BWOTW: Why you don’t need to hustle harder - and how Louise can help you get clarity instead

Featured

23 Feb

This week’s Bizwoman of the Week is Judith, Louise, an email marketing specialist based in Christchurch.

Louise shared some of her journey and goals as a woman in business in our community this month, telling us how spaces like She Owns It has supported her personal and professional growth

Introducing Louise

Hi everyone, I’m Louise

Some of you may already know me, but for those I haven’t met yet, I’m an email marketing strategist based in Christchurch, and I’ve been running my own business from home for over 16 years.

I work mostly with coaches, consultants and service providers who know they should be sending emails, but feel stuck between overthinking it and not having the time or structure to do it consistently.

Over the years I’ve seen that most people don’t need more marketing tactics or more pressure to show up everywhere. They need a clear, simple strategy that fits the way they actually work.

I believe:

You don’t need to hustle harder... you need clarity.

You don’t need to sound like anyone else... you need a structure that suits you.

And you don’t need to be everywhere... you just need an email system that helps you stay connected to the right people.

I help my clients use newsletters and email automation in a way that feels natural, consistent, and genuinely relationship-focused, so selling doesn’t feel uncomfortable or forced.

Feel free to say hi if we haven’t met yet

I'm always up for a virtual coffee if you aren't local to Christchurch.

Five things about me as a woman in biz you should know:

We talk a lot about what we do in business. But who we are matters just as much.

From my other feature posts, you'll know how important it is to make connections and build relationships, not only on a business level but also on a personal level. And this is obivously the driving force behind why I approach newsletters and email automation in the way I do.

So here are a few things about me:

1. I love the flexibility of working from a laptop.

Give me WiFi and a decent chair and I’m good. The freedom to structure my days in a way that works for me? That’s why I started my business in the first place.

2. Long black coffee + a good book = pure happiness.

I’m a total bookworm. If I’m not online, I’m probably reading. Or thinking about what I'm currently reading

3. I had a hip replacement at 39.

Yes, really. So if resilience was optional before, it’s definitely not now. Business teaches you grit… life sometimes fast-tracks it.

4. Winter is my favourite season.

Cold days. Fire blazing. Layers. Clear air. I function better when it’s crisp and calm. Summer can keep its chaos.

5. If I’m working, the music is blasting.

My taste is eclectic… but you will never catch me voluntarily listening to country or jazz. Some lines must be drawn

Bonus (and this is important):

Smooth peanut butter is superior. Crunchy is unnecessary drama.

Running a business for me has always been about building something that fits who I actually am, not who I think I’m supposed to be.

3 tough lessons I have learnt:

The longer you’re in business, the more you realise it’s less about getting everything right… and more about learning, adjusting, and recalibrating when things don’t go the way you expected.

You make the best decision you can at the time. Then you learn from it.

So narrowing this down to three wasn’t easy, but here goes.

1. Trust your gut

The times things have gone most wrong in my business were the times I ignored that quiet gut feeling early on.

I’ve had a couple of nightmare clients over the years. And if I’m honest, the warning signs were there from the beginning. There was a mismatch in values, a feeling that something wasn’t quite right… but I said yes anyway. Usually from fear. Fear of saying no. Fear of losing income. Fear of things being quiet.

It never ended well.

Now I pay attention to that instinct. Experience teaches you that peace of mind is worth far more than a “maybe” client.

2. Be flexible

I used to think business success came from structure and routine alone. And yes, they matter. But flexibility matters as much.

Plans change. Life changes. Markets change. Energy changes.

A friend said to me recently, “stay within your lights.” Focus on what you can see clearly right now, and adjust as you move forward. You don’t need the whole road mapped out, just enough visibility to take the next step.

When business feels less rigid, it feels more sustainable over time.

3. Show up as yourself

This one has been the hardest.

There was a time I refused to even put my photo online. I wanted to stay behind the brand, safe and invisible. No video, no personal presence, just the work.

But business, especially service-based business, is built on trust. And trust comes from people seeing you.

I’m still not the polished, perfectly put-together version you see everywhere online. And honestly, that’s fine. Showing up as I am, without trying to fit someone else’s idea of professional, has made business feel lighter and far more genuine.

The right people connect with that. And the wrong ones quietly move on, which is actually a good thing.

Business has a way of teaching you who you are, if you let it.

Let me share about how I can support you:

Over the past week, I’ve shared a few lessons I’ve learned in business.

Trust your gut.

Stay flexible.

Show up as yourself.

But here’s something else I’ve learned after 16+ years:

Clarity beats hustle. Every time.

And nowhere do I see women overcomplicate things more than with newsletters and nurture sequences.

You know you should be sending newsletters.

You know it matters.

But you're stuck in the “Where do I even start?” phase.

Or worse, you start… then stop… then feel bad about stopping.

So let me be really clear.

If you know you need to start newsletters, not randomly, not once every three months, but you don’t know how to build something consistent and strategic…

That’s exactly why I created my 6-week Email Nurture Program.

It’s for B2B consultants and creatives who want:

A clear structure (so you’re not reinventing the wheel every week)

A strategy that fits your personality

Support while you actually build it

And the confidence to hit send without spiralling into “Is this too much?”

I don’t write your emails for you.

I don’t give you a cookie-cutter template and send you on your way.

I help you build a system that works for you.

Because when your email marketing is working quietly in the background, building trust and starting conversations, everything else in your marketing gets easier.

If you’ve been reading along this week thinking, “Yes… I need to sort this out.”

This is your nudge.

The next cohort starts Monday.

Spots are limited because I work closely with everyone inside the program.

If you want structured support, real strategy, and accountability, secure your place before doors close:

https://indeedwecan.podia.com/the-email-nurture-program