A few years ago, on a course at The London Stock Exchange, I was introduced to the concept of Employer Brand Strategies. This was something new to me, which I found especially surprising, as I have spent so much of my career developing, implementing, learning about, writing about, and talking Continue Reading
business
The Times: Rising Stars
This article originally appeared in The Times on 10/01/22 Pooch & Mutt, Kettering Pooch & Mutt was a sideline for Guy Blaskey when he first started the healthy dog food brand in 2008. He started selling supplements for dogs after successfully treating his family dog’s hip complaint using horse supplements Continue Reading
9 tips to successfully run a company remotely
A few years ago I was recruiting a member of the Pooch & Mutt sales team and had a chat with one of our advisors. I told him that we were being asked by some candidates if they could work remotely and asked if he thought it would be a Continue Reading
The future of Brand Purpose in a Purpose-washed world
According to Entrepreneur.com “80% of Purpose-led brands outperform the market” According to Deloitte Insights “Purpose-driven companies… grow three times faster on average than their competitors” According to Forbes “Consumers are 4-6x more likely to purchase, protect and champion purpose-driven companies” And therein may lie the problem… the cat is out Continue Reading
7 reasons why Dragon’s Den has had its day and needs replacing
There’s a new series of Dragon’s Den on TV, but very little has changed. Very little has changed in the 16 years that it’s been on the TV. Dragon’s Den infuriates me. It is probably the most high-profile business show on TV. It should be about encouraging and championing entrepreneurship. Continue Reading
An introduction to Behavioural Economics
About 10 to 15 years ago “everyone” was talking about Behavioral Economics. (Obviously by “everyone” I mean a select few people in marketing and business circles, but it was a big thing). Dan Ariely published “Predictably Irrational” in 2008, which was the first book I read on the subject, in Continue Reading
Does innovation win?
Innovation is often praised and discussed as something that we should be aiming for, something that is always valued, but is that really the case? Are real innovations rewarded? Let’s start by looking at some real innovators and what happened to them. Alan Turing Alan Turning basically invented the computer Continue Reading
How do brands really grow?: Seth Godin Vs Byron Sharp
I’m a huge fan of business books and have probably read more than I ever needed to, some I have loved, some… not so much. Some I liked the main idea, some I didn’t, but me liking the arguments and them being right are very very far from the same Continue Reading
Understanding cashflow part 2: How loss-making companies grow.
This is part 2 of an article on cashflow. Click here to read part 1. I had this explained to me using the example of a supermarket. Let’s say you open a supermarket and stock it with £1m worth of goods (I have no idea of the value of goods Continue Reading
Understanding cashflow part 1: How profitable companies run out of money.
Nobel-Prize-winning physicist Richard Feyneman said “if you think you understand quantum mechanics, then you don’t”. The same is probably true for most of us with cashflow. We think we understand it… ‘make sure more money comes in than goes out’… but most people, and most entrepreneurs, don’t. When someone tells Continue Reading
9 Tips to grow your business
The Guardian: Entrepreneurs who fight for success
Pooch and Mutt: becoming top dog Guy Blaskey founded supplements business Pooch and Mutt in 2008 after his own dog became ill and discovered there was little on the market to treat his pet. The business was doing well online, but Blaskey was unsatisfied with his “low volume, high margin” businesses. However Continue Reading