Leeds Business Podcast (Phil Fraser)
Explorez tous les épisodes de Leeds Business Podcast
| Date | Titre | Durée | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 2023 | Alex Craven - CEO & Co-Founder Data City | 00:38:04 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Alex Craven, CEO and Co-founder, founder of The Data City. Alex tells us about the sale of Bloom Agency, the harsh lessons learnt when selling a business, how and why the business sale went so badly wrong, half a million pounds worth of contracts without trying with his new business, data City and how ADHD and the risks it encouraged affected Alex’s business journey INTRODUCING ALEX CRAVEN Alex founded a digital agency and MarTech company in 1999 and sold in 2016, Alex has been pioneering applications of new technology throughout his career and is now CEO of The Data City, a tech start-up that uses machine learning to map the global economy for government and the private sector. Alex is active member of the digital / tech community, regularly speaking at events, judging awards, providing Non-exec advisory services and is also the Chair of web 3 start up ‘Pooldata.io’. Alex is a champion of diversity and inclusion and is passionate about raising awareness around neurodiversity and Entrepreneurship. Listen to the first half of this interview at https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/episode/alex-craven EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:00] The sale of Bloom Agency [00:05:15] The key lessons learnt from the sale process and the problems afterwards [00:09:00] Jaywing and the departure from there [00:13:50] The launch of Data City [00:22:00] How to innovate within your business [00:28:00] How ADHD affected Alex’s whole business journey KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS Due diligence in the sale process is a two-way process - it is as important for you to check them out as they to check you The sale price is the first payment. If that isn’t enough don’t do the deal. 90% of earnouts don’t happen Founders have two problems; the first is a people problem and the second is the time it takes to identify that they have a people problem BEST MOMENTS “We shouldn’t have to sold to them, and they shouldn’t have bought us” “I was met at the door by one of the directors, escorted to his office, escorted to my office and the escorted out. I couldn’t help but laugh” “I am unemployable” “I don’t see it as risk, I just see it as an opportunity to get through” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://thedatacity.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-craven-17b1441/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-data-city/ Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/AlexCraven Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/TheDataCity Shout outs: https://wac.rocks/ https://www.roberts-mart.co.uk/ https://claritywealth.co.uk/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either Apple Podcasts App (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/leeds-business-podcast-5389157) or a 5 star review at Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/66AeIYry1gWfmBYMDlfmrT) or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast) SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod Instagram -... | |||||||
| 28 Feb 2024 | Jon Graves - Founder & CEO, Northern Telecom (growth by acquisition) | 00:36:45 | |||||
If you’ve ever considered, or want to learn more about, growing your business by acquisition, you’ll want to listen to this week’s guest, Jon Graves, Founder & CEO of Northern Telecom. Jon has grown his business by 7-fold in three years via 13 acquisitions. Jon tells us all about his acquisition strategy, shares the learnings from some of his early mistakes and gives us all a great ‘how to’ when it comes to buying businesses via a pre-pack. He also tells us about his ultimately disastrous purchase of a golf club and a hotel. INTRODUCING JON GRAVES Jon Graves is a dynamic and tenacious business owner who has carved a formidable path in the telecommunications industry. A decade ago, driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and a vision for innovation, he founded Northern Telecom in the vibrant city of Leeds. Jon's entrepreneurial journey is characterized by bold moves and calculated risks. With a passion for challenge, he fearlessly spearheaded 15 acquisitions, often rescuing insolvent companies through pre-pack deals. These strategic manoeuvres not only expanded Northern Telecom's reach but also cemented its reputation as a major player in the competitive market. Based in Leeds, Jon is deeply rooted in his local community. Outside of the boardroom, he finds solace and joy in the loving embrace of his wife and three children, who serve as his greatest source of inspiration and motivation. Known for his appetite for risk and his love of challenges, Jon thrives in high-stakes environments where others may falter. His strategic foresight and unwavering determination have propelled Northern Telecom to unprecedented heights, earning him recognition as a maverick in the industry. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] Jon’s business background [00:03:00] The early stages of the business [00:08:00] Powering growth through acquisition [00:13:00] Learning from mistakes [00:05:00] Buying a hotel and golf club… [00:19:00] Explaining the terms ‘distressed business’ and ‘pre-pack’ [00:21:00] Expanding the business through acquisition [00:24:30] How to buy a business via a pre-pack KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • As you get bigger, you just have to let go • With an acquisition for the cost of a salesperson for a year, we start billing the next day • Stick to what you know BEST MOMENTS “Our first acquisition then set a lightbulb off” “We had to learn to integrate” “Why wouldn’t you want to buy a hotel and golf club?” “Do you want to buy an IT company? Just bring £10,000 and it’s yours” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.northerntelecom.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangraves1/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either • Apple Podcasts App (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or | |||||||
| 31 Jul 2024 | How to build at £350m turnover business - Nick Glynne, Buy it Group | 00:53:10 | |||||
This week we speak to Nick Glynne, Founder & CEO of the BuyIt Direct Group.. Nick tells us how he went from a single Huddersfield laptop repair shop to a £350m turnover business by buying and fixing distressed businesses. He shares with us how the learnings from two failed business acquisitions moulded the company’s strategy, the pros and cons of taking private equity and explains the difficulties caused by making too much profit. And what’s the difference between equity and profit? INTRODUCING NICK GLYNNE Nick Glynne is the CEO and Founder of Buy It Direct Group. Starting from a single computer repair shop in Huddersfield, the Buy it Direct Group is now a collection of product-based companies including one of the UK's largest independent online retailers. With 1,750 staff, £350m revenue, 1.5 million sq ft of warehousing across five UK sites, two showrooms, and a delivery network, the online business continues to rapidly expand. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:00] The start and early growth of Buyit Direct Group [00:06:30] Learnings from growth by acquisition [00:15:30] The acquisitions that didn’t work and learnings [00:21:00] How to fund acquisitions [00:24:00] Market sectors for Buyit and the company size [00:28:00] The ups and downs of Covid [00:38:30] No to Private Equity [00:40:00] Equity versus Profit [00:43:30] How to take investment in your business [00.48:00] Time to exit? 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Don’t over-extend yourself from a risk point of view • Some times you have to sacrifice perfection to get things done • Recession makes you infinitely better as a business owner 3 BEST MOMENTS “Is there more value in buying something than growing organically?” “One plus one doesn’t always equal 3 when acquiring another business” “The danger of Covid was that we were making tons of money” “Only one person owns the strategy, and that’s you the business owner” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://www.buyitdirectgroup.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickglynne/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jon-graves-pt1 https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jon-graves-pt2 https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/howard-moss/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, | |||||||
| 13 Mar 2024 | How to win at property development - Christine Yorath, Property Developer | 00:36:28 | |||||
In this week’s episode we speak to local property developer and interior designer, Christine Yorath. Christine talks us through her property career, plus how she started a skincare business when returning from Vancouver, the almost accidental launch of a successful property letting business and teaches us how to avoid getting stabbed in the back in the office. INTRODUCING CHRISTINE YORATH Christine Yorath is an interior designer, property developer and consultant to property developers. She was married to Leeds United & Wales star Terry Yorath and in a varied career initially qualified as a beauty therapist, launching the first stand-alone beauty salon in Yorkshire. Following a spell in Vancouver she began an importing and distribution business for Metrin Skincare's European operation alongside her daughter, TV presenter, Gabby Logan. Her property experience dates back to the late 1980’s when she began buying, renovating and selling properties, which then led to Flats in Leeds property management business. Her development and interior design flair and experience, and as a consultant for other developers, covers all stages of property development from consulting with developers right up to bespoke furniture for makeovers for residential work and has led her to be involved in some of Leeds' most high profile and expensive developments. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] Where Christine’s business drive came from [00:06:45] The story behind Metrin Skincare [00:10:00] The launch of the property career [00:13:00] The first step up and the learnings [00:18:00] City living developments in Leeds [00:22:30] the move into consultancy work [00:29:00] How to lay out your office correctly KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “I was often met by the butler who carried my equipment in” “Your £100 did the trick” “I made my son carry wallpaper so he wouldn’t run away” “the bank leant me the money to pay the deposit to get the mortgage” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.christineyorath.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-yorath-86429916/ Shout out tags: https://www.monroeestateagents.com/ https://northstudioleeds.co.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/michael-michaelson/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/howard-moss/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table... | |||||||
| 14 Aug 2024 | Change your beliefs and build your business confidence - Steve McDermott, Confidence Club | 01:00:52 | |||||
This week we speak to Steve Mcdermott, multi-award winning Presentation Mastery Coach. There is SOO MUCH learning in this episode, you’ll definitely need a pen and paper. From presentation skills and limiting self-belief to launching your own business and grasping opportunities. You can also win a free copy of Steve’s book. INTRODUCING STEVE McDERMOTT Steve has been a professional motivational speaker for 30 years. He is also a 3 times winner of European Motivational Speaker of the Year Award and a international best-selling author. Before starting his own company, for 15 years he was a Copy Writer and Creative Director of a highly successful Advertising Agency. He has won over twenty international and national awards for creativity and was particularly fond of writing radio commercials. He is founder of the Confident Club. A company that uses the vehicle of presentation training to enable people to dramatically increase their confidence and to become the best versions of themselves. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:00] Giving up a job and going solo [00:09:00] The importance of a ‘runway’ for a start up business [00:10:00] Developing the business [00:31:00] Food on the table v stick to your values [00:32:00] How to be a Complete and Utter F**k Up [00:40:00] Win a free copy of Steve’s book [00:43:00] What is the Confident Club? [00:53:28] How to change your beliefs 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Being totally naïve is a highly recommended start up strategy • Think ‘how can I model excellence?’ • It’s so important what you say no to • You have to have absolute clarity on your personal values • Beliefs control how you feel and how you behave 3 BEST MOMENTS “I built my whole business on the power of referral” “I’m only interested in ‘is it practical and does it work'?” “one of the most powerful sounds in the English language is somebody’s name” STEVE’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS; Steve's book - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/129234282X/ref=nosim?tag=lbp08b-21 How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie; http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0671027034/ref=nosim?tag=lbp08b-21 The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People - Steven Covey; http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1471195201/ref=nosim?tag=lbp08b-21 Neuro-linguistic Programming For Dummies; http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1119106117/ref=nosim?tag=lbp08b-21 How to Develop a Brilliant Memory Week by Week; http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1780287909/ref=nosim?tag=lbp08b-21 VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: www.confidentclub.com | |||||||
| 03 Apr 2024 | The secret of successful angel investment - Colin Glass OBE | 00:43:33 | |||||
This week’s episode is slightly different as we meet one of the Leeds business community’s most well-known faces, Colin Glass OBE. Colin shares his expertise on a variety of business topics including what makes a great business founder, funding options available for businesses, what is a NED and why you might need one, what sweat investment is and, of course, how to be a great networker. INTRODUCING COLIN GLASS Colin is a Chartered Accountant who started his own practice, Winburn Glass Norfolk (WGN) in 1975 and in August 2019 WGN merged with Murray Harcourt Colin is, or has been, a Non-Executive Director of several companies, some of which are quoted on AIM and has always been passionately interested in helping small businesses, including start-ups to develop to their full potential. He has invested in many start-up businesses over the years. He was awarded the Star in Practice Award in 2006 from the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants, Business Adviser of the Year in 2007, Non-Executive Director of the Year in 2008 and 2019 by the Institute of Directors Yorkshire and Humber and, in January 2011, he was awarded Non-Executive Director of the Year in the Quoted Company Awards. Due to his many years of involvement with SMEs, in 2014 Colin was appointed a Non-Executive Director at the British Business Bank and was awarded an OBE in the 2017 Queen’s New Year Honour’s list. He is one of the most well-known, and respected, faces on the Leeds business scene. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:45] What are the common themes in successful businesses [00:03:30] The common mistakes business owners make [00:06:20] The best places to find funding [00:09:00] Should you bootstrap your business? [00:10:45] What makes a good Angel investment pitch? [00:13:00] All about sweat investment [00:19:40] Colin’s successful first sweat investment deal [00:26:00] The investment that didn’t go well [00:31:00] What does a NED do, and do you need one? [00:36:00] How to be a good networker 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • You need to listen to the advice of mentors around you • All companies that are trying to grow should look at some kind of NED • Don’t try to sell at networking events BEST MOMENTS “One successful angel investment can pay for all the others that go wrong” “Do me a favour, let them wine & dine us” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinglass1/ Shout out: https://www.luma3.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show on this app SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/nigel-botterill/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/alistair-maiden/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full | |||||||
| 23 Aug 2023 | Linda Plant - The Apprentice Queen of Mean | 00:53:23 | |||||
Queen of Mean from TV's The Apprentice, Linda Plant, tells Phil Fraser about how she grew, sold and then bought back her business for hardly money 18 months later. She shares her five top tips for running a successful business, explains what makes a good business plan and tell us all the secrets from behind the camera from her nine series (and counting) appearances on The Apprentice. INTRODUCING LINDA PLANT Linda Plant built her career from humble beginnings to become one of Britain’s most recognisable business leaders and am now empowering others to successfully start and run their own companies with her Linda Plant Business Academy. After leaving school at 16, she progressed from selling fashion on a Leeds market stall to launching an international knitwear brand, Honeysuckle, in the process becoming one of the first women to head a fashion company flotation on the London Stock Market. As a pioneering female business leader, Linda worked in a series of challenging executive roles, building and running successful companies. Today, in addition to the Linda Plant Business Academy, she also run property development and interior design businesses. You might also know her as one of the interviewers on BBC 1’s ‘The Apprentice’, providing advice to Lord Sugar on his potential apprentices. Her passion for business and entrepreneurship has also been recognised with several business awards and she is also a panelist and judge, including top female entrepreneurs for HSBC’s Panel of Forward Ladies and The Prince's Trust. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:09:35] – a major turning point in Linda’s career [00:13:50] – the sale and buy back of Honeysuckle [00:17:50] – the key business lesson learnt on the journey [00:20:00] – floating on the stock market [00:29:30] – Getting on The Apprentice and the tales from behind the cameras [00:42:20] – How to run a good interview KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS * If you don’t buy a ticket in the lottery, you can’t win the jackpot – have a go in business * You can drown in failure, but you can also drown in success * Two things that are very important in business – relationships and the art of negotiation * When negotiating you‘ve both got to leave the table a little bit unhappy * You’ll never get anything being nasty that you can’t get being nice * Can you adapt, because you have to pivot and adapt in business * Don’t be afraid to have a go. What’s the worst that can happen? Even if you fail on this it might be a lesson to succeed on the next BEST MOMENTS “Through my journey, I’ve never planned what I’m going to do – as I’ve gone along, I’ve fallen into it” “If you give me a business plan that’s wreckable, I’ll wreck it” “I got a phone call one day when they said, would you like to sell your business” “When you’ve taken a business from a market stall to the stock market, that’s quite a good story” “They put me on garden leave….three years later I was still on garden leave with a chauffeur and a big wage” “If you give me a business plan that wreckable, I’ll wreck it” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Leeds Business Podcast website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://lindaplant.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-plant/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘GENTLEMENS AGREEMENT’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has three simple steps; 1. Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2. Post a... | |||||||
| 06 Mar 2024 | How to grow your business by acquisition with Jon Graves, Founder & CEO, Northern Telecom | 00:32:19 | |||||
If you’ve ever considered, or want to learn more about, growing your business by acquisition, you’ll want to listen to this week’s guest, Jon Graves, Founder & CEO of Northern Telecom. Jon has grown his business by 7-fold in three years via 13 acquisitions. In part two of our discussion Jon shares with us some of the good, and bad, acquisitions that he’s done, talks us through the need to systemise his pre-pack DD, discusses the difficulties and processes in integrating acquisitions and then shares some expert advice if you want to look at building by acquisition. INTRODUCING JON GRAVES Jon Graves is a dynamic and tenacious business owner who has carved a formidable path in the telecommunications industry. A decade ago, driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and a vision for innovation, he founded Northern Telecom. Jon's entrepreneurial journey is characterized by bold moves and calculated risks. With a passion for challenge, he fearlessly spearheaded 15 acquisitions, often rescuing insolvent companies through pre-pack deals. These strategic manoeuvres not only expanded Northern Telecom's reach but also cemented its reputation as a major player in the competitive market. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] Examples of buying via pre-pack (good and bad) [00:12:30] Systemising pre-pack due diligence [00:15:45] The change in the business through acquisition [00:19:30] The difficulties in integrating acquisitions [00:25:30] Final advice for building by acquisition KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “We doubled revenue over night and it only cost £100,000” “We haven’t caused the business to become distressed; we’re trying to help save jobs” “Northern Telecom as a brand name doesn’t make much sense in Bournemouth” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.northerntelecom.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangraves1/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either • Apple Podcasts App (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or • Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/leeds-business-podcast-5389157) or • a 5 star review at Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/66AeIYry1gWfmBYMDlfmrT) or • give this episode a ’thumbs up’ on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast) SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - | |||||||
| 17 Jan 2024 | Michael Michaelson - ex-CEO, CLC Finance | 00:44:16 | |||||
What does it feel like when you’re moved out of the family business that you’ve run for 25 years? In this week's episode we speak to Michael Michaelson ex-CEO of CLC finance. Michael, very candidly, talks us through what he calls his ‘rags to riches to rags story, how the banks caused him ‘2 years of hell’ and how difficult it can be to finally let go. He talks to us about the importance of people and communicating in the business world plus there’s a great ‘How to’ when it comes to dealing with a crisis. INTRODUCING MICHAEL MICHAELSON Michael Michaelson was formerly Chief Executive of home credit company, CLC Finance, having started in the family business in 1977. He has spent many years working in the property market connecting investors with developers, and also works with J9 Advisory, a specialist independent business advisory firm. Michael is one of the best-connected people in the region's business scene with an enviable 'black book' of contacts. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] The story of CLC Finance from launch to leaving it [00:11:00] The move from selling door-to-door into money lending [00:12:00] The problems that come with expanding too quickly [00:13:50] How to deal with bad debt and the importance of customer knowledge [00:17:00] The difference between loan sharks and regulated home collecting credit lenders [00:19:00] 2008, the financial crisis and the trauma of ‘special measures’ [00:23:00] The sadness of getting moved into a non-executive role [00:28:30] Re-building Michael’s role since the exit from the business [00:32:00] The importance of confidence in business and where do you turn to for support [00:34:00] How to cope with a business crisis KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • The challenge when growing a business geographically is that you had the right management and team on the ground • Confidence is very important in business • Don’t suffer alone. Find yourself a sounding board BEST MOMENTS “From being a friend of the bank, you are suddenly at war with them” “I felt desperately sad when I was asked to step out of the business” “Being a Non-exec Director in your own business is not easy” “When I left CLC I knew nothing of the world” “I’m good at helping business. I want to help people” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: https://www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.j9advisory.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeldmichaelson https://www.linkedin.com/company/j9-advisory/ Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/michaelson7m Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/j9advisory Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/J9advisory Shout outs: https://www.fxprintandstationery.co.uk/ https://www.apollo3d.co.uk/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either • Apple Podcasts App (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or • Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/leeds-business-podcast-5389157) or • a 5 star review at Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/66AeIYry1gWfmBYMDlfmrT) or • give this episode a ’thumbs up’ on YouTube... | |||||||
| 28 Aug 2024 | Turning a disaster into a profit - Mark Costello, Founder, Horsforth Brewery | 00:50:00 | |||||
This week we speak to Mark Costello, Founder of the Horsforth Brewery. Mark tells us how he’s grown the business from a home brewing hobby in his kitchen to a fully-fledged brewery and tap room, the effect of launching the business on the first week of the first lockdown, his successful crowd-funding campaign and how a Christmas disaster turned into a success. Mark also teaches us how to run a crowd-funding campaign. INTRODUCING MARK COSTELLO Mark Costello is the founder of Horsforth Brewery. After a career in hedge accounting, risk management and secured funding he made the transition to full-time self-employed in March 2020 and has steered the brewery through COVID and a cost of living crisis, establishing an onsite taproom in the brewery that's open 6 days a week. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:30] How did the launch of the brewery happen? [00:03:00] Launching part time with grant funding [00:06:10] Moving from a hobby to a business [00:09:30] Launching into lockdown [00:14:30] When the business ran out of cash [00:18:00] The addition of a tap room and the additional challenges it brings [00:21:00] The Euros effect [00:25:30] How do you sell beer into an outlet? [00:31:00] Raising funding for the business [00:36:00] How to run a crowdfunding campaign [00:42:00] The Christmas disaster and the solution that worked 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • You may be eligible for 50% match funding from WY Combined Authority • You need to keep momentum going during a crowdfunding campaign • Own your mistakes and be honest to your customers 3 BEST MOMENTS • “Seeing people’s businesses fall apart during Covid was hard” • “Everyone started clapping (for carers) but I thought it was for me dropping off beer” • “In the early days we sold beer to outlets via Twitter” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Phil Fraser - Business Sounding Board - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: www.horsforthbrewery.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-costello-68868619/ Visit the Tap Room at 143 New Roadd Side, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4JZ Shout out tags: https://swinethatdines.co.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/colin-glass/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/phil-fraser/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/daniel-priestley/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the | |||||||
| 22 May 2024 | I hate Daniel Priestley - Entrepreneurship Masterclass with Daniel Priestley | 01:07:23 | |||||
On April 23rd 2024 I wrote a post on Linked in, titled ‘I hate Daniel Priestley’. See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/philfraser_i-hate-daniel-priestley-im-sueing-activity-7185564354442854400-nVXA/. The post went viral! Off the back of it Daniel agreed to be a guest on the podcast. Before you start listening to this week’s episode make sure you have a pen and paper ready. Daniel Priestly delivers a masterclass in Entrepreneurship and business ownership, with tons and tons of brilliant ideas and advice. Note you can get Get 14 days for free and 20% off your first 3 months at ScoreApp via https://share.scoreapp.com/9aa33263. INTRODUCING DANIEL PRIESTLEY Daniel Priestley is the Founder of Dent Global and ScoreApp. he has founded multiple 7 & 8 figure ventures, been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year and is the author of six entrepreneurship books, including Key Person of Influence, Oversubscribed and Entrepreneur Revolution. He regularly speaks at conferences and have been a business coach to several fast growth (Inc5000) entrepreneurs and celebrities. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:03:30] Introducing Daniel Priestley [00:05:30] The number one thing all business owners need to decide [00:08:00] Introducing the CAOS Theory [00:11:00] How to build an audience [00:15:30] How to create, and the benefits of, a Wait List [00:21:30] The CAPSTONE Pitch structure [00:27:30] Can anyone be an entrepreneur? [00:32:00] What is a Key Person of Influence? [00:37:00] How to be a Key Person of Influence; using the 5 Ps [00:41:30] Your book should be a sales person or why you should your book away as a gift [00:45:00] What is a product eco-system? And why you should have one. Listen to live example. [00:53:30] How to create a scorecard campaign [00:59:30] Lifestyle businesses v performance businesses KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Develop an audience then a product/offer • Entrepreneurship is sexy from a distance but up close its rough going • The door to success doesn’t have a handle; you have to kick the door down • The only way to get cut-through is the founder talking about the business • Use the 5Ps to raise your position as a Key Person of Influence • Assessment-based selling can be used in any business THE BEST MOMENTS “If you gave me millions of dollars to launch a business I’d leave it on the shelf” “People don’t want to do the stuff that’s not sexy” “I only build stuff if thousands of people want it” “People like people more than brands” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://danielpriestley.com/ https://share.scoreapp.com/9aa33263 https://www.dent.global/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpriestley/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/rachel-woolford/ | |||||||
| 01 Nov 2024 | 4 'must solve' business problems - Bonus Episode | 00:18:49 | |||||
Business Problems? Welcome to the monthly, bonus episode of the Leeds Business Podcast, featuring the latest Business Surgery problems. If you're a Business Owner, have a listen; you've probably experienced at least one, or more, of these problems..... and now you have a potential solution. This month’s round up features the following business problems; [00:00:30] "As a business owner, I've always got too much to do on my to do list. How do I solve this problem?" - with John Damonne, Salvos [00:06:00] "I'm currently doing my business planning. How far in advance should I do my strategy?" - with Mark Fitzgerald Cooke, Intelligent Business Partners [00:09:00] "What are the key things that I should put in an Angel Investment pitch deck?" - with Jordan Dargue, Lifted Ventures [00:14:30] "When should a company consider bringing in external advisors and/or NEDs?" - with James Kempley, Troy Foods THE FULL EPISODE OF EACH GUEST CAN BE FOUND AT https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/salvos/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/lifted-ventures/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/troy-foods/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/mark-fitzgerald-cooke/ WANT YOUR BUSINESS PROBLEM SOLVING? Email: phil@leedsbusinesspodcast.com with your problem and Phil and future guest will suggest a solution for you VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus. As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead. Want to work with Phil to help you? See www.philfraser.co.uk. LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST Leeds, Leeds Business, Business in Leeds, Nous of Fraser, Business Sounding Board, Business Coach, Business Mentor, | |||||||
| 08 Nov 2023 | Jacob Hill - MD, Offploy | 00:51:08 | |||||
In this week’s podcast we meet Jacob Hill, MD of Offploy. Jacob tells us all about his start-up at the age of 19 that brought him business awards and £300,000 of angel investment but also talks about the mistakes made that brought it all crashing down. He then shares with us the story of his arrest and subsequent prison sentence that changed his life forever, and the positives that have subsequently come from it. He also explains how you can access a pool of top quality staff with exceptional levels of motivation & loyalty at a fraction of market salaries. This is a true ‘business rollercoaster’ journey. INTRODUCING JACOB HILL As the son of two police officers, Jacob was brought up ‘on the right side of tracks’. He was forever taught right from wrong, given every opportunity in life and encouraged to pursue his dreams. It wasn’t until his first business, The Lazy Camper, went into financial ruin that he made a choice to sell drugs at a music festival. He was arrested and sentenced to 28 months in prison. He thought he wouldn’t be a ‘typical’ prisoner but when he was in there he met so many individuals from all walks of life who had made poor choices and ended up in the same place. It was the people inside prison who didn’t think any employer would take them seriously despite their eagerness to find work that inspired him to start Offploy. Jacob believes that if an employer met someone and listened to their story they could probably relate to it and would find it easier to look beyond most convictions. Someone gave him a second chance on his release and he hopes to be able to do the same for others coming out of prison too. Jacob formed Offploy after his release from prison. He wrote the plan for the business from his prison cell and has since gone on to employ a team of 30 who have supported over 3,000 socially excluded people throughout the UK. As well as being Managing Director at Offploy, Jacob is also a member of the Board at Social Value UK. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] The start-up idea as a 19 year old [00:03:00] Funding the start-up idea and the execution of it [00:09:00] Why the business failed (and the lessons learnt) [00:13:00] The spiral into getting arrested [00:20:00] A 28 month prison sentence [00:35:00] The launch of Offploy and how it helps people [00:39:00] Hiring people with criminal convictions - advice & a guide - and how it helps you KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “Business for me was my passion” “One of my investors eventually said I was all fur coat and no knickers… which was a little unfair” “We expected a million pounds of sales and got around £90,000 of sales” “I felt I was indestructible, I didn’t ask for help, I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong. I had all the arrogance and belief that I can do anything” “I was working my dissertation as much as possible because I could have been locked away at any time” “I was one of only a few people who was in that prison out of choice rather than desperation” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR... | |||||||
| 03 Jul 2023 | Why you should listen to Leeds Business Podcast | 00:01:29 | |||||
Leeds Business Podcast will, on a weekly basis, bring you fascinating, impressive and inspiring Leeds business owners, each with their own unique business journey talking about the ups & downs, lessons & learnings from their business journey, and their ‘secret sauce’, plus their 'how to.....' guidance, so that we light a fire of inspiration and motivation in SME business owners, or wannabe business owners, like YOU, and you learn exclusive business lessons (whilst being entertained) so that you can improve and develop yourself as a Business Owners. Brought to you by Phil Fraser, Business Sounding Board. | |||||||
| 06 Dec 2023 | Russell Bisset - Founder, Northern Monk | 00:44:19 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Russell Bisset, founder of Northern Monk brewery. Russell explains to us the key role his Grandmother played in launching the business, the importance of collaboration in business, particularly in the early days and the different challenges that direct to customer, off-trade and on-trade bring. He also shares with us his ‘Apprentice Challenge’ solution to big business problems. And he explains how a focused brand positioning can help your business to thrive. INTRODUCING RUSSELL BISSET Russell Bisset is the Founder and Managing Director of the Northern Monk Brewery in Leeds. After an early career in chemicals, In 2008, he entered a young entrepreneurs competition with an idea: Northern Monk. But it would still take a few years to really get going. The idea was given life in 2013 when Granny Bisset sold her house and downsized, gifting £5K to all of her grandchildren with the proceeds. After meeting head brewer Brian Dickson at a beer festival they realised they had a shared dream of a proper northern brewery. The pair brewed small amounts of beer in a damp cellar in Bradford, using other breweries’ kits, and sold their beers at local farmers markets. After three months of selling IPAs between gazebos laden with cheese and handmade soaps, they attracted an initial investment. In 2014, Northern Monk was truly born. their own brewery was set up in a Grade II listed abandoned building in Leeds. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:04:00] Where the idea for Northern Monk came from [00:07:30] The initial launch of the idea and cuckoo brewing’ [00:10:00] The importance of drinking experience and collaborations in early marketing [00:14:00] Initial funding and subsequent investors [00:17:30] The increase in the brand range and the successes and learnings [00:21:00] The benefits and challenges of expanding into a venue and events [00:24:30] The first steps into retail sales and the issues it brings [00:28:00] Covid and the challenges and opportunities it brought [00:33:30] Post-Covid challenges [00:39:30] How to distill and project your brand essence KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “We said we’d pay our graphic design agency when we hit £2m turnover. They were pleasantly surprised when we did. It was a proud moment when we started repaying them.” “The first steps into retail were through Mark’s & Spencer’s (obviously a Leeds company” “I told the team to look at Covid as an Apprentice challenge” “We stayed open as we were viewed as an ‘essential supplier’ during Covid” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.northernmonk.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-bisset-2b935419 Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/russellbisset Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/northernmonk Twitter (personal): https://www.x.com/NMBCoRuss Twitter (business): https://www.x.com/NMBCo Shout out tags: https://www.bundobust.com https://www.hellohouseoffu.com Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel; https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from... | |||||||
| 01 Nov 2023 | Lee-J Walker - Joint MD, TheBusinessDesk.com | 00:44:55 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Lee-J Walker, joint MD at TheBusinessDesk.com. Lee explains to us the essential business skills learnt from being an engineer AND an army reservist, the importance of understanding different cultures when doing business internationally and, from his own experiences, what to look out for when doing an MBO. He also tells us why 3.5million people per year read the BusinessDesk.com, what their business mode is (its ACE by the way), and how The Business Desk was affected by, and then responded to, the COVID pandemic.. INTRODUCING LEE-J WALKER Lee-J Walker is an experienced senior manager who has worked across the UK and the Middle East within the world of on-line advertising and recruitment. Prior to joining TheBusinessDesk.com, Lee-J was based in Dubai working for the $22bn turnover global recruitment company Manpower Inc as the regional group sales manager for the Gulf, more forward to now, he heads up the commercial and financial operations for TheBusinessDesk.com, the leading regional digital business news media that provides daily, weekly and as it happens business news to senior executives across the North, Midlands and South West. Lee-J is hugely experienced at driving revenues, operations and his Linkedin bio says he ‘makes things happen!’ In his personal time, he used to take to the more adventures of life, including travelling, mountaineering, completing Ironman triathlons and cycling but nowadays opts more for fine dining, walking and pub lunches. He also spends a considerable amount of time helping charities raise funds and raises tens of thousands each year across TheBusinesDesk events but also sits as a board member of the Firecracker ball which is responsible for raising hundreds of thousands each year for Barnardos. VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.thebusinessdesk.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/walkerleej/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebusinessdesk.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebusinessdeskuk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BusinessDesk_YK Shout out tags: https://curveblock.io/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either
or | |||||||
| 12 Mar 2025 | How to solve these four business problems - the Business Surgery | 00:23:57 | |||||
Do you have one of these common Business Problems? And looking for a solution? Welcome to the latest bonus episode of the Leeds Business Podcast, featuring our most recent Business Surgery problems. If you're a Business Owner, have a listen; you've probably experienced at least one, or more, of these problems..... and now you have a potential solution. This month’s round up features the following business problems; "I'm struggling with giving feedback to my team. Any suggestions?" - Mike Bates, Former Counter-Terrorism Officer "I'm think of starting a podcast. What do I need to consider?" Dan & Michael, The Square Ball "We're coming up to annual appraisal time. Any advice?" Anna Sutton, Data Refinery "I need to up my business sales. How do I even start putting a marketing plan together?" Dan Murray, Leeds-List You can hear each of the full episodes of the above guests at; https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/episode/leeds-list https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/episode/anna-sutton https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/episode/mike-bates https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/episode/the-square-ball PREVIOUS BUSINESS SURGERY COMPILATIONS Business Surgery Compilation No 1 - https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/business-problems-solved/ Business Surgery Compilation No 2 - https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/episode/4-business-problems-solved VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus. As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead. | |||||||
| 11 Sep 2024 | Supporting, and investing in, female founders with Jordan Dargue, Co-Founder, Lifted Ventures | 00:52:01 | |||||
For more information on YFM equity Partners please visit www.yfmep.com (and tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) This week’s guest is Jordan Dargue, co-founder of Lifted Ventures. Jordan shares with us her journey into angel investing, developing the early stage investing community in Leeds and the North and now building Lifted Ventures and its ‘flywheel’ to support both female founders and female investors. Jordan also explains the important role that men can play in being male allies to this vital area of business, and how to make your business ‘investor-ready’. The business surgery segment answers the question; ""What are the key things that I should put in an Angel Investment pitch deck?" INTRODUCING JORDAN DARGUE Jordan Dargue, is a founder, senior executive, investor, NED and seasoned investment expert. Jordan is Co Founder of Lifted Ventures. Lifted exists to increase the flow of early stage capital to female founders and promote the significant business benefits of backing women. The Lifted Ventures flywheel has an angel network at its core, alongside education, community and consultancy. Previously Jordan was co-leader and Board Director of multi award winning NorthInvest, and in 2020 she co-founded Fund Her North and Women Angels of the North, a collective of women in VCs and Angel investors who support female founders to get equal access to finance. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:30] The transition from construction to technology [00:05:00] why is there a lack of women in certain industries and roles? [00:10:00] The founding of NorthInvest and its aims [00:13:00] Can anyone be an Angel Investor? And what can an angel bring to the table? [00:17:00] The founding of Fund Her North and its aims [00:21:00] The role of male allies [00:25:00] BUSINESS SURGERY [00:31:00] What is Lifted Ventures, why is it needed and the conference [00:40:00] How to make your business investor ready [00:47:00] The Athena Festival 4 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Anyone can be an Angel Investor • Female founders, and the wider female business eco-system need male allies • Female founders generate more revenue, grow more quickly and are more likely to exit • Only 2% of capital goes into female founders 3 BEST MOMENTS “Investors need to understand the story behind the business “I invested three times. I invested in her and loved what she was doing” “Register to attend Lifted Venture conference and/or the Athena event” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://liftedventures.co.uk/ Athena Conference - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-athena-festival-a-female-founder-innovation-festival-tickets-915591838837 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-dargue-59438433/ Shout out tags: https://www.gordonsllp.com/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people | |||||||
| 02 Apr 2025 | From failing business to multi-award winning success - Graeme Hall, Brandon Medial | 00:50:35 | |||||
This week we speak to Graeme Hall, Executive Chairman of Brandon Medical. Graeme shares with us a great template for turning around a failing business, navigating selling into the NHS, the importance of company culture and values and also gives a simple, but really useful guide on how to start exporting. INTRODUCING GRAEME HALL Graeme is Executive Chairman of Brandon Medical and Co-Owner with his brother Adrian. He also serves as a Director of Medilink North of England, a professional association dedicated to growing the Healthcare Technology sector and is Chairman of the Hospital Turnkey Suppliers Association. Graeme was awarded ‘Director of the Year’ by the Institute of Directors in 2010 for his role in the development of Brandon Medical into a well-respected medical technology business. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:00] From engineer to entrepreneur and acquisition [00:05:00] Turning the acquisition around one problem at a time [00:11:00] The problems that dealing with the NHS brings [00:15:00] Developing the business, and a few false dawns [00:20:00] The difficulty in consistent culture in an international company [00:25:00] The value of awards in business [00:30:00] Exiting the business; the thinking behind exiting, the planning and the execution [00:41:00] A practical guide to exporting 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Rather than start a business, buy one that has at least an office and basic staff and a product • If there’s big barriers to entry it stops other companies taking business away from you • Not all businesses are sellable and not all businesses are inter-generational 3 MOMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “We borrowed money to buy the business. 10 weeks later we’d repaid the loan” “One of our values is friendliness – we don’t have to be friends with people we work with but we have to be good colleagues” “Competitors are a great source of market information and education” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://www.brandon-medical.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graeme-hall-257078a/ Shout out: https://www.medilinkuk.com/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal - Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/the-square-ball/ | |||||||
| 13 Sep 2023 | Stuart Clarke - Leeds Digital Festival & Owner of Paceline | 00:40:19 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Stuart Clarke MBE, Festival Director for the Leeds Digital Festival and Owner of Paceline Strategy & PR. Stuart explains to us what start ups and scale ups most need, how and when to (or not to) source external funding, how the Leeds Tech map came about and all about the amazing annual Leeds Digital Festival. He also talks about how to build a community. INTRODUCING STUART CLARKE Stuart Clarke MBE is the founder of Paceline marketing and PR consultancy, working with startup and scaleup firms in the tech sector. He is a non-executive director and adviser to a number of startups, including Jigsaw, Synap and The Grad Soc, and has helped firms to raise funds through crowdfunding, angels and VCs. Stuart also runs the PARSE peer roundtable programme for startup founders and is the creator of the Leeds Tech Map. He is the co-founder and the Festival Director of the Leeds Digital Festival, the largest open tech event in the UK. The 2023 Festival had over 240 events, celebrating all things digital. The annual Tech Nation report saw him named by startups as the most influential person in Leeds; he was also named as one of the top three digital leaders in the UK in the Digital Leaders DL100, as well as the City Region Leader: Leeds in the Northern Leadership Awards, and featured in the 2022 Yorkshire Business Insider Powerlist 100. Stuart was awarded the honour of MBE in the 2023 New Year Honours list for Services to the Technology Sector. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] How Paceline launched and the focus on tech, start ups and scale ups [00:07:30] The hardest part of running your own business [00:09.15] What do start ups and scale ups most need [00:11:45] PARSE peer-to-peer roundtable support [00:16:00] When does a start up or scale up need funding? [00:21:45] The Leeds Digital map [00:27:15] Leeds Digital Festival [00:31:30] How to build a community KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “people always start new businesses with a couple of anchor clients before they jump ship. The first mistake I made I left my job on a Friday, with no clients on the Monday” “We’ve seen so many start ups come through in Leeds and succeed” “Consistency is key to building a company profile” “A founder came in and said, ‘I think I’ve killed my business…” “It’s about making sure people have access to funding when they need it” “People now see Leeds as one of the key tech regions” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Leeds Digital Tech Map: https://paceline.digital/leeds-tech-map/ Leeds Digital Festival: https://leedsdigitalfestival.org/ Website: https://paceline.digital/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartclarkedigital/ Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/StuartClarkeUK Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/LeedsDigiFest Shout out: | |||||||
| 18 Oct 2023 | Adam Smith FRSA - Surplus to Purpose | 00:54:37 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Adam Smith, CEO of Surplus to Purpose. Hear how an almost successful suicide attempt took Adam to Australia and opened his eyes to the global food waste problem, how he went about solving it, first with the worldwide Real Junk Food Project and now Surplus To Purpose; a pro-planet social enterprise. You'll also hear about the toxicity of the hospitality industry, why waste food is a environmental issue not a poverty issue, and how YOU can support it, and a key lesson on delegation. INTRODUCING ADAM SMITH Adam Smith is a founder and co-director of the multi-award-winning, global initiative: The Real Junk Food Project. Set up in December 2013, to revolutionise the disposal of avoidable food waste into landfill, the pioneering movement’s manifesto is to: feed bellies, not bins. A professional chef for over ten years, Adam has held a wealth of head chef positions, internationally. Whilst in Australia, Adam witnessed the scale of food waste, agriculturally and within the catering industry. Upon his return to the UK, he was inspired to set up TRJFP. In 2014,Adam was voted one of the 40 most influential men in the world by AskMen. The Telegraph voted Adam as one of the 50th most influential people in UK Food & Drink – Food & Drink Power List 2017. In 2022, Adam was appointed as CEO of Surplus To Purpose, SToP, a revolutionary catering enterprise. Surplus to Purpose utilises food destined for waste, by safely redistributing this through cooked meals, products and provisions to families. It focuses on the environmental issues of food waste. His alias is Mr Junk Food Chef and his story is utterly inspiring. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:03:00] Suicide attempt leads to going to Australia [00:06:45] The toxicity of the catering and hospitality industry [00:10:00] The birth and growth of the Real Junk Food Project [00:26:00] The implosion to the The Real Junk Food Project [00:33:00] The launch of Surplus To Purpose [00:46:00] How to delegate KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “I made a very serious attempt to take my own life and was pronounced dead at the scene” “I would encourage everybody to learn how to cook, cook at home make mistakes and learn from them” “Food waste is an environmental issue and poverty is a social issue. They are two separate things” “I could write a book on how not to run a social enterprise” “I’m here to stop waste, not to feed people” “We’ve fed 20 million people around the world” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Adam’s TedX Talk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwCt_8pXb4 The original Guardian interview - https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2014/mar/27/cafe-food-past-sell-by-date-video Website: http://www.surplus2purpose.com/ https://mrjunkfoodchef.com/ LinkedIn:... | |||||||
| 27 Nov 2024 | A different Leeds media - Dan Murray, LeedsList.com | 00:44:04 | |||||
This week's guest is Dan Murray of Leeds-List.com Dan tells us about the step from freelancer to business owner with just a ‘back of a fag packet business plan, how not being the same as other media owners causes problems, incoming growth pains and the benefits of the Chamber of Commerce and LeedsBID. The business surgery segment answers the question; "I need to up my business sales. How do I even start putting a marketing plan together?" For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!)
INTRODUCING DAN MURRAY Starting his career in tech and then moving to marketing and media, Dan set out to create a new kind of media paradigm, not just another magazine or blog. You Platform are a performance marketing agency melded with its own media outlets that uses live insights to ideate successful strategies and optimise during execution, using art and science to create content that people find valuable, and even fun. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] Launching the business [00:07:30] Agency or media owner? And Leeds Lists [00:11:15] The launch of the business, and some ‘mis-steps’ [00:19:00] Client offerings and content styles (reword this) [00:22:00] LeedsBID and the Chamber of Commerce [00:28:00] Business growing pains [00:32:00] Business Surgery [00:35:00] Dan’s biggest current problem (problems with scaling) [00:39:00] How to…. VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://leeds-list.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmurray/ Shout out: https://tred.earth/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/tred/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/anna-sutton/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/the-square-ball/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/phil-fraser/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business | |||||||
| 04 Dec 2024 | All you need to know about Private Equity - Jamie Roberts YFM | 00:45:08 | |||||
This week we speak to Jamie Roberts Chief Investment Officer at YFM Equity Partners. I took the opportunity to ask Jamie everything we all need to know about taking Private Equity in your business. Even if you’re not looking at inward investment right now, there’s tons of great stuff in here including what PE houses look for, where the power really lies and the importance of doing your ow due diligence on any potential PE partner. For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING JAMIE ROBERTS Jamie Roberts joined YFM in 2012 and is Chief Investment Officer and sits on the Board and Investment Committee. Jamie leads all the Investment and Portfolio activity across the UK. Since joining YFM Jamie has directly led and supported dozens of investments across all YFM funds. Jamie is passionate about social inclusion having led YFM’s first internship programme and works with a charity that focuses on less advantaged students to show them the opportunities that are available to them outside of their immediate network. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:30] What is ‘private equity’? [00:02:45] How would a company benefit from private equity? [00:07:00] Where strategic input from private equity comes from [00:12:00] The downsides of a company taking private equity [00:17:00] How to choose the right PE company for your business [00:22:00] What private equity money can be used for [00:27:00] What PE houses look for in a business pitch [00:30:00] Successes and failures in private equity [00:38:00] How to find the right type of investor in your business [00:42:00] Do PE houses chase businesses or is it the other way round? 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Private equity is not for everyone • Management teams should do full DD on their potential PE partner • There is a lot of investment money out there 3 MOMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “It’s really weird how little time management teams spend on choosing the right equity partner” “Management teams, have the power, not the funders” “Why cant we just talk about mazing businesses… not the bad stories” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-roberts-446baa6/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/zandra-moore/ (invested in by YFM) https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/adam-oldfield/ (invested in by YFM) | |||||||
| 16 Oct 2024 | May the force be with you - Adam Oldfield, Force 24 | 01:02:16 | |||||
This week we speak to Adam Oldfield, Founder & CEO of Force 24. Adam tells us about ‘forming, storming, norming and performing’, the dangers of having too much money in the business, how market pressure forced him to change the business offering and how he rejected, perhaps wrongly in hindsight, an offer to sell the business. The business surgery segment answers the question; "Our team is growing and I'm recruiting. Any tips on writing job descriptions and roles & responsibility documents?” For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you! INTRODUCING ADAM OLDFIELD After spending 20+ years in senior marketing roles, in 2010 Adam began a journey to develop a solution that allowed marketers to hold greater conversations with their audience at speed. He called it Force24 – now one of the in-demand marketing automation platforms in the UK. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00.00.00] Adam's early career [00.03.45] merging two businesses, the pros & cons [00.06.45] exiting one business and launching another [00.12.00] Funding and growing the start up [00.16.30] Changing the business strategy [00.22.00] The problems in scaling the business [00.24.00] Finding equity funding and a trade offer [00.34.00] Spending PE money and Non-Exec Chairs [00.38.00] Business Surgery [00.43.00] The problems caused by having PE funds [00.48.00] How to build a team to support scale 2 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://www.force24.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/force24 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-oldfield-7b5a1813/ Shout out: https://www.bobbledigital.com DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/kate-ball | |||||||
| 13 Nov 2024 | How to turn a hobby into a 'proper' business - Dan & Michael, The Square Ball | 01:08:55 | |||||
For many, turning a hobby that they love into a paying business is the ultimate dream. This week I speak to Dan Moylan & Michael Normanton of The Square Ball, who’ve made that dream come true. Listen how they describe how personal financial problems demanded that it became a paying success, the multiple revenue streams that power the business, the impact promotion had on the business and the growing pains, including the effect on the business two major personnel leaving. And of course, the madness of Leeds United. For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING DAN & MICHAEL Dan Moylan and Michael Normanton are co-owners of The Square Ball. Dan Moylan is a former nightclub and radio dj having worked previously at Metro Radio and GHR North. Michael Normanton previously worked at ITV selling advertising before working full time on The Square Ball. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] How Dan and Michael found their way to The Square Ball [00:08:45] The finances in the early days and quitting jobs for the business [00:16:00] Burnout and debt and the necessity to make it work, and bringing staff in full time [00:22:00] The importance of Leeds United getting promoted [00:24:40] The importance of Covid in the development of the podcast [00:28:00] The various revenue streams of the business [00:31:30] The effect of Leeds United’s performance on revenue [00:34:00] The growing pains of becoming a ‘grown up’ business and major [00:37:00] The issues caused by two main personnel leaving the business (and the solutions) [00:49:30] Business Surgery [00:59:00] The business strategy going forward [01:04:00] Is making a hobby into a business a problem? 7 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • It’s important to keep reinvesting profits to develop the product • Audio advertising rates are 7/8 times higher than video • The more the business grows, the more demands it places on you • There’s always ‘f…in’ something • If you can’t not be there, you’ve got a job not a business • They can’t all be 10/10. As long as they’re 7/10, or more, most of the time, that’s OK • The key to growing a podcast is to think of your listeners in 3 categories; gold, silver and bronze 6 COMMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “The original idea was that the podcast would get people interested in the fanzine. That’s now flipped.” “I’m getting made redundant. Give this a go or get a proper job” “It’s fine doing it part-time until ‘life’ gets in the way’ “I was under so much pressure financially and professionally” “Going down might be one of the best things that happens to your business” “Authenticity is key” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://www.thesquareball.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-moylan-0990b62a1/ Shout out: | |||||||
| 01 May 2024 | Apprentice 2024 winner, Rachel Woolford - Owner of North Studio gyms | 00:55:30 | |||||
This week I’m delighted to have Apprentice winner and North Studio owner, Rachel Woolford as my guest. Rachel explains all about launching her boutique gym just weeks before lockdown and the stress it caused her, reveals the secrets from behind the scenes of The Apprentice, tells us all about her time on the show and shares what it's been like since she was announced as the winner. INTRODUCING RACHEL WOOLFORD Rachel Woolford is the owner and founder of boutique gym North Studio which has locations in North Leeds and Harrogate. She was the winner of the BBC's The Apprentice in 2024. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] How did North Studio start [00:05:00] How the studio dealt with the stop start of Covid [00:10:30] Marketing North Studio post-Covid [00:12:20] Expanding the business to Harrogate [00:14:00] The impact on the business of leaving for The Apprentice [00:17:00] I’m away but I don’t know when I’ll be back…. [00:20:30] Why apply to go on The Apprentice? [00:23:30] Day One on The Apprentice, the house and the tasks [00:30:00] Favourite tasks and being Project Manager [00:36:00] The interviews [00:42:00] The winner, and what happens next? [00:45:00] The media frenzy [00:50:00] Listeners questions [00:54:00] How to avoid complacency in business 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Remain calm & confident is much better than responding chaotically • Always be open and listen to suggestions from the team • The Apprentice was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Its way harder than it looks on tele 3 BEST MOMENTS “The thing people took away from Covid was supporting small businesses, which helped us” “I finished recording on Sunday night in London and was working in Roundhay at 07.00am the next day” “They sent a mystery visitor to the studio” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://northstudioleeds.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-woolford-948528216/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/northstudioleeds/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelwoolford/ Shout out tags: https://www.stoneacreproperties.co.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/linda-plant https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/pop-up-shop/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/christine-yorath/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a | |||||||
| 29 May 2024 | How to build a fashion brand - Simon Brown, Joe Browns | 00:54:00 | |||||
This week we speak to Simon Brown, founder of fashion and lifestyle brand, Joe Browns. Simons tells us where the inspiration for the brand came from, shares with us the business ups and the personal downs of Covid, being told that he was unemployable, the three ‘i’s the brand lives by and a great checklist for starting your own business. Rasputin and Ivan the Terrible get name checks too. INTRODUCING SIMON BROWN Born in Leeds and raised in Bramhope. Simon Brown founded Joe Browns in 1998, inspired by a group of friends enjoying a beer in a beach bar called The Ty Coch Inn in Morfa Nefyn, North Wales 25+years later, he’s the proud founder of Joe Browns, the Leeds based fashion and homeware brand centred around creating remarkable product. The brand is on a mission to make people feel great while injecting as much individuality and colour into as many wardrobes and homes as possible. Simon lives by the motto ‘Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride’ words you’ll see in lights in our White Rose Shopping Centre store, which opened on 2nd December 2023. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Introducing Simon Brown and the route to Joe Browns [00:08:00] The source and essence of Joe Browns [00:11:20] The early days of the Joe Browns business [00:16:00] Raising investment and a change in strategy [00:20:00] Getting into third party catalogues and working with third parties [00:27:00] Why expand into ‘bricks & mortar’ stores [00:31:30] A trip to Russia… [00:34:00] How was Covid for Joe Browns and Simon Brown [00:39:00] Forward plan for Joe Browns [00:42:00] How does it feel bringing in staff ‘above’ the founder? [00:45:00] How to set up a business and what to consider [00:50:00] The importance of being remarkable KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • The power of silence; first one to speak loses the deal • Why borrow if you don’t have to borrow? • The easy solution isn’t always the right solution • Curiosity and creativity go hand-in-hand • Never ever give up • You have to understand the numbers BEST MOMENTS “When you stop enjoying something you have to move on “We’re not putting you on the books, you’re unemployable” “If we’d gone with that deal, we’d have been bankrupted “I want my stores to be interesting, intriguing, inspiring” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/ Shout out: https://www.theheroesjourney.com/ Negotiate to Close - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Negotiate-Close-Make-Successful-Deals/dp/0002176289 Success is a choice - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Success-Choice-Make-Choices-Successful/dp/078523859X/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE As mentioned by Simon; | |||||||
| 12 Mar 2025 | A Business Owner's Masterclass with Daniel Priestley | 01:06:00 | |||||
The second most popular episode to date, featuring Daniel Priestley. On April 23rd 2024 I wrote a post on Linked in, titled ‘I hate Daniel Priestley’. See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/philfraser_i-hate-daniel-priestley-im-sueing-activity-7185564354442854400-nVXA/. The post went viral! Off the back of it Daniel agreed to be a guest on the podcast. Before you start listening to this week’s episode make sure you have a pen and paper ready. Daniel Priestly delivers a masterclass in Entrepreneurship and business ownership, with tons and tons of brilliant ideas and advice. Note you can get Get 14 days for free and 20% off your first 3 months at ScoreApp via https://share.scoreapp.com/9aa33263. INTRODUCING DANIEL PRIESTLEY Daniel Priestley is the Founder of Dent Global and ScoreApp. he has founded multiple 7 & 8 figure ventures, been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year and is the author of six entrepreneurship books, including Key Person of Influence, Oversubscribed and Entrepreneur Revolution. He regularly speaks at conferences and have been a business coach to several fast growth (Inc5000) entrepreneurs and celebrities. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:03:30] Introducing Daniel Priestley [00:05:30] The number one thing all business owners need to decide [00:08:00] Introducing the CAOS Theory [00:11:00] How to build an audience [00:15:30] How to create, and the benefits of, a Wait List [00:21:30] The CAPSTONE Pitch structure [00:27:30] Can anyone be an entrepreneur? [00:32:00] What is a Key Person of Influence? [00:37:00] How to be a Key Person of Influence; using the 5 Ps [00:41:30] Your book should be a sales person or why you should your book away as a gift [00:45:00] What is a product eco-system? And why you should have one. Listen to live example. [00:53:30] How to create a scorecard campaign [00:59:30] Lifestyle businesses v performance businesses KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Develop an audience then a product/offer • Entrepreneurship is sexy from a distance but up close its rough going • The door to success doesn’t have a handle; you have to kick the door down • The only way to get cut-through is the founder talking about the business • Use the 5Ps to raise your position as a Key Person of Influence • Assessment-based selling can be used in any business THE BEST MOMENTS “If you gave me millions of dollars to launch a business I’d leave it on the shelf” “People don’t want to do the stuff that’s not sexy” “I only build stuff if thousands of people want it” “People like people more than brands” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://danielpriestley.com/ https://share.scoreapp.com/9aa33263 https://www.dent.global/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpriestley/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal - Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it YOU MAY ALSO LIKE | |||||||
| 07 Aug 2024 | Is funeral care 'making money from misery'? - Sarah Jones, Full Circle Funerals | 00:56:48 | |||||
This week we speak to Sarah Jones, Founder of Full Circle Funerals. Sarah tells us all about the growth and the amazing sale of her first business, the post-sale emotions after you’ve sold, the launch, only 9 months later, of her second business and why she picked funeral industry. Plus, she tells us what it’s like to work with a brother. Could you work with YOUR sibling? There's also a great ‘how to’ on selecting your next business coach or mentor. INTRODUCING SARAH JONES Sarah Jones started her career as a medic and then owner and managed residential care home services for adults with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour. In 2016, she established Full Circle Funerals – a modern funeral directors informed by health and social care principles and focussed on making a challenging time easier. Full Circle Funerals has won several industry awards and was the first UK funeral director to become a certified B Corp. Sarah published her number one best-selling funeral arranging guide “Funerals Your Way” in 2019. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:00] The switch from medic to business owner [00:03:30] Growing the adult residential care business [00:04:30] The benefits of working with a sibling [00:06:30] The commercial side of adult supported living [00:09:00] Exiting the business [00:16:00] What it’s like emotionally, post-sale [00:20:00] Why chose funeral care? And the other options… [00:25:00] Launching a funeral care business [00:35:00] Franchising as a solution to reduce barriers to entry [00:42:00] The differences launching a second business [00:47:00] How to get the right type of support as a business owner 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • The funeral industry has no real regulation • It is very difficult to articulate what 'good' is in funeral care • Franchising in funeral care is unusual 3 BEST MOMENTS “We either needed to go national, or stop” “I did some volunteering but I wasn’t very good at it” “I did two MBAs whilst I was growing the business” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://fullcirclefunerals.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-jones-fullcirclefunerals/ Shout out tags: https://www.candidhr.co.uk/ https://www.mlaperformance.co.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE | |||||||
| 10 Apr 2024 | The quickest way to reduce your business carbon footprint - Peter Kirby & Will Smith, Tred | 00:48:38 | |||||
This week we speak to green banking start-up, Tred. Peter & will discuss where the idea of a green bank account came from, the secret tip that worked for improving their network connections, how the first round of testing changed the business strategy, the positives and negatives of a wait list and what it feels like to secure £1m of funding. We also get taught how to reduce the carbon footprint of your business. Win a Tred water bottle. Listen to the episode then answer the question at www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com/tred/ INTRODUCING PETER KIRBY & WILL SMITH Peter Kirby keeps Tred running! He ensures customers love their green business current account, develops a happy and high performing team, and owns the compliance function. Before Tred, he worked with the UK's largest companies to improve their operations, like developing the UK’s COVID shielding programme and revolutionising the procurement process in a £5bn clothing brand. Will Smith owns Tred's growth and finances. He makes sure every business wants, and has, a Tred green current account. Selected by Forbes as a ‘30 under 30’, he brings experience from both the start-up and corporate world. He's managed global product launches, negotiated commercial contracts worth over £500m and much more. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] What is Tred? [00:01:00] Introducing Will & Peter [00:05:30] Where did the idea for Tred come from? [00:09:00] The first step on the start-up journey and testing the hypothesis [00:11:00] The funding journey and lessons learnt [00:16:00] Starting the business properly [00:23:00] A banking platform not a bank and let’s talk ‘Bank of Dave’ [00:32:00] The current situation for Tred [00:36:45] How do you evaluate a ‘green’ banking card? [00:38:15] How to reduce the carbon footprint of your business [00:41:15] The biggest learning from a mistake 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Find the cheapest and quickest way to test your hypothesis • Ask people for introductions. Almost everyone says yes • Hire the people with skills you are most useless at • Entrepreneurs are not taking enough risks because of a fear of failure 3 BEST MOMENTS “Please can someone be the Spotify for home 3D printing” “We spent months building an app. Did we need it? Probably not” “There’ll be bugs a plenty come squash them with us” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://tred.earth/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrhsmith/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterlkirby/ Shout out tags: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-baker-8700399/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE | |||||||
| 29 Nov 2024 | 4 more business problems solved in the Business Surgery | 00:16:48 | |||||
Have you got one of these Business Problems? Welcome to the monthly, bonus episode of the Leeds Business Podcast, featuring the latest Business Surgery problems. If you're a Business Owner, have a listen; you've probably experienced at least one, or more, of these problems..... and now you have a potential solution. This month’s round up features the following business problems; [00:00:30] "I’m constantly battling problems in my business. Can you recommend a system or process to solve them?” - with Kate Ball, Mini -First Aid [00:04:00] "I have fallen out of love with my business. What can I do?" - with George Fairhall, WAC [00:08:00] "Our team is growing and I’m recruiting. Any tips on writing job descriptions and roles & responsibility documents?” - with Adam Oldfield, Force 24 [00:13:00] "One of my key members of staff is causing a bad atmosphere in the team. She’s too important to sack. What can I do?" - with George Halston, Halston Group THE FULL EPISODE OF EACH GUEST IN THIS COMPILATION CAN BE FOUND AT https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/kate-ball/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/george-fairhall/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/adam-oldfield/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/georgia-halston/ Business Surgery Compilation No 1 - https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/business-problems-solved/ WANT YOUR BUSINESS PROBLEM SOLVING? Email: phil@leedsbusinesspodcast.com with your problem and Phil and future guest will suggest a solution for you VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus. As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead. | |||||||
| 25 Sep 2024 | A great business idea executed badly and other tales - Mark Fitzgerald-Cooke, Intelligent Business Partners | 01:03:21 | |||||
This week we speak to Mark Fitzgerald-Cooke, MD of Intelligent Business Partners. Mark tells all about the difficulties in moving from print to online, a great business idea that didn’t work and how owning the process gives you power in a sector. The business surgery segment answers the question; "I'm currently doing my business planning. How far in advance should I do my strategy?" INTRODUCING MARK FITZGERALD-COOKE Mark Fitzgerald Cooke is MD of business broker, Intelligent Business Partners. He has over 30 years helping people buy and sell cars, homes and businesses in the UK, Europe and Asia, working with brands like AutoTrader, Rightmove, Zoopla, proptech start ups and now with Intelligent. He is believed to be the only person whose feet were on EastEnders AND is related to former American President JFK. For more information on our show sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:30] Mark’s early career at TNT and key learnings [00:09:30] A great online idea that wasn’t executed well [00:16:30] Downsizing a business and moving it online [00:31:00] The benefits of great training and Thomson Directories [00:40:00] The learnings from working in Malaysia [00:45:00] THE BUSINESS SURGERY [00:49:00] Intelligent Business Services [00:52:00] How to prepare your business for sale [00:56:00] How to find the right advisor for your business 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
4 BEST MOMENTS “co-operating online, with our offline competitors just didn’t work” “you cant be the friendly face of doom forever” “Hindsight is a great thing in business” “Your biggest problem is themandownthepubsays.com” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Fraser Five Step (FFS) simple strategy planning tool - https://philfraser.co.uk/fraser-five-step-ffs/ Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://www.intelligent.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-fitzgerald-cooke-a693662// Shout out tags: https://www.getaudience.co.uk DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE (mentioned in the show) https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/helen-oldham https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/howard-moss/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a | |||||||
| 25 Oct 2023 | Paul Dodd - Founder, AllGood | 00:50:49 | |||||
In this episode we talk to Founder and Owner of AllGood branding agency. Along with his near-fatal brain haemorrhage, Paul talks to us about the power of NLP, why his branding agency only offers clients one design option, how a masterful example of business creativity in a cinema visit won a client pitch, gives us some tips on business networking and explains how DIY on your house can be an inspiration for your business. INTRODUCING PAUL DODD Paul Dodd is the founder of ALLGOOD, a specialist branding agency. With extensive experience in branding, strategy and marketing, Pail ensures all clients’ work actually works. The agency turns 20 years old in November 2023 and Paul has been running the show from day one, bringing his unique design eye and ideas to every branding challenge. Paul is also a professional speaker with bags of ideas and tricks for marketing your business. Through his 20 years running a successful agency, Paul is able to draw on many client stories, marketing expertise and real-life case studies to make you challenge your beliefs around growing your business. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] The start of AllGood [00:05:45] Tips for networking [00:07:00] Learning how to run a business [00:11:15] The benefits of mentors and my mentors [00:14:00] NLP and how it moulds the company’s ‘brandology’ process [00:21:00] Presenting a pitch in a cinema [00:29:00] 27th January 2017; a brain haemorrhage [00:42:00] How to get your business ‘client-presentation ready’ KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “One of my techniques was [when networking] to where crazy shirts to stand out, and then got known for my mad shirts” “The linguistic side of NLP really helped the business, allowing us to dig into strategy” “We only present one option to the client - you don’t go to the doctor, and he puts 3 pills on table and says ‘choose one’ “ “In the cinema the guy just said, here’s the HDMI cable, just plug it into your laptop” “you lie in that bed, you do not move, you’re in danger” “If I’d been employed I would have had a sick note for a year” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com The Biskery episode - https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/the-biskery/ Deborah Ogden’s interview with Paul Dodd and his brain hemorrhage - https://player.captivate.fm/episode/10f6018f-4e33-402d-8fc1-17b7a7a2710d Book recommendations: ‘The e-myth’ - Michael Gerber, ‘7 habits of success people’ - Stephen Covey Website: https://allgood.tv LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauldoddallgood/ Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/allgoodagency/ Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/mrpauldodd Shout out tags: https://thebiskery.com Debbie Whittaker - https://www.notjustnumbersltd.co.uk/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR... | |||||||
| 04 Sep 2024 | Gordon Ramsay's favourite Italian restaurant - John Dammone, Salvos | 01:02:01 | |||||
For more information on YFM Equity Partners please visit www.yfmep.com (and tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) This week we speak to John Dammone, co-owner of legendary Leeds restaurant, Salvos. John tells us all about the early days of the restaurant, some key lessons learnt in some unsuccessful business expansions, how they kept relevant throughout the years and all about the effect Gordon Ramsay had on the business. The business surgery segment answers the question; "As a business owner, I've always got too much to do on my to do list. How do I solve this problem?" After you've heard Phil's answer, read this https://philfraser.co.uk/work-prioritisation/ for more on his system. INTRODUCING JOHN DAMMONE John Dammone founded the award-winning Salvo’s Restaurant in Leeds in 1976. With over 45 years experience in the hospitality industry, John successfully expanded what was a 40-seater neighbourhood restaurant into an 85-seater restaurant and bar. The nationally renowned restaurant has won multiple accolades and awards over the years including numerous TV appearances including being crowned the UK’s best independent Italian Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay on Channel 4’s The F Word. Amongst many honours received during his career he has been a recipient of the Yorkshire Evening Post Outstanding Achievement award for his contribution to the Leeds Restaurant Industry twice in 2012 and in 2019. In 2015 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by Yorkshire Life Magazine and, most recently was awarded a British Empire medal in the Kings Birthday honours list for services to the Hospitality Industry. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] The launch of Salvos and the role of the family [00:05:00] The early pain points [00:08:00] How do you keep a long-standing restaurant relevant [00:11:00] Two failed business expansions [00:24:00] Gordon Ramsay’s F Word [00:34:00] How was Covid? [00:44:00] How to benchmark against the competition [00:53:00] BUSINESS SURGERY QUESTION [00:58:00] Exiting the business [01:05:00] Pineapple on pizza? 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • You cannot stand still in business • Don’t let one client have more than 10% of the business • Do not entrust your brand to another person 4 BEST MOMENTS “In the early days we made people share tables” “Our ask was two small for venture capitalists and too big for high street banks” “I nearly put the phone down on Channel 4” “We were lucky not to be with a high street bank” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Salvos win Gordon Ramsay's Best Local Italian Restaurant on The F Word - https://youtu.be/TsBxFyt7xTQ Salvos get to the final of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word search for best Italian Restaurant - https://youtu.be/unu_3ojzaU Salvos - best starters on Gordon Ramsay's search for the best local Italian Starters on The F Word - https://youtu.be/1OdjhO0kUQk LinkedIn:... | |||||||
| 27 Mar 2024 | I've built 10 £1m+ businesses - Nigel Botterill, Founder, Entrepreneurs Circle | 00:52:23 | |||||
This week we speak to Nigel Botterill, Founder of Entrepreneurs Circle. Nigel tells us why bootstrapping is the WRONG way to run a business, how incompetence launched his most successful business, the day he found £500k missing from his business bank account and the bedroom business that went multi-million pound in months. He also gives a 'how to' that, to quote Nigel, is "the most powerful 'how to' that you have ever had on the podcast." INTRODUCING NIGEL BOTTERILL Nigel Botterill - serial entrepreneur, Sunday Time best-selling author & one of the UK’s most sought after business growth experts. He ‘took the leap’, left his corporate career and started his first business in 2003. Since then, he’s built ten separate million-pound-plus businesses from scratch. Now, at the helm of Entrepreneurs Circle, the country's largest organisation dedicated to helping its members businesses grow, Nigel spends his time helping other entrepreneurs to do what he’s done – escape mediocrity, get and keep all the customers their business needs and live the lives they’ve always wanted EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] The spark to start as an entrepreneur [00:07:00] The plan…. And the smart move [00:10:00] The conference that changed Nigel’s life [00:12:30] The side hustle, MyMag, that became a £6m phenomenon [00:15:00] The ‘Best of’ online business [00:18:00] The genius of incompetence and the start of Entrepreneurs Circle [00:20:00] The effects of the lockdown announcement [00:28:30] What is Entrepreneurs Circle [00:30:30] The importance of the ‘rhythmic acquisition of customers’ [00:36:00] The nightmare of missing revenue [00:38:30] Going into a CVA [00:42:30] The key learning from going through a CVA [00:45:45] How to get your business to where you want it to be KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Funding growth through revenue isn’t the best way to grow • All businesses need rhythmic acquisition of customers • When you spend your time in business juggling cashflow it’s like a cancer • As a business owner you need to be all over your numbers • Anyone managing their business by looking at their bank account is bonkers • It’s the day-to-day that kills dreams • Profit and loss accounts are a work of fiction BEST MOMENTS “I had a year to move £100,000 from the business to our personal bank account” “We were one of the first customers of Google ads in the UK” “We set up over 2,500 magazines in three years” “What she did was genius but did it out of incompetence” “We had a massive hole and we just didn’t have the money” “I didn’t want to go to work and I didn’t want to go home” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://entrepreneurscircle.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurs-circle https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelbotterill/ Shout out tags: https://www.trustelectricheating.co.uk/ https://rushfirthcreative.co.uk/ https://www.tendo-uk.com/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show YOU MAY ALSO... | |||||||
| 15 May 2024 | Being caught in the 2008 RBS scandal - Dean Hartley | 00:56:30 | |||||
This week we speak to Dean Hartley and hear all about some of the darker sides of business; the threat of VCs kicking you out of your own business, being caught in the 2008 RBS GRG scandal and what happens when you’re at strategic loggerheads with your fellow board members, and the personal low point of exiting a business. INTRODUCING DEAN HARTLEY Dean Hartley is the former CTO and owner of Monitor Audio, a business he helped purchase in 1998 and exited in October 2018 with a 50x ROI. He was instrumental in growing the business from £1.5M to £25M. He now works as a Consultant, EIR advisor and fractional CCO (Chief Commercial Officer). He's also an Angel Investor in start-up/scale-ups. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] Starting the business and then buying another one [00:08:45] A new role in a bigger business [00:10:30] Raising external funding and buying founders out [00:21:00] 2008 financial crash, GRG and the RBS scandal [00:32:00] Where to look for growth finance in your business [00:36:00] Exiting the business and the emotional difficulties it causes afterwards [00:46:00] How to develop yourself and your role in a business 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • You learn a huge amount of skills as a start up founder • There are risks that you sometimes have to take in business if you want to progress • If you really want to scale a business you do need to raise finance 3 BEST MOMENTS “they told us if we didn’t deliver, they’d replace us” “it was very similar to the current Royal Mail scandal” “we need to move on….. without you” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https:// www.chevettechnology.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanhartley01 Shout out tags: https://www.luma3.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/michael-michaelson/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/chris-black/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/colin-glass/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus. As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full,... | |||||||
| 15 Nov 2023 | Martin Wolstencroft - Founder, ARC Inspirations | 00:43:09 | |||||
This week we speak to Martin Wolstencroft, Founder & CEO of the company behind Banyan, Manahatta or Box. Amongst other things, Martin discusses the four features you must have to ensure your business is a success. He also tells us how he re-mortgaged his house and put EVERYTHING on the line to launch his first bar in Headingley, why and how he streamlined 10 different bars into three distinct but complimentary brands, his advice, and questions, for anyone wanting to run their own business and more…. INTRODUCING MARTIN WOLSTENCROFT Martin started his career with Whitbread in 1990 after graduating from Leeds University, starting out as their youngest manager and being promoted rapidly through key operations and marketing roles. Martin co-founded Arc Inspirations in 2000 and opened the first bar under the brand, the Arc, in Headingley, Leeds. Arc Inspirations now operates around 20 premium bars across the Midlands and the North of England, under the brands of Banyan Bar & Kitchen, BOX and Manahatta. He has a fantastic passion for the industry and his energy is contagious, proving to be an outstanding respected leader over the past 30 years. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] Why and how Martin launched his own business [00:09:00] The expansion plans [00:14:00] How to create a bar brand [00:17:00] The move to three streamlined brands [00:19:00] Dealing with Covid [00:26:00] The upsides from Covid [00:29:00] The issues arising from a growing geographical spread of bars [00:33:00] How to determine whether your business idea is any good [00:40:00] The hardest part of the business journey KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “Don’t launch your own business… stay where you are. Don’t do it !! “ “I speak to a lot of people who want to launch their own business and I look them in the eyes and say ‘how much money are you going to put in?” “Designing a bar or restaurant starts with a passion. What’s your passion?” “Covid gave us a chance to step back and think about the business“ “Start a business with something you really love” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: http://www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Ikigai - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai Website: https://www.arcinspirations.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-wolstencroft-aaa287b/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/arc-inspirations/ Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/arc_inspirations/ Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/wullybull Twitter (business): | |||||||
| 10 Jan 2024 | Zandra Moore - Co-Founder and CEO, Panintelligence | 00:52:24 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Zandra Moore, CEO of PanIntelligence. Zandra shares with us a super cheap and really effective marketing tactic that she used and that can get your business noticed, the triggers that brought about a successful Series A funding round, why she didn’t change her business card when she was promoted to CEO, the key role an incubator played in her journey and the need for support and structures for female founders. Plus there’s a great ‘How to’ when it comes to taking a business step you’re afraid of. INTRODUCING ZANDRA MOORE Zandra Moore is a tech entrepreneur in data and AI, who is passionate about enabling more women in the tech industry. The Co-founder and CEO of PanIntelligence, the No Code Lab, and LeanIn Leeds. Zandra is also involved in a number of other UK organisations focused on increasing female representation in the tech industry. She is also a member of the UK Government’s taskforce for diversity in fast growth companies. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] The journey to PanCredit [00:03:00] The MBO/Spin out of PanIntelligence [00:09:00] The feelings behind the step from employee to start up [00:14:00] How the sales started (via old school marketing!) [00:16:30] The major growth landmark and the importance of the channel model [00:21:00] Raising capital, what triggered it and the process [00:26:50] The scary step from Sales & Marketing Director to CEO [00:29:45] Incubators, peer-groups and workshops, and their importance in the journey [00:33:00] The decision on which investors to go with [00:37:30] Female founders and the need & importance for support and change [00:45:00} How to do something that you’re afraid to do KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Personalisation is the key to getting anyone’s attention • It's super hard to hire when you are a start up • Understand who your ideal customer is, be ruthless speaking to only that profile, research them, write them a letter and then pick up the phone • If you’re looking to raise Series A funds, get on an incubator and meet other Founders who have • Be vulnerable enough to say “I’m struggling with this” and get support • Create competitive tension when looking for investment • Shy Bairns get Nowt • Stage-commensurate support is what’s needed – the right support, for the right people, at the right time • Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone • Solve problems by chunking them down BEST MOMENTS “I emptied my savings to buy the IP” “It was super-hard to do the basics like getting a bank account” “When you send people a hand-written letter with a stamp on it, they remember it” “Joining the PWC incubator was the best thing I ever did” “I didn’t change my job title on my email for three months” “The best thing that I got out of the incubator was meeting the wider investment community” “Even though we pitched to London funds, the final 6 offers came from the North” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/ Website: https://panintelligence.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zandramoore/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/panintelligence/ Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/panintelligencesoftware/ Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/zandramoore Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/panintelligence Shout out tags: https://www.thedatarefinery.co.uk/ Mentioned; https://www.adaventures.com/, https://www.fintechnorth.uk/, https://www.liftedventures.co.uk/ Want to watch... | |||||||
| 30 Oct 2024 | All about B2B, green-hushing and company culture with Georgia Halston, Halston Group | 00:50:13 | |||||
This week we speak to Georgia Halston, Group CEO of the Halston Group. Georgia tells us about launching her own business, buying another one to add on to it, how she established her company culture pillars BEFORE she employed any staff, all about ‘green hushing’ and some incredible stats about our Very own NHS. The business surgery answers the question; "One of my key members of staff is causing a bad atmosphere in the team. She’s too important to sack. What can I do?" For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING GEORGIA HALSTON Georgia Halston is the Group CEO of Halston Group. The Group consists of Halston B2B, a B2B marketing agency and Sustainability Partnerships, a company bringing about sustainable change within healthcare. Georgia is also co-founder of No Code Lab, a group looking to raise the profile of the no code movement. She has eight years’ experience running businesses and 15years in the marketing industry. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01.45] Georgia’s early career up [00:04:00] Launching a business [00:09:15] Hiring staff and company culture pillars [00:11:00] The first bump in the road [00:15:00] Acquiring another business [00:24:30] Sustainability Partners [00:30:00] How to tell your green story [00:37:00] Key learnings from your career [00:40:00] Business Surgery [00:44:00] The future of the business 6 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
4 BEST MOMENTS “3% of all of the carbon in the UK is from the NHS “The first company I worked with was a $15b, Fortune 500 company “Even before I had staff I wrote down my core principles “Have you ever heard of green-hushing” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk * Website - https://halstongroup.co/ * LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-halston-7b353128/ * Shout outs; https://imagecoltd.com/ https://www.thebiskery.com/ Use code ‘LBP20’ for 20% off your order DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE (as... | |||||||
| 31 Jul 2024 | 8 must-listen business lessons | 00:25:57 | |||||
As a precursor to Series Two, I’ve selected what I think are 8 must-listen business learnings chosen from the 38 brilliant guests we’ve had so far. I could have picked way more as every guest that we’ve had on has been fascinating to listen to and learn from. Before we start, I have one simple request; Please hit the follow or subscribe button on the app that you're listening on. That’s it…. Thank you. 8 MUST-HEAR BUSINESS LESSONS 1) Daniel Priestley, explaining what you need in YOUR product eco-system. 2) Nigel Botterill, from Entrepreneurs Circle, explaining a killer tip for effective use of your time. 3) Jamie Bentley of Stephenson Personal Care with a painful but important business lesson. 4) Carrie Rose, of Rise at 7, giving us a great 'how to' on personal brand. 5) Zandra Moore, of Pan Intelligence, and a fantastic, cheap and effective sales lesson that you can use in your business 6) Jon Graves of Northern Telecom, explaining to us a couple of key terms when it comes to buying loss-making businesses as part of a business growth strategy 7) Martin Wolstencroft, owner of Box, Banyan and Manahatta, giving us a great, conceptual way to evaluate our business ideas. 8) Back to Daniel Priestley and a pitch structure that we can all use. I hope that you found my 8 picks interesting, inspiring and of use. Links to each episode are below if you want to hear more from any of these guests. To make sure you don’t miss any future episodes please subscribe to at Leeds Business Podcast. FULL EPISODES https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/daniel-priestley/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/nigel-botterill/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jon-graves-pt1/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jamie-bentley/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/carrie-rose-pt1/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/zandra-moore/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/martin-wolstencroft/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus. As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify,... | |||||||
| 13 Dec 2023 | Alex Craven - ex-Founder, Bloom Agency | 00:27:55 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Alex Craven, ex-Founder of Bloom Agency and now CEO and co-founder of The Data City. Alex tells us about the launch of his first business, Bloom Agency, one of the first digital businesses in the UK, what Alex describes as a mind-bending receivership meeting, getting rid of 385/400 clients and the huge growth triggered by 2008 financial crash. INTRODUCING ALEX CRAVEN Alex founded a digital agency and MarTech company in 1999 and sold in 2016, Alex has been pioneering applications of new technology throughout his career and is now CEO of The Data City, a tech start-up that uses machine learning to map the global economy for government and the private sector. Alex is active member of the digital / tech community, regularly speaking at events, judging awards, providing Non-exec advisory services and is also the Chair of web 3 start up ‘Pooldata.io’. Alex is a champion of diversity and inclusion and is passionate about raising awareness around neurodiversity and Entrepreneurship. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:00] Where the idea for a digital agency came from [00:03:00] A mind-bending receivership meeting [00:09:30] The benefits of a Chairperson in your business and the importance of accountability [00:14:00] Getting rid of most of our clients [00:18:00] Scaling the business (through innovation) [00:24:00] The issues related to setting up an office in Australia KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “I assume you’re not a man of means…” “We were so early in social media that we went to an awards ceremony and were in a category of one.. And won” “We got rid of 385 of 400 of our clients” “The 2008 financial crash was really good for us; it doubled our turnover” “We won the business because we went the extra mile” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://thedatacity.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-craven-17b1441/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-data-city/ Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/AlexCraven Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/TheDataCity Shout out tags: https://wac.rocks/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either | |||||||
| 09 Oct 2024 | Solving a problem with a start-up - George Fairhall, WAC | 00:55:39 | |||||
This week we speak to start-up founder George Fairhall all about her business journey to date with WAC. If you'd been cheated out of £200 in wages over a two week period, what would you do? This week's guest used it as the inspiration for her business.... Hear how George has gone all the way from problem to solution via paper mock ups, pandemic launches and all the bumps in road that the journey has brought. The business surgery segment answers the question; "I have fallen out of love with my business. What can I do?" For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING GEORGINA FAIRHALL Georgina Fairhall is a female founder in tech, an award-winning entrepreneur, and a public speaker dedicated to supporting the lowest-paid employees nationwide. With first-hand experience working in the hospitality industry, she would always encounter a serious problem – she wasn’t getting paid correctly. George founded WAC and it has since become the go-to platform worldwide, to ensure every minute of work is accounted for, empowering hourly paid workers to break free from disorganisation and feel good about money.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] George’s background [00:05:00] Where the idea for the business came from [00:07:00] Starting the business and the benefits of an accelerator [00:17:00] Going full time and the pandemic [00:27:00] The challenges of fund-raising [00:30:00] Business Surgery [00:35:00] The current status of the business and future plans [00:39:00] How to build an app-based business
3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS · Pick the right level of accelerator for your stage in business · a convertible loan is a great way to get early funding · Conversion for subscription apps is 2-8%
3 BEST MOMENTS "I paid my friend in beers to build my first mock up" "I mailed 2,500 people on LinkedIn to find more funding" "We launched the week before Covid hit"
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://www.wac.rocks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georginafairhall Shout out tags: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-sutton-the-data-refinery https://areoi.io/
DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a... | |||||||
| 21 Feb 2024 | Jamie Bentley - CEO, Stephenson Personal Care | 00:42:49 | |||||
In this week’s episode we speak to Jamie Bentley, CEO of Stephenson Personal Care. Jamie tells us all about how it feels to take over as fifth generation in a family firm, selling in the states looking like a cross between Tim Nice-but-Dim and Hugh Grant, the feeling when landing your first million dollar deal and how a brilliant ‘train set’ analogy sparked his Eureka moment. Plus he tells us about a great opportunity to get MBA students to work on your new business idea. INTRODUCING JAMIE BENTLEY Having studied Business and Financial Management at the University of North London, quickly followed by a brief stretch in the hospitality industry as a ski guide and water sports instructor, Jamie joined Univar on their Management Development Programme where he spent 4 years learning about the specialty chemicals and ingredients industries. In 1997, being the fifth generation of the Bentley family, he then joined Stephenson Group. Initially he began as a sales representative developing products for the personal care industry that did not exist at the company, eventually building what has become today’s Stephenson Personal Care business. Slowly divesting the more mature industrial parts of the business over the years to focus completely on the personal care sector, today Stephenson Group exports personal care ingredients to 62 countries. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Introducing Stephenson Personal Care [00:02:00] Jamie Bentley’s background story [00:04:10] Early learnings [00:06:00] Old school sales and a clever tweak [00:08:00] Joining the family business [00:10:00] How the personal care division started and grew [00:17:20] The first $1m sales order [00:19:30] The eureka moment [00:24:30] The process of divesting non-core business and the learnings from it [00:29:30] Using MBA students to develop a spin-out idea [00:33:00] Managing people smarter than you [00:36:00] The learnings from taking over a family business KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Watch. Mouth shut, ears open, eyes open. Watch and learn. • You learn most information from the shopfloor of your business and your client’s business (the people who are doing the doing) • Take care of all your clients, but in the early days make sure you take most care of the big clients • Think of your business as a train set. You cant break train set, you just change it • Surround yourself with great people and learn how to manage people better than you • You need proper trusted finance advice and the same with corporate lawyers when selling a business • Strategy is as much about what you don’t do, as you do do • Give staff the room to fail BEST MOMENTS “I was described as lazy or stupid at school. I then did an IQ test and they determined I was lazy” “I worked out as a rep I could 8 calls a day. The trucks were doing 30 deliveries a day, so abandoned my Vectra and sat in the passenger seat of one of the wagons” “We had a Drawing Room at home that was only used for Christmas and bollockings… and my dad took me into the Drawing Room…” “If I’d had my eureka moment 10 years earlier, we’d have been 10 years ahead now” “Yours is the most complicated loss-making business I have ever seen” “He said 'come to the meeting to sell the business but don’t bring any lawyers or accountants' ” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.stephensonpersonalcare.com/ . LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-bentley-soap/ Instagram (business):... | |||||||
| 23 Aug 2023 | The Biskery - bespoke biscuits with love | 00:52:09 | |||||
Phil Fraser speaks to Lisa Shepherd and Saskia Roskam about their north Leeds business, The Biskery; a business built on ‘the power of kindness’. Lisa and Saskia tell us how their hobby turned into a real business following a cold email from Penguin books, how Covid drove, rather than killed, their business and how their ethos and values drive everything. They also teach us how to harness the power of working mums…. Something you might want to do in your business. INTRODUCING THE BISKERY The Biskery is an online bakery specialising in personalised and branded biscuits. They make gifting impressive, spread kindness, and make the world a bit sweeter, one biscuit at a time. Friends Lisa and Saskia started The Biskery as a little project in 2016, whilst caring for their young children full time. They initially set out to sell treats from their home countries (Germany & The Netherlands) at local farmers markets. Their digital marketing background quickly opened new doors and opportunities for them, and allowed them to grow and shape the business into what it is today: A six figure business creating bespoke biscuits for the likes of Meta, The BBC, and Fendi, as well as consumers of all backgrounds and ages. The Biskery pride themselves in using the best ingredients and eco-friendly packaging. Their personalised jam sandwich biscuits are unique, fun and nostalgic and until this day, every biscuit is made by hand by their in-house team of working mothers. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00.01.00] How The Biskery started [00.06.30] Launching a proper business [00:09:25] Free biscuits [00.12.35] The birth of the company ethos and GratiTuesday [00:17:00] The growth of the business when everything changed [00:24:30] LinkedIn and how it fits with being an introvert [00:28:00] Lessons from boot-strapping [00:33:40] Winning awards and plans for the future [00:38:15] The power behind employing working mums [00.43.30] How to bring more female values into the world of work KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS * When problems arrive, ask what CAN we do, not what can’t we do * When ethos & values come from a place that is real, it means that you can sustain it * Figure out the basics in running a business – it’s not that complicated * Clarity comes from action, not thoughts * There is so much satisfaction and joy from providing employment to other people * Women don’t lose their skills or brains just because they’ve had children * Your business can only grow and develop if you grow and develop as a person * Trust your intuition in business BEST MOMENTS “We were very risk averse. When we could afford it we took the next step” “We weren’t baking any biscuits for anyone else so we thought why don’t we just give them away free” “We reached out the employer that we used to work for and asked to use their kitchen” “We had three interviewees we liked so instead of giving one of them one full-time role, we gave all three part-time roles” “We baked 27,000 biscuits in six weeks in our new premises” “For the first three years we didn’t pay ourselves anything, apart from a cup of coffee” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.thebiskery.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saskia-roskam-cofounder-director/ www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-shepherd-leeds https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebiskery/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebiskery/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebiskery Shout outs: https://wildcraftbakery.com/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel -... | |||||||
| 03 Jan 2024 | 2023 Highlights - Part 2 | 00:31:49 | |||||
For this week's episode, we took the time to look at the highlights from episodes 11 - 20. £20m businesses crashing.... identifying the perfect business.... an amazing new business pitch.... how to be a great boss.... drug-dealing arrests and more.... There are some great learnings and fascinating business tales. If you've not yet listened to an episode, or have but missed a few, give this one a listen. Have a watch or listen; If you'd like to listen to, or watch, the whole episode of any of the guests featured, you can find them at; https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/howard-moss/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/adam-smith/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/paul-dodd-allgood/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/leej-walker/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jacob-hill/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/martin-wolstencroft/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/russell-bisset/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/alex-craven/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/alex-craven-datacity/ To make sure you don't miss out on all new episodes, sign up for our Priority List at www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com. Everyone that signs up gets a FREE gift to help their business. Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either Apple Podcasts App (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/leeds-business-podcast-5389157) or a 5 star review at Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/66AeIYry1gWfmBYMDlfmrT) or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast) SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus. As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead. Phil has appeared as a guest on over 60 podcasts, webinars and interviews, from around the whole globe, talking on a variety of business subjects. You can view them all at https://philfraser.co.uk/watch-hear-phil/. LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST Leeds, Yorkshire, Leeds Business, Business in Leeds, Business Podcast, Nous of... | |||||||
| 27 Dec 2023 | 2023 Highlights - Part 1 | 00:35:26 | |||||
For this week's episode, we took the time to look at the highlights from episodes 1-10. Perfect business plans.... the Simon Cowell effect.... bootstrapping.... how to run a tech project when you're not a techie.... 'tweaking' pre-launch customer research... not being first to market... the problems of Brexit and more.... There are some great learnings and fascinating business tales. If you've not yet listened to an episode, or have but missed a few, give this one a listen. Have a watch or listen; If you'd like to listen to, or watch, the whole episode of any of the guests featured, you can find them at; https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/linda-plant/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/ajaz-ahmed/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/richard-flint/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/james-brown/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/the-biskery/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jane-slimming/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/simon-gray/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/stuart-clarke/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/chris-black/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/helen-oldham/ To make sure you don't miss out on all new episodes, sign up for our Priority List at www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com. Everyone that signs up gets a FREE gift to help their business. Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either
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SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra... | |||||||
| 11 Dec 2024 | Dinosaurs, Bear Hunts and Monopoly with Andrew Cooper, Chief Exec of LeedsBID | 00:56:15 | |||||
Dinosaurs, Bear Hunts and Monopoly. This week we have a slightly different episode as we speak to Andrew Cooper, Chief Exec of LeedsBID. LeedsBID has recently been voted in for a third term after a resounding endorsement from businesses in Leeds city centre - its Chapter 3 to run from April 2025-March 2030 will see the BID invest £18.2m back into the city centre through an array of projects, events and activities. Have a listen as we discuss what LeedsBID is, what it does and how you benefit from it. We also discuss ESG, CSR and ASBs amongst other three letter acronyms and where did the Dinosaurs, Bear Hunts and Monopoly come from? The business surgery answers the question; “I’m keen to develop my management team’s skillset. What areas do I need to look at in terms of leadership training?” INTRODUCING ANDREW COOPER Andrew is Chief Executive of LeedsBID (Leeds Business Improvement District). Andrew is responsible for leading the work of LeedsBID as it invests over £14m in its current 5-year term through an aspirational and exciting project plan to transform Leeds city centre, bringing commercial benefit to levy paying businesses and enhancing the experience of all city users. Prior to arriving in Leeds, he was Chief Executive of the Bath BID for eight years and credited with putting Bath on the map through a host of high-profile business events, including Bath in Fashion and the Great Bath Feast, which both won awards. Andrew also helped secure over £4m of economic investment in the UNESCO World Heritage city. Andrew also served as the inaugural chair of the BID Foundation, is a High Street Task Force expert and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Place Management. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:00] What is Leeds BID [00:01:10] Boots, Town Partnerships and Bath [00:05:00] Getting kids into the workplace [00:09:00] ESG and CSR explained [00:14:30] BIDs, their funding and their position in the political spectrum [00:07:00] 'Managing' city centres [00:23:00] All about Leeds BID and the pandemic [00:31:00] Dinosaurs and Monopoly [00:38:30] How to create a culture in your business [00:44:00] Business Surgery [00:50:00] How to get involved with Leeds BID VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Websites: https://www.leedsbid.co.uk/ https://leedsinternationalfestival.com/ https://welcometoleeds.co.uk/ Training at LeedsBID - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/training-at-leedsbid-15782347473 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-cooper-59751029/ Shout out: http://www.mysolomon.co.uk/ This is a test to see if anyone reads shownotes. If you read this drop me an email to phil@leedsbusinesspodcast.com and you’ll get a shout out on the next episode. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE (and also mentioned in the episode) | |||||||
| 27 Sep 2023 | Helen Oldham - ex-NorthInvest, Angel Investor & NED | 00:49:56 | |||||
In this week’s podcast we speak to Helen Oldham, Board Director at the UK Business Angels Association. Helen discusses how she moved the two major Leeds newspapers out of the iconic Yorkshire Post building and the challenges (and learnings) that that brought, shares loads of great information for investors and entrepreneurs in the early stage investment landscape and teaches us what should be in the perfect angel investment pitch deck. And if you’re looking for a Non-Exec Director, she tells us how you identify the perfect one for your business. INTRODUCING HELEN OLDHAM Helen is a Board member for the UK Business Angels Association, the national body for angel investing in the UK, and a Founding Board Director of NorthInvest, a multi award winning Angel network serving the Northern Powerhouse region. In 2020 she founded Fund Her North, a collective of 28 women in VCs and angel groups who support female founders to get equal access to finance. In the third sector Helen is Co Chair of the Trustees for Smart Works Leeds, a charity which provides coaching and clothing to unemployed women with a remarkable success rate of 65%+. She also holds various advisory and NED positions. Prior to this Helen was Chief Publishing Officer and Managing Director of the Yorkshire Post and The Scotsman at JPI Media. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] Helen’s early career [00:04:00] Moving out of the iconic Yorkshire Post building and the cultural and structural changes it brought [00:08:00] The skills a business owner needs to make things happen [00:10:30] How to manage major business change [00:12:00] The importance of mentors and three great tips [00:16:00] How to build an effective angel network [00:19:00] How NorthInvest came about [00:22:00] Smartworks, the national women’s employment charity [00:28:30] Top tips for businesses looking for angel investment [00:33:00] Top tips for potential Angel Investors [00:38:00] How to put an angel investment pitch deck together [00:46:00] What skills should you look for in a Non-Exec Director KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “We relocated all of the staff out of the Yorkshire Post building in a record four months” “I decided on a major restructure of the YP and YEP and it hit the national news” “explaining how changes will affect individuals is vital to retain trust” “If someone says, “Helen there’s no way you’re going to do this that makes me determined to make sure we actually get there in the end” “If you say something to one person, you have to assume everyone will get a version of that” “50% of the businesses backed by NorthInvest were not revenue-generative” “Typically when the economy tightens up, that’s when the greatest innovation happens” “Don’t forget when looking for investment, people are interested in people” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: | |||||||
| 08 May 2024 | From start-up to aim-listed plc - Jonathan Straight, Straight plc | 00:59:30 | |||||
This week's guest is Jonathan Straight, founder and former-CEO of recycling solutions company Straight plc. Jonathan tells us how the business came about, the journey to becoming a plc, the crisis caused by over-trading and then the eventual sale of the company. And he discuss the important question, 'what do you wear after selling your business?' INTRODUCING JONATHAN STRAIGHT Jonathan is an award-winning purposeful entrepreneur and creative best known for founding the AIM-listed Straight plc (STT), the UK’s leading supplier of waste and recycling containers. He headed the business for 21 years before exiting in 2014. He is currently a board advisor to Surplus Group Limited, tackling the problem of surplus and waste food, and is founder of The Lupin Company, marketing a vegan and gluten-free superfood. Passionate about entrepreneurship, he is an enterprise ambassador at the Leeds University Business School, an entrepreneur in residence for Connect Yorkshire, and an associate director at Leeds Beckett University. Jonathan chairs the international waste management charity, WasteAid, and is a director of the literary festival, Milim. He previously chaired food recyclers The Real Junk Food Project and was a main board trustee and chair of the commercial board at The Tetley contemporary art gallery. Jonathan is a mentor to - and investor in - various tech-for-good start-ups, where he holds non-executive posts. Since 2022, Jonathan has been a member of the British Library Advisory Council and is helping to realise the ambition of a British Library of the North in Leeds. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Where the idea for the business came about [00:12:30] The need for, and the start of, what became Straight plc [00:17:30] The expansion of the business [00:22:00] Raising capital for the business [00:31:00] Life as a plc [00:35:30] On the acquisition trail [00:41:00] What could possibly go wrong… [00:46:00] How to register a trademark (protect your IP) [00:50:00] Selling the business 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • You can’t tell people anything that might move the share price • Being a plc gives you clout and ammunition • Stay close to your competitors; you may pick up useful information • Make sure you protect your IP • Look for NED roles while you are working, not after sale 3 BEST MOMENTS “Can I sell these for you? And they said ‘no’ which seemed ludicrous to me” “My image was very different to everyone else in the recycling bins industry” “Suddenly a business I considered infinite had boundaries” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://www.jonathanstraight.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/straight Shout out tags: https://www.streetlanebakery.co.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/adam-smith/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/pop-up-shop/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/colin-glass https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up,... | |||||||
| 23 Aug 2023 | Ajaz Ahmed - creator of Freeserve | 00:50:39 | |||||
Phil Fraser speaks to Ajaz Ahmed who built Freeserve, a company that went from a 'eureka moment' to a multi-billion pound valuation in just three years. Ajaz tells us how he did it and the key ingredient that powered its amazing success. He also tells us how you can get amazing FREE marketing advice from supermarkets, why Simon Cowell is the best business advisor and the secret trick to an effective business card. INTRODUCING AJAZ AHMED Ajaz is a well-known Business Advisor, Non-Executive, Chairman, and Business Speaker who has worked with companies of all sizes, including a couple of listed companies. He will always be best known as the founder of Freeserve, the UK's first Billion-Pound internet company. Freeserve was launched in 1998, floated on the stock exchange with a market cap of £1.5bn, entered the FTSE 100, and then sold to France Telecom three years later for £1.65bn in 2001. As you can imagine, I left after the sale. You can read the fantastic Freeserve story "Make Money by Giving it Away" on his website - sosavvy.co.uk He now helps companies by challenging the rules to get results. If your company wants to improve and grow, please contact him for a chat. He also gives talks to industry and academic audiences. His talk is called "Cut the Cr*p" because he got fed up listening to gurus talking about Cr*p. He has been in the 'Yorkshire Business Power 100', and the Queen awarded him a British Empire Medal 'BEM' in her 2017 Birthday Honours List. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] – the Eureka moment that launched Freeserve [00:07:30] – the difference between an entrepreneur and a business person [00:11:10] – the launch of Freeserve [00:16:20] – the importance of acquiring customers for free [00:18:17] – the floatation of Freeserve [00:25:00] – the huge change - walled gardens and browsers [00:31:00] – the key lessons business owners need to learn and understand [00:36:30] – what should start ups be doing to court Angel Investors and ugly baby syndrome [00:41:00] – losing money on failed investments and lessons learnt KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS * Apple stores have the highest sales per square foot compared to any other retail store * Do the obvious before it becomes obvious or you will be too late * Go to a supermarket and not buy anything. Look at how they market their products. * There is no magic formula for business success * Cut the Crap – keep your Powerpoint slides to a minimum * If your business card is portrait they are more likely to turn it over BEST MOMENTS “Most people have a Eureka moment, and then don’t do anything about it” “When Freeserve became the largest ISP in the UK we only had three staff” “If you build it, they will come… no they won’t” “Most of the companies that are looking for investment are pretty crap” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: http://www.sosavvy.co.uk/ LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/ajaza Twitter: http://twitter.com/ajaz_ahmed Shout out tags: https://www.quba.co.uk/ Take a look at https://philfraser.co.uk/business-idea/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘GENTLEMENS AGREEMENT’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has three simple steps; 1. Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2. Post a review of the show at either Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or... | |||||||
| 06 Nov 2024 | Counter-terrorism, breaking records and building a business - introducing Mike Bates | 00:52:40 | |||||
Today we have the most amazing guest in Mike Bates. Ex Covert Counter-terrorism Operations Leader turned entrepreneur, public speaker and venturer. Mike talks about his learnings from 20 years in the Royal Marines and counter-terrorism, what high performance looks like, the benefit of ‘hot debriefs’, the power of trust and so, so much more. You have to listen to this episode; it’s unlike any other we’ve done before. The business surgery segment answers the question; "I'm struggling with giving feedback to my team. Any suggestions?" For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING MIKE BATES Mike Bates is a human intelligence specialist and a former covert counter-terrorism operations leader, who recently became the fastest Britain to complete ‘Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge’ solo. As the first officer in the history of the MOD to pass all relevant requirements to serve at the front line of the UK’s counter terror response, Mike's life undercover gave him a powerful and credible perspective on the human psyche. Rooted in his personal experiences of fighting terrorists, tackling mother nature at her most powerful and attaining his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Today, Mike is a man on a mission to help others to become the best version of themselves. Drawing on his own unique, remarkable experiences he inspires and empowers others to live life without limits. Mike shares his awe-inspiring story to help you live a life without limits. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:03:00] Getting into the Royal Marines and learnings from it [00:06:00] Afghanistan, Iraq and Ireland [00:10:00] What does High performance look like and the benefit of feedback [00:15:00] Business Surgery [00:22:00] Under-cover counter-terrorism and the business lessons from it [00:30:00] Stepping into Civvie Street and giving back [00:40:00] Opening a business and lessons learned [00:45:30] How to build unbreakable self-belief [00:50:30] Next 45 – men’s health 4 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Without trust you can’t have high performance • Feedback is a gift • In competition you win or you learn • You make more money as a small business than scaling to be bigger 4 MOMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “Nothing good happens alone. You have to work as part of a team” “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” “If we can keep everyone aligned, magic happens” “I was having conversations with fish, the birds, the moon, the stars anything… just to be human again” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-bates-4b2a32201 https://www.graciebarraroundhay.co.uk Shout out: https://randcoffeeroastery.com/ DON'T... | |||||||
| 26 Mar 2025 | The entrepreneur within - Mark Roberts | 00:49:26 | |||||
Mark Roberts is an entrepreneur, investor, innovation coach and now a published author. Listen as Mark explains the unique trigger that made him quit corporate life to launch his start up, how appearing on This Morning created huge problems for his business and a secret fact you never knew about Pringles. There’s also a brilliant ‘How to’ if you're looking to scale your start up. INTRODUCING MARK ROBERTS Mark co-founded Beer Hawk in 2012, which he scaled from two mates in a shed, to a team of over 170 beery enthusiasts on a mission to inspire customers to find their next favourite beer. He’s won numerous business awards including Great British Entrepreneur of the Year, and Business Person of the Year at the SME National Business Awards. As well as being the author of The Entrepreneur Within, he’s also Chair of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, Trustee and Chair of the Finance & Resources Committee for Red Kite Learning Trust, Operational Partner for Praetura Ventures VC, Non-Executive Director of Ocula Technologies AI and an active angel investor. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Mark’s early career [00:04:00] The trigger to launch the business and the first few years [00:14:00] Angel investment and the growth of the business [00:20:00] The missteps and mistakes [00:23:00] The unexpected exit [00:32:00] Becoming an intrapreneur, Covid and the LEP [00:40:00] the book ‘The Entrepreneur within’ and the F.O.R.G.E methodology 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
3 MOMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “We had a list of thousands of friends and family…. And very few bought from us” “Would you consider stepping out and becoming an intrapreneur?” “It was one of the most well-funded start-ups you could get” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://markroberts.co/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdroberts/ Shout out: https://www.leedsangels.co.uk Buy the book - The Entrepreneur Within DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal - Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/tsb-the-square-ball/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/mark-costello/ - also beer related ! | |||||||
| 20 Sep 2023 | Chris Black - the Jukebox man | 00:44:32 | |||||
We speak to Chris Black, Managing Director of Sound Leisure, who are the manufacturers of one of the coolest products coming out of Leeds… jukeboxes! Chris explains how a broken piece of electronics inspired the launch of the business over 50 years ago. He also shares with us the ups and downs of running a family business, how Brexit, then Covid, almost destroyed the business, the way the pub smoking ban inspired the creation of a new product division in the company and the fascinating ebb & flow of vinyl, CD and digital music in the business. He also gives us a passionate explanation as to why we should encourage youngsters into a career in manufacturing. Plus you’ll also get an invite to tour the jukebox factory to see these wonderful machines and how they are built. INTRODUCING CHRIS BLACK Chris Black joined the family business in June 1986, initially intending this to be for the duration of the 6 weeks summer holidays prior to enrolling for a painting & decorating course. However, 37 years later and having worked his way through most of the divisions within the company he is now Managing Director. Chris works alongside his father, who founded the business in 1978, his wife, brother and eldest son and along with 70 team members manufactures a range of Classic styles Jukeboxes that grace some of the world’s finest locations. In addition to manufacturing Sound Leisure also supplies over 1,300 hospitality venues with jukeboxes and Back ground music systems and has a children’s play division that supplies a wide range of sectors from airports to the NHS. As a family business Chris believes passionately in supporting the local community, apprenticeships and working alongside schools and colleges to promote manufacturing and exporting within the region. Chris is a Northern Powerhouse Export Champion and has recently been voted in as the president of Leeds Chamber of Commerce. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:30] Why jukeboxes? [00:04:45] The pros and cons of working in a family business [00:09:00] Vinyl, CDs and digital music [00:16:45] How the smoking ban brought around a new division [00:00:00] The effect of Covid on the business [00:24:30] The problems Brexit brought [00:28:00] How to enjoy, and get the most, out of your business [00:35:00] The importance of manufacturing to Leeds and the UK [00:41:00] Book a tour around the jukebox factory KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “Eddie put his hands in his pocket for £80k on a handshake with no contract to start the business” “In 1980 we made our first vinyl playing jukebox. It 1982 Phillips and Sony launched the CD” “If someone tells me I can’t do something, I’ll prove them wrong” “With the vinyl revival we had to go into one of our sheds and pull out an old machine” “I don’t care what anybody says Brexit is a pain. It’s cost the business a lot of money“ VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://soundleisure.com/ Book a factory tour: https://soundleisure.com/book-a-tour/ LinkedIn: | |||||||
| 31 Jul 2024 | Accidental start up to multi-million pound sale - Phil Fraser, Which Bingo | 00:36:34 | |||||
Many people have asked for my business journey story, so this week the tables are turned and I’m the guest. You’ll hear how a failed angel investment pitch, turned into an accidental business launch, my ‘sliding doors’ moment, how the sale of the business came about and why you don’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. The interview was originally broadcast on the Manager Memo Podcast hosted by Len Samborowski, Director MBA, Nichols College, Connecticut. We covered my business journey, looked at some of the learnings that I picked up along the way and touched on my work as a Business Sounding Board. INTRODUCING PHIL FRASER Prior to hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. He now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus. As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Chickens and punk… [00:02:00] From advertising agency to the new-fanged ‘internet’ [00:04:30] Where did the online bingo idea come from? [00:06:00] The failed angel investment pitch [00:08:00] Turning down a ‘real job’ for the business opportunity [00:10:00] The motivation of fear in a start up [00:11:15] How the business sale came about [00:14:15] The legal difficulties of the deal [00:16:00] 18 years and no business plan [00:17:00] Hands on start-up owner to team manager [00:18:00] The ‘two week vacation’ test [00:20:20] Key lessons learnt during the business journey [00:23:00] The benefits of having no investment [00:23:50] It doesn’t need to be lonely at the top [00:26:50] Why I call myself a ‘Business Sounding Board’ [00:29:30] My angel investment experience [00:31:00] The ‘PITA Patter’ problem solving process 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • If you can’t take a two week holiday without your laptop or phone, your business isn’t sellable • Success can come from a failure • Having no money makes you think creatively VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://www.philfraser.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philfraser DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review... | |||||||
| 11 Oct 2023 | David Richmond - Batch’d | 00:34:50 | |||||
In this week’s episode we speak to David Richmond who tells us about growing a one-man sticker company into a 500 person mega-business serving the likes of Argos and the government and how a costly error triggered its sale. He also shares how a drink in a swimming pool sparked the launch of a nationwide taxi firm and how Covid destroyed it all. And he ends with how that actually gave birth to his latest business, Batch'd. He also teaches us how to stay positive as a business owner. INTRODUCING DAVID RICHMOND David Richmond founded Scorpio Products in 1986 as a print brokers, specialising in character stickers. This later became Scorpio Print Finishing, which, at the time of its sale in 2003, was producing over a billion magazines a year for clients including Argos and the UK census. He then purchased two Leeds taxi firms in 2004 building Arrow Taxis into the largest airport taxi company, and the UK’s 3rd largest taxi company (excluding Uber). It was decimated by Covid. During the pandemic he used the drivers and cars as a food delivery service which he called ArrowFresh, which in turn, morphed into Batch’d, which today has 25 stores nationwide selling sweet treats. In 2004 he was part of the ‘Krasner Consortium’ that bought Leeds United, following the club’s infamous financial meltdown under Peter Ridsdale. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Disney, Garfield and The Simpsons and the growth of Scorpio Print [00:03:00] How a visit from the BBC sparked a change in the business [00:08:00] The seven week sale of Scorpio Print [00:10:00] How a holiday in South Africa triggered the entry into the taxi business [00:12:00] Leeds Bradford airport and the growth of Arrow Cars [00:18:00] The destruction of Arrow Cars by Covid [00:26:15] The birth of Batch’d [00.31:00] How to stay positive KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “We re-branded the next door printers as ours for a visit by the BBC” “We made a £300,000 mistake” “I’m just popping out to look at something….” (returning with two taxi firms) “I banged the door down at Leeds Bradford airport” “The losses were violent and quick” “We were the first industry to close and the last to re-open” “We built a website for Arrow Fresh in 24 hours” “I can’t influence yesterday, but I can influence tomorrow” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.batchd.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-richmond-a5a5a797, https://www.linkedin.com/company/batchduk/ Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/batchduk/ Shout out tags: https://www.linkedin.com/company/equals-one-ltd/ https://www.equalsone.co.uk/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - | |||||||
| 21 Aug 2024 | Dragons Den reject to multi-million pound business - Laura Bartlett, House of Coco | 00:38:20 | |||||
This week we speak to Laura Bartlett, founder of fashion and lifestyle magazine, House of Coco.. Laura tells us about her disastrous appearance on Dragons Den, how The Clothes Show caused her to become personally bankrupt, the growth of her current business and the benefits of being tee-total. She also shares with us how to get PR for your business. INTRODUCING LAURA BARTLETT What sets Laura Bartlett apart from the conventional entrepreneur is her remarkable ability to lead with her heart on her sleeve. Unlike many in her field, Laura approaches her journey with unyielding honesty and vulnerability, sharing not only her triumphs but also her struggles. She bares her soul, showcasing the highs and lows of her entrepreneurial odyssey, providing an authentic glimpse into the rollercoaster ride of chasing dreams. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] What is the House of Coco? [00:01:00] Laura’s early career and the original magazine [00:09:30] Appearing on Dragon’s Den [00:14:00] The Clothes Show and personal bankruptcy [00:19:00] The launch of House of Coco magazine [00:22:00] The experience and lessons of personal bankrupt [00:26:00] Building a successful magazine and taking on Conde Nast [00:29:00] The pros and cons of running a remote team [00:32:00] the alcohol-free life [00:37:00] Supporting Leeds Women’s Aid [00:29:00] The pros and cons of running a remote team 4 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Always open your mail (you may avoid going bankrupt!) • The quicker you learn the lessons, the better • If someone else is doing it, it means you can do it too • If you can't quit something, you're addicted 4 BEST MOMENTS "According to viewers of Dragons Den, I look like a pig in a frock" "The aim was to compete with Conde Nast Traveller magazine" "I could stop now and have a salary for life" "No-one's coming to save me from me" VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Laura on Dragon’s Den – https://youtu.be/dvEm0WtTR-s Webinar – What’s it really like on Dragon’s Den? - https://philfraser.co.uk/whats-it-really-like-to-pitch-on-dragons-den/ Leeds Womens Aid - https://leedswomensaid.co.uk/ Website: https://houseofcoco.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartlettlaura Shout out tags: https://pinkgorilla.co.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE 24 Apr 2024 | How to run a Pop-Up Shop - Simon Williams & Marshall Frieze | 00:42:16 | | ||||
This week’s guests are Marshall Frieze and Simon Williams who, for only three weeks a year, run a speciality pop-up shop. Hear why they do it, the unique challenges they face, how Covid turned EVERYTHING on it’s head and what the key is to the shop’s continued year-on-year improvement. INTRODUCING SIMON WILLIAMS & MARSHALL FRIEZE Simon Williams is the owner of SW Retail Consultancy Ltd. Having been in retail for nearly 30 years in various roles, he using his retail knowledge & experience to help grow and develop SMEs and start-ups. As a consultant his aim is to miniaturise everything he has learned in large corporations and provide the SMEs with a template for success in retailing and business. Marshall Frieze is the founder and MD of The One Solution, an award-winning Leeds based supplier of cloud and mobile telecoms, connectivity & IoT to businesses throughout the UK and farther afield. Marshall has been working in telecommunications since the mid-1990s, when he was appointed Store Manager of Phones 4u at their flagship Leeds store. In 2003 he launched Pioneer Communication Solutions, becoming Vodafone Gold Partner of the Year in 2011 and then selling in 2012. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:10] What is the Passover Pop-up shop [00:03:00] Where the idea came from and how it all started [00:08:40] The challenges faced in year one [00:10:30] Analysing the first year’s performance and then into year two [00:18:30] The problems (and solutions) to Covid [00:25:40] the key learnings and the importance of data [00:31:30] Advice to someone looking to set up a pop up show [00:35:00] How to retain customers [00:39:00] Lessons for the future KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • You need to ensure that you have no, or little, stock left at the end • Data is key to making better decisions, and the key to success • Open with the offers, rather than the offers at the end • If you get 80% of it right, you should just about be ok • It’s really beneficial to work with a business partner • Be clear on your objectives BEST MOMENTS “We needed a product, somewhere to sell it from and we needed finance” “When Covid happened we had to change the whole business model overnight” “I did around 90,000 steps in 4 or 5 days” “The lockout period is your retention strategy” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshallfrieze http://linkedin.com/in/simon-williams-616b876 DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ ABOUT YOUR HOST Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit. As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s... | |||||||
| 24 Jan 2024 | Jamie Peacock - Rugby League legend and motivational coach | 00:30:35 | |||||
What does it feel like when you’re the best in the world at something, and then can’t do that anymore? In this week's episode we speak to Rugby League legend Jamie Peacock MBE, who is now a business coach and motivational speaker. Jamie tells us how the skills and habits that took him to the top of the tree can help you in your business, how captaining a team helps with presentation skills and he shares with us how to build confidence (and dealing with Imposter Syndrome) amongst other great advice INTRODUCING JAMIE PEACOCK MBE Jamie Peacock played over 550 Rugby League games over 19 seasons including 49 caps for his country which he captained for 8 years. At the end of his career in 2015 he had become the most decorated player of the modern Super League era winning a total of 9 Grand Finals, 4 Challenge Cup Finals, 4 World Club Challenges as well as being selected in the Super League Dream Team 11 times, the World 13 twice, World’s Best Forward twice and in 2011 he was recognised for his services to the game and awarded an MBE. As well as working in commercial for the Leeds Rhinos and as a Rugby League analyst for the BBC, Jamie now runs a number of successful different enterprises ranging from the Be A Champion Health & Wellbeing programme that over 100,000 people have completed, motivational talks such as ‘Champion Teams’ in which he covers 12 aspects in 3 areas of Self-Performance, Leadership and Team Collective that enable a team to become champions and finally he runs a Building Champions Leadership Coaching program that drives high-performance and builds strong, lasting personal development improvements and leadership habits, companies to have used this program include HSBC, NHS, McDonalds, O2 and Sky Bet. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] The move from sport to the outside world [00:04:00] The early autobiography [00:06:00] The transferable principles from Rugby to coaching [00:08:30] The move to motivational coaching [00:10:30] Team building [00:13:00] ‘Be a Champion’ book and well-being programme [00:16:00] ‘Building Champions’ book [00:18:30] Replacing the dopamine of playing Rugby League [00:21:00] how captaining a team helps with presentation skills [00:22:00] Why Jamie didn’t want to get into Rugby coaching [00:23:00] How to build confidence (and dealing with Imposter Syndrome) KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Be driven by trying to be excellent in what you do • Common ground, common purpose and honest conversations build teams • Positive mindset, sleep well, eat healthily and being active build your mindset armour BEST MOMENTS “I learnt a lot about myself in the 18 months after my career ended” “Microactions that you can do every day make a difference” “I’ve developed the skill of taking a room with me when I’m speaking” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.jamiepeacock.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-peacock-mbe-4b2aa746/ Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/jamiepeacock10 Twitter (personal): https://www.x.com/jamiepeacock10 Shout out tags: https://www.theoaklandgroup.co.uk/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either • Apple Podcasts App... | |||||||
| 20 Mar 2024 | Start up to £mm sale in 7 years - Alistair Maiden, Founder of SYKE | 00:49:15 | |||||
In this week’s episode we talk to Alistair Maiden, founder of legal tech company, Syke. Hear business tales and learnings from the legendary Ken Morrison, Alistair’s eureka moment for the business, how the business grew to an eventual multi-million pound sale in the US plus the hard changes that needed to take place after sale. Plus, what’s it like buying an abattoir? INTRODUCING ALISTAIR MAIDEN Alistair began his career as a lawyer, practising commercial and technology law for several years. Whilst Head of Contracts and the Data Protection Officer for ASDA, Alistair designed and implemented a digital contracting tool which reduced the average contract cycle from 17 days to just 5 days. In 2016, Alistair founded SYKE, with the mission to transform the legal industry by bridging the gap between legal teams and emerging legal tech. Under his leadership, SYKE has become a leading legal tech consultancy. Allistair has spoken at a variety of international events and won the Legal Technologist of the Year award at the 2019 FT Intelligent Business Awards. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] Introducing Syke [00:01:30] Alistair Maiden’s early career [00:04:00] Learning business lessons from Sir Ken Morrison [00:10:00] The lasting influence of ASDA’s culture and being part of Walmart [00:14:00] The birth of the idea of Syke [00:21:00] Taking the idea live [00:24:20] Growing into a ‘proper’ business [00:27:00] A new partnership arrives [00:34:00] The people who got you here won’t be the people to take you there [00:40:00] The sale of the business and culture change issues [00:46:00] Start up entrepreneur or big company executive KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • You get respect from your team by being in the detail • There’s no reason why you can’t work globally • You have to have the right attitude and make yourself ‘useful’ • Most partnerships, whilst looking good, don’t work • You must think of your business as a team not a family • Feathers will be rustled but you should assume good intentions BEST MOMENTS “Ken Morrison used to walk round the office leaving post-it notes on people’s PC” “Asda has a very unique and distinct culture. Loads of people from there are now running their own businesses” “We reduced the average contract cycle from 70 days to 5 days” “I spoke at the Law Society expecting 10 or 15 people, and there were 100s there” “I gave a 20 minute presentation and there was a hour of questions” “I had the passion but no plan…” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Relevant links from the show, recommended Leeds business Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://syke.tech/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistair-maiden-global-advisory-lead-consilio-syke/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show here SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; | |||||||
| 17 Apr 2024 | Fiona Conor - MD, Trust Electric Heating | 00:44:48 | |||||
Starts at 00.45 This week’s guest is Fiona Conor, Managing Director of Trust Electrical Heating. Fiona tells us all about her amazing & varied route to becoming a business owner, the ups and downs of registering a patent, the huge importance of brand, the need for a business coach to vomit on…. and how to stop your ‘leaky bucket’ and increase your lead conversion. INTRODUCING FIONA CONOR Fiona Conor, is Managing Director at Trust Electric Heating and boasts three decades of experience in sales and marketing. Her mission is to lead Trust Electric Heating to the forefront of the UK's electric heating industry. Driven by her passion for product development and sustainable technology, Fiona spearheads Trust Electric Heating's rapid growth, catering to the rising demand for sustainable heating solutions. Beyond her professional achievements, Fiona brings a personal touch to the electric heating world, shaped by her extensive background in charity work and counselling. With an unwavering commitment to a 'people first' ethos, she guides Trust Electric Heating not merely as a company, but as a trusted partner dedicated to crafting heating solutions designed for humans. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] Fiona’s (very varied) early career [00:07:00] The launch of the business [00:10:00] Pitching for investment [00:12:00] The importance of branding [00:16:30] The problems…. [00:21:45] Selling radiators online [00:23:00] Stepping up the operation [00:32:00] How to stop your leaky bucket [00:35:00] Working with Entrepreneurs Circle and the benefits of having a coach [00:40:00] Why bring a NED into the business? 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Things come in your path to take you to where you need to be in the future • You’ve got to get your brand right • Everything has to be about analytics 4 BEST MOMENTS “Scott launched the business on the Dining Room table” “He grew a beard when he was installing and shaved himself when he was selling” “Covid gave me the space to think about the business” “We needed real strong governance on the board” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://www.trustelectricheating.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionaconor https://www.linkedin.com/company/trustelectricheating/ Mentioned in the show; www.entreprenuerscircle.com https://www.hotjar.com/ https://www.propaganda.co.uk/ https://www.selectuniforms.co.uk/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/nigel-botterill/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/michael-michaelson/... | |||||||
| 07 Feb 2024 | Carrie Rose - Founder, Rise At Seven (the growth & expansion of Rise At Seven) | 00:36:01 | |||||
In part two of her interview Carrie Rose of Rise At Seven discusses the exit of her co-founder, re-structuring the business to reflect the aim of generating demand and then capturing demand, bringing a management and support team in, establishing an American office, a basic ‘how to’ to improve your company’s SEO and Carrie’s key learnings from her business journey. INTRODUCING CARRIE ROSE Carrie Rose, is founder and CEO of one of the fastest growing agencies in the UK & US - search-first creative agency Rise at Seven. After working at Branded3, one of the leading SEO agencies at the time, Carrie saw a gap in the industry for brand advertising and SEO to collide. She founded Rise at Seven to push the boundaries in both creative and technical SEO because that’s what is needed to own the most competitive search results. Rise At Seven are now across the UK, Europe and US with clients including SIXT, Bumble, Capital One, Bacardi, PrettyLittleThing, Amazon, Revolution Beauty and more. Rise at Seven launched the first reactive marketing service driven by live search trends, and believe in multi-channel search realistic to how consumers behave now. Their content marketing case studies is what they're famous for, with 78 awards in a roll top bath to show for it. Carrie is featured on the 30 under 30 Forbes list because of her success. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] A pivotal moment for the agency and an MBO [00:02:30] The emotion of splitting with a business partner [00:05:00] The MBO process [00:07:00] Building a support network to run the business [00:10:40] The development of the product offering and business structure [00:13:20] What do Rise at Seven actually do [00:15:00] Expansion into America [00:21:00] How to improve your SEO [00:25:00] What does the future look like for Rise At Seven? [00:29:00] The key learnings from the business journey KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Write down the things you can’t do, and get someone in to do them • Structure your teams to generate demand and capture demand • Use your start up momentum as much as possible • Build authority content and trust in your site to improve your Google rankings BEST MOMENTS “I needed to ensure there was a strategic plan is place” “By the time we split both myself and Stephen were completely burnt out” “I spent two weeks to get a full management team in place” “I structured the agency around the product” “70% of my followers are in the US” “No-one cares about your product; build stories around your product” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://meetglimpse.com/ Website: https://riseatseven.com/ Carrie’s business journey learnings - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lessons-ive-learnt-our-3rd-year-business-scaling-from-carrie-rose/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieroseballoch/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/riseatseven/ Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/carrierosepr/ Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/riseatseven Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/CarrieRosePR Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/riseatseven Shout out tags: https://connective3.com/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the... | |||||||
| 18 Sep 2024 | What's it like being fourth generation in the family business? - James Kempley, Troy Foods (Salads) | 00:53:14 | |||||
For more information on YFM equity Partners please visit www.yfmep.com (and tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) This week we speak to James Kempley, Managing Director of Troy Foods (Salads) Ltd. James tells us about the stresses and strains of being 4th generation in a family firm, the perfect storm that forced part of the business into administration and how automation makes such a huge difference. INTRODUCING JAMES KEMPLEY James Kempley is the Manging Director of Troy Foods (Salads) Ltd. He came into the family business at 18 years old, as fourth generation, learning the business through the ranks. He is fascinated by the food manufacturing industry, especially trying to generate new talent in the industry that is badly lacking. In his spare time, he is an avid cricketer and a life long, long suffering Leeds United fan. The Business Surgery question is "When should a company consider bringing in external advisors and/or NEDs?" EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] The history of Troy Foods [00:04:30] Joining the family business and the pressures involved [00:11:00] James’ career progression through the business [00:17:00] The expansion of Troy Foods [00:22:00] Business going into administration [00:29:00] The key lessons learnt [00:32:00] The re-structured business and expanding into new markets [00:41:00] How to build a family-like culture [00:45:00] BUSINESS SURGERY [00:50:00] Future plans for the business 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Sometimes you have to go through the bad times to make a business successful • Relationships are king • You have to be laser controlled on costs 4 BEST MOMENTS “You had to buy and trade well to be profitable” “I learnt more in 18 months than I did the rest of my life” “we can produce a million bottles of mayonnaise a week” “We have 10 people in the business who’ve been with us for 30 years” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: http://www.troyfoods.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-kempley-56702484/ Shout out tags: https://interpath.com/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Other multi-generational business episodes; https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jamie-bentley/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/michael-michaelson/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/howard-moss/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/chris-black/ ABOUT... | |||||||
| 12 Mar 2025 | How to create a business from a hobby - Dan & Michael, The Square Ball | 01:06:23 | |||||
The most popular Leeds Business Podcast episode ever. For many, turning a hobby that they love into a paying business is the ultimate dream. This week I speak to Dan Moylan & Michael Normanton of The Square Ball, who’ve made that dream come true. Listen how they describe how personal financial problems demanded that it became a paying success, the multiple revenue streams that power the business, the impact promotion had on the business and the growing pains, including the effect on the business two major personnel leaving. And of course, the madness of Leeds United. INTRODUCING DAN & MICHAEL Dan Moylan and Michael Normanton are co-owners of The Square Ball. Dan Moylan is a former nightclub and radio DJ having worked previously at Metro Radio and GHR North. Michael Normanton previously worked at ITV selling advertising before working full time on The Square Ball. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] How Dan and Michael found their way to The Square Ball [00:08:45] The finances in the early days and quitting jobs for the business [00:16:00] Burnout and debt and the necessity to make it work, and bringing staff in full time [00:22:00] The importance of Leeds United getting promoted [00:24:40] The importance of Covid in the development of the podcast [00:28:00] The various revenue streams of the business [00:31:30] The effect of Leeds United’s performance on revenue [00:34:00] The growing pains of becoming a ‘grown up’ business and major [00:37:00] The issues caused by two main personnel leaving the business (and the solutions) [00:49:30] Business Surgery [00:59:00] The business strategy going forward [01:04:00] Is making a hobby into a business a problem? 7 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • It’s important to keep reinvesting profits to develop the product • Audio advertising rates are 7/8 times higher than video • The more the business grows, the more demands it places on you • There’s always ‘fuxxing’ something • If you can’t not be there, you’ve got a job not a business • They can’t all be 10/10. As long as they’re 7/10, or more, most of the time, that’s OK • The key to growing a podcast is to think of your listeners in 3 categories; gold, silver and bronze 6 COMMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “The original idea was that the podcast would get people interested in the fanzine. That’s now flipped.” “I’m getting made redundant. Give this a go or get a proper job” “It’s fine doing it part-time until ‘life’ gets in the way’ “I was under so much pressure financially and professionally” “Going down might be one of the best things that happens to your business” “Authenticity is key” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://www.thesquareball.net/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-moylan-0990b62a1/ Shout out: https://levisolicitors.co.uk/thesquareball/ 10% off DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST... | |||||||
| 02 Oct 2024 | From family tragedy to Dragons Den success - Kate Ball, Mini First Aid | 00:58:55 | |||||
Kate Ball founder and director of Mini First Aid shares with us the family tragedy that inspired her to launch her business, tells us all about her successful appearance on Dragons Den (and how a McDonald's bribe helped seal the deal) and explains how, and why, the business is built as a franchise. The business surgery segment answers the question; "I’m constantly battling problems in my business. Can you recommend a system or process to solve them?” For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING KATE BALL Kate Ball is the founder and director of Mini First Aid - the UK's largest specialist paediatric first aid training company training over 1000 families each week. Kate founded Mini First Aid following the sudden death of her brother, Matthew, from cardiomyopathy. As seen on Dragons' Den, Mini First Aid train over 1000 families each week in life saving first aid. Kate has made it her mantra to teach everyone how to save a life. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02.00] Kate’s background [00:06:00] The source of the idea [00:08:30] The death of Kate’s brother (inspiration from tragedy) positives [00:14:00] The first training course… [00:17:00] The launch of the business for real [00:20:00] All about franchising [00:27:30] Appearing on Dragon’s Den [00:40:00] Working with Sara Davies [00:46:00] The biggest problem so far [00:49:00] BUSINESS SURGERY [00:52:00] How to be the face of your business 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Early CPR and a defibrillator saves people’s lives • Lots of positive language stops people being anxious • The key point of franchising is that it’s a business in a box’ • As you grow all of your systems and processes have to grow with you • Sharing a problem with your team is hugely beneficial 5 BEST MOMENTS “I put the kids to bed, swept the baked beans of the floor, spread out some cushions and taught in the kitchen” “Franchisees are an extension of ‘brand Kate’ “The due diligence for applying to Dragons Den is ridiculous” “Dragons Den said, “the only kids you can use are your own” “We had a year’s worth of franchise enquiries within 24 hours of the show airing” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Phil’s PITA Patter problem-solving technique - https://philfraser.co.uk/how-to-be-your-own-sounding-board/ Kate on Dragon's Den - https://youtu.be/JpwsV1gp61A Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://minifirstaid.co.uk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mini-first-aid https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-ball-28a34637/ Shout out tags: https://www.buttercrumble.com DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE (as mentioned) | |||||||
| 19 Mar 2025 | From Ukrainian refugee to Dragons Den star - the amazing story of Yana Smaglo, MD Nenya | 01:00:39 | |||||
What would you do if you had 15 minutes to get out of your home? Listen to the amazing story of Ukrainian refugee, Yana Smaglo. Yana discusses the business she built, and had to leave behind, in Ukraine, how she set up a new business in the UK and how she ended up on Dragons Den, getting four offers and winning investment from Stephen Bartlett and Deborah Meaden. Yana also shares her experiences of understanding ‘Yorkshire English’ ! INTRODUCING YANA SMAGLO Yana Smaglo left the town of Kyiv in Ukraine the very first day the war started, being woken in the night by the first bombing raid that hit the city. She travelled through Poland and Germany to finally reach the UK and was initially housed through the UK Government refugee scheme and was based in Huddersfield. After appealing for help through the Yorkshire Post, a team of local businesses came together to support her, and she founded the wholesale Ukrainian fashion business Nenya – meaning motherland. Nenya supports the fashion industry back in Ukraine, enabling people in her home country to still support themselves, and provide a livelihood. It now retails in over 120 countries and has enabled Yana to fully support herself living in the UK. In 2025 Yana hopes to expand the company into the retail market and is currently looking for business partners to support this. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:30] Hello from Kyiv [00:03:00] Transition from finance to fashion [00:06:00] Selling to friends and family [00:09:30] The early challenges and business lessons [00:13:00] Try to break your business [00:17:00] Half an hour to get out of Kiev [00:27:00] From Poland to Huddersfield and the language barrier of Yorkshire [00:30:00] Launching Nenya and how it grew [00:46:00] Appearing on Dragons Den 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • If you are encountering problems, this allows you develop as a manager finding solutions • Try to break your own business • Pitching to the Dragons is just like a normal meeting selling your products or services 3 MOMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “I had 15 minutes to leave my flat in Kiev as the bombs started falling” “I thought I could speak English until I came to Huddersfield” “Getting investors on board is like getting married” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Watch Yana's episode on Dragons Den at https://youtu.be/4Pr_uBiEewQ. Website: https://www.nenya.online/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yana-smaglo-188798155/ Shout out: Claire Strachan https://www.linkedin.com/in/cstracs/ Antonia Kinlan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniakinlan/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal - Share this episode with just ONE person who... | |||||||
| 14 Feb 2024 | Chris Bax - Co-Founder, Bax Botanics | 00:35:37 | |||||
Chris Bax, co-founder of Bax Botanics, tells us how this ‘professional tree-hugger’ husband & wife team launched an outdoor experiential business, and then their award-winning alcohol-free gin-like drink. You get to meet Ebenezer, Edith and Hefzibah and hear how Chris feels that getting liquid on lips is the toughest part of the business, along with a great piece of advice in the ‘How to’. You’ll have to listen up to find out who the Hollywood A list actor was that Chris failed to recognise when he came along for a visit. INTRODUCING CHRIS BAX Chris Bax has spent decades learning about and experimenting with botanical flavours. His interest in and knowledge of wild edibles has seen him appear on TV shows like Countryfile and The Hairy Bikers. He has over 20 years experience of teaching and consulting to the food industry, focussing on delicious and exciting ways to use wild ingredients and culinary herbs. Chris and his wife Rose are now using all their skills and experience to distil a secret recipe of herbs, roots, berries and flowers to create alcohol-free spirits with layers of beautifully complex flavours. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:20] What is Bax Botanics? [00:02:00] Chris Bax’s background [00:06:00] Fate… [00:13:00] What is ‘Taste the Wild’? [00:17:45] A Hollywood actor came to visit [00:21:00] Introducing Bax Botatics [00:26:30] The difficulty in selling the product [00:32:00] How to export your product KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Why should we give alcohol ownership of celebration • The biggest hurdle when selling a drink is route-to-market • Don’t be afraid to export BEST MOMENTS “I went to do a bit of retail therapy in an outdoor shop…. And met my wife” “As we’re a couple of tree-huggers we bought 18 acres of woodland” “Someone from the Guardian came on our first course and the week after we had two pages in the weekend supplement” “I didn’t recognise the highest paid actor in Hollywood at the time” “We’ve created a drink which gives you the feeling of luxury even though you’re not drinking acohol” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Relevant links from the show, recommended Leeds business Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: www.tastethewild.co.uk www.baxbotanics.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-bax-6419b255/ Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/tastethewild https://www.instagram.com/baxbotanics Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show at either • Apple Podcasts App (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or • Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/leeds-business-podcast-5389157) or • a 5 star review at Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/66AeIYry1gWfmBYMDlfmrT) or • give this episode a ’thumbs up’ on YouTube (https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast) SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on; LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/2023-highlight-part-one/ https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/2023-highlights-part-2/... | |||||||
| 31 Jan 2024 | Carrie Rose - Founder, Rise At Seven (the rise and rise of Rise At Seven) | 00:39:39 | |||||
Hear how Carrie Rose went from launch to £7.2m turnover in four years, winning 80 awards in two years on the way, how she turned down Lord Sugar, the importance of brand and company culture, the importance of processes and systems, the issues she encountered managing exponential growth and how she copes with managing staff older than herself. There's also a great 'how to', in building your own personal brand. INTRODUCING CARRIE ROSE Carrie Rose, is founder and CEO of one of the fastest growing agencies in the UK & US - search-first creative agency Rise at Seven. After working at Branded3, one of the leading SEO agencies at the time, Carrie saw a gap in the industry for brand advertising and SEO to collide. She founded Rise at Seven to push the boundaries in both creative and technical SEO because that’s what is needed to own the most competitive search results. Rise At Seven are now across the UK, Europe and US with clients including SIXT, Bumble, Capital One, Bacardi, PrettyLittleThing, Amazon, Revolution Beauty and more. Rise at Seven launched the first reactive marketing service driven by live search trends, and believe in multi-channel search realistic to how consumers behave now. Their content marketing case studies is what they're famous for, with 78 awards in a roll top bath to show for it. Carrie is featured on the 30 under 30 Forbes list because of her success. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] Introducing Rise at Seven [00:03:30] The launch of Rise at Seven (and Lord Sugar’s offer) [00:08:00] Why and how Rise at Seven exploded [00:12:30] How to manage exponential growth in the business [00:15:30] The importance of brand in creating employment demand [00:18:00] The problems with culture and people that come with fast growth [00:23:45] Expansion into London and Manchester [00:27:30] The issues with employing staff older, and better, than yourself [00:30:00] The ying to Carrie’s yang; Stephen Kenwright [00:32:00] How to build your personal brand KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Swim in the blue ocean not the red ocean (where everyone is) • Apply yourself to what your customers look like • Figure out how you did things, write it down and then use the processes again later • Education is the best sales strategy BEST MOMENTS “I promised the team we’d take them away if we hit £1m. By the time we did we had 80 staff” “I applied for The Apprentice, got down to the last 30 and Lord Sugar offered me investment then and there” “I took fake members of staff to our first pitch to make us look bigger than we were” “It was crazy, every Monday we won an account…” “I spent days writing down the process of how we did everything. And then told the team to 'follow the script' “I haven’t read a CV in four years; it’s about proving your creativity and thinking” “In a time of fast growth I didn’t protect our culture" VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://meetglimpse.com/ Website: https://riseatseven.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieroseballoch/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/riseatseven/ Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/carrierosepr/ Instagram (business): https://www.instagram.com/riseatseven Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/CarrieRosePR Twitter (business): https://twitter.com/riseatseven Shout out tags: https://www.mothernutter.co.uk/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every... | |||||||
| 06 Sep 2023 | Simon Gray - Founder & CEO of Boost Drinks | 00:46:14 | |||||
We speak to Simon Gray, Founder & CEO of Boost Drinks. Simon tells us how the company started and grew, the benefits of out-sourcing much of his operation, the ups & downs of sponsoring Leeds United and how a surprise £30million deal to sell the business came about. He also teaches us how to create a virtual business... INTRODUCING SIMON GRAY In June 2001, as a graduate fresh out of Leeds University, Simon Gray founded the Boost brand at the age of just 28. With a bank loan of £30,000, he hasn’t looked back since and with a team of 35 highly motivated Boosters, and business turnover of £75m, Boost has become an award-winning functional drinks supplier. Boost is a top three brand in each of its categories – Stimulation energy, Sport, and Iced Coffee, and is a market leader in Northern Ireland. Boost was recently awarded a 'Sunday Times Top 100 places to work'. Simon always strives for himself and the business to learn and develop, and prides himself in implementing a compelling culture of 'energising everybody in every way', creating an environment where colleagues can be the best version of themselves, which in turn delivers the best version of the business. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:13] How the business started and where the idea came from [00:07:30] 2006 the first big catalyst for change [00:11:30] The benefits of outsourcing model [00:17:10] The reasons why you wouldn’t outsource [00:24:00] Strategic point of difference of channels to market [00:28:00] How the sale of the business came about [00:33:00] What the future looks like [00:35:15] The ups and downs of sponsorship of Leeds United [00:39:00] How do you set up a virtual business, and the pros and cons of running a virtual business KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS ● The benefits of following a big brand into a market ● When is the right time to bring out-sourced services in house ● How to create a perception of size with only 35 staff ● The importance of company culture ● Your route to market can be a USP ● For any sale everything has to fit, even if the timing isn’t exactly to plan BEST MOMENTS “We started with a litre bottle of four cans of red bull-style product in a bottle for a pound” “We are a fast follower; a challenger brand. Our job is not to be the innovator” “We now produce 200m units of drinks per year” “we’re only a team of 35 we’re almost a virtual business” “we should know a product is not working before a customer tells us it’s not working” “”you take a long hard look at a sale…. and it made a lot of sense for everybody” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: www.boostdrinks.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-gray-9b36802b Instagram: https://instagram.com/boost_drinks Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/simongrayboost Shout out tags: https://copycatfragrances.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-white-62b011201/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our... | |||||||
| 04 Oct 2023 | Howard Moss - Astonish | 00:37:09 | |||||
In this week's episode we speak to Howard Moss, Owner & CEO of Astonish. Howard explains how the company, founded by his passionate and entrepreneurial father, has developed from the ‘panic & chaos of early days’ on Meanwood Road to competing with the likes of P&G and Unilever. He tells us how installing basic processes moved the company forward, introduces us to a legendary sales person, Mike Alan, and explains how you go about expanding a product range. He also teaches us, in 3 simple steps, how to be a great business owner. INTRODUCING HOWARD MOSS Howard Moss is the Chief Executive of The London Oil Refining company, manufacturing household and personal care cleaning products under the brands of Astonish and Moss & Adams. Born and bred in Leeds, Howard has catapulted the company to great success, with 25% growth year-on-year, supplying ethical and eco products to Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Aldi, Home Bargains, Lidl and more. The company is committed to a sustainable manufacturing and production process and was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise in 2022. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] How the company started [00:07:15] The development of the business [00:13:00] Fulfilling customer demand and expanding distribution channels [00:16:00] The expansion of the product range [00:17:00] How do you expand a product range? [00:20:30] Competing with P&G or Unilever [00:24:00] Manufacturing from brief all the way to shelf [00:30:00] Learnings from mistakes in the business [00:35:00] 3 key tenets in being a great business owner [00:37:00] The benefits of sponsoring Leeds United KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
BEST MOMENTS “As an interim I started out to temporarily help my Dad and it wasn’t planned to be my career” “When I started there was zero process” “ There always seemed to be an immense amount of panic on” “ We were one of the first companies to use a brand name on separate categories” “We’ve always stayed true to what we believe; best in class product and true value for money” “Evolution doesn’t just mean new products…we have to also underperforming products” “once we transferred a user, we know we have a loyal customer” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Relevant links from the show, recommended Leeds business Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: https://astonish.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/astonish-cleaners-379323125/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astonishcleaners Twitter: https://twitter.com/astonishcleaner Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode... | |||||||
| 20 Nov 2024 | I sold my business... then immediately launched another one - Anna Sutton, The Data Refinery | 01:01:10 | |||||
This week we speak to Anna Sutton, Co-Founder of the Data Refinery. For most of us building then selling one business would be enough. Not with today’s guest who, having sold one business, immediately launched a second one. Anna also shares with us the complexities of being the leader rather than the do-er, business growth pains and a chastening fund-raising exercise. The Business Surgery answers the question; "'"We're coming up to annual appraisal time. Any advice?" For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING ANNA SUTTON Anna Sutton co-founded The Data Shed, a Leeds based data engineering consultancy in 2013. Exiting to Hippo Digital in March 2023, Anna is now back in start-up land and in the process of taking her SaaS data integration platform, The Data Refinery, to market. The aim is to provide enterprise level data warehousing, insight and segmentation tools to small/medium sized businesses at a fraction of the cost. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:00] From employment to launching a business whilst pregnant [00:05:00] The birth of the Data Shed [00:12:00] Hiring staff and growing the business [00:16:00] Growth pains and failed fund-raising [00:24:00] Dealing with Covid through a structured team [00:26:00] The importance of business coaching [00:30:00] Leadership rather than being a do-er and scaling a business [00:37:00] Exiting a business and the emotional impact [00:48:00] Launching the Data Refinery [00:52:00] How to define and track key indicators [01:03:00] Business Surgery 6 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
3 MOMENTS TO LOOK OUT FOR “We spent a good two or three years figuring out how we were going to make it work" “I cannot do the thing that we are selling" “There was a huge learning curve. I loved it but it was terrifying" VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: http://www.thedatarefinery.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-sutton-the-data-refinery/ & https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-data-refinery Shout out: https://livve.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-sookia-bbab17248/ DON'T FORGET | |||||||
| 23 Aug 2023 | Richard Flint - ex-CEO of SkyBet | 00:56:34 | |||||
Phil Fraser speaks to Richard Flint, the man who built SkyBet into one of the biggest tech companies in Leeds. Richard explains how SkyBet’s 'wrong' decision to focus on interactive TV in the early days actually ended up making the move to mobile betting a speedier success as well as the importance of integrating SkyBet products into SkyTV AND the multiple reasons why SKY plc eventually sold 80% of SkyBet. Richard also talks through how you build a company culture as well as the various stages that a business owner goes through and how to manage those changes. He also gives us his secret tip for those looking to source angel investment. INTRODUCING RICHARD FLINT Richard Flint is currently an Investor and Chair of three businesses: * Butternut Box - Europe’s leading online subscription dog food business, specialising in fresh dog food * Seat Unique - the UKs leading premium ticket marketplace offering VIP tickets to hundreds of sporting and music events * Ryde - a high energy indoor cycle and barre studio based in Leeds and soon to launch in Manchester He is also a Non Executive Director of Ladbible Group plc and Flutter Entertainment plc, and an angel investor in a number of other start up and scale ups. Richard was Chief Executive of Leeds based Sky Betting & Gaming from 2006 to 2018, during which time he grew the company from around 100 employees to over 1700. He led the company through its £800m spin out from Sky, and then on to its acquisition by The Stars Group for £3.4bn last year, before The Stars Group was in turn acquired by Flutter Entertainment plc. Richard was Glassdoor’s Chief Executive of the Year for 2018. He holds an Engineering Degree from Oxford and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:20] – the importance of coaches and mentors [00:12:00] – the upturn in the performance of SkyBet [00:15:10] – the cultural changes made in SkyBet [00:17:25] – the opportunity that interactive TV gave SkyBet [00:26:15] – the £800m sale of SkyBet [00:31:30] – the learnings from going through the sale process [00:40:00] – what you need to know as a successful business owner [00:43:15] – how to build company culture [00:49:00] – what should companies do who are looking for Angel investment KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS * Get the right people on the bus for cultural change * The (wrong) decision to go with interactive TV was a key point in Sky’s strategy * Having their own software and platform allowed SkyBet to lead the market * Summer football tournaments affected Sky PLC and their year end reporting * There are lots of different skills needed at different stages of running a business * Reach out informally to Angel Investors if you are looking for investment BEST MOMENTS “Truth be told, when I took over I didn’t know how to go about it.. and I didn’t do a very good job of it for a couple of years” “We had to move the whole company away from old style telephone betting to new style product marketing” “Sky didn’t want to tell the stock market every few weeks that they’d missed targets by say £20m because SkyBet had lost a few weekends in a row” “We became too big to ignore but too small to well understood” “The sale was emotionally difficult as I felt my baby was going to a home that wasn’t a suitable home” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-flint-803762/ Twitter (personal): @YorkshireFlint Shout out tags: www.rydestudios.com ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel -... | |||||||
| 23 Aug 2023 | James Brown - creator of loaded magazine | 01:18:02 | |||||
Phil Fraser speaks to James Brown, author, journalist, broadcaster and media entrepreneur and most famous for launching the era-defining lads mag Loaded. In a wide ranging discussion we get to dig deep into his brilliant autobiography ‘Animal House’ and his journey from his Headingley-based home-made fanzine to NME, Loaded, GQ and beyond. He tells us where the inspiration for loaded came from, how it very nearly didn’t even get past the research stage and how the magazine went from zero to profit in less than 3 months. And you’ll love hearing his ‘football over business’ business decision. INTRODUCING JAMES BROWN James Brown started his career producing his own fanzines, joined the NME staff aged 21 and wrote over 50 cover stories, championing Beastie Boys, KLF, Happy Mondays and many others. He created the award-winning and hugely popular loaded magazines, and went on to edit British GQ where he launched the Man of The Year Awards. He floated his own publishing company on AIM and became an in-demand public speaker and creative consultant for leading brands, agencies and publishing houses. He has written the best-selling book Above Head Height: A Five-A-Side Life, and his autobiography ‘Animal House’. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:10] The start of James’ career [00:13:50] Features Editor at NME [00:21:30] Animal House - the autobiography [00:31:10] The creation and launch of loaded magazine [00:50:00] Post-loaded life [00.56:00] Leeds, Leeds Leeds magazine [01:04.00] The launch of IFG Publishing [01:09:00] How to identify staff that stand out in interviews KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS * Loaded created a genre of mass market men's magazines for the whole world * Loaded was supposed to make its first pound of profit after three years. It made it’s first profit after three issues * Football decisions in business environments aren’t always the best * When running a business write out a list of what you should do differently BEST MOMENTS “I wrote 5 or 6 cover stories in 6 or 7 weeks for NME” “I was young kid with an expense account and could go to America, Amsterdam, Paris or wherever with the best bands of the day” “When I read the audiobook, I asked the producer to keep the bits of me giggling as I’m reading it in” “Alan got the Tippex out and changed the likelihood to buy loaded customer research figures from 44% to 88%” “It was a very unique, exciting time and I hope that comes across in the book” “I’ve had five jobs that I think other people would think one of would be my best job ever” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-brown-050a99175 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesjamesbrown/ Twitter: http//www.twitter.com/jamesjamesbrown Shout out tags: 'Daz' - 07903372212 D Marshall Builders https://craigchristonshair.mytreatwell.co.uk/ https://dakotahotels.co.uk/leeds/ https://www.amber-cars.co.uk/ Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘GENTLEMENS AGREEMENT’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has three simple steps; 1. Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2. Post a review of the show at either Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leeds-business-podcast/id1695413291) or Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/leeds-business-podcast-5389157) 3. Give this episode a ‘like’ SOCIAL MEDIA Follow... | |||||||
| 23 Oct 2024 | All you need to know about selling your business - Intelligent Business Partners | 00:50:34 | |||||
We ask everything you need to know about selling a business with Mark Fitzgerald-Cooke of Intelligent Business Partners. Even if you’re not looking at selling right now, there’s tons of great stuff in here to get your house in order in preparation were you to ever do so. For more information on our sponsors, YFM Equity Partners, please visit www.yfmep.com (and when you contact them tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!) INTRODUCING MARK FITZGERALD-COOKE Mark Fitzgerald Cooke is MD of business broker, Intelligent Business Partners. He has over 30 years helping people buy and sell cars, homes and businesses in the UK, Europe and Asia, working with brands like AutoTrader, Rightmove, Zoopla, proptech start ups and now with Intelligent. He is believed to be the only person whose feet were on EastEnders AND is related to former American President JFK. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:15] The key steps in selling your business [00:05:00] Understanding how to value your business [00:11:00] Types of ‘multiples’ [00:14:00] How to prepare your business for sale [00:18:00] The four key questions buyers will ask [00:22:30] What to expect with purchases and transition periods [00:27:00] Protecting against problems with earn outs [00:31:00] All about due diligence [00:37:00] What happens to the money in my business bank when I sell [00:42:00] The common mistakes business buyers make 6 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
4 BEST MOMENTS “By the nature of your business, it will be unique to a degree and therefore comparable values may not be there” “We can only sell what we can evidence” “long trading business adds value” “People, product, processes are key to preparing your business for sale” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Work with Phil - www.philfraser.co.uk Website: https://www.intelligent.co.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-fitzgerald-cooke-a693662/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’ YOU MAY ALSO LIKE https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/mark-fitzgerald-cooke/ | |||||||
| 30 Aug 2023 | Jane Slimming - CEO Zeal Digital Agency | 00:51:15 | |||||
Phil Fraser speaks to Jane Slimming, CEO of Leeds digital agency, Zeal. Jane explains to us the importance of company culture on a business how it saved her business after 70% of revenue disappeared, and how she now helps other businesses to develop their company culture. She also tells us about her near-death experience and how it changed her, and her business, forever. Plus you’ll also learn how to run a tech project when you’re not even a techie. INTRODUCING JANE SLIMMING Jane Slimming is Founder and CEO of Zeal - an agency that helps E-commerce startups and scale ups achieve growth through branding, tech and marketing. Jane founded Zeal in 2010 following a 7 year career working at some of the UK's largest media buying agencies. She has grown Zeal into a £2m+ turnover agency employing 30+ staff and offering clients a range of services in the creative, tech and marketing space. Zeal works solely with start-up and scale-ups helping them achieve ambitious growth plans both with the services Zeal offer and by allowing them access to the Zeal Connect network. Jane is passionate about helping businesses scale quickly into household brands and Zeal has a proven track record of achieving this for clients across numerous industries. Jane is also Founder and Director of Culco - a company that helps SME's develop and imbed values and become culture-led businesses - and holds Directorships at two further ecommerce businesses. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:02:40] How Zeal changed post-Covid [00.06:15] Turning away valuable, but incompatible clients [00:12:50] Setting up an agency and the lessons learnt from previous employees [00:16:00] The importance of culture in a company [00:23:15] Zeal Connect and how it helps clients [00:30:16] Jane’s near-death experience and how it changed her and the company [00:37:15] How to run a tech project when you are not a techie KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Turning down troublesome clients because they don’t fit your culture is the strongest message you can send to your staff that you are culture driven • The importance of curiosity and work ethic, and having worked in crap jobs in superstars • Company culture can be measured • Losing 70% of the revenue doesn’t have to be the end of a business • Look at the risk of launching a business, mitigate the downsides, have a plan B, then go for it BEST MOMENTS “You have to want to grow and not be a dickhead – they are the key things for us when looking at clients” “I dressed as a Kangaroo, and it’s the only job I’ve been fired from” “Starting a business isn’t hard. If you want to, anybody can do it with the right support and the right opportunity” “Nearly dying fundamentally changed me and I like the change” “Don’t waste your energy on shit that doesn’t matter” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com Website: www.wehavezeal.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-slimming-698a4a3/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zeal-media-ltd/ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/janehelenslimming/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/janeslimming Shout outs: https://www.luckynorth.co.uk/ https://hatch.group/ Book recommendation: ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins Want to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@LeedsBusinessPodcast. DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘GENTLEMENS AGREEMENT’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has three simple steps; 1. Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2. Post a... | |||||||