Personal Development Interviews Mark Asquith

Hey, Mark here with a quick update about this evergreen interview series and my other podcast, The Podcast Accelerator (https://www.markasquith.com/listen).

Welcome to Excellence Expected.



Episode 1 is my opportunity to thank you for picking up the show and beginning this journey with me.



During the episode I talk about how I bounced back from a business catastrophe to become founder of a rapidly growing design & digital agency, whilst also discussing how that rapid growth and the challenges it brought, caused me to burn out only two years ago.



I take this opportunity to talk about what you can expect from each episode of Excellence Expected and the value that you, as a business owner or entrepreneur, can draw from the podcast.



I also introduce my free eBook "The Essential 14 Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact", which is my blueprint and work-through template that will show you how to create more time every single day, become instantly more effective in your business and create the time to enjoy the things that matter to you.



Excellence Expected is a podcast for business owners, by business owners, with each and every episode adding value to your busy business life.



Let's learn, share and grow together; don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Katie Portman has an enviable position as a happy mother and a successful PR and journalistic professional who has successfully managed to strike the perfect balance between her working life and the life she wants to live.



But, it seems it didn’t come easy and this episode focusses on Katie’s journey to that perfect balance and along the way she shares her top tips on how you can begin to balance your life better, starting today!

During the episode, Katie shares her inspirational and actionable insights that will help you to:



* Learn how to find family time whilst keeping your clients happy

* Prepare for a life change and how to incorporate that into your business including:



* Preparing clients

* Managing their expectations

* When to say "no"

* How to ensure you can "come back" when the time is right for you





* Create boundaries between the most important aspects of your life

* Ensure that clients understand these boundaries and come to respect your resolve in sticking to them

* Find your perfect work / life balance - remember this is unique to you, only you can create it and only you can change it today!



Links mentioned in this episode:



* "Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? How to drive your career and create a remarkable future" by Seth Godin

* "Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Happier Life" by Adrianna Huffington

* PoutingInHeels.com

* @KateLPortman



How do you balance your working life with your ‘real’ life? Let me know in the comments and let’s share how we can all improve!



Don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Every business owner, every entrepreneur is on a journey of self discovery.



For most entrepreneurs and business owners, there is someone there to accompany them on that path. Today I talk about 3 of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in my time starting up and building a business, welcoming one of my partners on that journey to deliver those lessons: Mr. Donald Gent.



Donald is a highly successful business person, having started his career in the heady days of 1960s London, before building a property portfolio and establishing the global design & digital agency DMSQD with myself and 3 other friends.



Since I met Donald in late 2008, I've had the privilege of calling him a friend and being able to call upon him as a fine, patient and generous mentor. Without Donald, I doubt I you would even be listening to this show.



This episode is packed full of insights and actionable takeaways, delving deep into the lessons we have learned together since we started. Myself and Donald chart some of the most challenging times we’ve faced in business and some of the hard decisions we’ve had to make.



Links featured in this episode:



*  @RoystonDon - Donald Gent on Twitter



I’d LOVE to hear your stories and allow you to share your lessons from your own business journey - the comments are waiting folks!



Don’t forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Ben Beaumont is serious about success. Having set out only a few short years ago to transform the service expectations within the scaffold design industry, his business, 48.3 Scaffold Design has seen wild growth and admirable success.



Ben's secret?



He trusts his people and his systems.



Ben began a journey to transform his business over the last 18 months through thorough and efficient systemisation that has allowed his business to thrive and maintain it's impeccable customer service ethos even through a period of rapid growth.



In part one of this interview I interview Ben, an old friend, and he shares some vital insights into how he came to realise what systemisation actually means, how it can be applied to any business and how he began going through a process of change that ultimately resulted in wild success and personal pride.



Throughout this episode you will be taken on a journey to discover:



* How to increase the time you have available

* How to increase profitability by



* Doing things quicker and more efficiently

* Maintaining quality through consistent process

* Enabling the person with the lowest possible skillet to carry out the function (by using the system)



* Person on lowest wage executing the task

* More serious staff or skilled staff freed to concentrate on more complex or higher income generating tasks.

* Most valuable if less dependency on you or one key team member









* How to create a culture of embodiment of your ethos, mission & values in your team

* How to introduce systems and processes to allow others to do carry out the tasks you shouldn't be doing

* How to empower your team to do their job with right support

* How to begin working "on" not "in" your business.



This is an empowering episode full of ACTION, it will help you shape your business over the next few years and allow you to achieve what YOU want to achieve.



Remember, the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

In this continuation of my interview with Ben Beaumont from 48.3 Scaffold Design Ben dives into the famous Excellence Expected actionable takeaways section...



Ben share his 3 simple steps to begin your journey to becoming the ultimate business person through systemisation.



Ben shares expert insight and actionable tips covering:



* Overcoming the paralysis of starting - EVERYONE needs to systemise. EVERYONE.

* Identifying the pain points within your business that are stopping you excelling and how to systemise through these.

* How to leverage the technology around us to shift the effort onto reliable tools & resources.



Ben is proof that systemisation leads to reward and an explosion in effective business practice.



Why aren't you doing it?



Don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.