Love Business with Alan Wick

How do you manage your mental health? Are you in touch with your moods day to day and aware of your feelings? Gareth Dauncey found a brilliant, visual way to manage his own wellbeing, which he went on to develop in an app to improve many people’s lives. Mood helps people to better manage their mental wellbeing with one tap a day, and share how they feel without the need for words. In this personal...

Imagine a living in a beautiful place that is affordable and inclusive, where people thrive and economies flourish alongside stunning landscapes. Sounds too good to be true? My guest on this show doesn't think so. Jonathan Smales is the Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Human Nature , a new generation sustainable developments business. Jonathan believes passionately that it’s time to create a n...

How exhilarating to learn and to be inspired whilst on the wild and beautiful St. David’s peninsula. That’s exactly what the TYF Group provides with their leading sustainability, adventure and education business that helps people reconnect to nature, to possibility and to each other. They have been on a mission for over 35 years to inspire customers of all ages with low-carbon, eco-friendly outfit...

Did you find your vocation later in life? Shaun Russell certainly did. His belief that a more Scandinavian approach to life is better for all - a proven model of societal and environmental better practice that the world can truly benefit from - led to him founding Skandinavisk in 2012 to spread the word. We discussed his motivation in starting the business ‘later in life’ and the many valuable lea...

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about pain? Nothing too positive, I’m guessing. Richmond Stace is a pioneer in his attitude to pain management. We talked about how he applies his extensive experience in nursing, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, coaching and neuroscience to help individuals manage and improve chronic pain, embracing people’s strengths and the potential to imp...

When your passion serves millions of people and the environment, through a successful and sustainable business, it’s a pretty powerful combination. Interviewing Nick Russill for the 2nd time, we focused on Snow-Forecast.com, a business he co-founded over 25 years ago. Now one of the internet’s most widely-used specialist weather websites, along with its sister websites it supports a global audienc...

Financial freedom is an ‘end of the rainbow’ concept for many people. Alexlouise Thomas has made a successful career out of helping people find theirs. She began investing in property and in personal development courses, before retiring from catering at the ripe old age of 32. We discussed how she helps others to live their dreams of financial freedom and fulfilment, and how she loves seeing the t...

They did it! It was fantastic to interview new World Record holder, Guy Rigby , again, now he’s back on dry land! Guy and his fellow rower, David Murray, completed the challenging feat of rowing 3,000 miles from the Canaries to Antigua over 53 days, making them the oldest pair ever to row any ocean to date. In this ‘behind the challenge’ interview, Guy: Describes his training regime in preparation...

Igniting children’s passion for reading is giving them a powerful gift for life, and that’s what Lulu Skantze does every day, through the  business she founded, Storytime magazine. Since its impactful launch in 2014, it continues to be the UK’s leading and most dynamic children’s magazine. Lulu has extensive expertise in children’s literacy, along with a passion for collaboration and language. She...

Can you read people with your eyes? Observing and interpreting every tiny gesture to understand and interact with them better?   Alan Stevens , Creator & Host of the #WeTogether initiative and The Campfire Project is a real pro at it. His expertise is in showing us how we can read people to build successful relationships, negotiations, improve teams and staff loyalty, and close deals faster. A...

In this digital age, how wonderful and refreshing to champion the beautiful art of real handwriting and to see how impactful this form of connection can be. Greg Smith ’s Australia-based business, Send Handwritten , provides a unique lead generation service globally, driven by the need for a human connection in the sea of electronic communication. Providing bespoke and creative cards, wax sealed a...

Do you know when to reach out for support? Its impact on the success on your business can be incredibly powerful. Spencer Gallagher and his team have worked with over 1,000 creative, tech and innovation agencies over the past 10 years. We discussed how they help agencies overcome growth challenges to create successful outcomes for their businesses. As Co-Founder of Agencynomics , the community tha...

For some people, it’s not enough to reach for the stars. They’ve got their eye on the moon, too! Guy Rigby is one of these inspiring individuals. Not only is Guy a respected Chair for Entrepreneurial Services for Smith and Williamson, but he’s rowing the Atlantic for The Entrepreneur Ship, in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in December 2021 and attempting to break the record for the oldest...

An 18 year old starting up what has become an award-winning, multi-million pound company? That’s quite an achievement, and quite a story! I was excited to quiz Rachael Flanagan on what’s driven her on this successful journey. Mrs Buckét is a commercial cleaning company delivering services and facilities to a range of businesses, helping them maintain a high standard of hygiene in their workplaces....

Honesty. Agility. Harmony. Saying no. Sounds refreshing, doesn’t it! Nick Russill is a co-founder of TerraDat , a company using state-of-the-art geophysical mapping techniques to map the subsurface in a non-invasive way that can rapidly map large areas and reduce the chance of missing buried targets. He is also a Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence and a photographer. We covered how TerraDat G...

Have you ever considered how the worlds of burlesque and business can complement each other? Paulina Tenner has! She is a serial entrepreneur, investor, keynote speaker, writer, and burlesque performer. We discussed Paulina’s novel Holacracy based organisation, GrantTree , which has arranged over £200m in equity-free R&D funding from the government, to help SMEs. We also talked about the highs...

When did you last feel inspired and energised; have your perspective challenged? Hearing others’ stories can be incredibly inspirational. For me, David Hieatt is right up there on my list and I’m pretty confident you’ll find him inspirational too. In this second time of interviewing David, he shared his story, starting on the far edge of West Wales on an old farm in 2007. This is where the idea fo...

Delightful Dissent - Love has no place in business

In this podcast, Alan explores the legacy of command and control, KPIs and the rigidity of 20th century management thinking. In terms of self-responsibility, he discusses: What are realistic goals for large or highly regulated organisations. How to work in organisations driven by big personalities where leaders are "leading hard" and the transition to distributed power feels large. Why developing...

In this podcast, Alan focuses on owner-managed businesses that want to  scale up. He discusses the Minimum Viable Audience (MVA) approach and importance of niching down, so you can focus on who you really want to serve. He encourages listeners to: Think about demographics and targeting your audience based on traits like age, geography, education, gender and income. Think about psychographics, to u...

Most of us really enjoy a good restaurant experience, but we probably don’t think too much about what goes on behind the scenes that makes it great. The frantically paddling feet beneath the gliding swan! Peter Backman is a leading expert on the structure and dynamics of the hospitality sector, and its supply chain in the UK and across Europe. During this interview, Peter talked about his remarkab...

When you're launching a new product or business, focus on who you want to serve, because if you try marketing to everyone you appeal to no one. In this podcast, Alan discusses the idea of the Minimum Viable Audience (MVA) and why it's so important to focus. Listen to hear more about: Why to avoid trying to go broad and selling to everyone. Instead, you should pick the people who'll love what you d...

In this podcast, Alan talks about the relationship to money of the leaders  of organisations - how that transcends both startups and large  organisations. Listen to learn more about: What big companies can learn from startups about team size. The power and curse of a start-up style "force of nature" personality in your leadership team - how to handle it, how best to use it. Understanding the conce...

What a massive adrenaline rush to build a big, recognisable brand with huge exposure. Juliet Barratt knows how that feels firsthand! She  is a brilliant and inspiring leader who has made Grenade the world's fastest-growing nutrition brand. We talked about how it’s crucial to create a strong brand identity and be mindful of your business’s culture. We also covered the key role of distribution chann...

Let’s shout about sound! I guarantee you’ll think of it in a whole new light after listening to this interview. Julian founded The Sound Agency . He’s also an author and an international speaker who has been invited to do five TED talks on aspects of sound and communication. We discussed ‘the business of sound’, his TED talks and the over 100 million views they have garnered. We also talked about...