From the kid who wouldn't raise her hand in class to speaking confidently in front of thousands, Kirsty Carden reveals how she built a thriving coaching business helping women find their voice, attract high-ticket clients through speaking, and create the freedom they actually want. Kirsty shares her journey from corporate life at Sky Broadcasting to becoming a sought-after speaking coach, NLP master practitioner, and hypnotherapist. She breaks down the practical steps that transformed her from terrified of public speaking to commanding stages worldwide, and why she believes communication is the foundation of every successful relationship and business. KEY TAKEAWAYS Build Your Confidence Muscle Incrementally: You don't go from classroom silence to speaking to thousands overnight. Start with a Facebook Live, then a small group, then a workshop. Each tiny step builds the resilience your nervous system needs to handle bigger stages. Clarity Drives Action: Knowing exactly what you want and why you're doing it is what pushes you through fear. When Kirsty knew she had to be visible to get clients, that clarity motivated her to overcome her terror of video and speaking. Smaller Rooms Convert Better: While speaking to a thousand people builds authority and credibility, intimate events of 20 to 25 people create deeper connection and higher conversion rates. Kirsty made £200,000 from one 25 person event by creating genuine connection. Your Personal Brand Opens Doors: Major speaking opportunities, client inquiries, and business growth come from people actually seeing your face, hearing your energy, and understanding what you do. Hiding behind text posts won't cut it anymore. Environment Is Everything: The fastest way to change your life is to change your environment. Get around people who've already done what you want to do. Their blueprint becomes your possibility. BEST MOMENTS "Everything starts with knowing what you want. I had to overcome my fear of visibility because I decided I was going to start a business. It's putting yourself in a situation that forces you to actually have to overcome it." "I think there's a difference between a business owner and an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur will constantly look for opportunity, where a business owner will just want to scale that one business." "Something that used to be a dream becomes your reality, and you can lose grip of actually, you've actually created something that was just something you desired. You've got to keep appreciating it." "Your brain, when you're listening to stuff like this, is opening it up and going, oh, that sounds good. That's possible for me now. Even if you can't physically access those people yet." "I think the biggest thing I've gone through in business is building resilience. Business is like the biggest self development journey you'll ever go on. It finds parts of yourself, knockdowns, rejection. You learn a lot about yourself." VALUABLE RESOURCES Instagram: @kirstycarden HOST BIO Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it, but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he's built a multi-million-pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow. He's still involved in the business a couple of days a week, but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day to day grind? That's been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting. Brad's also found his rhythm outside of business, with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it's strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he's a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader. Working On It is where he brings it all together: growth, grit, and getting better every week.
