Speaking & Workshops

Clear thinking, honest stories and useful ideas people can act on.

I speak about the decisions, assumptions and human realities that shape a business. My sessions combine commercial experience, plain English and practical application, so people leave with more than a temporary burst of motivation.

Discuss your event

Joanne Whitehead speaking at the Power Up business workshop.

What it is like in the room

A point worth talking about afterwards

Each talk is built around one strong idea, rather than an hour of loosely connected business advice.

Honest stories, including my own mistakes

I draw on more than 20 years in business, including things that worked, things that failed and occasions when I did not follow my own advice.

Something useful before people leave

People leave with questions to ask, decisions to make or a practical next step they can use in their own business.

Signature Talks

Talks I can bring to your audience

These talks deal with problems that appear at every stage of business. The examples and emphasis are adapted to the people in the room, whether they are working towards their first reliable income or leading an established business.

What If You Are Solving the Wrong Problem?

More marketing will not fix the wrong offer. A new system will not fix a decision nobody has made. Working harder will not help if the work itself is the problem.

Businesses can spend a great deal of time and money treating the most visible symptom. This talk shows people how to question the first explanation, find what is really getting in the way and avoid paying for a solution they do not need.

Works well for: Founders, business owners, advisers, managers and teams facing a stubborn problem or an important decision.
People leave with: A straightforward way to separate symptoms from causes, challenge their assumptions and decide what needs attention first.

Being Busy Is Not a Business Model

A full diary can make a business look successful while profit, progress and enthusiasm quietly disappear.

This talk reveals why activity is so easy to mistake for impact, where apparently productive work can be hiding the real problem and how to identify the work that is genuinely creating value.

Works well for: Business owners, freelancers, creators, service providers and teams who are doing a great deal but cannot see enough progress from it.
People leave with: A practical filter for deciding what to continue, change, delegate or stop, and a better idea of where their time, money and attention will make the greatest difference.

A Good Plan Has to Work in Real Life

Most plans are written for an imaginary version of us who never gets tired, changes their mind or has anything unexpected happen. Then real life turns up.

Drawing on personal and commercial experience, including occasions when I knew exactly what to do and still did not do it, this talk explores how to build plans that work for the actual person responsible for delivering them.

Works well for: Business owners, founders, leadership audiences and anyone facing change, uncertainty or a plan that no longer fits.
People leave with: A practical way to test whether a plan can survive real life, recognise what is making the business unnecessarily fragile and decide what may need to change.

AI Has an Answer. But Is It Any Good?

AI can produce a confident answer in seconds. Unfortunately, confidence and competence can look remarkably similar on a screen.

Using recognisable examples, this talk explores where AI can genuinely save time, where it can produce convincing nonsense and why audience understanding, context, taste and human judgement are becoming more valuable rather than less.

Works well for: Business owners, creators, marketers, professional advisers and teams deciding how AI should fit into their work.
People leave with: A practical way to decide when to use AI, when to question it and what still needs a knowledgeable human being before anything is trusted, published or acted upon.

Previous events

What people said afterwards

Loved the practicality of the session. Delivered really clearly.
Karen Goodchild, Power Up workshop attendee

Thank you, Joanne. Your presentation style was fun!
Cheryl Lessels, Power Up workshop attendee

Building my 90-day actionable steps was brilliant and will be so useful.
Jessica Maritz, Power Up workshop attendee

Discuss your event

Jo working at a table, photographed in natural light

About Jo

Commercial experience, human judgement and an honest view of what it takes to run a business.

Joanne Whitehead has more than 20 years of experience across sales, marketing, operations, finance, process change and strategy, and more than 15 years owning, leading and advising businesses.

As the former owner and CEO of an accountancy practice, she can move between the numbers, the wider strategy and the human reality of making decisions when the business is yours. She is an experienced speaker, trainer and facilitator who explains complex subjects in clear, normal language.

More about Jo

Formats

Different rooms need different things

Keynote or conference talk
Practical business talk
Interactive workshop
Panel or fireside conversation
Guest session for a membership, accelerator or organisation
Facilitated strategy session for a leadership team
Online or in-person delivery

Talk length, level of interaction and supporting materials can be agreed around the event and audience.

Booking

Tell me about your event

The most useful starting point is a short message covering the event date, whether it is online or in person, who will be in the audience, roughly how many people you expect and what you would like them to think, feel or do differently afterwards.

If you already have a format, length and budget in mind, include those too. None of this needs to be final. If the fit looks right, I will suggest the talk and format that I think will serve the audience best and confirm the fee before you commit.

Discuss your event