How It Is

How It Is is a platform for business owners and the people behind the brands you use every day and for anyone thinking about starting their own journey, whether you’re already in the industry or just considering it. Every week, John talks to a different business owner about what it actually took to get where they are, so founders can learn from each other and know they’re not doing this alone. 🥔 / @howitispodcastThis week, John sits down with Jess from Spuddy Lovely the woman behind one of South Wales’ best-known jacket potato businesses, now a two-time Best Takeaway in Wales winner.Jess didn’t plan to start a business. When her son Oscar was diagnosed with a rare skull condition that needed major surgery in Birmingham, she realised she had no financial support available while taking time off to care for him. That was the moment she decided she needed to work for herself.She talks about researching the market when Spud Man and Spud Bros were the big names, finding a horse box on Facebook, doing it up herself, and trading for the first time in May 2023 at Hendy Rugby Club.She also gets into the jump from the horse box to her first shop in Gowerton and the message from her landlord out of nowhere saying her rent was going up £200 a month. A tip-off from her bin man is what led her to the shop she’s in now. If you’re thinking about starting something of your own, or you’re already in the middle of it, Jess’s story is a reminder that it rarely goes the way you planned and that’s normal.

Watch Jess’s conversation with John here.

Learn more about Spuddy Lovely:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/spuddylovely?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&psln=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086567214382&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=pGllos10xA6VnkES&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F16ibU5zzB9%2F%3Fmibextid%3DwwXIfr#

🎧 Listen & Subscribe:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14YEU0UkAOGpdWbazdZ19W?si=QFJhoDO2Q7CrcYDHiMaMEA

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-it-is/id1783785566

Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e12b1c97-e5d0-4d11-8fcd-ca31a0ea12a1/how-it-is

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HowItIsPodcast1#JessSpuddyLovely

#SpuddyLovely #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneur #HowItIs #SouthWales #JacketPotato #Gowerton #SupportSmallBusiness

Joel Knight shares the reality of life from training alongside a world champion at Millfield to the career-changing knee injury that ended his swimming career, and the pressures of life as a head coach in UK swimming.

In Part Two, Joel discusses research showing that 64% of UK swimming coaches report symptoms of depression and 67% report anxiety. He describes the isolation of grassroots coaching and why the coaching community is stronger together.

The conversation also explores his transition from athlete to coach, why he founded Olympus Swim, a club development platform built to give swimming clubs financial visibility and time back, and how he balances a day job, coaching, a young family and a start-up without burning out.

What you'll learn:

Joel Knight's journey from elite swimmer to swimming coach

The mental health challenges facing UK swimming coaches

How a serious knee injury changed his swimming career

Why he created Olympus Swim and the problems it solves for swimming club

sHow to avoid burnout while juggling family, work and a business

What do you think?

Do swimming coaches get enough support for their mental health?

Find more from Joel Knight & Olympus Swim:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/olympus.swim

Website: https://olympus-swim.co.uk/

Email: [email protected]

🎧 Listen & Subscribe:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14YEU0UkAOGpdWbazdZ19

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-it-is/id1783785566

Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e12b1c97-e5d0-4d11-8fcd-ca31a0ea12a1/how-it-is

Joel Knight shares the reality of life as an elite competitive swimmer, including the pressure of training inside a boarding school system, the hidden financial cost of chasing British and European honours, and the mental toll of pushing his body into overtraining.In this episode, Joel discusses breaking a British age group record and competing at the European Youth Olympics, what daily life was actually like as a swimmer at Millfield, and the moment his training stopped being about performance and started becoming a form of escape.The conversation also explores the tiny technical margins that separate elite swimmers, the lack of recognition and sponsorship compared to sports like Formula One, and how Joel made the transition from competitive athlete to coach and founder of Olympus Swim.What you'll learn:- Joel Knight's journey from a local swimming club to the European Youth Olympics- What training and daily life were really like inside a boarding school swim programme- The hidden financial cost of competing at an elite level, from kit to crowdfunded competitions- How overtraining and burnout crept into his career and changed his relationship with the sport- Why small technical margins not money or sponsorship decide success in swimming- How Joel transitioned from elite athlete to coach and founder of Olympus SwimWhat do you think?Do you think elite swimmers get the recognition and reward they deserve compared to athletes in higher-profile sports?Find more from Joel Knight:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olympus.swim/Website: https://olympus-swim.co.uk/Email: [email protected]🎧 Listen & Subscribe:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14YEU0UkAOGpdWbazdZ19WApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-it-is/id1783785566Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e12b1c97-e5d0-4d11-8fcd-ca31a0ea12a1/how-it-is

How does a professional flautist with zero coding experience end up building a £1.5 million software platform using nothing but AI?

In this episode of How It Is, John Rex sits down with South African keynote speaker, entrepreneur and open-water swimmer Carina Bruwer to unpack one of the most unlikely career stories we've covered on the show.

Carina trained as a classical flautist from childhood, went on to win a SAMA (South African Music Award) with her instrumental crossover band Sterling EQ, and built a successful entertainment booking agency from scratch before rebuilding it from the ground up in just a few months using AI, without writing a single line of code herself. She talks candidly about missing out on her dream orchestra job, watching the 2008 economic crash gut her original software budget, and the fear of failure that still drives her today.

She also opens up about her next big challenge: Crossing Africa, a planned series of 30-35km open-water swims around the continent.

In this episode:

- How a childhood on the flute shaped Carina's discipline and work ethic

- Building a South African entertainment agency into a full-service business

- Rebuilding a £1.5m platform with AI

- Winning a SAMA award with all-female string quartet Sterling EQ

- Her next challenge: swimming 30km+ stretches around Africa

Find Out More About Carina Bruwer🌐- https://carinabruwer.com/Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@CarinaBruwer/videosInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/carinabruwer

🎧 Listen & Subscribe Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14YEU0UkAOGpdWbazdZ19W?si=QFJhoDO2Q7CrcYDHiMaMEA Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-it-is/id1783785566 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e12b1c97-e5d0-4d11-8fcd-ca31a0ea12a1/how-it-is

What happens when the thing that nearly killed you is the same thing you go back to, again and again?In this episode of How It Is, South African entrepreneur, endurance swimmer, musician, motivational speaker and mum of three, Carina Bruwer, joins us for a virtual sit-down that goes from open water to open heart from advanced hypothermia and hallucinating the lost city of Atlantis mid-swim, to being electrocuted by a shark shield off Cape Point and stung by a jellyfish that left her temporarily paralysed.Carina talks through the real, human side of pushing the body past what most people would call sensible: the mitigation and precautions that go into every swim, the crew who gave her CPR and wrapped her in silver blankets after a near-fatal swim, and "paradoxical undressing" the strange, little-known final stage of hypothermia most people have never heard of.She also opens up about the swim that changed how she takes risks, the line between settling and potential she's spent her life chasing, and how she's learned to let go of the guilt that comes with being a mother who takes big risks. The conversation moves into what fulfilment actually means to her, why she's stopped chasing "happy," and how she turned her swims including the English Channel and a 21km crossing of the world's most shark-infested bay into fundraising for children with cancer, before Carina shares what her own kids think about it all.Whether you're an endurance athlete, a parent trying to figure out how ambition and guilt coexist, or just curious what it actually feels like to nearly die in the middle of the ocean, this episode makes the case in the most direct way possible: through what really happened.What You'll Learn- What advanced hypothermia actually does to the body and mind, including hallucinations and paradoxical undressing- What it's really like to be stung by a jellyfish mid-swim, and how to keep moving through it- How Karina mitigates the real risks of open water swimming, from shark shields to support crews- Why she's stopped chasing happiness and started chasing fulfilment insteadFind Out More About Carina Bruwer🌐- https://carinabruwer.com/Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@CarinaBruwer/videosInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/carinabruwer🎧 Listen & Subscribe Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14YEU0UkAOGpdWbazdZ19W?si=QFJhoDO2Q7CrcYDHiMaMEA Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-it-is/id1783785566 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e12b1c97-e5d0-4d11-8fcd-ca31a0ea12a1/how-it-isHave you ever pushed yourself past a limit that scared you? Let us know in the comments.

In this episode of How It Is, Vicky Jones from Pegasus Benefits returns to unpack what employee benefits actually do when life goes wrong from a death in service payout that let a colleague's husband keep their house, to the mental health and health cash plan cover most staff don't realise they have.Vicky talks through the real, human side of running a health insurance and employee benefits brokerage: the anxiety clients feel when dealing with insurers, why she benchmarks every client's cover every year without being asked, and the absence-cost calculator she built back in 2009 to prove the return on investment of benefits to sceptical FDs and MDs. She also opens up about losing a member of staff, the death in service benefit that supported her family, and why the business now marks the anniversary in her memory. The conversation moves into the pressures facing younger employees today the cost of living, rising house prices, and the mental health support gap at work before Vicky shares what's next for her business and the marketing pivot she almost didn't make.Whether you're a business owner weighing up employee benefits for the first time, an HR or finance lead trying to build the case for cover, or just curious what a death in service payout actually means for a family, this episode makes the case in the most direct way possible: through what really happened.

What You'll Learn :

What a death in service benefit actually pays out and what it meant for one family

Why mental health support at work matters more than most benefits packages let on

How Vicky benchmarks and retains clients without them ever having to ask

What health cash plans (like Medicash) actually cover, from glasses to dental

Why younger employees are facing a different set of pressures cost of living, housing, job security

Employee Benefits Checklist Straight from the episode what Vicky says a well-covered company actually has in place:Death in service a lump-sum payout (typically a multiple of salary) if an employee dies while employed.

Find Out More About Vicky Jones 🌐 https://www.pegasushealth.uk/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-jones-%E2%9D%A4%EF%B8%8F-employee-health-specialist/

🎧 Listen & Subscribe Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14YEU0UkAOGpdWbazdZ19W?si=QFJhoDO2Q7CrcYDHiMaMEA

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-it-is/id1783785566

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e12b1c97-e5d0-4d11-8fcd-ca31a0ea12a1/how-it-is

Have you or your business ever been supported by a benefit you didn't expect to need? Let us know in the comments.

Applying for an FCA licence? Before you start your own application, meet the person who's helped hundreds of independent car dealers get through theirs.In this episode of How It Is, we sit down with Jade, a compliance officer at The Compliance Guys, who joined the company nearly four years ago with zero compliance background and a CV full of hospitality jobs.She walks us through why almost no car dealer can realistically complete their own FCA application, what it actually involves behind the paperwork, and the two mistakes she sees costing people their licence using AI to write their application, and talking too much in their competency interview.You'll hear:- Why the FCA expects independent dealers to write documents like a university graduate and why that's the real barrier for 90% of applicants- The five things every limited permission application needs, including the £5,000 minimum capital requirement most people don't know about- Why using AI or ChatGPT to write your policies could get your application rejected outright- What actually happens in an FCA competency interview, and the one instinct you need to fight to get through itWhether you're a car dealer weighing up your own FCA application, already mid-process and feeling overwhelmed, or just curious what goes on behind the scenes of getting licensed, this episode pulls back the curtain from someone who deals with it every single day.Need help with your FCA application?The Compliance Guys support independent car dealers through every stage of the FCA licensing process, from the initial application to the competency interview and beyond.👉 Need help with your FCA application? Click here: https://thecomplianceguys.co.uk/services/fca-authorisation/👉 Book a consultation: https://thecomplianceguys.co.uk/contact-us/👉 Get in touch: [email protected] | 01792 926 040👉 Visit our website: https://thecomplianceguys.co.uk/Follow us:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecomplianceguysukInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecomplianceguysukLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecomplianceguys/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecomplianceguys

Vicky Jones shares the reality of building an insurance and employee benefits business from nothing, including redundancy, financial hardship, and the imposter syndrome that comes with working alongside global brands.In this episode, Vicky discusses starting her career on a factory floor at 16, the redundancies that pushed her into self-employment, and surviving on £73 a week Job Seekers Allowance in her first year of business. The conversation also explores how she landed clients like Hugo Boss, the mental resilience required to keep going when failure isn't an option, and why ambition and self-doubt so often sit side by side.What you'll learn:- Vicky Jones's journey from factory floor to founding Pegasus Benefits- How she survived redundancy and building a business with zero investment- The reality of imposter syndrome, even when working with major global brands- How she landed clients like Hugo Boss- How to build resilience and keep going when quitting isn't an optionFind more from Vicky Jones:https://www.pegasushealth.uk/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-jones-%E2%9D%A4%EF%B8%8F-employee-health-specialist/🎧 Listen & Subscribe:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14YEU0UkAOGpdWbazdZ19W?si=QFJhoDO2Q7CrcYDHiMaMEAApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-it-is/id1783785566Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/e12b1c97-e5d0-4d11-8fcd-ca31a0ea12a1/how-it-is

Applying for an FCA licence? Before you start your own application, meet the person who's helped hundreds of independent car dealers get through theirs.

In this episode of How It Is, we sit down with Jade, a compliance officer at The Compliance Guys, who joined the company nearly four years ago with zero compliance background and a CV full of hospitality jobs. She walks us through her unlikely path into the world of FCA compliance, how dramatically the FCA application and competency interview process has changed since she started, and what actually separates the applicants who get licensed from the ones who don't.

You'll hear:

- Why almost no one passes the FCA competency interview without proper compliance support

- How the application process has shifted over the last four years, and why it keeps getting harder

- What FCA case officers are really listening for when they ask their toughest questions

- How Jade went from working in hospitality to becoming one of the most trusted names in the compliance industry, the kind clients mention by name in their reviews.

Whether you're a car dealer weighing up your own FCA application, already mid-process and feeling overwhelmed, or just curious what goes on behind the scenes of getting licensed, this episode pulls back the curtain from someone who deals with it every single day.

Need help with your FCA application?

The Compliance Guys support independent car dealers through every stage of the FCA licensing process, from the initial application to the competency interview and beyond.👉 Need help with your FCA application? Click here: https://thecomplianceguys.co.uk/services/fca-authorisation/👉 Book a consultation: https://thecomplianceguys.co.uk/contact-us/

👉 Get in touch: [email protected] | 01792 926 040

👉 Visit our website: https://thecomplianceguys.co.uk/

Follow us:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecomplianceguysuk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecomplianceguysuk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecomplianceguys/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thecomplianceguys

In this episode of How It Is Podcast, personal trainer and nutrition coach Dan from EAT PT gives us the honest unfiltered truth about weight loss jabs, supplements, and long term body change.

Dan breaks down how Ozempic, Mounjaro, and the latest GLP-1 drugs actually work at a scientific level, shares real client transformation stories, and talks openly about the emerging risks around muscle loss, mobility, and osteoporosis that not enough people are discussing. He also tears apart the supplement industry, explains what is actually worth your money, and shares the mindset work including hypnotherapy that sits behind real sustainable change.

What You Will Learn

How Ozempic, Mounjaro, and GLP-1 drugs actually work and what makes each generation different.

Why using weight loss jabs without resistance training and proper nutrition is where it all goes wrong.

The real client story of a woman who lost 40 kilos and kept it off after coming off Ozempic entirely.

The emerging risks around muscle loss, mobility, and osteoporosis most people have never been told about.

Which supplements are actually worth your money and which ones are a complete waste.

How to structure your nutrition so that supplements actually do something.

The mindset and habit work that creates real sustainable change long term.

No fluff, no agenda. Just honest conversation from someone who knows his stuff.

Follow Dan at EAT PT: https://www.instagram.com/eat_pt/