Kelly Molson, founder of Rubber Cheese, sold her agency and is now an agency consultant and successful podcaster. She shares her 21-year journey building a lifestyle-focused web development agency that she started with just £1,500.

She advocates for founders to prioritise life over aggressive growth, defining success on personal terms rather than industry standards.

Only 4% of agencies ever sell, making the lifestyle model - optimised for freedom, joy, and profit now—a viable alternative to exit-focused growth.

 Show notes

Kelly’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymolson/

The Kelly Molson web site: https://kellymolson.co.uk/

‘Lifestyle is a Plan’ podcast: https://lifestyle-is-a-plan.captivate.fm/

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"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters."

Alice Buttling is the leader of UK media company Attinger Jack and her career arc is a superb demonstration of walking the talk when it comes to trust and expertise.

We explore The Brilliance Paradox, which media are most trusted and the importance of ethical standards, where the big advertising agency holding companies have gone wrong, and why independent expertise now offers clients better value.

Show notes:

Alice Buttling's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-buttling-smith-2420a05/

Attinger Jack web site: https://www.aja.co.uk/

Freddie Mercury AI (Live Aid) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vHCTXnm5gKM

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How to bottle your brilliance in 6 words or less!

The creative marketing business is built around the idea of hooks.

Anna McLoughlin of inkspiller whose business ‘hook’ is ‘Helping founders bottle their brilliance in 6 words’ – using her skills as a storyteller to uncover business founders’ unique perspectives, stories and value, to distil it into a practical messaging toolkit.

Show notes:

Book your place in the workshop: https://calendly.com/inkspiller/brilliance

Inkspiller web site: https://www.inkspiller.co.uk/

Anna’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inkspiller/

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The independent creative marketing agency community is set for an explosion of growth. Big agencies are struggling to adapt to the new climate; CMOs are buying and building their own customized marketing stack and only the very best in each discipline will do.

Clive Mishon an advertising industry veteran now heads up the Alliance (the Alliance of Independent Agencies) – a global resource of the

Jacks of all trades are being replaced by masters, and this show is all about what we need to do to deliver what’s needed.

Show notes

1. Alliance of Independent Agencies -https://allindependentagencies.org/ 

2. Alliance of Media Independents - https://allindependentagencies.org/alliance-of-media-independents/

3. Alliance of Agency Founders -

Alliance

4. Alliance Learning Lab - https://allindependentagencies.org/learning-and-development/

5. Independent Agency Awards - https://awards.allindependentagencies.org/

6. Mad North - https://www.madfestlondon.com/north/

6. Global Musicals - https://globalmusicals.com/

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How do we earn keep and maintain trust in our working relationships?

Over the next 3-5 years it’s going to be the only thing left that separates us from the robots.

David Meikle is here to discuss the role that trust plays in the world of advertising and marketing communications.

Trust isn’t just a critical driver of efficiency and revenue, but it’s also essential for innovation, mental fortitude, and meaningful stakeholder relationships in business.

In a world where we’re increasingly outsourcing key performance indicators, how can we be reliable business colleagues, customers and clients?

Show notes:

David's Company web site here: ⁠https://www.htbag.co.uk/⁠

David's LinkedIn profile here: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-meikle-6194405/⁠

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A totally new interview with audio drama expert Aaron J Reardon, recorded in time for Halloween - on video. And if that's not weird enough..

In this show, we discuss the massive growth of the audio drama genre. How creative effort beats budgets every time. Aaron's two biggest hits Plant Murder and Selene have already won awards for innovation and production and he continues to develop each one. Along the way, he's become hot property in Hollywood, recently writing a murder mystery for one of the film industry's most talented multi-talented artists.

In this special Halloween edition of The Fuel podcast, Aaron and I discuss the roots of audio drama and its future. We discuss War of the Worlds, Dr Who and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as well as contemporary audio drama hits such as Midnight Burger, Wooden Overcoats and The Magnus Archives - and how they have become hot property for marketers keen to exploit this incredibly powerful new medium.

----------------

Aaron’s production company – Clever Than: https://www.cleverthan.com

Rusty Quill: https://rustyquill.com/

Aaron’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-reardon/

Selene: https://shows.acast.com/selene

Plant Murder: https://rustyquill.com/show/plant-murder/

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Mystery writer, podcaster, and indie studio head focused on immersive mysteries - Aaron J. Reardon is here to shine an eerie light on a new entertainment format that actually predates TV but is enjoying a renaissance as podcasts on digital channels. And we're not talking about a cottage industry - oh no. Audio Drama is a massive category of entertainment that hasn't even broken into the mainstream yet. Now is the chance to find out all about it and how - as marketers, you can leverage your brands in this exciting new market.

Aaron's expertise is on full display as he explains how his roots as a digital marketing lead for Red Bull, took him into the world of music, streaming and then made the leap into drama. He explains how social media has killed off the art of storytelling and how this new area is filled with content creators making shows on the fly and adapting their work in real time. We cover the Alton Towers curse, how plants kill people, what drives listeners, how marketing can leverage the format; the theater of the mind and the golden rules of creating audio drama. We also discover how this phenomenon began in the 1920s and discuss the Victorian internet.

Aaron's production company - Clever Than: https://www.cleverthan.com

Rusty Quill: https://rustyquill.com/

Aaron's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-reardon/

Selene: https://shows.acast.com/selene

Plant Murder: https://rustyquill.com/show/plant-murder/

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This show is all about how to build rapport with your clients – from the first meeting, to the pitch and beyond.

My guest for this show is self-confessed risk-taker Matt Webster, whose never-say-die approach to selling makes most people blush.

Spoiler alert: It’s all about confidence and observation and in this show, Matt teaches us all how to notice the little things to build chemistry and rapport with people.

We discuss his early days as a unofficial freelance OTT salesman for Mr Freeze at school, through to selling utilities door-to-door and then how he formed his own marketing and sales business.

These days, he’s incredibly popular with his candid LinkedIn and social media activity and he claims that part of the reason behind his success is his ability to show an unvarnished personality, which means having the courage to capture the good – and the bad of your personal or business life.

Show notes:

Matt’s LinkedIn profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwwebster/

Make Waves, Not Waste (Matt’s company) here: https://mw-w.co/

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The 5 Ds of Succession Planning

How do you prepare your agency for life after you? If it’s built in your image, round the work that only you control, how can someone else grow it after you’ve moved (or passed) on?

Talking about succession plans is like talking about making a will and like with families, if you exit - for whatever reason – and leave it intestate, dozens of careers will be left hanging in the balance.

Rachel Konrad has worked for some of the world’s biggest blue chip companies around the world, advising them on commercial aspects and she’s here to help you make sure that your business becomes a legacy.

We discuss:

Working for Carlos Ghosn, Elon Musk and the World’s Best CEO Jeff Immelt.

Why only 50% of businesses have a succession plan and when to have 'that' discussion.

CEO factories,

How the Vatican got succession right,

The Role of the Executive Secretary,

Underperforming bosses, handling the media, succession advice for creative agencies and turning fear into motivation.

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Amy Taylor - former Red Bull CMO - in charge of one of the world’s most

We discuss her 20+ year career at Red Bull and her transition into the mainstream soft drinks market to meet the needs of the modern, more enlightened consumer.

The science behind making healthy sweet drinks, what new flavors are being developed and why, generating ‘Brand Heat’, dealing with a government that says “all sodas are bad”, and educating consumers by positioning Zevia as a health food hack.

We also get Amy’s take on DEI & neurodiversity and how her policies benefit a high adrenaline challenger company in one of the world’s

Links:

Amy’s LinkedIn profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amytaylor2021/

Zevia web site here: http://www.zevia.com

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