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This is going to be a fairly quick one because I've decided to put the podcast on pause for the time being. Press play to find out why. On that note, let me give you some great news about the new “Thriving Three Counties Mastermind Community” that we've launched this year. What is it all about? Thanks for asking!­ Well in short, we're a group of generous entrepreneurs based in the three counties committed to helping each other learn, grow and develop so we can all live rich, happy and fulfilled lives. So what makes it different to your typical networking group? It’s not about trying to meet people and get business. It’s more than that. Together this exclusive group will support each other and help each other to learn and grow. The mastermind format is something that I’ve been a part of for many, many years and I think this one has got huge potential to become ‘the group’ in the three counties that everyone wants to be a part of in the future. We are currently taking on founding members, so if you'd like to be part of it, then please do get in touch – see link below, or email me at danbarkerstudios.com and we'll get information across to you soon. - Dan https://www.subscribepage.com/ttc-founding-member

This week we're going to turn the tables. I was very lucky to be invited onto a podcast with Ben Kinnaird, who runs a company called Rather Inventive Marketing. It's quite cool what he does. He essentially runs a sort of private podcast, which he puts out to his club members, and his club members are his clients. We had a lot of fun, and covered a lot of subjects from my background to what we do now. Hope you enjoy! KEEP READING IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT. I want to tell you about the new “Thriving Three Counties Mastermind Community” that we've launched this year. What is it all about? Thanks for asking!­ Well in short, we're a group of generous entrepreneurs based in the three counties committed to helping each other learn, grow and develop so we can all live rich, happy and fulfilled lives. So what makes it different to your typical networking group? It’s not about trying to meet people and get business. It’s more than that. Together this exclusive group will support each other and help each other to learn and grow. The mastermind format is something that I’ve been a part of for many, many years and I think this one has got huge potential to become ‘the group’ in the three counties that everyone wants to be a part of in the future. We are currently taking on founding members, so if you'd like to be part of it, then please do get in touch – see link below, or email me at danbarkerstudios.com and we'll get information across to you soon. - Dan https://www.subscribepage.com/ttc-founding-member

Does Work Life Balance Even Exist? Just a few of my thoughts on the whole work life balance thing that partly came about from one of our mastermind community meet ups. If you're interested in the group then give me a shout and I'll give you all the details. Remember, you can find links to all the episodes and show notes over at www.danbarkerstudios.com. If you've enjoyed today's show, please leave us a review. It helps other people find the show and connect with people in the region. All right. Until next time. ....Oh yes! One more thing. let me tell you about the new “Thriving Three Counties Mastermind Community” that we've launched this year. What is it all about? Thanks for asking!­ Well in short, we're a group of generous entrepreneurs based in the three counties committed to helping each other learn, grow and develop so we can all live rich, happy and fulfilled lives. So what makes it different to your typical networking group? It’s not about trying to meet people and get business. It’s more than that. Together this exclusive group will support each other and help each other to learn and grow. The mastermind format is something that I’ve been a part of for many, many years and I think this one has got huge potential to become ‘the group’ in the three counties that everyone wants to be a part of in the future. We are currently taking on founding members, so if you'd like to be part of it, then please do get in touch – see link below, or email me at danbarkerstudios.com and we'll get information across to you soon. - Dan https://www.subscribepage.com/ttc-founding-member

81 - Goal Setting It's that time of year when we think about what’s important to us and what we want to achieve. Most of us try to set goals, but are we achieving them? Drawing from personal experience and that of mentors, Dan believes there are ways to accomplish goals which are more effective than others. As we launch into the new year, it’s good to assess what works and what doesn’t, in order to help us focus on what we should be doing with fresh clarity. In this episode, of Thriving Three Counties, Dan touches on some advice from Gary Keller’s book ‘The One Thing’. Dan also leaves us with some practical advice that has worked for him, to help achieve our goals. We hope this has been helpful. We are all on this journey together and it would be good to hear from you. What are your goals and how are they going? Stay in touch at dan@danbarker.com

Episode 80 Welcome to the Thriving Three Countries podcast with Dan Barker. Conversations with inspiring business people throughout the three counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. Dan is flying solo in today’s episode but it’s because he wants to let you know about the new “Thriving Three Counties Mastermind Community” that they launched this year. What is it all about? Thanks for asking!­ Well in short, they are a group of generous entrepreneurs based in the three counties committed to helping each other learn, grow and develop so that each person can live a rich, happy and fulfilled life. So what makes it different to your typical networking group? It’s not about trying to meet people and get business. It’s more than that. Together this exclusive group will support each other and help each other to learn and grow. Dan says, "The mastermind format is something that I’ve been a part of for many, many years and I think this one has got huge potential to become ‘the group’ in the three counties that everyone wants to be a part of in the future." Dan Barker is currently taking on founding members, so if you'd like to be part of it, then please do get in touch – see link below, or email him at dan@danbarkerstudios.com and he'll get information across to you. https://www.subscribepage.com/ttc-founding-member www.danbarkerstudios.com

If you've heard the story of me finding my niche in photography a number of years ago, you'll have heard about today's guest, Jon Johnson already. While battling myself, trying to make the photography business work so I could leave my day job, I decided to ask on LinkedIn what struggles people had had when working with commercial photographers. Jon generously answered and even agreed to chat on the phone to talk me through his experiences. His response that day led me to pursuing a niche in photography and now video, which had a dramatic impact on my business and ability to succeed. Now, 4 or 5 years later, we've become good friends and having heard his story, I understand that this generous act of giving his time to me that day is something that comes naturally and is repeated often. Jon is an entrepreneur at heart, having set up his first business aged 16. Brought up on a family farm he forged his path in agricultural consultancy and agronomy. His passion for the development of people led to the successful Education Training Centre for young people developed in 2009, which came about due to another one of his generous acts - this time trying to understand and help a young person who was causing trouble on the street outside his house. Jon has also undertaken property development projects and engaged in politics at local and national levels whilst developing a consultancy business working with a wide range of sectors. In 2015 Jon founded his current business Mountain Perspective, blending business support and the outdoor environment. Today Mountain Perspective fulfils a range of commercial contracts. He also works with several charities and social enterprises, and is an Enterprise Advisor for Hereford and Ludlow and North Shropshire College, and an Advisor for Young Enterprise. Jon holds a BSc in Business Management, Teacher training qualification, and is currently studying for his master’s in psychology. Website is www.mountainperspective.co.uk LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-johnson-ltd

Molly Collinson and Love Coles' business is based in Malvern and provides a full compliment of offerings based around three pillars of health - well-being, movement and nutrition. They offer a plant based kitchen, a studio with a full schedule of movement classes and an ethos around helping everyone in their community to thrive and improve their lives. The business is called Rise, and the mission is to help everyone find true happiness through their health. www.riseto.health https://www.instagram.com/riseto.health/ www.facebook.com/riseto.healthuk

I've had a pleasure of watching Ian Jarvis transition from employed to running his own accountancy business, as we both took the plunge around a similar time, in 2018. Since then, Ian's client roster has grown at an incredible rate - and for full disclosure, I'm one of them! Ian is always been ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and ways of doing business - jumping on Zoom calls with his clients, long before most people had heard of it, working solely on a fixed monthly direct debit basis with his clients and fully embracing cloud based accounting software while others were still on Excel. Ian is a personable guy with a dry sense of humour, who as far as I can see, simply loves helping people overcome their accounting problems. https://vertisaccounting.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianjarvis/

After falling out of love with his career in IT, the work, the commute and the drain on family life, Simon Wallis Smith decided to take the plunge and buy an existing business in a completely different sector - antique lighting. Armed with no experience in retail or lighting, but the motivation to make positive changes in his life for himself and his family, he took on a bricks and mortar business with a handful of employees and got to work. He's since grown the business into one of the most sought after lighting specialists in the country, with a range of contemporary lighting designed by him and his team, as well as a thriving antique lighting restoration and sales department. They upgraded their premises in Ross-on-Wye in 2020, moving into a stunning showroom, designed and kitted out from scratch, and have recently opened a London showroom in Clerkenwell. https://www.fritzfryer.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/fritz_fryer_lighting/ https://www.pinterest.co.uk/karenfritzfryer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-wallis-smith-35104933/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/fritz-fryer-lighting/

Dan Lewis returns to the show after being one of the very first guests on episode 3. Dan has built a thriving estate agency business in Worcestershire over the last 4 years and continues to develop both himself and the business, which is built on solid foundations and a commitment to fantastic customer experience. https://freeagent247.com/ https://www.instagram.com/freeagent247/?hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/dansellshouses/

Dan Cooke is an engineer with a passion and skill in business, a combination which exists, but in my experience can be rare. We've been working with him and the business he manages for a couple of years now and in that time I've watched him help grow the business through hard work, enthusiasm, dedication, a few all-nighters and a commitment to detail that'll leave most of us weeping in the corner! He grew up on a farm in rural Herefordshire and has held several positions at prestigious engineering companies over the years. His mother's accounting skills have rubbed off on him and his career has moved more towards the business side of things recently, where he's been able to combine his love of engineering with the running of the business. https://www.kutavar.com/ https://www.escco.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-w-cooke/

With a career spanning over 30 years, Stuart Wilkes is now firmly planted in the complementary worlds of business, technology and marketing. He's worked in diverse roles such as hardware and software engineering, product design, product management, product marketing technology leadership and content creation. As a child, he was surrounded by entrepreneurs and sales professionals, with many of his childhood summers spent visiting trade show stands around the country where he developed an ability to have insightful conversations with senior buyers. Throughout his career, he has been fortunate enough to work in highly complex worlds, such as military radar, cryptographic communications design and microelectronic design and manufacture. This granted him the opportunity to work globally and to interact with a wide variety of different business cultures. He has interviewed many senior business leaders across a diverse range of industries to help drive the creation of compelling content. He has now set up his own content creation studio – Hourglass : Technology Storytellers - helping technology companies develop strategic marketing content and create new ways to communicate their products and services to their customer base. He has a deep sense of curiosity and has always been super sharp, both in appearance and the way he conducts conversations. www.hourglass.ink https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartwilkes/

Simon Veal's past experiences include serving in the Royal Navy on nuclear submarines for over 20 years, trekking mount Kilimanjaro, running the London marathon, skippering a yacht around the Greek Islands and what he describes as 'a number of interesting jobs' - which I'm looking forward to hearing more about! He now runs a luxury food hamper business with his wife, based in Tewkesbury. And he's learning as much as he can about running a business and all that goes with that - bookkeeping, sales, marketing, social media etc. Their sister business is a stunning deli in Tewkesbury, Miss Muffets, a great place for food. www.mmhampers.co.uk Missmuffetshampers on Instagram  Miss Muffets hampers on Facebook  Simon Veal on LinkedIn 

Ant Stevens is the co-founder of Ledbury Real Ales - a local brewery, based just outside of Ledbury. The beer is sold mainly within a 15 mile radius of the brewery, allowing him to meet one of his main aims of creating a local product for a local market. He's a born and bred a Yorkshire man, who says real ale is in his blood. His passion for beer has taken him around the world sampling ales and led him to the decision to set up a brewery and share his enthusiasm for real ale. http://www.ledburyrealales.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/www.ledburyrealales.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/ledburyrealales/?hl=en https://twitter.com/ledburyrealales

Chris Wilkins started his retail career and the young age of 15 in sports retail and on leaving school went to college but found it was not for him. While working Saturdays in the sports shop he made the decision to pursue his passion of sales and customer experience. Having  worked through the ranks in sports retail he moved to Vodafone in 2006, quickly moving through various roles to become Head of Franchise. After leaving that role in December 2019, he started his own business, Saoirse Communications, which now runs the Vodafone stores in Hereford, Ross and Gloucester as part of the Vodafone franchise programme. Website: https://www.saoirsecommunications.com/ Twitter: @SaoirseComms Instagram: Saoirsecommunications LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chris-wilkins-59319116

Graham Baylis is based in Hereford and is an SEO expert. Anyone who's been networking in the area recently will recognise him and his props...especially the tickling stick! All will be explained! https://somltd.co.uk/ https://serendipity-online-marketing.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/gbaylis/

Helena has worked in all aspects of the performance industry from TV commercials and voiceovers to UK tours and choreography. She loves comedy and enjoys using her natural comedic timing within comedy improvisation shows and stand up comedy routines. She describes herself as an intuitive, reliable and efficient performer who is easy to direct and work with. Her bubbly, infectious personality provides a fun yet focused environment to work in.  However, what you don’t see is the 9 auto immune chronic health conditions she lives with. As a result she's an advocate for raising awareness of chronic health conditions, particularly invisible illnesses both mental and physical, in order to eliminate the stigma and help those like her understand they are wanted, seen, heard and most importantly not alone. This has led her to creating Chronically Creative, a British children’s media company based in the heart of the Cotswolds dedicated to educating, entertaining and creating inspiring content for ALL. Website: www.chronicallycreative.co.uk  www.helenamitchell.com  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/chronicallycreativemedia/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/chronically-creative/?viewAsMember=true https://www.linkedin.com/in/helena-mitchell-9a57761b4/

A look back at our chat with Sonja Leason - who was a homeless single mum at 17, Managing Director by 30, #1 best selling author by 36 and property investor at 37. She’s a #1 best selling author of A Woman's Work, a book that was written to help more women into business. The book knocked Elon Musk off #1 and Simon Sinek off #2! Her podcast, Struggle to Success, interviews inspirational entrepreneurs on how they turned life struggles into successful businesses that give back. Her company, Love Mondays, is a business growth consultancy for startups and scale ups. She works with people to turn their story into profitable and ethical businesses with her 5 step methodology, SCALE.  www.wearelovemondays.co.uk  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonjaleason/  www.instagram.com/lovemondayshq

Pete Sen is a co-founder of Gifford's Circus, a multi- instrumentalist/composer and director of an award winning music Tuition company called The Music Guru. After spending a year playing the Irish bars in Paris with a thrash trad folk band called 'Fionn', he returned to England where he earned a degree at the London College of Music. In 2000, he was invited by Nell Gifford who had seen Fionn play in Oxford to direct the music for a show she was starting. That show was to be Giffords Circus. He continued to direct the music until 2007 when he left to get married. He started to teach music privately and clocked up quite a number of students on different instruments. He soon realised he'd need some help and in 2015, The Music Guru was officially set up.  As they entered the school circuit, Pete realised that peripatetic teaching was in need of reform and he set about trying to correct this and bring a new modern approach to music teaching that is more accessible and successful for the students. He is.....Pete Sen pete@musicguru.me www.musicguru.me https://www.facebook.com/petemusicguru https://petesentheanthemsprinters.bandcamp.com/album/the-shipping-forecast-2

Catherine is a B2B copywriter and founder of Pippin Copywriting Ltd. She writes for businesses of all shapes and sizes from one person consultancies to multinational corporations.   She started her career in marketing and was a marketing manager for several publishers, the most famous of which was Oxford University Press. She moved to Herefordshire in 2004 to work part time as a web copywriter in a web design agency and part time as a freelance copywriter. Eight years later, she quit the day job to found Pippin and work for herself full time.   1 June 2022 will mark Pippin’s 10th anniversary and coincidentally, another very special day for our guest today. hellopippin.co.uk https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineevery/