Compelling Interviews With Today’s Successful Entr

On this week’s podcast, we’ve been speaking to Shanker Patel, founder and chief executive of Lords Builders Merchants. After first opening its doors in 1985, Lords has grown to its major two and half acre sites at Park Royal and Hayes. For Shanker, business growth has always been in his blood. From helping his father in their family business aged 10 to spending every weekend working when he took over aged 18, Shanker learnt first hand about the practicalities of business. Hear his top tips on how to identify key business opportunities and stand out from your competitors.

Emanuel Rosen started his career in marketing as an advertising copywriter before becoming Vice President of Marketing at EndNote – a specialist software company that helps academics publish their research. At EndNote, Emanuel became passionate about word of mouth marketing and made a huge impact on the industry, driving his further success. After the sale of the company, Emanuel recognised that there weren’t any books dedicated to this powerful channel. That’s why he wrote The Anatomy of Buzz, the first guide on how to create a word of mouth magic in a campaign. After the brilliant response to his first book, Emanuel has gone on to write a number of guides. The Anatomy of Buzz Revisited focuses on how the internet and social media has fundamentally changed how we communicate. Within this realm, he’s identified a huge shift in power. What used to be brands telling customers what to expect has turned into customers having instant information from previous users and other trusted sources (TripAdvisor is a prime example). His newest book: Absolute Value, helps us better understand what influences customers in this age of ‘nearly’ perfect information. Aside from his own books, Emmanuel also recommends reading Everett Rogers: Diffusion of Innovation and the Heath Brothers: Made to Stick, both of which offer lots of practical advice that can inspire your marketing strategy. 

Peter Murley is a senior executive with an enviable level of experience to his name. From his dream of becoming an actor through to taking the plunge to be a self-employed consultant aged just 28, Peter has had an unconventional road to success. Today, he has huge names such as ITV Digital, GO Fly Airlines (now easyJet), Energis and O2, on his CV. He was also a founding director of First Direct. Peter recently left a CEO position for the Hawksford Group, a regulated wealth structuring company with a £20m+ turnover, headquartered in Jersey, CI. In this podcast, we chat with Peter about best practice, challenges he’s faced throughout his career and some of his best advice for those wanting to follow in his footsteps.

In this podcast, we’d like to welcome Simon Lewis, CEO of West Berkshire Brewery and a drinks man through and through. From managing an old-fashioned wine merchant in the middle of London to joining the Red Bull Company before it became a household name, Simon has a wealth of experience in the drinks industry. With huge names such as Bass, Monster Energy and Purity on his CV, we chatted with Simon about how the industry has evolved and where he thinks the art of beer brewing is going in the future.

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you could get 25% more energy and purpose out of your team and relationships? Will Murray; entrepreneur and former blue chip director is working on the answer. He is the founder of Packtypes. Packtypes is the simple card based game that is sweeping through big companies, school and the general public.  Hear directly from Will how he founded the business, where his drive and passion come from. He also shares his mistakes and gives expert advice on sustainable growth. This is another very inspiring interview, packed with insights and practical advice Learn more about Will and his innovative business on the official website – Packtypes Will’s favourite business book? He’s not a big fan of business books and feels they use far too many pages to get the core message across. This is even though, as he acknowledges, some contain good advice. That said he likes “Who Moved My Cheese” and recommends AA Milne and the Pooh Bear stories for a guide to life and morals. Will’s favourite charity is the RNLI. He admires their courage and selflessness.  

Simon Carter If you want to hear invaluable insights on how to survive as a retailer and fashion brand for over 30 years this interview with Simon Carter, the founder of the famous men’s fashion brand of the same name, is for you.   He started off door knocking on The King’s Road in London selling men’s brooches. Today, he operates a multi-million pound global business with a presence in over 25 different countries. A huge achievement. Simon shares where his brand is positioned in the market, where his inspiration comes from, the setbacks he has had over the years and how he has overcome them plus his opportunities and challenges for the future. He even explains how he avoided using private equity or venture capital to fund his growth.   We really enjoyed hearing Simon’s experiences and hope you do too. He is unique. Even his choice of favourite business book is different, in fact he has never read one. He prefers to get inspiration from travel, figures from history and architecture. The closest thing to a business book he has read is Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.   As for his favourite charity he likes the unsung, unglamorous organisations, most notably The Salvation Army.   You must make time to listen to this interview, it is really good.

This a compelling interview if you want to hear first-hand from an accomplished marketing director who identifies with, indeed has a passion for,  driving success with owner managed retailers.   Meet Phil Geary, the Marketing Director at one of Britain’s fastest growing retailers, The Entertainer toy shop chain. Hear what he has learnt during a career of working closely with some our countries best known brands, Lloyds Pharmacy, Holland & Barrett, Bounty and of course The Entertainer.   One of Phil’s best pieces of advice for any growing business is to consistently ask “What does the customer want, need or think?” But more than this he points out that these questions cannot be answered around the boardroom table. You must get out and speak with staff and customers. They have lots of the answers and instinctively know what is right and wrong.   During the interview he shares with us what is at the core of The Entertainer’s success. His views on the internet and fears around the intrusiveness of new technologies and personal data. His greatest set back? A lot of us will remember an advertising campaign run by Holland and Barrett, the problem though is that it had no impact on sales. Ouch! Hearing how he overcame this set back is compulsive listening. He also discusses the “Rule of unintended consequences” where he used a celebrity to open a store which attracted so many people that the store had to be closed and of course sales were massively below expectation.   His favourite business book Howard Schultz – Onward – How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul. He is particularly enthusiastic about the time when Schultz closed all 11,000 stores for half a day to reinforce the staff’s coffee making skills. His favourite charity Acorns – It’s a children’s hospice.  https://acorns.org.uk Finally, a list of The Entertainer stores is on their website http://www.thetoyshop.com  

Colin is a highly successful businessman and accountant who has faced the challenges of fast growth and turnaround both here in the UK and in the USA. His is also an author and the founder of Cavendish (1998) which is a vehicle for him to share his vast knowledge and experiences mainly focusing on leadership and systemisation of businesses to drive efficiency, sales and shareholder value. He likes to help companies mature towards successful exit strategies and holds a number of non executive positions amongst Britain’s SMEs. Favourite book (he has 2) Tom Peters – In Search of Excellence Edward Gibbon – The History of the Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire Favourite charity Derbyshire Air Ambulance www.theairambulanceservice.org.uk Contact : www.cavendish-mr.org.uk

Rasheed is like so many successful entrepreneurs in that his is a very driven and tenacious person yet he is also very different.   Firstly he runs his own life & business coaching practice but unlike most of his competitors, he doesn’t focus primarily on goals, he focuses on the softer more soulful measures such as self-discovery, life balance, self-confidence and personal direction. He encourages people to discover their authentic self and then use this to best advantage. It took Rasheed 3 years of leaning and experimenting to see his business start to grow into what it is today. His biggest learning was to be true to yourself, don’t be scared to be different and stay highly focused on meeting customer needs. Rasheed works with business people, pop stars, politicians and the public. He runs life and business development workshops, is a motivational speaker, and author of the internationally acclaimed Soul Trader – Putting the Heart Back into Your Business. He can also often be seen and heard commenting on radio and TV. Like so many entrepreneurs Rasheed has lots more he wants to achieve including making his own TV show. This is a very thought provoking interview that brings a perspective to life and business that too many of us miss. Rasheed’s favourite business book,  he has 2: Business As Unusual – Anita Roddick The E Myth Revisited – Michael Gerber Rasheed’s favourite charity: Oxfam Rasheed’s contact details Website: www.rasaru.com   New resource for small business owners www.soul-trader.biz   Twitter: @RasheedOgunlaru  @SoulTraderBiz

The world of marketing is changing at a phenomenal rate. Some interesting facts that Ted discussed with us: 80% of people don’t believe that advertisers tell the truth 20 years go the average person saw 2,200 commercial messages a day. Now it is 13,000 The average commercial message takes 14 seconds for your brain to process. If you took notice of every commercial message, it would take 18 hours a day   The old model of placing ads and telling customers how good you are is rapidly becoming ineffective. So how are businesses effectively using marketing to grow? Ted Wright has the answer. Ted is a very successful entrepreneur, it’s in the family blood, he follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He has become a student of how companies grow without any advertising, think Google, or in the USA TIVO.  He has learnt the fundamental marketing principles behind their success and most importantly how to apply them to all manner of businesses big or small across a plethora of industries. We are of course talking about the enormous power of word of mouth marketing and most importantly how to tap into it. Word of mouth marketing is all about people turning to other trusted people and asking their opinion about a product or service they are considering buying. These conversations are happening all the time, face to face and on social media. Ted is an expert on how this influencer eco system works and during our interview, he shares some highly valuable insights and advice that you can apply to your business to drive growth. Today, Ted runs a highly successful marketing agency with offices in the USA and UK.  He has recently written a very practical book called Fizz, explaining how to use the power of influence in your marketing. We were very inspired by Ted’s wise words and feel sure you will be too. Ted’s favourite business book – Purple Cow by Seth Godin Ted’s charity: The Boy Scouts Ted’s contact details: Fizz Corporation website  011 404 638-1066 (USA) info@fizzcorp.com  

Jonathan Slobom, Andrew Try & David Allmond Entrepreneurship is literally in Andrew’s family blood dating back to 1918 operating coaches in Windsor but this isn’t what he does today. Like so many successful entrepreneurs, Andrew didn’t excel at school. However, he did make it to university to study entrepreneurship in the USA. On returning to the UK in the late 1980’s, he instinctively spotted an opportunity for a telephone answering and mail box service aimed at the growing small business sector. This business grew and at one point he even had Waitrose as a client. Ever the entrepreneur, he ran many other businesses at the same time, often spreading his resources too thinly, some were successful, some weren’t. All along Andrew saw his journey as one big learning curve. It was when contact centres started moving abroad that he recognised the need to change or die. He totally reinvented his contact centre to provide a 21st century switchboard and concierge service aimed at top law firms. Today, he has a sustainable, growing business that is tracking towards employing 100 people. His biggest piece of advice is to focus on one thing and do it better than the competition. Listen to him sharing his journey, hear how he financed the business and what his plans for future growth are? This interview is packed with practical advice on how to move into the 4% of UK businesses that get to £1m+ turnover. Andrew’s favourite business book (he has 2) Good to Great by Jim Collins 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Andrew’s favourite charity: Royal Windsor Rose and Horticultural Society Contact details  Comxo website 01753 710 430

Christian along with his business partner Ronen are joint founders of Hummus Bros. Their story is fascinating and serves as a “blueprint” for all ambitious entrepreneurs who aren’t satisfied with early success and therefore are prepared to evolve their business to become mid-sized or bigger. Hear how the inspiration for their business came from a personal need at university for easy to make, healthy food with relatively cheap ingredients. After graduation they realised hummus could have commercial potential. They tested their ideas in food markets, this gave them amazing customer feedback and confidence in their ideas. They used this and their ever expanding understanding of customers’ needs to raise bank finance and opened their first branch in Wardour Street, London. Christian explains why they chose this premium location rather than a cheaper secondary one. Their relentless focus on meeting customer needs and being prepared to make mistakes resulted in them not only surviving the credit crunch but managing to grow. Christian shares their plans for future growth and explains how he looks for market opportunities that “others” fail to see. Don’t miss this one, you will learn lots and feel very inspired. Right now, Hummus Bros is pioneering the use of crowdfunded mini-bonds to raise funds to open three more locations in london over the next 12-18 months. For more information and to invest visit www.crowd2fund.com/hbros. Christian’s favourite book: Malcolm Gladwell – Tipping Point Christian’s favourite charity: Save The Children You can contact Christian via the Hummus Bros website    

Tony Groom has an enviable reputation for helping businesses that are experiencing financial distress survive.His passion though extends beyond survival. Once the financial position is stabilised he actively works with the directors to develop a marketing strategy aimed at growth. Tony explains that just like going to the doctor, the sooner you seek help, the more options there are for treatment and the greater the chances of a successful outcome. Another medical parallel; clients find being able to speak with an independent professional, openly and frankly a great relief. This is why he has a 24 hour helpline and even a Sunday Clinic. Tony has been running K2 Business Partners for over 20 years. In the interview he shares his knowledge, offers practical advice and discusses the many clients that he has helped over the years. In fact, Tony is an entrepreneur as well as very astute finance and marketing man and the valuable lessons he shares are applicable to all business whether in distress or not. Favourite Books  Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries – Leaders, Fools and Imposters: Essays on the Psychology of Leadership Favourite charity: High Ground –  a young charity, formed to assist in the transition from military to civilian life Contact Details K2 Partners

Matthew Rock describes himself as an entrepreneurial journalist who has probably met more entrepreneurs than any other British journalist. Matthew describes himself as an entrepreneurial journalist who has probably met more entrepreneurs than any other British journalist. As you listen to our interview with Matthew you will quickly see how much fascinating knowledge and insight into business he has gained over the years. His journey has been highly eventful and very successful. He was part of the team that founded Caspian Media back in 1997. Like so many new businesses they spotted a gap in the market. At the time business publications were very corporate and industry specific and there was no magazine for the growing population of entrepreneurs. Real Business filled this gap. The readership quickly rose to in excess of 40,000 people. New publications followed, including Real Deals aimed at the private equity sector and national award ceremonies such as Asian Women of Achievement awards. Like so many companies change was accelerated by the impact of the internet and the 2008 recession. This resulted in the brave decision to not only go online but to start thinking of readers as “members”. After 17 years Matthew is now the editor-in-chief at DueDil, the technology company that is organising the world’s business information into one resource so that it can be used for highly focused competitor, supplier, potential customer and due diligence research. The company is only 4 years old, has 45 staff and impressively has already achieved over 1 million registered users. Part of DueDil’s growth has been fuelled by allowing people to use part of the service for free and then pay for more premium options, a marketing approach often called “freemium”. Hear Dave’s views and Matthew’s comments on the benefits and risks of adopting this ever popular approach to gaining new customers. Think Skype, LinkedIn, Drop Box and Evernote to name but a few. Favourite business book: Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson Favourite charity: Age UK Contact Details: @matthewrock on Twitter or matthewrock@duedil.com and website.