Grow A Small Business Podcast

In this episode, I interview Renée Hasseldine, the Founder and CEO of the Think RAPT System, an award-winning system that distills consults, experts, and teams' unique intellectual property into Visual Models. Renée helps experts, consultants, and thought leaders scale up their businesses by developing their intellectual property. More specifically, she works with them to co-create their unique methodology or signature system using visual models. Her knack for extracting and unpacking thoughts and turning them into unique intellectual property is sheer genius. Renée is the author of two best-selling books: "Share Your Passion" and "Game Changer", and the host of the "Leveraged and Loving It" podcast. This Cast Covers: From accounting and finance to bar/cafe owner and settling on consulting for entrepreneurs on digital models. Taking the complex thoughts entrepreneurs have and taking them through different processes to turn them into an effective sales pitch. Why ClickFunnels is not a great platform for content delivery. Some of the small to medium-sized businesses that she has worked with. The importance of digital models when growing a small business. How powerful digital models can be: How she helped one of her clients grow their turnover from $300k to $1Million within 15 months. Embracing visual models as a way of solving problems that affect a small business. Delivering the Think RAPT system with the help of her remote team of six. Winning the Stevie Award for innovation for their system. Moving into the corporate market as well as a licensing and certification system. Explaining the four models of the Think RAPT system. Using technology to generate some culture even when the entire team works remotely. Additional Resources: Think RAPT https://ThinkRAPT.com/Video Share Your Passion By Renée Hasseldine Game Changer By Renée Hasseldine Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Craig Schulze, the Founder of The One Shot Movement, an author, speaker, investor, podcast host, and lifestyle coach. He is a successful global businessman with a wide range of skills and experiences. He launched The One Shot Movement in 2020 with a vision and mission to help inspire and educate people to live life with passion and purpose. His book, "You've Got One Shot" is a book about navigating through a challenge and then the lessons learned to help move me towards living a meaningful life. Craig started out in business in 2002 when he was 22 after leaving his corporate engineering gig to start a fitness club that he grew into five gyms within three years that were individually turning over $300,000+ a year. He navigated the business through the 2008 global financial crisis and exited it in 2015. Craig helped a small South Australian company set up 22 franchises. He also helped Jeunesse Global launch into Australia and has been making over $1 Million a year for five years now as their independent distributor. He says the hardest thing about growing a small business is people. The one thing he feels he would tell himself on day one of starting out in business is, "Make sure you invest in your personal development and growth and mindset, because it's not a matter of if you're going to have challenges, it's a matter of when and how often. So if you've got really good personal development and mindset, you'll be able to navigate your way through those. And build really good relationships with people because you can just open doors for your relationships, help each other out, collaborate, and I think those two things will hold you in good stead" Ladies and gentlemen, join me as Craig gives us a peek into his incredible small business ownership journey. This Cast Covers: Interviewing over 100 of the biggest entrepreneurs in the world and having an incredible journey starting and growing a fitness business that he later exited. Building his personal brand and raising awareness about the One Shot Movement. Starting with one gym and growing it to five within three years after which he set up 22 very successful franchises. Earning over $1 Million a year for five years distributing with Jeunesse Global. The great feeling of hitting seven figures from all his hard work with the business. Why every small business owner should use all the features of all the social media platforms to market their business. The importance of physical businesses ensuring they have a strong online presence. Getting funding from his parents to get started and the diverse fundraising methods he uses now. How navigating the harsh business environment that Covid-19 created taught him to leave enough margin for error when taking risks. Always enjoying the fast growth of his businesses. Ensuring you grow and constantly evolve as a small business owner by embracing new technologies and best practices. The value of having good people and good systems and processes. Hiring people based more on their personality than anything else. Why every small business owner should be empathetic with their team members. Always learning how to sell better, market better, and create content better. The lessons he learned from exiting a business. Additional Resources: The One Shot Movement The One Shot Movement Podcast You've Got One Shot By Craig Schulze The 4-Hour Work Week By Tim Ferriss The Next Millionaires By Paul Zane Pilzer Good to Great By James C. Collins Principles By Ray Dalio Jack Delosa Podcast Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Kate Tompsett, the Owner at Happy & Glorious, a small family-run business that sells a variety of British-made gifts. Inspired by the wonderful products that are made in Britain, Kate set-up the business in 2012 when she was 34 to support British manufacturing, applaud British talent, and keep her carbon footprint to a minimum. In 2015 she opened a store in Ashford, as part of Ashford Borough Council's regeneration scheme, moving to larger premises in 2017. The arrival of COVID-19 pushed Kate's focus online as she developed her website and social media to compensate for the restrictions of lockdown. Kate sources her products from all over the UK; finds them at trade shows, through social media, or made by talented friends. She also creates her own collection of products, designed and made by Happy & Glorious in-house. When she started out, she was the only full-time employee for the first three years and now has three and expects them to be five by the end of 2021. The business doubled in sales for those first three years and it now sustains a 100% growth every year. Kate says the hardest thing in growing a small business is the pace at which everything changes. The one thing she says she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "Don't listen to the voices that are telling you can't do it or that you're moving too fast or that you're too ambitious, because the external voices are warning through love or worry or placing their own fears and anxieties upon you. Fluff up, try things out and trust your gut. Take risks and take responsibility. Celebrate and take a step back to see how far you've come. Be patient because it's not gonna happen overnight. It's like growing a tree. You've got to nurture it and look after it, protect it until it's tall enough to look after you" Join us as we follow Kate's journey to becoming an independent retailer selling only British-made goods. This Cast Covers: Leaving her marketing job to take the leap of starting her business. How the opportunity to take a shop in Ashford, Kent enabled her to grow her business. The fast growth she has experienced all through and the sustained 100% growth she has enjoyed the last 3 years. Surviving the pandemic from the immense support the business received from local customers. 27% sales from online and 73% from the brick and mortar shop. From one full-time employee to the current three and the expected five by the end of 2021. Making her first online sale that wasn't to a relative and designing/selling her own range of mugs. Building great relationships with over 50 UK based suppliers. Making the most of what the UK has to offer by sourcing and manufacturing all her products in the UK. The importance of creating and sustaining personal relationships with customers. How she navigated through the effects of the pandemic by focusing on what she could control. Focusing her attention more on growing the online part of the business so it can grow more. The joy of designing her own products and seeing people buy them. Planning and bullet journaling: The two things that have enabled her to be an effective small business owner. Applying instinct in finding the right people and looking into what their strengths are. Investing in coaches that are specialized in life and retail. The importance of humility and continuous learning. Keeping up with the constant changes that take place in the world of business. Additional Resources: Happy & Glorious Small Giants By Bo Burlingham Conversations of Inspiration Kindness Economy Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

In this episode, I interview Lucy Nelson, the Founder, Director, and CEO at 2xN Limited, a healthcare marketing, and business development agency. Lucy is also the Founder and Personal Trainer at The Life Plan, where they provide customized fitness, nutrition, and wellness online. She is an expert at managing branding, strategy, and opportunity for clients looking to grow in their sector. Her strengths focus on managing overall brand direction and business growth, marketing, and development of private practices and clinics across London and the UK. She is experienced with marketing, coordinating, and delivering events, and has a proven track record of delivering brand growth and business development. Lucy had worked in healthcare since she left university and she identified a need for the kind of services that 2xN offers, so at the end of 2017, she registered the company and started with a bang in 2018. She started out as the only full-time employee and achieved about £115,000 in revenue in year one. By the end of the second year, the revenue had doubled to £ 220,000 but faced a slump in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The business now has a full-time team of three with two people working part-time. Her advice for every small business owner is that they should fight their self-doubt and believe that their business can work. Lucy feels that the hardest thing in growing a small business is achieving balance and being able to delegate. The one thing she says she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "Keep going. Hold on tight. There are some serious ups and downs but you're going to love it all" Stay tuned to learn from Lucy's business journey. This Cast Covers: Working on an agency basis as a marketing firm specifically for the healthcare industry. How she identified a need for the services that 2xN offers. Helping patients decipher the tons of healthcare information they get online and ensuring that doctors are accurately represented online. From medical sales representative to full-time small business owner who has been positively impacting the healthcare industry. Growing the business from one full-time employee (Herself) to the current three full-time and two part-time employees, and sustaining upwards of £ 200,000 in annual revenues. Surviving the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic to sustain growth into 2021. The success of a small business owner achieving financial growth and being able to work on their own schedule. Maintaining a high customer retention rate by focusing on relationship marketing and word of mouth. Funding the business with nothing but her laptop, time, and tireless hard work. The challenges of doing everything in her business and how she has worked hard on delegating to achieve some balance. Why every small business owner should overcome their self-doubt and believe in the potential of their business. The value of focusing on personality types when hiring new employees. Exercising every day to be able to switch off and unwind. Building the confidence to thrive in a male-dominated industry. Additional Resources: Lean In By Nell Scovell and Sheryl Sandberg Experts Podcast with Lauren Armes Desert Island Discs Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Joseph Fung, the Founder, and CEO of Uvaro, an online tech sales training program that has no-upfront-tuition offering. Joseph is a serial entrepreneur who's launched six startups and gone through a few successful exits. In 2013, his startup TribeHR was acquired by NetSuite, which ended up being acquired by Oracle four years later. He is also the founder of Kiite, a sales enablement software. Uvaro launched its first class at the beginning of 2020 and went from having 150 applicants per month to a thousand per month by the end of the year. They help people sell software and introduce themselves to tech companies, and they don't charge tuition until the candidate gets a new gig. He endured anxious times deciding whether to sell the company or not. Joseph funded the business through private and venture capital from both Canada and the US. He says he felt he had succeeded when he started seeing customer testimonials from customers whose lives were changed by their program. He shared that the hardest thing about growing a small business is doing the right thing at the moment when you're not prepared. The one thing Joseph would tell himself on day one of starting out in business is, "It's more fun than you think it's going to be" Enjoy the interview. This Cast Covers: Introducing us to the Uvaro program and how it works. A view of Joseph Fung's entrepreneurial journey and his different business ventures. Anchoring success on the idea of creating a work environment where people feel engaged and fulfilled. Creating, writing down, and understanding the desired company values and policies before launching a business. Figuring out what story to share as a way of marketing your business. Recruiting based on values and behaviors that are in alignment with the business culture. Focusing on the customer first and their perspective in order to provide a great experience. Handling disappointments on the rapid growth journey. Developing a habit of personal development through learning. Implementing a well-defined process and system of bringing the right people into his team. Nurturing talent and training a fire team to create value from within. Creating a system to recognize adherence to company values. Achieving work-life balance by being passionate and present in the different aspects of life. The value that having a board brings to a small business. Keeping your operations clean from the start by making sure your accounting system is good, records are up to date, and efficiently organizing files and contracts. Additional Resources: Uvaro Kiite Built to Last By James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras The Effective Executive By Peter Drucker Revisionist History Podcast by Malcom Gladwell Vidyard - Online Video Platform for Business First, Break All the Rules By Marcus Buckingham Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Jonathan Moody, the Founder, CEO at Physio Inq, a physiotherapy and allied healthcare company. Physio Inq provides a range of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, and exercise physiology services both in-clinic and via mobile practitioners, the latter specializing in disability and aged care. Trained as a physiotherapist, Jonathan is an allied health advocate, with a passion for empowerment through education and training, and committed to improving access to quality allied health for all people. Aged 25 in 2006 with his then-wife, he started a physio business in a four by four-meter room. Fast forward 14 years and they now have 14 practices, 12 franchisees, and 270 team members, only losing one during Covid. The practices took a hit during the pandemic but the team prepared for the customers' return and business exceeded their expectations, setting new records. They launched a mobile home care arm a few years ago and in Covid times, it grew 30% off a large base. After separating 7 years ago, he and his wife are still 50/50 business partners. They almost went bankrupt in 2016 when they were down to their last $2 in the bank account. They funded the business through a mix of bank debt and profits, and he felt they had succeeded when they got through almost bankruptcy. Jonathan says the hardest thing about growing a small business is overcoming the middle growing pains (Around $2 Million per annum) The one thing he says he would tell himself on day one of starting out is, "Keep your head out of the clouds and stay grounded" Stay tuned for more of Jonathan's inspiring small business story. This Cast Covers: From everyday mum and dad physio clinic to a massive network of clinics, mobile in-home care, corporately owned physiotherapy practices, and franchises. The growth-stimulating financial benefits that came with the Covid-19 pandemic. How the flight of clients out the door during the pandemic caused a huge downturn in their clinics. Their 170 strong employment base within their entire business. Aiming to have a clinic in each capital city so they can have a national network that will be able to achieve their long-term goals. Having a great experience with their franchisees because internal people are the ones who take on the franchise clinics. Being passionate about helping business owners succeed. The critically important soft skills training that they conduct with their team members. How difficult it is to grow a physio practice and how Jonathan has managed to grow his into multiple clinics. The power of focusing on satisfying customers' needs. From one full-time employee in a four by four room in a medical center to the current 270 full-time employees and a 200% growth year on year for the last three years. The great 50/50 shareholding in the business between himself and his former wife. Almost falling into bankruptcy because of focusing too much on accrual-based accounting. Enjoying the benefits of having an advisory board in place. Why they funded through debt rather than smart money. Using process automation to ensure that the outcome of operations is repeatable and low on friction. Strategizing the human capital that will deal with the growth of the business in the long term. Achieving success by focusing more on output in terms of productivity instead of output in terms of hours spent working. Building a great culture by genuinely caring for your employees. Overcoming the middle growing pains and how he did it. Additional Resources: The E-Myth By Michael Gerber Built to Last By James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras The Virgin Way By Richard Branson At the Table Podcast Under the Skin Podcast Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Louise Karch, the global name whisperer and author of the award-winning book Word Glue: Find Your Million Dollar Brand Name. Louise has been naming break out brands for the past decade and has doubled the revenues of entrepreneurs on two continents. She has worked for Seth Godin, the #1 marketing expert, and Richard Bolles the #1 career genius and best-selling author of What Color Is Your Parachute. Both influencers honed her values of professionalism, empathy, and generosity. Louise comes on the podcast to talk about how important naming your brand is in your success. She will share the key criteria of a great brand name and some of the common mistakes made when it comes to naming a brand. She will also share the process she implements in naming a brand and highlight when you need to be considering renaming your brand. Louise says coming up with a business or brand name is not a difficult process, but it's a process that takes time. The number one advice she would give to small business owners about naming is, "Don't be afraid to rename" This episode will shine a light on the importance of crafting the best brand name for your small business so don't miss it. Enjoy This Cast Covers: Helping leaders ensure that their brand names break out not blend in. Why naming is so important if you want your business to thrive and compete sustainably. Her expertise in helping businesses come up with brand names that pull focus. The process of testing out a brand name in the relevant market to get qualitative and quantitative data from potential customers. Coming up with the criteria that you need to meet with your brand name. The questions you should ask before you start name storming. How she helped a brilliant pedorthist make more money and beat his biggest competitors. Why naming your business after yourself is not necessarily a good idea. Louise's favorite brand name: Upparel - The Australian startup that would upcycle used socks into new textiles to save tons of waste from going into landfills. The biggest crime in the naming world: Renaming a business instead of creating better business values. Building businesses that contribute to making the world a better place. Holding back four weeks on a new brand name in order to get feedback from all stakeholders. Avoiding the use of the "Like/Don't Like" matrix when coming up with a business or brand name. Additional Resources: Word Glue: Find Your Million Dollar Brand Name By Louise Karch http://www.louisekarch.com/ Positioning By Al Ries and Jack Trout Influence By Robert Cialdini This is Marketing By Seth Godin Brand New Name By Jeremy Miller Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Donna McColl, the Director at Happy Feet Fitness, a children's educational fitness program for 20 months to 5-year-olds. It was created by Donna and her husband Cam McColl after her husband had nagged her for ten years. She was 32 with two kids (9 and 3) and two mortgages when they started it in 2007. The business grew from one full-time employee to ten with 100 contractors operating in five states in Australia. They run 1,300 classes per week with 5,000 students. Their funding has been from a $10,000 loan from her father-in-law which they paid back quickly and then grew solely from profits. During Covid, they went online and 6,000 of their 15,000 students subscribed. She felt she had succeeded when they reached their long term goal of 50 centers in the first year and won the Telstra Business Owner award. She feels the hardest thing about growing a small business is finding the right people to join your team. What Donna would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "Trust you'll overcome any challenges in some way" Get ready to be blown away by Donna's small business ownership wisdom. This Cast Covers: Teaching kids about the benefits of health and fitness in a super fun and entertaining way. Donna and Cam's amazing journey from traveling the world to starting Happy Feet Fitness. Starting out with 4 centers and reaching their long term goal of 50 centers within 12 months. How winning the Telstra Business Owner Award fueled her confidence. Why they focus on social media as their core marketing platform. Paying back their startup capital loan in lightning speed to bootstrap to date. The rewarding nature of working with 20 months to 5-year-old kids. How Covid negatively affected their business and how they adapted and thrived through the pandemic. The challenge of trying to find enough awesome people to be part of their team. Always listening to the ideas that their team members pitch. Going through the hardship she feared most for her business and coming out of it stronger and more experienced. Allowing their team to grow organically by passing on responsibilities that they demonstrate they can handle. Leading by example by upholding and living by your values and the values of your small business. How she looks at work-life balance so she can achieve some form of it. Additional Resources: Happy Feet Fitness Fantastic By Alan Austin-Smith The You Project Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Caralee Fontenele, the founder and director of Collective Family Law, a Gold Coast and Brisbane-based law firm specializing in family law. Caralee left school at age 16, went to uni in her late 20s, and in 2012 aged 34, graduated in law. She started working in her husband's one-person law firm and he soon gave up leaving the business in $460,000 debt, which she worked hard and paid off in 3 years. She has grown the business from one full-time employee to 14, and $500,000 in year one to now over $2Million per annum. She only works ten hours a week on the business, not doing any billables herself. The firm now focuses squarely on family law (Divorce and separation). 70% of people don't retain a lawyer during separation and divorce, so in 2018, they launched an online product to target that market. They also launched the Scalable Business Society, which helps service-based businesses scale as she has done. Tracking metrics around billables and marketing allowed sales to jump from $1.2 Million to $2Million+ per annum, and half of their sales came from Google Adwords. Caralee says she felt she has succeeded when finally there was money in the bank and believes that the hardest thing about growing a small business is getting out of your own way. The one thing she says she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "Those goals you set yourself are just shit, and you need to rewrite them and stop putting limiting beliefs in your way" Ladies and gentlemen, help me in welcoming Caralee Fontanelle to the show. This Cast Covers: Helping people through their worst moments in separation and divorce. Their client avatar: 42 years old, married or in de facto relationships, and those whose separation or divorce has a property component. Creating an online platform that eases the process of learning all about separation and divorce. Starting the Scalable Business Society to help service business owners to get off the tools so they can work on their business rather than in it. The frustration of leading underwater and taking over a business that was $400K+ in debt. Sustaining a slow, manageable, and profitable growth year on year. How the pandemic opened up a whole new world of great opportunities. Achieving effective marketing by measuring your data. Sheer hard work: The only funding option that one can exploit to get out of debt. Freeing herself up in a big way by taking one of her lawyers to a leadership level. The one thing she did to change things up for the better in her business. Enjoying the fast growth and learning tons of things from different people and areas. Showing up again and again, and investing in yourself to thrive in small business ownership. Building a great culture by implementing structured team meetings every week and allowing team members to do their work without being micromanaged. Being happy with every aspect of your life instead of focusing so much on the ever-elusive work-life balance. Investing in different forms of professional development. Focusing on referral marketing, organic marketing, and paid marketing (Google Adwords only) Additional Resources: Collective Family Law The E-Myth By Michael E. Gerber Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this episode, I interview Trisha Cashmere, the Managing Director of The Healthy Body Company, an allied health professional services business that focuses on supporting its clients to be healthy and active through life. In 2013, Trisha quit corporate law to look after her sick child for a couple of years. In 2015, aged 42, she took over managing her husband's physio practice and soon after added another site and then acquired a competitor with mixed results. From her experience with that acquisition, she always advises, "Don't agree to hire everyone. Put them through a recruitment process and have a good shareholder's agreement in place." Over five years, she grew sales 130% with more than 23% compound per annum. She grew the number of full-time employees from 8 to 19, soon to be 22, and funded the business through grants, bank loans, and profits. Trisha felt she had succeeded when she recently realized that they were doing very well and absorbed that fact. She believes that the hardest thing about growing a small business is time and money and says that the one thing she would tell herself on day one of starting out in business is, "It's a marathon. Not a sprint. And the to-do list will never be finished" Stay tuned to gain from Trisha's small business ownership wisdom. This Cast Covers: From being a physiotherapist to retraining as a lawyer and working in a commercial law firm, then leaving that to venture into business. Achieving a 130% income increase in their fees since 2015 and growing their full-time employees from 2 to 19. Enjoying the success of running the business sustainably even through the pandemic. Flexibility and lifestyle: Being able to do what she wants when she wants it, and the beauty of having financial security. The value they've gotten from replicating their business model with their employees as equity partners. Effective marketing strategies for service-based businesses. Using SurveyMonkey as a customer satisfaction benchmarking and survey tool. Their funding mix: Bank loans, own funds, partners with equity, and government grants. The mistake they made when they took on all of the employees of the business they were acquiring. Why she stopped doing physio to focus on growing the business. Identifying the great opportunities that lie in delivering services online. How building an email list can help grow a business by building a tribe around it. Being terrible at delegating and how she deals with it. Clearly articulating their values within their team to ensure everyone does their level best to deliver the best service to clients. Choosing to invest in peer to peer mentoring groups and buying a lot of business and management books. Additional Resources: The Healthy Body Company Traction By Gino Wickman Deep Work By Cal Newport The Manager Tools Podcast One Life By Tina Tower Music from https://filmmusic.io "Cold Funk" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/