm incredibly driven. Um, and I think it's just the way that I'm made. So I think it had to be something catastrophic to stop me. I think  it wasn't sustainable. The, the hours and the work and the level I was pushing myself out. But the thing is, is that we see all the people around us doing it and we think that it's normal and we think that it's the norm and we think that it's okay because other people are doing it.

 So why can't we?  My body couldn't cope. And, um, I've, I've analysed it to death. I, as you can imagine, I've been over and over and over it. What could I have done differently? Um, I did blame myself for a very long time because I felt as though it was all my fault for pushing too hard, but I've had to forgive myself now and tell myself that  it's done, it's gone.

 Um, I've,  I've, it happened and  I, on some level now, I'm starting to think that it happened because I'm meant to share. I'm meant to tell people my story. I'm meant to explain to them the lessons that I've learned. And then hopefully, people won't do the same thing. 

 Yeah, and that is powerful. That takes strength.

 That takes real strength to be able to take something so  Completely life changing. And I think that's fair to say, isn't it, Andrea, what you experienced was completely life changing yet you have taken that and you have built upon that and you have taken all of your learning and you now help other people to, to build completely different lives.

 And I think, I think that is why you are so amazing at what you do because you totally feel it. You totally feel people. You feel the emotion, you feel the need. Why you talk about freedom. And there's a reason you do that. It's not just because you think it's a nice buzzword that, you know, lots of people band around, isn't it?

 It's because you totally value, you know, the importance of freedom.  So what was this transition like? Because it's, it's not easy as it to go from corporate into self employed, but you didn't just do that. You obviously had this massive period of, you know, being unable to work in between because of your health.

 So you, for you, it was, it literally was. starting again, wasn't it? How, how did you go down that route? What made you think, you know, this is what I'm going to do?  

 Um, I think the degree was all about making sure that my brain still worked. So it was never about a job. It was never about a business. It was a case of, I've got a brain injury.

 Um, I'm completely different. I couldn't, I couldn't feel my left hand still at that time. Couldn't use my hand or my leg.  Um, I could speak, um, and, um, I was starting to walk with crutches at that time. And, um, I think it's just, Ian would tell you that it's just typical me. Is that, you know, you, you still can't walk and you still can't get to the toilet on your own, but let's go and do a degree at university. 

He's like, he said, you're completely insane. Um, and he didn't speak to me for quite a while. He refused to speak to me because he was like, why are you going to university? See, and I. It was, it was a feat because I had to have carers, the carers had to take me in my wheelchair and I had to have a note taker at university to take my notes because I couldn't write my own notes.

 So, um, yeah, it was, it wasn't easy, but I've got so many fond memories of that time. And then I can remember coming out the other end thinking, well, I've got all of this extra knowledge. And then these people just kept popping up, like people that were in my network that had seen that I'd done the degree and went, well, can you help me with this?

 And can you help me with that? And would you mind helping me with this? And I thought,  yeah, might as well put my skills to use. And I started to help people. And then somebody said, you know, after about a year, you've got to, you know, you've got to start a business. And I'll be honest, I can remember the day, clearly the day that I launched my Facebook page, I went and hid in the cupboard.

 I was like, this is, this is probably the scariest thing I've ever done in my life. I thought I've got to put myself out there. And it was so hard because I didn't know who I was. I didn't, I didn't, I still couldn't connect with my identity, what I was about, what I liked. I didn't really know anything at that time.

 Um, and I was just incredibly lucky. Um, I really, really was. So I can remember when I launched my Facebook page, there was a girl that I went to school with. He was also called Andrea. Um, and she'd run her own marketing business for quite a number of years.  And she phoned me and said, um,  I'm wondering if you might be able to help me with one of my projects.

And I said, well, yeah, of course I can. What's the project? And my first ever job, SEO job was working on a classic motor show at the NEC.  And so I, I think somebody above was, you know, looking down on me. And then I was retained by Clarion events then. And I did the SEO and all of their shows. So it was like, um, home and got house and garden, home and garden and spirit of Christmas, um, travel shows.

 There was, there was lots of them. Um, and that was something that I could do in my own time from my bed because I didn't need to be client facing because she was client facing. I was, I was working for her. So yeah, there was a, there was a little bit of luck involved. I think there. 

 I think it looks one word, but also there's a bit in there.

 It's about connection, isn't it? And I know that's something you're super passionate about now, you know, that opportunity, that look, call it what you want to call it, but that came along because you had a connection with people from your, your former life, if that's what we want to call it. Um, so, you know, that, that to me shows the power of connecting with people and having people in your world.

 Um, cause you never know when they're going to crop up and, and something magically is going to align the two things together. 

 Yes. It's something you and I, we, we, we're very connected on, isn't it? Um, we,  I think One of the things that I, I, I, I keep banding on about at the moment, which I'm becoming a bit like a stuck record is that, you know, back in the day when we used to incorporate, it was, it was all about connection.

 It was talking to people, picking up the phone face to face. We were always in front of the people that we were going to do, you know, do deals with. And that was the nature of the beast. You, you, we didn't. We didn't have social media back then. You never, you didn't promote yourself on social media. It was about building relationships and it wasn't what you knew, it was who you knew.

And I think we seem to have lost sight of that a little bit at the moment. I think, you know, we, we, we, we've lost that connection. We don't pick up the phone. We don't talk to each other. We don't, we don't go out for coffee. And it's, you know, I, I had my mastermind this morning and I said to them,  It's all about connections.

 The people who joined my next round of mastermind have all said to me, it's because they know like, and trust me, and that's, and that's, what's at the core. 

 Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's a drum you need to keep banging. You know, I'm banging it with you. So we can have our own little band.

 Absolutely. Absolutely. So when did the transition come from? Um, cause it isn't SEO you do now. So where did the transition come from? When did you step into what you do now?  

 I think even though I put an SEO label on it, I've been doing business growth all along. Um, when clients came to me and they were like, Oh, can you add some keywords to my website?

 The answer was always no. I'd always be like, well, what's your plan? What's your strategy? Who's your client? And, and, and I just used to reel into all of these steps because I used to say to them, you're never going to get any clients through your website if you're not clear on everything else. And I used to refuse. to just add keywords to website because I used to say to them at some point in the future, you are going to come back to me and say it's not working. And I refuse to do work where you're not going to get results. And so I was always doing it. But then  last year, I decided that I've got to put my big girl pants on and, um, get back out in the world as what I've always done.

 And so Andrea Rainsford creating business growth was born last year. Um, SEO Angel is still around. I'm always brutally honest with people and I'm not sure what's happening with it. Um, I'm still asked to do SEO on occasion. I do SEO strategy for some corporates, very few and far between, and they have to be aligned with me and I have to really I have to be really aligned with what they do. 

Um, and I am writing some courses because I still think, um, SEO is a bit of a cutthroat business and there's too many people out there that are, that are just scaring people to death with tech. So I think there is room for me to write some courses that people can do. So I am going to be doing that. 

Having said that, in the, in my new business, in my mastermind, SEO plays a huge, huge part, which is, it can't be any great shock to people. The data, the research is, is, is, is at the centre of everything we do. Um, and I also teach it at the back end of my mastermind because I, I believe it's got to be one of their, you know, the channels for leads to come into their business.

 So it's, it's, it's um, yeah, I've come full circle. Um, and, and I'll be honest, I'm loving it. And  I'm, I'm teaching at the heart, like you said at the beginning, how to build freedom in. So the first three steps of the mastermind is all about what do you want? What do you want your life to look like? What are you brilliant at?

 And it's all about them as people. And I think too often we move straight into business planning strategy. What are, what, you know, putting offers out into the world.  And yeah, I, I just don't believe that that's the way, um, the way we should be running businesses. So it's not going to be right for everybody. 

 It's right for the people that align with me. 

 That's it. That's it. And I think that is, is part of the problem, isn't it? I always say that, you know, anybody can grow a business that makes them money. I do believe that. I think anybody can launch a business and start to make money, but at what cost? And that's, that's the bit that you've got to be clear.

 And isn't it, what are you prepared to give up to make that money? Because in time you will have to give something up. I know I certainly did. And I know you certainly did, you know, something has to, has to give. So, you know, building your business around your life, hence this podcast, dream business, dream life.

 It's the two have to go hand in hand. If you want to. become a truly successful person. If you want to actually feel successful and you want to be happy in your life. And if we're all a hundred percent honest, that's all we really want, isn't it? That's what we really want. We want to be happy. We want to be enjoying what we're doing.

 There's just, I could go on a soap box here. I'm going to try not to, but we, we could, we, we, we base so much sometimes, don't we? On what other people are doing, what other people have got, what we keep looking  

sideways. Don't we, we keep looking sideways and I think that, um, the one thing that I hear, I'm not sure, I'm sure you will say the same is that you've got to be hustling 24  hours a day.

You know, you can't rest. If you want a successful business, you've got to be out there. And I read a post on LinkedIn the other day that absolutely made my blood boil. And it was, and she basically said, pick a figure, pick a time scale. And these are the three things you've got to do. And I was just like,  if, if the more people are out there saying that that's how easy it is that are saying that, you know, that's all you've got to do. We're going to end up with far, far more disillusioned people that there are, there are no quick fixes. There are no,  you know, there is nothing easy about business. There isn't. And anybody that is continually striving, looking for the quick fix and the easy route is going to be very bitterly disappointed because it takes hard work, dedication and consistency.

And that, and that is, and that is, it is the bottom line. And, you know, the ladies that are in my group will know that I, they get a front row seat to me saying that, you know, I have imposter syndrome, I panic, I worry, I cry, I, I share all of it, because the more we keep putting out there these, these polished facades of, you know, how easy we're finding it and we're making, Eight, nine figures and it's a walk in the park and you just need to do these three steps and, you know, and away you go.  

We've got to tear it down because it isn't the truth. And I think that people are  buying into that. And then they're becoming so disillusioned when they don't get there because they don't think there's something wrong with them. They think that there is something that there is something fundamentally wrong with them.

And we just can't have people thinking that because they are brilliant.  They have just, they are brilliant at something, sometimes they just need some help with how to package it to put it out into the world. 

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. The overnight millionaire. We love them, don't we? We absolutely love the overnight millionaires.

With a passion and a baseball bat.  

Yeah, I mean, I mean, there's a massive difference, isn't there? Business is hard. It absolutely is. And I'm exactly the same. I share the good days, the bad days and everything in between with, with, with my. with my audience. Um, because I think it's right to, um,  but it can be fun. And I think that's the important thing is to remember you can still, you know, you can still work hard and enjoy what you're doing.

And that's where, you know, you've got to be totally clear on why you are doing it, what you want it to look like for you.  Okay. So. What's it like being in your world? Um, so you, you've just talked about your group, you share all of this stuff in your group. Um, I know you put on amazing events and things like that.

What would you say are the sort of like the key things that you ingrain, um, within your, within your world?  

Honesty, integrity,  um, authenticity. Um, yeah, they're, they're so important. The people are, I like the people that are around me, like you, are very heart centered  I think, like you've said, business is tough, but it needs, you need, you need, your why needs to be huge.

 Um, if you're gonna, if you're, if you're going to keep going and you are going to, you're going to be in it for the long haul, it's, you've got to be so passionate about what you're doing and mine is, is health, mine is maintaining my health. Um, I cannot do what I do in corporate anymore because my health is, is so important. 

 But my other why is, is, is seeing women fly, is seeing them shrieking down the phone and hearing them shrieking down the phone when they're, they're, they're so excited that the clients are coming in and the money's coming in and they're actually starting to believe in themselves. That, that is what  drives me every day.

 I, I, I have one main  offering, which is my mastermind and I get really excited about seeing them on a Tuesday morning. I look forward to it. We have tears. We have. You know, we, they cry, they shout, they, they get it all out. And then they, and then they go on and they, and they get on with it and I'm with them every step of the way.

 So I always say to them, once you're in my world, you don't get out sadly. You, you, you, you're in me with me for life.  Um, and I, I, I say to everybody that comes into Mild, I'm their biggest advocate and I'll be, and I'll be there with them along, you know, along the way. And I say to everybody that comes to work on the Mastermind, this isn't going to be easy. 

 Don't come into this thinking that you're, I'm just going to show you a few steps and you're going to, and you know, everything's going to change. There's a, there's a lot of work involved. And, and I will help you every step of the way and make sure there are no guarantees in life and anybody that says they can guarantee what you're going to earn and how many clients you're going to get and all the rest of it.

 There's too many, there's too many moving variables for any guarantees. But the one thing that I do say is that, you know, I'll be, I'll be so loyal and I'll help you to get you to where you, to where you need to be. I do, um, I am soft. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I do cry with them. Um, I am incredibly emotional, but as Ian says, don't mess with her because I will, you know, when I have to kick them, I will because it's for their, it's their own very, it's for their own interests.

 And, um, I don't think I would be here today if I hadn't got a streak a mile wide of determination. So, um, yeah, I, I can be,  yeah, I can be a little bit, I do get, you know, firm with them. I never tell them off, but I do get very firm with them when, when I need to, but mainly I'll be there holding their hand and being there, being their biggest friend. 

 Yeah. And I think that's super important, isn't it? That, you know, you're there for everything and as their, as their mentor, as their strategist, as whatever role you're playing at that particular time, you've got to be prepared to have those difficult conversations with people, just the same as you've got to be prepared to, you know, to wipe the tears and do whatever it is you need when they're not having a good moment.

 And, and, and I love that that's how you do it. And that shines through in, you know, even people who aren't in your mastermind, it shines through. in your free group, in every conversation that you have when you're face to face. It's just very clear that you are who you are. Um, and it's, it's, it's heartwarming.

 Absolutely. It's heartwarming. And, you know, I, for one, I'm super glad that we have cross paths and, um, we are now in each other's world.  So. 

 Very much so. And, um, yeah, I feel very much the same about you. It's a complete pleasure to be in your world. Your, your events are a joy and you attract beautiful people.

 Um, and it was a pleasure to meet so many amazing people all in one room when I came to your event. So yeah,  

 I love that we're banging the same drum. I absolutely love it. So at the end of every episode, I ask my guests to share with us a top tip. So what would your top tip be for our listeners, Andrea?  

 I think the top tip at the moment, especially at the moment is consistency.

 Um, so what I'm hearing from everybody is, um,  it's tough.  It's tough to get clients, it's tough to earn money. I would say I've, I think this is my 11th year. Um, this is probably one of the toughest years I've seen. Um, and it's tough not because people aren't buying, but because people are taking their time and they're being incredibly considered with their purchases.

 And that's the one thing that I'm seeing that, you know, um, 18 months ago it was, it was around, I dunno, 15 touch points. I think at the moment it's 27, which is massive.  And that means you've got to turn up 27 times before somebody decides they're going to part with their money. Um, I can't, I can't stress consistency enough because what tends to happen is that especially the ladies that are in my world at the moment, they want to give up. 

 They're thinking it's not working. They want to go and put another offer out.  You just, you've just got to stay the course. You've got to know you. You've got to know what you're brilliant at. You've got to know that what you're doing is, makes a difference. And you've got to keep showing up. And you've got to keep telling the world how brilliant you are.

 And you've got to keep shining your light.  So it's about being authentic, but it's also about being consistent and not giving up.  Because I see so many that want to give up, want to keep changing their offers, want to keep changing what they're putting out in the world.  Changing your offer is just going to confuse your audience.

 So please don't keep changing your offers and think you've got to do something else. What you've actually got to do is hold your nerve at the moment. You've got to really hold your nerve and be consistent. And that goes for all of us. It's, I'm not just saying that for me and my clients, it's going for me as well. 

 It's, it's going for all of us is that we all have those days where the leads and the clients are not coming as quickly as they were before. And you think you've got to change something because something must be broken. Doesn't mean something is necessarily broken. And it just means that. You've just got to hold your nerve a little bit more.

And the one tip that I, I would love to give as well is that you've got to get out there. Over the last 18 months, you could do it all online. I didn't have to move from my computer. I do now. I have to now. I have to be face to face, front and centre, and I have to be out there with people. And I would say that the reason that my events are filling out is because most of those people have met me face to face. 

 Yeah. Yeah. Two amazing, absolutely amazing points, consistency and connection. The two Cs. There you go. You didn't plan that. Okay. So finally, if any of our listeners want to learn more about you, where's the best place that they connect with you?  

 Um, I'm usually found on LinkedIn.  So LinkedIn has been my place for the last 10 years. 

 Um, but I've, I've, I've had a little hiatus into Facebook and I think that's because when I had my operation last year, I just needed to, I needed some downtime and I set up a group on, in, on Facebook called Women Winning in Business, and that's my happy place. I love it in there, but, um, I am, I am getting back out on LinkedIn. 

 I know that I've got to get back out there. The community is lovely. They are, they are a lovely, lovely community. I know a lot of people can be scared of LinkedIn. You don't need to be corporate. You don't need to be professional. You just need to show up as you and your people will find you. So yeah, either they're either LinkedIn or in the women, women in the business group, come and join us because Emma's there.

 So you'll see both of us. 

 Yep. I am absolutely in the group. It's an amazing group. It really is amazing. Andrew has not sold it enough there. It is a brilliant group full of brilliant people. So thank you so much for joining me today, Andrew. It has been amazing chatting with you  and thank you to everybody else for listening.

 I will see you next time. Thank you.