E1: Freedom to Finally Use my Voice with Caroline Buist

About Caroline

Caroline Buist is a content marketing strategist, ADHD-friendly VA and self-confessed music obsessive, born within earshot of the Bow Bells in London’s East End. (It’s Caro-lin, by the way. Silent e. She’s been correcting people her whole life.)

After 30 years as an employee navigating toxic workplaces, imposter syndrome and the tragic loss of a friend, Caroline finally took the leap to start her own business. She launched Above & Beyond VA in 2020, supporting neurodivergent and creative business owners with tailored admin and content marketing services.

She’s also the author of Sing Like No-One’s Listening! (2026) — the practical, music-powered guide to following your dreams at any age. When she’s not writing or podcasting, you’ll find her singing in her local choir, borrowing dogs or absolutely nailing a sudoku puzzle.

Summary

Caroline Buist, host of the Never Too Late to Dream podcast, shares her late bloomer journey and her lifelong dream of wanting to be her own boss. Starting at 15 with aspirations of managing bands and artists, her path was derailed by failing A levels and the subsequent fear of going it alone. Music became her solace and a wake-up call in 2015 led her to start her first business in 2016. Despite initial failures and setbacks, she launched Above & Beyond VA in 2020, finding success and support from mentors. Caroline advises embracing failure as feedback and taking small steps towards your dreams. She plans to continue her podcast (as long as it’s still fun) and is currently writing her second book.

Highlights

What is your dream and why did you want it?

[0:01:48] “My dream, the one I’ve had since I was about 15 years old, was to be my own boss. Simple as that. It started with music actually. I grew up in a musical family… My first business idea was to become a band/artist manager, jet-setting around the world and getting paid to watch gigs… but the dream, the freedom, the flexibility, working for myself, doing something that meant something that never went away. It just went very quiet for a very long time.”

What is your dream’s theme song?

[0:03:01] “That’s easy. Freedom! ’90 by George Michael. That song sums it all up for me. It’s about breaking free from what people expect of you, doing things your own way, and not being defined by your past, which is pretty much exactly what my wiggly journey has been about.”

What stopped you from pursuing your dream at the beginning?

[0:03:59] “Where do I start? Life mostly, the usual suspects. When I was in the middle of my O levels, my parents split up. It hit me hard. I stopped showing up to lessons, stopped revising, and I failed all of my A levels, every single one. Big, fat, spectacular fail… I was afraid of what would happen if I actually tried and it didn’t work out.”

How did you cope with these challenges?

[0:05:10] “Music, honestly, music has always been my therapy, my motivation, and my happy place… Then, in August 2015, I had a brutal and shocking wake-up call when a friend took his own life. It made me question my life choices and whether I was happy, and it turned out I wasn’t. So I decided to go for it and set up my first business in 2016.”

What advice would you give your younger self?

[0:06:52] “I think I’d say stop lip syncing to someone else’s song, stop following the path that other people have mapped out for you, and start writing your own… Failure, full stop, is not the end of the world… your dream doesn’t have an expiry date, so put it somewhere safe, but don’t put it away forever.”

Is there anything you’d do differently?

[0:07:50] “If I’m honest, I’d have started earlier, not at 15, I wasn’t really ready then, but maybe in my 30s when I had a bit more life experience behind me, but still plenty of runway ahead… Every job, every wrong turn, every disaster… all of it shaped the business owner I am now.”

What does success look like for you?

[0:08:35] “Freedom and flexibility. Full stop. Success for me, isn’t about money… success is more about waking up every morning and choosing how I want to spend my day, working with people I actually like and respect, doing work that means something.”

Would you say you’re there yet?

[0:09:22] “Getting there. I left my last employed job in November 2023 when I was 53 years old. My first full year in business was honestly a baptism of fire… but I’m still here, I’m still going in what will be my sixth year in business this year… I have absolutely no regrets about taking the plunge.”

Where do you see yourself in the future? Any new dreams?

[0:10:22] “Well, you’re listening to one of them. This podcast… I’m also currently working on a second book… New dreams emerge once you start taking those small steps and taking action… once your dreams start coming true, it gets a little bit addictive.”

What would you say to someone who’s put their dream on the back burner?

[0:11:37] “I’d say take it off the back burner right now, not next week, not after the kids have left home, not when the time is right, because the time is never right. You just have to go for it. Life’s too short not to… It can be one small, imperfect step.”

Caroline’s Links

• Sing Like No-One’s Listening available from Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1806054337
• Website: https://abovebeyondva.co.uk
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-buist-the-copy-queen/
• Funky Voices Choir: https://funkyvoices.co.uk
• Dog borrowing: https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/

Songs Mentioned

• Freedom! ’90 by George Michael
• Careless Whisper by George Michael
• More Than Words by Extreme

Next Guest

• Robyn Harris from W·I·L·D® Wellbeing (Ep 2). Find out more about Robyn by visiting her website: https://w-i-l-d.uk