The Don't Buy Her Flowers Podcast

Sarah Rossi and Steph talk about how Sarah’s online profile, where she’s known as ‘Taming Twins’, has rocketed in the last 12 months. She talks with Steph about her career so far, from starting a bakery that she loved, and recognising that she couldn’t scale the business because it relied on her being physically there too much. Sarah’s blog Taming Twins started out as a creative outlet to share about her life with twins, until she noticed that recipes she shared were getting more traction. Sarah talks about blogging for ten years, growing a steady following and then pausing after a book deal came along, when she asked herself and her followers ‘what do people actually want?’. Simply, the feedback told her what they wanted was help with dinner. What ingredients did they need? What could they cook that everyone would eat? And make it quick! Off the back of that renewed focus on her customer, Sarah’s following on insta alone is over 350k, she has written Sunday Times bestseller ‘What’s for Dinner?’, quick and easy fuss-free family meals, and has a second book out in September 2023. Sarah talks about her income, becoming very strategic with her use of SEO and display ads and not relying on sponsorship and avoiding having to flog something to her followers that they don’t want, now that she is clear on her mission that she wants to be useful to families and take the stress out of the question ‘What’s For Dinner?’. Sarah’s book What’s for Dinner? Preorder Book Two What’s for Dinner in One Pot?  Sarah’s Instagram and TikTok Sarah’s website Taming Twins for fuss-free recipes and meal plans Steph’s Instagram

Steph chats with businesswoman Alex Depledge for a Business Special episode of the podcast. Alex is undoubtedly a brilliant entrepreneur, having co-founded, grown and sold first business Hassle.com for €32m, before starting another tech platform – Resi.co.uk – the UK's largest and only nationwide residential architectural platform. Alex’s ‘thing’ is disrupting with a tech solution, and cutting deals, both of which she’s very good at. She appears to have no fear, has been involved with a number of bodies, boards and think tanks, and is passionately championing women in a male-dominated industry. Alex is incredibly straight-talking but doesn’t shy away from being vulnerable, about the challenges of being the boss, including the stress and emotion of leading a business through Covid, trying to balance work and family. Alex also says that she’s grateful for the burnout she went through at 27, because it taught her a lot early on that most people experience a bit later while also trying to manage a family and having greater responsibility to juggle. This episode is sponsored by HR consultancy HR Star, who want to reinvent the poor reputation of HR. Visit http://www.hr-star.co.uk/ for more information and quote DBHF for 10% off their People Strategy Session.  Resi.co.uk Alex talks about starting and selling Hassle.com on the Secret Leaders podcast Alex on Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future podcast Alex’s Instagram  Steph’s Instagram

Steph speaks with Illiyin Morrison and Sophie McCartney (AKA Tired and Tested) about those early days and months of motherhood, as part of the Lost For Words series. Rather than gloss over it, Sophie and Illy both have careers that centre on being reassuringly honest about motherhood, and in turn offering support to women who may be finding it tougher than expected. Illy trained as a midwife and now helps women debrief after birth, and Sophie is a comedian and bestselling author with a huge Instagram account sharing the trials (and hilarity) of motherhood. Illy and Sophie talk about the early days, their feelings of failure and guilt about not doing it ‘right’, whether that’s the birth, breastfeeding, or just being a mum. They talk about obsessing about sleep and feeding, sweaty weigh ins, baby groups and having babies at the same time as Kate Middleton. They also discuss comparison and expectation, and the impact babies can have on a relationship. This conversation will make new mums feel better, or if someone further down the line thinks they did a terrible job, it will let them know that none of us knew what we were doing. Thank you to Naturalmat for sponsoring this series, handmakers of organic beds and mattresses, and DBHF podcast listeners can get 15% off with the code DBHF15 Tired and Tested: The Wild Ride into Parenthood by Sophie McCartney The Birth Debrief by Illiyin Morrison (out 16th March 2023) Mother Hens by Sophie McCartney (out 30th March 2023) If you’re struggling with parenthood, try contacting Home-Start UK Illy’s Instagram Sophie’s Instagram Steph’s Instagram The NEW Create a New Mum Gift Box at Don’t Buy Her Flowers

Each month, the DBHF podcast will speak with founders for a business episode, to find out how they’re doing it. The strapline for Alison Burton and Natalie Duvall’s business March Muses is ‘Celebrating Diversity by Diversifying Celebrations’. It begun from a search for Christmas decorations that represented the black community, and opened up a world of possibilities with the realisation that so many celebrations are lacking that representation. Steph talks with Alison and Natalie about how they started, their successful Dragon’s Den pitch that resulted in investment from Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones, and the impact 2020 had on their business with the murder of George Floyd, the BLM movement and the pandemic. They also explain how it feels when the swell of support subsides but the racism and need for support hasn’t gone away. As single mums who work full time as well as managing March Muses, Alison and Natalie talk about how they cope with the juggle and their hopes for the future of the business. This episode is sponsored by HR consultancy HR Star, who want to reinvent the poor reputation of HR. Visit http://www.hr-star.co.uk/ for more information and quote DBHF for 10% off their People Strategy Session.  March MusesWatch the Dragon’s Den pitchBlack Mums UpfrontShonda Rhimes ‘How do you do it all?’ speechMarch Muses InstagramSteph’s Instagram

Continuing the Lost For Words series, Steph speaks with Leanne Pero and Emma Campbell about Cancer. Both women have been diagnosed with breast cancer – Leanne is in remission and Emma continues with regular treatment after her third diagnosis in 2019. Both women are incredibly honest about their experience, struggles and the mental health impact. Sometimes the voices of cancer are either gloomy or exceptionally brave, but it is clear from this conversation that it is so much more nuanced. Leanne and Emma explain the imprint of fear that a cancer diagnosis leaves and the impact that will forever have on their lives but they also talk about hope and gratitude. The discussion includes social media, where there is an incredible cancer community that can be a huge support but how it can sometimes be a trigger that keeps someone in the ‘cancer world’, so they talk about boundaries. They also share their thoughts on how someone going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment can start to get their head around it, and the different things that might help them. Leanne talks about the stigma around cancer in the black community, that lead her to found Black Women Rising. Listen to Leanne on the Black Women Rising podcast with Leanne Emma’s advice on what to say to someone who has been diagnosed with Cancer Leanne on Emma’s podcast Open Emma’s Book All That Followed  Leanne’s InstagramEmma’s Instagram Steph’s Instagram The Stand Up To Cancer Care Package

For the second episode of this Lost For Words series, Steph spoke with podcast hosts The Other Mothers AKA Caro Tasker, Elle Wright and Jen Reid, three women on a mission to talk about Baby Loss, pushing through the discomfort people feel, to better support those going through it.  Through their tragic experiences of baby loss, which include stillbirth, neonatal death and SIDS (formerly known as cot death), Caro, Elle and Jen explain to Steph how those early weeks felt. The ladies talk honestly about the impact on their identity, friendships and their relationship, and feelings of guilt. They also provide some really helpful advice on how to help someone going through baby loss and what to say, as well as what not to say or do.  All three women are involved in charity work, to do what they can to stop others having to go through the pain they have felt. Jen set up charity Teddy’s Wish with her husband Chris to fund potentially life-saving research into SIDS (formerly known as cot death), Neonatal death and Stillbirth and to provide bereavement support for grieving families. Teddy’s Wish and Don’t Buy Her Flowers created two Baby Loss Care Packages together. If you are going through any loss to stillbirth (from 24 weeks), neonatal death or SIDS in the past 6 months, they would love to send a package paid for by Teddy’s Wish and DBHF gives a donation for each package too. Email jennifer@teddyswish.org or if you want to send a Baby Loss Care Package to someone, visit here. Thank you to Naturalmat for sponsoring this series, handmakers of organic beds and mattresses, and DBHF podcast listeners can get 15% off with the code DBHF15 The Other Mothers podcast Elle’s first book Ask Me His Name and her second book of fertility and hope Bump in the Road Caro’s InstagramElle’s InstagramJen’s Teddy Wish InstagramSteph’s Instagram

This series of the Don’t Buy Her Flowers podcast is about those events that can leave people Lost For Words, kicking off with Cariad Lloyd talking about grief and death. Cariad is a comedian, actress and writer and the woman behind the award-winning and brilliant podcast Griefcast, where she speaks with guests about their own experience of grief. And rather than being depressing, it’s about life and relationships and love and even more, about opening up the conversation to try to remove shame and loneliness that people shouldn’t feel given death is the one thing that is guaranteed in life. Steph and Cariad talk about Cariad’s experience of her Dad dying when she was fifteen, and how it has impacted her life. Cariad offers up some brilliant advice on how to support someone grieving – what to do or say as well as what not to say. Steph and Cariad talk about the impact on identity when a loved one dies, the different ways people grieve and how we might better prepare for it, awarding a gold star to Steph’s Mum who has been filling out a book titled ‘I’m Dead, what next?’..  Cariad is also about to publish her book You Are Not Alone, out 19th January when it will also be available in DBHF gift boxes.  Thank you to Naturalmat for sponsoring this series. Naturalmat handmake organic beds and mattresses, and podcast listeners can get 15% off online or in their showrooms with the code DBHF15 Griefcast podcastCariad’s book You Are Not Alone (out 19th January 2023 or pre-order)Cariad’s book is available in Don’t Buy Her Flowers packages from 19th JanuaryCariad’s InstagramSteph’s Instagram

Zoe Blaskey from The Motherkind Podcast joins with Steph and the Don’t Buy Her Flowers podcast for this end of year special! Steph and Zoe have each chosen three guests they spoke with on their own podcasts in 2022 to discuss and see what each other took from the guests. The conversation centres around motherhood, identity, relationships and sex. Zoe has chosen Psychologists Dr Rick Hanson and Dr Becky Kennedy, both experts in motherhood, family and relationships, who speak brilliantly about our standards and expectations, where they might have come from and how we can lower them. Steph chose Dr Karen Gurney AKA The Sex Doctor and Laura Danger, who is a facilitator of the Fair Play method and wants to help couples understand and better divide the mental load. And then both Steph and Zoe interviewed Matt Fray, author of This Is How Your Marriage Ends. Some really beefy topics and thought provoking conversations.And thank you for listening in 2022! Please rate, review and subscribe and we’ll be back with more in 2023.Zoe Blaskey InstagramZoe’s website and information on coachingSteph’s InstagramDr Rick Hanson’s episode with Zoe, Instagram and websiteDr Karen Gurney’s episode with Steph, Instagram and websiteDr Becky Kennedy’s, Instagram and book Good InsideLaura Danger AKA @thatdarnchat’s episode with Steph, Instagram and website Matt Fray’s Instagram and website. Matt’s episode with Steph and with Zoe

Steph chats with Laura Belbin AKA Knee Deep in Life and Victoria Emes, two brilliant comedians who separately have taken social media by storm, leading to hundreds of thousands of followers, books, a stage show and then together, they have created the Podcast ‘No Holes Barred’, where listeners write in with their frankly disgusting stories. Obviously Steph asks them about the grossest ones. Laura and Victoria chat openly about how they fell in to these careers, their plans for Christmas, the challenges of motherhood and how to talk to new mums without terrifying them. They also discuss how they handle social media and then reflect on 2022 – an emotional rollercoaster of heroes, villains, crushes and triumphs. They talk about their love of each other, and it is delightful to hear two people that have clearly built a really genuine relationship based on respect and support as well as smut and hearty guffawing at how crackers life can be. This episode is sponsored by Resi Design, an architectural platform whose aim is to demystify what is a complex process and help people to create their dream home faster, on budget, with less drama and in a climate-friendly way. Check them out at resi.co.uk Laura’s Instagram ‘Knee Deep in Life’Victoria’s InstagramSteph’s Instagram If you’re looking for thoughtful gifts, have a look at Don’t Buy Her Flowers