In this episode, I am joined by Ben West, the Co-founder of 360 Athletic, one of the most exciting new entrants to the London gym scene in recent years. We talk a lot about building a personal brand as well as a corporate brand and all the challenges that go along with this - juggling unfamiliar priorities, making time-sensitive critical decisions, building a client base from scratch, being a boss for the first time and competing with larger, more established brands. Ben is a zero BS dude - he is also down to earth, open and honest. This honesty extends to his willingness to discuss his mistakes and shortcomings. But what I really love about this episode is the fact you can see how hard Ben has worked to correct these mistakes and it is in this process of self-improvement and correction that we can learn the most from Ben. We are reminded that as an entrepreneur you need to be client centric - you need to shape your brand, your product and your sales process around your target demographic. The episode is also reminder of the value that a co-founder can bring to your startup, as well as how important both patience and positivity are in any entrepreneurial journey. But the biggest takeaway for me is that as an entrepreneur, you need to focus on your own business. Of course you need to understand the market and your competitors but you need the confidence do your own thing. Or as Ben says, “stop worrying about what everyone else is doing”.