Embracing Your True Self: Hannah’s Journey from Performer to Creative Industry Entrepreneur

Welcome to the Spotlight series. In this episode, Nicole Louise Geddes sits down with Hannah Hannon: former performer, business owner and founder of HVA an award winning business support company for the entertainment and creative industries.

Grab Spotlight on Success on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spotlight-Success-Passion-Meets-Purpose/dp/B0FFH88B1C

After years spent trying to fit into the glamorous, spontaneous world of performing, Hannah discovered her real superpower was the organisation and problem-solving she brought behind the scenes, skills that became the bedrock of her entrepreneurial journey. 

Together, they discuss Hannah’s chapter, The Business of Show Business, and delve into the highs and lows of her performing life, the lessons learned through motherhood and personal loss, and that pivotal moment when she realised that true success means embracing exactly who you are.

This honest, heartfelt conversation explores the resilience it takes to step away from the traditional path, the overlooked business skills performers have at their fingertips, and the realities of running a business in the creative industries. 

Whether you’re a creative dreaming of a side-hustle, considering new directions, or simply curious about what happens when passion meets purpose, this episode is packed with inspiration, practical insight and a powerful reminder: your real strength might just be the thing you once saw as ‘boring’.

Chapters

00:00 Spotlight with Hannah Hannon

05:55 Transitioning to dance college

07:12 Feeling Out of Place in Industry

13:33 Feeling the end-of-contract anxiety

17:44 Business mindset and contract diligence

20:17 Turning a side hustle into a business

23:07 Coping with pregnancy loss

27:36 Pregnancy and family challenges

30:15 Deciding to go all in

33:14 Missing the dance industry

37:44 Appreciating and Valuing Contributions

39:38 Learning Hannah's Personal Journey

42:56 Realising a career misfit


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Connect with Nicole:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Performerpreneur

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

Website: https://performerpreneur.co.uk/

#ShowbizSideHustle #PerformerBusiness #CreativeEntrepreneur #performerpreneur

📕  Buy The Showbiz Side Hustle Handbook: https://ln-k.me/clGQ

🎭 Join our community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Performerpreneur

📕  Download our free guide - The Dream Big Workbook!: https://ln-k.me/GKCR

🎙️ Listen to the podcast: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2386041.rss

Connect with Nicole:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Performerpreneur

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

Website: https://performerpreneur.co.uk/

#ShowbizSideHustle #PerformerBusiness #CreativeEntrepreneur #performerpreneur

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome back to the Spotlight series. In this fourth episode, we're joined by co-author Hannah Hannett, former performer, business owner and founder of HBA, a specialist business support company serving the entertainment and creative industries. For years, Hannah tried her hardest to fit into the traditional performer role. But while others seemed effortlessly spontaneous and glamorous, she was the one creating spreadsheets, solving problems, planning ahead, and making sure everything ran smoothly behind the scenes. What she once saw as her least exciting qualities would eventually become the foundations of an award-winning business. In our conversation, we're gonna dive deeper into her chapter, The Business of Show Business, exploring the highs and lows of her performing career, the lessons learned through motherhood and personal loss, and the moment she realised that success didn't require her to become someone else, it required her to fully embrace exactly who she already was. We'll discuss transferable skills, entrepreneurship, the realities of running a business in the creative industries and why performers often underestimate the incredible value they bring beyond the stage. Hannah also shares how she now helps performers, production companies and creative businesses build stronger systems, clearer processes, and sustainable success behind the scenes. Please join me in welcoming the fabulously organised Hannah to the Spotlight. Welcome to the Spotlight series, where each week we meet one of the brilliant co-authors and creatives behind Spotlight on Success. The Performerpreneur book that's redefining what success looks like both in and out of the Jopid Spotlight. I'm your host here, Nicole Louise Geddett, and in these special episodes we learn even more about the stories behind the sequence. Raw, honest, powerful reminders that the end of one act is only the beginning of another. So listen in as we chat challenges and triumphs and inspire you to shine in any spotlight you like.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Thank you very much. That was amazing. I loved it.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

And so you should. It was beautiful. It's all about you and um all about everything that you have been and done. Um so let's dive straight in because the chapter is incredible, Hannah. We have been working on that for a few months. It's now formatted, it's published, it's out in the world. I can't wait for people to um read it. And let's start there. When it does become an actual physical book in the next few weeks, who do you hope the book will reach? Who are you, who have you got in your head that you're gonna hand that to? And what do you hope that they will get from your chapter?

SPEAKER_01 2:31

I think it would be essentially a version of me, you know, back back in years gone by sort of thing. But just someone that loves what they're doing, but still doesn't necessarily find, feel like they're at home in it. Um, because that for me was was just like the biggest realization. Even this was it was this process that even made me realize actually, hold on, when I reflect back, it it was very much a case of I just didn't feel like it it was quite right for me. And so I'm hoping that um, you know, whoever picks up the the chapter and reads it, and if someone resonates, it's it gives them the permission to accept the fact that maybe it's not not going to be there, you know, forever, um, and that there could be something else that's out there that's waiting for them.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

I absolutely wholeheartedly agree. This book and all of the chapters, um, both from the first edition and the the second edition are all pointing exactly to that. They're saying, this is an amazing industry, but what else can you do alongside it, beyond it, before it, next to it? It's up to you. It's so personal. And your story is beautifully written and um very open because very few people care to admit they're slightly quirky. I mean, you call them boring, um boring traits. So tell us, if you haven't read the chapter yet, um, listeners, Hannah describes herself, well, actually, it was her brother, and I think it's the funniest line in the book. Um, but she describes herself as boring. So, what were those traits that gave you that label and and made you kind of uncomfortable with the traditional showgirl performer identity?

SPEAKER_01 4:19

I have been, I'm very much um, I there is actually a term for it. I'm very introverted, even though I can come across quite extroverted, I'm extremely introverted. I my like absolute favourite hobby in the world is really books. Um I love more than anything sticking in my headphones, reading a book. Um like so that's that's me. I've always been very academic. And it was actually, you know, I made a decision at the age of 10, like out of the blue almost, where I was like, I want to, I want to have this career as a dancer. And you know, I was I was really lucky. My family always supported it. Um, but I know that I know my grandparents definitely questioned it at points because they they were like, well, she should go into something with a more academic background. And I mean, even in the lead up to my into like even getting into the training and taking those next steps, like as I got um a bit older, you know, I made sure I had my A levels, I had my backup plans. I was gonna do um, I really wanted to get into journalism when I was doing my A levels. That was kind of my backup plan. So I ensured that I had that the academic background there as well. I've never I've never been, I was just never the a cool kid or anything like that school, so far from it. Um, but I also wasn't like geeky, I wasn't like a full of like geeked or whatever. I don't know, I just kind of sat in this middle, middle piece. And then when you join, I mean, joining a performing arts college was just this wildly eye-opening experience. I had come from a very um, it was a gorgeous dance school as a as a kid, and you know, it's thanks to that place that I've even got to, you know, have the career I've had. But um it was it was not the same style of training that I then experienced. And and that from the moment I kind of stepped in over that threshold at dance college and started that next phase of the journey where I was really like committed and going for it, um I I really started to notice like okay, I'm not quite I'm not as flamboyant, I'm not as outspoken, I'm not as outrageous, I'm not as dramatic, I'm not as these things. I'm actually gonna do my homework. I was heartbroken um because I really wanted a degree. Really wanted a degree, and I was heart like I didn't get into a couple of colleges, and the college I got into, although again, hindsight, retrospect was the best place for me. At the time, I I wanted to have that academic element to it, but and we had no official academic side, there was no like qualification that came with it, it was just training. And I remember when I like actually realized that I was really heartbroken because I thought, well, what am I gonna like what else am I meant to do here? There was no, there wasn't anywhere where for me to necessarily channel that side of things as well. Um, so yeah, definitely like I've always always been more you know, head girl and all of that root. Um and so then joining an industry that is glamorous and out there and outlandish and gorgeous and all the all these wonderful big personalities and everything, and I just kind of really noticed more and more that I was just not that person. Like I'm not, yeah, it was just a bit jarring, I suppose, but I loved it, and so you you know, um, it wasn't that I joined the industry and thought, oh my word, this is awful. I absolutely love what I was doing, but I never felt truly at home now, I don't think.

SPEAKER_00 8:16

Well, you say you love what you were doing, I know, and you you say in the chapter, and and me knowing you personally, you had a wonderfully varied successful career, like you stepped up to the mark and you did and became all these things that your peers were around you, and you're rewarded with a brilliantly versatile, exciting career in the industry. But that word home is standing out for me, Hannah, because home for me is internal, it's a you know, it doesn't have to be a physical bricks and mortar thing. Like when you come home, I say to Jack, where's our home? and our home is wherever we are, like wherever our heart is. And if your heart is not a hundred percent authentic in what you're becoming and being, then I do believe you never quite feel at home. So, at what point did you allow that real authentic version to start showing itself? Um, who, you know, who, what role, what job, what contract did that person start to appear and and give you that flicker that I can't really put her in a box anymore?

SPEAKER_01 9:23

Oh, that's quite an interesting question. I actually feel like I probably wasn't aware of it as much until um I was freelancing. Um and and it was much more gig work because it then, you know, it was uh there was no consistency, there was no guarantees or anything. So there was a lot more, a lot more available time. Um, I had by that point I had done uh a good couple of contracts, it very, very contracts, and I mean again, like I didn't necessarily I had great relationships with my cast and I had wonderful, wonderful times. Like my first ever contract, still to this day, is the best summer of my life, hands down. Like it was just amazing. I had the most amazing time. Um but you know I'm I'm not bothered about going out partying, I'm not bothered about staying up late to sit crew bar, I'm not bothered about some of that aspect, which was quite standard. Um, it was very standard. I mean, I I joined um a tour with an Irish dance company. They are notorious for being out drinking and late nights and everything, and that's just not me. Like I'm just not that person, and I never have been. And but I don't think it was until really I was at freelancing and I was gigging and I was meeting more companies and and having not necessarily more involvement in any way, shape, or form. I was still very much like a performer, but there were occasions where it was a little bit more, a little bit more involvement, and I could have a little bit more kind of input, maybe is the best way to describe it into into some of like essentially the behind-the-scenes stuff. Um, and it was that part that kind of made me start wondering. Also, the nature of gigging and and freelance and everything, you know, I didn't have anything consistent and I needed it. Um, so that combination of things. Um I had been applying for work in lockdown. I um again because I didn't get my degree, um, I did a couple of like online diploma courses and because I just wanted something tangible that I could pop on a CV to help me get a job and all of this. So I did a couple of um diplomas with event management and PA ing and admin and stuff. And I yeah, it was just kind of it, it wasn't ever like a definite this is hold on, I've realized this. I think it was just the different factors that were coming in from everywhere and how it all ended up laying out. I just kind of got to a point where I was like, I I don't know if if this is for me anymore. I don't know where I fit in this anymore. Um because by that point as well, as much as I would have loved to have gone on and done more cruising and contracts abroad and stuff, I didn't actually want to be away for a significant amount of time. I'd got to that point as well. I didn't want to be away for eight months of the year, I wanted to have a couple of months and then come back, and and that that's not really available. Um so it was just this like varying factors really that that got me to this point where I thought I I need to really sort of reassess. And so yeah, that was that was kind of it. It was it's a it's a funny one, isn't it? It's a funny transition where you kind of realize, but you don't want to admit that you realize either.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

I think that's the bit, isn't it? We're all gonna go through this. I have been through it, you've been through it, the the other 17 authors in the book have been through it. Um, but when do you admit it? When does it hit home? It's all absolutely individual. You mentioned there that you you did your A levels, you thought you had a backup plan. Did the backup plan at that point ever look like your own business and what you have gone on to achieve?

SPEAKER_01 13:33

No, never, never, never, never, never. I there was a point um, because I I could I feel like you know, you get a contract, you're on an amazing high, you know, you've got a secure job for however long, you know, the best part of at least half a year, usually, like a decent contract. So you know that you've got some stability, and then it would hit towards like one month to go, kind of thing. And I would start to feel a bit anxious and a bit like okay, start, you know, I'd I'd always be quite proactive and I would have started applying for castings and stuff ahead of ahead of the end of the contract and whatnot. And it was just a slight this cycle, the same cycle of oh well this is coming to an end. And I was having a conversation and um, you know, it was like, well, what do you want? What what is it that you're gonna want? And at the time, and again, I I think this is quite a natural assumption. I kind of thought not necessarily an agency, but I would have liked uh you know, I'd considered producing some shows, like small dinner style shows. Um and so I thought possibly if I was gonna do anything off my own back, it would kind of be more down that route. Um I was applying for a lot of work. Um I wanted to journalism by this point had come out of the window, I was not gonna I was not going down that route. I wanted to go into event management and uh because I have a background in that as well. So I was applying for work, but I just wasn't getting anywhere with it. And you know, some of it was like, and then I was trying to apply for work within entertainment agencies or you know, within the industry, and a lot of that ended up being a bit more admin stuff that I was applying for. And so again, it was kind of this natural progression of of um what I noticed, the qualities that that I had, my qualifications matched, um the areas that I wanted to the the industry, sorry, that I wanted to be a part of. It was kind of how it all fell up, it fell into place. And then I stumbled across that concept of a virtual assistant. And I'd I was gonna just apply to an agency to just be a virtual assistant on on a book kind of thing. Um and then yeah, I just had a complete like, well made hold on, what about I do it for myself?

SPEAKER_00 16:06

And you have done it incredibly well and incredibly quickly, and you've built it from those superpowers that you once classified and boxed up and packaged as boring. And then I'm listening to you in all of the applications and the auditions, and like you say, the the connection with the industry. You would have been using those skills, Hannah, frequently throughout the whole performance um trajectory. So let me ask you what those specific skills and jobs and tasks were that you think that most performers should be, and that's another story, should be, could be, potentially are doing, um, that are key business building blocks.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Yeah, I mean it was all it's essentially about communication, uh, marketing yourself, um, how you communicate with with with a company, with a casting, how you market yourself for that casting, and then how you manage the general sort of essentially life admin, but a business admin, like invoicing, you know, getting your tax return done, keeping on top of your calendar so you don't double book things and and that element, and I was really kind of hot on that. I had a proper ritual when I was um freelancing. Every Monday I'd sit down, I'd do all my invoices from the weekend, I would update my mileage in the back of my diary, I would update any expenses because at that time I didn't drive, so it was a lot of buses and trains and things. Um, and I had like a proper little ritual, but I was on top of it and I knew. But and I would, you know, I'd do things like read my contracts. I actually read my contracts. Not a lot of people do that, but I would want to know like what am I signing up for here? What is the deal? Um, and they're the things like they sound when you just say it like that. People can be like, Oh yeah, I I do it, but it's how you approach it and like being on top of it and presenting yourself with this business attitude and business mindset, which I know like we have done that before as well, but it's it's coming across in like how would a business approach it because you are the business, you are a business regardless of what that output actually is, and you know, if if you're a cast member in you know in a big production, you're still a business because you've still gotta get that job and pay your taxes on that job and get paid from that job, and that's part of being a business. So that yeah, it's it's that life admin, which I call it, but it's kind of outside of life admin, but they were like the really essential things that kind of kept on. And then I I just was naturally a lot more organized and um like kind of just lent into more admin stuff anyway. I supported um you know, he's now my husband, but I supported him um with his admin and stuff for his shows and his tours, and I I did like various bits and pieces because it just came naturally to me.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

So the tagline, sorry, the tagline for the book, as we know, is when passion meets purpose. And since this second edition has come about, and I'm not going to change the tagline for the book, but the word pride keeps coming up for me because your passion and your purpose have met, and it's that pride of becoming and doing the passion and the purpose, marrying up peace and being really proud of what that looks like, what it can become. And I really see that in you because the passion of the industry, the purpose of just you know, really realigning and going back to the heart, going back to who you are and the authentic authenticity, and then having the pride to run with that, to deliver it, to to shout and speak about this is who I am, this is what I can do, and marrying all of that together, and I think that's the the piece of the puzzle for people listening. What are you passionate about? What is your internal compass telling you and saying that you should and could and you're very good at, and and what what would you you know be successful in next, and then having the pride to pursue it with power and you know passion and purpose, and that's what I see in you and HVA. Now, you mentioned just a little bit back that HVA was evolving in a lesser way, a side hustle way, in terms of doing it for your partner, doing it for some of the companies you work for, certainly doing it for yourself, the admin bit, and then potentially seeing um an avenue for you as a VA. Now, HVA is much bigger than that. Um, but that moment where it turned from a little side hustle and a little exploration to a business came at a point in your chapter of quite a significant moment. Are you happy to go there?

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's a big part of my story.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

So well, I just think it it's necessary for people to know these transitions happen, A, as highlights, but E, B, as you know, consequences, reactions. They're not all smooth, it's not all, and and another thing with the book, it's all different, you know. Some things have come out of tragedy, other things have come out of hope. You know, so where did HVA truly come from for you?

SPEAKER_01 21:48

So I'd had the idea, uh, as I'd mentioned, I'd I'd had the idea. I'd been looking for, I was applying for jobs, I was constantly on indeed. Um the concept of a VA really appealed to me. Because it was flexibility, it was you know, gonna I could do it from wherever. So if I was away for a full weekend or something gigging, which which was happening at the time, like it it the idea and the concept of it, okay, like really appealed to me. And then I had this complete like bell moment one afternoon in the garden. And I went inside, grabbed a four piece of paper, which I do have um still, and I'd like written down all these things where I thought I could be doing X, Y, and Z for businesses within the industry. I did like some deep dive research, like no one was offering anything that was specific to us. And so I had the idea, and then it was kind of like okay, that's a really good idea, and and you know, life happens, and I don't know, I maybe probably didn't jump at it straight away. And then it's like whilst all this was going on, we were trying for a baby and I felt pregnant. And so straight then, you know, I'm a dancer, like and okay, right, so what's gonna happen now? I don't I don't have a clue. And that then very unfortunately um and very sadly that very quickly um ended that pregnancy. Um and it kind of really it shocked me, I think, because A I wasn't expecting to have fallen pregnant when I did. Um and it was just like this, the the grief of it, it really kind of shocked me. Um and I I remember I had a gig like booked in not long after um losing the baby. And I mean, I can't really bring myself to, I can't like really look at the pictures and the videos from it anymore because I don't recognise myself. I I look I'm like destroyed in it. I'm destroyed because this this whole situation had happened, and I you know, and but it was it was that moment of going, well, we want to try again, we we do want a family, but what am I gonna do if I fall pregnant? Like I can't be it's not sustainable, I can't be gigging and dancing. There's gonna be a point where people are gonna be like, I don't think I want a pregnant dancer, there's health and safety concerns, aesthetic. Like I was working some of the jobs, it was a bit of an aesthetic thing gonna be as well. And I just needed a bit of a distraction, I think. I had too much free time because the gigs were weren't as frequent. Um, and I just thought, um, do you know what sod it? I'm gonna, I'm gonna go for it. And I had done various bits about the reach and I had spoken to someone who had previously um advertised that they were looking for someone to assist. And at the time they were based up in Newcastle as well, so it was quite a nice like map. And I had reached out and I had said what I'm doing. And she was interested, but was only I could only budget for and was only willing to give me one month to try and do a bit of um marketing outreach for her. And so I was like, okay, fine, and I set up my Instagram account and did that, had the month working working um with this particular client, and then that was it. I was like, oh, what happens now? I've got to actually try and push through. So it was, yeah, I mean it came from a it wasn't born from a necessarily a sad place because I had that idea and the concept that it's actual sort of coming out into the world was spared on definitely from from just a need to have something else going on in my life. Like I couldn't, I I didn't want to just be sat at home waiting for castings to come in, waiting for the next text to say, can you do this gig? Like I wanted something a bit more tangible and a bit more that I was in control of as well.

SPEAKER_00 26:09

Um I think that's probably probably the piece, isn't it? And we can all relate to that. When is the perfect time to start the business? And like you say, it was you actually did your Instagram and and all those bits of marketing after the first client. Um, because I'm sure we all know you very well from the chapter, from from this interview, from the other times you've appeared on the podcast, you're very organized. Um, you've got your procedures and your structures, and that was very much you all the way through. Um, so I should suspect you wanted and thought it would be a certain way, and that moment just propelled you forward because of that need for distraction, and and we can all completely understand that. And here they are, here you are, you know, doing it all the wrong way around, which is probably very un-HANA-like, but it's a little bit unique to be. Um there is a highlight in this story, though, with your beautiful baby Madeline. Um, and that again is another moment where your business and your trajectory skyrocketed, changed direction, did its thing. Um, and go read the chapter, listeners, but it wasn't organized or strategic or in the order and place to perfection like Hannah would want it to be. Um, share a little bit about that again, that moment of up-level necessity, scared, I guess, at that point as well.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Yeah, I mean, again, um, you know, yeah, I fell pregnant again. I've got a gorgeous little girl, Madeline. Um and at the same time, we also had um some pretty devastating news, literally at the same time as well, um, for my husband, which just completely like obliterated any plan, any hope, even at that point that we had for our family, for where his business was going. I like it was just it was just like one of those moments where you go, what on earth is happening here? Like I what is the lesson gonna be in this when we look back at it in a few years' time? Like it was it was awful. And at the same time, I I literally gave birth to Madeline. And I obviously was gonna go on maternity. I had one client that was keen for me to start back up as soon as possible. Um, but the workload that I did for her was very minimal, so it wasn't a case of her, like she didn't need anyone else in the interim. Um other than that, I had no other clients or anything um at the time. It it all like naturally ended. I also did work at um a performing arts college in person, but again, I was gonna be on like a maternity leave with them, so I wasn't going back to that straight away. And with the news for my husband's um tour, I just had this moment of going, what on earth are we gonna do? Like, how are we going to survive this financially? You know, just uh in any way, shape, or form. Like I'm I'm holding this brand new baby thinking what what is happening? It was crazy. And really, I knew that I was gonna have to be able to get back into some into the work somehow. The plan had been that I was gonna be able to take essentially take a few months off at least to enjoy motherhood. Chris was gonna be on tour anyway, so like it was gonna balance out and then look at coming back in it, you know, to a bit better capacity, a bigger capacity, sorry, down the line. And I had to change that plan. And so I went um, I think about eight weeks, six to eight weeks. I I started back up with with my current client, which was again, it was quite light touch, but it was still email inbox. And I did not have that, I was really like, oh brain fog and and then another potential client got in touch out of the blue. We had spoken like a year previously, she was now ready for some support, and I just I was like, I'm gonna have to jump at this. And so that kind of was really the the like starting point for pushing forwards, but it still was it was still quite a I'm gonna say a good few months where it was still I was still seeing this more like in that side hustle manner of like just kind of it's something to keep me taking over. And I eventually got to a point I can't actually quite remember where it was, but I got to a point and I turned around to my husband and I was like, I'm I'm going all in on this. I've decided I'm going all in on this. Like, what's the point in me kind of tiptoeing around? Not I'm going all in. And he's kind of like, okay, I'm I'm telling you, I'm going all in on this business, and we will deal with whatever that looks like on the other end. And I did, and because by that point my confidence had grown, I got really into like a nice rhythm, I had a nice like um roster of clients, like things were really growing, but I was really holding myself back because it was it wasn't gonna be the full-time thing, and and then I was like, actually, what what am I achieving by doing that? And that was really, you know, and I I have to provide a, but I also want to show my daughter, look what I can do, look what I've done. Um, so yeah, I just I just decided I'm going all in.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

And all in all in, you have gone. In this chapter, you mention performer, a performer on sabbatical. And um Hannah is a client of mine, she's in the associate, she's now co-author. Like I'm we're in each other's worlds, and I know, and um, and I'm always intrigued to ask you because there's no right or wrong answer, and you really don't have to know the answer. But that performer in sabbatical, the bigger the business gets, the the further in you get to your all-in, you know, the client's building, um, the confidence shines through. How content are you to call entrepreneurship your new stage? Are you ever going back to performing or has this taken its place now?

SPEAKER_01 32:39

It's really funny. I actually had this conversation with a client two days ago um because she's feeling like getting to that point where she's possibly look, you know, well, what's next for her? And so we were having this conversation. I don't want to rule out, I I always think like never say never because you don't know what opportunities are gonna come up. We've obviously moved as well. So I'm now in Dubai. Opportunities are gonna be different out here. I I haven't even explored what it could look like. I've got an idea, but I haven't even explored it. I miss dancing, I miss performing, I miss being on a stage, I miss the process, I miss rehearsals, I miss like I do miss the the industry in that manner. But there's a lot that I don't miss about the industry. And the more secure I'm getting in my own business, the more confident I'm getting in as my own person, the more at home, I suppose, I feel in myself. I don't know how much I want to trade off that. And then it also it's it's logistical things like do I really want to be out until the crack of dawn, having been woken up by a toddler three hours later because I've been gigging, that sort of thing. Like it's the practicalities of it as well. So I don't know, and I'm not closing any doors off. I will be coming back to the UK soon. And I did say to my client, as I might bring my shoes back just in case, but I don't know. Um, but I would still love to have more experience. I've had experience as choreographer and and to do more creative direction. I would like to if I'm gonna kind of go back into a more front-facing creative role, I think I would rather put my efforts into that area. So I would like to get back to class though. That is one thing I I would really like to do this year, and it's on my to-do list for this year. I want to go back to class and I want to just enjoy it because I got to that point where I wasn't, I was gigging for the sake of the paycheck and to pay the bills, and that doesn't sit right with me because I just adore, adore everything about being a dancer and and being on stage and dancing and stuff. And to have hit that point where I was like, I'm not even really enjoying this now. I knew that was the moment I was like, I need to, this is this is time to really like shift my focus somewhere else, but I miss it a lot, so I feel like class could be a nice bridge into it. So yeah, watch this space, who knows.

SPEAKER_00 35:29

You speak about you speak about enjoying dance from those early years with your dance school and the nurturing nature of that in the chapter. Um, so to hear you say that, Hannah, about going back to class and just enjoying it and you know, maybe re-working that narrative, like you say, at the end of your career, there wasn't that much enjoyment in there because of the necessity of it. And you also mentioned the word value in your chapter as well. So just want to touch on that. That shift from not feeling valued to now being that very person of value in other people's ecosystems that you're bringing your A game, and really, you know, you're bringing skills and things that that a lot of the industry don't understand, they can't, they can't fathom, they avoid. Um, so you must feel elated that you as a person and your skill set is valued so deeply within those client um client worlds that you're working in.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

Yeah, completely. I it's it's a funny one, isn't it? Because it feels almost like superficial or almost like a bit um egotistical, maybe like I want to feel valued. It's not that. I just there was always like this sense, and it is that you know idea of it being almost like a cattle market, and you know, you're a chorus line, and you're you're just a number, you know, all of those lovely cliches we've heard over the years, but there's always been an element of it, and there I don't think that's necessarily going to be change, it's it's fast-paced and it's a massive group of people that are being organized to look visually beautiful on stage. Like there is always going to be an element of just get on and do your job. And I did always kind of push for more, you know. When I was on the cruise ship contract, I would have loved to have had like dance captain or project manager, yeah, not project manager, PM, though. I can't think about production manager, that was it. Um, I would have loved those roles and I would have like thrived in those roles. Um, but I was a newbie at the time, so it wasn't, I was never get that necessarily. But um I would always push football, like even when I was gigging, like I was so I I like really put myself out like, what do you need? What can I help with? And for a while that you know, that you kind of get that back, and they're like, oh, okay, this is really great, like someone's really helpful. You know, I kind of went out my way a good few times, but it did get to a point where it was a bit used and abused by by some people, and I I started to just feel a bit uncomfortable with that, and it's it's just appreciating the value. I think maybe maybe I missed the word appreciate in the in the chapter, possibly. It's appreciating someone's value because I I very much appreciate other people's value, and I treat people with the respect for that as well, and to have noticed this like change when I was a performer or to feel completely like disregarded or whatever, that I didn't that wasn't nice because without without us, you don't have a show. That's how I see it anyway. And like you say, now you know the clients I work with, I provide a very pivotal, pivotal, valuable asset to their business and to help their growth and have helped growth. And so, yeah, it is lovely to actually hear those words and to to know that what I'm doing is making an impact and is it's bringing it, but it's also bringing value to other people. Like what I'm doing has this massive ripple effect across that client's business, the wider ecosystem. You know, I'm trying, I'm trying to really like push my messaging further, and that value is only going to spread. So it is really important to me, and it's nice to kind of feel like it's come back now.

SPEAKER_00 39:38

And I hope, hope, hope the listeners are resonating and allowing themselves to feel these feelings because you are one of very few, Hannah, that are saying these things out loud because they are painful, they feel disrespectful to the industry that we love, but they're very, very real. And um, you're you've navigated that, you're sharing, and that will create a ripple, that will create permission, that will just create some more resilience for those for those listeners that are thinking, Oh, yeah, what's next? This doesn't feel like it used to feel. Um, I don't want to feel like this, or whatever those things might be. Um, it's all individual, but it's all very, very real. Um, we haven't really touched on sharing and telling people what HVA is and where they can find you. But in the show notes, listeners, I'm gonna literally tell you the other two episodes in the Show Beside Hustle podcast where you can find out exactly what those businesses are and how Hannah can help you if you are listening from that point of view. This specific episode was about getting to know Hannah, getting to know that backstory, understanding what's gone on through that chapter. Please do pick up the chapter. It's full of resilience, it's full of highs, it's full of lows, it's full of value, um, it's personal, it's powerful, all of these fabulous words. And it's all true, it's spoken from the heart. And the the journey you've been on, Hannah, from that person really trying to fit into a box to then creating your own huge, successful business box, business page is incredible. And um, and I just know that the readers will absolutely get so much from picking up that chapter and reading it. What did the process, and this is a bit of a loaded question because I do work closely with Hannah? The process of writing the chapter, of going through the steps to view your life, to look at it, to pull out the bits, to link it all together, to see the dots, to come out with the chapter and the confidence to say the pieces that you've discovered in and amongst those moments. What has that process done for you? What's it gifted you? What has it reminded you? Are you are you glad you did it?

SPEAKER_01 42:01

Yeah, I am. I mean, I don't I I've never really given myself much time to reflect on on sort of I suppose the journey as a whole, and to because that was the part that was the point. It was looking at the journey as a whole. And I mean, it uncovered some things. I was like, whoa, what's going on here? What you know, even this whole that you know, I didn't I didn't imagine when when I first kind of signed up to to do the chapter and and everything. I kind of in my head, you know, you kind of imagine what what the chapter's gonna sound like and what it's gonna be about. And doing do you know, doing through the process and kind of actually having that reflection. Even even the element of not feeling like I fit in, I'd never really put my finger on that until this moment. And I thought, actually, that's really wow. And I remember I'd written like all my notes out of my notebook and stuff, and I turned around to my husband. I I think I've come to a conclusion I didn't really fit into the industry, and he literally looked at me and was like, Yeah, I don't think you ever did. Okay, I would have that would have been helpful to have known earlier, but I just never sat down and kind of put all the dots together. And it's not uh yeah, it's it's been a it's been a lovely process, and you know, to have that opportunity to write and to express myself in that way. It's you know, and like you say, having the confidence to even say some of the areas that I have, I you know, there there were things that I I've pondered, like do I, do I go to that place, do I not? So it's been a really lovely process, and um, um, yeah, I can't believe it's we're here. It's crazy. But no, I've loved it, it's been so enjoyable.

SPEAKER_00 43:59

Um, it's been a pleasure to to go through this process with you and the other three um second edition co-authors. They are such a special addition to an already very wonderful and successful and inspiring book, but this is just gonna up-level it again for new perspectives, for new journeys, for new heart-led honest stories. Um, so thank you, Hannah, for being part of that. Do just drop your socials verbally so that we can find you. But as I say, rest assured, all of those past podcasts and your socials will be in the links below. And the business of show business, that's the title of your chapter. Readers, pick it up, read it, understand it, understand Hannah, see yourself in it, um, and enjoy it because it was a real journey, Hannah, and and it's a privilege to read and watch it.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Oh, thank you so much. No, I've absolutely loved loved it. I I'm yeah, excited to see it in print. Can't wait for that moment. Um social, you can find me at at hva underscore ent on Instagram, and then it's like HVAENts on others, um, Facebook and LinkedIn. But I'm predominantly over on Instagram or I have a LinkedIn newsletter actually. Go read that. That's good. That's good. Comes out weekly. Go and read that.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

It is good. You'll get lots of tips from there. Right, Hannah, I'll let you get to bed because it's late in Dubai, but I appreciate you being here with me today. And thank you for just being so open and transparent. Big love to you. Thank you so much. Thank you. There you have it. Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Spotlight series, where stories shine and success gets redefined. If you loved what you heard, hit like, follow, or subscribe. And be sure to grab your copy of Spotlight on Success over on Amazon. And don't forget to tag us at Performapreneur across all socials. If you've been inspired today to step into a new spotlight, you can find a whole community ready to support you at performapreneur.co.uk, as well as up and coming events and even more about each author. Until next time, stay bold, stay brilliant, and continue to shine.