Choirs, Copywriting and Confidence with Caroline Buist

‘Failure is not the end of the world. Failure is just feedback – it’s just information to help you tweak your journey and what you do.’

From accidentally becoming the kid drummer in a family rock band, to navigating corporate burnout, home staging and seven years on a construction site, Caroline Buist proves that the road to creative fulfilment is rarely linear.

In this episode, Caroline joins Claire Waite Brown to discuss how she reclaimed her voice in midlife – trading corporate micromanagement for running her own virtual assistant and copywriting business, performing on stage with community choir Funky Voices and publishing her debut book, Sing Like No-One’s Listening.

We explore the power of group singing, how a major wake-up call in 2015 reminded Caroline that life is too short to stay stuck in unfulfilling jobs and why lifelong learning became her bridge from administrative support to creative storytelling.

From supporting Paul Carrack at the Royal Albert Hall to creating a ‘motivational mixtape’ memoir that inspires adults to pursue long-held dreams, Caroline shares why failure is never final – it’s simply data for your next step.

• The Accidental Kid Drummer: Growing up in a musical family, forming a family band with her siblings and cousins, and learning to play drums by ear without formal lessons.
• The 2015 Wake-Up Call and The Construction Site: Navigating corporate redundancy, burnout and an isolated home-staging startup before a life-changing realization inspired her to leave build a virtual assistant business while working on a construction site.
• Finding Harmony with Funky Voices: Stepping into a Funky Voices community choir taster session and experiencing the thrill of singing pop mashups, competing and performing at the Royal Albert Hall with zero solo pressure.
• Copywriting and Finding Other People’s Voices: How taking a copywriting course to market her own business unlocked a love for voice, storytelling and content strategy for fellow business owners.
• Sing Like No One’s Listening and Failure as Feedback: Writing a part-memoir, part-motivational mixtape book featuring chapter soundtrack songs and practical coaching journals, encouraging adults to believe that it is never too late to fulfil your dream.

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Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout