Michelle Sutherland

I am so excited to introduce you to Dùthchas College @duthchascollege 💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙 For most entrepreneurs there is a common thread that runs through every business they create - a struggle they’ve gone through themselves or a problem they see affecting other people or sometimes when they see global problems & want to respond to it. This is my response to all 3! This business started from my struggle through academic education & never quite feeling that I was getting it. Failing English, Maths (twice), begging to get into university on an appeal on English (C) & continuing to fail a few more exams at university. But I made it through. Just. As I traveled around the world I got exposed to different types of education & places of learning I started to realise that I LOVED learning, that I excelled in different learning environments. I have a deeply curious heart & mind, a critical thinking mind. My favourite question is “but why?” I believe it’s the most valuable question we can ask. This idea of creating a place for education has been bubbling in me for years, it wasn’t until I decided to move back to Scotland that all the pieces of the puzzle started to click into place. This college is a Community Interest Company that means it exists to serve our Mission - to provide accessible place based education rooted in the land, languages & cultural traditions of Scotland. Dùthchas is word I discovered recently. I knew that’s what I had to call this college. Dùthchas (pronounced doo-chas, with a soft “ch” as in loch) is a Gaelic word that doesn’t translate neatly into English. It speaks to an innate belonging to land & lineage. Not just where you’re from, but what you carry from that place within you. A sense of duty to tend what you’ve inherited. My intuition said I had to get the website together put it out there & see what unfolds. I’ve realised over the last few years in particular that surrendering to each step bit by bit is the most powerful way to grow something wonderful. Keeping the vision & trusting that everything will work out exactly as it’s meant. Feel free to check out our new website, follow us for updates on our first short courses!

I’ve been meaning to do this for a wee while… I’ve Got Your Back has its own Instagram space now and it feels like the right time! 💫💛☺️ This podcast has been going for years. It started back in 2023 when I launched it just as I moved back to Scotland after 12 years of living in Australia. If you watch it on YouTube you will see it was done with a pretty dodgy laptop camera, bad lighting, my All Blacks jumper, zip half done and a wooly hat firmly on my head as I was freezing back in Scotland 😆 it wasn’t polished, it definitely wasn’t perfect I just wanted to get started and have genuine conversations that I felt mattered and were inspiring in some way. Fast forward to now and it’s had nearly 3,000 downloads, which still surprises me! These episodes hold so much of my own journey and the lessons I’ve learned over the last 40 years. Conversations about building businesses that create positive impact on people, communities and the planet. Stories around wellbeing, social enterprises, learning from B Corp founders, women in business and what it really means to live and work with intention. It’s always been a space for curious people. People who want to learn, grow and feel supported. A reminder that we don’t have to do life or business alone. If you’ve listened before, thank you. If you’re new, you’re very welcome. Come and follow along here 👉 @ivegotyourbackthepodcast I’ve got your back. Michelle x

Everything Hallelujah #visitscotland

I think sometimes we forget how many simple things are available to us that genuinely help us feel better. Not in a “fix your whole life overnight” kind of way. But in a nervous system, human-being-on-a-planet kind of way. The world is loud right now, it’s always asking for more. I think many of us are carrying far more than we realise. So as we head into Summer, I’ve been thinking a lot about the small things that bring me back to myself. The things that cost nothing, or very little, but make a huge difference to how I feel mentally, emotionally and physically. We don’t always need another productivity hack, expensive solution or perfect wellness routine. Sometimes we just need to slow down enough to hear ourselves again. This is a gentle reminder that feeling good can often begin with very ordinary things. And if you’ve been feeling tired, overwhelmed or close to burnout lately, maybe let this be your permission slip to soften things a little. You deserve support too. Michelle x 🌼

In Episode 16 of I’ve Got Your Back, I shared my experience spending time at Schumacher College in Devon. A place that completely challenged the way I think about education, learning and what it really means to live in relationship with the world around us. What struck me most was their philosophy of “head, heart and hands”. Not just learning through information and intellect, but through feeling, discussion, nature, creativity and practical experience too. At the time, I remember feeling so deeply inspired by the idea that education could be slower, more human and more connected to life itself. Less about memorising. More about curiosity, critical thinking and understanding our place within community and the natural world. It’s interesting reflecting on this episode now, especially with everything I’m creating through @duthchascollege I can see how much experiences like Schumacher quietly shaped me and planted seeds long before I even realised it. There was also something really hopeful about being surrounded by people who genuinely believed business, education and leadership could be done differently. More consciously. More compassionately. More connected to people and planet. This conversation is thoughtful, reflective and full of big questions about the kind of future we actually want to build. Michelle x

A college without walls 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙 I know what you might be thinking, where exactly IS Dùthchas College? And honestly, that’s one of the most interesting questions this journey has thrown at me. We don’t have a physical campus yet. But the more I sat with that, the more I started to think about what education actually is. What learning has always been, long before institutions, before buildings, before anyone decided that knowledge had to live inside four walls. The land itself has always been the classroom. The crofters who read the sky to know when to plant. The storytellers who carried history in their voices across generations. The healers who knew the plants by name in Gaelic before Latin ever entered the picture. None of them needed a postcode. This is what Dùthchas is being built on. Not bricks and mortar first, but relationships. With communities. With landowners who share our vision. With learners who are hungry for something that feels real and rooted. Our first short courses will take place on land shared with the people and places we’re building alongside. The Highlands, the islands, the glens, Scotland herself is our campus. So for now, we are rooted in Scotland. All of Scotland. Unconfined by a single postcode. Open to the land wherever it calls us. If that speaks to something in you, follow along💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Episode 15 is a powerful one if you’re in a season of growth 🤍 In this episode of I’ve Got Your Back, I’m diving into three themes that have been coming up a lot recently, both in my own journey and in conversations with others. We talk about what it really looks like to build a portfolio career, and why having multiple income streams can create more stability and freedom in your business. I also share why changing your environment matters more than you might think. Sometimes the shift you need is not strategy… it’s where you are, who you’re around, and what you’re exposed to. And finally, we get into something I know so many of you will resonate with the “entrepreneur’s curse”. That constant thinking, the ideas, the pressure, the inability to fully switch off. It’s something I’m very aware of in myself, and I know many of you feel it too. This is an honest conversation about that side of entrepreneurship and how to navigate it in a way that actually supports you. Michelle x

I signed up for Yin Yoga Teacher Training with @jackskeith__ at @resetstudioglasgow very last minute, infact I got the last spot! 😝 So for the last two weekends I have dedicated 50 hours to learn more about this practice alongside 14 other wonderful women. I had my first Yin Yoga class in Bondi, Australia in 2018 & I fell in love with the practice. Mainly because of a great teacher @liv_fairless_yoga I remember looking forward to it each week, especially because I was doing high cardio workouts (I was very much all Yang Mc Yangy back then 🤣) I was drawn to the stillness & it being so different to other yoga that I had tried. I have always enjoyed yin even when I found some of the poses tough. I believe Yin Yoga is the ultimate rebellion against the way the world wants us to live - always on, fast, achieving, constantly doing. Yin yoga is a slow-paced, meditative style of yoga that targets deep connective tissues—like ligaments, joints, and fascia—rather than muscles. It involves holding passive poses for long periods (typically 3–5 minutes or longer) while sitting or lying down, promoting flexibility, mobility, and emotional balance while calming the nervous system. It’s also been called “the Yoga of Youth” because as the body ages, fascia dries out, leading to stiffness. Yin yoga stimulates the production of hyaluronic acid, acting as a “nature’s moisturiser” that hydrates tissues and washes away old cells. HOW AMAZING!? I want to say a huge thank you to Jacks for being the most incredible guide. Honest, positive, constructive, full of wisdom & love. And to all the strangers that very quickly became pals thank you for all your love, curiosity, questions, for being authentically YOU! I literally learnt something from every single one of you. I am so excited to complete the yin yoga certification to offer this to family and friends - alongside of course my fav Yoga Nidra meditation and sound bath - 90 mins rebelling against society ?? How YUMMY does that sound? 😝 Ps also don’t let these happy Michelle pics fool you, I cried and coughed through a number of the yin practices. I clearly had to release some things & I’m grateful for all of it! Mx

The greatest teacher I’ve ever known… Mother Earth 🌍 🫶🏻 The more time I spend with her, the more I realise how wonderful she is and how everything just makes sense. #HappyEarthDay

This week I’m sitting down with the incredible @_michelleduval_ , a pioneer in human potential, coaching, and now AI-powered transformation with @getmarlee Michelle has spent nearly three decades coaching leaders, founders, and humans from all walks of life, and is now on a mission to democratise access to that kind of support through technology. Michelle and I first met around ten years ago in Sydney during one of the most intense startup programs I’ve ever been part of. Picture twelve wildly different entrepreneurs trying to build a million-dollar business in ten weeks. It was chaos. And Michelle walked into the room and somehow held it all together with this calm, grounded brilliance that I’ve never forgotten. Since then, her work has evolved from coaching into building an AI technology designed to help people all over the world realise their potential, not just the few who can afford a coach. This conversation is expansive, honest, and deeply thought-provoking. I think this one is going to stay with you. Inside, we explore: - Michelle’s journey from early coaching days to building an AI technology used across the globe - Why human potential has been inaccessible for most people and how that’s changing - The honest reality of building in the AI space and what it really takes - Why “work is broken” and what’s driving burnout, anxiety, and disconnection - How AI is reshaping work, identity, and what it means to be human - The biggest mindset shift we need to make right now around identity and job titles - What the data reveals about Gen Z and why workplaces need to evolve @myworkverse - Michelle’s powerful take on purpose and why it’s often much simpler than we think This episode is full of those moments that make you pause and reflect. Michelle has this incredible way of holding both the challenges of today and the possibilities of what’s ahead. If you’ve ever questioned your purpose, your place in work, or how to navigate what’s coming next, this one is for you🚀 Ps 10% off the Workverse book with GotYourBack10 - link 🔗 via bio

There’s something about spring arriving that you can feel. The light changing, the daffodils starting to come through, everything just feels like it’s opening up a little bit again. And I felt that this weekend. I didn’t have much planned, but Saturday turned into a hike I didn’t know I needed. I was in a bit of a mood after a conversation, so I just decided to move. Drove to Loch Lomond, grabbed a sandwich, jelly babies and water and headed up Beinn Dubh. Started the walk feeling frustrated, but step by step it shifted. It always does. Half way up I realised sometimes it really is that simple. Get outside, move your body, take it one step at a time. I got chatting to a couple on the way who ended up letting me join them for the rest of the walk, and even a dip in the loch 🤣 such a simple act of kindness but it honestly meant so much in that moment. And the clear quartz rocks across parts of the land… just magical. I kept thinking imagine walking on land like that every day. Sunday was softer. A last minute yes to a sound bath at @jupiter.artland with my teacher Michelle @thereikiloveclub That place is just something else. Weird, wonderful, curious… and the sound bath in the glasshouse was exactly what I needed. Proper switch off, peppermint tea after, daffodils on the table, just slow and calm. It felt like a reset weekend. A reminder that when things feel a bit off, sometimes the best thing you can do is move, get into nature, or say yes to something that feels good for you. Spring energy is here… I’m leaning into it 💛

This week’s episode is such a good one. I’m sitting down with the wonderful @iamninaalexander — Reiki master, mum of four, Arbonne consultant, spiritual mentor, women’s circle host, and founder of the most beautiful sustainable period pants brand, @annahitah_ Nina and I have known each other through the Arbonne community for years, but it’s only recently, working together on her B Corp journey, that we’ve really gotten to know each other deeply. And wow, I am just so glad we did! Nina is one of those people who lights up every room she’s in. She wears so many hats and does it all with such grace, intention, and heart. This conversation goes so many places and I absolutely loved every minute of it. We cover a lot in this episode. The spark behind Annahitah. The goddess who inspired it. The grit it takes to bootstrap a startup from scratch. The beauty and the challenge of being a multi-passionate, multi dimensional woman in business. Inside, we explore: ✨How a statistic about tampons sparked a two-year journey to launch a stylish, sustainable period pants brand ✨What it really means to bootstrap a business from nothing and what Nina wishes she’d known sooner ✨Why B Corp certification mattered to Nina from day one, and the lessons from going through the process ✨Being halfPersian, the ancient Persian goddess Anahita, and how culture and identity wove their way into the brand ✨Donating period pants to girls in Malawi and Uganda and the messages that make the hard times worth it ✨The rise of female founders and what divine feminine leadership actually looks and feels like ✨Nina’s upcoming divine feminine fragrance, one for each phase of the monthly cycle (yes, really!!) ✨What Nina believes the world needs to hear right now This episode is honest, heartfelt, and full of those goosebumps moments. Nina is the real deal, doing business from the soul, and I know you’re going to love her! 💖