#172 Closing the door on a London agency and building a new creative life in France with Lucy Werner
"I have found, when I've shared my fails as well as the journey to getting to my wins, the people who are there with me at the winning line, that finish line, are more involved in that story because they've come with me on the journey. And more often than not, the fails on the journey have led to more opportunities landing for me because people want to talk to me about the fails more than the the wins."
What does it really take to shut the door on a thriving city business and step into an entirely different life in rural France ? In this episode, I speak to Lucy Werner shares the honest story behind her midlife relocation from London PR agency owner to creative entrepreneur deep in rural France.
From testing the extremes of a new place (she picked the bleakest winter to see if she’d survive), making peace with a vanishing identity, facing language and cultural mishaps, and learning to create opportunities in a new place, Lucy is refreshingly upfront about the messy, emotional reality behind “living the dream.”
If you’re making a big change or you just want insight into real-life reinvention, this episode offers both inspiration and permission to embrace the adventure (and the failures).
Lucy’s Change Toolkit:
Soundtracks; “Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust (plus the French version by Magenta Club – “Avec Toi”)
Book: Book of Play by Michael Rosen
“Show a bit of ankle. You don’t have to share everything, but let people in on the real story, including the fails. People connect more with your journey than your wins, and often the messy bits unlock new opportunities.”
About Lucy
Lucy is the author of three books, co-founder of three children, and founder of HypeYourself.com, a platform helping self-employed people get seen and get paid. A PR expert with 20+ years' experience, she's worked with leading creative agencies, high-growth startups and hundreds of freelancers, and now teaches independents to earn more, work smarter and promote themselves confidently. She writes The Hype, formerly a Substack Top 50 global business newsletter, and has written for iNews, Creative Boom and Metro. Featured in The Times, Stylist, Forbes and more, she's also a Domestika instructor and Adobe Express ambassador.
Website: hypeyourself.com
Produced by winteraudio.co.uk
Love this podcast? Give us a five star review or rating on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your Podcasts, it really helps us make more great content like this episode.
