27. Anna Lundberg - on quitting "success" to pursue your passions
01/27/19 • 43 min
Here at Smashing the Ceiling we love to showcase the careers of women who have taken the road less travelled, and there's so much to discuss on that front with today's guest, Anna Lundberg, a woman who has always forged her own path.
She freely admits that she has always been one to keep her options open, choosing the International Baccalaureat instead of 'A' levels, Philosphy, Politics and Economics at uni, and a Masters in Political Science, International Law and International Economics. Her quest to work for the UN didn't quite pan out, and she started her career with Proctor and Gamble, where she spent 7 years, initially in brand management and then the brave new world of digital marketing.
Digital marketing was barely a thing when Anna started at the company in 2007 but taking a leap into a new world led her to places she wouldn't have expected. However, whilst on sabbatical in 2013, she decided there was more out there with her name on. She established her own digital marketing agency in 2014, and whilst freelancing between international jaunts, she took a coaching course in 6 months that was meant to take 2 years.
She now runs One Step Outside, a personal coaching and training companies for ambitious individuals and teams who want to make a difference without sacrificing their health and relationships to do so - so tune in to hear more!
In this episode we discuss:
- What Anna wanted to be when she grew up
- The various jobs she tried at school, none of which contributed to her future career!
- Her undergraduate studies at Oxford, taking a Masters in Geneva and her unsuccessful attempt to work at the UN
- Starting work at Proctor and Gamble, and breaking into the new sphere of digital marketing
- Realising the disconnect between where she was professionally and where she thought she should be, and starting to think about other options for her career
- Being bold and stepping outside your comfort zone, shrugging off her “Good Girl” mentality
- Quitting your job without another one to go to
- Starting her new business on her return from her travels, and getting that off the ground
- The ins and outs of running a small business, including lone working from home and the financial insecurity of self-employment
- Being patient when you’ve started a new venture, and having realistic expectations
- Anna’s “hippy period” (her words, not mine!) and how she ventured into the coaching world
- The concept of One Step Outside and what Anna does now, challenging people to move from ‘comfort’ to ‘growth’
- Why everyone needs a coach!
- Her new podcast, “Reimagining Success” and thinking about what you really want from life
Where to find Anna:
- The OneStepOutside website: https://onestepoutside.com
- The Reimagining Success podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/reimagining-success-with-anna-s-e-lundberg/id1444846932?mt=2
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaselundberg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaselundberg
Follow us for more:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smashingtheceiling/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/smashingceiling
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/smashingtheceiling
Here at Smashing the Ceiling we love to showcase the careers of women who have taken the road less travelled, and there's so much to discuss on that front with today's guest, Anna Lundberg, a woman who has always forged her own path.
She freely admits that she has always been one to keep her options open, choosing the International Baccalaureat instead of 'A' levels, Philosphy, Politics and Economics at uni, and a Masters in Political Science, International Law and International Economics. Her quest to work for the UN didn't quite pan out, and she started her career with Proctor and Gamble, where she spent 7 years, initially in brand management and then the brave new world of digital marketing.
Digital marketing was barely a thing when Anna started at the company in 2007 but taking a leap into a new world led her to places she wouldn't have expected. However, whilst on sabbatical in 2013, she decided there was more out there with her name on. She established her own digital marketing agency in 2014, and whilst freelancing between international jaunts, she took a coaching course in 6 months that was meant to take 2 years.
She now runs One Step Outside, a personal coaching and training companies for ambitious individuals and teams who want to make a difference without sacrificing their health and relationships to do so - so tune in to hear more!
In this episode we discuss:
- What Anna wanted to be when she grew up
- The various jobs she tried at school, none of which contributed to her future career!
- Her undergraduate studies at Oxford, taking a Masters in Geneva and her unsuccessful attempt to work at the UN
- Starting work at Proctor and Gamble, and breaking into the new sphere of digital marketing
- Realising the disconnect between where she was professionally and where she thought she should be, and starting to think about other options for her career
- Being bold and stepping outside your comfort zone, shrugging off her “Good Girl” mentality
- Quitting your job without another one to go to
- Starting her new business on her return from her travels, and getting that off the ground
- The ins and outs of running a small business, including lone working from home and the financial insecurity of self-employment
- Being patient when you’ve started a new venture, and having realistic expectations
- Anna’s “hippy period” (her words, not mine!) and how she ventured into the coaching world
- The concept of One Step Outside and what Anna does now, challenging people to move from ‘comfort’ to ‘growth’
- Why everyone needs a coach!
- Her new podcast, “Reimagining Success” and thinking about what you really want from life
Where to find Anna:
- The OneStepOutside website: https://onestepoutside.com
- The Reimagining Success podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/reimagining-success-with-anna-s-e-lundberg/id1444846932?mt=2
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaselundberg/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaselundberg
Follow us for more:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smashingtheceiling/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/smashingceiling
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/smashingtheceiling
Previous Episode
26. Career Skills - Negotiation
Today we’re starting a new series on career skills to help you in the workplace which will be periodically slotted in amongst our fantastic guests over the next few months.
This series was inspired when a friend revealed to me not so long ago that she had just negotiated a sizeable pay rise after discovering that as the only female in her team, she was being paid significantly less than her male counterparts. As ever, we discussed the HOW of it all (clearly my real life reflects my podcast life) - how she prepared, how the meeting went and how she drove a successful outcome. After a few drinks, said friend suggested that I do a podcast about negotiation, and that got me thinking about all the other work place dilemmas that crop up so regularly, whatever industry you’re in. So today we will be talking about money, and about NEGOTIATION.
During this episode we'll discuss the 4 P's of negotiation: preparation, practice, positivity and persistence. I'll suggest some things you need to consider, and how to break down a negotiation into manageable chunks to make it a little more bearable, because whatever anyone may say, most of us will find a negotiation quite a stressful experience.
I mention some advice on negotiation from Sheryl Sandberg's team at Lean In and you can find the videos here: https://leanin.org/negotiation
Other useful resources can be found here:
https://www.pon.harvard.edu/freemium/new-negotiation-strategies-for-women-secrets-to-success/
Good luck!
Next Episode
28. Kathryn Nicolai - yoga, sleep and bedtime stories
This week’s guest, Kathryn Nicolai, has a voice that soothes the soul, and since her podcast, Nothing Much Happens, launched in April 2018, she has gently encouraged more than two million people to snuggle into their duvet and fall asleep. When we were little, if you were lucky, I bet someone read to you to see you off to sleep, but remarkably, at some point we forget the pleasure that used to bring us, meaning that bedtime stories for adults are just not a ‘thing’, or they weren’t until now.
There clearly is a need though, as Kathryn’s podcast has become an international sensation. But before Nothing Much Happens, Kathryn was - and still is - a yoga instructor, and owns her own studio in Michigan. So today’s episode covers two areas really - firstly, how Kathryn found solace in yoga at a difficult time in her life, and how she started her own business at a relatively young age; secondly how the simple, perfect idea of bedtime stories for adults took shape in the form of Nothing Much Happens, and how trusting your gut can lead you down paths you never expected.
In this episode we discuss:
Kathryn's early life and her desire to be a writer from a young age
Studying Italian and Spanish at school and university, and never using either of them in her professional life!
How she found yoga as a respite from injury, exhaustion, anxiety and an eating disorder
Her early yoga teachers and the mentors she had in her yoga career
The growth of the yoga industry and how Kathryn has kept her business constant in a time of shifting trends
Starting a business at 25, and why a lack of fear means starting a business at a young age can be a positive move
How a good idea comes from having a lot of ideas, and moving forward with them if you think that's the right thing to do
Goat yoga!
The rise of women in yoga, including as teachers, from an ancient tradition of male leaders, and building a feminist angle into her yoga business
Where the idea for Nothing Much Happens came from and she went about launching the podcast
Finding a need, and filling it with something quality to build a successful business
Her evening pre-sleep routine
Whether the stories are autobiographical and where the ideas come from
The science of sleep
What's next for her - the book deal is on the horizon!
Where to find Kathryn:
The Nothing Much Happens website: https://www.nothingmuchhappens.com
Nothing Much Happens podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/nothing-much-happens-bedtime-stories-for-grown-ups/id1378040733?mt=2
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nothingmuchhappenspodcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nothingmuchhappenspodcast/
Follow us for more:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smashingtheceiling/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/smashingceiling
Facebook: www.facebook.com/smashingtheceiling
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