How do you keep a town centre alive in one of the toughest retail environments in decades?

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, Simon Ellson is joined by Jacqui Rock, Chief Executive of Poole Business Improvement District (Poole BID) and one of our key strategic partners.

Jacqui shares the remarkable work happening behind the scenes to make Poole a safer, cleaner and more vibrant place to live, work and visit. From tackling retail crime and antisocial behaviour to supporting local businesses, securing investment and creating events that bring thousands of people into the town, this is a fascinating insight into the work most people never see.

The conversation explores the challenges facing Britain’s high streets, why collaboration is more important than ever, and how strong local leadership can make a real difference to businesses and communities alike.

Whether you’re a business owner, retailer, local authority leader or simply passionate about the future of our town centres, this episode offers practical insights into what it takes to build thriving local economies.

In this episode:

• What a Business Improvement District actually does
• Supporting over 500 businesses across Poole
• Tackling retail crime and improving public safety
• Growing footfall through events and community initiatives
• The future of Britain’s high streets
• Why collaboration beats competition
• Practical advice for anyone starting a business today

A huge thank you to Jacqui Rock and the team at Poole BID, one of our valued strategic partners, for the incredible work they continue to do in supporting businesses and strengthening the local community.  

From the farm to the Britain’s Got Talent stage, Ben Chick is redefining what it means to be a modern farmer.

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, Simon Ellson sits down with third generation Dorset farmer, entrepreneur and Britain’s Got Talent winner Ben Chick to explore the realities of farming today, the challenges facing British agriculture, and why diversification is no longer optional.

Ben shares the remarkable story behind The Farmers Choir, their Golden Buzzer moment, and how their success is helping raise awareness of mental health in rural communities. He also talks openly about overcoming chronic fatigue, finding purpose through adversity, and why health really is wealth.

The conversation also explores Ben’s ambitious new venture, Chalk & Padel – an innovative destination combining indoor padel courts, speciality coffee and wellness facilities on the family farm. It’s a fascinating insight into how traditional businesses can evolve for the future.

Whether you’re a business owner, entrepreneur, sports fan or simply interested in the future of British farming, this is an inspiring conversation about resilience, community and building something that matters.

In this episode:

• The truth about modern British farming
• Winning Britain’s Got Talent with The Farmers Choir
• Mental health in agriculture
• Recovering from chronic fatigue and burnout
• Why diversification is essential for family farms
• The vision behind Chalk & Padel
• Leadership, resilience and building a life with purpose

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Dorset Business Matters, leave a review and share it with someone who’ll find Ben’s story inspiring.  

Spotify Episode Description

What does it take to build a successful digital agency from a bedroom business selling cufflinks at the age of 13?

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, Simon Ellson sits down with Luke Fribbens, Founder and CEO of Cold Banana, to explore an entrepreneurial journey driven by curiosity, technology and a willingness to take calculated risks.

Luke shares how an overnight decision led to the launch of Cold Banana, why specialising in a niche has helped the business thrive, and how building genuine relationships has always mattered more than traditional selling. The conversation also explores the realities of scaling a business, managing cash flow, recruiting specialist talent, expanding into Dubai and leading teams across different cultures.

Simon and Luke dive deep into artificial intelligence, discussing whether AI is an opportunity or a threat, what it means for the next generation of developers, and why the UK’s education system may need to evolve faster than ever before.

If you’re a business owner, entrepreneur or simply fascinated by technology and the future of work, this is a conversation packed with practical insight and honest experience.

In this episode, you’ll discover:
• Why niching down can create a powerful competitive advantage.• The lessons learned from starting a business overnight.• How partnerships can become your most valuable sales channel.• The challenges of hiring skilled developers in the UK.• Why Dubai became the perfect location for international expansion.• How AI is transforming software development and business.• Why cash flow remains one of the biggest challenges for growing companies.• Advice for anyone thinking about starting their own business.

A fascinating conversation about entrepreneurship, technology, leadership and preparing for a rapidly changing world.  

Josh Williams didn't get the stockbroking job. He stacked shelves at Asda instead. Today, he runs Bizpedia — a premium business networking community with 165 members across 11 towns and cities, targeting the £500k to £1 billion entrepreneur. That's not a bad pivot.

In this episode, Josh sits down with Coach Simon in Poundbury and gets into far more than networking strategy. We cover the mindset shift that genuinely changed the course of his life, why 67% of people are unhappy at work and what that tells us about business culture, and the Disney analogy that explains exactly how Bizpedia plans to scale from 11 groups to 44 across the spine of England.

Josh talks about business as a sport, gratitude as a daily practice — not a poster on the wall — and why clarity of goals is the thing he'd go back and fix if he could do it all again.

We also get into IKIGAI, grow-scale-exit, the trap of working in your business rather than on it, and what Josh would tell George around the corner who's just about to start his first business.

This one's more psychological than you'd expect from a networking founder. That's what makes it worth your time.

🎙 Dorset Business Matters — Spotify | 📖 Head Down Balls Up · Who the Hell Are You Anyway? · The Messy Middle — all on Amazon

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Caring for Dorset: The Social Care Crisis, Workforce Challenges and the AI Revolution with Anna Knight

Social care touches all of our lives, yet it remains one of the least understood sectors in the UK.

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, I sit down with Anna Knight, Chief Executive of the Dorset Care Association, to explore the realities of social care, the challenges facing care providers, and why the sector deserves far greater recognition and support.  

Anna shares her personal journey into care, influenced by growing up alongside a brother with Down syndrome, and explains how Dorset’s ageing population is creating increasing pressure on care homes, domiciliary care providers, hospitals and local authorities. We discuss workforce shortages, immigration policy, funding challenges, the role of Gen Z in the future workforce, and why social care is effectively the UK’s fourth emergency service.  

We also take a fascinating look at how artificial intelligence is set to transform care, not by replacing people, but by giving carers more time to care, improving safety, reducing paperwork and helping providers deliver better outcomes for those who need support.  

Whether you’re a business owner, healthcare professional, policymaker, family carer or simply interested in the future of Dorset, this is a thought-provoking conversation about one of the biggest challenges facing our society.

In this episode:

• Why social care is under pressure across Dorset and the UK• The reality of funding care services• Workforce shortages and recruitment challenges• The impact of immigration policy on the care sector• Why Gen Z needs more support entering the workplace• How AI could revolutionise care delivery• Lessons in leadership, mentoring and building careers with purpose• What government needs to do differently to support care providers

A powerful conversation about people, purpose, innovation and the future of care.

About Dorset Business Matters

Dorset Business Matters brings you conversations with the people shaping business, community and innovation across Dorset and beyond. Hosted by Simon Ellson, each episode explores real stories, practical insights and the challenges facing leaders today.

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In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, Simon sits down with Lorraine Barber, founder of Wincombe Payrolls in Poole.

Lorraine shares her journey from a controlled upbringing and failed RAF ambitions, through corporate finance roles, redundancy, motherhood and burnout, to eventually building her own successful payroll business from scratch.

This is a conversation about resilience, taking back control, and why it’s never too late to start again.

We discuss:
• Why payroll became her passion• The reality of rebuilding a career after having children• Corporate burnout and lack of support• The mindset shift from employee to business owner• Freedom, flexibility and family priorities• Why saying “yes” to opportunities matters• The future of work, apprenticeships and AI• Building a business as an exit strategy and pension plan

Honest, practical and refreshingly real, Lorraine’s story will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned whether they’re capable of more.

A brilliant episode for business owners, parents, career changers and anyone thinking about taking the leap into self-employment.

What does a modern Chamber of Commerce really look like?

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, Simon Ellson sits down with Ian Girling, CEO of Dorset Chamber, for a candid conversation about business, leadership, resilience and why community matters more than ever.

Ian shares his journey from delivering coal up Gold Hill in Shaftesbury to leading one of Dorset’s most influential business organisations. Along the way, they explore how Dorset Chamber has evolved from a traditional networking body into a modern, commercially driven organisation supporting business growth, international trade, skills development, wellbeing and lobbying government on behalf of Dorset businesses.

The conversation covers:
• Why business networking still matters in a digital world• The realities of running a membership organisation without government funding• Mental health, burnout and leadership during COVID• The changing role of women in business leadership• Why chambers must stay modern, engaging and commercially relevant• Supporting startups, scale-ups and established businesses alike• The importance of education, skills and future workforce planning• Ian’s terrifying parachute jump story for charity• What business owners can learn about resilience, instinct and leadership

This is an honest, insightful and surprisingly personal conversation about business with purpose, leadership under pressure and creating meaningful impact in your community.

If you run a business in Dorset, or anywhere for that matter, there’s plenty in here worth listening to.

What if the advice you keep giving people is the reason nothing is changing?

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, I sit down with Sam Stone, founder of Life Coaching with Sam, for her very first podcast appearance. Sam spent 11 years in the NHS, children's social care, pupil referral units and schools — giving advice for a living. Then she discovered coaching, handed in her notice, and within a week was running her own business.

It's a brilliantly honest conversation about what it actually takes to back yourself when the salary stops.

What you'll take away:

• Why counselling looks backwards and coaching looks forwards — and why that distinction matters for anyone who feels stuck
• The difference between giving advice and asking the right question (and why the "advice monster" is sabotaging your team and your kids)
• How reflection and awareness are the two most under-used skills in business and in life
• Why confidence doesn't arrive first — opportunities do, and confidence follows
• How Sam built her entire client base through Instagram from her kitchen table, with nothing more than a laptop and Zoom
• The "what if it does work?" reframe that gets new business owners off the fence
• Why group coaching, school-age coaching and coaching in job centres could change the country
• And the line every business owner needs on a Post-it: your business should fund your life, not consume it

Whether you're running a £10m business or thinking about leaving a salary to start your own, Sam's story is a reminder that the person most likely to hold you back is the one in the mirror — and that a good coach, in sport or in life, is the fastest way to get out of your own way.

Listen, share it with someone who's stuck, and let me know what lands.

Follow Dorset Business Matters for weekly conversations with the people shaping business in the South West.

Find Sam: lifecoachingwithsam.co.uk | Instagram @lifecoachingwithsamFind me: simonellson.com | westdorset.actioncoach.co.uk

If you've been telling yourself AI is "a bit like Y2K" and will quietly blow over, this episode is the wake-up call.

I sit down with Simon Kinsey, founder of Sparkstone Technology and Agent Factory, for a properly unflinching conversation about what AI actually means for SMEs right now. Simon spent 10 years as a chartered accountant before backing himself into business, has run Sparkstone for 28 years, and has kept the same senior team around him for 20 of those. He knows what resilience looks like — and he's just rebuilt a piece of software in six months that would previously have taken eight man-years.

This is not hype. This is someone who builds the stuff, selling it to people who use it every day.

What you'll take away:

• Why curiosity is the single most underrated trait in any business owner — and why it's non-negotiable now
• The honest truth about SMEs and AI: the biggest blocker isn't the tech, it's the lack of intent at the top
• What an AI "agent" actually is, broken down in plain English — a prompt, a tool, a container, and a way to repeat the job
• The real-world example of a hairdressing wholesaler pulling an extra £250k a year from WhatsApp photos of handwritten orders
• The chartered accountants saving a full person a month on VAT returns — with a build that pays for itself in 90 days
• Why "there are no easy jobs left" — and what that means for how you hire, train and promote
• The billion-dollar one-person business that Sam Altman predicted — and the founder who's already done it
• Why Claude and desktop AI tools are only "the tiniest scratch on a massive surface"
• And the line every business owner needs tattooed somewhere visible: if you're coasting, you're dying

We also get into the uncomfortable stuff — the minister for AI who doesn't use AI, 73% of employers reporting AI projects sabotaged by their own teams, and why the education system is still training people for 1952.

Simon's closing line on entrepreneurship is one of the best I've had on the podcast: "The minute you go into business, you're inherently unemployable."

Whether you're running a £10m business wondering where to start, or a one-person operation asking whether AI is worth bothering with (spoiler: day one, always), this one's for you.

Follow Dorset Business Matters for weekly conversations with the people shaping business in the South West.

Find Simon Kinsey: sparkstone.co.uk | agentfactory.co.ukFind me: simonellson.com | westdorset.actioncoach.co.uk

Most people don’t start businesses because they’re ready.

They start because something inside them says, “There’s more than this.”

In this episode of Dorset Business Matters, Simon sits down with Michelle Reade, founder of a wellness coaching practice, to unpack what it really takes to move from employed, to franchise success, to building a business of your own.

Michelle spent 17 years helping others grow their businesses through franchising, scaling teams, and developing people — before finally taking the leap herself. What followed wasn’t just a new business, but a complete shift in identity, confidence, and direction.

This is a conversation about more than business strategy.

It’s about fear, confidence, and backing yourself.

Inside this episode:

• Why franchising can be a powerful way to start a business — and where it goes wrong

• The biggest mistake service-based business owners make when they go out on their own

• Why “borrowed advice” and copying others is holding people back

• The truth about networking, confidence, and finding your tribe

• How loneliness is quietly affecting business owners and their performance

• What it really takes to move from practitioner to business owner

Michelle also shares her longer-term vision of building accessible business support for people who wouldn’t normally get it — creating community, not just clients.

If you’re starting out, feeling stuck, or trying to figure out your next move, this episode will give you a clearer direction — and probably a bit of a push.