Focus on the Fun Stuff

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Neil Walton is the founder and Managing Director behind The HMO Guys, Manchester's fastest-growing independent co-living specialist.

From a back bedroom to a Salford HQ employing nine people, Neil has built a team that now manages around 850 rooms across 150 properties throughout Greater Manchester and Cheshire. His approach is refreshingly simple: property management should be straightforward, responsive, and genuinely useful. Landlords and tenants both seem to agree.

In this episode, Neil sits down with Emma to unpack the journey — and it wasn't a straight line. He got sacked from his first three jobs in a single year. He walked away from a 15-year recruitment career with zero property experience. And seven years later, he deliberately left his business for seven weeks — not for a holiday, but to find out where the gaps really were.

Emma and Neil explore the hiring philosophy behind an 850-unit portfolio run by just nine people, why Neil believes training and mistakes cost about the same, what stepping back reveals about your leadership, and the counterintuitive link between payment terms and customer respect.

Outside of work you'll find Neil planning his next trip somewhere sunnier than Salford and backing his team to keep raising the bar.

🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations with founders and business owners who've built something that supports their life — not consumes it.

🌐 Work with Mi-PA: https://mi-pa.co.uk 

📲 Follow Emma on Instagram: https://instagram.com/emmamills_ 🎧

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Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

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Most business owners know they need help.

But the real challenge isn’t finding a virtual assistant it’s learning how to let go.

In this episode, Emma Mills explores why delegation feels so uncomfortable, the psychological reasons we hold onto tasks for too long, and the first things you should actually hand over if you want more time, focus, and freedom.

From inbox overwhelm to the “delegation dip”, this is a practical and honest conversation about building a business that doesn’t rely on you for everything.

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Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

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Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

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Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

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What does it take to walk away from a six-figure salary, sell your house, and buy a one-way ticket to Dubai?

For Freddie Pullen, the answer was a head-on car crash. On May 12, 2022, Freddie and his wife Antonia flipped their car and landed upside down in a ditch. They walked away physically intact but everything else shifted. Within two months, both had quit their corporate jobs. Within weeks, they were on a plane. Within six months, Freddie had launched The Healthy Entrepreneur podcast from a Dubai apartment with a £30 lapel mic and it hit number one in nine countries on its first day.

In this episode, Emma sits down with Freddie to unpack what it actually looks and feels like to rebuild from zero and the surprisingly practical strategies behind his rapid rise.

From LinkedIn to podcast guesting, newsletters to authentic content, Freddie breaks down exactly how he's built a business that funds the life he wants to live, not the other way around.

What you'll take away:

• Why being a podcast guest before launching your own show is the smarter, faster growth move
• The "Bistro Table" concept and how to build genuine digital connection without oversharing
• How Freddie grows his newsletter by 500+ organic subscribers every single month
• The LinkedIn strategy that cuts through AI-generated noise with pure authenticity
• Why AI might be one of the biggest distractions facing business owners right now — and what to focus on instead
• The mindset shift that turns near-tragedy into the most powerful entrepreneurial fuel there is

This one hits differently. Give it a listen.

Support the show

Support The Show

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Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

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Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

Send us Fan Mail

What would it mean to protect your mornings completely?

In this episode, Emma Mills shares the real story of a business owner who was checking his emails at 10pm every night. His doctor had told him to stop. And yet he couldn't  because he genuinely believed there was no one else who could do it.

Emma unpacks the myth that doing everything yourself is quicker, faster, or better and why believing it is costing business owners far more than lost productivity. It's costing their sleep, their health, and their ability to show up at their best during the hours that matter most.

What you'll take away:

• Why the "I'll just do it myself" mindset is holding your business back
• How to recognise the real cost of staying in your own inbox
• The 80% mindset shift that makes delegation feel safe
• Permission to protect your morning as your most valuable business asset

If you've ever caught yourself working late just to keep up — this one's for you.

Support the show

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Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

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Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

Send us Fan Mail

What would you do if you found out you were £24,000 in debt — and on track to spend the next 7 years digging yourself out?

That's the reality Sammy Elard King faced at 25, sitting on a beach in Vietnam. One conversation with a friend forced him to do the maths and the numbers were devastating. He had minus £24,000 to his name and no real plan to change it. 18 months later, the debt was gone.

In this episode of Focus on Fun Stuff, Emma Mills sits down with Sammy founder of Up the Gains and the Gains FinTech app to unpack exactly how he did it, why the financial education system has failed most of us, and what you can do right now to start rewriting your financial story.

What you'll take away:

• Why your spending habits might be working against you without you realising
• The side hustle approach that clears debt faster than your salary ever will
• How to invest simply without becoming obsessed with trading charts
• The mindset shift that turns financial overwhelm into a clear, actionable plan
• Why building a true community (not just followers) is your biggest business asset
• How Sammy raised £285,000 and put 15,000 people on a waitlist before his app even launched

This is the financial education your school never gave you honest, practical, and completely jargon-free.

If you've ever felt like money is a system you weren't taught to play this one's for you.

Support the show

Support The Show

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Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

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Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

Send us Fan Mail

Someone sent Emma Mills a DM that stopped her in her tracks: "I hate email with a passion. How do I get rid of it so I never see another email again?"

This solo episode is the full, honest answer.

Emma — founder of Mi-PA and someone who spent an entire week in Milan training for a marathon without once opening her inbox — shares the exact mindset shifts and practical system that means email no longer runs her day. She covers the four shifts every business owner needs to make, why AI tools only scratch the surface, and the simple three-folder structure that lets her assistant handle everything so Emma only ever sees what genuinely needs her attention.

She also shares the story of a business owner leading a team of 80 — who was still personally managing 5,000 unread emails. The problem isn't the inbox. It's the belief that you need to be in it.

What you'll take away:

• Why 95% of your inbox is someone else's agenda — and how to stop letting it dictate your day
• The 4 mindset shifts that will transform your relationship with email
• Why AI is a small improvement, not the solution
• The three-folder system Emma's assistant uses to manage her inbox entirely
• How to run a business (and a marathon) without looking at your emails
• What to do if you don't have an assistant yet — and why it's the highest-leverage hire you'll make

Support the show

Support The Show

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Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

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Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

Send us Fan Mail

From a one-woman operation to a 7 Figure business 18 years of building, breaking, and rebuilding Mi-PA. What does it actually take to scale a business past £1 million and stay sane on the other side?

In this episode, Emma sits down with her business coach Mike Jones for one of the most candid conversations she's ever had on camera. No filters. No polished narrative. Just the real story. Emma walks through the full 18 year journey of Mi-PA from dropping out of university, becoming an EA, and launching a virtual assistant business in 2007 with nothing but drive and a phone, to navigating a recession, losing a third of her clients overnight during COVID, surviving a coordinated hate campaign on Glassdoor, and ultimately breaking through the £1 million ceiling that fewer than 4% of UK businesses ever reach. 

This is the episode about the slog the years between £270k and £400k where everything felt like wading through concrete. The years where the right systems, the right coach, and the right team made the difference between a business that drained Emma completely and one that finally ran without her. If you're in that middle phase right now, this one's for you.

Support the show

Support The Show

--

Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

--

Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

Send us Fan Mail

What if the moment you most want to quit is the moment you're actually closest to a breakthrough?

In this solo episode, Emma Mills delivers one of her most personal messages, a direct, honest conversation for any business owner who's wondering if they should keep going.

Drawing on her own near-quit moment in 2019 (revenue stuck at £390,000, burnout setting in), and stories from James Dyson, Colonel Sanders, Mr. Beast, Airbnb, and podcaster Sammy Ard King, Emma unpacks why success so rarely looks like what we expect and why the business owners who make it are simply the ones who didn't stop.

The hockey stick growth curve is real. The underground bamboo phase is real. And if you're in it right now, this episode is for you.

💡 What you'll take away:
• Why consistent effort almost always precedes breakthrough and how to spot which phase you're in
• The "encouragement folder" technique for staying motivated through the hardest stretches
• Real numbers that put your timeline in perspective (5,126 prototypes, 1,065 rejections, 5 years of near-zero views)
• Emma's own story: from £390K stagnation to seven figures in 18 months

🎧 Hit play if you need a reminder to keep going because the breakthrough might be closer than you think.

Support the show

Support The Show

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Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

--

Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

Send us Fan Mail

What does it really take to build a business that doesn’t rely on you?

In Episode 67, Emma Mills sits down with Steven Pettigrew, a business growth and exit specialist who went from the warehouse floor of a £35 million family business to acquiring stakes in over 20 companies worldwide.

Steven cuts through the noise around AI (spoiler: if it’s not generating cash, leads, or sales, stop), breaks down why founder dependency is the silent killer of most businesses, and explains why making your business “sellable” is the smartest move you can make whether you ever plan to sell or not.

This episode is packed with straight-talking insight, real-world experience, and practical strategies for business owners who want more freedom, more scale, and less landing on their desk.

🔑 Topics covered:
-Building a founder-independent business
-The only 3 questions to ask before using any AI tool
-Diversifying across 20+ companies
-The rise of fractional roles (and how to use them)
-Why Steven moved to Dubai and what UK business owners can learn from it

🎧 Hit play to hear the mindset shifts, decisions, and no-nonsense strategies that help business owners step out of the day-to-day and build something that runs without them.

Support the show

Support The Show

--

Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

--

Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟

Send us Fan Mail

Everyone is talking about AI.
But no one is talking about the time it's quietly stealing.

Right now, business owners are in what Emma calls "magpie mode" distracted by shiny new AI tools while still doing everything themselves. And here's the problem: AI isn't going to fix that. Because if you don't have an assistant, you are one.

In this episode, Emma unpacks the real difference between an AI agent and an executive assistant and why even the most successful business owners she admires still have a human EA at their side. She then walks through the 5 signs you're still your own assistant in 2026, from managing your own emails to ending every week wondering where it went.

If you feel busy, distracted, or like your week disappears without real progress, this episode will bring you back to what actually moves the needle.

🎧 Hit play to hear the mindset shifts, lessons, and decisions that help founders use AI without losing their focus, protect their time, and start thinking like a CEO again.

Because in the age of AI, the most valuable thing you can reclaim in your business isn’t just time. It’s your attention.

Support the show

Support The Show

--

Ready to reclaim your time? Grab our free guide and start delegating all of the things a business owner shouldn't be doing: 👉 The 106 Tasks You Must Delegate

--

Connect with Emma!

Get my personal weekly newsletter here - if you want to Win the Week, every week.

World Class Virtual PA support here: Mi-PA.co.uk

Follow Emma on Instagram

Connect with Emma on Linkedin

Watch the Episodes on Youtube

EmmaMills.co.uk

Reviews and Feedback:

Loving the show? Your feedback means the world to me and helps others find us!

Thanks so much for listening to Focus on the Fun Stuff Podcast! Let’s make business a bit more fun together! 🌟