Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall

"June 27th of June 2013. For months we had been talking about when we would launch. I phoned Stuart and said 'Time's up. We're going.' I set up a PayPal link, put a post out on social media and to our email list saying this is the product, this is the secret. Literally within two hours we'd sold about £12,000 of products. Stuart called me and said 'We don't have any DNA tests yet' - so we had to stop selling." Only one episode away from #150! How did that happen! Joining me on #149 is Dr Dan Reardon, co-founder and Ceo of Fitness Genes. Those regular listeners to the show will know that I've been on a bit of a journey recently and completed #75HARD last Friday, July 19th. I'll be covering that in Saturday's #150, and also what I've decided to do next. #75HARD is a mental toughness challenge with obvious physical benefits as I lost 1.5 stone and 7% body fat. Plus I reached my #1 goal for 2019, twice! That was getting a #1 podcast. With nearly half the year still go, there's plenty to still achieve. Having been a health and fitness professional in a former life, I was aware of the growing market in DNA testing, but had never signed up for any of the products that were out there. Until I met Dr Dan Reardon from Fitness Genes: a medical doctor and genetics expert, and one of the four founders of Fitness Genes. He was an emergency room physician for ten years as well as being a certified personal trainer with over fifteen years experience and a former editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines - plus a published author a few times over. On today's show we talk about how we can optimise our health and fitness by looking at our genes and making changes to lifestyle - based on what our genes tell us about diet, exercise and sleep: things that are the first to go when entrepreneurs get busy and overwhelmed. But if you can't look after yourself, who can you look after? This is for you. Let's StartUp!

Welcome to episode #148. So I decided to take some of my own advice from this podcast, and Screw It, Just Do It. After four enjoyable years helping over 500 entrepreneurs obtain over £5 million in business funding and mentoring, I've decided to call it a day, and follow my passion. Here's what I've decided to do next... Let's StartUp! If I can help you please email alex@screwitjustdoit.org or contact me on Linkedin @alexchisnall

"I never wanted to be a rugby player and 18 years later we are where we are. Everything I do is based on my passions and it's trying to navigate those waters of only doing things that you're interested in. The people who are super-successful in life are people who started a business because they actually loved doing it and as a by-product they made a load of cash. A lot of people who are desperate to make money quite often fail. I'm entrepreneurial in the areas I want to do. I don't have an identity at the moment. I'm pretty happy with life but I find anytime I talk about rugby I get pangs of melancholy. So it is odd..to be 34 and retired and be known as former anything is a very weird situation to be in in. So I'm desperate to be something else..." Welcome to Episode #147 and on today's show my guest is former England rugby player and British Lion turned entrepreneur, James Haskell. As someone who played rugby up to the age of 30 in the same position as James - though never remotely to the same standard (the 3rd team at Bath RFC was as far as I got) - James has always been someone I've admired on the pitch for his uncompromising style of play, and off the pitch for his entrepreneurial ventures.  His plans to go out in a blaze of glory in this autumn's World Cup in Japan were extinguished when he succumbed to injury. James is surprisingly feeling daunted by the prospect of having retired and deciding what to do next. I say surprising because having followed his career I know he's already tried a number of different entrepreneurial ventures. James Haskell fitness, opening his own gym in Bath as the ambassador for F45 alongside his own gym franchise. He's also recently become an ambassador for Grenade where Alan Barratt has already managed to wedge him into a newly painted orange tank. Plus he's done public speaking, media work, has a rugby podcast, a music podcast and recently DJ'd at the Bournemouth 7's festival in front of over 4,000 people. Plus he's had no shortage of offers since retiring. But, as his fitness model and personal trainer wife Chloe Madeley says to him - focus on doing one or two things really well, rather than spreading yourself too thin. So what's he going to do? Let's StartUp!

If you come to one live event during the rest of 2019, you need to come to this one! This is our annual get-together and I would personally love to see and meet you. So on Episode #146 I'm talking about the launch of this October 17th's Entrepreneur Summit 2019 event at there Hilton Bournemouth in partnership with Sunny Bird PR. We've got NINE amazing A-List speakers, plus a couple of really interesting panels we've put together too. We're launching with Grenade founders Alan Barratt & Juliet Barratt and will be adding a new speaker each week starting next week: follow @alexchisnall on social media or go to the Screw it, Just Do It Facebook page for the latest announcements. Early Bird Tickets are now on sale, and if you use my personal discount code of SIJDI you'll get another 10% off. Prices will never be lower than this. If you don't know Alan & Juliet's story it's as inspirational as you can get, starting with just £27 in thebans before being acquired last year for £72 MILLION! It has been named as one of the UK's fastest-growing companies and it now has over 60 staff, and retails in more than 80 countries around the world. Grenade is now the market-leading sports performance and active nutrition brand. They, along with our other speakers will be there to not only inspire you, but to tell you how you can implement some of the strategies that they have used to fuel this explosive growth. Go to Entrepreneur Summit 2019 to grab your early bird ticket before prices go up. This event is part of BOMO - a collection of 14 thought leadership conferences in Bournemouth this autumn: https://www.bomofestival.com

Welcome to Episode #145 where this week I'm more super-excited than usual. Firstly my guest is Rob Da Bank, legendary DJ turned festival curated and podcaster. Secondly, we're launching our annual day-long event for entrepreneurs. Thirdly I'm launching a new business.. For full details of this year's event on October 17th in Bournemouth at the UK's #1 Hilton hotel go to the Screw it, Just Do it Facebook page for the launch. We'll releasing a limited number of early-bird tickets today, July 10th, as well as announcing the first two of eight speakers. The rest we'll be announcing week by week throughout the summer. Back to today's guest, Rob Da Bank, DJ, podcaster, record-label owner and festival curator including Camp Bestival, Common People and Bestival. Rob started Bestival back in 2004 and has survived the surge in popularity festivals have enjoyed in what has increasingly become a competitive space. Bestival doubled in size every year, reaching a peak of 55,000 and has played host to artists such as the Beastie Boys, Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder and Elton John. He's also showcased his DJ'ing all over the world, hosted his own show on Radio 1 and is credited with helping develop bar-based culture. He's also got his own podcast, The A to Z of Festivals and is married to Camp Bestival Co-Founder Josie whom he has four children. In a very honest and open chat, Rob talks us through the high's and low's of his entrepreneurial life. I started by asking Rob who's responsible for putting the festival line-up together as eclectic as Napalm Death, Jess Glynne & Goldie Lookin' Chain... Let's StartUp!

In Episode #144 I talk about how to monetise a podcast. There's barely a day that goes by that somebody won't ask me about monetising podcasts. A common mistake is in thinking that the only way to monetise a podcast is through sponsorship. Another one is in thinking that you can monetise your podcast straightaway. I'm sorry to disappoint you but podcasting isn't a get-rich-quick scheme. Like any venture worth pursuing, you've got to start slow, grow your audience, provide value - then find out what they need and provide. I believe I've identified at least TEN different ways to monetise a podcast. Take a listen to find out what I think they are, with examples of podcasters who have done it.Technology is changing so quickly there will soon be more. If you know of any others let me know via social @alexchisnall or email alex@screwitjustdoit.org  

" I won't dive into the details but I got booted out of school when I was young. I'm dyslexic so I find it really hard to concentrate in classrooms, and because of that I acted up in school and I was quite naughty. There was a group of us who weren't leading a very productive lifestyle as teenagers so my life really wasn't going anywhere. So at the age of 21 I knew I had so much potential and my parents were so supportive of me, so I just decided to make a massive change in my life. I just quit drinking and partying at the age of 21 which was tough, but an amazing moment in my life. I went to South Africa for 7 months to get rehabilitation and help with that and I came back highly determined to make my life a success.  Welcome to episode #143 with Tom Gozney from The Gozney Group. Posting a crowd funding appeal to take his world class stone oven business to the next level, Tom Gozney set a 30-day limit to achieve £500,000. Just over an hour later, that target had been passed and it now stands at over £1.5m. Among the investors to back Tom’s plans to expand were Instagram founder Mike Krieger, hotelier Robin Hutson of Limewood and The Pig hotels, and rapper Professor Green. Personal clients include Paul Hollywood, Sarah Beeny, Hairy Biker Si King, Jean Christophe Novelli and Richard Branson – who flew Tom out to his holiday resort Necker Island to build one. After getting kicked out of school, Tom turned his life around, giving up alcohol at 21 and starting his business from his bedroom with just £5,000. Today the business is valued at £20 million, has branched into getting corporate clients such as Franca Manca & Pizza Pilgrims and has one hell of a story to tell. Let's StartUp!

When I set my 2019 goals over Christmas I decided to focus on this podcast and get it to the number one position on the iTunes chart. Why? Because it was a measurable and achievable goal. However, if you had asked me two years ago if it was a SMART goal I would have said no - and laughed you out out of the room. My first week I had two downloads!! Clearly my mum and my wife.. So to now - just a week after we celebrated our 2nd anniversary - be ranked as a number one show by somebody like Apple means a lot. And to have the show listened to in 115 countries..well that just blows my mind. Is it a co-incidence that I am currently just over halfway with Andy Frisella's #75HARD programme? I'll let you decide. But either way it's one hell of a coincidence since I started to apply a laser-like focus to my goals. If you haven't set your goals for 2019, it's honestly not too late. If I can achieve this in 6 months - then there is no reason why you can't achieve your goals in the 6 months we have left this year: listen to Episode #100 and my Roadmap to a successful 2019. And listen to Episode #126 The One Thing to get laser-focus clarity on what you ned to do in order to achieve your goals. We're just halfway into this year. So take the time to pause, review what's working and what's not: recalibrate and reverse engineer your way to a super-successful 2019. I hope this episode provides a small amount of inspiration for those of you who may be struggling right now, maybe don't think that you're where you want to be this year. I want to show you that ANYTHING is possible and we can all achieve our goals if we persevere and focus on the one thing.

Welcome to episode #141 with Huel founder Julian Hearn. Fevertree, Gymshark, and Brewdog are all great British success stories. They have all disrupted existing categories and built phenomenal brands and incredible businesses.  Huel is set to eclipse them all. 40 million meals sold to 80+ countries. Year 1 - £0.75m - 2015 Year 2 - £5.7m - 2016 Year 3 - £14.1m - 2017 Year 4 - £40m - 2018 This is the story of how it all began! I'll be talking to Julian about: Team Culture & Hueligans - Finding the right fit 1,000 fans - Who & where are yours? The Planet - Looking after it Animals - Taking care of them Explosive growth - How Huel have gone from £750k in year 1 to £40,000,000 + after just 4 years Let's StartUp!

On June 20th we celebrated a bunch of things: two years of this podcast, three years of live events, plus a brand new product launch courtesy of Jimmy's Iced Coffee: a Flat White in a can. And a beautiful looking can it was too. It seemed apt to be joined by Jimmy's founders Jim Cregan and Suzie Owen. They did, after all, host our first ever live event back in 2016 at their HQ in Christchurch. We were hosted by a previous guest of the show, Mark Cribb, owner of his own awesome podcast, Humans of Hospitality, at his equally awesome brand new restaurant, Urban Garden, bang in the centre of Bournemouth. This was definitely the most fun I've had making an episode of the show. We had Jimmy's founders Jim Cregan and Suzie Owen in front of a live, receptive audience who were the first to try Jimmy's new flat white. If you haven't heard Jim and Suzie's story before, go back to episode #004 and have a listen to how they got started. They are now nine years into the journey so in this episode we cover: Brand evolution Product innovation Scaling your team International expansion Competition Exit strategy This was one funny and enjoyable evening. Welcome to Jimmy's Iced Coffee: Live and Unplugged.