The Money Story Project

S2 E3: Feelings, Fairness & Friendship — with Good Eggs Holly Close & Sophie Bellamy

“The fact that friendship underlines our business is what makes it feel so successful when it comes to managing our finances” This week on The Money Story Project, I’m joined by not one but two guests for the first time: Holly Close and Sophie Bellamy, the co-founders of Good Egg. Good Egg is a web design and copywriting studio — Holly leads on web design, digital strategy and tech, and Sophie leads on copy, content and SEO. They met nearly six years ago at a women’s meetup in Vietnam — eyes locked across a cocktail bar — and have been building their business together ever since, often working remotely from various corners of the world. In this episode, we talk about money inside a co-founder relationship: *  Sophie spending a decade not knowing what was in her bank account — and how Good Egg accidentally fixed that. *  Holly growing up in a freelance household, swearing she’d never go the same route, and then doing exactly that — and why it turned out to be much less scary than expected. *  The rule they put in place for hard money conversations — and the fact that they’ve never actually had to use it. * What it’s actually like to share a bank account with your good pal — six years in, and genuinely not one row. * The pricing conversation they scheduled for January: Holly arrived with facts, figures and a full presentation. Sophie realised she’d been pricing like they were running a charity. *  Why when you have another egg in your corner, putting your prices up becomes a lot less terrifying. *  How their very different life circumstances have created balance rather than friction— one mortgage in Sheffield, one in Vietnam with her boyfriend. *  Why fairness doesn’t mean 50/50 — and the spreadsheet system their accountant finds completely baffling. *  What the  Nicki Coe episode sparked for them — including conversations about long-term planning they hadn’t let themselves have yet. We also get into The Highly Emotional Business Owner — their fortnightly newsletter — and how being “feelings-led gals” has, perhaps unexpectedly, made them better at the finances too. It’s a conversation about money, yes. But really it’s about communication — and what becomes possible when you actually commit to having the conversations, even the uncomfortable ones. RESOURCES & LINKS Read the accompanying article [https://www.belowthelinefinance.co.uk/resources/feelings-fairness-friendship-with-holly-close-sophie-bellamy] Connect with Holly & Sophie / Good Egg: Holly and Sophie run Good Egg, a Squarespace web design and copywriting studio for small business owners. Check out their all-in-one Squarespace website packages (your copy, SEO and web design all done for you). Good Egg Website [https://goodegg.digital] The Highly Emotional Business Owner Newsletter [https://goodegg.digital/newsletter ] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/heygoodegg] LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/good-egg-digital-marketing] Mentioned in this episode: A recent episode of The Money Story Project with Nicki Coe [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2jkAMWnPPwPBebvHGSwgsD?si=691995a3fe6b4192] on co-founder dynamics Connect with host Harriet Formby: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietformby/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/belowthelinefinance/] | Website [https://www.belowthelinefinance.co.uk/] Learn more about The Money Story Project [http://moneystoryproject.com/] and how to share your own story. 🎧 Listen now — and if this conversation resonates, please follow the podcast and leave a review so more people can find these stories.

S2 E2: Control, Survival, Freedom with Emily Armitage

“I remember standing on London Bridge and feeling like my arm was missing. Like it was as if a part of myself was not there.” ⚠️ Content warning: This episode includes discussion of coercive control and financial abuse. Emily shares her personal experience and perspective. Support details are below. Our guest, Emily Armitage, is the CEO and founder of The Yorkshire Zen Company, Human Design business coach and strategist for six-figure female founders. Emily knows what it’s like to not have financial control. When she was younger, she was in a relationship defined by coercive control — and money was a central tool of that control. In this episode, she shares how early family dynamics around money set unconscious patterns, how financial abuse can work in subtle and shifting ways, and what it took to rebuild her sense of autonomy. We talk about: * Growing up with an undercurrent of financial stress — and how the belief that “someone else is in charge of the money” can quietly shape what we accept in relationships * How financial control can shift and adapt within a relationship — and why it’s often far more subtle than people expect * Financial fawning — when handing over money isn’t a choice but a survival strategy, because saying no feels unsafe * What freedom felt like when it finally came — and why it was overwhelming rather than liberating * The link between autism and vulnerability to coercive relationships * How entrepreneurship became a route back to financial autonomy — and why selling and visibility brought their own challenges * Human Design as a tool for understanding your relationship with money and building a business that actually fits who you are Emily also shares her perspective on what she wishes people understood about coercive control, and what we can all do to look out for the people around us. About Emily: Emily is the CEO and founder of The Yorkshire Zen Company and a human design business coach and strategist for six-figure female founders. She uses human design as a powerful business lens — helping women understand their energetic blueprint and build businesses that are sustainable and aligned. Work with Emily: THE ROOM — quarterly CEO day retreats for women who are ready to unapologetically claim £100k+ in 2026 and 2027 Connect with Emily: Instagram: @emilyarmitage [https://www.instagram.com/emilyarmitage_] LinkedIn: Emily Armitage [https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilyjanearmitage/] Website: emilyarmitage.co.uk [https://www.emilyarmitage.co.uk] If you are affected by anything in this episode: *       National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 (free, 24/7) — nationaldahelpline.org.uk [nationaldahelpline.org.uk] *       Surviving Economic Abuse: 0808 196 8845 — survivingeconomicabuse.org [survivingeconomicabuse.org] *       Women’s Aid: womensaid.org.uk [womensaid.org.uk] *       Victim Support: 08 08 16 89 111 — victimsupport.org.uk [victimsupport.org.uk] *       Galop (LGBTQ+ support): 0800 999 5428 — galop.org.uk [galop.org.uk] *       National Autistic Society: autism.org.uk [http://autism.org.uk]  *       Mums in Need: https://www.mumsinneed.com/ [https://www.mumsinneed.com/]  [https://www.mumsinneed.com/] *       Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327 — mensadviceline.org.uk [mensadviceline.org.uk] For further reading on neurodivergence/autism and coercive control: Douglas & Sedgewick, 2023, Autism; the National Federation of Women’s Institutes’ 2024 briefing on neurodiversity and violence [https://www.thewi.org.uk/campaigns/news-and-events/16-days-how-are-autistic-women-and-women-with-adhd-affected-by-violence]; and Somerset Domestic Abuse Service’s guide on neurodiversity and domestic abuse [https://somersetdomesticabuse.org.uk/am-i-being-abused/neurodiverse-people-and-domestic-abuse/]. Please note: In this episode, Emily shares her personal experience and perspective. No allegations are made against any named individual. This conversation is shared in the public interest to raise awareness of financial abuse and coercive control. Connect with host Harriet Formby: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietformby/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/belowthelinefinance/] | Website [https://www.belowthelinefinance.co.uk/] Learn more about The Money Story Project [http://moneystoryproject.com/] and how to share your own story. 🎧 Listen now — and if this conversation resonates, please follow the podcast and leave a review so more people can find these stories.

S2 E1: Safety, Survival, Self-Worth with Gemma Donnelly

"What do you want though? As opposed to what's the smartest move? What are your values? What do you care about? How do you want to live your life?" That's my guest this week, Gemma Donnelly - Wellbeing & Performance Coach for busy professionals and business owners to turn stress & anxiety into Calm Confidence & Clarity by retraining the mind & nervous system. On The Money Story Project, she brings both her professional expertise and her own money story — growing up working class, experiencing burnout, walking away from a successful consultancy career & building a business from the ground up. We talk about how our relationship with money, security and uncertainty can hold you back. In this episode, Gemma explores what happens when financial stress or perceived risk and uncertainty meets the nervous system: * Growing up in a working class family and attaching money to security — and how that held her back from taking career risks for years. * Why your net worth is not your self-worth — and how hard it is to positively negotiate a salary or charge your worth in business if you don't see your own value. * The thing nobody talks about when you leave a well-paid job to start a business — the identity shift, the uncertainty, and how the people around you might not understand. * Why some people spend money as fast as they get it — not because they're bad with money, but because having it doesn't feel familiar. * What financial stress actually does to the body — jaw tension, grinding your teeth, lower back pain, chest tightness — and why you get ill on holiday. * Why "just rest" is rubbish advice when your nervous system doesn't feel safe to stop. * How attachment styles — show up in your relationship with money, not just with people.  * The difference between making decisions from survival and making decisions from choice. We also explore why the prefrontal cortex goes offline under financial stress (meaning you literally cannot think straight), why pushing through isn't the badge of honour we've been told it is, and what it means to resource yourself through uncertainty rather than just white-knuckling it. It's a conversation about money, yes. But also about safety, bodies, and what happens when you finally feel secure enough to ask yourself what you actually want. Connect with Gemma: * Website: coachingwithgemma.co.uk [https://coachingwithgemma.co.uk/] * Instagram: @iamgemmadonnelly [https://www.instagram.com/iamgemmadonnelly/] * 1:1 Coaching - Gemma coaches within businesses and one-to-one on turning stress & anxiety into calm confidence, with spaces opening this month * Breathwork - Gemma provides Breathwork Manchester for individuals to switch off and businesses committed to wellbeing fuelled performance * New Group Programme - Gemma is currently creating a new group programme for anxiety, working with both the mind and the nervous system (coming soon) Read the accompanying article with Gemma Donnelly [https://www.getnumbersavvy.co.uk/blog/safety-survival-self-worth-with-gemma-donnelly] Connect with host Harriet Formby: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietformby/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/belowthelinefinance/] | Website [https://www.belowthelinefinance.co.uk/] Learn more about The Money Story Project [http://moneystoryproject.com/] and how to share your own story. 🎧 Listen now — and if this conversation resonates, please follow the podcast and leave a review so more people can find these stories.

S1 E10: Anxiety, Awareness, Agency - with Dennis Harhalakis

"Finance is numbers. Money is beliefs." That's how my guest this week, Dennis Harhalakis [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-harhalakis/] — Certified Money Coach (CMC)®, founder of Cambridge Money Coaching, and trainer for the Money Coaching Institute of California — frames the distinction that changed everything for him on The Money Story Project podcast. Dennis spent 30 years in financial services. Trading rooms. Wealth management. He helped set up a private bank. And yet when the regular paycheque stopped, he discovered that knowing about money and understanding your relationship with it are two completely different things. In this episode, Dennis shares his journey from inherited anxiety to hard-won awareness: * Inheriting his father's money anxiety — traced back through generations to the 1800s — and dragging it around without realising. * The profound difference between feeling financially secure and feeling emotionally safe with money. * Why working in a bank doesn't make you any better with money than anyone else — financial advisors go bankrupt, accountants go bankrupt. * How the financial system is designed to benefit the wealthy and educated — while exploiting the mistakes of everyone else. * The question he asks every client: "How was money talked about when you were growing up?" * Why "connection before solution" changes everything — for advisors, coaches, and anyone helping someone with money. * The simple past/present/future reframe that cuts through shame about spending. * Why more money won't make you feel safer — but feeling safe with what you have will. * What Dennis would say to money now — after years of gripping it so tightly there was no room for anything else. We also explore the newly released book Fixed by John Y. Campbell and Tarun Ramadorai on how the personal finance system is rigged against ordinary consumers, why people are shamed into thinking they have a spending problem when they actually have an income problem, and what it means to say "thank you, I've got this" to the anxious parts of yourself. It's a conversation about money, yes. But also about inheritance, compassion, and learning to hold things differently. Resources & Links Read the accompanying article [https://www.getnumbersavvy.co.uk/blog/anxiety-awareness-agency-with-dennis-harhalakis] Connect with Dennis: * Website: cambridgemoneycoaching.uk [https://cambridgemoneycoaching.uk/] * LinkedIn: Dennis Harhalakis [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-harhalakis/] Mentioned in this episode: * Fixed [https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Fixed-by-John-Y-Campbell-Tarun-Ramadorai/9780691263298] by John Y. Campbell and Tarun Ramadorai (newly released) Learn more about The Money Story Project [http://moneystoryproject.com/] and how to share your own story. Connect with host Harriet Formby: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietformby/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/belowthelinefinance/] | Website [https://www.belowthelinefinance.co.uk/] 🎧 Listen now — and if this conversation resonates, please follow the podcast and leave a review so more people can find these stories.   Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/episode/1wjIACnXpPQja3X9PUQvQ2?si=340a1bf9f7f04300]  Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-money-story-project/id1832992488?i=1000744300943]

S1 E9: Co-founders & Money: Patterns, Partnership, Trust - With Nicki Coe

"Nothing shines a light on your personal patterns, beliefs, and triggers like being a co-founder."  That's how Nicki Coe - co-founder coach and co-founder of branding agency LUNA + LION - describes the experience of building a business with someone else.  In this episode, Nicki shares her money story and what she's learned from navigating the co-founder dynamic firsthand. She's on a mission to change the statistic that 65% of startups fail due to co-founder fallout, and she brings both coaching expertise and lived experience to that work.  We explore:  * Growing up in a home where money was always there — and what beliefs got absorbed alongside that comfort (money requires sacrifice, hard work, giving a lot of yourself)  * How her parents' divorce in her mid-twenties shifted her relationship with money towards fear and a sense that money couldn't fully be trusted  * Leaving a stable corporate job at the beginning of a pandemic to start a coaching practice, and then co-founding LUNA + LION  * The surprise of how motivating it was to make money for someone else — and the pressure that creates when things don't go well  * Navigating the 50/50 split: how they held that model through maternity leave and personal challenges, and why they eventually moved to a more fluid approach  * The friction that comes from caring too much — and how emotional charge can make important conversations feel impossible to have  * Going looking for a co-founder coach, not finding one, and realising she needed to become that support herself  * Why founders often carry a belief that they have something to prove — and how money becomes a black and white way to measure whether you've made it  * The question underneath the financial stress: "Am I good enough for this?"  * The conversations co-founders should be having about money — both practical (how much, how to split it, how to handle risk) and personal (why do you want the money, what does it mean to you)  * Making financial conversations fun and creative — going somewhere inspiring rather than having them by the coffee machine  * Why relational contracting matters as much as legal contracting in co-founder agreements  We also discuss Nicki's new Co-Founder Agreement Package [https://www.nickicoe.com/co-founder-agreement], which combines a coaching guide for relational conversations with a customisable legal template.  Resources & Links  Connect with Nicki Coe:   * Website: nickicoe.com [https://www.nickicoe.com/]  * LinkedIn: Nicki Coe [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickicoe/]  * Co-Founder Agreement Package [https://www.nickicoe.com/co-founder-agreement]  Free Resource: 10 Essential Money Q's for Every Co-Founder Team [https://www.nickicoe.com/resources] — A clear set of questions to align on finances before they create friction, helping you uncover assumptions, build understanding, and clarify expectations at any stage of your business  Learn more about The Money Story Project [http://moneystoryproject.com/] and how to share your own story. Connect with host Harriet Formby: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrietformby/] | Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/belowthelinefinance/] | Website [https://www.belowthelinefinance.co.uk/] 🎧 Listen now — and if this conversation resonates, please follow the podcast and leave a review so more people can find these stories.