What makes a good coach? How do you structure a successful coaching business?

This is an honest and unfiltered discussion with Darren Murray answering these questions. Darren has coached multiple youth players in Scotland and England that have went on to become first team players, including some internationalists. He now owns and runs his own football coaching business, DMElite.

Darren surprised me in many ways in this conversation. I think he is by far the most passionate guest about their craft that has been on the show. I thought I would learn from him about coaching, I learned more. I learned about the pursuit of constant self improvement. 

We also got some interesting stories from the years including how he ‘found’ Christophe Berra.

Thanks to Darren for his honesty. If you are a parent, a coach, or someone who is looking for some inspiration this episode is a must.

Find DMElite on all social platforms and give them a follow.

Also please remember to subscribe and if you want to support the show, buy me a coffee at the link below:

https://buymeacoffee.com/banderson0x

Matt Jarvis had a fantastic career in pro football in England playing in the premier league for Wolves, West Ham and Norwich as well as representing his country.

Along the way Matt picked up some serious injuries he had to bounce back from. Showing resilience, coping mechanisms and a determination to succeed that we can all learn from.

This is the inside story on his injuries, the low moments, the days away from family - and how they shaped who he is today.

A huge thanks to Matt for his open nature and time to do this.

Just a note on the show, if you are getting value and would like to support the podcast going forward you can buy me a coffee at the link below. All helps in growing the podcast and bringing in great guests and stories.

https://buymeacoffee.com/banderson0x

How can you pay off your mortgage as soon as possible?

How do you get a dragon from dragons’ den to invest in your business?

Jinesh Vohra paid off his mortgage within 4 years and has created his app, Sprive to help every homeowner on their mortgage commitments. He swapped corporate life for founder life and hasn’t looked back.

He has raised an impressive £4m capital for the application as well as being successful in receiving investment from Toucer Sullyman, Peter Jones and Deborah Meadon on the den.

The app is not consistently in the top 10 in the UK app store and has 150k thousand new users in the last 30 days. This conversation captures his story through paying off his mortgage with rigour, creating Sprive and how he raised capital along the way.

Thanks Jinesh for this conversation, an absolute gentleman and very shrewd businessman.

Enjoy!

#mortgages #fintech #smallbusiness #learning #dragonsden

What do footballers do when they retire? Why do they choose what they do? 

Why do some not stay in the game?

I had a great conversation with Christophe Berra about transitioning from football into financial advice and office based life. With 41 Scotland caps to his name, a successful career in England with Wolves and Ipswich as well as being Hearts captain it could have been suspected he would stay in the game.

There were lots of different talking points on how he is finding the change. Interestingly for me, we never called it out during the interview but my main takeaway was the bravery to change career at 40. He identified his transferable skills and hasn’t looked back.

If you are interested in why and what footballers do when their careers come to an end, considering a career change / role pivot or looking for some inspiration this episode is a must.

Thanks again to Christophe for doing this. 

This is also the first episode to be on YouTube so please subscribe, follow the page and check out the interview there.

Enjoy!

#footballers #footballretirement #financialadvice #smallbusiness #learning

⚽ With the January transfer window fast approaching, this felt like the perfect time to share a podcast episode I really enjoyed recording.

I recently sat down with Jason Smith, a football agent who represents players across Europe and North America, to explore what life as an agent really looks like beyond the headlines.

Jason’s journey is a fascinating one — starting out in coaching and scouting, before transitioning into football agency. We also talked about how a move to the US, initially intended as a short-term opportunity, ended up shaping the next phase of his career.

I learned a lot through this discussion including a few myths being dispelled along the way.

In this episode, we dive into:

• 🌍 The key differences between the European and American football markets (particularly the draft in the states)

• 🤝 How to identify the balance of power in negotiations

• 📄 The quirks and realities of football contracts (and how much the agents make from them)

• 👤 The remaining 90% of the role and what that looks like

• 🧩🤝 The often-overlooked stakeholder management required to succeed as a football agent

This conversation isn’t just for people interested in the January transfer window. There are strong takeaways here around career progression, negotiation, decision-making, and managing complex relationships.

🎧 If you’ve ever wondered what it’s really like to be a football agent, listen to this episode. And if you know someone who would benefit from hearing this — a player, coach, or anyone navigating complex negotiations — share it with them.

We’d love to hear what resonates with you after listening.

🚨 “The biggest mistake companies make? Doing AI for AI’s sake.”

🍸 “Being a bartender dealing with drunks isn’t that different from being a consultant dealing with CEOs who don’t know what they want.”

This week, Stuart George and I sat down with Adam Sroka — CEO of AI consultancy Hypercube, data thought leader, and one of the most refreshingly honest voices in AI right now.

Adam’s journey is anything but linear, and his humility and honesty make him one of those people you instantly learn from. We covered a lot of ground:

🍹 From award-winning cocktail maker to boardroom conversations

🎓 Extended education and completing a doctorate

👔 Stepping into leadership as a technical expert — including some very real, vulnerable moments

📊 Data & AI: how to actually think about problems and opportunities (without the hype)

We also dug into how Adam has built such a strong following, his approach to AI implementation that genuinely creates value, and the story behind Hypercube as a consultancy. Even Daniel Priestley and his books got a shout-out.

There were plenty of 💡 moments for me — especially around how to approach AI with clarity, purpose, and confidence.

Huge thanks to Adam and Stuart for such a thoughtful, insightful conversation.

♻️ Share this with someone figuring out how to use AI properly — or someone who just needs that final nudge toward entrepreneurship.

https://wearehypercube.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aesroka/

Whilst Fraser cuts my hair at his fabulous salon 'The Changing Room' in North Castle Street in Edinburgh, we discuss his journey.

I find Fraser a very inspirational and active person, who always has something interesting to discuss.

Fraser opened The Changing Room just over a year ago and has attained strong brand recognition, added an additional two barbers to the staff and has had multiple months of fully booked days.

He has some great strategic principles, including utilising his network to cut hair for elite professionals.

This is another hidden gem of a great story away from the mainstream media, and if you are thinking about how to derisk a venture (specifically in a servicing or trade industry) this is a must for you.

Thanks to Fraser for this session. If you need fresh lid, get yourself along to TCR.

Business Behind Sport Mini Series - Session 2.

In this session I speak to James Craigen. We look at professional football and how to think of life off the park. James has had a fantastic experience playing in the Scottish Premiership with Partick Thistle, as well as spells at numerous clubs including Dunfermline Athletic, Raith Rovers and Falkirk. James also represented Great Britain in the World Student Games in China playing in front of 35,000 fans in the semi final against Japan. We discuss:

- Data: How player aware should you be of your numbers in the modern world

- Contracts: Managing contracts correctly in line with the stage of your career

- Time: Football careers are not long, managing the career risks and opportunities

- Network: The value of a compounding network

And much more! This episode ended up being slightly longer than usual as there were so many questions to dig into as James opened up his experience. James also has considerable experience in coaching and has moved into property management with his business partner Callum Booth - running Altro Property.

Thanks to James and for listening, I hope you enjoy this one.

Business Behind Sport Mini Series!

Chris Smith talks through his experience within the international sporting environment and his current role as Executive Director at Toronto High Park FC. Toronto High Park are a not for profit entity that look to deliver value to the members and create opportunities in football. We discussed:

- Setting objectives

- Creating values

- Pricing and the competition

- Stakeholder management and member feedback

And much, much more. Chris also gave me some of my favourite quotes, 'develop physical activity habits for life' being a personal favourite.

Thanks a lot to Chris for this episode. Happy listening.

In this episode I speak to the fantastic Lynzi Leroy. Her outlook on life and experience is fascinating - and since 2017 she has been helping Scotland's artists turn hobbies into livelihoods and compete with the high street. Since starting the Scottish Design Exchange she has helped bring in over £20m for hundreds of artists. I hope you enjoy listening to her and learning from her.

https://www.scottishdesignexchange.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynzi-leroy-55a27912/