Julie Bricknall, founder of Stoke-on-Trent-based wellbeing and personal training and coaching business Inspired Mindset, tells Daily Focus about how her decision to travel the world, and the breadth of experiences she gained, motivated her to set up her own company.
In 2013 something changed for Julie Bricknall. Up until then she was living the corporate lifestyle in management positions at Boots head office and stores across the UK.
She knew something was missing for her – having harboured a desire to run her own business since a child. And, more recently, she had felt the overriding desire to see more of our world and how people live in other cultures.
Julie said: “I needed to get off the treadmill and I felt that a year staying in different places off the tourist trail would be the perfect escape.
“There was a turning point where I decided to leave the routine and security of daily life. I was too old for it to be a ‘gap year’, and too young for a mid-life crisis, but maybe it was somewhere in between.
“I couldn’t have imagined the breadth of experiences, stories and emotions I would gain from my travels. It all started with getting stranded in Dubai on day one and then being invited to celebrate Eid with a local family.”
Along the way the adventures continued. She got caught up in Nairobi at the time of the 2013 Westgate Mall terrorist attack, lived with the Masai people, spent weeks in the Kibera slums, and was in the Philippines just after the terrible super-typhoon of 2014.
She added: “What saddened me was meeting people along the way who had ambition and determination for betterment but were limited or stopped by a lack of resources and opportunities.
“On coming back to the UK where there is opportunity, resources and education It was evident that many of us are still limited – held back by ourselves, our confidence and our beliefs.
“Although, it was staying amongst the aftermath and destruction of the super-typhoon on the island of Leyte, in the Philippines, where I truly learned about resilience, mindset and humanity.”
Julie went back to work at Boots, but soon changed her career and qualified to coach, train and develop others.
She formulated a business idea to help people free themselves from that which was holding them back, and actually started her own business during the pandemic, at a time where companies of all shapes and sizes were plunged into uncharted waters.
“Julie said: I decided to set up my business, calling it Inspired Mindset because I believe we all deserve to feel inspired and to live our fullest lives. We help people smash their ‘mental prisons’ through inspiring people’s best possible mindsets to help them achieve success.
“I had support from Staffordshire University’s Be Inspired programme which helped me with all the essentials of starting a new business.
“I was fortunate enough to be matched with a business mentor, Aly Davidson, who works as a start-up advisor at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce. Aly has been a revelation. She has been there and done it, running businesses of her own as well as spending years in a business support role.
She has introduced me to the wealth of support available at the Chamber of Commerce. I became a Chamber member in 2022 and I really value knowing I am part of a business community that can help me grow and develop my business in the way that is right for me.
Aly Davidson added: “It’s been fantastic working with Julie. Not only does she have a great business model, but she also has a calling to help people realise their full potential – it is a real mission for her.
“I’ve no doubt she will prosper as she is driven by this desire to help people.”
