The Think Tank

Having Competition and being disliked are two different things. What's the difference and how can you overcome it as a Business Owner?

What does Pride Month mean to you in the UK as a Small Business Owner? Here's some of the Experiences that make Pride Month a valuable asset to the UK and why its still relevant today.

Season 3 Continues with Chris chatting with Joel Williams; Conservative Councillor and Prospective Senedd Representative In Cardiff. They'll be discussing reducing Wales' carbon footprint, calls for additional support for business owners and what an M4 relief road would do for the Welsh Economy.

Season 3 Continues with Chris is chatting with Rayner Davies, The ‘R' and one half of the hugely successful A&R Cleaning Services based in Bridgend. We'll be chatting about the heightened cleaning requirements for small businesses, the struggles of maintaining 300 staff and how A&R turned from an ironing company into a multi million turnover force.

Continuing our Third Season of Podcasts, Chris J Birch chats with Andrew RT Davies; Leader of the Welsh Conservative party about the issues facing businesses today including the enforced closure of Gyms and Leisure Facilities, the Financial impact of Covid-19, how a Welsh Conservative Government could look, Welsh Independence and much more.

Season 3 Continues with Chris chatting with Motivational Speaker, Trainer and Magician; Bryan Gunton. They've been discussing Zoom fatigue, active listening, how to remember more and much more.

Season 3 of the Think Tank continues with Chris chatting with Commercial Director of Movo Insurance Brokers; Lisa Denscombe. They've been discussing the recent Supreme Court ruling on cover for Covid-19, what you need to look for when using a contractor and much more.

Back for 2021, Chris chats with Mark Drakeford who's the First Minister for Wales. They talked about the the business recovery plan for Wales, how Wales can become a leader in tackling climate change, when holiday homes can reopen, the rise of the YesCymru movement and much more. (We recorded this remotely because of the existing lockdown so you may notice a difference in the audio quality)

What does the Budget mean for your Business? Here's the highlights from todays Budget by Chancellor Rishi Sunak

Back for 2021, Chris chats with Neil Lloyd; Founder of the hugely successful 'Zokit'. Join us to listen to how rebuilding your Company post-lockdown and Coronavirus will work and what Neil has done to successfully pivot his Company into the online World from one that was firmly stitched into Hospitality industries.

In our 'Thinkers' Series, we delve into the background of our Entrepreneurs and discover what set them onto the path of Self Employment and what they overcame to get to where they are. In this episode, Chris J. Birch who also Founded The Think Tank in 2020 chats about his Experience with relaxing during busy periods of Company Growth This is a series of 10 Episodes lasting approximately 5-10 minutes each, delivered over a 10 week period.

In the second of our Series of Advice Surgeries for Business Owners, Chris discusses the options surrounding selling your Company including the common pitfalls and ways to increase the value of your Company. (Please note that you should seek independent Advice before selling your Company as your circumstances maybe unique to the general advice provided here)

In our 'Thinkers' Series, we delve into the background of our Entrepreneurs and discover what set them onto the path of Self Employment and what they overcame to get to where they are. In this episode, Chris J. Birch who also Founded The Think Tank in 2020 chats about his Experience with Employing Staff for the first time. This is a series of 10 Episodes lasting approximately 10 minutes each, delivered over a 10 week period.

In our 'Thinkers' Series, we delve into the background of our Entrepreneurs and discover what set them onto the path of Self Employment and what they overcame to get to where they are. In this episode, Chris J. Birch who also Founded The Think Tank in 2020 chats about his background and what brought him into Self Employment. This is a series of 10 Episodes lasting approximately 10 minutes each, delivered over a 10 week period.

We welcome Questions from our Listeners and we've had a few. Here's our Answers to the latest Questions

Pivoting your Business sounds straight forward. Listen in to the Think Tank advice on how best to Pivot your Company and what you can do to help your Company stay alive during this Virus.

This week, Chris is speaking with John Davies, Financial Planner for Clifton Nash who'll be chatting about where's best to place your Pension pot, planning and investing; and what's ahead in terms of long term investments.

This week Chris is joined by Jodie Read who runs the successful Compliance and Certification service; Penarth Management who'll be chatting about the need for Accreditation, what it does and who looks for it.

In this episode, Chris speaks with Michael O'Neill from the App 'Uddr' on the importance of Marketing and the Development of the App for Small Businesses.

This week, Chris is joined by Lucy Cohen, Co-Founder of Mazuma Accountancy. We'll be chatting about the rapid growth of automation, the economic resilience fund, breaking the accountant mould and much more.

In this Episode, Chris chats with Liz Brookes, the Director of Grapevine Event Management who'll be chatting about the impact that the Coronavirus has had on the Awards Ceremonies of the future, how they're run and operated across the UK and if our lives will eventually become a Zoom call from 9-5.

This week Chris is speaking with Matt Hyde of Recruit121 who heads up Teams of Recruiters across the UK. He'll be telling me more about how the world of recruitment has totally changed thanks to the coronavirus and where the world of recruitment is heading.

This weeks episode, Chris chats with Professor and Pro Vice Chancellor; Dylan Jones-Evans about the role Universities play in driving forward the economy, Lockdown challenges as a result of the coronavirus and much more.

This week, I'll be chatting with Jane Hutt, Deputy Leader of the Senedd and MS for the Vale of Glamorgan. Jane will be giving more information about the STEM fields and their importance to growth of the Economy in Wales. She'll also be chatting about the importance of the volunteering sector and recognition for that together with small business support and advice.

In this special one-off Edition of The Think Tank, Chris speaks with Cath Greenslade of Maisie Bolan HR Consultancy who gives us an Update on the furlough scheme and practical advice for Employers. If you'd like to speak with Cath for yourself for Specific, Employer focused advice on your individual circumstances, head to her Website. Recorded on 16/06/2020 at 15:00GMT where the information was considered correct and up to date.

This week, we're chatting with Ken Picton, Multi Award Winning Owner of Cardiff Based Salon; 'Ken Picton'. He'll be speaking about the difficulties that his Industry are facing with the Coronavirus as well as the challenges and opportunities that start-up businesses have at the moment. He'll include some fantastic insights into the world of business and running a Team of more than thirty staff.

This week, I'm speaking with Gavin Hill-John, Executive Director of BNI South Wales who's chatting about the differences that have need to be added to continue his Company and his thoughts on the grants and furlough systems that are currently available from speaking to more than 200 business owners every week. You can find out more about Gavin and his passion to grow South Wales Businesses by joining his growing Facebook Group. Click Here

In this episode I chat with Cath Greenslade (and occasionally her dog) about the world of HR including furlough and much more. Then I chat with Adrian Hornett who'll give us an insight into the world of mortgages for small business owners and where's best to invest.

In this Episode I'll be speaking with Mark Drakeford, the First Minister for Wales who'll be chatting with me about Wales in a Post-Coronavirus World and giving an insight into what support businesses (including tourism and hospitality) can expect over the next few months. Then, I'll be joined by Jak Bjornstrom of Haus. He'll be chatting with me about his role as a Commercial Interior Designer and Consultant. He'll be giving some great advice on what Business Owners can do to help improve their workspaces for re-opening.

Lee Williams, the unorthodox, straight talking Welsh Accountant answers our questions on the current Financial situation for many Small Businesses in Wales as well as gives his unedited opinion on what Business Owners can do to push forward in this fast changing economy. Lee is the Accountant for Olympus Accountancy and if you'd like to ask him a Question for yourself, head to our Twitter page for a link to their Website.

Introducing The Think Tank. A Business PodCast for Business Owners in Wales. Submit your Questions on Twitter or on Facebook.