Welcome back to the Executive Coach Podcast and part two of my conversation with Kemi Lawson. Today we dived into the fascinating story of her career transition. After a successful 15-year corporate career, Kemi made the bold decision to leave and pursue her passion for creativity and business.

In today’s episode, we explore the challenges she faced in the corporate world, including the systemic biases and struggles as a Black woman in the UK workplace. Kemi shares her journey of stepping away from the corporate grind, creating her own path, and starting her own business, The Cornrow.

We also discuss the mindset shifts she’s had to make in the process, the importance of confidence, and the impact of movements like Black Lives Matter on her entrepreneurial journey.

Key Takeaways:

• Push and Pull Factors of Career Transition: Kemi shares the personal and professional motivations that led her to leave her corporate job. The pull of her creativity and desire to share her heritage, coupled with the push of dissatisfaction in a corporate environment full of systemic challenges, led her to create her own path.

• Challenges Faced as a Black Woman in Corporate: Kemi opens up about the obstacles she faced as one of the few Black women in senior roles within corporate spaces. She discusses the difficulty of accessing mentorship, informal networks, and being surrounded by a lack of diversity in leadership.

• The Importance of Changing the System: Kemi shares her reflections on how institutions need to evolve to be more inclusive and supportive of diverse employees, especially for those who aren’t part of the traditional “prototype” of a white, middle-class, cisgender male.

• Creating Your Own Table: Kemi discusses the empowering shift from striving to get a seat at someone else’s table to creating her own. She highlights how entrepreneurs can break free from traditional corporate structures and build their own business that aligns with their values.

• The Role of Black Lives Matter in Entrepreneurship: Kemi explains how the Black Lives Matter movement provided a boost of confidence and support for starting her business. While the momentum has slowed, she discusses how it shaped her entrepreneurial mindset and helped her business gain visibility.

• Mindset Shifts for Entrepreneurs: Kemi reflects on the important mindset shifts required to transition from the corporate world to running your own business. These shifts include embracing uncertainty, building confidence, and understanding the value of carving out your own path.

Connect with Kemi www.thecornrow.com

Connect with Maya www.mayagudka.com

Welcome to this special episode of the Executive Coach Podcast, where we’re diving into the power of home and its impact on your creativity, well-being, and work-life balance.

In this episode, I’m joined by the talented interiors influencer Kemi Lawson, one of my favourite mum friends, to discuss how to design a space that feels like a true reflection of who you are and what matters most to you.

If you're an ambitious leader balancing work and life, your home is more than just a place to drop your bags. It’s the place where your creativity flows, your family connects, and your story unfolds. But for many of us, it’s also where the clutter, chaos, and overwhelm can take over. Kemi shares practical, achievable tips for creating a home that feels good even in the midst of family life, how to find joy in your surroundings, and how to express yourself through your living space. Whether you're redesigning or simply tidying up, Kemi’s advice is designed to help you make your home a source of energy and inspiration.

Key Takeaways:

• Home as the Beating Heart: For many successful, ambitious individuals, home isn't just about a place to relax—it’s a source of inspiration and creativity. Your home should reflect who you are, your values, and your family’s story.

• Decluttering Isn’t the Only Answer: We often think clutter is the enemy of a well-designed home, but Kemi challenges this notion, showing how clutter can sometimes serve a functional or sentimental role in our lives. We talk about the balance between organization and the chaos that comes with family life.

• Designing for Life’s Chaos: Kemi provides practical tips for designing a home that works for busy families while still feeling aesthetically pleasing. This includes everything from furniture choices to organizational systems that embrace the realities of daily life.

• Practical Tips for Transformation: Whether you're looking to overhaul your space or just make small adjustments, Kemi breaks down achievable steps to make your home reflect your ambitions, without the overwhelm.

• Fun as a Family Value: We even get into the fun stuff—like figuring out where to put the ping pong table if fun is a value for your family! Because, yes, your home should bring joy as well as order.

Connect with Kemi  www.thecornrow.com

Connect with Maya www.mayagudka.com

Link to the £33 Vision Unblocked: www.mayagudka.com/vision-unblocked

What if the best thing you could do for your business wasn’t setting more goals, but letting some of them go?

In this episode I’m walking you through three unexpected things that have actually been working for me lately—and spoiler alert: they’re not your typical “productivity hacks.” In fact, they might feel a little counterintuitive at first, but they’ve helped me reclaim a more ease-filled rhythm at work, uncover deeper clarity about my business direction, and move beyond relying on willpower alone.

We’re talking:

✨ Recognizing and respecting your natural seasons of work (yes, it’s a thing!)
✨ The power of going goal-free to create space for real breakthroughs
✨ Why relying solely on your own motivation might be the biggest bottleneck in your business—and how to change that

Plus, I’ll share how I finally stumbled across the perfect name for my company after seven years… but only once I stopped trying so hard to find it.

If you're ready to pause the hustle and lean into more intentional, sustainable ways of working, this episode will give you permission to think differently about productivity, success, and the systems you build around your business.