Lea 🌈 Turner

If Carlsberg made LinkedIn Trainers | 1-1 & Company Training | Join 470+ solopreneurs & small business owners in my membership community, The HoLT (ask me how)

You've tried communities before but they never live up to the hype, do they? The founder only shows up for calls, the chat is dead or clique-y, they're either women only, or full of d*ck swinging sales bros pitch slapping you into oblivion, and you only get the *good stuff* if you pay for the upsells...and you're left feeling...deflated, womp womp. 

*clears throat, stretches out arms, JAZZ HANDS* until... The HoLT!

We have none of that malarkey. 

No upsells, no tiered memberships, and categorically, absolutely, without question... no knobs. 

"But LEA, what is The HoLT?" I hear you cry. It's an inclusive, vibrant, fun, affordable community of over 500 small business owners, freelancers, side hustlers and employees, coming together for weekly masterclasses from ACTUAL experts, teaching every business skill you could possibly need to improve how YOU do business, from copywriting to confidence building, AI to automation, PR to passive income. 

And unlike other communities, we record every masterclass, add it to the library, and no matter when you join, you get access to ALL of them (currently over 150!)

But there's so much more; weekly community calls for informal networking, content support, tech clinics to tackle your IT nightmares, in-person co-working days, online co-working, wellbeing sessions, LinkedIn clinics... I could go on but I'd ruin your surprise and delight when you join. 

And unlike most founders, I am in The HoLT every single day (in sickness and in health, til death do us part) because I genuinely care about the members, love connecting people, nurturing them and supporting them. 

I was sick of being a lonely solopreneur. I had no one to share my wins & failures with, who'd understand, not judge me, to ask for reliable advice when I needed it without making me feel stupid, to learn with, grow with, and make it fun along the way. So, I created a safe space for others who felt the same. It has grown and evolved over the past 3 years, to become a magical space full of the sorts of people you WANT on your side in business, cheering you on and encouraging you when sh*t gets tough. 

Join the waiting list at The-HoLT.com and be first to find out when our doors re-open.

PS. If communities aren't your *thing* we have The Vault. Access 200+ masterclass recordings with new ones added weekly, for just £20/month, no contract or commitment.

Director

Providing bespoke 1:1 and group LinkedIn training, digital courses and in-person workshops for businesses. 

Sometimes I wonder why people HATE LinkedIn so much. 

Then I see a man has created and posted his own "Top 25 Keynote Speakers" list and put HIMSELF at the top.

Founder, The HoLT. The community for small business owners & solopreneurs | No knobs allowed 🍆

In the past 24 hours I have been ABSOLUTELY AUDACIOUS, and sent requests for masterclasses to big names I was convinced would say no. 

But they didn't.

Which means I've now secured sessions inside The HoLT from:

Jo Bird, ex-Gymshark personal branding queen with over 100k followers on socials and one of the loveliest humans in business. 

Bob Burg, the nicest man in sales, Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker on Genuine Influence®, Relationship Building, and Referrals and notorious animal lover. 

Sam Browne, conversion copywriter and best selling course creator with over 100k LinkedIn followers. 

CHRIS DO (!!! squeal!!!) personal branding and design LEGEND with MILLIONS of followers across every platform. 

Radiana Mativa, creator of Happiness Programs for Google, Hugo Boss, Adidas and Ikea. 

BE FKN AUDACIOUS. 

Look what can happen! 

This is gonna be a fkn GREAT summer inside The HoLT!

Doors open again in 2 weeks. Hop on the list at https://the-holt.com/

Nothing highlights my introversion more than the aftermath of events. 

This was me at 6pm yesterday, after 2 days of socialising. 

I love being around people. 
I love the conversations. 
I loved seeing people fall over themselves to snuggle my friendly dog. 
I loved hearing how my talk affected people. 
I loved chatting to the speakers in the green room, having my hair and makeup done, browsing the stalls, speaking to sponsors, and absorbing the energy in the room. 

But, it takes every bit of social battery I have to manage it. 

And even more when I am absolutely terrified of being on stage. 

I felt like I spent the whole two days disassociated from reality, unable to be my fun, energetic self with my fellow HoLTies, because I was subconsciously screaming and fighting the urge to run away. 

You'd think after 6+ years of building a following, being at events, being visible online, and countless podcasts, panel talks, and fireside chats, that I would be comfortable with the attention of a crowd. 

But I'm not. 

It won't stop me. 
I will keep pushing myself. 
Because the comfort zone is where ambition dies. 

Just give me a few days to recover, and I might be ready to say yes to the next big stage. 

As long as my dog is invited, too. 

I'm sharing this to remind you (and myself) that being terrified is okay. Wanting to run away from new experiences is normal. 

But when we do them anyway...
When we refuse to surrender to fear...
We grow. 
We make impact. 
We change ours and other peoples' lives. 

And we realise that the cold sweats and trembling hands
Were absolutely worth it.

I’ve been celebrating International Women’s Day by:

Having a lie in with a coffee, because my 10 year old son knows I like one in bed on a Sunday. 

Getting my son to help hoover the car, pick up after the dog, sort the laundry, clear up after brunch, and feed the menagerie of animals. 

Because the best way I know to make the world a better place for the women who come after us, is to raise kind men who willingly share the load. 

To all the women out there carrying more than their fair share, you’re heroes, and I hope you’ll find at least a few moments of peace today 🩷

No alternative text description for this image

Last week I had a meeting. 

It had been rescheduled already. 

The meeting was fine. Next steps were agreed. 

The next day I receive an email from someone else on the team. 

Can we have another meeting to discuss the meeting. 

No we fkn can’t. 

Do corporates really have so many superfluous staff with time to fill that they want meetings about meetings?

Well, I don’t. 

Whatever you need can be discussed by email without needing to clog up my calendar with your ‘clarity’ meetings. 

Just one of many, many reasons I’m grateful I never worked in corporate. 

If I wanted to spend my life jumping through hoops, I’d have joined the fkn circus.

Thank you to the beautiful room of people at The Big Festoon who came to watch me speak today. 

And especially to our HoLT members for being so supportive and encouraging. 

I’m glad it’s over and I can breathe again. 

But I’m glad I did it despite trembling with nerves. 

Soz about the tears x

In every area of my business I’ve always been happy to go my own way, and not try to be like everyone else…except one. 

When speaking on stage alone, I felt like I needed to be polished, structured, slick and practiced. 

I needed to waltz up and down the stage, bringing high energy, humour, and put on a good show. 

Which is why I shied away from it for years. I’d created a massive block in my head because I CAN’T be like that on stage.  That’s not who I am. 

But after a LOT of chats with a LOT of experienced speakers, they reminded me that I don’t have to do it like everyone else does it. 

When people want me on their stages they don’t WANT me to be like everyone else. 

They want me. Just as I am. 

Because WHAT I have to say is far more important than the theatrics surrounding it. 

And so that’s exactly what I’m bringing to 1000 people in the AO Arena on Thursday at The Big Festoon. 

It’ll be me and my dog. On a sofa on the stage. Having an intimate but powerful conversation with the audience. 

Nothing flashy. No gimmicks. 

Just a girl sharing her heart with those willing to listen. 

We all need the reminder sometimes that imitating or comparing ourselves and our abilities to others only ever holds us back. 

Our most valuable assets are the bits of who we are that are unique to us. Lean into them. They’re magic. 

Wish us luck. 

✨ 🩷

I knew he’d be popular. 
But I didn’t expect him to be THIS popular. 

He trotted on stage with a lot more confidence than I did, hopped on the sofa, and snuggled up reassuringly as I spoke to 700 people about the loneliness of being a solo parent and solo business owner. 

The goodest of good boys. 
I wish I could bring him to all events!

Would you trust your dog to behave at an event like this?

I was assalted at my son’s school yesterday. 

There’s a 12” crack across my windscreen that I can’t get repaired til Monday. 

A ‘relaxing’ Mother’s Day started with my cat delivering a giant wood pigeon to my bedroom. 

And then our family day out to the zoo was cut short by torrential rain. 

This week has NOT gone to plan. 

But nothing will dent my good mood today because I’m meeting up with HoLT members for a coworking and networking day in Manchester. 

And thankfully, the coffee will definitely be good. 

As long as the teacher doesn’t make it 😳🤮

I am sick and tired of launches. 
For the past few years, I've launched every single month. 
And every single month we would sell out. 
But it became a hamster wheel... emails... posts...doors open... 6 mins ...  doors shut. 
People who couldn't get to their laptops disappointed because they missed the window to join. 
Stressing people out trying to type in credit card details before all the spaces were taken. 
It was exciting. 
And great for my ego to sell out in a time Taylor Swift would be proud of (although a lot less tickets!)

So, the doors to my HoLT community will be open from this afternoon until I decide to shut them. 

No countdowns. 
No rushing. 
No six minute scrambles. 

You still need to be on the waiting list to get the joining link. 
You won't be able to sign up directly from the website. 
But we're taking the pressure off (you and us). 

So, if The HoLT has been on your wish list...
If you're a business owner sick of doing it all alone...
If you want 540+ new business friends who readily share advice and support...
And you want access to 2 x LinkedIn Masterminds, our upcoming Sales Mastermind, and 200+ trainings on every area of business
Plus, in-person meet ups, weekly networking calls, monthly speed networking, wellness circles. book clubs and much, much more...
Get on the waiting list today, and you'll have the link to join us this afternoon. 

Go to https://the-holt.com/ to join the list and we'll see you in there soon!

You know those people in your life where, when you're with them, you are having way too much fun to remember to take photos?

Well, that's what it's like when I'm with Alex Coward 

Which explains this weird two-headed monster that AI created of us. Anyway...

I have had Alex on speed dial for a while now after meeting her inside The HoLT, and spending way too much time bending her ear about life and business. 

She's the kind of no BS mentor EVERY business owner can benefit from, and DOES when they work with her. 

She has helped countless members inside The HoLT to make sharper decisions, build cleaner strategies, and create momentum that doesn't rely on them pushing harder. 

There's no fluff or filler with Alex. She gets right to the core of your problems, and challenges you with tough questions that when answered, create a clear path forward. 

And she has done this for me on countless occasions over the past year. 

She is one of many, many members I've grown to rely on. 
And she knows she can rely on me, too. 
Because we're more than each other's clients at this point. 
We've grown to become genuine friends. 

So, I apologise for the horrifying photo, but I had to tell you how wonderful she is.
If you're stuck in your business, Alex is a force you need on your side.

And she only has half the heads in person.

We had 𝗦𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗖𝗛 𝗙𝗨𝗡 on Tuesday evening that we're doing it again!

The amazing Adam Jones, founder of Cinderella Events, hosted an online Murder Mystery for 65 of our HoLT members.

We arrived without knowing what to expect. 
But when we started pouring over the evidence with our teams, we were all immersed in catching the killer.

Members in the community have been raving about how much fun it was. 
That they weren't sure if it would be their kind of event, but they loved it. 

The level of detail was incredible, with actors playing suspects, warrants to submit for access, cyphers to solve to gain more evidence, we interrogated suspects in full costumes with realistic backdrops. 

I've never known anything like it! 

And we enjoyed it so much, members have demanded we do it again. 

But this time... we're having a custom one just for us, at the sad expense of Backdoor Barry 😲

The only way to get involved is to join the community. 

Or, if you're a lover of murder mysteries, get in touch with Adam to host your own - online, or in-person, for corporate events, murder mystery weekends... he does it all, and he can build them entirely customised for your business, brand, or wild idea. 

Wanna find out who killed Barry?

You'll have to join us inside The HoLT, while he's still alive to let you in....

Doors open again very soon www.the-HoLT.com

I'm getting very behind at this.

Trying to keep up with all the new member posts has become impossible over the past few months. 

We've been welcoming new members on an almost daily basis. 

From debt collectors to business mentors. 
Murder mystery creators to marketers. 
Coaches, ops managers, OBMs, personal trainers, industrial cleaners - the variety is endless. 

But the things we all have in common?
We want to grow - personally and professionally.
And we don't want to do it alone.

A huge welcome to DOZENS of our new members. I'll try to tag you all in the comments but please don't hate me if I miss one, it's Sunday and my brain is fried!

(PS. Doors to The HoLT open next week - will I be putting your face in a tiny box on Canva soon? https://the-holt.com/ )

We have just booked our next mastermind and it's all about SALES.

27th April Week 1 - Mindset with the INCREDIBLE Desislava Dobreva. If you are looking to be LIT up with fire and motivation Desi is the absolute BEST in her field. She'll be setting our minds in the right frame before we move on to...

5th May Week 2 - Positioning with ﻿Hannah Walker﻿, who lists clients like Sehrhant (from Selling Manhattan) amongst her clients. She's gonna make sure we've got everything in place so we're ready for...

11th May Week 3 - Sales calls and objection handling with master of sales ﻿Ivy Malik ﻿who will provide all the tools we need, so we are ready for...

18th May Week 3 - Closing the deal with @Richard Moore, who will help us push those clients over the line and money into our bank accounts!

And as always, recordings will be available to anyone who can't make it live.

This is gonna be an UNREAL mastermind with four absolute POWERHOUSES. 

If you're not on the list to join The HoLT yet, we're opening doors again soon so hurry along to https://the-holt.com/ and sign up, and join us for THOUSANDS OF POUNDS WORTH of sales training for just £65 a month (cancel any time).

Niall Cleaver

Documenting the journey of crafting a timeless coffee cup brand | CEO & Founder of Cupsly

My story isn’t about a polished entrepreneur. My journey hasn’t been traditional. I left school without an English qualification, uncertain of what the future held. 

That failure shaped me, it forced me to think differently, fall into business, and ultimately embrace creativity, resilience, and the belief that change is possible, even when doubted. Fast forward to today, I’m growing and scaling businesses while sharing the real lessons that come from it.

Founder

Are you struggling to grow an engaging community for your business or personal brand.

Stop right there, I think I have you covered ⬇️

This is me (Niall), I'm a 22-year-old who is fascinated by growing communities in the online space. Actual communities that have meaning and purpose. 

The services we provide at Social Library 

➡️ Personal Branding (LinkedIn)

➡️ Guidance & support consulting


Drop me a message to discuss your social media strategy, review how well your current socials/posts are doing, and research how we can build your community and gain you more followers and leads.

or you can email us @

hello@sociallibrary.co.uk

Execution will humble you in more ways than advice ever could.

And this, by far, has been my best realisation.

It's actually scary how much advice is in the world we live in. And normally, it's not the correct advice. The truth is, advice that will improve your business is hard to come by because everyone is sharing an opinion online.  

But there's one thing that beats any advice:

Saying you'll do something and actually doing it.

In my teens, I told myseIf was going to go all in on business, and that meant learning many things I once never knew. How? Real experience.

Less talking, more doing.

I didn't have a background in marketing, I learned.
I didn't have a background in brand, I learned.
I didn't have a background in R&D, I learned.

And here's what I found out...

When you start facing real situations, real problems, and real outcomes, you quickly see who’s telling the truth and who isn’t.

You learn who to trust.

Advice has its place. But execution is what changes things.

Growing @thistlescientific and sharing the lessons while I do

What if I told you... I don't post every day to grow my brand.

I hear the same advice here all the time:

"Post more"

And it makes you feel like it's the only way to grow your personal brand as a founder or someone working to grow or scale a business.

But I've learned something different. Build your business first because that ultimately gives you the content ideas that actually make your brand.

The struggles
The achievements
The new hires you made

That's the content that's actually engaging.

Stop posting every day with the hope that a piece of content will hit. Just document the situations you've been through, and you'll be surprised how many people find this style of content engaging.

That's what makes it worth the read.

Build first, then document.

I’ve just landed back from a week in the mountains.

And it reminded me how easy it is to forget what really matters.

I know I talk a lot about business because it's something I'm passionate about, but let's be real, it will never be as important as family. 

Scaling a business takes a lot out of you, early mornings, late nights, and missing certain celebrations. It's honestly brutal sometimes. 

Because it never stops!!!

You always have something that needs implementing, changing or improving, but what I've realised is that time away with your family allows you the space to think, enjoy and realign. Never take this for granted.

Honestly, had the best couple of days... now super exctied to get back and execute on the plan we've set out over the past couple of months.

We did it!!! Thistle is rebrand ready...

Over the past few months, we've completed a full rebrand at Thistle Scientific, one that has pushed, tested, and shaped the new direction we're heading in. These will be the months I'll remember forever, but...

I want to talk about what goes into a rebrand:

The late nights thinking decisions through.
The transition phase throughout the organisation.
The alignment through the internal team and external partners.

They all hit you! But in a good way.

Because eventually, you see all the pieces of the puzzle coming together, and you appreciate all the details and hard work that went into every part of it.

But this whole process got me thinking about one thing, "change", and how so many of us are nervous about it. This is a good feeling to have. 

It means you're pushing yourself.

Take it all in!!!

The most important skill of an entrepreneur is to do the basics first.

I used to fight this idea because it sounded too simple.

Sticking to a routine 
Doing the things you promised.
Being open-minded to the problems. 
Interacting directly with your customers.
Executing the plan you set out with your team.

It really is simple!!! 

At the start of this year, I told some of my closest friends what I was going to do. Less talking and more just focusing on what creates the moment. 

And I can already feel it. It hasn’t been anything out of this world, it's just been staying focused on what matters most in the buisness. And normally, these are the tasks you repeat.

You've got to understand that most people will dislike doing the basics over and over again, becasue it can become boring and not fun. But these are the tasks that create the difference that changes your life and business. 

It may be boring, but it works.

3 years ago, navigating a merger, improving systems, and building a stronger foundation.

Since then, Thistle Scientific has grown year on year, hired across multiple countries, and deliberately focused on scale. Why?

Equipping scientists around the world requires collaboration, obsession, and teamwork. It’s understanding what will help each researcher improve the work they’re doing.

But there’s an even bigger reason…

Scaling allows us to support even more researchers, and the better support they get, the more impact their work can have on the rest of the population.

Any researchers here... would love to chat with you.

One of the best decisions I've made as a 25-year-old growing a biotech business was to... spend time with people who have already done it.

Not people who're trying to sell you something.
Not people who shut down your ideas every five minutes.

But the people who have lived and breathed the problems you are facing.

The real operators. And what I've noticed is that they don't try to sell you online they are heavily focused on real outcomes. They have this credibility where they've been there and done it. You can just feel it!!!

So, if you're going to surround yourself with successful people:

Do your due diligence
Ask the important questions
Don't waste your time and especially theirs.

That's where real change is created.

Evean, now I've got so much to learn and it's so important to remember that the moment you think you've understood it all will be the moment you stop making progress.

We had a chance to showcase our new design in Thailand.

I pulled it... You only get one first impression.

We had an opportunity to move fast on some new design work. It would've lined up perfectly for our ASIA distributor meeting in Thailand next month, so I pushed for it. 

I thought it would be:

Great to share the new innovation.
Great to share the new Thistle identity.
Great to share our new direction with them.

But I was chasing speed over execution.

The lesson wasn't "slow down". I still believe in moving fast.
The lesson was "speed" without clarity is just expensive.

Coming straight out of a rebrand, it’s easy to chase momentum. But when you do that, you can lose the bigger picture and that costs you.

Growth never happens when you move without clarity. You only get one chance at a first impression, so we are making sure ours is worth it.

"TEST THE LIMIT"  that's what our rebrand was built on.

When we started to plan our rebrand, we didn't view ourselves as successful. We saw ourselves as a challenger brand. A brand that wanted to do things differently from others in our industry.

This was our starting point.

From the first conversations I had with our team, they were all open-minded to it and wanted to be aligned on the bigger picture, but there was something I noticed more special. 

They all wanted to be a part of it.  Contributing, debating, and just being fully curious. Through my years of learning business, I've noticed that one of the best traits in any business is the team being curious. They like to get stuck in. And here's what I've seen:

They adapt quickly to problems and solutions.
They build better products and services.
They spot opportunities others ignore.
They make better decisions.

Being curious is lethal (in a good way)

There's something special about being around an open-minded team. A team that wants to play an even bigger part in this journey. It's pretty cool.

Very proud to announce the next chapter of Thistle Scientific.

Thistle has expanded a lot over the years as a team, company and scientific partner.

Today, we’re updating our entire visual system to convey a clearer, bolder expression of who we are and the purpose we stand behind. Now the time feels right to step into our next chapter and announce the rebrand of Thistle Scientific.

One that will demonstrate the connection and deeper understanding we have for researchers and global organisations who are changing the world for good.  

Just like research, brands must evolve too. We must listen, adapt and strengthen. That's what we're here to do. Committed to the direction we're heading, and that's to equip scientists to be relentless in changing the world for good. 

One hypothesis at a time. 

Welcome to Thistle 2.0

Because science is never done. So, neither are we.

taplio

The Battle

Lea 🌈 Turner

Niall Cleaver

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreLea 🌈 Turner's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Lea 🌈 Turner

Niall Cleaver

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Lea 🌈 Turner's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreLea 🌈 Turner's LinkedIn Performance