Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share E5 Stop being the bottleneck with Richard Hubble
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
E5 Stop being the bottleneck with Richard Hubble
Episode Summary
In this episode, Granger Forson sits down with Richard Hubble, who has spent nine years building a successful digital marketing franchise in Gloucestershire. Richard shares his transition from an international corporate sales career to supporting startups and small businesses that lack in-house marketing teams. They discuss the benefits of the franchise model, the power of local support, and a significant coaching segment on overcoming the "business owner bottleneck".
Key Takeaways
• The Franchise Advantage: Richard bought into a franchise to reduce risk and ensure he wouldn't become a bottleneck to growth. This has allowed him to scale to over 350 clients and six staff members.
• Local Support Matters: Despite being a digital business, Richard highlights that "local support" is the primary reason customers choose his agency.
• Lead Generation Mix: Networking drives 60% of new business, while client referrals account for another 20%. Richard also maintains a physical office on a main road to raise local profile and accessibility.
• Service Evolution: By adding social media marketing, PPC, and SEO to his core website services, Richard increased both revenue and client loyalty.
• A Healthy Skepticism of AI: Richard remains an "AI cynic," prioritizing original human content and authentic voice for his clients to ensure they rank better on Google and maintain individuality.
The "Hurdle": Resolving the Owner Bottleneck
Richard admits that he is often the bottleneck in his business, with staff frequently coming to him for answers that are "up in his head".
The Discussion:
• The Trap of the "Oracle": Richard realises he often provides quick answers because it’s faster in the moment, but this prevents his young team from developing their own problem-solving skills.
• Tribal Knowledge: A team meeting revealed that a junior staff member had discovered a technical enhancement Richard wasn't even aware of. This underscored the need for better knowledge sharing.
The Proposed Experiments:
1 Written Preparation: Team members should write down their questions or "lessons learned" before the weekly meeting to provide better clarity of thought.
2 Strategic Deflection: When a staff member asks a non-critical question, Richard will experiment with "sending them off" to do their own research rather than providing the answer immediately.
3 Peer-to-Peer Learning: Encouraging staff to share their findings with the whole team so the owner is no longer the central point of failure.
Richard’s "Golden Minute"
Richard emphasises the "weekly rhythm" of team meetings as the most vital habit for his business. These meetings prevent staff from "ploughing on in their own journey" without realising the impact on other team members.
Resource Links & Contact Info
• Website: It'seeze Website Gloucestershire
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 07901 944465
View all episodes
By Granger ForsonEpisode Summary
In this episode, Granger Forson sits down with Richard Hubble, who has spent nine years building a successful digital marketing franchise in Gloucestershire. Richard shares his transition from an international corporate sales career to supporting startups and small businesses that lack in-house marketing teams. They discuss the benefits of the franchise model, the power of local support, and a significant coaching segment on overcoming the "business owner bottleneck".
Key Takeaways
• The Franchise Advantage: Richard bought into a franchise to reduce risk and ensure he wouldn't become a bottleneck to growth. This has allowed him to scale to over 350 clients and six staff members.
• Local Support Matters: Despite being a digital business, Richard highlights that "local support" is the primary reason customers choose his agency.
• Lead Generation Mix: Networking drives 60% of new business, while client referrals account for another 20%. Richard also maintains a physical office on a main road to raise local profile and accessibility.
• Service Evolution: By adding social media marketing, PPC, and SEO to his core website services, Richard increased both revenue and client loyalty.
• A Healthy Skepticism of AI: Richard remains an "AI cynic," prioritizing original human content and authentic voice for his clients to ensure they rank better on Google and maintain individuality.
The "Hurdle": Resolving the Owner Bottleneck
Richard admits that he is often the bottleneck in his business, with staff frequently coming to him for answers that are "up in his head".
The Discussion:
• The Trap of the "Oracle": Richard realises he often provides quick answers because it’s faster in the moment, but this prevents his young team from developing their own problem-solving skills.
• Tribal Knowledge: A team meeting revealed that a junior staff member had discovered a technical enhancement Richard wasn't even aware of. This underscored the need for better knowledge sharing.
The Proposed Experiments:
1 Written Preparation: Team members should write down their questions or "lessons learned" before the weekly meeting to provide better clarity of thought.
2 Strategic Deflection: When a staff member asks a non-critical question, Richard will experiment with "sending them off" to do their own research rather than providing the answer immediately.
3 Peer-to-Peer Learning: Encouraging staff to share their findings with the whole team so the owner is no longer the central point of failure.
Richard’s "Golden Minute"
Richard emphasises the "weekly rhythm" of team meetings as the most vital habit for his business. These meetings prevent staff from "ploughing on in their own journey" without realising the impact on other team members.
Resource Links & Contact Info
• Website: It'seeze Website Gloucestershire
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 07901 944465