Leeds Business Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

For more information on YFM Equity Partners please visit www.yfmep.com (and tell them Phil from Leeds Business Podcast sent you!)

This week we speak to John Dammone, co-owner of legendary Leeds restaurant, Salvos.

John tells us all about the early days of the restaurant, some key lessons learnt in some unsuccessful business expansions, how they kept relevant throughout the years and all about the effect Gordon Ramsay had on the business.

The business surgery segment answers the question; "As a business owner, I've always got too much to do on my to do list. How do I solve this problem?"

After you've heard Phil's answer, read this https://philfraser.co.uk/work-prioritisation/ for more on his system.

INTRODUCING JOHN DAMMONE

John Dammone founded the award-winning Salvo’s Restaurant in Leeds in 1976. With over 45 years experience in the hospitality industry, John successfully expanded what was a 40-seater neighbourhood restaurant into an 85-seater restaurant and bar. The nationally renowned restaurant has won multiple accolades and awards over the years including numerous TV appearances including being crowned the UK’s best independent Italian Restaurant by Gordon Ramsay on Channel 4’s The F Word.

Amongst many honours received during his career he has been a recipient of the Yorkshire Evening Post Outstanding Achievement award for his contribution to the Leeds Restaurant Industry twice in 2012 and in 2019. In 2015 he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by Yorkshire Life Magazine and, most recently was awarded a British Empire medal in the Kings Birthday honours list for services to the Hospitality Industry.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:02:00] The launch of Salvos and the role of the family

[00:05:00] The early pain points

[00:08:00] How do you keep a long-standing restaurant relevant

[00:11:00] Two failed business expansions

[00:24:00] Gordon Ramsay’s F Word

[00:34:00] How was Covid?

[00:44:00] How to benchmark against the competition

[00:53:00] BUSINESS SURGERY QUESTION

[00:58:00] Exiting the business

[01:05:00] Pineapple on pizza?

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• You cannot stand still in business

• Don’t let one client have more than 10% of the business

• Do not entrust your brand to another person

4 BEST MOMENTS

“In the early days we made people share tables”

“Our ask was two small for venture capitalists and too big for high street banks”

“I nearly put the phone down on Channel 4”

“We were lucky not to be with a high street bank”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Salvos win Gordon Ramsay's Best Local Italian Restaurant on The F Word - https://youtu.be/TsBxFyt7xTQ

Salvos get to the final of Gordon Ramsay's The F Word search for best Italian Restaurant - https://youtu.be/unu_3ojzaU

Salvos - best starters on Gordon Ramsay's search for the best local Italian Starters on The F Word - https://youtu.be/1OdjhO0kUQk

LinkedIn:...

This week we speak to Mark Costello, Founder of the Horsforth Brewery.

Mark tells us how he’s grown the business from a home brewing hobby in his kitchen to a fully-fledged brewery and tap room, the effect of launching the business on the first week of the first lockdown, his successful crowd-funding campaign and how a Christmas disaster turned into a success.

Mark also teaches us how to run a crowd-funding campaign.

INTRODUCING MARK COSTELLO

Mark Costello is the founder of Horsforth Brewery. After a career in hedge accounting, risk management and secured funding he made the transition to full-time self-employed in March 2020 and has steered the brewery through COVID and a cost of living crisis, establishing an onsite taproom in the brewery that's open 6 days a week.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:01:30] How did the launch of the brewery happen?

[00:03:00] Launching part time with grant funding

[00:06:10] Moving from a hobby to a business

[00:09:30] Launching into lockdown

[00:14:30] When the business ran out of cash

[00:18:00] The addition of a tap room and the additional challenges it brings

[00:21:00] The Euros effect

[00:25:30] How do you sell beer into an outlet?

[00:31:00] Raising funding for the business

[00:36:00] How to run a crowdfunding campaign

[00:42:00] The Christmas disaster and the solution that worked

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• You may be eligible for 50% match funding from WY Combined Authority

• You need to keep momentum going during a crowdfunding campaign

• Own your mistakes and be honest to your customers

3 BEST MOMENTS

• “Seeing people’s businesses fall apart during Covid was hard”

• “Everyone started clapping (for carers) but I thought it was for me dropping off beer”

• “In the early days we sold beer to outlets via Twitter”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Phil Fraser - Business Sounding Board - www.philfraser.co.uk

Website: www.horsforthbrewery.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-costello-68868619/

Visit the Tap Room at 143 New Roadd Side, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 4JZ

Shout out tags: https://swinethatdines.co.uk/

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/colin-glass/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/phil-fraser/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/daniel-priestley/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the

This week we speak to Dean Hartley and hear all about some of the darker sides of business; the threat of VCs kicking you out of your own business, being caught in the 2008 RBS GRG scandal and what happens when you’re at strategic loggerheads with your fellow board members, and the personal low point of exiting a business.

INTRODUCING DEAN HARTLEY

Dean Hartley is the former CTO and owner of Monitor Audio, a business he helped purchase in 1998 and exited in October 2018 with a 50x ROI. He was instrumental in growing the business from £1.5M to £25M. He now works as a Consultant, EIR advisor and fractional CCO (Chief Commercial Officer). He's also an Angel Investor in start-up/scale-ups.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:30] Starting the business and then buying another one

[00:08:45] A new role in a bigger business

[00:10:30] Raising external funding and buying founders out

[00:21:00] 2008 financial crash, GRG and the RBS scandal

[00:32:00] Where to look for growth finance in your business

[00:36:00] Exiting the business and the emotional difficulties it causes afterwards

[00:46:00] How to develop yourself and your role in a business

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• You learn a huge amount of skills as a start up founder

• There are risks that you sometimes have to take in business if you want to progress

• If you really want to scale a business you do need to raise finance

3 BEST MOMENTS

“they told us if we didn’t deliver, they’d replace us”

“it was very similar to the current Royal Mail scandal”

“we need to move on….. without you”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Website: https:// www.chevettechnology.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanhartley01

Shout out tags: https://www.luma3.uk/

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/michael-michaelson/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/chris-black/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/colin-glass/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit.

As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus.

As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full,...

This week's guest is Jonathan Straight, founder and former-CEO of recycling solutions company Straight plc.

Jonathan tells us how the business came about, the journey to becoming a plc, the crisis caused by over-trading and then the eventual sale of the company. And he discuss the important question, 'what do you wear after selling your business?'

INTRODUCING JONATHAN STRAIGHT

Jonathan is an award-winning purposeful entrepreneur and creative best known for founding the AIM-listed Straight plc (STT), the UK’s leading supplier of waste and recycling containers. He headed the business for 21 years before exiting in 2014. He is currently a board advisor to Surplus Group Limited, tackling the problem of surplus and waste food, and is founder of The Lupin Company, marketing a vegan and gluten-free superfood.

Passionate about entrepreneurship, he is an enterprise ambassador at the Leeds University Business School, an entrepreneur in residence for Connect Yorkshire, and an associate director at Leeds Beckett University.

Jonathan chairs the international waste management charity, WasteAid, and is a director of the literary festival, Milim. He previously chaired food recyclers The Real Junk Food Project and was a main board trustee and chair of the commercial board at The Tetley contemporary art gallery. Jonathan is a mentor to - and investor in - various tech-for-good start-ups, where he holds non-executive posts.

Since 2022, Jonathan has been a member of the British Library Advisory Council and is helping to realise the ambition of a British Library of the North in Leeds.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:01:00] Where the idea for the business came about

[00:12:30] The need for, and the start of, what became Straight plc

[00:17:30] The expansion of the business

[00:22:00] Raising capital for the business

[00:31:00] Life as a plc

[00:35:30] On the acquisition trail

[00:41:00] What could possibly go wrong…

[00:46:00] How to register a trademark (protect your IP)

[00:50:00] Selling the business

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• You can’t tell people anything that might move the share price

• Being a plc gives you clout and ammunition

• Stay close to your competitors; you may pick up useful information

• Make sure you protect your IP

• Look for NED roles while you are working, not after sale

3 BEST MOMENTS

“Can I sell these for you? And they said ‘no’ which seemed ludicrous to me”

“My image was very different to everyone else in the recycling bins industry”

“Suddenly a business I considered infinite had boundaries”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Website: https://www.jonathanstraight.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/straight

Shout out tags: https://www.streetlanebakery.co.uk/

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/adam-smith/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/pop-up-shop/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/colin-glass

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up,...

This week I’m delighted to have Apprentice winner and North Studio owner, Rachel Woolford as my guest.

Rachel explains all about launching her boutique gym just weeks before lockdown and the stress it caused her, reveals the secrets from behind the scenes of The Apprentice, tells us all about her time on the show and shares what it's been like since she was announced as the winner.

INTRODUCING RACHEL WOOLFORD

Rachel Woolford is the owner and founder of boutique gym North Studio which has locations in North Leeds and Harrogate.

She was the winner of the BBC's The Apprentice in 2024.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:30] How did North Studio start

[00:05:00] How the studio dealt with the stop start of Covid

[00:10:30] Marketing North Studio post-Covid

[00:12:20] Expanding the business to Harrogate

[00:14:00] The impact on the business of leaving for The Apprentice

[00:17:00] I’m away but I don’t know when I’ll be back….

[00:20:30] Why apply to go on The Apprentice?

[00:23:30] Day One on The Apprentice, the house and the tasks

[00:30:00] Favourite tasks and being Project Manager

[00:36:00] The interviews

[00:42:00] The winner, and what happens next?

[00:45:00] The media frenzy

[00:50:00] Listeners questions

[00:54:00] How to avoid complacency in business

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• Remain calm & confident is much better than responding chaotically

• Always be open and listen to suggestions from the team

• The Apprentice was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Its way harder than it looks on tele

3 BEST MOMENTS

“The thing people took away from Covid was supporting small businesses, which helped us”

“I finished recording on Sunday night in London and was working in Roundhay at 07.00am the next day”

“They sent a mystery visitor to the studio”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Website: https://northstudioleeds.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-woolford-948528216/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/northstudioleeds/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelwoolford/

Shout out tags: https://www.stoneacreproperties.co.uk/

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/linda-plant

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/pop-up-shop/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/david-richmond/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/christine-yorath/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a

This week’s guests are Marshall Frieze and Simon Williams who, for only three weeks a year, run a speciality pop-up shop.

Hear why they do it, the unique challenges they face, how Covid turned EVERYTHING on it’s head and what the key is to the shop’s continued year-on-year improvement.

INTRODUCING SIMON WILLIAMS & MARSHALL FRIEZE

Simon Williams is the owner of SW Retail Consultancy Ltd. Having been in retail for nearly 30 years in various roles, he using his retail knowledge & experience to help grow and develop SMEs and start-ups.

As a consultant his aim is to miniaturise everything he has learned in large corporations and provide the SMEs with a template for success in retailing and business.

Marshall Frieze is the founder and MD of The One Solution, an award-winning Leeds based supplier of cloud and mobile telecoms, connectivity & IoT to businesses throughout the UK and farther afield. Marshall has been working in telecommunications since the mid-1990s, when he was appointed Store Manager of Phones 4u at their flagship Leeds store. In 2003 he launched Pioneer Communication Solutions, becoming Vodafone Gold Partner of the Year in 2011 and then selling in 2012.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:10] What is the Passover Pop-up shop

[00:03:00] Where the idea came from and how it all started

[00:08:40] The challenges faced in year one

[00:10:30] Analysing the first year’s performance and then into year two

[00:18:30] The problems (and solutions) to Covid

[00:25:40] the key learnings and the importance of data

[00:31:30] Advice to someone looking to set up a pop up show

[00:35:00] How to retain customers

[00:39:00] Lessons for the future

KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• You need to ensure that you have no, or little, stock left at the end

• Data is key to making better decisions, and the key to success

• Open with the offers, rather than the offers at the end

• If you get 80% of it right, you should just about be ok

• It’s really beneficial to work with a business partner

• Be clear on your objectives

BEST MOMENTS

“We needed a product, somewhere to sell it from and we needed finance”

“When Covid happened we had to change the whole business model overnight”

“I did around 90,000 steps in 4 or 5 days”

“The lockout period is your retention strategy”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshallfrieze http://linkedin.com/in/simon-williams-616b876

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit.

As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s...

Starts at 00.45

This week’s guest is Fiona Conor, Managing Director of Trust Electrical Heating.

Fiona tells us all about her amazing & varied route to becoming a business owner, the ups and downs of registering a patent, the huge importance of brand, the need for a business coach to vomit on…. and how to stop your ‘leaky bucket’ and increase your lead conversion.

INTRODUCING FIONA CONOR

Fiona Conor, is Managing Director at Trust Electric Heating and boasts three decades of experience in sales and marketing. Her mission is to lead Trust Electric Heating to the forefront of the UK's electric heating industry.

Driven by her passion for product development and sustainable technology, Fiona spearheads Trust Electric Heating's rapid growth, catering to the rising demand for sustainable heating solutions.

Beyond her professional achievements, Fiona brings a personal touch to the electric heating world, shaped by her extensive background in charity work and counselling. With an unwavering commitment to a 'people first' ethos, she guides Trust Electric Heating not merely as a company, but as a trusted partner dedicated to crafting heating solutions designed for humans.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:30] Fiona’s (very varied) early career

[00:07:00] The launch of the business

[00:10:00] Pitching for investment

[00:12:00] The importance of branding

[00:16:30] The problems….

[00:21:45] Selling radiators online

[00:23:00] Stepping up the operation

[00:32:00] How to stop your leaky bucket

[00:35:00] Working with Entrepreneurs Circle and the benefits of having a coach

[00:40:00] Why bring a NED into the business?

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• Things come in your path to take you to where you need to be in the future

• You’ve got to get your brand right

• Everything has to be about analytics

4 BEST MOMENTS

“Scott launched the business on the Dining Room table”

“He grew a beard when he was installing and shaved himself when he was selling”

“Covid gave me the space to think about the business”

“We needed real strong governance on the board”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

Website: https://www.trustelectricheating.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionaconor https://www.linkedin.com/company/trustelectricheating/

Mentioned in the show; www.entreprenuerscircle.com https://www.hotjar.com/

https://www.propaganda.co.uk/ https://www.selectuniforms.co.uk/

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow us on;

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/nigel-botterill/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/michael-michaelson/...

This week we speak to green banking start-up, Tred.

Peter & will discuss where the idea of a green bank account came from, the secret tip that worked for improving their network connections, how the first round of testing changed the business strategy, the positives and negatives of a wait list and what it feels like to secure £1m of funding.

We also get taught how to reduce the carbon footprint of your business.

Win a Tred water bottle. Listen to the episode then answer the question at www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com/tred/

INTRODUCING PETER KIRBY & WILL SMITH

Peter Kirby keeps Tred running! He ensures customers love their green business current account, develops a happy and high performing team, and owns the compliance function. Before Tred, he worked with the UK's largest companies to improve their operations, like developing the UK’s COVID shielding programme and revolutionising the procurement process in a £5bn clothing brand.

Will Smith owns Tred's growth and finances. He makes sure every business wants, and has, a Tred green current account. Selected by Forbes as a ‘30 under 30’, he brings experience from both the start-up and corporate world. He's managed global product launches, negotiated commercial contracts worth over £500m and much more.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:30] What is Tred?

[00:01:00] Introducing Will & Peter

[00:05:30] Where did the idea for Tred come from?

[00:09:00] The first step on the start-up journey and testing the hypothesis

[00:11:00] The funding journey and lessons learnt

[00:16:00] Starting the business properly

[00:23:00] A banking platform not a bank and let’s talk ‘Bank of Dave’

[00:32:00] The current situation for Tred

[00:36:45] How do you evaluate a ‘green’ banking card?

[00:38:15] How to reduce the carbon footprint of your business

[00:41:15] The biggest learning from a mistake

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• Find the cheapest and quickest way to test your hypothesis

• Ask people for introductions. Almost everyone says yes

• Hire the people with skills you are most useless at

• Entrepreneurs are not taking enough risks because of a fear of failure

3 BEST MOMENTS

“Please can someone be the Spotify for home 3D printing”

“We spent months building an app. Did we need it? Probably not”

“There’ll be bugs a plenty come squash them with us”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

Website: https://tred.earth/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrhsmith/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterlkirby/

Shout out tags: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-baker-8700399/

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show or give this episode a ’thumbs up’

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow us on;

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/leedspod

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/leedsbusinesspodcast/

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

This week’s episode is slightly different as we meet one of the Leeds business community’s most well-known faces, Colin Glass OBE.

Colin shares his expertise on a variety of business topics including what makes a great business founder, funding options available for businesses, what is a NED and why you might need one, what sweat investment is and, of course, how to be a great networker.

INTRODUCING COLIN GLASS

Colin is a Chartered Accountant who started his own practice, Winburn Glass Norfolk (WGN) in 1975 and in August 2019 WGN merged with Murray Harcourt

Colin is, or has been, a Non-Executive Director of several companies, some of which are quoted on AIM and has always been passionately interested in helping small businesses, including start-ups to develop to their full potential. He has invested in many start-up businesses over the years.

He was awarded the Star in Practice Award in 2006 from the West Yorkshire Society of Chartered Accountants, Business Adviser of the Year in 2007, Non-Executive Director of the Year in 2008 and 2019 by the Institute of Directors Yorkshire and Humber and, in January 2011, he was awarded Non-Executive Director of the Year in the Quoted Company Awards.

Due to his many years of involvement with SMEs, in 2014 Colin was appointed a Non-Executive Director at the British Business Bank and was awarded an OBE in the 2017 Queen’s New Year Honour’s list.

He is one of the most well-known, and respected, faces on the Leeds business scene.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:00:45] What are the common themes in successful businesses

[00:03:30] The common mistakes business owners make

[00:06:20] The best places to find funding

[00:09:00] Should you bootstrap your business?

[00:10:45] What makes a good Angel investment pitch?

[00:13:00] All about sweat investment

[00:19:40] Colin’s successful first sweat investment deal

[00:26:00] The investment that didn’t go well

[00:31:00] What does a NED do, and do you need one?

[00:36:00] How to be a good networker

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• You need to listen to the advice of mentors around you

• All companies that are trying to grow should look at some kind of NED

• Don’t try to sell at networking events

BEST MOMENTS

“One successful angel investment can pay for all the others that go wrong”

“Do me a favour, let them wine & dine us”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinglass1/

Shout out: https://www.luma3.uk/

DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’

My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE.

Your half of the deal has two simple steps;

1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it

2) Post a review of the show on this app

SOCIAL MEDIA

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/nigel-botterill/

https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/alistair-maiden/

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full

This week we speak to Nigel Botterill, Founder of Entrepreneurs Circle.

Nigel tells us why bootstrapping is the WRONG way to run a business, how incompetence launched his most successful business, the day he found £500k missing from his business bank account and the bedroom business that went multi-million pound in months.

He also gives a 'how to' that, to quote Nigel, is "the most powerful 'how to' that you have ever had on the podcast."

INTRODUCING NIGEL BOTTERILL

Nigel Botterill - serial entrepreneur, Sunday Time best-selling author & one of the UK’s most sought after business growth experts.

He ‘took the leap’, left his corporate career and started his first business in 2003. Since then, he’s built ten separate million-pound-plus businesses from scratch. Now, at the helm of Entrepreneurs Circle, the country's largest organisation dedicated to helping its members businesses grow, Nigel spends his time helping other entrepreneurs to do what he’s done – escape mediocrity, get and keep all the customers their business needs and live the lives they’ve always wanted

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00:01:00] The spark to start as an entrepreneur

[00:07:00] The plan…. And the smart move

[00:10:00] The conference that changed Nigel’s life

[00:12:30] The side hustle, MyMag, that became a £6m phenomenon

[00:15:00] The ‘Best of’ online business

[00:18:00] The genius of incompetence and the start of Entrepreneurs Circle

[00:20:00] The effects of the lockdown announcement

[00:28:30] What is Entrepreneurs Circle

[00:30:30] The importance of the ‘rhythmic acquisition of customers’

[00:36:00] The nightmare of missing revenue

[00:38:30] Going into a CVA

[00:42:30] The key learning from going through a CVA

[00:45:45] How to get your business to where you want it to be

KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS

• Funding growth through revenue isn’t the best way to grow

• All businesses need rhythmic acquisition of customers

• When you spend your time in business juggling cashflow it’s like a cancer

• As a business owner you need to be all over your numbers

• Anyone managing their business by looking at their bank account is bonkers

• It’s the day-to-day that kills dreams

• Profit and loss accounts are a work of fiction

BEST MOMENTS

“I had a year to move £100,000 from the business to our personal bank account”

“We were one of the first customers of Google ads in the UK”

“We set up over 2,500 magazines in three years”

“What she did was genius but did it out of incompetence”

“We had a massive hole and we just didn’t have the money”

“I didn’t want to go to work and I didn’t want to go home”

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU

Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/

Website: https://entrepreneurscircle.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurs-circle https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelbotterill/

Shout out tags: https://www.trustelectricheating.co.uk/ https://rushfirthcreative.co.uk/ https://www.tendo-uk.com/

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