The West Midlands Business Podcast

“How overcoming the employee mindset has allowed me to invest and take calculated risks to grow to 11 team members in under 3 years” Matt Weston, MD of Vantage 365 discusses his journey from employed to the owner of a fast growth, 11 strong team business in under 3 years. Listen as Matt shares how his thirst for learning, coupled with the ability to take calculated, objective risks due to the syst...

Surround yourself with great people and be open…to support, challenge and change... Alison Bradley, MD of Central Business Finance shares how she and her business partners took advantage of a change in economic circumstances and Government to meet an unfulfilled need for small and medium-sized businesses in 2009. Listen as Alison shares her journey, citing how her openness for learning, and the su...

Chris Dowen and Jason Moseley from MoRServ discuss how the values instilled during their time as Police officers have helped them not only to build a strong foundation for the internal and external relationships in their business, but has also given them the confidence to push through the imposter syndrome we can all feel, recognise their strengths and be prepared to keep pushing to the next level...

Giving away for the community and business When Simon Love needed a break during the pandemic, he realised that he wasn’t alone, and Sponsored Breaks was born as a result.  A camper van which is gifted to deserving families to go and take a well-earned weekend away, and which advertises its sponsors logos as it travels around the country. Listen as Simon talks not only about this brilliant in...

There’s no failure, only feedback Carl Baker, Managing Director of Nant Ltd shares both his sporting and business journey, demonstrating the opportunities for learning that are gained in times of adversity when there’s a need to take stock and reinvent to move forward. Even though the next steps may not always be clear, there is still the chance to learn and develop.  This “grow and grow” men...

Despite multiple major setbacks, our business continues to grow and flourish Paul Hull, co-owner of award-winning freight forwarder KMB Shipping Group shares his story of how, despite the loss of two key team members, Brexit and Covid, the business has continued on a trajectory of growth. Paul shares how instilling the right mindset into a great team and underpinning the business with robust syste...

What started as the motto for a life planned full of adventure took on a different meaning as a result of an unexpected health problem.  All this led to not only a change of direction, but a pivot in philosophy:  that the story will always be interrupted with times of struggle, yet the story is written a page at a time.  By stepping out of our comfort zone, putting fear aside and ad...

Daley Thompson, Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Gerhard Berger, Boris Becker and the England rugby team.  Just a small cross-section of the elite individuals and teams that have benefitted from Professor Frank Dick, O.B.E.’s coaching and wisdom. The world of sport and the world of business share so many similarities: both relying on individual performance as part of a team; performance measured by metr...

Nella Share, Black Country born and bred, self-confessed recruitment lifer, and the super-powered red-headed Commercial Director of MET Recruitment shares how the business created opportunities from the adversity of the pandemic in 2019. Following the significant decline in the demand for recruitment, Nella and her co-directors re-grouped to add value to the markets they served by educating their...

4,732 days to realise a dream… A strong vision supported by the right team, coupled with the ability to pivot and be adaptable is the key message from the owner of Nachural Records, Nachural Events and “The Business Influencer” magazine, Ninder Johal. His belief that bhangra music was a potent music genre deserving wider recognition resulted in Ninder setting the “impossible” dream of realising a...

A great team, resilience and the willingness to adapt.  They are the key messages from Deb Lawrence, director of Lawrence Cleaning. Black Country born and raised, and with 35 years running businesses in the Black Country, Deb shares how she and her family have built a best-in-class commercial cleaning company that’s foundations are built on strong family values. Today, she talks about the imp...

What is it that customers really buy? The belief is often that people go for the cheapest or most value, but today that belief is turned on its head when entrepreneur and business Connor Healy shares his story on how he has grown his business! In this episode of the Black Country Business Podcast business coach Lewis Haydon interviews West Midlands based business owner Conor Healy — owner of Healy...

What is the currency of business? Money? Time? Resources?... What about if we thought about it a little differently and really thought about what drives a successful business to MASSIVE SUCCESS!... Find out more by listening to this episode. In this episode of the Black Country Business Podcast, top UK business and executive coach Lewis Haydon goes up against it with the West Midlands go to fitnes...

Right... let's get serious about MONEY and CASHFLOW in your business!  Who would you turn to first for cash injections in to your business? The bank? Your accountant? Are you getting the best advice, fast?... If not, how much is that losing you? Cashflow is the bloodline in your business. Without that blood (cash) flowing through your business, your business will stop! It's the Black Country...

What would your future look like if you had a step by step plan and the right person/coach backing you to get where you want to be? In this episode coach Lewis Haydon interviews wealth and financial advisor Andrea Cloughley to find out what the future COULD look like if you had the right plan to get there. Lewis and Andrea discuss how having a plan and someone that has seen the mistakes people mak...

What would happen if you HAD to take three months out of your business? Would that business still grow without you? Or does it depend on you to be there? Welcome to this week's Black Country Business Podcast, the show dedicated specifically to what works for business owners in the Black Country that are looking to get more time and money out of growing their business. In this episode top UK busine...

Are you looking to build an 'effective' business plan for your business? Have you ever built a business plan in the past... for it just to end up in some drawer somewhere. The secret between a business plan and an 'effective' business plan is what we do it... and the results it brings us.  Listen to this episode for your blueprint to how to get the most from a business plan. Now if you want t...

Who feels the pressure in your business? You as the business owner, or is the pressure distributed amongst your team for them to perform too? If not... how do you get them to perform at higher levels. In this episode of the Black Country business podcast, West Midlands based business coaches Lewis Haydon and Andy Hemming discuss team management and leadership. Lewis and Andy delve deep into what i...

This week's episode of The Black Country Business Podcast celebrates the launch of coach Andy Hemming's new book 'Think Smarter, Do Less, Get More from Your Business AND Your Life' by giving away FREE copies to Black Country business owners. Andy Hemming has not only been awarded UK's Number One Coach of the Year but also holds a number of awards for Business Coaching Firm of the Year, Highest Cli...

Could Mindfulness in your business be the thing that gives you that HUGE competitive advantage? What comes to mind when you think of the word 'mindfulness'? Perhaps meditation or going on a relaxing retreat? But what about mindfulness in business? What could it really do for your business if your business was a lot more 'mindful'... find out more of how it may give you that edge in business leader...

What if you were to take the leap and build a business that was totally aligned to your strengths? What could you achieve...? Now, what if in that business you also had a team of superstars that are all playing to their strengths? Well this is the topic of today's Black Country Business Podcast, and, to share his wealth of knowledge—on putting strengths to work and employing great people—we have J...

Ever thought about leaving your corporate career to pursue your vision and put your strengths to work in your own business? Today's guest Michael Doolin has done just that! Listen to this podcast as Michael (Clover HR) explains how he went from 30 years of working in corporate Human Resources to now owning his own successful business that helps many business owners and their teams across the Black...

What happens when the coach is put on the spot by a business owner and asked some of the most challenging (yet truthful) questions you can imagine? In this episode of The Black Country Business Podcast... top UK business coaches Lewis Haydon and Andy Hemming go into battle and face off against one another. As a West Midlands business owner himself (and a coach), Lewis will be wearing the hat of th...

Welcome to The Black Country Business Podcast. This week we interview Corin Crane from the Black Country Chamber of Commerce where we discuss the impact COVID19 has had on Black Country Businesses, and what has worked in helping businesses survive and grow during troubling times. In this episode, top UK business coaches Lewis Haydon and Andy Hemming talk with Corin Crane about not only how the Bla...

What did you get into business for in the first place? More money, more time, more freedom? These tend to be some of the answers we hear from people when they say why they went through all that hard work and effort to start a business. However, the reality is, that most "Business owners" are now actually working more hours—and typically, nowhere near earning what they had planned to be earning—tha...