One Life Business Podcast

In this episode I talk to Soraya Karimi-Ghovanlou. Soraya is the supply chain director at Smithfield Foods. Smithfield Foods is part of a global business that puts food (predominantly meat) on our dinner tables. We talk about the challenges Smithfield foods has and still are facing due to Brexit and Covid and what effect this has had on prices for us as consumers. We are all aware that the cost of living is increasing and Soraya tells us some of the reasons why. We talk about pivoting, the relationship between different departments in the business specifically the operations and finance of course and what is success. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk to Jim Grigoriou. Jim is a director of Movo Insurance brokers, he possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience securing accurate, appropriate and competitive insurance cover for a huge number of businesses and their owners. Insurance is one of those overheads that's ignored, often forgotten about and left to auto-renew each year. This is a mistake.... and could be putting your entire business, your staff, your customers and ultimately you as the business owner at risk. As your business changes and grows the insurance needs will change also and yet many business owners assume the business is adequately covered with what was put in place years previous! Business owners are too busy running the business and will actively avoid dealing with their insurance renewals, but it could be business critical. In this episode Jim and I talk about the different types of business insurance, what's new on the scene and why it's important to at the very least consider outsourcing your insurance renewals and engage with a broker. If you are interested in speaking with Jim you can email him on jim@movoinsurance.com If you'd like to understand more about Movo Insurance Brokers their website is https://movoinsurance.com/movobranches/cowbridge/ Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I interview Fanny Snaith a Certified Money Coach. Fanny is a business owner, a self made millionaire and is fiercely passionate about helping us understand our emotions and behaviours around how to earn, spend and save money. Her goal is to increase financial literacy, and on that journey help us build our wealth and often fix our relationship with money. Fanny talks about the 10 different personalities when it comes to money and business. Business ownership is a rollercoaster ride and money is at the epicenter of it. In this episode we talk about several of the business money archetypes. How many do you recognise and relate to? If you want to find out more about Fanny Snaith and how her Money Coaching can help you please see the links below. Hope you enjoy AW Website: https://fannysnaith.com/ If you'd like to take the Money Type Quiz you can do so here: https://bit.ly/FSnaithMoneyTypeQuiz

In this episode I talk to Richard Carter. Richard is the CEO of lopay an entirely new payment app that's just come to market to compete with the big boys. Lopays payment options are innovative enabling you as the business owner to both choose when you get paid and keep more of your money. Their tagline is 'You've earned it' and they're passionate about you keeping as much of it as possible! This disruptive business is at the forefront of changing the archaic banking industry. Business owners have become used to paying charges for using card readers or apps such as Paypal, Square, Zettle and various others. But this industry is in a period of transition, it's becoming far more competitive and where there's competition theirs benefits to be had for the consumer i.e. you and your business. Lopays value proposition is unparalleled, make your mind up if it's a no brainer when you listen to Richard here. Hope you enjoy AW If you want to find out more about lopay their website is https://lopay.com/ The app can be downloaded at the Apple Store (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/lopay-merchant/id1565369434) or from Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.checkfer.lopaymerchant)

In this episode I talk to Kevin Ludford. Kevin is the CEO of Fumopay an innovative, secure, card-free payment app that's built on open banking enabling your customers to instantly pay money to your business. Fumopay is new to the market and it could be a game changer; you guys are hearing about it first here. The Fumopay payment option is less than half the price of other payment options! These guys are disrupting a well defined marketplace and they have some behemoth competitors that we all know and use on a daily basis. In this episode we talk about automating your customer payments to help both your customers and you as the business owner. If you're interested in understanding more and incorporating Fumopay into your payment options their website is www.fumopay.com/merchants Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk to Pete Garvey. Pete is a friend and an ex colleague and for the second week I talk about wellness. Pete is a qualified coach, his knowledge and experience is reflected in the success of those he has worked with and I've seen first hand how his care and attention has helped many. Pete works tirelessly to empower people at all levels of a business and when you listen to this episode you'll hear how passionate he is about the wellbeing of everyone and importantly, how this correlates with the success of the business. People leave people and lets be honest at this time we all want to retain staff and empower them to achieve. So, in this final episode of 2021 let's take this opportunity to recognise how important mindset in the workplace is and how with simple 'motivators' you and your staff can be a fantastic and successful team. Happy New Year Hope you enjoy AW

In the episode I interview Joe Rodgers. Joe is the MD of Recharged Health and Wellbeing, he's an expert at making leaders and their workforce well. When well we can be engaged, effective, productive and importantly valued. A business is an ecosystem and each person is a cog in that ecosystem, to give value to clients and customers we need people to work together, contribute and want to provide great services and products. If employees are not well mentally and/or physically they will invariably not be able to do so. How can we help ourselves and our colleagues? This episode asks you to think about the culture of your business and how it starts with you as the business owner. Mental and physical health has taken a battering with Covid, the lack of human contact, the dramatic increase in communicating using tech in the workplace. More of us are working remotely which has only added pressure and strain to what pre-pandemic was already tough. I've put a few links below that were mentioned in the episode, please check them out: Hope you enjoy AW Recharged Health and Wellbeing website - https://www.rechargedwellbeing.co.uk/ The Burnout Epidemic by Jennifer Moss - https://amzn.to/3sufP75 Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale: https://bit.ly/WEMWellbeingScale

In this episode I interview Julie Barber. Julie is an entrepreneur, mentor, speaker, the author of a number 1 bestselling book 'Investor Ready' (the guide for start ups in getting investors to say yes) and she's the CEO of Spark Consulting who work with start ups and scale ups on raising funds for business owners that are focused on growth, innovation and transformation. The cold hard fact is 70% of all businesses do not employ anyone aside from the owner. It's no wonder 60% of all businesses in the UK turnover less than £85K. The inability to grow a business is one of the major constricting factors; but to grow ordinarily money is needed. But how do you get it? In this episode Julie and I talk about the fundamentals of getting funds. The final golden nugget of information Julie provides will certainly resonate! Hope you enjoy AW The links to the Investor Ready book and Spark Consulting are below: - Investor Ready Book (which I highly recommend): Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Investor-Ready-start-ups-getting-investors/dp/1781334633 - Spark Consulting: https://spark-consulting.co.uk/

In this episode I interview a business associate and friend of mine Barry May. Barry is a independent financial advisor (IFA) and I wanted to speak to him about pensions. You may think pensions are a waste of your money and your time, you may love your pension and that you've been building it for years, either way this purpose of this conversation is to make you think. Pensions are a potential tax saving tool for a business and therefore it's owner hence why it's such an important topic to discuss on this podcast. I hope you enjoy AW Links: OakIFA - https://oakifa.com/ Barrys' email: bmay@oakifa.com

In this episode I interview Pete Drinkwater. Pete helps service-based businesses optimise and build winning sales flows; aptly named Simple Sales. Sales can be tough, repetitive, time consuming and certainly frustrating if not successful. Pete's philosophy is to break the sales process down to simple, easy, repeatable, automated tasks in order to engage with your customer as early as possible and keep their engagement. This episode is for you to ask the question, do I have a sales process? and would I like one/need one? Knowledge is power and what you don't know you don't know. I rarely ask guests the cost of their services but on this episode I thought it appropriate, I wanted you guys to know that what Pete offers is affordable no matter which stage of the entrepreneurial journey you are at. The links/contact details to Pete, his Facebook group and the Simple Sales business is below. I hope you enjoy AW Instagram: @petedrinkwatersales Facebook (Simple Sales): https://www.facebook.com/PeteDrinkwater Simple Sales website: https://yoursimplesales.co.uk/ Email: yoursimplesales@gmail.com

In this episode I interview my friend and colleague Brian Smart, he is one hell of an operations manager. He's trained to deal with how challenging change can be and has learnt how important it is for operations and finance to build the best of relationships. The fact is, working together operations and finance can accomplish things that they simply wouldn't have been able to do without that collaboration. Brian and I advocate for exactly this every day. First and foremost communication is key. It's all about opening up that two way street and together the teams can drive the strategic vision of the company and produce excellent bottom line net profit. Without that and in Brians' words, it's impossible! Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about consistency and how important it is. Consistency with finances is key to accuracy, key to appropriate analysis and key to generating bottom line profit. I also run through 5 advantages of being consistent in business. To prove my point I didn't post a podcast last week.... my gut feel, because I wasn't consistent I'll lose some listeners and next week I'll tell you how many! Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about Meritocracy or Nepotism. Nepotism in a workplace is not evil or unusual. Nepotism can in fact be used to create strong organisational culture but it has to be used in the right way where it aligns people with the common objectives of the organisation i.e. bottom line profit, success and fulfillment of ambition and promotion. More often than not nepotism in the workplace is not used in this way and in turn it becomes one of the greatest sins. It's much better to instill a culture of meritocracy. I also talk about equity splits in start up businesses and why often the initial split is rarely correct which leaves business owners unhappy and in dispute. One great tool I've recently been introduced to is the Slicing Pie book written by Mike Moyer - the book explains how to calculate the fair amount of equity for the right people, those that risk and help the business succeed. You can find more information at : https://slicingpie.com/ Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about how important the team are around you, both internally and externally. Effective leaders show leadership qualities, they inspire others to take action and drive success in their businesses. I talk about what these qualities are, how consistency (there's that word again!) is the key and what behaviors will help you and your business be successful. I hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about how important your health is to you and your business. Having Type 1 diabetes has taught me, earlier than most, that your health or the lack of it can instantly impact your business and therefore your personal wealth. Top priority is to be healthy but over time as we all get older life catches up and it's inevitable that our health will play a part in our business, our success and our financial wellbeing. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I run through the 8 considerations of running your business as a sole trader or as a limited company, this may help you decide which is best for you. I've been asked this a lot recently, it is clearly a hot topic and if you're not sure what the differences are this episode is for you. Hope you enjoy AW The links promised are Check out the following resources: - Directors (legal) duties link is: http://bit.ly/2xFpLAh - The one page summary of considerations link is: http://bit.ly/2IMrJRD

In this episode I talk about incentives the government offer to help businesses employ. Recruitment costs can be a major hurdle and the reason many small business owners state to not employ. If you're a business owner, working alone, doing every task then this maybe the opportunity to explore taking on a member of staff and delegating. There's never been a better time to do so. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about how finances are at the epicenter of the business. The finances do not lie... that's a fact. Whatever's happening in your business is clearly reflected in the figures. Whilst many do not care about the finances, the ones who do buy in, the people who want to understand their figures they can begin to change and improve them and with that comes empowerment. Finance and operations are intrinsically linked, ops cannot function without the money to do so, finance has no function unless ops are producing the work - working together finance and ops are one hell of a team and great things can be done with collaboration. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I interview my friend Paul McGillivray, an entrepreneur, mentor, host of the Purpose First podcast and co-founder (with his wife Jeannie) of Remote an award winning Digital Product Studio. Paul leads a team of creatives and engineers, building applications that automate business processes, leverage assets and innovate software as a service (SaaS) platforms that transform industries. Initially I asked you to identify what within your business could be automated and later to identify what your online offering could be to the world. Paul helps deliver the message which is to remove the mundane internally and have the time and energy for the inspiring, fulfilling and meaningful work providing more value externally to your customers all of which generates profit. If you are in a service based industry this is one not to miss. I hope you enjoy AW You can learn more about Paul at https://paulmcgillivray.com/ and more about Remote at https://remote.online/

In this episode I run you through my calculation to show how leveraged income buys you time. What happens if you cannot work and if your business cannot generate income without you.. how long can it survive? This brings together the principles we have been working on i.e. your overheads and controlling them, the cash buffer and building it to the level you need and having a passive online income stream and how important it is. Hope you enjoy AW

It's clear our children are not taught about the world of business. I give you an example which is close to home; this episode is about my 10 year old son in particular, but equally, it's just as much about my 13 year old daughter. I'm concerned that in order to learn about business they have to look outside of school! Lets be honest our children are taught to get a job not to forge their own future in the challenging world of business. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about Episode 19 of Jason Graystones Always Free podcast titled 'The most profitable business model on earth'. I explain what it is and why it is using Jasons very own businesses as the example. I look specifically at the elements of the business ecosystem and in relation to the finances to answer how they are the most profitable. Hope you enjoy AW If you want to join a community of like minded individuals aspiring to become financially independent join the Tiers of Freedom Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GraystoneMastermind/

In this episode I talk about the 4 elements of the business ecosystem, if you can develop and offer all of them it will not only built trust with your customers, attract new potential customers to buy your products and services but it will also guarantee you will be viewed as the key person of influence and in turn your business and of course you will benefit. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I interview my friend Sebastian Bates, an entrepreneur, mentor, best selling author and host of not one but two podcasts! This guy knows just how important having an online revenue stream is and he has one hell of a story explaining why. Seb specialises in mentoring entrepreneurs to leave their comfort zone, pivot online rapidly, leverage their time and amplify their personal brand. Incredibly valuable insight into the mind and actions taken by a successful entrepreneur, listen out for when he says he's obsessed with outsourcing and delegating, a particular highlight in an episode full of them. This really is one not to be missed. I hope you enjoy AW The links as mentioned are: Shield Ubiquitous: https://ubiquitous.shieldglobal.io Warrior Academy: https://www.warrioracademy.co.uk/

In this episode I talk about how having an online offering is an important income stream for your business. I run through an example where a property management business identified their online income offering and how successful it was at generating profit. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about potential income streams for your business. I'll run you through the 10 steps to identify and rank these potential income streams whilst ensuring you are looking after you and not compromising the goal which is to live an inspired and fulfilled business and of course personal life. Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about how many individual tasks there are to do in your business; rest assured there are a lot! This will help you identify the work you love to do rather than the work you have to do. This is the time to look at just how many hats you are wearing and ask yourself how many you should be wearing and why. The question then is who does the tasks you don't love to do... Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk to Jamie Selby, an entrepreneur, accountant, business owner, father and award winning author. His expertise lie in pricing; he's worked with many businesses (predominantly accountants) to price their services so they are profitable. If you are in a service based industry this is one not to miss. Learn what a sellers reserve price is and how to get to yours. We speak about value pricing your offerings and how important it is to be getting new clients when you have the mindset of abundance and not fear. Hope you enjoy AW On a number of occasions Jamie mentions the Tiers of Freedom program (TOF) this is a group for anyone who wants to build wealth, create freedom and live an inspired life. Find out more by joining the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/GraystoneMastermind Find out more about Jamie, his life and his books at https://www.jamieselby.com/ If you would like to join the Parental CEO community: https://www.facebook.com/ParentalCEO/?ref=page_internal

On this episode I talk again about the importance of concentrating on profit. If you can establish a profit culture in your business and give your teams the tools, the knowledge and the incentive they will drive your success. I explain the 4 ways to increase profit from your existing customers and give you two radical strategies to do so. Hope you enjoy AW

In this weeks episode I talk about Michael Gerbers book - The E Myth. Everyone who goes into business is three-people-in-one, the question is what mix are you? I also ask you to identify where your business is in the three phases of business growth? This will tell you when and why it's important to relieve the burden of the many hats you've been wearing. To lead an inspired and fulfilled business life and in turn personal life; to grow the business finances and propel you to personal financial independence ask yourself does your business need to grow?

In this episode I talk about how to set up your business bank accounts, firstly to generate and hold that all important cash buffer amount but then to effectively separate out your profit which is to be paid to you as the business owner. I also talk about how important it is to build a relationship with your suppliers and respect how they are linked to the success of your business. To join an incredible community of like minded individuals all working towards their financial independence click the link http://tiersoffreedom.com/mastermind Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about how and why every single business needs to use a cloud based accounting package, the benefits far outweigh the costs even for a bootstrapped start up. Below are a list of and links to the online cloud based players. We look specifically at Credit Control and how automation is key, below is the link to Chaser - everything you need to collect payments faster. Hope you enjoy AW Accounting Packages Xero - https://www.xero.com/uk/ Free Agent - https://www.freeagent.com/ Kashflow - https://www.kashflow.com/ Quickbooks - https://quickbooks.intuit.com/uk/ Automate Invoice Payment Reminders Chaser - https://www.chaserhq.com/

In this episode I speak with my good friend and fellow accountant Ross Murray. Ross is the co-owner of Acumen Accountants and Advisors, check out their website at https://acumen.info/ He gives us another accountants view on if and how finances are key to your business. We talk about his experience of working not just as an accountant but also as an FD/CEO and again we revisit how important controlling costs are. How having up to date accurate information is key and that so much is automated nowadays that actually this isn't difficult to do. How having a trusted advisor externally or internally is really important and how accountants are exactly the same as any other business owner, no matter how in control we may appear to be! Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about generating more gross profit (GP = sales - cost of sales) by reducing your cost of sales. Every 1% reduction counts. This is the second episode specifically related to reducing costs. If you sell services or products (or both) I ask you to consider a number of factors. Simple straightforward tactics to employ with the sole aim of reducing what it costs you to provide your service or goods/products to the world. At the very least to identify and control the costs. I hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I interview my good friend Avik Ray, an international investment banker, videographer, entrepreneur and dedicated family man. We talk about risk, quitting your day job to pursue your passion, how time is our constraining factor and how dangerous undervaluing yourself is. Don't forget to pay a visit to Aviks YouTube channel Crossover TV and check out his collaborative work with bands in the DC area of the US. http://bit.ly/crossovertv Hope you enjoy AW

In this episode I talk about building the ability to deal with fear and risk. I also give you my strategy and steps to control the overheads in your business. Hope you enjoy. AW

In this episode I speak with a good friend, serial entrepreneur, trader and guru of financial freedom Jason Graystone. We talk about how important aligning your business and personal finances is in order to drive towards financial independence. The words we pay particular attention to are Freedom and how its not money that we need to attain, Independence and Value. Jason explains his philosophy on living an inspired life and success. Enjoy AW

Welcome back to the One Life Business Podcast. In this episode I revisit aligning your business and personal finances to propel you on the journey to financial freedom. I talk about opinions, traps and myths in relation to understanding your business finances. Hope you enjoy and make sure you listen to the next episode where I interview my first guest. AW

This is the Pilot episode; the purpose of this episode is to give you a bit of background as to who I am. AW