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29Bottles

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CORE SE

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RSG Group GmbH

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T.A. Cook & Partner Consultants GmbH

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Tirendo Holding GmbH

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I craft the creative pathways to your breakthroughs | Creative Strategy Consultant | Intuitive Business Coach | Life Coach | creating beauty since 1989

Oriane Brunel

Progress in 30 days or your money back 💸 Fluff-free fitness to help you drop fat and gain muscle 🤝

Hey, here's my journey in a nutshell...

2020 -started my dream university course 
(dropped out 10 weeks later)
2023 - restarted uni studying marketing
2023 - graduated university with a 1st class marketing degree
2023 - applied for a load of jobs I didn't want
2023 - ignored a load of advice and became a personal trainer instead
2024 - started posting about fitness on LinkedIn.
         - Grew to 30k followers, gained some clients, sold some guides 
2025 - Realised I don't love online fitness coaching. But I do love LinkedIn.

Currently - a 26 year old personal trainer just figuring out what to do. 
(While growing on LinkedIn)
(And aiming to make this my job) 
(So I can work from anywhere)

Say hi!!

Ellie Hines 🍋

Some people relentlessly ask me to drop my price.

This is what I say:

(I’m a personal trainer) 

BEFORE I think about taking a profit, I have to pay for:

- Tax (Variable)
- Gym rent (£600)
- Home rent (£100)
- The coaching app (£50)
- First aid certificates (£11)
- The actual qualifications (£166)
- Public liability insurance (£6.25)
- Transport to and from the gym (£50)

(Per month)

That’s before:

- Any food
- Holidays
- Days out
- General living

And on top of the hour of coaching, time’s taken :

- Making the tailored program
- Adjusting the program
- Checking in weekly
- Communicating

Respectfully, this isn’t a hobby.
It’s how I and so many others make a living.

So if you can’t afford it, that’s fine.
But no I can’t drop the price.

Self employed - Learning LinkedIn in public

No alternative text description for this image

I haven’t stopped talking about my dreams…

but I have done this :

Become selective with who I speak about them to.

Harsh but real truth:
Not everyone will cheer you on

- Some people wont understand it
- Some people won’t wanna see you win
- Some people don’t want you to do “better”

As easy as it is to just say “just ignore it”
I think it seeps into the sub-concious”
- It can spark doubt
- Leads to justifying
- It’s just negative tbh

I can’t really be bothered with it. 

So I:
Cut them out 
Or dull their voice 

On LinkedIn I’ve got nothing but:
- Endless and genuine support
- Strangers cheering me on
- People seeing the vision

I LOVE IT.
And that’s how I want to feel. 

Be aware of what people say, and how it effects you. 
Sometimes it’s not that obvious.

I’m a 26 year old building my dream life 
Here’s 1 thing I’ll never ever take for granted (again) 

My mental health. 

4 years ago I was diagnosed with anxiety and OCD after:

- Hitting rock bottom
- Studying on 3 hours sleep
- Causing me to fail A-LEVELS
- And get rejected from all uni’s
- Going to the doctors + therapy

12 months of consistent therapy.
A determination to get better. 

That same brain then:

- Re-sat and passed all of my A-levels
- Dealt with Dad’s cancer diagnosis
- Graduated with 1st class degree
- Got a new qualification in PT
- Became self employed
- Travelled Australia
- Ran a marathon
- Solo travelled

I’m so proud of me.

My mental health isn’t perfect. 
I’ve still got anxiety and OCD
(probs always will to a degree)
But I’ll never get that bad again. 

Here’s why:

- I ask for help
- Prioritise myself
- Manage my stress
- Protect my energy
- Talk positive to myself
- Got comfortable saying no

Remember, if you lose your health,
you lose everything else too. 

Look after it

I scroll on LinkedIn every single day. 
Here’s what the big players do, 
that you don’t do enough….

This isn’t just creators with a following,
it’s creators making £££

Ready?

📢 Repeat themselves!!! 📢
A lot. 

LinkedIn is a scrolling game. 
And people scroll fast. 

You might have spent 30 minutes writing a post but if someone even spends 30 SECONDS reading it, that’s a lottt!!

Don’t overestimate your influence.  

1 or 2 posts on a topic is nothinggg.

Try this instead:

1. Define your ideal reader
2. Choose 1-2 core messages 
3. Repeat through stories, lists, data
4. Assume people missed the last post
5. Reframe + repurpose good posts
6. Build recognisable patterns
7. Avoid constant originality

Stop trying to give a different messages.
And focus on making your message stronger.

That’s exactly how I remember, who I remember.

“My LinkedIn posts aren’t landing”
Here’s my 5 guesses why:
(P.s - not the algorithm)

P.s.s - could be 1, could be all 5

1. Scruffy structure 🤪
    - You could have the best post/story/tips in the world, if it doesn’t look inviting to read, sorry, I’ll be scrolling
1. Keep it easy on the eyes 
2. Skimmable (people are busy)

2. Lacks value for the reader ❓
    - (Common in storytelling) Your stories might be interesting to you but give something to the reader! 
1. Inspiration, insight, tips, ideas 
2. Add a clear take-away

3. Too generic 🥱
    - If posting “Stay consistent” and “just post” worked for engagement or £, everyone would be famous and rich - nay
1. Bring new perspectives/insights  
2. Say things in new ways
3. Tell YOUR story 
        
4. It doesn’t sound human 🤖
    - Over corporate, over polished, over safe. LinkedIn is a feed, not a boardroom
1. Loosen up, drop the jargon 
2. Speak how YOU speak 

5. Time 🕛
    - You can’t post for a week and say “it’s not working”
 1. Lengthen your timelines 
 2. Commit to the process
 3. Progress > perfection

So, in short:

1. Learn structure 
2. Think of the reader 
3. Say something new 
4. And sound like YOU 
5. Progress > perfection 

This advice isn’t anything mind-blowing. 

But if I (and many others) ignore or skip a post, 
it’s probably because of one of them. 

What puts you off a post?

I turned down a grad role to chase this dream
2 years on I want out. 
Here’s what I regret:

2022 - Graduated uni - everyone was telling me to get a grad role. 
I spent £2k to become a personal trainer instead. 

The reaction off like 90% of people:
“They’re a dime a dozen”
“Don’t you wanna use your degree”
“What if it doesn’t work out” 

2 years on,

I tried it.
I built it.
I want out. 

So they were right?
Nah. 

1 thing about me is that I don’t believe something has to “work out” perfectly, for it to be worth it. 

Cos here is what I have got: 

1. I became self employed!! 😌- Whatever I end up doing, I know long term I want to be self employed, and this has been the stepping stone into that!

2. I’ve got rid of the “what if” 💭- I’ll never ever wonder “what if I tried that”. I tried it, I don’t wanna keep doing it, let’s move on. So glad I got it out my system.

3. A different chapter! 📘My worst nightmare is coming out of uni, getting a job, and looking back 30 years later with 1 career experience under my belt. 1 life? Why would I wanna do 1 thing?

How actually boring would life be if everything went just as we planned? Like reading a book when you know exactly how it’s gonna go? Yawn 

So here’s YOUR reminder:

1. Something doesn’t have to work out for it to be worth it
2. Lessons, memories + experiences count for a lot!!
3. Do what YOU want, it’s your life not theirs.

“I wanna stay consistent on LinkedIn”

Then this is the biggest overlooked advice:

Find ways to enjoy it. 

Here’s how: 

1. Be YOU
2. Find your voice
3. Pre write content 
4. Chill with the metrics
5. Curate a positive feed 
6. Experiment with content 
7. Share lessons (not just wins)
8. Have genuine conversations
9. Get clear on your goals on here 
10. And make sure they’re realistic!!! 

Well that’s what I do anyway, 
And I genuinely love it on here. 

Do the opposite of that and I guarantee you’ll hate it

What would be your number 11?

When I feel overwhelmed, stressed, sad, or lost I do this 1 thing to help 👀
(P.s - works everytime)

(From a 26 year old self employed bundle of stress, anxiety and indecision)

I picture 80 year old me 

And how much she’d give anything to be in this position

With these stresses
these questions
these problems 
these pressures 
these decisions 
these worries 
these hurdles 

The things we take for granted. 
Would one day be a dream. 

For real.

In fact, there’s 1000’s of people that wish they were in your position right now.

Options are a privilege 
Time is a privilege 
Pressure is a privilege 
Perspective is so powerful.

Use it.

My hooks have had a glow UP ✨
(So, so’s my reach + engagement)
Struggling? Here’s 5 simple ideas:

Listen, I’m not saying I’m an expert. 

But I have 36k followers, great engagement, genuine connections and made ££ off LinkedIn.
So I’m doing something right.

Struggling with them? Here’s some ideas:
P.s - work for pretty much anyone.

- but make them specific to YOU.

1. Transformations ⭐️
    - Where you were vs where you are.
    E.g - “3 years ago I had 0 copywriting skills”
    “Today I write for 7 figure founders”
    
2. Contrarian hooks 🤔
    - Interrupt a common belief
    e.g - “Just post is the worst advice on LI”
    
3. Timeframes 🗓️
    - Take us back to another time
    e.g - 3 years ago, 3 months ago I was…
    
4. Struggle relates 👎
    - Find similarity with the reader
    e.g - When I started I had no idea what to post
    
5. “How I” posts 📝
    - Give us some value
    e.g - How I reach peak productivity 
    

Extra points:

- Use them for relevant topics!!
- Make make specific to YOU!!
- Follow through in the post

I’ve posted for 2 years, 
1 thing I’ve learnt:
HOOKS MATTER. 
They give your post a chance of being read. 

Feel free to drop your idea’s in the comments

In 2026 I introduced a new rule. 
It’s changed my work, progress, perspectives
(As a self employed, big dreamer)

I have to do this once a week >>

Work out of the house. 

Ideally this would be on a mountain or a beach somewhere, but we’re working on that so for now:

Most often a coffee shop 
Or a restaurant
At the library
Even the park

I have a box office at home. 
Desk, laptop, screen, all you “need”.
On a quiet street so not much to see. 

Last year I realised: 

When you’re limited to 1 environment,
life can feel small. Opportunity can feel small.

Stepping out, changes that. 
Different environments spark different ideas. 

New faces > New energy > New perspective. 
Plus it does BITS for my productivity

Our surroundings shape our mindset way more than we realise. 

£4 on a coffee doesn’t sound like a bad trade huh.

Where do you work best?

“If someone followed you for a week, would they believe you're serious about your goals?” No. 

I saw that question last year, 
and that was the answer. No. 

Context :

I’m a personal trainer,
working to leave personal training.
I wanna work and travel instead. 

An average day would look like:

Wake up @7ish > scroll > make a coffee > scroll > frantically write a LinkedIn post > post that post > breakfast > write a daily to-do list > train or run > PT clients > start a “work block” > faff around for 2 hours > do anything BUT what needs doing > tick nothing off > realise I can’t do it all so do nothing > scroll > tell myself I’ll do better tomorrow > repeat

Then woke up this year.
Got sick of wasting my potential. 
So I took control, in 2 stages: 

1. Accountability 
2. Understanding 

1️⃣ Accountability - Accepting that I am the reason I’m not getting closer to my goals. Big one, don’t think we do it enough - take responsibility, it gives power

2️⃣ Understanding - Why wasn’t I doing the things to get closer?

1. Laziness - scrolling is easier than 100 other things. 
2. Lack of direction - I could picture the end goal, but the journey to get there was a mess 
3. Wasn’t working with myself - so procrastination filled the gap

From that I : 

1. Fully accepted that I am the only thing in between me and that dream life. 

2. Got brutally clear on the next steps 
- Not “make £ or move abroad”
- But actual steps to get there 
    
3. Reduced daily expectations
- Kind of ironic but makes sense to me 
- Less goals, more action 
    
4. Made distraction harder than action 
- Made a very specific vision board 
- Found how to reach flow state:
        1. Get in a cafe
        2. Phone on greyscale 
        3. Work on 1 task a time!
    

Motivation, impressive vision boards and flashy goals mean absolutely NOTHING if you arne’t putting the effort and work in too. 

So what about you?

If someone followed you around for a week, would they believe you're serious about your goals?

I used to crave Steven Bartlett’s life. 

Today, I’d hate it. 

I thought that was the definition of success:

- Working with/for huge companies
- Calendar packed with meetings
- Endless responsibilities
- Prestigious job titles
- Loud “success”

Went to uni 
Studied hard
Starting applying 
Then realised that isn’t what I want. 
That isn’t my version of success. 

Mine looks something like:

- Having control over my working hours
- More living than just working
- Deep work>constant work
- Projects I truly care about
- Location freedom

So I started chasing that instead. 

Not what looks impressive.
But what feels impressive.

Not what sounds good enough.
But what feels fulfilling. 

I could have wasted 10 years chasing someone else’s version of success because of what school taught, family expect and society says. 

Scary. 

There is absolutely no 1 version of “success”
It can look so so different for everyone. 
But whatever version you’re chasing.
Make sure that’s YOURS. 

Go on then, what’s yours?

Most hooks are: basic, dull and generic. 
Here’s a tweak to go from ^that^
to hooks that stop the scroll: 

Go deeper. 
Get specific.
Make it personal.

Here’s how:

- Use numbers
- Add timeframes
- Play with adjectives

If the person next to you can probably use that exact same hook, it’s generic. 

Here’s 5 examples from what I’ve seen this week:

🤷🏻‍♀️Instead of “Last year I experienced burnout”
📢 “In December, I averaged 3k steps, lived off ready meals and had 0 energy”

🤷🏻‍♀️Instead of “I struggled with public speaking”
📢 “I used to spend 30 minutes trying not to back out before public talks”

🤷🏻‍♀️Instead of “I cut my screen time down”
📢 “I gained 2 hrs a day, my creativity and ambition back by doing this…”

🤷🏻‍♀️Instead of “l just had the best month of business”
📢 “I just hit 2x my monthly revenue target for February”

🤷🏻‍♀️Instead of “Here’s how to write faster”
📢 “I used to waste an hour writing 1 post. Now it averages 10 minutes. Here’s what changed:”

Here’s why it works: 

Vague = forgettable 
Specific = memorable 

1. Specifics make it more personal to YOU. 
(And it’s a personal brand so)

2. Emotions live in the detail. 
> “Burntout” is a concept”
> “3k steps and no energy” is experience.

3. Specifics build trust

> Vague statements are opinions 
> Detailed ones feel like reality

Our brains want to scroll as fast as possible.

Give them a reason not to.

This year I’ve spoke to over 70 people on LI. 
Here’s the top 10 beliefs that hold people back.
(And why they shouldn’t)

1. “It’s cringe/embarrassing”
Deal with it until you see the benefits
👉 Drop the ego, it’s freeing

2. “I don’t know what to post”
You just need to find it
👉 Look at comments, timelines, experiences

3. “I don’t have time for it”
You’re skipping the systems 
👉 30 focused minutes can get you far

4. “I don’t understand it properly”
Then you never, ever will
👉 Post, comment, learn as you go 

5. “I can never stay consistent”
Sounds like your targets are to high 
👉 Posting 5x a week, 10 comments a day is still consistency 

6. “I don’t feel successful enough”
I’m a 26 year old, learning, living with my Dad
👉 There’s genuinely a place for everyone

7. “I feel like I’ve missed the boat”
LI’s growing but less than 1% of users post often!!
👉 Nothing to lose, everything to gain 

8. “My knowledge isn’t special”
What’s obvious to you, isn’t to others
👉 Share your knowledge, perspectives, tips

9. “I don’t know how to get engagement up”
No one does before research 
👉 Keep it relevant, be unique, invite convos 

10. “I’m not looking for a job”
LinkedIn offers SOO much more!!!
👉Connections, clients, options, perspective!

Speak to aaaanyone that’s posted on LinkedIn consistently for over 6 months and engaged a a decent amount that says it wasn’t worth it and I’ll give you £100

You won’t 🙂

So what’s holding / held you back?

“I love how you take control of your life, 
where did you get that from?”
This is my Dad. He’s 72

- Is 1 of 4 siblings
- Grew up on rations
- Only has one kidney
- Just finished radiotherapy
- Raised 2 kids as a single dad
- Grew around mental health issues

He’s also:

- Owned businesses on cruise ships
- Travelled all around the world
- Self employed for 40+ years
- Moved abroad with lil me
- Still works 4 days a week
- Trains 3 times a week
- Swims twice a week
- Travels every year

He taught me this:

You get dealt cards in life. 
Sometimes they’re shit. 
And you can sit with your shit cards,
and worry, complain, give up.

Or you can play with them. 

And get out what you can. 
And a lot of the time, 
it’s more than we think. 

I’ve seen that everyday for 24 years.

In case you haven’t.

Here’s your reminder:

- YOU are the author of your own life.
- You decide what happens
- Act like it

I’ve trained 5/6 times a week for 5 years. 
Here’s the biggest life lesson I’ve gained:
(From a PT, trying to stop being a PT)

Play the long game. 

In fitness.
In business.
In a new skills. 
In becoming someone. 

🫡Play the longgg game🫡

99% of the time, 
big changes, big transformations 
do NOT happen in a day. Or a week. Or a month.

And patience is the 1 thing that stops us from getting there.

It’s not all about intensity.
But repetition.
And consistency.

For big transformations and loud progress:

- Show up when consistency doesn’t
- Do the work that looks unsexy
- Repeat the basics for time
- Trust the process

THAT’S how you get the “big transformations”

I’m a procrastinator with big goals…

Every time I’m slacking, I see this…

(Allow for some variation)

Me:

1. Waking up somewhere other than the UK 
2. A couple hours of deep work/LinkedIn 
3. Breakfast at a beach / mountain / city
4. Head off for a morning workout / run
5. Laptop out - deep productive work
6. Laptop away - do something cool
7. Eat good food, stay well hydrated 
8. Evening walk with my furry friend
9. Do something with mates 
10. Journal. Read. Sleep well

Somewhere along those lines, 
is pretty ideal,
for me. 

Freedom. 
Health. 
People.

But we get so caught up in routine, consistency, habits, autopilot that it’s easy for those dreams, visions, goals to disappear.  

I don’t want that to happen.
So I won’t. 

When I feel doubts 
When I procrastinate
When I want to play small

I remember the bigger picture.

Write it down
Visualise it often
Build towards it daily.
Keep the dream alive!! 

Life really is too short to wake up at 70 and think f*ck I should have tried it. 

P.S - Would you rather wake up on a mountain or a beach?

Everyone wants to “build a personal brand”
But here’s what over 50% of people miss…
(It’s crucial)

I’m on LinkedIn everyday. 
Spend a couple hours on here.
Reading, analysing, learning, writing. 
This is what people miss:

The flip side. 

No one hesitates to show:

- The wins
- High revenues
- The best months
- A stack of awards
- Cool pictures in the wild

And listen, I love it. 
It’s interesting, inspiring, cool.
But only when they show the flip side too:
(this is what people skip)

The:

- Things that didn’t go to plan
- True transformations A-B
- Mistakes that were made
- Reality before highlights
- Timelines of the journey

Because only then, 
can you truly appreciate all the wins. 

Context creates credibility. 
And *that* is exactly how you build
engagement, connections + trust. 

If you’re struggling for ideas:
If your brand doesn’t feel personal 
If your engagement feels stagnant 

Stop skipping chapters, 

we wanna see it all. 

P.s - Check comment for 10 ideas.

I joined LinkedIn on 8th February 2022
Here’s a snapshot of my journey..
+ what I’ve learnt. 

1. 2022 - Joined LinkedIn as a 2nd year uni student, looking for a placement year. COVID left them scarce so didn’t end up happening

2. 2023 - Returned as a third year uni student to look/apply and hopefully get a grad job. Posted about general marketing and found it so boring and forced.

3. Actually started reading the feed and found loads of self employed people building their own thing + talking about it 

4. Started to look/apply and hopefully get a grad role. Went for interviews but realised I didn’t even want the jobs 

5. Stopped looking and decided to try my own thing. Got a PT qualification, got a job in my gym, became self employed

6. 2024 - Started posting fitness content on here. Stayed consistent, found my flow, gained 30k followers and earnt high engagement 

7. Made and launched my own fitness guides. Loved it, sold many. Launched online coaching, gained clients

8. 2025 January - Set a goal to become fully online in 2025 

9. 2025 December - realised online PT coaching didn’t give me the fulfilment I wanted, but LinkedIn could. Dropped my clients, and fully stopped online coaching

10. 2026 - Ended an era that got me to 30k and pivoted towards personal branding, learning Linked properly 

And here we are :)

And here’s what I learnt :

1. Your ego is the biggest hurdle 
2. If you hate it, consistency is impossible 
3. There’s ALWAYS something to gain here
4. You have to be patient in finding your voice 
5. Community goes way further than comment
6. Nothing feels as forced as copying others
7. Comments are like mini posts  - use them 
8. Focusing on fully optimising usually fails 
9. Committing to always learning is a hack
10. No one cares as much as you do

Wbu? 

Does your LinkedIn journey look how you expected?

Imitating big creators used to be my “strategy”
Yeah. Never worked. 
But this did:

When I started LinkedIn I’d :

- Read top creators content
- Copy structures, topics, tones
- Receive pretty sad engagement

Forced, unnatural, forgettable.
I bet some of you relate.

But if it was that easy, 
literally everyone would do it,
and everyone would smash it. 

So no. Here’s 3 reasons it doesn’t work:

1 - That voice, their voice is already taken. The demand for that specific angle is supplied - you’re nor needed

2 - Big creators have earnt their name as their hook. A lot of the time people respect the content automatically

3 - Literally so hard to be consistent when it feels so forced and fake. The long game is over before it’s begun 

So I switched it up:

1. Stopped needing to get it right NOW
2. Got clear on MY goals on LinkedIn
3. Filtered advice instead of copying 
4. Wrote how I speak, not like others
5. Focused on learning>performing
6. Stopped obsessing over metrics 
7. Gave it TIMEEEE

- Grew to 36+k
- Made £ from here
- Really enjoy LinkedIn
- Built genuine connections

Big creators can inspire you.

But your growth comes from building your own lane.

Copying them is honestly a waste of time, energy and effort.

taplio

The Battle

Oriane Brunel

Ellie Hines 🍋

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taplio

The Battle

Oriane Brunel

Ellie Hines 🍋

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);}Ellie Hines 🍋's LinkedIn Performance

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