The Small Business Sessions

By Enterprise NationBusiness Entrepreneurship Management

The Small Business Sessions episodes

June 29, 2021 Growing the Cambridge Satchel Company from a £600 start-up into a £40m business
Entrepreneurs start businesses for many reasons. For Julie Deane CBE, it was to pay for her children to go to private school because her daughter was being bullied. She invested £600 to get her idea off the ground and just five years later, the Cambridge Satchel Company was valued at £40m. Julie joins journalist Dan Martin to share her super inspiring story. This one is a must listen!

To find out more about Enterprise Nation and to listen to previous podcasts, go to www.enterprisenation.com/podcast
38 min
June 22, 2021 S5 E2: Starting a lockdown business and the power of pivots
The coronavirus pandemic has been tough for many people but for some entrepreneurial individuals, it has been the time to start their own company. One of those new business owners is Katrina Borissova, founder of vegan soap brand Little Danube, who incorporated her new venture on 23 March 2020, the day the prime minister announced Britain was going into lockdown.

In this week's episode, Katrina tells freelance journalist Dan Martin her inspiring story and explains how she launched her business during lockdown.

Also on the show is Jade Evans from Starling Bank. She discusses how entrepreneurs have pivoted their business models to cope with the pandemic, the financial support the bank has provided to small companies and how founders have used the funding.

To find out more about Enterprise Nation and to listen to previous podcasts, go to www.enterprisenation.com/podcast
30 min
June 15, 2021 S5 E1: How to build a rebel business
The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast sponsored by Starling Bank, is back! Every week for 12 weeks, freelance journalist Dan Martin speaks to entrepreneurs and experts about their tips, insights and inspiration for how to start and grow a brilliant business. First up is Ben Keene, co-founder of Rebel Book Club.

How many books do you have that you've never read? It's probably loads. The Japanese describe it as 'tsundoku', the constant act of buying books but not reading them. Ben was a big sufferer! With his friend Ben Saul-Garner, he looked for a way to be motivated to read all those untouched ideas. Rebel Book Club was the solution. It's now a successful subscription company that brings people together around a love for non-fiction and a desire to turn book insights into action.

In an advice-packed podcast, Ben discusses how to grow a subscription model, raising £148,000 and the realities of crowdfunding, switching online during the coronavirus pandemic and how to find your minimum viable audience.

To find out more about Enterprise Nation and to listen to previous podcasts, go to www.enterprisenation.com/podcast
38 min
December 11, 2019 S4 EP12: Building a luxury brand from a spare room
Niamh Barker started luxury cashmere brand The Travelwrap Company in her spare room. The proudly Scottish brand is now exporting to 22 countries.
Host Dan Martin spoke to Barker about:
- Building up an online presence
- Solving the problem of copycats
- The importance of targeting the right market
Small Business Sessions is powered by Xero and we’ve got an exclusive offer of 50% off the cloud accounting software for 12 months! Find out more at the below link.
https://www.enterprisenation.com/xero-beautiful-accounting-software/
24 min
December 11, 2019 S4 EP12: Building a luxury brand from a spare room
Niamh Barker started luxury cashmere brand The Travelwrap Company in her spare room. The proudly Scottish brand is now exporting to 22 countries.
Host Dan Martin spoke to Barker about:
- Building up an online presence
- Solving the problem of copycats
- The importance of targeting the right market
Small Business Sessions is powered by Xero and we’ve got an exclusive offer of 50% off the cloud accounting software for 12 months! Find out more at the below link.
https://www.enterprisenation.com/xero-beautiful-accounting-software/
24 min
December 03, 2019 S4 E11: Marketing a 233-year-old family business
This week’s Small Business Sessions podcast welcomes Henry Deakin, who’s taken the helm of seventh generation family business Deakin & Francis. Gemologist and designer Deakin discusses his gamble to open a flagship store in Piccadilly Arcade, influencer marketing and what it’s like to join the family firm with host Dan Martin. The Small Business Sessions is powered by Xero and we’ve got an exclusive offer of 50% off the cloud accounting software for 12 months! Find out more at https://www.enterprisenation.com/xero-beautiful-accounting-software/
25 min
November 27, 2019 S4 E10: How to deal with late payment
The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast powered by Xero, is back for another episode. Series four, hosted by Enterprise Nation head of content Dan Martin, features a brilliant line-up of entrepreneurs and experts sharing insights and inspiration on how to start and grow a brilliant business.Late payment is a massive issue for small businesses. Recent research showed UK SME late payment debt has risen to £23.4bn, up £10.4bn on the £13bn owed in 2018. It is estimated that the average business is owed £23,360 in late payments and there are an estimated 50,000 insolvencies as a result of the problem every year.In this podcast, we're joined by former Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal (he left the role after we recorded the podcast) and Rob Drake, co-founder of Brave Spark. They discuss issues including how to chase payments, how the Small Business Commissioner's office can help, examples of large businesses that aren't paying on time, whether big businesses should be fined for not paying late and the impact of late payment on business owners' mental healthTo find out more, go to www.enterprisenation.com/podcast
25 min
November 20, 2019 S4 E9: Mental health for entrepreneurs
The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast powered by Xero, is back for another episode. Series four, hosted by Enterprise Nation head of content Dan Martin, features a brilliant line-up of entrepreneurs and experts sharing insights and inspiration on how to start and grow a brilliant business.This week we're joined by Ry Morgan, co-founder of Unmind, a B2B workplace wellness platform that decreases stress, enhances sleep, and improves the business performance of employees. Ry started the business for very personal reasons having suffered clinical depression himself and having to see a crisis team every day for two weeks because he was deemed at high risk of suicide. He had various therapy sessions and was put on medication all whilst building and exiting his first business. In a hugely insightful podcast, the serial entrepreneur explains how he has built the platform, getting businesses on board, why bosses need to support their employees' health and wellbeing, raising millions in funding from investors who care about the issue and his tips for how entrepreneurs can manage their own mental health.To find out more, go to www.enterprisenation.com/podcast
22 min
November 13, 2019 S4 E8: The tea mixologist brewing up success
The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast powered by Xero, is back for another episode. Series four, hosted by Enterprise Nation head of content Dan Martin, features a brilliant line-up of entrepreneurs and experts sharing insights and inspiration on how to start and grow a brilliant business.This week we welcome an entrepreneur whose business journey we've followed from the start. Krisi Smith is the co-founder of Bird & Blend Tea Co. which she set up with her partner Mike in a back bedroom. Five years on the business operates seven retail stores across the UK selling its loose leaf tea and other products. Along the way Krisi and Mike have achieved many successes including crowdfunding over £364,000 in 24 hours. In an insights packed podcast, Krisi discusses growing from a bedroom start-up, the reasons behind the business' crowdfunding success, why she turned down the big four supermarkets, building a strong community around her brand, why she had to change her business' name, how to make the most of Christmas for your business and lots more!To find out more, go to www.enterprisenation.com/podcast
31 min
November 06, 2019 S4 E7: All you need to know about alternative finance
The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast powered by Xero, is back for another episode. Series four, hosted by Enterprise Nation head of content Dan Martin, features a brilliant line-up of entrepreneurs and experts sharing insights and inspiration on how to start and grow a brilliant business.Gone are the days when businesses only had one or two options for funding; there are now lots of choices. One of them is Iwoca, which provides business loans of £1,000 - £200,000 without long waits and endless paperwork. In this week's podcast, Colin Goldstein, Iwoca's commercial growth director, joins Edwards Berks, at Xero, to discuss: finance options open to small businesses, how to manage cashflow, the role of accountants, dealing with late payment and the government's alternative finance referral scheme.To find out more, go to www.enterprisenation.com/podcast
29 min

About The Small Business Sessions

From the publisher's feed

The Small Business Sessions is a weekly podcast from the Powering Local Businesses programme, created by Enterprise Nation and EDF Small Business in collaboration with…