Episode 5: One Year In — Passion, Frustration & the Acceptance Edit

One year. Two brands. One very honest conversation.

Episode 5 of Complicated Conversations lands on the first anniversary of Complicated Co. — and
we're not going to dress it up. It's been a year of building something real, making mistakes we're
glad we got out of the way early, and sitting with the uncomfortable truth that people loving
what you do and people paying for what you do are two very different things.

That gap — the void between engagement and revenue — is the honest thread running through
this episode. We talk about it properly. Not in a doom-and-gloom way, but in a "right, we see it,
we're naming it, and we're going to close it" way. Because that's the whole point of this podcast.
No polished version of events. Just the actual messy middle.

The 0% Target

We set ourselves a target two weeks ago: sell 10 T-shirts. We hit that target by exactly 0%.
Not because we weren't working. We were. Websites, social media, press, systems, a printer that
took an hour and a half to connect before we realised it just needed a wire. The groundwork has
been getting laid. But groundwork doesn't pay the bills, and we're very clear-eyed about that
going into year two.

We've now sat down together, gone through every revenue area across both brands, and set
ourselves proper targets — ones that challenged us without being completely detached from
reality. Watch this space. We'll report back.

The Acceptance Edit

Launching on Thursday 2nd April — exactly one year to the day from when Complicated Co.
was born — is our first proper clothing collection: The Acceptance Edit.
Three T-shirts. Three statements. None of them gimmicks.

Parasocial — the one most people don't know the word for, but absolutely live. It's that one-
sided relationship where you know everything about someone and they haven't got a clue who
you are. We're all parasocial about something. A celebrity, a TV character, a brand. It's more
common than people think, and it's a pretty cool thing to wear on your chest when you think
about it.

Unfiltered — less filters, more honesty. Not recklessness, not saying everything that comes into
your head (we've all learned to pick our moments as we've got older), but a genuine push back
against the curated, edited, overly polished version of life we're all being sold online. More
authenticity. More real. That's the vibe.

That'll Do — and no, this is not a Shrek reference (Rachel's version, not mine). This one is
about perfectionism. About the fact that perfect doesn't exist, and even when you think you've
found it, you immediately want something different. That'll Do is about accepting your best.
Doing as much as you can and then letting it be enough. It applies to ironing, to parenting, to
business, to life.

The Acceptance Edit is about state of mind. Wear the one that fits where you're at.

Manus, AI & the Bigger Conversation

We touched on Manus again — Jodie's AI COO, which has genuinely helped with website fixes,
platform analysis, and reporting across the business. The honest take: AI has a place, it's saved
hours, and small businesses that aren't at least exploring it are going to fall behind. But it
doesn't replace your voice, your personality, or your judgment. And it definitely doesn't make a
decent cup of tea. Yet.

There's a bigger conversation coming on AI and its impact on coaching and mentoring
specifically — Jodie's been talking to someone about it and we're hoping to get them on the
podcast. Stay tuned.

Mark's Plate

We missed Mark's plate last week (a very decent bacon toastie at Westerns Nursery stepped in
as a worthy substitute). This week, Mark came back with tuna toasties. He was 15 minutes late.
The verdict: a generous three out of ten, and an unsettled afternoon for both of us. We
appreciate the effort, Mark. We really do. Just not the tuna.

Year one is done. It's been emotional, frustrating, exciting, and worth every bit of it. Year two is
about turning everything we've built into something that pays. We're ready.

Listen on Spotify 🎧 | Watch on YouTube 📺

Have a thought on what we should do next? Tell us. Answers on a postcard — or just drop us a
message here or on Instagram.