In today’s episode of The Enterprise Doctor Business Show, my guest was Emma Sweet, Founder of Ace Places Playing Cards, which celebrate the best bits of places worth visiting.

We started by talking about what the point is of the packs of cards – almost a travel guide to the hidden gems of a town, as well as of course being able to be used as a pack of cards, be that for poker or snap!

We went on to discuss the business model, the ten thousand packs sold in the first twelve months, the lack of logos on the cards and why some of the cards are deliberately mysterious.

But how did the business get started? And how did it reach such heights so quickly?

You can connect with Emma at https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-sweet-rg10/ and their website is at https://www.aceplaces.co.uk/ .

If you want to connect with me, to talk about the mentoring and coaching I deliver to small businesses, or if you think you'd be a good guest on the show, please do let me know. You can do that via https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ .

To contribute to (or just read) conversations about this episode, please join the podcast's Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/ .

And my website is at https://enterprisedoctor.co.uk/.

On the YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor you can hear clips of other episodes – please subscribe there!

And within your podcast app, remember to like this episode (if you like it!), leave us a great review, and please do subscribe there too, to ensure new episodes hit your app as soon as they're released.

These words and the content of the podcast are © Enterprise Doctor 2024.

On The Business Show on Marlow FM on 24th October 2024, my guests were financial advice expert Gemma Wass and marketing expert Sarah Fletcher, who joined me to talk about their work, and to discuss a range of business news stories.

I started the show with one from the Hilary playlist – Uptown Funk from Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars. Listen at https://youtu.be/OPf0YbXqDm0?si=LBBtN5w_1nbgSdy9 along with the other 5.3b views.

Sarah then spoke about her work with Mushroom Soufflé, including why that’s the company name, and the work the do with authors of non-fiction and business books to build their “cookie jar” of marketing content.

Connect with Sarah via https://www.linkedin.com/in/mushroomsouffle/ and her website is at https://mushroom-souffle.co.uk/.

Gemma then spoke about her work for Harding Financial, a firm of independent financial planners who look after private clients with everything from retirement planning to enabling their dreams, as well as helping business clients from start-up to around 300 people with a pick and mix comprising pensions, payroll benefits and more.

For more see https://hardingfinancial.co.uk/ and you can connect with Gemma at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-wass-previously-ryeland-180a3611/ .

Gemma’s music choice was Cold Heart by Elton John & Dua Lipa, because it reminds her of being in a beach bar with a cocktail and a beautiful summer vibe. Hear it at https://youtu.be/qod03PVTLqk?si=4WNY5lojqNVlmA8C.

Sarah's business news story was https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/in-togo-these-school-uniforms-are-at-the-center-of-a-movement-offering-girls-and-women-a-chance-to-build-better-lives/ - a great solution with incredible benefits for people in a very difficult environment, starting by understanding a problem and developing a business to solve that problem.

Sarah’s choice of music was Lone Digger by Caravan Palace because she loves the band and loves the clarity of each instrument. Hear it at https://youtu.be/UbQgXeY_zi4?si=lm6avFpNpGKz2U6y.

Gemma then chose https://www.independent.co.uk/business/what-could-an-increase-in-employer-national-insurance-mean-for-businesses-b2629476.html - has the Government got it right, or are there better ways to raise money from businesses?

The last song is another from the Hilary playlist – Roar by Katy Perry - hear it at https://youtu.be/0Af7ayYIJ9w?si=EfAN82ivmcAxQ6Ay.

You can connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ and join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/.

My website is at https://enterprisedoctor.co.uk/.

Clips of all episodes are at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor/ - please subscribe there, and within your podcast app!

Copyright Marlow FM Ltd 2024. Reproduced here by kind permission of Marlow FM Ltd.

On The Business Show on Marlow FM on 10th October 2024, my guests were branding expert Mark Baxter and behaviour change, energy and wellness coach Sheila Docker, who joined me to talk about their work, and to discuss a range of business news stories.

I started the show with one from the Hilary playlist – Siouxsie And The Banshees with Hong Kong Garden. Hear it at https://youtu.be/Y-l9GQJRl9Y?si=a-7grzfJbg3WTKf7 .

Sheila spoke about The Primal Zone, her coaching business. She works mainly with men and we talked about why it may be that men need / want her help, as well as how attainable their objectives are.

Connect with Sheila via https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheiladocker/ and her website is at https://www.theprimalzone.com/ .

Mark then spoke about his work running brand design consultancy Baggi. He describes the three things that make an effective brand and we talk about why the Marlow FM logo is good, but as he made clear, a brand is so much more than a logo.

For more see https://www.baggi.co.uk/ and connect with Mark at https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbaggibaxter/ .

Sheila’s music choice was Highwomen by The Highwomen, because it’s a brilliant song by a supergroup and is the female version of a song released by a male supergroup. Hear it at https://youtu.be/7D-6nklMMbM?si=hmRn9TKN_lRkHax8 .

Her business news story was https://www.fastcompany.com/91051135/what-going-to-the-gym-taught-me-about-running-a-business - the parallels were intriguing and useful to those running businesses.

We then played Mark’s music choice – The Harry J All Stars with Liquidator, which I said I didn’t know but I do – I bet you do too! Listen in to find out the link between the song, a certain football match, and the name of his business. Hear it at https://youtu.be/OTn01jjEFfY?si=v92zesSRNJ7Jjc5J.

Mark then chose https://www.creativereview.co.uk/burger-king-post-birth-ad-controversy/ - the ads have certainly got Burger King noticed, and our conversation covered a wide range, from marketing to breastfeeding and much in between!

My story was https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/2024-09-25-upcoming-changes-to-sexual-harassment-legislation-everything-hr-needs-to-know - why do so few people know about this new law, and how can it be implemented, particularly by small businesses?

The last song is another from the Hilary playlist – Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve) by Buzzcocks - hear it at https://youtu.be/0Af7ayYIJ9w?si=EfAN82ivmcAxQ6Ay.

Connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ and join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/.

Clips of all episodes are at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor/ - please subscribe there, and here!

Copyright Marlow FM Ltd 2024. Reproduced here by kind permission of Marlow FM Ltd.

In today’s episode of The Enterprise Doctor Business Show, my guest is sustainability brand ambassador Lynne Lambourne.

We spoke about the potential for greenwashing as opposed to true sustainability, how small businesses can start going about becoming sustainable, how to market the ways in which you are sustainable, and a lot more!

You can connect with Lynne at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynne-lambourne-90667b2/ and her website is at https://lynnelambourne.com/.

The link to the tool provided by the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce that I mentioned can be found at https://www.thamesvalleychamber.co.uk/sustainability/ .

If you want to connect with me, to talk about the mentoring and coaching I deliver to small businesses, or if you think you'd be a good guest on the show, please do let me know. You can do that via https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ .

To contribute to (or just read) conversations about this episode, please join the podcast's Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/ .

And my website is at https://enterprisedoctor.co.uk/.

On the YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor you can hear clips of other episodes – please subscribe there!

And within your podcast app, remember to like this episode (if you like it!), leave us a great review, and please do subscribe there too, to ensure new episodes hit your app as soon as they're released.

These words and the content of the podcast are © Enterprise Doctor 2024.

On today’s episode of The Enterprise Doctor Business Show, my guest was Rebecca Mian, Director of People Services at Benenden Health.

We spoke about the campaign launched by Benenden Health, in partnership with the Fawcett Society and Cherry Healey, which shines a light on the gender health gap in the UK in a bid to break down the barriers that lead to poorer health outcomes for women.

Identifying some of the key issues they face in the workplace, more than two thirds of women (70%) said they find it challenging dealing with periods at work, while 62% have faced challenges when pregnant. In this instance, almost half revealed that they have had difficulty when trying to conceal a pregnancy in the workplace and two thirds of women (64%) say they have struggled with the impact of the menopause at work.

You can connect with Rebecca at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-mian-644a913a/ and the Benenden Health website is at https://www.benenden.co.uk/ .

For more on the report and the associated campaign, go to https://www.benenden.co.uk/newsroom/gender-health-gap-2024/ .

If you want to connect with me, to talk about the mentoring and coaching I deliver to small businesses, or if you think you'd be a good guest on the show, please do let me know. You can do that via https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ .

To contribute to (or just read) conversations about this episode, please join the podcast's Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/ .

And my website is at https://enterprisedoctor.co.uk/.

On the YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor you can hear clips of other episodes – please subscribe there!

And within your podcast app, remember to like this episode (if you like it!), leave us a great review, and please do subscribe there too, to ensure new episodes hit your app as soon as they're released.

These words and the content of the podcast are © Enterprise Doctor 2024.

On The Business Show on Marlow FM on 15th August 2024 my guests were marketing expert Deb Mason and executive coach Amanda Bouch, who joined me to talk about their work, and to discuss a range of business news stories.

I started the show with one from the Hilary playlist – “Oblivious” from Aztec Camera. You can hear it at https://youtu.be/2B2Sc2G_5ZA?si=1fHmy9MFGLMGtC5N.

Deb then spoke about her work with Clean Linen and Workwear, including how they professionally launder products for the hospitality sector, with a range of reasons that doing it at home is not a good idea! We also talk about how they ensure they’re eco-friendly.

You can connect with Deb via https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahvmason-socialmediaconsultant/ and their website is at https://www.cleanservices.co.uk/ .

Amanda then spoke about her work running Amanda Bouch Consulting including a discussion about the scale of businesses where she delivers coaching and the pros and cons of working with larger businesses, as well as the common theme within her work.

For more see https://www.amandabouchconsulting.co.uk/ and you can connect with Amanda at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandabouch/.

Her music choice was “We didn’t start the fire” by Billy Joel, because she loves him and loves the song, and it has a great message. You can hear it at https://youtu.be/eFTLKWw542g?si=UGXiuEBinrl3wuCQ.

We stayed with Amanda for her business news story, which was https://hrzone.com/performance-management-doesnt-work-for-98-of-chros/ - what even is that, and why isn’t it working?

We then played Deb’s choice of music – “Dirty Laundry”, by Nickelback. No prizes for guessing why she chose it! You can hear it at https://youtu.be/9iUOFerRum8?si=RP_NJ-47xu_g_yIQ.

Deb then chose for us the story at https://www.marketingweek.com/why-it-works-meerkats-insurance-memorable/ - it’s known as a fluent device and has had great success, but why? And Amanda shared a very relevant and surprising part of her past with us, as part of the answer!

We then talked about my story - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgedy443ldqo - how mad to make the decision the did with no consultation or announcement, but how great to then listen to their customers and do a U-turn.

The last song is another from the Hilary playlist – Squeeze with “Cool for Cats”- you can hear it at https://youtu.be/uJ2cEc_TCH8?si=v1C0at4fTcUXkucn .

You can connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ and join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/.

My website is at https://enterprisedoctor.co.uk/.

Clips of all episodes are at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor/ - please subscribe there, and within your podcast app!

Copyright Marlow FM Ltd 2024. Reproduced here by kind permission of Marlow FM Ltd.

Welcome to today’s episode of The Enterprise Doctor Business Show, with my guest Alice Beer, consumer expert and TV presenter.

We spoke about the second annual report from Virgin Red, which looks at how consumers interact with loyalty cards (or, as I call them, lack of loyalty cards!).

Some great input for you as a consumer, but think about it from a business perspective – how can you motivate loyalty in your customers, and benefit from that?

You can follow Alice at https://www.instagram.com/thisisalicebeer/?hl=en and the Virgin Red website is at https://www.virgin.com/virgin-red/ .

If you want to connect with me, to talk about the mentoring and coaching I deliver to small businesses, or if you think you'd be a good guest on the show, please do let me know. You can do that via https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ .

To contribute to (or just read) conversations about this episode, please join the podcast's Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/ .

And my website is at https://enterprisedoctor.co.uk/.

On the YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor you can hear clips of other episodes – please subscribe there!

On The Business Show on Marlow FM on 1st August 2024, my guests were marketing expert Vicky White and travel expert Janet Lacey, who joined me to talk about their work, and to discuss a range of business news stories.

I started the show with a track from Kenny Rogers – “The Gambler”. Just a small clue as to what I’d done the previous day. You can hear it at https://youtu.be/7hx4gdlfamo?si=-i-SRTwmC0ZyxNfO.

Janet then spoke about her work with Not Just Travel, including how they turn your dreams and aspirations into an amazing trip. You can connect with Janet via https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-lacey-stelling-24034911/ and their website is at https://thelaceys.notjusttravel.com/ .

Vicky then spoke about her work running White Communications including a discussion about the importance of a marketing strategy, and whether you should rely on Chat GPT to write that for you.

For more see https://whitecommunications.co.uk/ and you can connect with Vicky at https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickyannewhite/.

Her music choice was Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves, because it’s a great song for this weather, and a regular song played for the family in the car. You can hear it at https://youtu.be/iPUmE-tne5U?si=Vn-Y92YzjXWT9Nd_.

We stayed with Vicky for her business news story, which was https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/articles/czrjz1zy3k1o - the first time the BBC Sport website has featured on The Business Show. The power of social media was clearly demonstrated by the spread of this picture, doing good for everyone involved, and the conversation spread into the benefits of posting personal items on LinkedIn.

We then played Janet’s choice of music – “Across the Universe”, by The Beatles. She chose it because it paints a picture of what she does for her clients! You can hear it at https://youtu.be/90M60PzmxEE?si=xim5yxP0VKQnmx4Q.

Janet then chose for us the story at https://ipsos-insight-llc.foleon.com/effie/ipsos-dynamic-effectiveness/breaking-taboos - is it a good marketing philosophy to shock your audience?

We then talked about Vicky’s other story - https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2024/apr/02/50-of-consumers-can-detect-ai-generated-content/ - that means 50% can’t!

The last song is another clue as to what I’d done the day before the show – Lady Gaga with “Poker Face”- you can hear it at https://youtu.be/bESGLojNYSo?si=s7izXgsTaomAJod5 .

You can connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/enterprisedoctor/ and join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/enterprisedoctorbusinessshow/.

My website is at https://enterprisedoctor.co.uk/.

Clips of all episodes are at https://www.youtube.com/user/EnterpriseDoctor/ - please subscribe there, and within your podcast app!

Copyright Marlow FM Ltd 2024. Reproduced here by kind permission of Marlow FM Ltd.