Today’s episode is deeply personal. I’m sharing why the last episode about expensive hobbies was quite difficult for me to create, and why this work matters so much to me.
Why Last Week’s Episode Was Difficult
The last episode – the one about expensive hobbies and viable businesses – was quite difficult for me to produce.
Not because it’s complicated content. But because when I see people working incredibly hard at something they’re brilliant at, and it’s not rewarding them financially, something in me finds that really difficult to witness.
I realised I needed to explain why.
What I Learnt Early
Growing up, I learnt something fundamental: financial independence is not a luxury, or about being ambitious or wanting more.
It’s about having choices. It’s about safety. It’s about being able to leave situations that harm you. It’s about having options.
When you watch someone you love be trapped – not just emotionally trapped, but practically trapped because they don’t have the financial resources to leave – you understand at a very deep level what money actually means.
t’s about being able to say no and being able to protect yourself and the people you love.
I made a decision early that I would never be in a position where I couldn’t take care of myself financially. That I would always have my own income, my own resources, my own ability to make choices about my life.
This is why I can’t bear to see someone working incredibly hard at something they’re brilliant at, and it not rewarding them financially. Because I know what it means in practical, daily, very real terms.
Seeing What’s Possible
A few years later, I became an au pair for a family who lived in London and ran their own business.
I was living in a small village on the coast in Scotland at the time. This family changed so much of how I saw what was actually possible.
They’d created something themselves. They weren’t waiting for someone else to give them permission. They’d built it. They had freedom, flexibility, financial security. They had created options.
That small village girl from Scotland, going to London and seeing what was possible… that was a turning point. I started to think: maybe I could do this too. Maybe I could build something of my own that would give me the financial independence I knew I needed.
Building Together
Then I met my husband, who has always been incredibly supportive of everything I’ve wanted to build.
We built together… renovating houses, establishing my floral business. Both of us working hard while I also built something of my own.
But what I really want you to understand: even with the most supportive partner in the world, having my own business, my own income, my own financial independence… that still mattered to me enormously.
Because financial independence doesn’t mean you don’t need anyone. It means you’re choosing to be with someone, not trapped with them. There’s a profound difference.
Why That Comment Matters
When that woman wrote in the chat “my husband has called what I do the most expensive hobby lol” something in me just ached.
This is why I create very safe spaces. Spaces that are highly positive. Spaces that help people see the brilliance inside them rather than spaces that tear them down.
I want you to feel supported. I want you to see clearly what you’re capable of. I want you to build something that rewards you properly for your brilliance.
The Three Groups I Serve
The people I work with generally fall into three categories:
The first group are working hard and talented, but the business isn’t truly profitable yet. It’s still in expensive hobby territory. For this group, the foundation work is about moving from hobby to viable business… getting clear on what you’re brilliant at, who needs it, what it’s worth, and how to structure it sustainably.
This matters to me deeply, because I know what financial independence means. I know what having your own income makes possible.
The second group have already built financially successful businesses. But their businesses aren’t aligned with what they naturally excel at. They’ve built something that works financially, but exhausts them.
For this group, the foundation work is about alignment. Identifying what you’re naturally brilliant at and restructuring around that.
Financial success without alignment is its own kind of trap. It’s having money but not freedom.
The third group are somewhere in between. They’re making some money, the business is starting to work, but it’s not quite there yet. It’s not fully viable or sustainable. They can see the potential but haven’t quite cracked how to make it consistently profitable while staying aligned with who they are.
For this group, the foundation work is about both viability and alignment together… strengthening what’s working while ensuring it fits who they actually are.
And what I want for everyone is both financial viability AND alignment. A business that rewards you properly AND feels like yours.
That’s not unrealistic. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. When you do the foundation work properly, when you build from your actual strengths, you can absolutely create both viability and alignment.
Why This Matters
Financial independence is freedom. It’s being able to make choices about your life. It’s being able to say yes to opportunities that excite you and no to things that don’t serve you.
Having your own business is about identity. Your own contribution. Your own expertise. Your own impact.
Being proud of what you do changes everything. When you’re building something that uses your natural strengths, creates real value, and rewards you properly—that transforms how you show up everywhere.
This is why I get so insistent about viability. Why I won’t let you stay comfortable calling something a business when it’s actually an expensive hobby.
Not because I’m hard. Because I know what financial independence makes possible. And I want that for you.
When you build something viable, aligned and sustainable, you can keep doing this for years. You can help more people. You can create the financial independence that gives you choices. You can be proud of what you’ve built.
That’s what’s possible. And that’s why I do this work.
Philippa x
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