Leeds Business Podcast Phil Fraser

This week we speak to Simon Brown, founder of fashion and lifestyle brand, Joe Browns.
Simons tells us where the inspiration for the brand came from, shares with us the business ups and the personal downs of Covid, being told that he was unemployable, the three ‘i’s the brand lives by and a great checklist for starting your own business. Rasputin and Ivan the Terrible get name checks too.
INTRODUCING SIMON BROWN
Born in Leeds and raised in Bramhope. Simon Brown founded Joe Browns in 1998, inspired by a group of friends enjoying a beer in a beach bar called The Ty Coch Inn in Morfa Nefyn, North Wales
25+years later, he’s the proud founder of Joe Browns, the Leeds based fashion and homeware brand centred around creating remarkable product. The brand is on a mission to make people feel great while injecting as much individuality and colour into as many wardrobes and homes as possible. Simon lives by the motto ‘Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride’ words you’ll see in lights in our White Rose Shopping Centre store, which opened on 2nd December 2023.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:01:00] Introducing Simon Brown and the route to Joe Browns
[00:08:00] The source and essence of Joe Browns
[00:11:20] The early days of the Joe Browns business
[00:16:00] Raising investment and a change in strategy
[00:20:00] Getting into third party catalogues and working with third parties
[00:27:00] Why expand into ‘bricks & mortar’ stores
[00:31:30] A trip to Russia…
[00:34:00] How was Covid for Joe Browns and Simon Brown
[00:39:00] Forward plan for Joe Browns
[00:42:00] How does it feel bringing in staff ‘above’ the founder?
[00:45:00] How to set up a business and what to consider
[00:50:00] The importance of being remarkable
KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
• The power of silence; first one to speak loses the deal
• Why borrow if you don’t have to borrow?
• The easy solution isn’t always the right solution
• Curiosity and creativity go hand-in-hand
• Never ever give up
• You have to understand the numbers
BEST MOMENTS
“When you stop enjoying something you have to move on
“We’re not putting you on the books, you’re unemployable”
“If we’d gone with that deal, we’d have been bankrupted
“I want my stores to be interesting, intriguing, inspiring”
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU
Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/
Website: https://www.joebrowns.co.uk/
Shout out: https://www.theheroesjourney.com/
Negotiate to Close - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Negotiate-Close-Make-Successful-Deals/dp/0002176289
Success is a choice - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Success-Choice-Make-Choices-Successful/dp/078523859X/
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’
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As mentioned by Simon;
https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/christine-yorath/
a href="https://leedsbusinesspodcast.com/podcast/jamie-peacock/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

On April 23rd 2024 I wrote a post on Linked in, titled ‘I hate Daniel Priestley’. See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/philfraser_i-hate-daniel-priestley-im-sueing-activity-7185564354442854400-nVXA/.
The post went viral! Off the back of it Daniel agreed to be a guest on the podcast.
Before you start listening to this week’s episode make sure you have a pen and paper ready. Daniel Priestly delivers a masterclass in Entrepreneurship and business ownership, with tons and tons of brilliant ideas and advice.
Note you can get Get 14 days for free and 20% off your first 3 months at ScoreApp via https://share.scoreapp.com/9aa33263.
INTRODUCING DANIEL PRIESTLEY
Daniel Priestley is the Founder of Dent Global and ScoreApp. he has founded multiple 7 & 8 figure ventures, been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year and is the author of six entrepreneurship books, including Key Person of Influence, Oversubscribed and Entrepreneur Revolution. He regularly speaks at conferences and have been a business coach to several fast growth (Inc5000) entrepreneurs and celebrities.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:03:30] Introducing Daniel Priestley
[00:05:30] The number one thing all business owners need to decide
[00:08:00] Introducing the CAOS Theory
[00:11:00] How to build an audience
[00:15:30] How to create, and the benefits of, a Wait List
[00:21:30] The CAPSTONE Pitch structure
[00:27:30] Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
[00:32:00] What is a Key Person of Influence?
[00:37:00] How to be a Key Person of Influence; using the 5 Ps
[00:41:30] Your book should be a sales person or why you should your book away as a gift
[00:45:00] What is a product eco-system? And why you should have one. Listen to live example.
[00:53:30] How to create a scorecard campaign
[00:59:30] Lifestyle businesses v performance businesses
KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
• Develop an audience then a product/offer
• Entrepreneurship is sexy from a distance but up close its rough going
• The door to success doesn’t have a handle; you have to kick the door down
• The only way to get cut-through is the founder talking about the business
• Use the 5Ps to raise your position as a Key Person of Influence
• Assessment-based selling can be used in any business
THE BEST MOMENTS
“If you gave me millions of dollars to launch a business I’d leave it on the shelf”
“People don’t want to do the stuff that’s not sexy”
“I only build stuff if thousands of people want it”
“People like people more than brands”
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU
Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/
Website: https://danielpriestley.com/
https://share.scoreapp.com/9aa33263
https://www.dent.global/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielpriestley/

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/rachel-woolford/...

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...

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...

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...