Lancashire Business Stories

Lisa Brady on 18 Years of Perfect Recruitment: HospitalityRoots, Diversifying After COVID, and Building Relationships Lisa Brady discusses her 18-year-old recruitmentconsultancy, Perfect Recruitment, based in Chorley and operating mainly acrossthe Northwest, providing temporary and permanent recruitment. Originallyfocused on hospitality, the business diversified after COVID into constructionand, via a merger with LHR Recruitment, expanded into admin and commercialroles, with most perm work now in renewables, construction, sales/marketing,and accounts, while hospitality is largely temp-led. Brady shares her path fromhotel receptionist to regional manager at a multinational agency, thenlaunching her own firm amid redundancies and just before the 2008 crash,growing through relationships and a major Preston temp contract that solvedcash flow. She critiques “shark” recruiters, emphasizes deep candidateinterviews, skills/attitude checks, honest client communication, and strongonboarding. Future plans include strengthening sectors and adding paid serviceslike training, CVs, job descriptions, and “talent for good” support. 00:00 Welcome and Overview00:18 What Perfect Recruitment Does01:08 From Employee to Founder02:12 Hospitality Roots and Passion03:53 Recruitment Reputation and Relationships06:05 Early Growth and Cashflow Lessons08:24 COVID Pivot and Sector Mix11:11 Team Leadership and Working Less12:55 Future Plans and Added Services15:28 Awards and Business Exposure16:59 Candidate Screening and Skills Tests21:06 Chef Culture and Hiring Challenges22:05 Handling Chef Walkouts22:31 No Shows and Strike Rules23:59 Winning Work and Networking25:11 Candidate Led Marketing25:53 Job Seeker Interview Prep27:58 Killer Interview Questions31:43 Employer Onboarding Essentials34:54 Leadership and Team Challenges37:50 Growth Plans and Succession43:00 Resilience and Policy Changes45:24 How to Contact Perfect Recruitment46:36 Closing ThanksLINKSPerfect Recruitment Website: https://perfect-recruitment.co.uk/Lisa’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-brady-perfectrecruitment/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perfectrecruitment/Email: [email protected]: 01257 264264

Carolina De Almeida Kennedy discusses her path from working in a students’ union and a mental health charity to business ownership, including an earlier side business selling brownies.She began volunteering at puppy classes, was mentored into dog training, worked in the field for several years alongside a job, reduced to part-time in 2024, and launched her own full-time business, Chewing with River, in April 2025.She explains the brand name came from initially selling natural dog treats and her golden retriever, River. Carolina combines dog training with remote canine nutrition advice, emphasizing tailored guidance, the link between gut and brain, and skepticism about conflicting online advice. She describes ethical brand collaborations without commissions, common client issues (dog/human reactivity and high arousal), and her approach focusing on emotions and stress, not just obedience skills. She outlines current services, an Amazon training/nutrition journal, plans for downloadable resources and an online membership, more talks/workshops (including with a vet clinic), and the need to build a business beyond trading time for money, highlighting mindset, networking, and openness to feedback.00:00 Welcome and Setup00:28 Early Career Background01:29 First Business Baking02:14 Volunteering Into Dogs03:30 Mentorship to Trainer04:35 Chewing With River Name05:18 Nutrition and Training Niche06:54 Nutrition Myths and Diets09:00 Practical Feeding Choices10:50 Ethical Brand Partnerships13:04 Training Humans First15:03 Common Behavior Challenges17:21 Skills Versus Emotions19:37 Services and Offers20:24 Journal Book Idea21:47 Scaling Beyond Time24:25 Mentors and Community27:45 Business Skills Matter31:37 Online Membership Plans33:19 Workshops and Confidence35:40 Mindset and Self Talk39:35 Advice for Entrepreneurs42:57 Where to Find HerLINKSWebsite: https://www.chewingwithriver.com/Follow Carolina and River on Instagram: @chewingwithriverLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolina-de-almeida-kennedy-19893b9a/Email: [email protected]: 07400 293288

Preparing Your Business for Exit: Shareholder Agreements, Value Drivers and Due Diligence with Nick Whittle.In this Lancashire Business Stories Business Experts episode, Brabners partner Nick Whittle discusses preparing businesses for succession and exit well in advance (often 3–5 years), focusing on building asset value and reducing risk. He explains why bespoke shareholder agreements act like an insurance policy for good and bad times, especially in family businesses, and highlights issues like death of a shareholder, disputes, restrictive covenants, and the need for aligned wills and corporate documents, sometimes supported by insurance. The conversation covers value drivers and “reverse due diligence,” reducing reliance on founders, key staff, single customers or suppliers, and strengthening management teams, MI/forecasting, incentives and share schemes (e.g., EMI). They stress robust contracts, change-of-control clauses, and avoiding templated/AI-generated legal documents. For exits, they outline trade sales, PE, MBOs, EOTs, closures, and typical deal structures (deferred payments, loan notes, earnouts, rollover equity), plus assembling the right advisory team (M&A accountant, lawyer, financial advisor, broker).00:00 Welcome and Setup00:32 Nick’s Legal Journey01:47 Brabners Growth and Role03:47 What Brabners Does05:21 Exit Planning Mindset07:37 Shareholders Agreement Basics10:07 Fallouts and Family Risks11:20 Death Clauses and Insurance14:10 Avoid DIY Legal Templates17:18 Understanding Business Value21:01 Reverse Due Diligence Prep22:14 Building a Strong Team26:58 Incentives and Equity Schemes29:53 Customer Supplier Concentration32:48 Contracts and Change of Control33:42 Transferable Contracts34:26 Custom Terms Warning35:53 Exit Options Planning38:56 Family Succession Dynamics43:18 Due Diligence Prep47:19 Build Your Exit Team52:05 Insurance and Hidden Risks53:56 Earnouts and Rollovers01:00:34 Vendor Finance Deals01:04:39 Venture Capital Teaser01:06:29 Find Nikki OnlineLINKSBrabners Website: https://www.brabners.com/Nikki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-whittle-056a2b17/Nikki's Email: [email protected]

From Rugby Injury to AI Readiness: James Briers on Building Intelligent Delivery SolutionsJames Briers shares how a hamstring injury ended his semi-professional rugby league path and led him from a Ford engineering apprenticeship into IT automation and quality assurance, including work at Microsoft in Reading, before contracting and then co-founding Intelligent Delivery Solutions (IDS) in March 2015. IDS grew quickly (about £1.2m turnover in year one, hiring within months), initially focused on software QA and later expanding into data migration, integration, and data quality, building tools and learning from an unsuccessful attempt to pivot into a product company. He discusses mindset shifts from employment to contracting, the importance of relationships, understanding margins and finance, recruiting for attitude and culture across a distributed team (about 35 people), and lessons from a business-partner separation and stronger shareholder agreements. IDS is moving toward a consultancy-led platform and recurring revenue model centered on AI readiness, governance, and quality assurance.00:00 Welcome to the Show00:37 From Apprenticeship to Rugby01:52 Injury Sparks a Pivot02:34 Automation at Microsoft03:34 Contracting vs Business06:17 Mindset for Contractors09:07 Founding IDS in 201512:16 Early Growth and Hiring14:30 Evolving Services and Products16:28 Lessons from Product Missteps18:47 AI Impact and Reality Check24:07 What IDS Actually Delivers28:06 Target Sectors and Partners29:39 Knowing Your Numbers32:56 People Hiring and Retention33:36 Inclusive Culture Challenges34:20 Hiring for Attitude Fit36:42 Recruiting by Gut Feel38:30 Talent Market Reality Check40:51 AI Readiness Platform Vision44:27 Recurring Revenue Shift47:18 Partner Split Lessons49:35 Three to Five Year Roadmap50:42 Resilience Mindset Advice55:44 Self Talk and Happiness01:02:14 Big Goals and Influence01:04:07 Book Recommendations Wrap01:07:44 Final Thanks and CloseLINKSWebsite: https://intelligent-ds.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-briers-entrepreneur/

Matt Tomkin on Entrepreneurship Lessons and Building Tao Digital MarketingMatt Tomkin discusses his path to business ownership, from streamlining operations at TV Video Direct to telecoms roles and founding Comms Consult, including major projects like We Buy Any Car’s drive-through valuation and bonded 3G connectivity. He later launched sportswear brand VO2 Sportswear, which grew rapidly but was liquidated due to cashflow and overtrading, teaching him humility, the need for reserves, and using good debt and forecasting. After working at Stanmore Insurance Brokers, he co-founded Tao (Tao Digital Marketing) in 2017, hiring within three months and reaching 12 staff by 2021, while describing COVID pressures and helping businesses for free. Tao now focuses on search marketing, ROI tracking, lead conversion speed, and AI-assisted response tools, aiming to expand into performance marketing and grow the team.00:00 Welcome and Format00:31 Early Tech Beginnings03:09 Telecoms Sales Grind04:15 Launching Comms Consult04:58 Tech Projects and Exit06:28 Sportswear Brand Origins08:35 Endurance Mindset13:20 V2 Growth and Cashflow Crash15:43 Hard Lessons and Forecasting21:06 Back to Entrepreneurship23:33 Building Tower Marketing26:00 COVID Stress and Survival33:43 Tower Today and Services35:11 Measuring Marketing ROI36:50 How Map Pack Works37:51 Local Search Beyond Trades39:51 Tracking ROI With Dashboards42:36 Lead Response Speed Problem45:25 AI Agent For Instant Replies47:20 Frictionless Buying Experience48:37 Know Your Unit Economics51:58 Lifetime Value And Ecommerce54:46 Three Digital Marketing Tips59:39 Who Benefits Most01:01:50 Agency Vision And New Channels01:04:24 Quickfire Advice And Resources01:09:37 How To Get In Touch01:10:22 Final Thanks And WrapLINKSWebsite: https://taodigitalmarketing.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/taodigitalmarketingMatt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-tomkin/

Jim Cheetham Potts discusses his journey from a nine-year local authority drainage engineering apprenticeship in Stockport to private contracting for water companies, moving into bid marketing and tendering as quality-based procurement grew. After seeing inconsistent bid-writing quality and small subcontractors treated poorly by large contractors, he identified a gap and, following a company reorganization, launched Bid Factors in March 2018 with early client support. He explains valuing services by ROI rather than hourly rates, the challenges of running a business—especially marketing and stable lead flow—and his mission to help local contractors compete, supporting social value and resilient communities. Bid Factors guides and manages tender processes, builds knowledge libraries, writes or critiques bids across sectors, advises on frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems, and recommends compliance, practice bids with feedback, and seeking help. 00:00 Welcome and Setup00:35 Apprentice Drainage Engineer01:48 Contracting Side Shift04:05 Tendering and Quality Bids06:26 Why Go Solo09:18 Purpose and Social Value10:52 Day One Planning12:16 First Clients and Pricing16:06 Freedom and Fulfillment19:09 Business Realities and Growth21:28 Biggest Challenge Marketing25:23 Preparing Clients to Win26:24 Retaining Clients Long Term26:54 Bid Factors Services Overview28:42 Writing And Critiquing Bids30:16 Sectors And Universal Principles32:13 Finding Public Tenders UK33:15 Frameworks DPS And Open Tenders36:25 Compliance And Bid Costs38:02 Small Firms Can Win41:38 Consortiums And Joint Ventures44:34 Top Three Tender Tips48:28 Business Owner Quickfire WrapLINKSBid Factors Website: https://bidfactors.co.uk/Jim's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-cheetham-potts-steering-you-to-success/FInd A Tender UK Gov: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search

Our guest this week is Philippa King Smith. Philippa shares how a love of physics and a careers day led her into mechanical engineering, graduating in 2001 and gaining early business experience at Rochdale firm BCH Coates before moving into pharmaceutical and operating-theatre air technology and later technical sales.Family life prompted her to seek work that kept her closer to home, leading to a role in her brother-in-law’s craft beer business where she added operational structure and helped spot a gap for more personal, bespoke gifting, which became Spirit Smith.She explains Spirit Smith’s purpose of making recipients feel valued, its shift from B2C to a corporate focus, and an app-based system that gathers recipient data to reduce errors and save clients time.She discusses lessons in accountability, belief, delegation, focus and consistency, her five-year vision for culture change around recognition.Spiritsmith - https://spiritsmith.co.uk/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippakingsmith/ValueBuilder Assessment - Click Here For Your Free AssessmentDISC - Get Your Free DISC Assessment Here

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