Ambitious Lifestyle Business podcast

Meet Phil Allen. Phil blows stuff up for a living. 💥 His company, Entertainment Effects provides special effects, pyrotechnics and water features to live sport, music, TV and corporate events. Flames 🔥 Confetti Cannons 🎊 Fountains ⛲ Smoke Machines 🌫 Phil is our guest on the Ambitious, Lifestyle Business podcast this month, where we discuss: 📈 How Phil TREBLED his business in a couple of years...

Kris Oldland launched 1927 Media in 2013 and over ten years, built his primary brand Field Service News to be a global leader in the field, before disaster struck - and Kris was forced to sell the business - worth £2.6million at its peak - for £1,000. In this powerful episode, Kris bears all and tells us: 💬 The key mistakes that he made leading to the collapse.. 💬 The warning signs he ignored fo...

Mick Walker has been making award-winning videos for major brands around the world for over 17 years. He's all about keeping video production simple and accessible – something he calls ' Video Made Simple .'. In this episode, you will hear: 💬 Why Mick  "never wanted to run a business" . 💬 How "coming clean" about owning a lifestyle business changed everything. 💬 Why most businesses overcomplica...

Austin Newberry is the owner and CEO of Logspan - a timber building manufacturer based in Scotland. Austin is a family man who says that he still struggles with work/life balance. In this episode, you will hear: 💬 Austin's POWERFUL story about a childhood family holiday - and how it impacts his parenting style to this day. 💬 What it's like to take over a family business - and why it still doesn'...

crreeeaaaaaak!   What's that noise?   Oh, it's just the sound of me, opening the doors for the March 2024 intake of my One Percent Club.   Why the creaking?   Well, the doors have been closed since the 1st of October last year - and they need a bit of WD/40.   What's the One Percent Club?   It's a community of like-minded, ambitious lifestyle business owners, all committed to the following cause:...

Husband and wife duo, Jon and Miriam run Mod A Mini, a BMW Mini performance parts ecommerce store and Torque Monkey, a physical garage in Chelmsford specialising in performance vehicles.   In this episode, you will hear:   💬 Why HATING cars was an ADVANTAGE when starting a car business 💬 How DIFFICULT the first few years were - and how much HARD WORK was needed. 💬 The importance of "leaving wor...

Ambitious, lifestyle business owners can learn valuable lessons from Charlie Munger, the renowned investor and Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Here are some key lessons: Value of Continuous Learning: Munger is a strong advocate of lifelong learning. He believes in expanding one's knowledge across various disciplines, not just in your field of business. Business owners can benefit from this by...

It's Chriiiiistmaaaaasss! We start this Christmas special episode by wishing Noddy Holder's Evergreen Asset (Merry Xmas Everybody) a happy 50th birthday. We also dissect the rise of AI in 2023 (No, it's not coming for your job - but it IS going to change your job completely!), celebrate the return of in-person events, and explain how to listen to John's audiobooks for free. We also end the year by...

Nicky Thomas is the founder of The Growth Community , a networking group that promises "Real Community Business Networking", with relaxed, purposeful networking, and no membership sales pitches. Nicky joined the  One Percent Club 18 months ago, and as a result, grew her business by 75% in her first 12 months of membership. That huge level of growth doesn't come without a cost, however, and it's th...

Graeme Tennick is Chief Impact Officer at Tennick Accountants , where he isn't afraid to roll up his sleeves, and is on a mission to empower trades and professional services business owners who know the grind of long hours, minimal returns, and the frustration of hefty taxes. The word "impact" runs through today's episode - Graeme talks about the impact of his father's forklift business on him as...

I've got two pieces of time-sensitive information to share with you today - one involving an 82% discount, and on that could (literally) change your life.   But BOTH require some action in the next 8 days...

Never give up in business. If there's one piece of advice that today's guest Alastair Imray embodies, it is this. Alastair's business career began with no qualifications and no money but a determination to start his own business. Alastair has proven that hard work, determination, constant learning and never giving up has been the key to running a successful business. Wearing a Nike "Just Do It" T-...

What's the best Exit Strategy for a Small Business? It depends... In this summer-special podcast, John and Jason discuss their (many!) failed attempts to exit their small business over the years, including: Thinking they sold their company for £2m - only to get a Dear John email. John giving away 49% of his small business for free What happens when you abdicate rather than delegate. How to choose...

Do NOT sell your business... At least not until you've read John's new book - The False EXIT. The False EXIT isn't a book about selling your business. It's a book about NOT selling your business - it's about keeping, rather than killing the golden goose. The book is available NOW on Amazon (in Kindle, Paperback and Hardcover formats), with the Audiobook version coming in January 2024. For the next...

How many goals is too many? If you're today's guest Nathan Pascoe, there is no limit! In this episode, Nathan explains: Why he has a 90-day plan  AND a 120-year plan. The importance of reviewing your goals twice a day. How everything he does is for his "future self" The relentless focus on high value tasks (such as sending Weekly Emails ) Why Nathan focuses on the "long game" How he achieves just...

"To live longer, get stronger..."  Today, on the Ambitious Lifestyle Business Podcast, we're joined by Matt Fox from  Physiocore , a group-based class which helps people to live longer and get stronger, by future-proofing their bodies with a unique combination of mobility, core, balance and strengthening exercises. As a Physiotherapist with a degree in sport science, he has worked in the NHS, priv...

In this episode of the Ambitious Lifestyle Business Podcast, we meet Stephen Gibbens from Accountech .   A culture of overwork led to Stephen collapsing in his car, fearing a heart attack - or worse. He'd spent decades growing his business and had no desire to become the richest man in the graveyard.   In the hard-hitting episode, Stephen tells us:   Why overworking is bad - for your health and yo...

"Our 100th Episode..."  In December 2016, I uttered the immortal words to Jason: "Do you fancy starting a podcast?" Just over six years, and 99 episodes later, the Ambitious Lifestyle Business podcast is about to hit the 100 episode milestone - something that  seemed impossible when I felt like quitting after 6 months. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - consistency is a superpower.  How...

"I made ONE decision - and it changed my life..."  In this episode of the Ambitious Lifestyle Business Podcast, we meet Roger Haycock from Roger's Bakery . One decision led to us talking to Roger today. That one decision, made on 30th December 2020, led to a succession of domino-effect decisions that have profoundly changed Rogers's life as he embarks on his "third challenge". Roger tells us that:...

In this episode of the Ambitious Lifestyle Business Podcast, we chat with James Crow from Posture Stars . James is an Ergonomist, Posture Pro, and Alexander Technique Teacher who *won't stop* until you can sit and work comfortably without pain. With over 15 years of experience helping people sit, stand and live with better posture, it's his mission to save the universe from the modern pandemic of...

In this episode of the Ambitious Lifestyle Business Podcast, we meet Tom Edwards from Tom Edwards Sound and Five29 - a company which specialises in final post-production services for factual content - helping make TV shows such as Cash in the Attic and The One Show sound amazing. We discuss: Why losing his dream job forced Tom to become a "reluctant business owner" How to find your niche in busine...

"Why this Money Mindset book is my book of the year…"  So here it is - Merry Christmas! Everybody's… designing their 2023 goals. In this Christmas special, John and Jason put the year to bed, and the world to rights. The boys discuss: Their books of the year - including the money mindset book that will be crucial to read in the current economic climate. Why John is learning how to care less about...

In this episode, John and Jason are joined by Vicky Jinks, who works with the boys, helping to look after One Percent Club members. Together, they discuss how to grow a small business into a large business - using the same "1% better each week" strategy that they preach. You'll hear:: Why people's definitions of "small" and "large" businesses are highly individual. How even the largest, trillion-d...

Today, we're joined by Caroline Gurtler from Curious Rose . In this episode, you will hear: How Caroline showed tremendous bravery to be brutally honest about her problems - and how that led to an outpouring of help that turned things around How to balance "selling out of products" versus simply "selling out" Why Caroline took a 1-year-old baby to Cambodia. How, after hiding under a table during a...

This is it - the BIG one!    My all-time top 10 business books.   I've read more than 1,000 business books over 20+ years – and these are my top 10 business books of all time.   The TEN most read, most thumbed, most recommended, most highlighted, most implemented business books on my bookshelf. I've read every one of these books multiple times, and they've become an essential part of my small busi...