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Wild Moos
Welcome to Wild Moos, the no-holds-barred podcast where the boardroom meets the playroom.
Hosted by Amy of Mooeys and Nicole from Wild Bird Marketing, this podcast dives into the messy, joyful, and often chaotic life of being a mother and a business owner.
Every episode is a candid exploration of the trials and triumphs that come with juggling spreadsheets and sippy cups.
From start-up stories that defy the "perfect mum" myth to scaling a business without sacrificing sanity, Amy and Nicole share it all.
Expect laughter, tears, and plenty of swear words as they peel back the curtain on what it really takes to thrive in the dual worlds of business and motherhood.
Wild Moos is a community, a confession booth, and your cheerleading squad all rolled into one.
Whether you're knee-deep in nappies, drafting business plans, or just dreaming about what could be, Wild Moos is the podcast for every mum who’s ever had to lock the bathroom door just to answer an email.
Tune in for your regular dose of inspiration, commiseration, and a reminder that you're not alone on this wild ride of entrepreneurship and motherhood.
Wild Moos
Wild Moos Podcast Episode 13: Our first guest - Martin Lewis (Not that Martin Lewis!)
Ever wondered if those with ginger locks really do defy the greying process, or if they require an extra dose of anesthesia? Martin Lewis, our first guest who's assuredly not a money-saving guru or a famous actor, joins us with a dash of wit to shed light on these fiery questions. We also share the laughter and challenges of birthing this very podcast, from the triumphs of setting up our DIY studio to the trials that tested our 'Basic Budget Bitches' ethos.
From Amy's leap into the wild world of waxing entrepreneurship to Martin's candid take on the less glamorous side of business, this episode unpacks the raw and real side of starting your own venture. We take you through the maze of managing cash flows, the adrenaline of strategic planning, and the heart-tugging moments of personal growth. It's a rollercoaster of emotions and practical tips, all served with a side of humor.
But it's not all business talk; at the heart of our conversation is the evolution of relationships. We reveal the art of communication that keeps our partnerships thriving, the power of counseling, and the innovative use of percentages to support each other. Adding to that, we discuss the significance of maintaining the romance with date nights and the inspiration we draw from International Women's Day, setting the tone for how we navigate family life and our entrepreneurial endeavors with resilience and laughter.
SHOW NOTES:
The councillor that Amy and Martin wen to see is an incredible lady called Ali Moore. Here is her website if you fancy investing on you or your relationship.
https://bemoore.uk/
Nicole Bilham of WildBird Marketing Agency
https://wildbirdmarketing.co.uk/
Amy Lewis of The Mooeys Group
www.mooeys.co.uk | www.mooeysfranchise.co.uk | www.mooskin.co
Alright, I reckon you can say it Preston Preston.
Speaker 2:We're having a chat. We're having a chat Right, episode 12. Eek, our first guest. Welcome, martin Lewis the Don Mollysund. You really reminded me of Pipe and the Don't chase the videos, yes.
Speaker 1:What were you going to say? So Martin Lewis, not, not a money-saving expert?
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 1:You get that all the time, don't you that?
Speaker 3:was Damian Lewis. Damian Lewis as well, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't feel you like Damian Lewis that much anymore.
Speaker 3:No, not anymore. I look too old.
Speaker 1:So I don't think it's because your hair's not as orange.
Speaker 3:My hair's not as orange as it used to be.
Speaker 1:When I first met you, it was really bright orange, wasn't it? It was, was it? Yeah, yeah, he's always been really really bright. And then I really wanted ginger kids. I was really hoping the gene was strong and it was really not as no it's not. The blonde gene is strong.
Speaker 4:When Pipe came out, I was like, yeah, we've got a ginger one.
Speaker 1:And it went strawberry blood Like aw. Yeah, it's beautiful, though it is absolutely beautiful, yeah, but um yeah, and then you've got, really, what was the fact you had about ginger hair, ginger people don't go grey, they go white. And it's the redness in the hair that makes it look grey. Oh Interesting.
Speaker 2:Isn't it?
Speaker 1:Yes, a lot of facts about genre, martin. Yeah, love of genre.
Speaker 3:We feel more pain as well so we need to have, oh, fucking bullshit that is true, it is true On laser and hair removal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I waxed Martin eyebrows. Sorry, Catch it here for the scoop. I waxed his eyebrows but it is like Every single hair has four fucking claws in it compared to anybody else's hair. Yeah, but we need more Ginger's in the world. No, we do need more.
Speaker 3:Anesthetic, if we ever go in. Is this true or is this just a lie?
Speaker 2:100% no ginger people feel more.
Speaker 3:I don't have any idea.
Speaker 1:So therefore you have to have more anesthetic. No, 100%.
Speaker 2:If there is a medical professional listening.
Speaker 3:Please can you confirm what I'm saying?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. Is there a medical professional listening? Please Can you confirm or?
Speaker 2:deny this. I don't have a funding up.
Speaker 4:I don't think they listen to our fucking podcast.
Speaker 1:No medics, no, no, maybe. What about Leanne?
Speaker 2:Would she know? Leanne might know. You are right, midwife and Leanne, we're going to find out.
Speaker 3:There you go.
Speaker 2:So this is our first three way guys when.
Speaker 3:You've been lining that one up for a while. I haven't just. That is so good.
Speaker 2:Well done, well done, I've worked with this. No, this has been a triumph to get us to this stage. We don't know what it's going to sound like, we don't know what it's going to look like, but we're fucking here.
Speaker 1:I'm really proud of us because we have done this like budget bitches.
Speaker 2:Basic budget bitches.
Speaker 1:Basic budget bitches. We have been putting this together with the help of our husbands. Yeah, like, can we do this without spending any money? What have we got? What can we?
Speaker 4:do no, no, no what software.
Speaker 1:Can we do? We were originally looking for a split.
Speaker 2:And what was it we were looking for? No, I'm going to rewind. We are stubborn assholes that didn't ask for help until episode 12. True, yeah, so much so that our husbands got on a call with each other on Saturday night and went. I've been telling them for ages that they should have been doing it like this. I've been telling them to record it in GarageBand for ages.
Speaker 1:And then Mike pulled out some mic stands and then I found an old mic. We didn't have to buy anything, but we can still have our freeway.
Speaker 2:Freeway plus one because Matt Billum is going to do the edit. Is he on the audio Teamwork? Nice?
Speaker 1:dream work it is so we've created our own studio in the corner of the office.
Speaker 2:She's so proud, look I am so proud.
Speaker 1:So it's Moomis Museum 10s PODDI Wild Moomis PODDI yeah.
Speaker 2:Proper Studio.
Speaker 3:Museum.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the original Moomis. Yeah, the OG Cal.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:OG Sofa, yes. Og chair, look, even an OG cushion Look.
Speaker 4:Like everything.
Speaker 1:Even the OG basket, like everything, is this cushion? Yeah yeah, that's from the salon. This is the OG.
Speaker 2:This doesn't even look like it's ever been used.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is the original blanket that we had in the salon on that chair. Yeah, like the whole lot, the whole lot. It's all the rejects that we don't want in the salons anymore. It comes in. Is that why I'm here?
Speaker 3:No, you are not a reject. I'm not a reject, I just don't know how long the salon's anymore.
Speaker 2:So we don't know how this is going to go. We're just going to have we're having a chat, we're having a chat.
Speaker 4:That's not tickled you so much I don't, because it's not Amy did sound check by herself on her own.
Speaker 1:I was really proud that I figured out the tech Because she sent me the recording mic.
Speaker 2:So once she sent the audio rather than going Testing. Testing One, two, three, like every other fucking sound.
Speaker 4:Check that anyone has ever heard.
Speaker 2:Amy goes, we're having a chat. We're having a chat.
Speaker 4:We're having a chat, silence. She does the other mic.
Speaker 2:We're having a chat, can't do it. We're having a chat Brilliant. It's almost as good as FaceTime in you when you've got a face mask on.
Speaker 1:I can't do it I don't know why you're so funny, but I don't know why I find it so funny. At the time I thought this was a legit test.
Speaker 2:What possessed you.
Speaker 4:What should I say? We're having a chat.
Speaker 3:Imagine if it's not a podcast or on stage, we're having a sing song. We're having a sing song. What was the expected?
Speaker 1:I think we should change test and test it. Do you have a sing?
Speaker 4:song.
Speaker 2:It's so funny. It's taken a lot to get us here, but we made it.
Speaker 1:We have that is so funny, I can't believe. I answered the phone. She was on Saturday with her face mask on she was like oh.
Speaker 4:If you find me on my phone, on Saturday what do you expect?
Speaker 1:I took a fucking rock and roll over it.
Speaker 2:I took a screenshot. Did you share it on stories I have?
Speaker 1:no shame, share a lot, share away. Oh dear, I hope it's brilliant. So, martin, welcome. Thank you. Now you have to sing the song I've got your jiggles out, or wherever it comes.
Speaker 2:I'm so happy you had a shake, shake, shake. What is it?
Speaker 1:She needs everything. I can't believe it.
Speaker 2:We've lost the blog. Oh God, I can't believe it.
Speaker 1:Pose yourself. Amy Lears, Pose yourself.
Speaker 2:So do you want to introduce yourself?
Speaker 3:I'm.
Speaker 4:Martin, I'm Amy's husband.
Speaker 3:She's put up with me for 12 years and has married me for 10.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:It's our 10th anniversary 10th anniversary yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, is it? Yeah, yeah, what we're doing now that I'm part of the family, we just don't.
Speaker 1:No, we can't decide, can we? So, 10 years, this year in June, what are we going to do for it? We don't know. It depends a lot of money. We've talked about whether we go away. We wanted to look at getting the venue that we got married in because it was so cool. We was like, do we just recreate it? But instead of a wedding that have a bit of a vow and you'll, and we've got to February and we still can't fucking decide. So I don't know.
Speaker 3:We haven't really discussed it.
Speaker 1:to be totally honest, we we've got too many things going on and it's like this every time it comes up, we still can't make a decision, so we don't go further with it.
Speaker 4:Do we?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'd like to go away, I'd like us to go away. And then it's like do we just go away together? We're desperate to go to Lake Garda. I mean, we really want to go back. You've been to Lake Garda.
Speaker 2:No, but I went to another one of those. What's the other ones?
Speaker 3:Windermere.
Speaker 2:What did we go? To? Lake Garda, where are we talking? Italy, darling, yeah. What's the other one, though? Como? Yes, not far from there, I don't know. We went to one of the lakes when we did the tour of Europe, when we got engaged and, yeah, we went over there. Didn't really compare, but I think we picked the wrong side of the lake, to be honest.
Speaker 1:Well, we tried to go to Lake Garda last year, didn't we? We couldn't go for some reason, so we ended up going. Was it last year, where you were before going to Cornwall instead, which was beautiful, we were going to go.
Speaker 3:And then Covid kicked in and they kept moving our points up and then, eventually they just said we booked it and then they cancelled our flights.
Speaker 2:So when you met Amy, I think she stretched all this time. Yeah, I did. You are so fast. How many years have you actually been in total?
Speaker 1:12 years. It was really quick.
Speaker 2:We're not far off the same time, are we not? No, matt and I have been together 11 years. I have, but you know, free fake proposals and lots of fun in between. What was I going to say when you met Amy? Was she in a proper, real life job?
Speaker 3:Yeah, she was running Aquasana Center parks in Longley.
Speaker 2:So you have seen the transition, yeah. I was part of it she always had. She always been an entrepreneur at heart.
Speaker 3:I don't think I noticed it when we first got together, because she was in a job and that job was really good, really well paid. She enjoyed it. There was lots of laughs whenever we spoke about it, but it wasn't until she was messed around, in my opinion, with regards to Wobin opening up, because the discussion on occasion or the thoughts on occasion have been that they would kind of tap her up for Wobin and it was kind of messed about.
Speaker 1:It wasn't a plan, was it? It was like let's move back to Bedford, let's go there, I'll set up the spa in Wobin. It was all going to plan I could potentially go and work there with her at Center Parks.
Speaker 3:There was quite a lot of stuff there, but it dragged on and on and on and eventually he got to the point where Amy was like oh, I'm just getting fed up.
Speaker 1:There's constant carrot dangling. Well, if you achieve this, if you do that, then you'll be in March, and if you do this, you'll be in March. And then, oh, but we have to go through an interview process, and it was just so much. It felt really manipulative and I was like I can't do this. I don't want to fight this hard, I can't work any hard, I can't do any more.
Speaker 3:But it got so close to the opening of Wobin and still nothing had been said, so it was like, well, it doesn't look like I'm going to get it kind of thing. So there wasn't a huge amount of interest in staying at Wobin, if I can speak for you, so we were on the train to Bath one day and Amy was just discussing with me.
Speaker 3:So, like you know, I feel like I could go back and carry on Fanny Wax and I probably earn a bit more than what I do now. So I said, well, look, let's just do the maths. So we got the phones out basically because I can't do the maths as quick as she can in the red and we worked out how much she could earn if she did X amount of Fannies a day, and it grew from there. It was literally okay.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I need to see five into it. Waxes a day to double my salary. It's crazy isn't it.
Speaker 3:But do five a day for five days a week. And then it was like how?
Speaker 1:do. I do this yeah.
Speaker 3:And if you bear in mind it's like half an hour, you're only looking at two and three hours of a day it was. It was crazy to actually do the do the maths on it and it was like, well, okay, can we do it in the house? Well, we need to get a house. And if we get a house, have a room or garage. I can convert the garage, we can do stuff to it to make it an appealing environment. And there was like people really want to come to your house. You have a lot of people coming around. What are the rules about having that situation? And then we thought about getting a like a lockup or an office business just outside of town and stuff like that, and it was just like, yeah, but then you go into an industrial park and it's like it's not really the most appealing.
Speaker 3:And then it kind of grew from there. And I think you did a survey, monkey, and asked basically all the people she knew on Facebook and a few other places and the resounding answer was that it should be a salon. So it was like, okay, let's look into that flip chart stick on job.
Speaker 1:Is the? What did you call them? The static sheets, didn't you? Oh yeah, I did put them in the show notes for the last episode.
Speaker 2:Did you?
Speaker 3:Yes, thank you, that's what you do when you're in the house. Yes, yeah, I thought you. I saw your point in whiteboards.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so they just went up and I was like just constant thoughts and ideas. And then it just, and it was so exciting and it massively so.
Speaker 3:We went to different places. I think we moved to Farnham. I remember you ringing me and you were in Farnham. You said I found the most amazing place we need to look at it and you've been wandering around for the day and sat in a coffee shop to see what it was like and all that, and it just grew and grew and grew and then eventually I found this place and then I found a house that we can live in.
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, that was your job and I was like, if I'm setting up this whole business, your job is to find us somewhere to live. You find us as, annexing, a random house and a mansion.
Speaker 3:Beggars couldn't be choosing that point, because I had a big mansion.
Speaker 1:I mean it was great, it was massive. It was a huge mansion up in, like the really expensive part of Farnham.
Speaker 3:Yeah and yeah. Beggars couldn't be choosing, because I had a like a debt management thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know what you're on about, but I can't think of the name.
Speaker 3:No, me neither Okay, so I had one of those.
Speaker 1:It wasn't about like bankruptcy, it was one before debt management. Yeah, debt management plan, basically.
Speaker 3:But I'd spent a lot of money on credit cards when I was younger and I was still paying them off. So yeah, we were in a situation where credit wasn't particularly great and we found somebody and he said, well, I don't care, I was bankrupt for so long.
Speaker 1:And this happens to people.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So yeah, no, as long as you pay bills, I don't care.
Speaker 2:And so it was like you got really well with them and then, at the time, were you, you had your own business as well.
Speaker 3:Not then, not that point I was working for a facilities company. They were around in Hayward Teeth and it was great. It was relatively well, probably the most money I've done at that point. They were a good company. But it kind of things changed and it was like I can't stay here.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of travelling as well. You would go to Farnham, to Gatwick, every day.
Speaker 3:Yeah, while the other side of Gatwick it was Hayward Teeth. So it was out of a track and it was over the winter period as well and where we were was a converted picture. So you had very low windows, very small windows. You go in and it was dark. He sat in this little office. It was relatively dark and you come out in the dark and it was so depressing after a long period of time. But also it was on call 24 seven.
Speaker 1:It was absolutely ridiculous it was all the fridge units, weren't it For, like all the supermarkets, supermarkets in Iceland, so I'd get phone calls at three o'clock in the morning.
Speaker 2:go oh we've got a massive leak, yeah, so I'd have to organise who?
Speaker 3:I'd have to not organise where they went, how they got there, what they did and then they'd bring me back and go. I don't totally know how I'm doing it. What do I do? How do I fix it? So then I'm fixing it over the phone. It was really stressful. It was horrible, really really horrible to the point that I had a I think I had an Android phone with a ringtone and when I finished there, I would never have that ringtone on my phone again because it just gave me high, because it was horrible.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So then you set up red top repairs, didn't you After?
Speaker 3:that red top repairs.
Speaker 2:Oh, is that what it's called.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yes, brilliant, and the logo I got. I've done the logo done for you, didn't I? It's a present, but it was the same guy that done my logo. Oh, that's nice. I love that logo for red top repairs. It's like a ginger guy with a tool belt and like hammering spanner and stuff and it's so cool yeah.
Speaker 3:But yeah, a lot of the work I got was actually from Moeys because I did the salon up with Amy.
Speaker 1:I actually promoted your work on display, and that was exactly it.
Speaker 3:I love what you've done in this place. Oh, my husband did it. And I said, oh yeah, he's a handyman, he does this, he does that. Before he knew it, I just had worked before I send out, which was brilliant for an establishing business, yeah. And then it became word of mouth, because each of those people would then continue doing it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's one of those jobs, isn't it? Like a handyman job is so hard to find? Yes, a good, trusty tradee. And someone that can do everything. What is it? You just do everything other than gas and electric, really, don't you?
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, I don't touch gas. There's obviously little bits of electric that I did. Yeah, like lights and stuff you can do that.
Speaker 1:Like actual electric and gas is not. You can't do that. Yeah, it was brilliant because we managed to get you booked up all the time with clients. And then the next job you got was actually one of the clients Lisa, wasn't it? She came in with her daughters and then she was like what did your husband do? And I told him she went oh, my husband's got a floor in business. Does he do floor? And I was like, yeah, he can do anything. And she was like, oh, so he introduced you to John and that was it. That was your next job.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I then worked for John, for I was only supposed to be there a couple of weeks to help him on a job, and then within a few weeks I was his project manager and I kind of ran ran the staff and run the set.
Speaker 1:It was so good.
Speaker 3:Such an incredible job, and he was such a good boss as well.
Speaker 1:It was like reclaimed floorboards, wasn't it From the fancies to get them? And then but him and Martin had in the workshop. They would spend hours working out the perfect colour for this, for the client, and it would all be like herringbone, wouldn't it? And? And they would sand it all. It was such such beautiful work.
Speaker 2:Love that True craftsmanship.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he had. What was the job he had? Is it one Hyde Park or something?
Speaker 3:Yeah, one Hyde Park a big block eating square. There was loads of great places. The Bishops Avenue we did some stuff down there for like an alligarch at the time. Oh cool, so cool, isn't it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you love this.
Speaker 3:So, so good. And it was. The end product was just amazing. Yeah, and you've gone from what was essentially the side of an old train, chopped up, cut up into pieces and then put back together in a pattern and put on somebody's floor.
Speaker 1:It was just amazing. Real craftsmanship.
Speaker 3:He taught me so much as well.
Speaker 2:So yeah, so you're quite interesting really as a couple because you know what it's like to be a business owner.
Speaker 3:To a point. But the work I can do, the actual running of a business I'm not very good at and I've been very lucky because Amy kind of goes fuck sake, if you got that, I'll just get on with it. And it was never anything that I deliberately did, but it was very much appreciated, although she may not agree with that at the moment. But yeah, so I would be the awkward going help a little old lady go around and say, right, you want me to fix your gut? Or okay, give me a minute, I'll just get me ladders out and I'll have a look.
Speaker 1:And then it would be just give me a cup of tea and a biscuit Love, that'll be alright.
Speaker 3:Don't worry. Yeah, well, that was great We've got a fucking roof to put over Edmmer, and I'm really pleased.
Speaker 4:And they're up the road. Is that a great?
Speaker 1:fucking job done for free, but you know exactly.
Speaker 3:So yeah, and I do.
Speaker 1:I did his books, but then she'd actually sit there and explain it to me.
Speaker 3:It's like well, you got your ladders out, you drove to the house. You got your ladders out, you spoke to her, you sat there for 20 minutes off having a cup of tea and a nap. Then you put your ladders back. Then you drove home. All that adds up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, half a day's work and she's like he go, love is 40 quid. Yeah, thanks, that's great. I'm really pleased you had a lovely time both of you.
Speaker 3:So it took me a while to get the hanging the business side of things. But the actual work it was. Yeah, I could kind of do that, but there was a certain amount of reliance on Amy for the business side of it.
Speaker 2:Well, it's your corporate upbringing, I guess, if you like, do you think?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I just think if it's really difficult because I think if you're going to have a business, it shouldn't just be I feel like Martin wanted to work for himself, because it was that he's really good working for himself.
Speaker 3:But what somebody else to tell me what to do?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I feel like if he had, if I had a regular job, it would have been a very different situation, because I would have been able to book his time, manage it. He needed a PA that done bookkeeping, because on the tools, hands on and dealing with customers is his absolute speciality, his superpower. Yeah, like he is so meticulous and so good at what he does and he's so lovely to be around. They trust him implicitly, which is why he's always done so well from it. But he runs it as a hobby, not as a business. Yeah, as in. It's like I'll say how much money have you got booked him for this week? He hasn't got a fucking clue, I don't know. But I'm just working really hard so that I just know that I can't work any hard and I'm like it's not actually about that, because if you're doing like you've got four nets in this week, 40 quid a pop or whatever, there's no fucking good, there's no point in that.
Speaker 2:But there's a lot of businesses that are in a similar boat that don't do that forward planning or don't think about forecasting or understanding what's coming in, where it's coming from and the cost of the sale.
Speaker 1:But then having two business owners, self employed people in a household, in a family, and I've had to pay myself a salary and not take dividends because we have to be reliant on a standard income, but then when the other income isn't standard and it's done on a wing and a prayer, I find that really stressful. Do you? And I know you'd go like we use control, it's this, it's that, it's not. I just feel like we are both responsible adults and we're going to run a business. We have to know what our income is, because Martin's like well, we've never not had a roof over our head.
Speaker 1:And I was like but I can't do that month by month, I can't work like that. So then the response I felt like all of the responsibility was on me to make movies work. And then the more pressure I had on top of me, the more I struggled with the overwhelm and all of that and it was like this is all on me, you go on and just live. You know, you just do what you want to do and have your hobby that you get paid for, and I'll have to hustle and grind, and I felt like it was really imbalanced and I really struggled with that.
Speaker 3:But my brain used to pop when she called it a hobby.
Speaker 2:I can imagine you.
Speaker 3:So, it may not have been run as a business and it may not have run as well as some things do but, I never classed it as a hobby. It was it. To me it was a business. It may not have just been run as a business. It was kind of like work hard, get paid, go home. Yeah, I just didn't keep a record of anything.
Speaker 1:I mean, I still don't, I still don't, I haven't got your receipts for the whole of this time.
Speaker 3:But I also. I am horrendously disorganized so badly, you know, I'd be running late on a job, so I'll lob all the tools in the back of the van and then get to the next job, and I spent half an hour trying to find the tools I need.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for that job, because I threw them in the back and then I spent the whole weekend sorting his van out Exactly.
Speaker 3:So then it kind of has a huge knock on effect about everything. And then in the middle of the night I was like give me your receipts.
Speaker 2:I'm like, so you guys have lived. This is when did you start that business? Pre-kids no.
Speaker 1:Willow was six months old when, when he started because John's business wasn't big enough, it wasn't viable to pay an ops manager or Martin to do the it was gutting, wasn't it? He was gutted. It was so heartbreaking, I bet you.
Speaker 3:I mean he carried on paying us. Even though all we were doing was tidying the workshop up. Yeah, it just wasn't enough.
Speaker 1:It was that typical business cash flow. It got really big but the materials were really expensive and he needed to wait for the big jobs to start. It was really difficult.
Speaker 3:A lot of the big things with Florian was the fact that when you get to the end of the so if you get a house built, one of the last jobs is the Florian and your money's run out by that point.
Speaker 4:but obviously you're doing it on credit.
Speaker 3:So you kind of go yeah, we'll come and do it and you pay us when you give us X amount up front, and then we'll finish the job and you give us the rest.
Speaker 1:But also if there's a delay in work, then you guys are delayed and that was always the problem, wasn't it? It was like we haven't got work for two weeks because the job's been delayed.
Speaker 2:That's a real fine balance to start. You're trying to scale as well, because because of that, there's so many moving parts to and the last one to be paid, the last one to go in, and you've been doing it, haven't you?
Speaker 1:We're doing this really fancy, florian. There's painters and decorators going up and down.
Speaker 3:Which you can't do the job. You have to kind of say look, no, can't do it, it's too wet, it's too damp. We're doing the last room and Florian's going to get knackered, so you step away from it.
Speaker 1:That's always the difficulty in trades, isn't it? It is.
Speaker 3:The bank crash cash flow yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So, especially the bigger jobs. And there is that company in between. Like, you've got you like one man bands do. Well, it's normally cash straight away, isn't it? Or money straight away because, like, you're working with direct to consumers so that they're just paying within a couple of days, and then you've got that middle ground where people are scaling, and then you've got that cash flow and credit and all of that to do and they're not quite big enough to manage that. Yeah, and loads of them struggle with that. And then you've got the massive ones, and that's when it is getting through that yeah, difficult bit in the middle, isn't it? But yeah, that was you went when we were six months old, didn't you? You started red top because it was like come on, started back up again yeah, you can do this again.
Speaker 2:And when did you start, moorys? So?
Speaker 1:red top. So Martin started red top sort of half about six months after I started Moorys, I think wasn't it. And then you got the job with John and then you started red top again.
Speaker 3:So about 10 years ago, yeah.
Speaker 1:Moorys was open 10 years ago in December.
Speaker 2:So intense like on your relationship.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, you deserve a fucking medal. We haven't even stopped.
Speaker 2:So you've got a six month old, your first.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we met and we got engaged exactly a year after. Then we got married exactly a year after and then, exactly a year after that, we were always born. It's pretty much all within three days of each other, in June.
Speaker 2:Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was mad, wasn't it? So we set up Moorys in the December. We turned that salon around in 10 days, I think, didn't? We Sorted it, yeah? And so that was December, and then we got married. We decided we got engaged just before we moved to Farnham, because we weren't living together when we was engaged either. And then we moved to Farnham and then in February I was like I'm quite quiet, I haven't got a project on the salon site just growing, but it's quite quiet, it's striking me. She got married this year and he was like do you reckon we could do it? I'm like, yeah, we just do it ourselves.
Speaker 3:He says do you reckon you could do it in so much, knowing that she already knows the answer to?
Speaker 2:that because she answers yes, of course.
Speaker 1:But yeah, we've got that whole wedding sorted in three and a half months and I said but budget is seven grand, the Royal Way. I literally gave us a five grand budget. I was like, do you reckon we can get married for five grand? I think you said I've got a couple of grand. If we can do it for five, I reckon we should try and do it in June, like it would be good if it was on the anniversary of when we got engaged. Yeah, I can totally pulled out the bag for seven grand all in for 120 people.
Speaker 2:You guys like just smash through any sort of challenges, any barriers that have been thrown in your way. Like to found salon. Did it in 10 days. Said we were going to get married.
Speaker 1:Yeah To be fair, I've never even thought of it like that. There is very much. So we are those kind of people that would just say, yeah, fuck it, let's just do it. But the times that I had the meltdowns when I was opening and I was like I can't see this, I cannot see that this is going to happen, you were like it always looks worse before it gets better and it will all come together. I promise you I'll work 15, 20 hour days if I have to. We'll get this done.
Speaker 3:Amy's brilliant with the pre-planning and the organisation. I'm brilliant in a crisis.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you are.
Speaker 3:So when I'm under pressure and it has to be done, it's like, okay, I will. Yeah, leading knuckles time, let's get this done. I don't think I can find a way to do it, but the plan inside of it I'm like, yeah, we'll get it done. Yeah, it's not only a thing and a prayer if you're left to it, but I will but either way between you both.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're incredible, formidable team.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when it comes to setting stuff up and change and challenge, definitely, I think I don't know.
Speaker 3:I think most things we do when we put our heads together. We can whatever is. We just don't tend to do it all the time. Don't see each other enough to do it Hard five as you come home from the farm and I was like I leave to go up north or something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Well, yeah, of course you guys have just had what. No, how long have you been doing Farnham 4?
Speaker 3:Every week came for about four weeks, I thought it was six.
Speaker 2:You've been like ships that pass in the night.
Speaker 1:I literally goes on a Saturday and he's come back Sunday night and then we do our normal work in the week. And then when we went to Farnham, we both went up separately on the Saturday and then, like I said last time tonight, and we came back and forth. But it was actually quite nice.
Speaker 3:We were like this is like all times, it was really good, fun. Love our kids to pieces. However, it was really nice to actually spend some time with Amy where he didn't have a kid asking for you to open the bathroom door.
Speaker 4:What did he talk about?
Speaker 1:Just shit. But also I think it was nice. I was wallpaper and Martin was painting and building cupboards and stuff and it was just like all times.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I think we're very good at doing stuff like not active. We are good at activities but like we're really good at escape games, we went to Martin. The best days ever taken was a x-tron. You were a x-tron.
Speaker 2:Oh right, it was like proper Viking style. I got a bullseye.
Speaker 1:I did know you got it on camera as well. Nice, oh, it was so good. That was the best, best day I've ever done. Yeah, I've done a couple of escape rooms actually, but I just get a bit bored. It's like, yeah, yeah, it's great, I can't. Can we just get out now and have a drink? What's the short?
Speaker 4:answer We'll be survived if we stick a drinking with her.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll do that actually. Yeah, but when you're doing stuff like that, when it's like a project, I think we do get on really well and do that.
Speaker 2:So this morning I did a little story on Wild Moves to ask a wonderful audience. Any questions that they had for you both. Yeah, and someone asked what is your favorite sexual perspective. I nearly got to the end of that with that laugh.
Speaker 4:No.
Speaker 2:Someone asked how do you cope, how do you do it, how do you manage it all? They know that you do.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But how no?
Speaker 3:I think because we have our strengths and I think because of Amy's organization and my kind of working in a crisis, it's like, right, you have to get this done in this time frame. We need this by that point, but I can adapt really quickly, whereas Amy needs to be really organized. But obviously, as you know, anything can throw a spanner in the works, absolutely anything.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, I mean, you've got two wonderful girls that throw spanners in the works all the time. Not on purpose, obviously, but just by the nature of being children.
Speaker 1:And we're very lucky at the minute that mum's living with us to help us out for a month. But we don't normally have. We haven't had that before where we've got someone on tap that can look after the kids. There's a few friends that I would call on and Martin's mum we would call on, but you know, some people just have that. Naturally we don't. So I felt like we've been doing it on our own for quite some time. How I don't fucking know If I'm honest.
Speaker 1:I genuinely need. Sometimes I don't know how we've done it.
Speaker 3:I say sorry a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, communication being really clear. And I know it's difficult, isn't it, when you get that animosity or you get that frustration and you don't clearly communicate about what you need or what you want. But I feel like we are really good at that of saying I need this, or I really need you to do this, or this is how I, this is what needs to happen. I think there's been a look.
Speaker 3:I Can't really speak for you, but I think there's been some resentment in both directions to a point where I Felt your job's taken over and you think mine is a hobby and that I mines supposedly more important. And On those occasions it gets quite frustrating. But we'll have a little bit of a. The second one we call it a tiff.
Speaker 3:Yeah and then you kind of Blow the cobwebs out, have a discussion, sit down and go, okay, well, I'm missing, understood what you meant, and vice versa, and we get back on an even playing field again and then we go, okay, right, nobody's more important. What did you used to say?
Speaker 1:I said there's any room for one peak yeah exactly, it's only one room for one peacock and. But work-wise, I'm the peacock, yeah. Personality wise, martin is yeah. If there's a party, anything, mine is that. He is a peacock and actually I quite love. I love that. I love it when we have, because we do have massive parties, don't win summer and Martin's always behind the bar and he loves making everyone the cocktails and it's all great and I love seeing him In his element you cocking, yeah, yeah, yeah and I will happily, in any situation, step back and let Martin take the limelight.
Speaker 1:But when it is business, I am the peacock and it's like you've got to. You can only have one person. You can't have two people trying to take over the world In a relationship, because then which one takes priority? And I've always said if my business is the steady income, then that has to be the priority. Yeah, I have to prioritize that. If you're gonna treat it like a hobby and we don't know how much money you've got coming in, we can't have that as the priority.
Speaker 3:I'm just gonna point it still irritates me when you call it a hobby.
Speaker 2:Maybe, I don't like a business, then hold on, whoa, we are not having. So I want to just ask another question Do have you always been able to communicate that well? I know sometimes it gets a bit heated, but then you're always able to communicate well, which you've both said is one of your strengths. Has that always been the case for your relationship? No, because I like that and I've been together for 11 years and I still feel like we are learning the best way to communicate with each other, and we miss communicate. I'd say 95% of our tiffs, the debates, are because we've miscommunicated something or someone's not said. This is what I need right now.
Speaker 1:And I think kids have a massive factor in that because of how tired everybody is. Yeah, and we didn't really have much time together, did we like? We didn't really have much time to be in a relationship together? We haven't traveled much, we haven't done much because we literally Saw each other the other weekend.
Speaker 1:Got engaged fuck, we're gonna move to fire. And fuck, I'm gonna set up a business. Oh, we're gonna get married. Oh, we're gonna have a kid. Oh, we're gonna move. Great, we're gonna have another kid. Great, I'm gonna set up another business. Great, I'm gonna move again. Wonderful, oh, fuck it, let's just move again.
Speaker 2:That has been the last 10 years. So when you say you've not done a lot, do you mean that you've not done a lot Fucking shit together as a team, but we haven't done much together Like we haven't like travel. We haven't done much, yeah, but what the things that you have done? You have seen the very best and the very worst of each other. The very worst most of the time, yeah.
Speaker 1:I would well you are, because when you're in the stress of all of those things, you know you, most people move once, maybe twice in a long relationship. We've moved four times. I think the last one I fucking hated you Because he made us move from a four bedroom house to a four bedroom house with one fucking VW transporter. Martin, that is a sin. We can do this.
Speaker 1:We can do this and I was like, babe, we've got a lot. And he was like I'll just move. Every week, at every evening I'll move a little bit, because we'd had the house before I was Slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, and because of the way we moved into the house. We didn't have a fucking kitchen. We didn't have, we didn't have like nothing. This the flooring was being put in, the carpet was being, as we were making some school.
Speaker 2:I have a question? Yeah, I'm just gonna raise my hand.
Speaker 4:Yeah, sorry.
Speaker 2:To me it sounds like you guys love a project. Yeah, you said early on oh, not that busy, need a project, should we get?
Speaker 1:married. Yeah, yeah, do you need to do something?
Speaker 2:So what's the next project?
Speaker 1:Oh, I'd really like to not have a project, although I always have something on the go, oh yeah, you're constantly like, okay, once I finish this, this training manual, we'll have some time together.
Speaker 3:Halfway through the training manual, I've got this, this management training that I've got set up, and then halfway through that you'll be something else. So it's a consistent knock on, literally all the way through. There's one thing after another, after another. So I'm kind of like, okay, well, can you fit me in on this? But to avoid so I go.
Speaker 2:I have another question. Yeah, it's more of an observation. Yeah, I like reading body language and I don't know if you've seen what you've done with each other, but you're now in mirror and match mode, exactly I think it's lovely. Oh yeah, okay, beautiful yeah thanks Shall I go Feeling like a spare part of them? Wing back chair.
Speaker 1:So, communication I was gonna say about a reason being, and one said, we haven't Always been clear communicators and I think since having kids it's changed so much for us. We've changed. You change. Don't you grow as a human being? You evolve, no, but like you don't get a chance to communicate because the kids are, they're constantly so you kind of okay, right, and I'm and as they get older, they're constantly
Speaker 1:like wanting to be heard. So we're having a conversation and they're wanting to tell us about the rainbow They've just drawn, which is the most important thing to them, and I understand that. Yeah, however, it's really hard, isn't?
Speaker 3:it and I find it. I find it more difficult than you. Yeah, it's the case, because I know that by eight o'clock I'm so tired I can't really hold a proper conversation with Amy.
Speaker 3:Yeah so it's like talk about it tomorrow, so he gets put off and gets put off, and gets put off, and gets put off, and then both by two weeks down the line You're going. So we're gonna do that thing, what we talked about, and it it the whole kind of the schedule, the project, the ideas, the things that you got in your head. They just get Moved along, put aside and then kind of dealt with later. But for me I kind of stew on it, stew on it, stew on it, and then I mean when was it Saturday? I mean, oh, you're a dick, I was a total dick.
Speaker 1:And I had to call you up, however, it doesn't happen very often. No, but we've had counselling as well, yeah, which I think has been a massive help. Yeah in us. You know there's that saying isn't there when there's contempt in a relationship, it's over, hmm. And I feel like we were both borderline content and it was like if we don't go and see someone to help us, the right person, but if we don't that I don't feel like we would last.
Speaker 3:No, I mean, you use a very good word and it became transactional.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's horrible, isn't it?
Speaker 3:It's a horrible word, horrible feeling, a horrible way to survive and parenting. It got to a point where we were arguing about the parenting.
Speaker 1:And we were parenting each other.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, which is awful, isn't it? It's the unsexiest thing in the world being told off by your partner.
Speaker 3:And you know, trying to deal with the kids, I'm dealing with them and then Amy's interfering, or Amy's dealing with them and I'm interfering. You've only got half the story or half the information that's going on and it was horrible. It was, yeah, you know, the word itself is just horrible, but transactional.
Speaker 1:And then it breeds content, because you're like you know that eye roll when that person says something and you're like, oh, here we go again, or whatever, and I was like this is not healthy for us or for the kids, or this is not happiness, this is need. None of us are happy, so we've got to. There's no way. I'm prepared to give up and I think some, I think the easier option would have been like, oh, fuck it, I'll just move on, and I feel like sometimes it's harder to stick with something and try and figure it out.
Speaker 2:It also takes a huge amount of bravery to have that, whatever the first conversation that we need to do something about this. That's massive in itself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we talked about it a few times and Martin said that he would get to it and we'd figure it out. And then it was like everything was okay. So if I was okay, martin was that way, so I said we don't need to worry about it. And then it always comes back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it would be months.
Speaker 3:It wasn't like it was a couple of days. No, it would be like we'd ever talk, we'd ever blow out. I remember being in the hotel opposite Hazelman and we were talking about it then and we sat there and looked at the phone and we're, oh yeah, she'd be great, we'll do that. And then it was another six months before it raised its head again, because I thought, oh well, everything's okay.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you get that blow out, get it off your chest. And then I said, oh, actually it's not too bad, we're okay. But just having the therapy was really good in so much as just making us think about how the other person was reacting, how the other person was interpreting what you were saying, and it made a massive difference. But one of the big things for me was, I imagine, a paragraph being spouted at you. I would only ever I'd hear the first sentence of that paragraph, and I'm fixating on that so much I wasn't listening to the rest of it, but I would be pretending that I did.
Speaker 1:But he's creating a fight, weren't you? So you'd hear the first couple of lines. Think of a fight and an argument in your head, so you wouldn't hear anything else. And then you'd just be seething and I'm like, what are you angry about? Because by the time I've got to the bottom I've kind of worked through it or whatever.
Speaker 3:But I would never be structured in my.
Speaker 2:You know, that's a strategic tiffer.
Speaker 3:I don't know, but in my retaliation I wouldn't be structured, I wouldn't be listening, I'd be like you just scored a point, I want to score a point kind of attitude, and that's never healthy in any kind of relationship. But having the therapy kind of explained, and I was you were a fire engine as well. Yeah, but once I start to see red I don't really see a lot of sense either. So it kind of takes a while for me to Look at that. Calm down.
Speaker 2:Did I have I shared this on here, or have I spoken to you about it, about talking in terms of percentages?
Speaker 4:when, I get home.
Speaker 2:So I saw something. I think it might be Brené Brown actually. Oh, I love Brené Brown. She's being interviewed and she says I don't believe in relationships being 50-50. I think that someone always has to compromise to bridge the gap. Yeah, and my husband and I now talk in percentages. So if he's been at work or if I've been at work and we come home and we've had a shit day or a shit time and we don't have it in us to get to the 50%, I will communicate with him. I'm at 30 and my husband will say I've got you, I'm at 70.
Speaker 1:I've got you, I'm at 70.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'll cover.
Speaker 1:So what do you do if you're both at 30? Because I feel like that's happened, that happens to us a lot. We're both like fuck you, man, I'm at 30, I ain't got nothing left.
Speaker 2:I've got nothing left, just like Ian Beale, yeah.
Speaker 3:You know what Ian Beale is. He's an extended yeah I do?
Speaker 1:I've got nothing left. I do remember that Good old viral, but what happens?
Speaker 2:I don't know if I'm honest, but even just having the awareness of saying I've got nothing left or I'm at 10% or please. It happened to Matt and I earlier today when we were in the kitchen I don't know why I was so not enough water like silly things that are tipping me over the edge into my red pressure gauge. Hope was crying, eddie was like stealing the toy off of her. She was getting more upset and I blew my lid like full on where are you fucking give back her time?
Speaker 2:and everyone just went. Matt looked at me and said you need to sort this out. And I was like, yeah, I know, I know, I know, I do, I know, I do. But I was so angry but not anything that had happened, it was all the events leading up to that. What should have happened is, when I saw Matt in five minutes before we went to go and get the kids from nursery, I should have said I'm at 20%.
Speaker 1:Can you do me a favor? Can you get the kids so I can have 10?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I won't, because I feel like I'm the mum and I'm, oh god, not at all. I feel like I made a non-negotiable with myself, and that is I want to be there to pick them up for every single time that I possibly can, because I put them in nursery at such a young age. So I feel guilt constantly. So my non-negotiable is I stop work at five and I go and get them.
Speaker 1:But shouldn't it just be that one parent gets them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but then Matt's not because of his shift pattern. I think, oh, isn't it nice when we both go together?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is lovely. We sometimes go and put the kids up together, don't we?
Speaker 2:So I end up in this horrible vicious cycle and all that happens is I turn into a dragon. So for me the percentages are really big.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a really bad example.
Speaker 3:I didn't do that the other night. I should have told you that that was how I felt and before you know, I was having a full on meltdown with.
Speaker 1:Willow oh, that was awful, and I came in here and Amy was working. Well, willow had come in and she wanted to debrief me and I'd made her sit on the stool and I said can you do me a favor, because she came running like she came in?
Speaker 1:and I was like can you do me a favor, willow's, because you're not making any sense. Can you just sit on the stool, do some coloring in or draw in or whatever? Just five minutes. I've got some work I need to finish, so I just want you to take a few deep breaths and calm down and then I would hear, you Listen and you can tell me everything you're going on. And she'd done that exactly as I'd asked, and she'd calmed right down and then she started telling me, really calmly, what had happened. She was owning up to what she'd done wrong. He came in like a bull out of a fucking china shop and I was like I'm in exactly how she came in.
Speaker 1:Fuck this, fuck that. And then round her right up and I was like whoa. And then he went oh right, taking her side, are you? And then stormed out again I was like fuck.
Speaker 3:I think I said you can fucking deal with it. Yeah, I suppose that's what I said.
Speaker 2:It's really hard when you're that angry to like.
Speaker 1:To regulate your emotion. Imagine how they feel with their kids.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and she's made the room to be fair, that's pureness.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she is, and they are so similar and I was like I can't just be here to regulate you all.
Speaker 3:But I was angry at you because you weren't in the house with me. You were out here working.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then you were at a whole two pages about what you were angry about. Half it was me. No, it wasn't, it was about a third no.
Speaker 3:Why was I angry at myself, why was I angry at Willow and why was I angry at you? Yeah, most of it was. No, it wasn't Okay. We can put it in the notes.
Speaker 2:Show notes Show notes. Show notes are getting an attachment.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but the counseling really helped us, didn't it? And I would recommend it to anybody, especially when it's a busy life and kids, and if you, if there's enough love there and if you give a shit about each other, like I said to mine, I can see the future for us and I can. I can see like us experiencing all these things that our hopes and dreams that we want to achieve. I just can't see here now and how we get there. Yeah, I don't know what that looks like. Yeah, I mean, this is harder being together, this is harder work and I feel like I could do it on my own, but I want that in the future. Yeah, but also, I want every other weekend off, but I don't want to date anybody else, I want to date you. So you know what's the point. We might as well just stick with it and make it work.
Speaker 3:What's the point? We might as well just stick with it and make it work.
Speaker 2:Yes, I agree If you were going to renew your vows. I feel like that should be enough. It's so romantic. I'm so touched.
Speaker 1:What is the point? You might as well make it work, haven't you Can?
Speaker 3:you even have the shovel at the bottom of that one.
Speaker 2:So I do have one more question, Okay, and that is how do you? We've spoken about counselling we've spoken about communication, but how do you to protect your relationship? Are there things that you do that's just for you both? Do you have date nights Like? Are there things that you don't know?
Speaker 1:Not enough, not enough. Actually, one of my favourite things in the world to do is have dinner with Martin. Yeah, yeah, like, going out for dinner is one of my favourite things to do. It doesn't have to. I'm not fussed about fancy or anything like that. I don't want like budget, budget, but I don't want swanky. The toby was the best.
Speaker 2:We went for breakfast at the toby. It's just not my favourite Anything. But, faye, I'm out.
Speaker 1:I hate, Faye, anything that anyone else has touched you Tencils. I'm out. I don't like it. People coughing and sneezing.
Speaker 2:I know Matt decided he wanted to go there for his birthday. It's brilliant.
Speaker 1:Of all the places I do like a nice pub. I like a good pub, but also I'm a drinker, martin's not, which is handy, but also it's not that much fun, is it?
Speaker 2:We should probably go out as a four, because Matt's not really a drinker.
Speaker 1:And it's great because we always drive. I've got a designated driver, but Martin's always got his sensible hat on, haven't you? You always like if someone happens to kids or whatever, I want to be the responsible one and I'm like who cares, just have a drink, such a lunch, I think there's a certain restriction there because obviously we don't have a huge amount of people that are local.
Speaker 3:That would be able to help us in that situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, true.
Speaker 3:Appreciate it now, obviously with respect to yourself.
Speaker 4:However, you know, Matt was so free he was a very formal response. He was so free. He was like who would like to sign this contract over?
Speaker 2:here, that says you can't get the girls at any point if we're stuck anywhere. It would be wonderful.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, but they'll be here being babysat by parents or otherwise or somebody. But yeah, if you get home and we're both having a fast asleep and something's going on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what do we do to protect ourselves, like protect our bubble, our relationship? I think that counselling was an investment in us, wasn't it?
Speaker 3:Very much so.
Speaker 2:Do you laugh a lot? Not as much as you used to.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, a lot of that's down to me, to be fair.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's life, isn't it? Yeah, life gets in the way and might have some significant losses, you know like it changed. You didn't it Like significant losses.
Speaker 2:And that was really tough, but I also feel like laughter. I find that Matt and I sometimes completely miss each other If he's trying to have a joke and I'm red pressure gauge. Are you not reading this situation?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I don't want my dad to be spanked in right in
Speaker 2:a second, because I'm about to explode.
Speaker 3:I tend to do the same. Yeah, there will be a complete mistime.
Speaker 2:Oh, really bad yeah.
Speaker 3:And I love a dad joke, as she hates it.
Speaker 1:There was one the other day I can't remember what it was the other day so good, I forgot it was so good, but it was really good. He had me and the kids laugh and hysterically, anyway.
Speaker 2:So date nights Don't really do them as much as we want to.
Speaker 1:We do try and go out, go away once a year, don't we? We do try and go away for two or three nights.
Speaker 3:I mean we've done a comedy night, We've been out for a deal.
Speaker 1:That was good, wasn't it?
Speaker 3:Well, it was all dad jokes. You hated it.
Speaker 1:No, I'm fed you react.
Speaker 2:You enjoyed it. I loved it.
Speaker 1:The react was hilarious.
Speaker 2:But there's something to be said Like I get joy out of Matt having a nice time as well. I don't know if you were saying that, yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean it was, it was what Martin wants to do. He wanted to go to the company. Martin wouldn't necessarily do anything I wanted to do.
Speaker 4:Would you? Maybe that'll be the next time I'm not watching Saltburn I don't know.
Speaker 2:Hey, it's on the shelf, we're not touching it. We're doing karaoke, though no.
Speaker 4:No, I want to do karaoke.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not I'm trampolining. We said we'd go trampolining. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, without the kids. Yeah, without the kids I'm taking the kids trampolining this way. Oh, cheers for me and the world.
Speaker 3:But we do. We do tend to try to do something, but it's we restrict ourselves.
Speaker 2:What do you restrict yourselves on?
Speaker 4:We're just childcare.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's the difficulty, yeah the mini terrorists and it's really fucking expensive to get a babysitter.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So hold on, you play games, though. No, you have games nights. Oh, we love Scrabble, we do. I love a games night.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm fairly. Sometimes I feel like he's got so much work on. I kind of go oh you get on with that, I'll go to bed or I'll go and watch me zombie. So you know, I kind of leave it to it, because I'm one of those people who doesn't want to sit and explain the TV show or a film while we're watching it.
Speaker 1:You also don't like people like distracting you. So if you're watching something and I'm there typing it, just buckle the shit out of you, so you're like this thriller's so good.
Speaker 3:What's going on? Who's that? What's he doing?
Speaker 1:He's like yeah.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you, I'll pause it, explain it to you and I'll come back to it.
Speaker 1:I'm not that interested about what's going on with zombies.
Speaker 3:And yet you'll watch soap when from beginning to end.
Speaker 2:Oh yes.
Speaker 1:I'm a committed person. I'm still here, so we haven't quite figured that out yet. I don't think.
Speaker 4:No, what you're committed to.
Speaker 1:No, what we do to protect our relationship, but you're committed to protecting it. We are committed, yeah, yeah, we are committed to it.
Speaker 2:Well, when you have the answer, let me know. Pretty sure that lots of other people will want to know too, because it's fucking hard.
Speaker 3:We are putting ourselves each other a little bit higher on the top than we were before. Good, because after the before the therapy sorry, we were work kids something else?
Speaker 4:Yeah, the kids were definitely lower than we were, and then each other, and then we're both the work now, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're really consciously because of their age and the way they are and we've seen them struggle, haven't we? We're really consciously trying that before Martin started his job that he's got now, he reduced his hours to do school hours so that he could do pick up and drop off for both of them every day. So I mean, I'm not in any of the WhatsApp chats, any WhatsApp. Whatsapp, yeah, it's WhatsApp, isn't it? Yeah, but I'm not in any of them. Martin sorts, brownies, rainbow, swimming, you do all of it, don't you? And like the mum has seen me and they're like, oh God, you want they have a mum, then you do exist. But yeah, there was that we had probably six months, didn't we, where you were like full on Danny Daycare, let me crack on with work, and you were going to do shorter hours and then didn't work as well as we'd hoped.
Speaker 3:It worked. My work didn't work. Yeah, I wasn't as effective with my work.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's not long, though is it in the day to like? That's the problem.
Speaker 1:Oh, stop it.
Speaker 4:It's not long.
Speaker 1:It's not long and it there was. He had a few clients that were that you could do sort of a 9, 30 till three o'clock day and charge less obviously, but still get a regular income. And then that started petering off and you couldn't quite feel that days. It just didn't work out in the end. But it was a really good try and I think actually that was the starting point of us, making sure they were the priority and that they weren't. We weren't just fitting them in because that's what it felt like didn't it?
Speaker 1:It felt like whose priority, whose work was priority, and then the kids kind of come in and we'll throw some food out and like, get back to work in the evenings or whatever. But then it became like kids of the priority and we'll figure the rest out. And it still stayed that way, even with work and my job as well.
Speaker 3:But with regards to us personally, it did kind of we slipped down the top of the ball.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, massively. I mean, I think the dog was higher than us, wasn't it yeah, pretty much.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Truthfully. But I mean, there's a thing they say on planes you need to put your own mask on before you put somebody else's mask because you got to help yourself before you can help others, and I don't think we really kind of took that to mind and in doing so it kind of affected us because, we weren't looking after ourselves and then definitely weren't looking after each other or communicate in or spend any time with each other.
Speaker 3:It became very rote. It was work. Fit the kids in around that. It's going to pick them up, getting to bed and then carry them working again. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It was so intense and that's where it was transactional and monotonous and boring as hell. But then, from going to counselling, it felt like a date, didn't it? It did. But also I'm a different person to how I was 10 years ago and you're a different person to the person I met and I think by talking about that really big things, the stuff came up I didn't even know I was struggling with, but I felt like I was getting to know Martin all over again and he was getting to know me all over again, but the new me and the new him and it was really special. It was really really worth doing. And I think, even if you're not in necessarily a bad place in your relationship, I think it's just a really healthy thing to do to check in like how are you feeling? What's going on? Like, how are you feeling as a human being, not mum, wife, person that organises our life? Because that's what I felt. I felt like I was just here to serve everybody.
Speaker 3:You tend to talk to that person and develop over a period of time. Sometimes you're too aware of what you're saying or not aware of what you're saying, and you're very careful about what you say. When we saw the therapist, she was very clear in making it.
Speaker 3:Say it, say it out loud and make sure you say it, and if it comes out wrong, we'll figure it out and I'll explain it, and that relates to how we've lived over the past few years, and it kind of like we just need to understand each other again, because we're still trying to understand each other as we were six years ago, eight years ago, pre one kid, pre two kids. That's how you were back then and it doesn't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm still that festival chick from the Isle of Wight Deep down Not doing as many drugs as I was.
Speaker 2:We usually do. I don't know what time we're on, but we usually do high and low as a week. Yeah, should we whip around. Yeah, should we keep it short and snappy.
Speaker 1:We can. Can I ask a question, though? Can I ask Martin a question, because I know this is about us, but I've never asked Martin this. Really, how is it for you being married to someone like me like it's so driven that really, like I have such a massive vision for movies? How is that?
Speaker 3:for you? How is it for me? Yeah, exciting, yeah, very much so. You used to get really pissed off with the amount of questions I asked you, and it wasn't just because it was something that we could talk about. It was so that I could learn and understand what you are doing and what you are going through and how you run your business, because I'm in awe of that in some regards I don't fully understand it. Hence the fact my job was never a business, but I wish in some regards I did, because I feel like good if I actually put my mind to it. But I've got my mind doing other things. That doesn't really kind of work out for me. But I know that your vision is so much further ahead of mine because I kind of think a little bit closer to home and time frame wise, I don't see as far into the distance as you are.
Speaker 1:Well, you just go day by day, don't you really?
Speaker 3:Week by week maybe, but it's true, because you're very much oh, if this does this, it will go out and this will pan out in such a way, whereas I'm completely the opposite going. This is going to go tits up tomorrow, so I'm going to have to adapt my plans and what I want to do in two or three weeks time is not going to happen. So there's a completely different mindset, but there is a certain amount that I vicariously look at your vision for the future and like it. I like it. I like it a lot.
Speaker 2:I like it a lot but yeah, yeah. Can I pin a question on what do you think to that?
Speaker 1:I think it's lovely and I think there is no way that I could have achieved anything that I have done so far if it wasn't for your support, and I am so excited about what I can do with movies. But realistically, I need my wingman. I can't do it on my own.
Speaker 3:No, I've totally got your back on it and always have had, and I personally, on occasion feel I've got a lot more faith in it than you have.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, yeah, if I'm having a wobble, you'll be the first one to be like check yourself. Yeah, it'll be fine. And I'm like I can't do it. I can't take it because it is such an overwhelming responsibility sometimes. And I mean, I've got what? 25 staff, I think now. But there's not many. But then there's the whole brand and I'm like, oh God, what if I fail? What if this? But then there's that saying isn't there. But what if you?
Speaker 4:fly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I feel like you're really good at checking me if I'm having a wobble.
Speaker 3:There's been occasions when you've lost the plot with regards to money and how you're going to find stuff and everything else, but you kind of. I am absolutely in awe of the fact that you still have all your saddles after covid, yeah, and the fact that you opened another jury, covid. There's not many businesses that have managed to do that and I find that to be an incredibly massive achievement and, you know, nobody missed a day's pay.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Nobody missed out. Never missed anything, you did all of that OK.
Speaker 1:I mean that was as a business.
Speaker 3:You may not have as much money as you could have done, yeah, but your morals and your values are still intact and everybody loves and respects you for that. And I can count on three fingers how many bosses in my entire lifetime I've really respected and liked, and I think if you'd have been a cutthroat boss, I'll tough shit, suck it up, get on. I'd never be where I am now. You would be where you are, and I don't think I'd be with you. No because those morals are not in line with mine. Something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we have the same values. One more question from me. Oh OK, international Women's Day is coming up on the 8th of March. We looked at the meaning of it the other day, but you've got two girls in the house.
Speaker 3:Yes, we do you? Don't have to remind me you intend to sit there in the corner Right.
Speaker 1:Ted's the dog, ted the dog?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Do you think that it even and we're going to interview them, aren't we at some point in the future? But do you think it even enters their consciousness that Amy is an impeccable role model to them?
Speaker 3:Will, I think, understands a lot. What do you mean? Business or just in general. In general, you're absolutely 100 percent. I feel I can teach him Random shit, of all sorts of vague things that they probably never need to know but may find interesting. Amy will teach him geography, but also huge amount of street smarts, and I feel I've changed with regards to being with Amy, with my Attitude towards women isn't the phrase I want to use, but I think, understanding, respect, understanding and respect of women has changed.
Speaker 1:I'm having two girls, I think.
Speaker 3:I'm having two girls Big impact, isn't it?
Speaker 1:And how you want them to be treated in the future like how you treat me is how they're going to find. If they choose men in the future, Then they. That's how they will expect to be respected, and sometimes I will remind you of that which is painful as it is.
Speaker 3:If I'm losing my shit, I will have a shout out. They obviously want to be reminded that that is not how you don't want someone treating?
Speaker 4:her like that.
Speaker 3:I don't want somebody treating her, but yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:So international women's day? Yeah, I do think. I think they see it. Willow, I think people will work for in the business, won't she? I think she, she loves it, but willow will want to be running it. She's really selling these loon bands, isn't she?
Speaker 2:You tell me this is amazing 50 pH payment. Someone on HP?
Speaker 3:What they should have done.
Speaker 1:But she's desperate to have a lemonade stand, isn't she? And I keep promising it and I really need to do it, but you've got to build the lemonade stand. That was the deal. She wants homemade lemonade, she wants to also make cookies and she wants to sell loon bands or something on it Nice.
Speaker 1:And I said I'd advertise it on, like the local Facebook groups. And we have to do it in the school holidays because a lot of people walk past our house to go to the park and stuff. Yeah, but she's desperate for it and I said the only way you do it is if we work out how much it costs you to make everything, how much your profit is. But you have to split your profit and put 50% away or give to charity and then 50% for fun, nice, and she is all over, it isn't she? She's techers, brilliant.
Speaker 3:But the influence that Amy has on both me and the girls is actually shown by the loon bands. So Willow made a load of loon band bracelets and then got sold them for 50 peds each and got four pound. I said, but you led. When we came back from the show that night, when she'd give, she'd sold them out and I said, well, you had loads in that box. Where's the rest of them? She goes oh well, people kept having to go at me and say, well, I've got no money. Can I have them soon? In the end I just gave them to. The first thing out of my mouth was your mum will not be impressed with that. I have to understand she's going to go out of you and explain to you how that's diluted your profits. And I'm sitting there thinking you plum, where's this all come from?
Speaker 3:Well, maybe it's sinking in after all.
Speaker 2:And that's lovely. Oh, thanks the heroine. Any more for any more Not for me.
Speaker 3:We enjoyed this first therapy. Right, it's actually cheaper.
Speaker 2:Yes, she liquids.
Speaker 3:Guys here say so we've gone all the way, all through this. What?
Speaker 2:about yourself. The high is as low. Yeah, ok, so all my high is definitely the workshop that I ran last week. Every second of it. What's yours, hi or no, choose.
Speaker 3:Hi, working with you last week.
Speaker 2:How is it? Oh, that's nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's been of that much to do with you working and having Project Projects fun yeah.
Speaker 1:We'd be really good at building our own home. Mm-hmm, it's coming. I really enjoyed that and I but I really enjoyed the finished product, Actually seeing it and handing it over to the team and saying, look what we've done. And then the team being so happy with the work that we've done. But also coming back and seeing the kids and seeing Willow's show. I think that was probably my absolute high.
Speaker 1:Oh God yeah, that drive was fucking awful, coming back from far on the piss and down rain or whatever it was, and then to like got back skin on my teeth and then, oh, the stress of that, yeah, and then took her to the show and to be able to do that and I think to prioritize her, she felt that she felt like she was a priority and I'm really pleased that she felt that I was shattered.
Speaker 3:Absolutely shattered and I was sort of like heading my hands. When I got in there I was like front row.
Speaker 1:I was like, oh, please don't keep singing, you're gonna have kids screaming in your face, jesus Christ.
Speaker 3:And then saw Willow come out. She could see her looking for me. And she was absolutely beaming and put so much effort in and I was like, oh man, this makes it all worthwhile.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that four hour drive home or whatever in the rain was well worth it.
Speaker 2:So I think that's probably, I think, cracker hearts open, don't they?
Speaker 1:Yeah, they really do. Yeah, they're special ones, aren't they?
Speaker 2:So, martin, one more question. That I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3:All right, Columbo.
Speaker 2:Thanks for coming, thanks for having us no thank you, it's been nice.
Speaker 1:What a lovely way to spend the morning evening. Yes, date night. I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it was a third day.
Speaker 1:You enjoyed it. It was a third Willow, it was a three way. Right, come on then fuck off.
Speaker 2:All right, cheers guys. Thanks for listening, bye, bye.
