Build What Matters

Natalie Potts
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business
  • Updated Daily

Build What Matters with Natalie Potts is designed for mission led founders who want to redefine what success means to them in life and business. The goal of this podcast is simple. I want to give you the strategies, skills and thinking tools to create the life you want and success on your terms.

  1. 3d ago

    50 hours to 2: Same Revenue, Better Life | Ep 133

    Lucy Gordon built a successful real estate consultancy and quietly resented every hour of it. Highly bespoke, entirely dependent on her, scope creep as standard. Last year a solicitor's letter from a client, sent the moment the final invoice fell due, became the final straw after years of near-annual burnout. Instead of shutting it down, she rebuilt it. She converted the work from delivery to training and advisory, dropped her hours from 50 a week to two, and kept the revenue that funds the life she actually wants. That restructure led to a second business helping other founders do the same, and a university lecturing role starting this autumn. In this conversation Lucy and Natalie get into the mechanics: how to audit your time, why enjoyment belongs in the equation alongside revenue, the spreadsheet that told Lucy she needed far less than social media insists, and why building what matters beats chasing arbitrary round numbers. They also talk honestly about mental health, family, and Lucy's plan to work from the ports her husband sails into as he circumnavigates the globe next year. In this episode: Why "working harder now to buy freedom later" is a trapThe solicitor's letter that ended one way of working and started anotherTurning delivery into advisory: same brand, a fraction of the timeThe three-part time audit: time cost, revenue, and enjoymentWhy the round numbers on social media (10k months) are a distractionStress about essentials, not handbags: separating needs from nice-to-havesSOPs and AI assistants for a business of oneThe weekly conversion-rate habit that replaces guessworkChoosing your platforms instead of being everywhereMaking change happen instead of waiting for it You're invited to join The Founder Reset. We start on 7th September for 5 days. Join here: ⁠⁠⁠www.nataliepotts.co.uk/bootcamp⁠⁠⁠ Follow Natalie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  2. Aug 27

    The last four months | Ep 132

    Most people quietly write off the rest of the year from about September. Head down, coast to Christmas, pick it all up again in January. This episode is about not doing that. Four months is a third of the year. That's enough time to change an enormous amount, if you actually decide to. So instead of drifting to the finish line, Natalie walks you through deciding what these last four months are for, using a visualisation exercise you can do right alongside the episode. It starts, as these things sometimes do, with a book the law of attraction. It ends somewhere more grounded than "woo" suggests: the bit of brain science that explains why writing your dreams down actually works. Grab a pen, a journal, and a favourite drink before you press play. In this episode: The September coast, and why most people stop setting anything new right when they've still got a third of the year leftWhere it all started for Natalie and her different approach to goal settingGetting lost after university, and the moment she realised no one sets your intentions for youThe December 31st exercise: imagining the end of the year as already done, and working backwards from the joyHow big to dream, and why your purpose isn't something you go out and findThe woo and the science: visualisation, orbiting dreams, and the reason you buy a red car and suddenly see red cars everywhereWhy dreams need action, and how to keep driving through the traffic jamsThe identity question: who do you need to be to create the last four months you actually want?Quiet reminder: coasting is a decision too. It's just one you make by not making it.You're invited to join The Founder Reset. We start on 7th September for 5 days. Join here: www.nataliepotts.co.uk/bootcamp Follow Natalie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  3. Aug 20

    Build Mode: The Slow, Uncomfortable Work Behind a Business Done Properly | Ep 131

    I quit corporate after failing a Directors' sign-off. It's the best thing I ever did, and this episode is why. I'm deep in building Business Built Properly right now, but this isn't a pitch. It's about the bigger thing the build is forcing: letting go of the identity that got me up the ladder, because it's not the one that builds this business. In this one I get into: Why the corporate version of me (all control, certainty, performing the role) is a liability nowLearning to trust my intuition as a muscle, not a mood, and what "surrender" actually means when you're building somethingThe new rooms and new people I've leaned into on gut instinct alone, and why that's data not naivetyMy hard no: I won't work with people who won't put the work in, who won't let themselves win, who stay victims of a life they could change. That's not success to meThe groundwork behind all of it, because it's easy to say "trust yourself" and harder to do the repsWhy saying no to the wrong thing is what makes room for the right one It's hard. It's still scary. I'm in it, not past it. But I feel called to lead the way. If you're a founder near or past £100k and you want to build a business properly, on your terms, Business Built Properly is where we do exactly this. The waitlist is open now: first access and 20% off, and that rate's gone on 18 September. Join the waitlist: ⁠⁠⁠https://nataliepotts.co.uk/waitlist-join⁠⁠⁠ Follow Natalie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  4. Aug 13

    A Transformative Guide To Designing Your Dream Life | Ep 130

    You've been busy. Building hard. And somewhere in the middle of it, quietly wondering whether you're actually winning the right game. This episode is for you. I'm sharing ten of the ideas that have shaped how I think about building a business and a life at the same time, without one costing you the other. This isn't theory. It's about the trap most founders fall straight into, why the number you're chasing might be the wrong one, and how tiny actions, not dramatic ones, are what actually move your life forward. If you've ever felt like the business is running you instead of the other way round, start here. You're not building a business to become the bottleneck in your own life. You're building it so the business serves the life, not the other way round. Your wealthy life will involve money. In the end it will be defined by everything else. Pick the single pillar running on empty right now: you, the business, your finances, your relationships. Do one small thing for it today. Not properly. Just above zero. That's how it starts, every time. Build What Matters is where established founders learn to grow faster, make more money, and stop being the bottleneck. Hosted by Natalie Potts, Fractional CEO and Strategic Business Partner. Follow the show so you never miss an episode, and share this one with a founder who needs to hear it. Join the waitlist: ⁠⁠https://nataliepotts.co.uk/waitlist-join⁠⁠ Follow Natalie: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  5. Aug 6

    You Don't Fix Fear With Courage. You Fix It With a Calendar | Ep 129

    Fear doesn't hold founders back as a feeling. It holds them back as reactive operational choices that look like being busy. The fix isn't courage. It's structure. In this episode:Why fear disguises itself as your to-do list and keeps you the bottleneck. Why courage doesn't scale. How a monthly CEO day and five deliberate pillars make the call before fear gets a vote. And two tools to take back your own authority. Fear almost never shows up as fear. It shows up as your to-do list.Courage doesn't scale. Structure does.Structure is what courage looks like when you don't want to depend on courage.You don't build what matters by being fearless. You build it so you don't have to be.Relying on courage means your business is only as good as your worst day. Join the waitlist: ⁠https://nataliepotts.co.uk/waitlist-join⁠ Follow Natalie:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  6. Jul 30

    How To Run A Monthly CEO Day | Ep 128

    Three years ago I put a circle around one day in my calendar and made a rule. No client calls. No exceptions. I call it my CEO day, and it is the single most valuable thing I do for my business. In this episode I walk you through exactly how I run it. The setup, the five areas I go through every single month, and how you can run your first one this month even if your diary is heaving. If you are brilliant at the work but stuck being the bottleneck in your own business, this is the one habit that gets you out of the passenger seat and into the driver's seat. What you'll learn: Why being busy is not the same as running a business, and how to tell the differenceHow to actually block a CEO day and protect itThe five builds I work through every month: build you, build the business, build finances, build with AI, build relationshipsThe honest questions to ask in each oneHow to run your first CEO day this month with nothing more than a notebookLines worth remembering: Being busy is not the same as running a business.You cannot ask the big questions at a hundred miles an hour. You have to stop the car.Knowing your money is not admin. It is power.You are building what matters. By design, not default. Join the waitlist: https://nataliepotts.co.uk/waitlist-join Follow Natalie:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  7. Jul 23

    What Changed in My Business After Becoming VAT Registered: The Numbers, Pricing Decisions and What I Wish I'd Known | Ep 127

    Becoming VAT registered isn't just a tax milestone. It changes how you price, how you read your numbers, and how you make decisions as a founder. In this episode, Natalie shares what actually shifted when she registered, what caught her off guard, and what she wishes she'd understood before she got there. This isn't tax advice. It's the commercial thinking behind one of the moments most growing businesses hit and few talk about honestly. What we cover: Why growth, not a wrong turn, is what brings decisions like VAT, payroll and hiring to your door.The moment revenue stopped feeling like revenue, and why Natalie became far more interested in profit, cash flow and margins than turnover.Why pricing is a leadership decision, not an accounting one, and the real question to ask instead of "will people pay another twenty per cent?"How registering brought unexpected clarity on the ideal client: founders who see their business as an investment, not those chasing the cheapest option.Why every expense started earning its place, and how that shift is how CEOs think.The five questions Natalie wishes she'd asked sooner, from ideal client to margins to the business she's building over the next five years.The bigger lesson underneath it all: at some point instinct isn't enough. You need to understand your numbers, your model and who you're building for so you can make confident decisions instead of emotional ones.A note: this episode is about commercial lessons, not tax advice. Speak to your accountant about your own circumstances. If this made you think differently about pricing, growth or your next stage, Natalie would love to hear from you. Keep building what matters. Follow Natalie:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

  8. Jul 17

    Q&A: Leadership, Growth & The Decisions That Build Better Businesses | Ep 126

    In this Q&A episode, I answer the questions founders have been asking me about growing a business, leading with confidence, and making better decisions. From the biggest mistakes I made after hitting six figures to what I'd do if I had to start from scratch, this is a practical conversation packed with lessons from both corporate leadership and building my own business. When working harder helps and when it doesn'tThe biggest mistake founders make after reaching six figuresWhat I'd do differently if I started my business todayWhy clarity beats logos, websites and shiny toolsThe habits and traits of great CEOsHow to spot when you've become the bottleneckThe toughest business decision I've ever madeWhat corporate taught me that entrepreneurs often overlookWhy businesses plateau (and how to avoid it)The best investments I've made in myself and my businessA quick-fire round on books, AI, productivity and business beliefsWhether you're building your first six figures or leading an established business, you'll leave with practical ideas you can apply immediately. Have a question you'd like answered in a future episode? I'd love to hear it. Send me a DM on LinkedIn or Instagram, or reply to my newsletter, and your question could be featured in a future Q&A episode. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another founder who'd benefit from it. Follow Natalie:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    Q&A: Leadership, Growth & The Decisions That Build Better Businesses | Ep 126
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About

Build What Matters with Natalie Potts is designed for mission led founders who want to redefine what success means to them in life and business. The goal of this podcast is simple. I want to give you the strategies, skills and thinking tools to create the life you want and success on your terms.

Information

  • Creator
    Natalie Potts
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    325
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Natalie Potts
  • Show Website
    Build What Matters