Tea and Chat
with Marianne Mills
"No slides. No sales pitch. No five-step framework. Just real people, real conversation… and yes, someone still has to do the washing up."
What is Tea and Chat?
The most real thing you'll find this week
Tea and Chat started as a simple idea: what if networking felt less like networking? Every Friday at 1pm, Marianne Mills holds the space — making the tea, keeping things flowing, and connecting people in what might be the most human way you'll find online.
For many who attend, it has become far more than networking. It has become a lifeline. A place where the pressure to perform disappears. Where you can show up as you are, not as your LinkedIn profile.
"Tea and Chat, frankly, it's the place to be."
What makes it different?
Most online events are built around agendas, slide decks, and a quiet undercurrent of sales. Tea and Chat is deliberately none of those things.
It's relaxed. It's welcoming. It's human — which means it can be messy. There is no polished performance here. Marianne brings warmth, expertise, and a genuine interest in the people in the room. Not in what they can offer her.
Times are hard for many people right now. Not everyone is crushing six-figure months. Tea and Chat exists for everyone — especially the people who just need a brew and a bit of real support to keep going.
What to expect
No agenda. No pressure. Just this.
Real conversation
The kind you forget to have when you're busy performing professionalism. Real people, real talk.
Genuine connection
Every good thing still starts the old-fashioned way — two people getting to know each other.
Something to think about
You'll leave with a thought that stays with you. Marianne has a way of asking the question you didn't know you needed.
A bit of humanity
In a world of highlight reels and hustle content, this is the antidote. No judgement. No competition.
Join the community
Would you have tea with me?
"I keep hearing the same thing: 'I'm wary of what people are trying to sell online.' Fair enough. I feel it too. But everything good still starts the old-fashioned way."
Register below to join the mailing list. You'll get the Zoom link for every Friday session, plus a weekly email from Marianne — not a sales pitch, but a real-life story. Something to make you think. A little humanity back in your inbox.
or join the WhatsApp community instead
Get the Zoom link
Register for the weekly email and Friday session link.
Go deeper
How to be you
You know what's strange? Most professionals spend years becoming good at what they do. Then discover they're expected to become good at talking about it too.
Not the work itself. The talking about it. The explaining. The posting. The networking. The bit where somebody asks "so what do you do?" and somehow the answer that sounds perfectly sensible in your head comes out feeling flat, awkward or incomplete.
Most people Marianne works with don't lack expertise. They lack permission. Permission to stop sounding like everyone else. Permission to stop performing a version of professionalism that never quite fit. Permission to speak in their own voice.
The moment you stop trying to sound professional is often the moment people finally understand the value you bring.
How to be you
Not to help people become louder. Not to help people become influencers. Not to teach another formula for visibility.
But to help intelligent professionals close the gap between who they are and how they show up. Because being authentic isn't about saying whatever you like. It's about ensuring what people see matches who you actually are.
Find out more →Get involved
We're looking for people to help
Tea and Chat has become a lifeline for many. Beyond time, there is a platform to pay for and one-to-one support given. We are actively looking for partners who want to be part of something that genuinely helps people.
In particular, we're looking for a tea producer.
Not, like, a cuppa in the middle of the afternoon. We mean as a business — harvest it, pop it in bags, into boxes, that sort of thing. If you make tea or know someone who does, we'd love to talk about investing in Tea and Chat so we can help the people who, right now, just need a brew and a bit of support.
We're also looking for:
Interested in sponsoring?
Whatever you can do, please get in touch. Times are hard for many people. Not everyone is crushing six-figure months.
Message Marianne on LinkedInOne-to-one
A free chat. No catch.
A free 20–30 minute chat about your business and life in general. Zero agenda. Your story first, your pace.
- Your choice of format — in person if nearby, or on Zoom
- Accessibility matters — cameras off, captions on, or a shorter slot if that helps
- What's working, what's heavy, what would make things feel simpler
- Ideas for clarity, confidence and consistency — no jargon, just practical steps
- If you want, one small tool you can try this week
No charge. No catch. Just connection first.
Comment TEA or send a DM
Find Marianne on LinkedIn and drop her a message. She'll set it up from there.
Message Marianne →