Episode Summary

Jonny Quirk has spent over a decade building communities - from grassroots club nights to global brands like Yelp, Deliveroo and WeWork, to decentralised Web3 networks.

But beneath the platforms and strategies sits a deeper concern: loneliness.

In this conversation, we explore what belonging looks like in a world shaped by AI, remote work and digital overload - and how leadership feels when you’re still becoming yourself.

This episode is for anyone who has felt surrounded… but not always seen.

Community is everywhere as a word. Belonging feels rarer.

In this episode, Jonny Quirk reflects on loneliness, automation, fatherhood, sobriety and the tension between scale and depth. It’s a conversation about what remains human when technology accelerates — and why gathering still matters.

1. Why humans aren’t wired for isolation
2. Audience vs belonging
3. The pressure to scale versus the need for depth
4. The “first 50” principle
5. AI, automation and purpose
6. Third spaces and disappearing gathering spots
7. Fatherhood and recalibrating ambition
8. Sobriety and clarity

1. Loneliness isn’t weakness — it’s wiring.
2. Scale doesn’t create belonging. Proximity does.
3. Starting with fifty people isn’t small — it’s human.
4. Technology can accelerate connection, but it can’t replace presence.
5. Leadership in the messy middle looks like care, not certainty.
6. Nothing has gone wrong for craving real community.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. communityrocket.co
2. somethingelse.network
3. notthereyetproject.co.uk

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. City Socializing
2. Yelp
3. SubKit
4. WeWork
5. Deliveroo
6. Shares

Episode description

Roxy Heapy lives between two worlds.

By day, she’s spent nearly two decades building stability in a corporate career at Fanatics. Alongside that, she’s grown a makeup business rooted in trust, care, and long-term relationships.

This conversation explores what it means to navigate two professional identities at once - the tension between security and creativity, the pressure of appearing “settled,” and the reality of still questioning your pace and choices along the way. We talk about growing up fast, using work as safety, redefining success without burning everything down, and learning to trust a life that doesn’t fit neatly into one box.

This episode is for anyone balancing more than one version of themselves - and learning to live in the middle without needing to resolve it all.

In this episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Bethany sits down with Roxy Heapy to talk about life lived between roles. From holding a long-term corporate career alongside a creative business, to navigating expectations around stability, success, and timing, Roxy shares what it’s like to build a life that doesn’t follow a single-track narrative.

This is a conversation about identity, balance, and allowing different parts of yourself to coexist - without forcing clarity before it’s ready.

1. Living between two careers without choosing just one
2. Stability as safety — and the questions that come with it
3. Identity beyond job titles and linear paths
4. The pressure of looking “sorted” while still feeling uncertain
5. Balance as something you manage, not master
6. Trusting a life that doesn’t fit into one label

1. You don’t have to collapse your life into one path for it to be valid.
2. Stability and questioning can exist at the same time.
3. A career can be both grounding and limiting - neither cancels the other out.
4. Balance isn’t a destination; it’s an ongoing negotiation.
5. Living in the middle doesn’t mean you’re undecided - it means you’re intentional.

Find Roxy

1. Roxy Makeup
2. Fanatics

Episode Description

In this episode, I sit down with Dr Katie Ford - a veterinary surgeon, speaker, and founder whose work around imposter syndrome has quietly helped thousands feel less alone.

We talk about what it’s like to build a life that looks successful on paper, while privately carrying self-doubt, perfectionism, and the fear of being found out. About the masks we wear to cope, the cost of holding it all together, and the slow, often uncomfortable work of learning how to see your own worth.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever wondered whether they truly belong in the room — or felt like confidence was something other people were given, not something they’re allowed to grow into.

Show notes

A calm, honest conversation about imposter syndrome, burnout, identity, and the quiet shift from proving yourself to trusting yourself.

Themes explored

1. Feeling like an imposter - even when you’re capable
2. The pressure of being “the clever one”
3. Perfectionism as protection
4. Burnout and emotional armour
5. Being seen by the right person
6. Learning to belong to yourself

Key Takeaways

1. Feeling like you don’t belong doesn’t mean you don’t - it often means you care deeply.
2. You don’t become worthy by achieving more - worth was already there.
3. Coping mechanisms can harden us without making us broken.
4. Self-kindness can feel unfamiliar before it feels safe.
5. Belonging doesn’t come from certainty — it comes from staying with yourself.
6. Sometimes the work isn’t becoming someone new, but remembering who you already are.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Katie Ford Vet
2. Vet Empowered
3. Katie Ford Vet Instagram
4. Books by Kristin Neff

Episode Description

Sarah Jayne Healey is a registered nutritionist, senior industry leader, and mum - but her journey didn’t begin with confidence or clarity.

In this episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Sarah shares what it’s really like stepping into responsibility before you feel ready, navigating a career that barely existed when she started, and staying evidence-led in a world full of nutrition noise.

We talk about:

1. Taking on huge responsibility in your early 20s
2. Why social media has made nutrition both powerful and dangerous
3. The reality of breastfeeding, pressure, and maternal guilt
4. Why “what can I add?” matters more than “what should I cut?”
5. How simple, non-judgemental food choices can change family life

This is a conversation about trust - in your knowledge, your body, and your timing - when you’re not there yet, but you’re showing up anyway.

Show Notes

In this episode, we cover:

1. Choosing an unconventional degree — and backing yourself
2. Rejection, NHS cuts & finding your first role
3. Stepping into “too big” jobs at 22
4. Social media, misinformation & nutrition myths
5. Sports nutrition, endurance & fuelling performance
6. Breastfeeding, birth plans & maternal pressure
7. Family food without perfection or fear
8. Feeding millions — and why small exposure matters
9. Quick-fire wisdom + Not There Yet reflection

Guest: Sarah Healey

Registered Nutritionist | Senior Industry Leader | Mum

Instagram: @sarahjnutrition

1. Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re unqualified — it means you’re growing
2. Nutrition should be evidence-led, not algorithm-led
3. “Add, don’t restrict” is the most sustainable mindset
4. Small exposure creates lifelong habits
5. You can hold expertise and vulnerability at the same time
6. Feeding people is about trust, not perfection

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. Heinz

This is a short note, a written letter shared - not a lesson, not a launch, and not an announcement.

It’s a moment to pause and name where The Not There Yet Project is heading in 2026 - and why.

When I started this project, it was never meant to be about content for content’s sake. It was about connection. About creating a space where people navigating life’s messy middle could feel less alone.

Somewhere along the way, I realised I’d built something that was helpful - but noisy. And this year, I’m choosing to come back to the original intention: community, conversation, and spaces people can actually stay in.

In this episode, I share:

1. Why connection matters
2. Why I’m not building a personal brand
3. And what it means to create a space to belong before you’ve arrived

There’s nothing you need to do after listening.

Take what you need. Stay if it resonates.

You’re welcome here.

Key Takeaways

1. Connection matters more than content. Helpful content has value - but without community, it can still feel noisy and lonely.
2. Belonging comes before becoming. You don’t need to be fixed, finished, or figured out to earn a place.
3. This isn’t a personal brand. The goal isn’t visibility or scale - it’s creating spaces people can actually stay in.
4. The messy middle is allowed. Feeling in-between doesn’t mean something has gone wrong. It means you’re human.
5. There’s nothing you need to do. No urgency. No pressure. Take what you need, when you need it.

Episode Summary

This episode is a closing note - not a highlight reel.

Bethany Wright reflects on what the past year has taught her through the stories shared on Notes from the Not There Yet and the conversations that happened quietly in between. From career pivots and identity shifts to community, confidence, mindset and redefining success, this episode isn’t about answers - it’s about better questions.

It’s an honest, unedited reflection on building something from the messy (and meaningful) middle, choosing rest over hustle, and stepping into 2026 with three guiding focuses: Curiosity, Connection and Community.

If you’re ending the year feeling proud, uncertain, hopeful, tired — or all of the above - this one’s for you.

Show notes

In this solo closing episode, Bethany reflects on the first chapter of Notes from the Not There Yet and what this year has revealed - not just about building a project, but about becoming human in the middle of it all.

This episode covers:

• Why you don’t need permission to begin
• How identity shifts are signals, not failures
• Why community is essential (not optional)
• What confidence really looks like behind the scenes
• Why success is quieter - and more personal - than we’re taught
• The power of mindset, gratitude, and self-awareness
• Closing out the year with rest, not burnout
• Setting intentions for 2026: Curiosity, Connection & Community

This episode is intentionally unpolished. It’s a pause. A breath. And a reminder that not being “there” yet doesn’t mean you’re behind — it means you’re still becoming.

Key Takeaways

You don’t need permission to start — clarity comes from action

• Identity shifts are signals for growth, not signs of failure
• Community changes the weight of everything
• Confidence is quiet, earned, and rooted in trust — not noise
• Success doesn’t have to be loud, fast or visible to be real
• Mindset matters more than milestones
• Rest is part of the work, not a reward
• Not there yet isn’t a problem - it’s a place to belong

This week on Notes from the Not There Yet, we sit down with Jamie Anne Bradbury - UK & worldwide DJ for 14 years with residencies at Manchester City and the Manchester City Women, Founder of Fit Food Media, personal trainer of eight years, and now, mum to beautiful baby Hallie.

Jamie’s story is everything we love at The Not There Yet Project: messy, meaningful, multi-layered.

She talks us through building a career from saying yes before she felt ready, turning a cold Northern studio into a full food-content operation, DJing the Champions League Final, pivoting out of the gym industry, and finding a whole new pace through motherhood.

It’s a conversation about identity, fear, courage, self-employment, sport, creativity, and starting again - even when on paper, you look like you’ve “made it.”

Because as Jamie says: “If you give it 100%, you can never regret it. And if you mess it up, you mess it up - but you’ll regret not trying.”

Show Notes

In this episode, we explore the many chapters of Jamie Anne Bradbury’s life - DJ, PT, food-content founder, partner, and mum - and how each chapter shaped her understanding of work, identity and fulfilment.

Topics covered

• Growing up in a sport-obsessed household and how it shaped her work ethic
• The early PT days: £30 in month one and saying yes to everything
• How Fit Food Media started from clients asking for recipes
• Turning a closed gym unit into a food studio
• Leaving the commercial gym after eight years - and why the scary “yes” was the right one
• How a missed gig landed her a DJ residency at Manchester City
• DJing Istanbul for the Champions League Final & Wembley with the Lionesses
• The behind-the-scenes graft of DJing stadium events
• Adapting to the fast-moving world of content creation
• Motherhood, identity, slowing down & unexpected clarity
• Feeling like the only mum in the DJ world — and finding community anyway
• What “Not There Yet” means to Jamie now

Key Takeaways

Say yes before you feel ready. Jamie’s entire career - PT, food content, DJing - grew from small yeses that built confidence and opportunity.

You don’t have to choose one identity. Sport, music, content, motherhood - everything can coexist if you give yourself permission.

Pivots aren’t failure. Leaving the gym wasn’t an ending, but an evolution that created more time, money and freedom.

Motherhood can slow you down in the best way. For Jamie, it brought presence, clarity and a new understanding of success.

Movement is medicine. As she says: “I walk into the gym fuzzy and come out fine.”

Being “not there yet” is a beginning. The studio, the DJ gigs, the nap-time work windows - it’s all part of the becoming.

Links & Mentions

• Fit Food Media Studio
• Manchester City FC & MCWFC
• @fitfoodmedia
• @djjamieanne
• Pinterest Predicts -

In this week’s episode of Notes from the Not There Yet, Beth sits down with the incredible Donna Timlin - beauty therapist, business owner and self-described “neuro-spicy” creative - to talk about the journey that shaped her long before she ever stepped into a salon.

From childhood bullying and being told she “wasn’t beautiful enough to be a beautician,” to retraining at 28 with a toddler on her hip, Donna’s story is a masterclass in rewriting the narratives that once held you back.

We explore how she rebuilt her confidence, why she believes beauty should be accessible to everyone, and how ADHD fuels her creativity, empathy and drive.

This is an honest, warm and deeply relatable conversation about resilience, motherhood, identity, and the quiet power of starting again — even when you’re not there yet.

Show Notes

In this episode, we sit with beauty business owner Donna Timlin, whose journey spans bullying, self-doubt, redundancy, single motherhood, career reinvention and the courage to follow a long-silenced passion.

In This Conversation We Explore:

• Growing up with bullying and the long shadow it cast on Donna’s confidence
• Why she abandoned her dream of beauty at 15 — and what finally brought her back
• How travel work and finding “her people” helped her rebuild her sense of self
• Becoming a mum at 26, redundancy, and the turning point that changed everything
• The moment her dad nudged her to “just go for it” and enrol in college
• Retraining at 28 with anxiety, panic attacks — and ultimately graduating with full distinctions
• Building The Beauty Boutique and leading with encouragement, not fear.
• Living and working with ADHD, and how her “neuro-spicy” mind thrives on variety
• Why beauty is for everyone, and how Donna creates accessibility in her salon
• Boundaries, balance and the art of saying no — even to 4am brow appointment texts

Links & Resources

The Beauty Boutique, Royton

Donna on Instagram: @the_beauty_boutiqueroyton

Perfect For You If…

You’re navigating a career pivot, rebuilding confidence, exploring neurodiversity, or trying to find your way back to yourself after life knocked you sideways.

Key Takeaways

• Bullying doesn’t define you - you can rewrite the story others gave you.
• It’s never too late to start again - Donna retrained at 28 with a toddler.
• Support beats fear - the best leaders build people up, not break them down.
• Neurodiversity is a strength - ADHD fuels Donna’s creativity and energy.
• Beauty belongs to everyone - every age, every size, every background.
• Boundaries matter - protect your energy, your time and your peace.
• Confidence grows when you show up as yourself, not who others expect you to be.