Stronger Business Together

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 


Episode Summary

In this episode, Granger Forson talks with Chris Kopec of Merge IT, a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that helps businesses transform IT from a cost center into a strategic "business enabler". Chris shares his journey from starting a business during a "midlife crisis" just four months before COVID-19 to navigating the highly regulated waters of FCA and ISO compliance. The conversation dives deep into the "technology maze," the dangers of "tools sprawl," and a significant coaching session on the unique recruitment hurdles facing tech companies in Gloucestershire.

Key Takeaways

• IT as a Strategy: Merge IT focuses on three-year IT strategy cycles that align technology tools with wider business goals rather than just fixing broken laptops.
• Compliance is a Vertical: Chris thrives on working with professional services—accountants, lawyers, and architects—that face high regulatory standards like ISO 27001.
• The "Pint" Challenge: Chris claims he can often save customers money on monthly operating costs simply by identifying duplicated tools or "technology creep".
• AI and Information Management: The business is pivoting toward "AI enablement," which involves tidying and structuring data so it can be effectively used by automation tools.
• Security First: Chris warns against putting personal data into free, open AI models; if a tool is free, "you are the product".

The "Hurdle": Competing for Tech Talent in Gloucestershire

Chris faces a major challenge in finding and retaining technical staff. Gloucestershire has five times the national average of tech companies, largely due to GCHQ, which "siphons" local talent with high salaries.

The Discussion:

• Recruitment Reality: In the last two years, Chris has seen six apprentices or junior staff poached by larger firms shortly after being trained.
• High-Pressure Environments: Chris notes that MSP work is rewarding but involves high-stress problem-solving (e.g., a critical printer going down two hours before a payroll deadline), which doesn't suit everyone.
• The Solutions: * Simulated Stress Testing: Granger suggests adding "artificial pressure" tests to the recruitment process (modeled after Toyota) to see how candidates handle disorganized, high-volume tasks.

·       Culture Over Salary: By allowing "20% time" for side projects and tech experimentation, Chris can build a "sticky" culture where techies stay because they are growing, not just for the paycheck.

Chris’s Productivity Tip

Chris manages "firefighting" and "information overload" by using the Eisenhower Matrix to triage every task by urgency and importance.

Resource Links & Contact Info

• Website: Merge IT (Currently being updated)
• LinkedIn: Chris is highly active on the platform.
• Networking: You can often find Chris at BNI events.

Are you actually productive, or just busy fighting fires? 🧯
It’s the classic agency trap, a calendar full of meetings, a Slack notification every 30 seconds, and a team that’s constantly "firefighting." By 5PM, you’ve done a lot, but you haven't moved the needle.

🎙️ Today I sit down with Andy Bell from Set Studio to hear his founders story and tackle this exact business hurdle. We dive into how to stop reacting to the chaos and start building systems that actually allow for progress.

Along the way we cover many topics including hacks to boost productivity, declining meetings and creating a culture that allows mistakes to be used as valued learning points rather than problems within the business.

In this episode, Granger Forson talks with Stuart Lee about the evolution of his branding and graphic design business. Stuart shares his journey from freelancing in London to building a local agency in Gloucestershire. They dive deep into the importance of "information design" over mere aesthetics, the challenges of scaling through delegation, and a fascinating "hurdle" session on using AI for complex project pricing.

• Information vs. Decoration: Stuart emphasises that good design isn't just about "pretty" pictures; it’s about typography and hierarchy that ensure the content is actually legible and engaging.
• The Transition to Value-Based Pricing: Stuart discusses the difficult but necessary process of raising prices to reflect professional value, even if it means moving away from long-term clients who no longer fit the business model.
• Delegation is Freedom: By utilising a Virtual Assistant (VA) and a network of specialist designers, Stuart has shifted from "cramming it all in" to focusing on high-level strategy and client relationships.
• AI as a "Junior Employee": A key insight from the coaching segment is that AI tools like Copilot or ChatGPT should be treated like new hires, they need to be trained on your specific historical data (past quotes/styles) to provide accurate results.

Stuart shares a recent challenge where he used AI to quote a 52-page brochure. The result felt generic and was ultimately too high, leading to a lost bid.

The Solution: Instead of asking AI general questions, Stuart plans to:

1. Build a Data Set: Feed previous successful quotes into a secure environment (like Microsoft Copilot).
2. Contextual Training: Teach the AI the specific variables of his business (e.g., charity discounts, file types provided by clients).
3. Iterative Feedback: Treat the AI's output as a draft that requires "senior management" sign-off and refinement.

00:00 Introduction

00:29 Intro: Stuart Lee Design

01:52 Act 1: What is Stuart Lee Design

08:20 Act 2: Stuarts' business journey

14:35 Improving Communication and Delegation

18:04 Act 3: The Hurdle - Exploring AI in Pricing

19:52 Current state - Pricing system today

22:44 How we tried to use AI in pricing

24:16 Getting to root cause of AI pricing issues

26:09 Leveraging Data for Better AI Pricing

29:10 Future Experiments with AI in Pricing

32:17 Wrap up and reflections

35:20 Stuart's bonus tip

"Use space. It makes everything look better. Never cramp lines together. Don't fill a page with text just because you can, white space allows your message to breathe."

• Website: StuartLeeDesign.co.uk
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 01453 70 20 60
• Guest Bio: Stuart Lee is a graphic designer with a background in corporate information design, now specialising in branding for charities and B Corp-aligned organisations.

Welcome to the very first episode of the Stronger Business Together podcast. I’m Granger Forson, and I started this show because I’ve seen too many entrepreneurs drowning in "information" while their actual business stays stuck.

In this inaugural episode, I’m laying out the core philosophy of this show. We aren’t here for theoretical fluff; we’re here for practical application.

Why I’m Doing This

I firmly believe that knowledge isn't the issue—application is. We all have access to the same books and podcasts, but the gap between knowing something and truly understanding it is action. I want to help you bridge that gap.

• Business shouldn’t be a constant grind: If it feels hard all the time, something needs to change.
• Stop building in isolation: You weren't meant to do this alone. Growth happens when we are constructively challenged by others.
• Comfort is the enemy of development: If you want to grow, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable.
• Hurdles vs. Problems: I break down why every process has "everyday problems," but why "hurdles" require a completely different approach to clear.

"Development doesn't come from comfort. If we want to move the needle, we have to go out and fix the friction."

This podcast isn't a monologue; it’s a community. I want to hear about the specific hurdles you’re facing so we can tackle them together in future episodes. Let’s simplify your processes and get you growing.

If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast or have your own business hurdle discussed then you can contact me at [email protected]

• [00:00] Welcome to the journey.
• [03:02] My non-negotiable principles for business success.
• [05:52] The critical difference between a hurdle and a standard problem.
• [08:53] Why action is the only way to turn knowledge into understanding.
• [11:52] My invitation to you: Let's do this together.