Yesterday on 22nd June 2024, I attended an event organised by Think Tank 720, an organisation based in London UK started by my friend Caroline Namugabi Kawooya seven years ago.

Caroline is a Psychologist and is the CEO and Founder of Think Tank 720 and she has been having conversations and collaborating with professionals, business owners and those leading the way in and for individuals who live in South Asian and African and Caribbean communities in London UK. I met her in the mid 2000s when she asked me to speak as a social worker regarding knife crime epidemic in London UK and to present solutions to a problem that back then the national and local government was denying.

Caroline is far ahead of her time and created this Think Tank because she saw there was a need for a Think Tank not for Politicians but for the communities that we live in. Whilst many  individuals who have joined the Think Tank are business owners, many are not and have been leading the communities they live and work in through the jobs or by volunteering  for DECADES.

They like me are the unsung heroes of their communities doing vital work saving lives by being there, practically, emotionally, spiritually and psychologically, financially for the vulnerable, and the marginalized, being the voice  for those who don’t have a voice or giving them a voice so those delivering services can hear them.

Think Tank 720 is where knowledge and action meet. There is no point having all this knowledge in a room if no impact is being felt in the community from this knowledge.  Would you agree?

Knowledge by itself is useless. Yes?

However yesterday at the event I realised there’s something far greater than knowledge it is wisdom. There was so much wisdom packed in that room. Because I heard such amazing stories from women who had started businesses long before I started mine, who had written books, who had been given honorary doctorates not because of academic intelligence but because of the sheer dedication and practical experience and service to communities in London but also in Africa and the Caribbean, Middle East, etc and so many other places. Now some of these women I met yesterday have retired or tried to retire or want to retire, or like me are thinking of retiring.

I sat on a panel to discuss women in retirement and was excited to hear the different stories of the different experiences.

Pamela Haynes spoke about her becoming busier after she retired from thirty years in the Probation Service. She wrote a fiction story about a Probation officer and two other characters. In the first two years of her retirement, she ended up writing two fiction books showing the very important work that Probation officers do in preventing domestic violence and dealing with domestic violence.

Yes I know I have shocked you because you thought you knew me…. The Muslim Alchemist….. you thought I was running my business full-time. No I run my coaching and consulting business whilst working as a social worker four days a week.

I do both.

I have a side coaching business which I am very proud of and I am extremely proud that I use my own funds to fund the business costs of my business. The funds come from the salary I receive from my job as a social worker.

I have been doing this since January 2018. This narrative that may seem odd to you as I don’t fit the usual narrative of the woman who left her 9 to 5 toxic job to start her full time business. However this story is true for so many who have started online service based or even product based businesses in the last ten and even twenty years.

My story is common yet not really talked about in the media or on social media.

Caroline is one of my few friends who has been watching me from the sidelines who has watched me grow as an entrepreneur. She knows intimately of the struggles and challenges that I face trying to do both roles, a social worker working in the criminal justice system and as a business owner with all the responsibilities that come with that.

And she decided to present me with an award for all the work I have done in  London UK in raising awareness about knife crime and my work online with high achievers and high performers.

This is what I said when I was presented with the award.

This is what I said when I introduced myself on the panel which discussed women in retirement. In this short video,  you can also hear why I started my business back in January 2018. Yes I started it because I found hardly any information online on burnout and I wanted there to be more information  to be available online on the subject of burnout to prevent burnout, identify it and overcome it. And burnout as I said yesterday, unfortunately is still not talked about in the online space. Although burnout is very common amongst high performers and high achievers and especially entrepreneurs. High performers and high achievers are more prone to burnout compared to others in the general population.

Burnout can lead to anxiety, depression, physical health problems, family problems and suicidal thoughts and even suicide.

At the event yesterday I spoke about self-care as usual and slowing down and simplifying and sitting in silence. These are strategies to prevent burnout and also overcome burnout.

However as I was having conversations with other business owners and leaders I met yesterday, I realised that whilst investing in self-care really helps us high performers and high achievers, investing in community spaces, reflective spaces so individuals feel connected and supported and feel they are part of a community that understands them is more important.

In fact the two are inextricably linked to each other. Self-care cannot occur without community care.

And that is one of my secret and why I have survived and been able to build my business without the burnout because I have access to communities both online and offline such as Think Tank 720, An Nisa Society, The Coaching Jungle, Icon Mastermind members both current and former, my South London based Pakistani community, my interfaith community in the friends I met at Jewish Christian Muslim (JCM) Conference over the years and my colleagues in the South London borough I work in as a social worker, the B school Facebook communities plus the ones I have created online such as The Space for High Performing LEADERS and Transformation of Consciousness community.

It suddenly occurred to me that is why I created The Reflective Space Masterclass Collection and am so proud of the only digital product I have created. It gives customers a sense of the community I am able to make bringing diverse individuals from different parts of the world together.

And that is why I get so much of a buzz when talking about The Reflective Space Membership. I get a buzz it’s like electricity going through me because I am creating an online community for high achievers and high performers, professionals and entrepreneurs and creatives, a safe space to share feelings of burn out with the confidence that you are not going to be shamed or blamed.

I am proud of myself that I offer reflective spaces for individuals who have not just started their business but those who have been in business for many years, decades in fact who know the cost of building a business. I am proud of these reflective spaces giving a safe and non judgemental container so individuals can discuss the challenges and celebrate the wins of being a high performing leader in a private and confidential setting.

Because leadership can be very lonely. The true leaders are not seeking followers but as Caroline said quoting her mentor yesterday, they have purpose, passion and conviction. True leaders are into serving communities and making an impact. They are not interested in influence but are individuals others are inspired by due to their purpose, passion and conviction which exists even if they are shunned by friends, families and even their own communities which they are serving.

I was actually feeling very down just before I attended the event. A feeling many entrepreneurs feel regularly as it takes time to build a business. A business is not built overnight but takes several years. And yesterday hearing Caroline reminded me that although the language changes that I use online regarding the big why of my business, it usually is at its core my mission to beat burnout. The target audience may have changed from exclusively social workers and health professionals to more inclusive, high performers and high achievers. Facilitating FLOW FREEDOM and FULFILLMENT is the same as beating burnout. The language is not as clunky anymore that shows my evolution.

And I also noticed that yesterday in meeting the other leaders being presented with an award, I was not in any haste of selling anything to them. I was more interested in having conversations with them and collaborating with them. Yes we exchanged business cards and phone numbers. Of course I did but I don’t do high pressure selling like I did in my first year of business. Because customers don’t buy under pressure. Customers buy freedom and flow and FULFILLMENT when they are ready to embrace all three. I let go from selling anything yesterday and decided to embrace the freedom and flow of being in community. I felt very fulfilled being in the presence of these amazing individuals.

Do you want to know who I met yesterday?

I met Limz Comedian, Film Maker and Actor. He was presented with an award for all the phenomenal work he does with young people.

I also met Pastor Precious who works tirelessly in her community being there for those who are vulnerable and don’t have a voice. She was given an award not just because of that work but because she runs an award scheme for charities who are doing extraordinary service. She recognises the unsung heroes. I was beaming to be recognised in the same capacity as another leader by another leader. You probably don’t believe it but although I have been leading since I was eighteen years old, I don’t feel like a leader most of the time.

This is a better picture of me with Precious Toe

I of course had a picture taken with all the other leaders who were given an award for the fabulous work they do in their communities over the years. Caroline by the way is the woman sitting on the floor. One of the other women I want to point out is the woman standing next to me in shalwaar kameez. That is Rohema Miah. She works in the British Parliament and has been an Advisor to various politicians for twenty years. She works with many individuals trying to change policy on Islamaphobia and other issues. I know her very well online. She has been part of my online community on Facebook called The Space for High Performing LEADERS since the beginning.

Did you know that it is because of Rohema that I started my business. She sent a referral to me even before I started my business. I was only thinking of starting my business in January 2018.  My Business journey is a very extraordinary journey of how I got my first client without even marketing my services. But then perhaps it isn’t that extraordinary. My reputation for facilitating freedom, flow and FULFILLMENT is well known in the Muslim communities of London UK well before I started my online coaching business. This is because before I offered online transformational coaching and reflective spaces for high performing leaders and high performers and high achievers, I offered low cost or free in person counselling service to Muslim women in London UK since the early 1990s. I am trusted by those living in London UK and trust is one of the foundations of business. Isn’t it?

Finally before I let you go I wanted to share with you a photo of me with my sons who accompanied me to the event.

Of course it is not everyday that they see their mother win an award and for me that was the highlight of the event just being there with them. My middle son is following my footsteps and is applying for social work jobs currently having just finished his degree at university in social work. My youngest is going to study Applied Theatre locally to us bringing the arts to communities. They were inspired by the women that were there and Limz a young man who has met King Charles three times due to all the work he does on the ground for young people.

It felt so good seeing my sons talk to Limz and plan to do something together.

You see conversations lead to collaborations and that leads to flow and freedom. This is not just my experience I have a feeling that is your experience too.

Yes?

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