So why does Alan call me the unleasher?

Well, accidentally, I ended up calling myself – with my business mentor hat on – Nicola Unleashed. Alsn said it’s because I’d focused for years on making an impact within Celebrate Difference and was finally ready to unleash myself on the business community again.

But also, that what I do is help business owners unleash themselves!

I started working with Alan when he was running three businesses from his house. He and partner Nic had no living room as a result and had to eat in their bedroom.

Through bootcamp, and many unplanned ‘unleashing’ sessions, we got the businesses into premises, helped Alan take on his first employee (or at least first one who wasn’t a family member) and the whole ASDNE team have been very good friends of Celebrate Difference ever since.

I’m not comfortable saying I facilitated any of this… so here’s an excerpt from the Celebrate Difference Impact Report, written by Alan, about ‘what leads to what’ and specifically about impact on ASDNE.

What led to the growth of AS Design, the coming together of this team, the doubling of turnover, the self-belief that keeps us going? It started long before Access to Work. Before Kickstart. Before Josh joined, before Nathan became permanent, before Nic became my support worker.

It started when I did some funded training with Nicola. That led me to join her business bootcamp. I watched her become a lifeline for people — business owners who felt like they were falling apart behind the scenes but kept showing up because she did. She was more than a coach. She was an anchor.

And then I saw something else. That she needed support too. I became part of that support. We collaborated. We strategised.

She’s been my client, my employer, my co-conspirator, and above all, my friend. Somehow — through all of it — we stayed in each other’s corners.

Through burnout and breakthroughs. Through growth and grief. Through the creation of Celebrate Difference and the evolution of AS Design.

And maybe that’s the real story here: That when people support each other — really support each other — growth isn’t just possible. It’s inevitable. This is what leads to what. And this is why it matters.