Episode 328: Alice Bullard

Today's returning guest is back three years after her first appearance on episode 72, and a lot has changed since then.

She’s gone from MD to CEO of Nested, become a mum to baby Archer, and watched the self-employed model take off across the UK.

We get into Nested’s journey from bridging loans to a fully self-employed model, why February 2023 (post mini-budget, rates spiking) was actually a good time to launch outside London, and why there’s never a perfect time to start.

She is refreshingly honest about who self-employment isn’t for, why Nested turns agents away every single week, and the red flag she hears when someone’s first question is “how are you going to get me leads?”

We also cover:

• Burning the boats, and why “I’ll give it six months” doesn’t work
• How Nested’s territory system stops agents piggybacking off each other’s success
• Faces on boards: why she changed her mind, and why around 80-85% of Nested agents now use them
• Collaboration between self-employed agents, even across different brands
• Why traditional high street agencies need to buckle up as top talent leaves
• AI: friend or foe? Lazy AI-written emails, losing your own tone of voice, and how I use Wispr Flow to keep mine
• Going back to work as a CEO after maternity leave, letting go, and surrounding yourself with cheerleaders

Plus some impossible decisions to finish, including whether she would rather be well paid in a job she hates or badly paid in a job she loves.

Make sure to check this episode out and hear from one of the most senior people steering the ship at one of the biggest self-employed brands in the UK.