James Woodfall built and sold a wealth management business, wrote two books with Rethink Press, and now runs Raise Your EI, helping professional services firms build emotional intelligence into their leadership and client relationships.

In this episode, James and host Joe Gregory dig into:

• Why writing a book forces you to "stress test" your own thinking
• The health scare (aneurysms discovered via a full-body MRI) that led him to sell his business
• How his master's dissertation on financial advisors and emotional intelligence became his second book, The Heart of Finance
• Why he believes AI is a great thinking tool but a dangerous writing crutch
• The identity shift from "entrepreneur with a book" to "author and authority"
• Where professional services still beat AI — and where they don't

Connect with James: raiseyourei.co.uk

Chapters
00:00 — Introduction to James Woodfall
01:39 — Why he decided to write his first book
03:07 — How writing forces "thinking time" and articulation
04:58 — Realizing how much of his thinking was "borrowed"
07:00 — The real subject of Financial Planning for Entrepreneurs
11:11 — The health scare: aneurysms discovered during a preventative MRI
12:37 — Deciding to sell the business, with his wife pregnant
13:33 — The master's dissertation that became The Heart of Finance
16:45 — Co-authoring with Dr. Cliff Lansley
17:40 — How the book changed his speaking opportunities
18:49 — The "author identity threshold" conversation
21:35 — Why self-published books without an editor miss the mark
23:23 — On using AI to write books: "You're only cheating yourself"
25:16 — Why emotional intelligence matters more as AI commoditizes knowledge work
29:36 — What his current business, Raise Your EI, actually does day to day
33:22 — How the book functions as a business development tool
34:26 — Expanding beyond financial planning into new sectors
36:36 — The meaning behind The Heart of Finance title and cover
37:51 — Where to find James and get the book

Robin Waite has published seven books, sold tens of thousands of copies, and built an entire coaching business — Fearless Business — off the back of his writing. In this episode of Book the Business, Joe Gregory sits down with Robin to unpack two decades of entrepreneurship, three very different books, and the counter-intuitive strategy that's driven his growth: giving books away instead of trying to sell them.

Robin opens up about the mental breakdown that led him to shut down his marketing agency, how a chance conversation turned into his bestselling parable "Take Your Shot," and the wild chain of events that connected him to Ali Abdaal — resulting in 3,000 free books, roughly 50 new coaching clients, and around £300K in revenue from a single podcast appearance. He also shares how he's rebuilt his latest book, "Fearless Pricing," as a fully interactive digital experience using AI tools like Lovable, inspired by a beta-reading system used by Steven Bartlett.Whether you're an author, a coach, or a service-based entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with practical, tested tactics for using a book as a client-generation engine — not just a vanity project.

What You'll Learn

• Why Robin closed his 100-client marketing agency after a personal breakdown — and how that decision led to writing his first book
• The real difference between working with a hybrid publisher and self-publishing (and why Robin doesn't regret either)
• Why Robin deliberately gives away far more books than he sells, and how that strategy fuels client acquisition
• The economics of book size, print cost, and postage — and why his second book was intentionally shorter than his first
• How a single mention from Ali Abdaal turned into 3,000 gifted books, ~50 new clients, and roughly £300K in revenue
• Why Robin hand-signs and personally posts every book he gifts — and the philosophy behind "gifting energy"
• How he turned his old book content into a YouTube series, and why he assumes most people who request a free book will never read it
• How AI tools like Lovable let him rebuild "Fearless Pricing" as an interactive, trackable digital reading experience
• Robin's current coaching focus: helping service-based business owners charge more by serving fewer, higher-value clients

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to Robin Waite and Book the Business
01:01 – Robin's first book, "The Online Business Startup" (2014/15)
01:39 – Why Robin wrote a book in the first place (Daniel Priestley's influence)
02:32 – Robin's business journey: agency life to coaching
04:22 – The moment that turned one chapter idea into a full book
05:25 – 2016: the breakdown that led Robin to close his agency
06:34 – The book's slow-burn success: 2.5 years as a #1 bestseller
07:56 – Officially becoming a coach and launching Fearless Business
08:10 – Planning "Take Your Shot" as a business parable
09:34 – Why Robin chose to tell it as a story, not a how-to
10:00 – The real story of Russ, Robin's first paid coaching client
12:16 – How many books Robin has actually published (six or seven)
13:03 – Hybrid publishing vs. self-publishing: what each taught him
14:00 – The book-gifting strategy: capturing leads instead of chasing sales
14:30 – Why book length and print cost shaped his second book
15:13 – Gifting books to over 120 countries
15:53 – Why giving books away drives more sales than selling them
17:22 – Audiobooks outselling Kindle and paperback combined
18:30 – Repurposing book content into a YouTube series
19:22 – Assuming readers won't actually read the book — and planning around it
19:52 – Personally hand-signing and posting every gifted book
20:37 – The "gifting energy" philosophy behind giving away his best work
21:40 – Physical books vs. PDFs — and why he avoided digital for years
22:23 – Building an interactive digital version of "Fearless Pricing"
22:44 – Using Lovable (AI tool) to turn a static PDF into an experience
23:00 – Inspired by Steven Bartlett's beta-reader system with eye tracking
24:17 – The "experience" philosophy, from Zoom backgrounds to book formats
25:02 – "Fearless Pricing" launch details and formats
25:20 – Robin's "pinch me" moments as an author
25:48 – The Unfair Advantage Mastermind and meeting Ali Abdaal
27:36 – The Ali Abdaal podcast appearance: 3,000 books, ~50 clients, ~£300K
28:50 – Books as both a door in and a key that opens doors
30:01 – Who Robin works with today and his core coaching philosophy
31:07 – Where to get "Take Your Shot" and "Fearless Pricing"

Joe's guest today is Dominic Colenso — a former Hollywood actor and RADA teacher who now helps leaders and sales teams cut through the noise and perform when it matters most. He's the bestselling author of Impact (Rethink Press, 2019) and his latest book, Cut Through — currently shortlisted for Business Book of the Year.

In this episode they cover: why Dominic wrote his first book, the "six ingredients of Impact" methodology, adapting his acting skills for the camera during lockdown, the real ROI of becoming an author, why AI can't replace lived experience in writing, his "pinch me" author moments, and the wild story of playing Virgil Tracy in the Hollywood Thunderbirds movie — including the lost sequel deal and getting fired from an X Factor drama by Simon Cowell himself.

Connect with Dominic: dominiccolenso.com | YouTube | LinkedIn
Books: Impact (2019) & Cut Through (2025)

What You'll Learn

• Why visibility — not sales — was Dominic's real reason for writing his first book
• How writing *Impact* forced him to codify his "six ingredients" methodology
• How he adapted his acting/on-camera skills into a virtual training business during lockdown
• The actual business ROI of becoming a published author (bigger clients, higher fees, easier trust)
• Why he believes AI can draft words but can't replicate the authority of lived experience
• How he uses physical copies of his books as a sales and speaking tool
• His "pinch me" moments as an author, including a Business Book of the Year shortlisting
• The story of playing Virgil Tracy in Hollywood's "Thunderbirds" — and why the $1M sequel deal fell apart
• How he got fired from an X Factor drama by Simon Cowell, and what happened right after
• How "Impact" and "Cut Through" work together as a two-book system for communication and pitching

Chapters
00:00 Cold open — spaceship, $1M, fired by Simon Cowell
00:51 Meet Dominic Colenso
01:12 Why he wrote his first book: visibility
02:41 The surprise: writing forced him to codify his "six ingredients of Impact"
04:41 Adapting acting skills for the camera / lockdown pivot to virtual training
07:24 The real business ROI of being a published author
09:28 Why AI can't replace the "identity shift" of writing your own book
12:59 How he deploys his books to land speaking gigs
14:49 Books as gifts — using signed copies to build authority
17:04 "Pinch me" moments: Business Book of the Year shortlist, seeing Cut Through face-out in Waterstones
18:39 Being recognized by readers
20:20 The spaceship: playing Virgil Tracy in Hollywood's Thunderbirds
21:35 Losing the million-dollar sequel deal
22:50 Why Thunderbirds flopped (release date moved into Spider-Man 2 / Shrek 2)
24:38 Fired by Simon Cowell from an X Factor drama
27:32 Fame vs. being a recognized author
29:02 How Impact and Cut Through fit together
32:24 Where to find Dominic (website, LinkedIn, YouTube)
33:11 Outro

James Church built a £250M fundraising track record, wrote the Amazon bestseller The Investable Entrepreneur, and used it to become the go-to authority for founders raising early-stage capital. Then his business partnership fell apart at the end of 2025 — and the book he wrote seven years earlier became his insurance policy, helping him rebuild in months instead of years.

In this episode of Book the Business, James joins host Joe Gregory to break down:
• Why he wrote the book and how he structured six months of late-night writing around a newborn
• The moment he found a pirated copy of his own book on Amazon
• Why giving your book away beats trying to sell it
• The LinkedIn outreach system (Rythm.uk) generating 30–40% reply rates from book gifting
• How a book became a "personal brand insurance policy" when his business failed
• Why the fundamentals of fundraising haven't changed since 2019, despite AI

Chapters
00:00 Intro — who is James Church
01:01 Why James decided to write a book
02:09 The writing journey: discipline, structure, late nights
04:12 Robot Mascot — pivoting from branding to fundraising
06:19 The book as a "flag in the ground" for authority
07:26 Landing premium clients (royal family office example)
09:05 Why the fundamentals haven't changed since 2019
10:14 The pirated copy of his own book
11:42 Turning the book into a personal-brand campaign
12:22 Pre-launch buzz, speaking gigs, and giving the book away
14:27 The real ROI isn't royalties — it's the business it generates
16:19 Two versions of the book, business failure, and the "insurance policy"
18:19 Rebuilding in 7 months what took 5 years the first time
19:00 People buy from people, not logos
21:00 Daniel Priestley's "Faceless" report & Key Person of Influence
22:22 The book as a key that opens doors
24:29 The "business development manager that never sleeps"
25:04 Why a physical book beats a PDF lead magnet
26:00 Giving away knowledge in the AI era
28:09 Rythm.uk — systemizing the outreach
29:00 30–40% LinkedIn reply rates from book gifting
30:43 Why the results are so consistent
31:22 Why gifting disarms cold-outreach fatigue
32:30 Advice to authors: give it away, don't sell it
33:19 Why traditional publishing contracts block this strategy
34:09 Giving books away actually increases sales
36:10 Shout-out to fellow author David Horn
36:30 Final advice for anyone considering writing a book
37:24 Where to find James and get a free copy

Georgie Dickins is a C-suite coach, confidant, and author who works behind the scenes with Fortune 50 executives and founder-CEOs building multi-billion-dollar companies. Her book, Stratospheric CEOs (Rethink Press, 2024), distills the lessons of seven elite founder-CEOs into one collection of hard-won wisdom.

In this episode of Book the Business, Georgie tells Joe Gregory:
- Why she left 20 years in corporate banking to become a C-suite advisor
- How a single conversation with a founder became the spark for her book
- Why ghostwriters and AI clip-generators couldn't capture the nuance she needed
- The leadership aphorisms she's collected from stratospheric CEOs: "raise the bar, widen the gap," "if it ain't broke, break it," and "two ears, one mouth"
- Why storytelling — not strategy — might be the #1 skill of top leaders today
- How her book became a "living, breathing CV" that opened doors she never had to ask for
- The launch of her upcoming Stratospheric Leadership Institute

🔗 Find Georgie: georgiedickins.com
🎧 Listen to Stratospheric Leaders on Spotify & Apple Podcasts
📖 Georgie's book: Stratospheric CEOs (Rethink Press)

Chapters
00:00 Intro: Meet Georgie Dickins
00:48 Why she wrote Stratospheric CEOs
02:46 Leaving 20 years of corporate banking
04:34 Choosing the niche: founder-CEOs in fintech
06:01 The "pinch me moment" that got Lance Iglor on board
07:24 The mission: democratizing CEO-level wisdom
09:42 Why "stratospheric," not just "successful"
11:07 Why ghostwriters (and AI) couldn't write the book for her
12:43 Writing 50% of the book on a rainy family holiday
13:39 What actually drives billionaires who "have it all"
16:15 "Raise the bar, widen the gap" — Lance's leadership motto
16:52 "If it ain't broke, break it" — Henry Fernandez's philosophy
18:09 Curating bespoke leadership books (Raise the Bar)
21:08 The 2024 NYC book launch with 120 global leaders
23:14 The book as a "living, breathing CV"
24:09 Writing before AI was on anyone's radar
25:37 More nuggets: "wombats," "common sense isn't common practice"
26:47 Why execution — not ideas — separates top CEOs
27:23 "Two ears, one mouth": the listening discipline of top leaders
29:24 Why storytelling is the #1 leadership skill
32:05 Where AI can't go: real stories, real trust
33:25 Appropriate vulnerability vs. oversharing
35:01 Inside the coaching room: advisory + coaching hybrid
39:18 Convening CEO circles and Women in Leadership events
42:00 Shout-out: her son Arthur's Rugby Legends Podcast
44:37 Where to find Georgie and Stratospheric Leaders

40% of first-time CEOs fail within their first 18 months. David Roche has spent 30+ years around books, boardrooms, and businesses — as CEO of Borders and Books Etc., product director at Waterstones and HMV, and group sales & marketing director at Harper Collins. Today he's an executive coach and mentor at Grey Area Coaching, and the author of Become a Successful First-Time CEO (Rethink Press, 2024).

In this episode of Book the Business, David joins Joe Gregory to unpack why he wrote the book, how one word in the title ("Be" vs. "Become") completely changed its impact, and why he believes leadership is ultimately about relationships — not frameworks. David also breaks down how the book has tripled his coaching business, why he refuses to charge by the hour, and what actually causes new CEOs to fail once they land the job.

Whether you're a first-time CEO, an executive coach, or an expert thinking about writing a book to build authority in your field, this conversation is full of practical, honest insight.

🔗 David's coaching/mentoring: greyareacoaching.co.uk
📖 David's book: Become a Successful First-Time CEO (Rethink Press) — available on Amazon

What You'll Learn
Why "being a generalist" is actually a specialist skill once you reach senior leadership
The difference between coaching and mentoring — and how to know which one someone actually needs
A simple technique for helping someone unstick their own problem (the "anecdote trick")
Why David built his entire book around stories instead of frameworks or advice
How changing a single word in the book's title transformed its impact
The real reason most new CEOs struggle — and it's not what the board prepares them for
Why David refuses to price his coaching by the hour, and what he charges for instead
How a book can pre-qualify and pre-sell clients before you ever speak to them
What it actually costs a company when a CEO fails — and why coaching should be a given, not a luxuryChapters
00:00 Intro & David Roche's background
01:01 Why "generalist" is a specialist skill (the conductor analogy)
04:13 What Grey Area Coaching actually does
06:15 The "anecdote trick" for stuck CEOs
08:16 Why the book needed to exist
09:28 Wanting 3-4 high-value clients, not scale
10:44 Why David avoided the typical business-book format
12:42 Seeing the whole picture as a leader
13:18 The best leaders are the best storytellers
16:11 Why legacy matters more later in a career
18:28 How the book changed David's client pipeline
19:55 The one-word title change that unlocked everything
21:01 The four levels of a book's promise
21:29 Why new CEOs actually fail (it's not the 100-day plan)
22:23 The book as a client filter (plus a readiness quiz)
24:03 Why David never prices by the hour
25:31 How David structures a 6-month engagement
26:51 The real cost of a failed CEO hire
27:55 How much the book has grown David's business
29:17 What David learns from his clients
30:04 David's #1 tip for aspiring author-experts
32:06 The Jimmy Greaves story: "I can't write a book"
33:57 Experts don't need to be great writers
34:24 Where to find David + free book offer
35:19 Closing story: coaching vs. mentoring, free-diving edition

Can one book really open doors to Cartier, Forbes, and a sold-out ballroom in Egypt? Andy Fieldhouse says yes — and he's got the story to prove it.

In this episode of Book The Business, host Joe Gregory sits down with Andy Fieldhouse, a team relationship coach who's spent 30+ years working with teams across the UK and Middle East. Andy is an ORSC-certified ICF coach whose first book, Getting Teamwork Right, hit #1 on Amazon in 2020 — the same year he launched his coaching business, right into the teeth of COVID.

Andy pulls back the curtain on exactly how he used his book as a business asset from day one: turning it into a feature slot at the Emirates Literature Festival, a TV interview, paid keynotes for brands like Papa John's and a pharmaceutical company in Egypt, and a sales cycle shortcut he calls "weighted touchpoints." He also shares the moment a stranger's phone call — inspired by one of his live exercises — reminded him why he does this work at all.

Whether you're an author, coach, consultant, or founder thinking about writing a book to build your business, this episode is a masterclass in turning a manuscript into momentum.

What You'll Learn:

Why Andy wrote his book as a "manifesto" rather than a how-to manual — and how that decision shaped its impact
How to turn "I wrote a book" into real opportunities: literary festivals, TV spots, and paid keynotes
The "12 touchpoints" rule — and how a book can compress months of trust-building into one phone call
How to get published in outlets like Forbes simply by identifying as an author
Why status and credibility matter even more when you're building authority from scratch
The "Third Entity" exercise Andy uses on stage — and the phone call it inspired
Why Andy sees this work as a calling, not a job — and what that means for staying the course when times are tough
The one thing every new author should film before it's too late

Connect with Andy Fieldhouse:
Website: theteamspace.com
LinkedIn: Search "Andy Fieldhouse"
Book: Getting Teamwork Right — available on Amazon

#BookTheBusiness #AuthorMarketing #TeamCoaching #PersonalBranding #WriteABook

Timestamps:
0:00 Intro – Meet Andy Fieldhouse, Team Relationship Coach
1:06 Why Andy Wrote His Book (and Who It's Really For)
2:30 Inside Andy's Work: Coaching the Team, Not the Individual
4:11 The Clients: From Dulsco to Cartier to a 200,000-Employee Brand
7:04 Manifesto vs. Method: How the Book Fits His Coaching Work
9:47 Life Before the Book — and Surviving COVID as a Brand-New Business
11:59 The Book Strategy: Amazon #1, a Literary Festival & Almost a Prison Talk
14:02 Turning "Author" into Paid Keynotes (Egypt, Papa John's & More)
16:03 The Book as Identity: Reciprocity, LinkedIn & Persona
17:20 "Instant Authority" — Becoming an Expert Overnight
18:14 Standing Out in an Unregulated Coaching Market
20:20 The 12-Touchpoints Rule: How a Book Shortens the Sales Cycle
22:13 Getting Published in Forbes (and Why It's Easier Than You'd Think)
22:48 You Have to Claim the Identity — Being an Author Isn't Enough
23:34 The "Third Entity" Exercise That Changed a Man's Life
25:42 "I Made a Phone Call I Should Have Made 20 Years Ago"
26:21 Why Andy Calls This Work a Calling, Not a Job
28:11 The Iconic Unboxing Photo & the #1 Tip for New Authors
29:18 Where to Find Andy Fieldhouse & Get the Book
29:57 Outro