Episode 328: Alice Bullard

<p>Today&#39;s returning guest is back three years after her first appearance on episode 72, and a lot has changed since then. </p><p>She’s gone from MD to CEO of Nested, become a mum to baby Archer, and watched the self-employed model take off across the UK.</p><p>We get into Nested’s journey from bridging loans to a fully self-employed model, why February 2023 (post mini-budget, rates spiking) was actually a good time to launch outside London, and why there’s never a perfect time to start. </p><p>She is refreshingly honest about who self-employment isn’t for, why Nested turns agents away every single week, and the red flag she hears when someone’s first question is “how are you going to get me leads?”</p><p>We also cover:</p><ul><li>Burning the boats, and why “I’ll give it six months” doesn’t work</li><li>How Nested’s territory system stops agents piggybacking off each other’s success</li><li>Faces on boards: why she changed her mind, and why around 80-85% of Nested agents now use them</li><li>Collaboration between self-employed agents, even across different brands</li><li>Why traditional high street agencies need to buckle up as top talent leaves</li><li>AI: friend or foe? Lazy AI-written emails, losing your own tone of voice, and how I use Wispr Flow to keep mine</li><li>Going back to work as a CEO after maternity leave, letting go, and surrounding yourself with cheerleaders</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Plus some impossible decisions to finish, including whether she would rather be well paid in a job she hates or badly paid in a job she loves.</p><p>Make sure to check this episode out and hear from one of the most senior people steering the ship at one of the biggest self-employed brands in the UK. </p>