I was gonnae

Welcome to the latest IWG podcast with John Reid MBE where we discuss the world of public service and operational excellence with John Reid, the Head of Operational Insights at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). With over 35 years of experience, John has dedicated his career to improving services for vulnerable customers and making a positive impact on communities across Scotland.John's passion for public service extends beyond his professional life. As a founding member of Ardgowan Football Development Club and an avid charity fundraiser, he brings a unique perspective on leadership, community engagement, and the importance of giving back

This Week's Guest: Stephen Slessor, CEO of RSE In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Stephen Slessor, the CEO of RSE. Stephen shares a wealth of fascinating stories from his life, detailing his journey from his early education to his current leadership role. He takes us through the pivotal moments of his career, including the challenges and triumphs that shaped his path.

In this episode, we explore the journey of Eddie Fraser, whose extensive career in local government has been marked by dedication and a commitment to public service. As the Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council, Eddie has been at the forefront of community engagement, striving to improve the lives of the residents through innovative policies and programs. Join us as we delve into the experiences that have shaped his approach to leadership.

In this inspiring episode of the "I Was Gonnae" charity podcast, we sit down with Evelyne McDonald, the esteemed CEO of Scottish EDGE, a leading organisation that supports Scotland's most innovative and ambitious entrepreneurs. Join us as Evelyne shares her invaluable insights on fostering entrepreneurship and how Scottish EDGE is empowering the next generation of business leaders. Discover the impactful stories of those who've turned their visions into reality with the support of Scottish EDGE.

I was gonnae charity podcast are delighted to announce that this week's guest is Edel Harris OBE , the former CEO of Mencap, the UK's leading learning disability charity. Edel has over 25 years of experience in the social care sector and is passionate about improving the lives of people with learning disabilities. She was until recently a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Trustee of the Robertson Trust. In this episode, we talk to Edel about her career journey, her achievements and challenges at Mencap, and her advice for aspiring leaders in the social care sector. Tune in to hear her insights and stories on our podcast, available. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review our show. We hope you enjoy it.

I was gonnae podcast are delighted to announce that this week's guest is Jim Todd, the provost of East Ayrshire. Jim has a fascinating story to share, from his time in the Navy to his current role as the civic leader of East Ayrshire. He talks about his achievements, challenges and aspirations for the future of E Ayrshire region. Tune in to hear his insights and advice on leadership, community and service. You don't want to miss this episode!

This week's guest is Vanessa Collingridge British author and broadcaster.

This week's guest is Ryan Clark CEO of the Safer Group

This week's guest is David Martindale manager at Livingston Football club

This week's #iwasgonnae podcast guest is Zara Janjua Award-winning TV, Radio & Podcast Presenter / Columnist / Journalist / Host / Comedian / Writer / Producer / Director / Filmmaker / Charity Trustee / Media & Presenter Training Instructor. Zara was born in Glasgow and tells us that ‘she likes to be busy' you can tell that having one look at her LinkedIn profile and her incredible list of what she is currently doing TV, Radio & Podcast Presenter / Columnist / Journalist / Host / Comedian / Writer / Producer / Director / Filmmaker / Charity Trustee / Media & Presenter Training Instructor. At #school she says, ‘she didn't feel as if I fitted in' and felt ‘a little conflicted' and called herself ‘a floater' at that time. Zara continues that she felt her life didn't really start until she left school. She calls herself ‘a doer' and likes to be busy and doesn't like to spend too much ‘time processing that are not going well'. Her advice for the future generation is ‘turn your ideas into something tangible', ‘getting my ideas out and into the world is what has shaped and is shaping my life and #career'. Hear more of Zara's amazing life stories now on the #Iwasgonnae podcast.

This week's #iwasgonnae podcast guest is Dr Andy Campbell Commercial Director at Elevator UK. Andy grew up in and still lives in #Paisley and has a real passion for the town. He tells us he loved school and liked being an academic sponge. He remembers talking to one of his primary teachers and referred to his classmates, ‘as his fellow scholars', ‘and couldn't believe that she laughed for using a big word!'. Needless to say, this was water off ducks back to Andy even at an early age. Andy says he thrives on some level of chaos and loves to live life fully with all the adventures it throughs up. Recalling his early #business #career, he says it was initially me tapping into my ‘inner geek' playing with his ‘Spectrum computer.' 'Initially as a hobby but quickly turned into my first business called Red Lemon', a very successful gaming business. Andy is currently the commercial director at Elevator UK ‘working alongside some really amazing and ambitious #entrepreneurs '. Listen to more of Dr. Andy Campbell's life and career stories on the #Iwasgonnae podcast.

This weeks guest is Prof Eleanor Shaw OBE Associate Principal ( Pro Vice Chancellor) at University of Strathclyde. Eleanor explains she is left-handed and reflects on her early days at school being told to ‘sit on her left hand and write with her right hand' and consequently ending up in a remedial class for spelling and writing because of the effect this was having on her brain. Despite this she ‘really enjoyed school' but was unsure what career direction she was wanting to take. She remembers thinking she would like to be an ‘English teacher or even more boldly a writer'. Eleanor tells us of how Glasgow and the universities have always acted as magnet to her throughout her life and career. Now as the Associate Principal (Pro Vice Chancellor) at University of Strathclyde she says she wants to help encourage young people to ‘take ownership and agency of their lives' and ‘not to be frightened of failure'. Listen to more of Prof Eleanor Shaw OBE life and career stories on the I was gonnae podcast.

This weeks I was gonnae guest is Geoff Leask, Chief Executive at Young Enterprise Scotland. Geoff tells us that he had a nomadic life as a young man being born in Edinburgh and then moving to the borders then Leeds before settling in Jedburgh. As a young man Geoff tells us that despite Jedburgh's size it had an independent record store where he spent a lot of time and money buying punk singles. Geoff has a ‘give it a go' attitude to life which he reflects as emanating from his passion for punk music especially The Clash. Geoff's first job on leaving school was as an apprentice deck officer for a shipping line company Fyffes shipping line the ‘banana ship' to get his ‘escape route from the sleepy town of Jedburgh' (no he didn't hear London Calling or get on a Train in Vain!). ‘This job gave me the opportunity to see things over the horizon'. Geoff's passion, motivation and life ethos is apparent to anyone who knows Geoff and what he has achieved within his career and most recently for YES (Young Enterprise Scotland). Listen to more of Geoff's life and career stories on the I was gonnae podcast.

This week's guest is Dr. Poonam Malik Head of Investment at Strathclyde University. Dr. Poonam Malik was born and educated in India, however, Dr. Poonam tells us of there not being a secondary school in her local area, and her mother had to make the tough choice as to whether to send her at the age of 8 to another city to continue her education. Dr. Poonam describes this as an incredibly difficult decision but the correct decision. As Dr. Poonam's education developed she tells us she was offered a number of scholarships worldwide and decided to choose Glasgow to continue with her study of Virology. However, Dr. Poonam recalls landing at Glasgow airport herself with only £35 in her purse and having to pay the taxi driver £17! Find out how she managed from the airport and more about Dr. Poonam's career and life story on the I was gonnae podcast.

This weeks guest is Michelle Ferguson. Michelle realised at a young age that she had a ‘passion for modern studies and history' and ‘loved reading newspapers for school projects'. When she left school studied computer design and reflects that this gave her the ability to ‘visualise things' within projects and still uses the skill 'on a daily basis'. Michelle is the UK Managing Director at Scotland's bravest manufacturing company based in Erskine and a part of the Royal British Legion Industries. Who give veterans the opportunity to work within their manufacturing facility and ‘learn about manufacturing processes'. Michelle remembers coming from a family who ‘sat discussing and arguing points regarding the news and politics' and thinks this is where she really ‘found my voice to stand up and say what I really believe'. Listen to more of Michelle's inspirational life and career story now on the #iwasgonnae podcast

This weeks #iwasgonnae podcast guest is Lianne McGrory UK Vice President Sales for Government & Transport; Public Sector for Salesforce UK.

This weeks #iwasgonnae podcast guest is Aiden Martin Author and recovering drug addict. Aiden was born and educated in Livingstone and feels he was ‘failed' and didn't feel as if I was educated in high school'. Aiden tells us ‘ I left school at 16 with no qualifications, no hope and no future'. However, had a very different story when he went to West Lothian college in his mid twenty's' where he felt ‘I was getting nurtured and getting told how bright my future could be'. How ever what happened in the years between is as they say another story. Aiden is now an author and has written about the years in between in the first of two books called Euphoric Recall and details Aiden's recovery from extreme trauma and addiction whilst detailing how he survived being groomed, his experiences with suicide, violence and severe mental health issues. Listen to more of Aiden's harrowing and motivational life and career story now on the #iwasgonnae podcast.

This weeks #iwasgonnae guest is Ken Pinkerton. Kenneth Pinkerton was born in Cumbernauld and went to Cumbernauld High School where he remembers he was academically ‘bright' but found that he didn't ‘get much guidance'. Ken's passion has always been theatre and especially musical theatre. However, tells us he was ‘brought up watching' the TV drama series Petrocelli, starring Tony Petrocelli as an Italian-American Harvard-educated lawyer, and thinking ‘that's what ill do' as a career. Ken followed the legal path and successfully studied at the University of Dundee. Ken is now Director of Charities and Third Sector within Brodies LLP. Listen to more of Kens life and career stories on the #iwasgonnae podcast now.

This weeks #iwasgonnae s guest is Gordon Smith, Scottish football player, coach and executive. Gordon Smith was born in Kilwinning but brought up in Stevenson. At a very early age Gordon tells us he always wanted to be a footballer, but his mother said, ‘if he wasn't in the top 3 for all his exams, she was going to stop him paying'. At the age of 14 Gordon had Rangers, Celtic and Kilmarnock wanting him to sign at 14 he signed for Kilmarnock and was in the first team at the age of 17. He recalls one day returning to his house and his mother said, ‘there is your acceptance, and I said acceptance for what and she said your degree, I said I never applied mum, no she said I did!' A few months after signing for Rangers from Kilmarnock Gordon says he members signing autographs outside Ibrox and then knocking on the door and the ‘wee doorman at Rangers was quite an old chap' and as the door opened the doorman said ‘aye what is it, and I went I'm a player', and the door man says ‘who for!' Gordons career even after playing football hasn't stopped and he tells us of one of his positions After his playing career Gordon remembers working on a FIFA football committee and turning up to a meeting in Zurich he remember sitting down having a coffee and as he sat there he is then quickly joined by Franz Beckenbauer, and who then sat across from him was Pele and then sitting next to him was Eusebio, Michele Platini and then Dino Zoff and Gordon thought to himself, ‘If there is a team getting picked here, I'm not getting in it!' Listen more to Gordons amazing football career, career, and life stories on the #iwasgonnae podcast.

This week's guest is FORMER Royal Marine David Devenney. David was born in Maryhill in Glasgow and admits that he grew up in the local library and tells us ‘it was his love of books' that set him on the path for absorbing education like a ‘sponge'. David's first job was an apprenticeship with his uncle before he realised that 'it wasn't for him' and joined the police at the age of 19. However, he recalls that he ‘was always playing soldiers as a kid' and always had that interest in the military. He remembers ‘walking down queen street towards argyle street and walked past the Army, Navy and Air force careers office and will never forget that there was a green beret in the window, ‘I thought I quite fancy that' and so a couple of weeks was walking up to the commando training centre, which was the start of a lifelong career in the royal marines. David tells us he still remembers the day clearly when he was called up as a commando to join the forces for the Falklands war and says they cruised down to the Falklands on the PO Canberra cruise liner, ‘it's the only way to go to war' he laughed. David is currently director of the Community Veterans Support based in Govan's Pearce Institute. Listen to more of David's fascinating life and career stories on the #Iwasgonnae podcast.

This weeks guest is Alison Bruce founder and director of Colours Agency.

This week I Was Gonnae podcast guest is Billy Watson CEO of SAMH Listen to more of Billys's life and career stories on the I Was Gonnae podcast.

This week I Was Gonnae podcast guest is Margaret Gibson OBE Margaret tells us ‘that statistically, she should not have succeeded in life' as she was born in Possilpark and lived there ‘until one of the big storms blew the roof off our tenement building and so was emergency relocated to Easterhouse'. And recalls having an ‘idyllic childhood' with lots of happy memories of ‘being surrounded by field's' and ‘dogs of 57 varieties. At an early age, her teachers noticed she had a real interest in learning and recalls her teachers gave her books to read and when she was finished wasn't allowed to say if she just liked it or not, she had to tell them what the book was all about'. She also tells us she was lucky to have a stable family and ‘a lot of loving growing up' ‘that stood me in good stead'. ‘But what it has also done to me is and I still have it, and I also find the older I get the worse it gets.' … I'm angry...I'm still angry about poverty,.. I'm angry that there are still kids a mile away from where I lived that go to bed hungry, I'm angry that mums and dads are worried about how they are going to dress their kids if get too tall'. Listen to more of Margaret's life and career stories on the I Was Gonnae podcast now.

Having had the amazing privilege of speaking to Andy Colquhoun the current CEO of Doosan Babcocklast week, this week I had great fun speaking to 3 of my old work colleagues (Charlie McCaffrey, Willie Robertson, and Ronnie Smith) who started their Babcock apprenticeship at the same time as I did. 40 years on I ask them to reflect on their lives and how their apprenticeship shaped their life and career. Thanks to all of the guys for not only participating in the podcast but for their friendship throughout the past 40 years.

This week I Was Gonnae podcast guest is Andy Colquhoun. Andy was brought up in Paisley and 'has nothing but happy memories of my younger years, from an education perspective I went to Brediland Primary school and am still fortunate enough today that I support Brediland Primary through their STEM activities'. Andy tells us how he can still reflect on the day that was the pivot for him becoming CEO of Babcock Doosan and says' timing is everything' in career development. Andys advice to the next generation is based on 5 things: Work hard. Overdeliver. Set yourself big goals. Take every opportunity. Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. Listen to more of Andy's career and life stories now on the I Was Gonnae podcast.

This week I Was Gonnae podcast guest is John MacKay John tells us how he enjoyed school and has ‘very happy memories' and relates his career within journalism to his English teacher. At school she recognised ‘my enjoyment in writing and suggested have you ever thought about journalism as a career' 'and have you ever thought about writing a book' both of which I have achieved and I ‘lay credit to her for putting me on that path'. ‘The importance of a teacher raising your horizons' ‘is crucial' to develop confidence and for inspiration. John tells us about his career within journalism and working at both the BBC and STV where he is now the anchor on STV News at Six. John's advice for the next generation is always ‘treat others the way you would expect to be treated yourself'. Listen to more of John's career and life stories on the I Was Gonnae podcast.

This week's Iwasgonnae guest is Jackie Galbraith. When Jackie was at school, she decided she wanted to be a police officer but at 5 1” tells us ‘that wasn't going to happen'. But her career advisors at school had other ideas for her and were confident she would achieve enough Highers to go to University. However, going to University wasn't going to be straightforward when she at that time wanted to study apartheid and ended up having to travel 500miles for her chosen subject. As a young person Jackie was ‘inspired and at the same time terrified, by George Orwell but she loved his use of the English language. Jackie tells us she really ‘bangs the drum' about keeping English ‘language simple and plain, not educational or political, communicate simply and clearly so all people can understand it'. Her advice to the next generation is to ‘be your best person, take your passions and take that energy' and 'do your very best', ‘because by doing that you will get yourself noticed'. Listen to more of Jackie's career and life stories on the IWG Charity Podcast.

This week's guest is Kerry Sharp interim Managing Director at Scottish Enterprise. Kerry Sharp enjoyed numbers at school and got involved in the young enterprise scheme which was her early introduction to business and entrepreneurialism. Kerry tells us she ‘managed to get on the graduate banking scheme at the Bank of Scotland' and ‘got exposure to personal, retail, business, corporate and through the process decided I liked the corporate side'. Kerry is currently the interim MD, Scottish Economic Development, Scottish Enterprise, and was ‘attracted to the mix of the investment and the public sector side, because it's more than just the money and the financial returns'. Kerry tells us ‘the pleasure of what we do is that we see it (new businesses) from something which is a concept through to something which is impactful and hopefully creating lots of jobs at the same time'. Best piece of advice that Kerry was given ‘the harder you work the luckier you will be'. Hear more of Kerry's career and life story now at the #IIWasGonnae podcast on Spotify. The podcast is part of the Scottish Registered charity #IWasGonnae - we are always looking for donations to help provide our services to inspire young people. If you would like to help please go to our Just Giving website – https://www.justgiving.com/iwasgonnae If you would like to sponsor one of our #IWasGonnae charity services, please contact one of our team for more details.

This week's guest is Simon Cotton Chief Executive at Johnstons of Elgin, Textile Manufacturing and Fashion. Simon Cotton – Has had his hands full guiding his ‘great team' at Johnstons of Elgin through the past 18 months of the COVID pandemic and has now got a different challenge with customer demand increasing and having to hire people to keep up with that demand. Simon was brought up in Glasgow and reflects positively on his education experience especially at Strathclyde University ‘with one of the best business schools in Scotland' where he specialised in marketing. Simon also tells us he is a real advocator of lifelong learning ‘and we try to have that in work and try to give everybody opportunities to grow and learn and take on new things'. Simon says it's a ‘privilege' to work at Johnstons of Elgin and says ‘we have over 100 people who have been with us for over 20 years so amazing depth of knowledge and passion' and ‘you see the pride coming through on everything they do' people with ‘genuine pride for making a fantastic product' ‘with real craftsmanship' ‘it's great to be part of it'. Listen to more of Simon's career and life stories now.

This week's #Iwasgonnae podcast guest is Michael Groves – Founder and CEO of Topolytics. Michael Groves grew up in Birkenhead and didn't really enjoy his time at school but was ‘OK academically' but enjoyed his upbringing especially having a father in showbusiness. Michael tells us that watching his father and his folk band The Spinners taught him a lot about entrepreneurialism and tells us he is often asked ‘why do you do what you do now', and his reply is ‘let me tell you about folk music'. And speaks very passionately about the Spinners brand and how this reflects within his own #business #branding. Michaels early years of his #career was working as an #environmental consultant having a PhD in forestry this inspired his desire and got involved in auditing all over Indonesia's forest management. In 1998 he co-founded Great Circle to provide sustainable reporting as he and his then partner ‘had had poor experiences as employees, so why don't we start our own business' and wrote the business plan in a pub in Auckland! Presently Michael is the Founder and CEO of Topolytics a data aggregation company monitoring UK waste and he and his wife have also successfully designed and produced a portable baby chair called the Totseat. As you will hear on the podcast Michael is one of those #entrepreneurs that sees an issue and wants to find its solution. Listen to more of Michael's life stories now on the I was Gonnae podcast.

This week I Was Gonnaes guest is Bruce Walker joint founder and CEO of Future X. In 2011 Bruce started his first business, WeAreTheFuture aged 17 from a high school classroom in Scotland, with a mission to inspire and connect entrepreneurs from around the world. Bruce tells us, ‘he has been on this crazy journey, reaching out to the most successful people he can think of', he started his business off by sending ‘Lord Sugar an email and then Michele Mone, and Tom Hunter he was asking if they would attend one of the events he was organising. Eventually, his persistency was rewarded, and he received replies from some of the most successful people in the world and also received an endorsement from Lord Sugars company. He tells us a story of a friend who sent a tweet to Richard Branson and got a reply to say that he may be at a charity and suggested that if she attended the event, she may meet him. After raising $2000 to attend the event she did meet Richard Branson and persuaded him to invest $1m into her company. The same friend then invited Bruce over to the states which really ignited his entrepreneurial spirit and continued developing connections with businesses within Silicon Valley and all over the world. Moving forward Bruce has delivered global summits and programmes in Edinburgh, London, Berlin, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, partnering with global brands. Hear more of his life story now on the I Was Gonnae podcast..

Lawrence was born in Rottenrow hospital in Glasgow but as he puts it ‘made in the Royal Navy'. Lawrence tells us that he knew that early on academia at school wasn't for him and one day at the age of 14 ‘my mum and dad took me through to Rosyth Navy days' ‘and wandered around the ships and saw where they had been in the world and from that day that's what I wanted'. For the next 20 years, Lawrence served in the Navy spending time in many Navy bases and traveled the world, and progressed through to becoming Master at Arms. During these years he tells us he ‘was lucky enough to visit all sorts of places Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle East all over Europe' and ‘had fantastic experiences. And remembers being on board HMS Intrepid during the Falklands conflict. After 20 years' service ‘I had a decision to make to come out and do something else or take my pension' his concern at returning to civilian life was ‘sometimes service people are pigeonholed as what they may be as employees'. But wanted to prove to himself that he could make a success of civilian life. Progress several years on and Lawrence has set up Azure a company involved in hospitality and tells us the story of pitching to Sir David Murray for the catering contract for Rangers FC and serving during match days responsible for coordinating an operation which consisted of 1500 staff. Before selling Lawrence and his team had expanded the business significantly with a turnover of £15m. Lawrence is now the MD of the Good Coffee company a business he has built to enable him to also put ‘something back into the community. Next year Lawrence has challenged himself to do Everest base camp. When asked what his advice to the next generation he told us- ‘ I urge you to travel as far and as much as possible, work ridiculous shifts to save your money, go without the latest iPhone, throw yourself out of your comfort zone, find out how other people live, and realise that the world is a much bigger place than the town that you live in. And when you come home, home may still be the same and yes you may go back to the same old job but something in your mind will have changed but trust me that changes everything'.

This weeks guest is John McGlynn - Businessman and Entrepreneur Paisley has a long history of successful people from the Coats and Clarkes to more recent times Gerry Rafferty, Gerrard Butler, Paulo Nutini, Archie Gemmel, Derek McInnes, Andrew Neil, and #entrepreneur and businessman John McGlynn. John was also born and educated in Paisley knew from an early age he wanted to get into #business, he ‘loved attending school but hated academia' and ‘hated learning subjects which I knew would be utterly useless for a #career in business'. John tells us Accounts and Law have been ‘utterly invaluable' to him ‘for what he does day to day', ‘if you are going to be in business in any capacity if you don't know your numbers your dead in the water'. John remembers to this day the exact date of setting up his first business and always knew he had to set ‘really tough' targets but says it's equally important to have rewards for achieving them. And at the age of 21, he rewarded himself with ‘a Porsche and had to sit and look at it for 2weeks as no one would insure me!' John says, ‘the definition of an entrepreneur is someone that stands up more times than they fall down'. And ‘has no doubt in my mind the best talent in the world is in Scotland'. He was involved in the ‘entrepreneurial exchange in 1999 and was exposed to the best businesspeople in the world, Sir Tom Farmer, Brian Soutter, Sir Ian Wood, Jim McColl, and Lord Haughey and I went along (to the meetings) like a sponge'. John's best piece of advice to pass on to others ‘if someone offers you their word or their bond, take their bond!' Listen to more of John's amazing life story now on the #IWasGonnae Podcast.

This week I was gonnaes guest is Martin Gilbert. Martin Gilbert is one of the longest-serving CEOs in the ftse and co-founder of Aberdeen Asset Management. Martin calls home Aberdeen but spends his time between London and Aberdeen. Having been born and educated firstly in Malaysia and then in Aberdeen he says this was ‘the great stroke of luck in his life' having been born and having time in Asia, and then says it later gave him the ‘confidence to build the asset management business', which then ‘was one of the first asset companies to locate in Singapore in the early 90s'. Martin observes from his education that he finds it interesting ‘that the (academic) B class pupils at school often end up employing the(academic) A class pupils in business'. Martins' advice to any student or new entrepreneur is ‘that it better to try and fail than never to try at all' and ‘wishes more people would set up their own businesses'.

Becky Woodhouse - Founder and CEO of Pure Spa and Beauty Spending 2 1/2months of the COVID lockdown stranded in Bangkok gave Becky Woodhouse time to reflect on her Pure Spa and beauty business. Uncertain if the business she had built up over nearly 20 years could survive a pandemic. But as you will hear Becky is extremely resilient, hardworking, and always finds a way. Becky was born in Norwich and at the age of 10 her resilience was apparent when she had to fight her case in an education system which she says ‘felt like they expected her to fail' and they had ‘No real expectation about students going to University'. ‘Maths sits well with me' and she thought ‘perhaps a rounded business career would suit' and started applying to some accountancy firms. Becky was initially rejected from PWC and was so upset at the rejection that she ‘hot-footed it down to the PWC offices and said I am definitely the person you need for this job; you need to reinterview me!' and was subsequently offered the job. At 27, Becky founded the Pure Spa and beauty business and takes a lease on her first premises and ended up her dad and Becky completed the fit-out of the shop themselves, painting the walls alongside her 6-month-old baby! Shop fit-out completed she realised she could open the shop but had forgotten to think about marketing the business so purchased 10000 leaflets and hand-delivered these leaflets to tenement flats these with her son Morgan in a pram! - ‘There is no easy way to build up a customer base there are no shortcuts, you have to put in the hours, put in the work'. Listen to more of Becky's story now.

John Ward - CEO of Livingston FC and CEO of Spring Group John Ward grew up in ‘quite a big family' ‘on a council estate in Boghall' and ‘didn't have much money' ‘and when you went to school you were kind of invisible'. He also describes himself back then as ‘really shy and went to school with a pair of NHS glasses with a bit of Sellotape holding them together in the middle, so it doesn't make you very attractive to girls!'. In his 3rd year at school, John realised he needed to do something and decided to take a trip to his career adviser and says' it was almost as if the adviser's role was to tell him what he couldn't be'. Needless to say, John didn't take the advice or lack of and moved into employment and developed exponentially into senior management. Moving forward John has built and sold his own businesses, mentored many businesses voluntarily with Scottish Enterprise, helped on the children's panel in Livingston for 13 years, and is currently the CEO of Livingston FC and CEO of the Spring Group. Out with business, music has played a large part within John's life playing in a punk bank from a young age and has ‘always loved musicians that just want to be a musician, they don't care about becoming famous, they just love getting out singing and playing'. John says he ‘likes the balance of having some creative skills and applying some of that creative stuff to business thinking in order to come up with solutions and solve problems'. John's advice to pass on to the next generation ‘no matter what you're doing surround yourself with people you like and find as much joy in life as you can'. Listen to find out more of Johns amazing life story

Mariessa Devlin - Entrepreneur Mariessa Devlin was once told by her guidance teacher that ‘you're not going to get the grades' ‘university is not for you'. She didn't let that hold her back. After moving to Glasgow to study at University she watched one of her friends who was always ‘buzzing and making things for her primary school' and this was the pivot for Mariessa to decide that she wanted to become involved in teaching. Mariessa tells us that she ‘loved teaching, what I did not enjoy as much was the bureaucracy and politics', ‘but primary teaching was a door to what my business became' and ‘making a difference to children' Being seconded to Coca-cola to become their education manager and working with ‘one of the most inspirational bosses' the marketing manager who taught Mariessa how to live and breathe a brand and that ‘decisions could be made very very quickly'. Mariessa says ‘if it wasn't for her husband Bernie, it wouldn't have existed' she was of course talking about their Enchanted Forrest nursery business. ‘My big dream' was to open up a nursery and when she met Bernie he said ‘will you please stop talking about it and just do it!' Moving on 6 years they had built a business of 5 nurseries employing 120 staff. ‘The biggest part of our success was having the right people surrounding us' Listen now to the #Iwasgonnae podcast to hear more aof Mariessa's incredible life journey.

This week's guest is Craig Perkins. Craig is one of those #entrepreneurs that can't sit still. Whether it's working within his Key Reservations

This week's #Iwasgonnae podcast speaks to Paul Crawford an entrepreneur who not only has a business vision but can create a brand identity and does it amazingly well. Paul is the Former owner and co-Founder of the Sub Club and Founder Panther Milk The #Subclub nightclub in Glasgow was voted 16thbest nightclub in the world, Paul says about the Subclub ‘people in Glasgow just love to party', ‘that validation of being one of the best clubs in the world 'was an incredible high for us all. However, it was hard work from examining every detail of the sound system to creating their own font specific to the Subclub. Although Paul also remembers some of the hard times, like during the credit crunch years and ‘having to pay wages using my credit card' No matter if it's for nightclubs like the Subclub or Smart City products or more recently Panther milk and Yoxa Fit Paul's passion for what he does shines brightly like a human neon billboard for his businesses. Talking about Panther milk Paul tells us about traveling to Barcelona with a few of his friends to the Sonar music festival and ‘one of the local music promoters took us to the Avesta bar in the Gothic quarter and introduced us to Leche de Pantera', ‘so the first night that we were in Avesta bar I was with my girlfriend and a few others and I can't tell you much about what happened after that!' This was the start of Paul's fascination with producing #PantherMilk which is now available on Amazon. Paul's career highlight- ‘is still having the friends that were involved with me at the start'. Listen now to find out more about Paul Crawford's amazing life journey on Spotify.

‘If a job is worth doing, do it right' says Janet Haugh CEO of YPeople in the latest #IWasGonnae

This week our guest on the #iwasgonnae

This week we had the opportunity to speak to Mike Smith, MD of The Orb Group. Mike's life story begins In London at the age of 23 working as a Financial analyst and then quickly moved into working within the marketing department at Tennent's brewery and having ‘an amazing amount of fun' procuring merchandise mike realised ‘hold on I could do this' and set up on his own. Mike reflects and suggests that at the age of 15/16 he always knew wanted to run his own business however his early career development showed him the specific niche for the business idea. Mike tells us of the steps they had to take in business to achieve the success they have now within the ORB Group and indicates that it wasn't until he stood back from handling client accounts and started to run the business that it quickly developed from £1m to £3m turnover business. Listen to Mikes fascinating life story now and don't say I Was Gonnae just say I am Gonnae.

Pat Nevin turned down opportunities to play at Clyde FC and then Chelsea because football was his love, not his career plan. ‘Chelsea couldn't get their head around it. I wasn't interested in the offer of fame and wealth.' Of course, he relented on both counts and went on to win 28 caps and scored 10 goals for Scotland ‘I always saw myself as an outsider.' Says Pat who is never afraid to retain his individuality and avoid peer pressure. That says Pat, is ‘gallusness - confidence without arrogance.' When he and fellow university-educated Brian McClair, joined the Scotland squad, Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hanson, tried to take the rip out of them but failed miserably. Pat and Brian had to be moved to another table. Outside football, Pat enjoyed a long-time friendship with legendary DJ John Peel. Listen to the podcast to hear Pat's extraordinary story about his determined effort to make John's birthday party. Pat Nevin is first and foremost an individual. His advice? ‘Be who you are. Don't push yourself and don't chase fame. You probably won't get it and it's rubbish anyway.'

This week I Was Gonnaes guest is David Scott, Singer-songwriter and member of The Pearlfishers and BMX Bandits. We love examples of the ‘gallusness' we promote at #Iwasgonnae, David tells us how he knew before he left school he wanted to be in a band and had the determination and developed the skills to pull together his own band by the age 16. Since then he has been the main songwriter, producer and vocalist of Pearlfishers since their inception. David discusses how he has managed to work with some of Scotlands top music royalty and how he has been motivated by lots of incredible artists but none more so than Brian Wilson of The Beachboys. Listen to this amazing podcast now. And, never say #Iwasgonnae

This week I Was Gonnaes guest is Graeme Duffin, Singer-songwriter and member of Wet Wet Wet. We love examples of the ‘gallusness' we promote at #Iwasgonnae, Graeme tells us how first fell in love with the guitar whilst having piano lessons! And how this love of the guitar took him from being bullied at school to being a member of one of the biggest 80s pop bands Wet Wet Wet. Graeme also discusses why he promotes https://www.mcguireprogramme.com/en/uk Listen to this amazing podcast now. And, never say #Iwasgonnae

This week I Was Gonnaes guest is Connie McLaughlin, Sports presenter and journalist. We love examples of the ‘gallusness' we promote at #Iwasgonnae, Connie tells us how her love for football and journalism has made her one of the most recognised names in the business having over the last 13 years been a broadcaster for BT Sport, BBC, Sky Sports and Bauer Radio. She has covered football matches at all levels in the UK and can be found on BT Sport's The Score program and BBC 5's Live's football coverage. She's also the founder of Inner Buzz, one of the nation's leading sports behavioural consultancies. She's a regular speaker and media contributor in the UK and US on self-development and has worked with some of the largest companies in the world. Listen to this amazing podcast now. And, never say #Iwasgonnae

This week I Was Gonnaes guest is Ian Donaldson, Singer-songwriter for Glaswegian band H2O and novelist. We love examples of the ‘gallusness' we promote at #Iwasgonnae, Ian tells us the story of visiting his career adviser at Govan High whilst still at school his adviser's advice was incredible. Ian also tells us of his musical inspiration came from watching David Bowie (his hero) on Top of the Pops and how he managed to make the transition from Govan in Glasgow on to Top of the Pops. Listen to this amazing podcast now. And, never say #Iwasgonnae

This week I Was Gonnaes guest is Martyn Robertson, BAFTA winning Video/Film Producer/Director working across the UK and worldwide. FROM THE GREENS OF CASTLEMILK TO A RED CARPET IN LA We love examples of the ‘gallusness' we promote at #Iwasgonnae, so when during a podcast interview with Film-maker Martyn Robertson we heard this one, we were cock-a-hoop. Martyn was at first an accomplice in an extraordinary story and then made a film about it. It started when jobbing Castlemilk actor, Martin Docherty landing a role with Tom Hanks in the film Cloud Atlas, also starring Halle Berry and Hugh Grant. Invited to the premiere in LA, Martin didn't have the money to travel. So, Martyn and a friend started a campaign to get him there. After a media stir, anonymous donors came good to cover their costs and off to LA they travelled – only to be told by Warner Bros, not to come. ‘Your story might distract from the Premiere' – news travels fast. Just as they were ready to disguise as cinema ushers – Warner Bros relented. Listen to this amazing tale now. And, never say #Iwasgonnae

This week Callum and I had an amazing chat with Ricky Nicol co-founder and Vice-chair Commsworld. Ricky told us his incredible story of how he started Commsworld to the multi-million-pound business it is today.

This week I was gonna