The Richard Smith - small business development for the real world.

The Richard Smith - small business development for the real world.
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Small business, sales, marketing, how to get stuff done.

Episodes

  1. 14H AGO

    AI Without the Fairy Dust: How Small Businesses Can Actually Use It

    In this episode, the focus is artificial intelligence without the nonsense. AI is not sold as a miracle. It is treated as what it actually is. A tool. The discussion looks at how small business owners can use AI in a practical way. Not in the cloud. Not as a gimmick. But as a controlled system that helps you think, decide, and act. It explores how AI can pull together proven ideas, trusted content, and real-world experience. All in one place. On your terms. If you want fewer opinions, better questions, and shorter paths from problem to solution, this episode is for you. Why listen to this episode? This is not AI hype. It is AI as a tool that actually earns its keep. Here are the ideas, and why they matter. 1. AI is not magic Idea: AI is useful, not miraculous. Why listen: If you are tired of being told AI will solve everything, this resets expectations fast. 2. Small businesses have too many jobs Idea: Owners are expected to be good at finance, sales, HR, marketing, stock, and strategy. Why listen: Because no one is that good. This episode admits it and moves on. 3. Outsourcing is expensive and slow Idea: Most firms outsource knowledge because they have no choice. Why listen: This shows how AI can reduce that dependency without pretending you can replace experts. 4. AI works best as a private knowledge base Idea: AI is strongest when fed proven content you trust. Why listen: You learn how to turn AI into something closer to an in-house advisor, not a glorified search box. 5. Use your own data, on your own terms Idea: Control the sources. Control the answers. Why listen: This avoids cloud dependence and keeps sensitive thinking where it belongs. 6. Turn podcasts into thinking tools Idea: Download, transcribe, and interrogate content. Why listen: This is a practical trick most people have not clocked yet. 7. Build AI by function, not fantasy Idea: Separate tools for marketing, sales, product, and ideas. Why listen: Because structure beats enthusiasm every time. 8. Shorter paths appear Idea: AI often shows a simpler route than the one you planned. Why listen: Less effort. Fewer mistakes. Same destination. 9. Better questions beat quick answers Idea: AI helps you think before you pay someone else to think for you. Why listen: This alone can save time, money, and embarrassment. 10. This is about survival, not buzzwords Idea: AI is framed as a working tool for real businesses. Why listen: Because survival is more interesting than trends. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Comment Send Message

    6 min

  2. FEB 5

    February 2026 Small Business Podcast

    Steal Like a Professional. Borrow What Works. Build What Sells. Summary This episode is about borrowing ideas, not nicking work. Every market is crowded. Whatever you sell, someone else sells something similar. Often cheaper. Often louder. That is normal. That is how markets work. Instead of pretending you must be “original,” look at what already exists. If a competitor has a product or service that sells, that proves demand. That alone is valuable. You can take the idea, adapt it, repackage it, and make it fit your customers better. Add your edge. Your voice. Your service. Your brand. This is not about copying copyright or stealing IP. It is about learning from what already works and improving it. The internet proves this daily. Amazon is full of near-identical products. The difference is branding, positioning, and trust. For small business owners, this is often the fastest way to grow. Less risk. Clear demand. Faster execution. Stop fearing the word “steal.” Start borrowing intelligently. Ready to get in touch? Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Email Send Message

    5 min

  3. JAN 16

    January 2026 – For Small Business Owners That Feel Stuck

    Most people know me for business development. Fewer know my background is financial services. I spent over 30 years in that industry. One thing became very clear early on. Most people have serious mental blocks around money, work, and investing. There is no magic switch. No instant fix. Anyone selling that is lying. But there are ways to reset how you think and behave. When that shifts, everything else starts to move. This podcast has always focused on business. Planning. Strategy. Growth.Today I want to talk about mindset. How the brain actually works. And why so many capable people feel stuck. I am about to launch a new programme on my sister site, MoneyTrainers.co.uk. It made sense to introduce the ideas here first. We are taught a simple story.Set goals. Make plans. Follow steps. Everything works out. Business owners know that is nonsense. Plans break. Life interferes. Circumstances change. You end up somewhere you never planned to be. That is not failure. That is reality. The Buddhists say it well. The problem is rarely the problem. Your reaction is. I want to talk about being stuck. Not lazy. Not broken. Just stuck. Most of us already know what we should be doing.Get up earlier.Move more.Focus.Stop scrolling.Stop avoiding. The issue is not knowledge. It is behaviour. Your brain is doing exactly what it was designed to do. Distract you. Protect you. Preserve energy. Sit alone for an hour. No phone. No noise. You will see it. Thought after thought. Tens of thousands a day. That is not a flaw. That is survival wiring. The brain blocks action in three main ways. First, uncertainty.Your brain does not believe the effort will work. Second, distance.The reward feels too far away. Big goals overwhelm the system. Third, threat.Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of damaging your identity. When all three are present, action stops. This is why motivation fails.This is why positive thinking fails. You do not need more effort.You need less friction. A reset is not about dreaming bigger. It is about starting smaller. As we get older, this matters more. I am in my 60s now. Looking back, the real question is not “why didn’t I know?” It is “why didn’t I change?” For years, I did not believe change was possible. Life was fine. Career was fine. Family was fine. But something never shifted. That changed when I started working with meditation and reset principles in my late 40s and 50s. I began to understand the mechanics. We do not need another “change your life” programme.We need to work with the brain we actually have. That means smaller actions.Closer rewards.And a shift in identity before long-term goals. Identity drives behaviour. If you believe you are overweight, unfit, bad with money, or “just not that person,” then no amount of motivation will fix it. You will always act in line with who you think you are. This reset is about changing that. Gradually. Practically. Without heroics. If you are stuck, the answer is not trying harder.It is starting smaller. The programme launches soon. It will be free initially. You will find it at:moneytrainers.co.uk/reset If this resonated, get in touch. Leave a comment wherever you found this podcast. You are not broken.Your brain is just doing its job. Ready to get in touch use the form below. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Name Send Message

    8 min

  4. JAN 10

    The Future Of Small Business – Podcast Special

    Welcome back to the podcast. I’m Richard Smith. Today I want to talk to small business owners about the future. Not in a sci-fi way. In a practical, pay-the-bills way. Things are changing. Fast. Look at war. Ukraine is the obvious example. Wars used to be fought with soldiers, tanks, planes, and shells. People on the ground pulling triggers. Now we have drones. Some are still controlled by humans. Others soon won’t be. Software will make the decisions. Machines will do the work. That is not the future. That is already happening. At the same time, there’s another war going on. Cyber attacks. Digital sabotage. Systems being taken offline instead of cities being bombed. Different tools. Same goal. Disable the enemy. Stop them functioning. That matters to you as a business owner. Because the tools we use to run businesses have changed in exactly the same way. Once upon a time, there was one delivery option. Royal Mail. That was it.Now it’s DHL, DPD, Amazon Logistics, and a dozen others. We used to buy and sell face to face.Now most trade runs through platforms like Amazon. Highly automated. Warehouses run by machines. Humans barely involved. Soon robots won’t just move boxes. They’ll pick the stock too. We no longer queue in shops on Saturdays.We click and collect.We sit in the car.Someone puts the goods in the boot. Technology removed the friction. You cannot avoid this as a small business owner. There is no opt-out. No wriggle room. But here’s the problem. Your customers have not evolved at the same speed. Human psychology has barely changed in thousands of years. People still want the same things the Romans wanted. Food. Safety. Status. Comfort. Certainty.They want to feel good about what they buy.They want reassurance they made the right choice. So here’s the tension. You are forced to use new tools.Your customers still think in old ways. Your job is to bridge that gap. Use modern technology.But sell to ancient brains. That’s the real challenge. Some businesses will not adapt. They will disappear. That is not cruel. It’s normal. Others will step back and ask better questions. What is changing in my market?What is staying the same?Where does technology help me?Where does a human still matter? Because some things cannot be automated. If a pipe bursts at 4am, you need a plumber. Not a chatbot.You can find one online.You can book one online.But someone still has to turn up and fix the pipe. That physical interface never goes away. The tools change. The delivery changes. The discovery changes.But humans are still needed. Just like war.Drones may deliver bombs.But humans still build them, load them, and decide why they exist. I don’t have all the answers. But this is exactly what I work through with small business owners every day. Online presence.Reviews.E-commerce.Customer trust.Systems that work while you sleep. None of this is new.Only the delivery mechanism has changed. Bombs still kill people.They’re just dropped differently now. If you’re stuck.If you want to talk through options.If you want help using technology without losing your soul or your customers. Get in touch. Have a great day. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Name Send Message

    8 min

  5. JAN 2

    Welcome to 2026. This Is the New Reality for Small Business.

    This is the first podcast of 2026. And yes, we have arrived. If you run a small business, this is for you. The aim of this podcast is simple.I take what I do every day with small business clients and strip it down into something useful.No theory. No noise. Just what works. Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Running a small business is hard right now.What used to work in marketing does not work like it did.Advice feels harder to trust.And customers behave differently. A big reason for that is AI. AI Has Moved Faster Than Most People Expected If you search for advice today, you do not get ten blue links.You get an answer. That answer is often close to what an accountant or solicitor used to charge for.AI models can now pass basic law and accountancy exams.That alone should make you pause. But there is a catch. AI does not understand your business.It does not understand nuance.And it does not ask follow-up questions. Why That Matters More Than People Think Ask an AI model how much tax you owe.Give it last year’s turnover.It will confidently give you a number. That number is usually wrong. A human advisor asks questions.Expenses. Losses. Timing. Carry-forwards.AI skips all of that and moves straight to an answer. Confidence is not accuracy. The Bigger Shift Most Owners Miss Your customers are doing the same thing. They no longer ring first.They ask an AI model.Sometimes the answer is wrong.Sometimes it is good enough to delay speaking to you. That breaks the old model where content led to trust and trust led to contact. Who Is Exposed and Who Is Not If you do physical work, you are safer.Plumbers still need to turn up.Builders still need to build. If your work is information-based and remote, pressure is coming.UK tax returns are already being handled using AI tools based overseas. This is not theory.It is happening. AI Is Not the Enemy. Blind Use Is. For a small monthly fee, AI is an incredible tool.It helps thinking.It helps planning.It helps speed. But it does not replace judgment. When someone says “I have a sales problem,” that is never one problem.It could be two hundred.AI does not prioritise.It lists. And lists create overwhelm, not decisions. What 2026 Really Looks Like More tools.More pressure.More misinformation.More noise. Also more opportunity for owners who think clearly. The advantage goes to people who use AI as a tool, not a crutch. If You’re Stuck If any of this feels familiar, get in touch. You can find out more at www.therichardsmith.com.If you run a smaller business, head to smallbusinessninja.co.uk. Tell me the problem.I will give you a couple of ways to think about it.No charge. Because that is still how this works. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Phone Send Message

    9 min

  6. 12/20/2025

    December 2025 – Podcast No 2 – Sales help for small business

    Welcome to the second of this months podcast. Often asked how I help my small business customers get the results they get? This podcast will help. If you want hands-on help for your small business, head to www.smallbusinessninja.co.uk. One of the questions I get asked a lot is how I actually do what I do, and how it works for my small business clients. So I want to give you a simple overview of the work I’ve done this year for one particular client. We achieved around a 20 percent increase in sales and profitability.We also freed up time for the senior team by using better systems, online tools, and a small amount of AI to remove friction and admin. These are the steps we followed. First, we carried out product rationalisation.We looked at what was selling, what was not, and whether products were priced for profit, not just for sales. A business exists to make a profit.Nothing else.So that is always the starting point. Next, we analysed the core markets.Where sales were coming from.Who the best customers were.Who the worst customers were.And how to remove the bottom feeders who take time, energy, and margin. After that, we implemented the right technology.This allowed us to track enquiries properly and build a proper e-commerce setup on the website. There had been a limited online presence before, but not a proper shop.No upsells.No cross-sells.No structure. We then reviewed social media.TikTok.Instagram.Facebook.Twitter.All the usual platforms. The business already had accounts, so this was about identifying what worked and what didn’t.We duplicated strong content across platforms and stopped wasting time on things that went nowhere. We then created dedicated content that solved real problems.We focused on what the products did for the customer. Nobody cares about your product.They care about what it does for them. After that, we focused on farming. Farming is about growing and nurturing your existing customer base.It means regular contact.Useful content.Offers.Conversations. Some people buy straight away.Some don’t.That’s fine. You don’t know when someone will buy.But you do know that staying visible massively improves the odds. Farming means you stop constantly hunting for new customers and start building value from the ones you already have. The final step was affiliate and joint-venture marketing. We partnered with like-minded businesses.Where they had a product gap, they sold our products.Where we had a gap, we promoted theirs. This gave both sides access to new audiences without buying ads. We wrote the content.They used it.They did the same for us. In biology, this is called symbiosis.Both parties benefit.It works. All of this, combined with better systems and light automation, delivered a 20 percent increase in turnover.It also freed up a lot of time.Prices were increased as well. I’ve done this with several clients this year.Every single one has seen an increase in turnover. Next year, we’ll also roll out cold outreach on behalf of clients.Calls.Emails.Targeted properly. Cold outreach isn’t great for long-term profit.Farming is better.But it is useful for finding new markets quickly. The key point is this.We do the work.There is no extra overhead for your business. That’s a simple summary of what I’ve been doing this year.This is the process we use with all our small business clients.It works.The results prove it. Need help, contact form is below. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Message Send Message

    7 min

  7. 12/15/2025

    December 2025 Podcast – What A Year. Is your business stuck?

    in this short podcast we talk about why your business may be start and what you can do about it, we have some options for you to focus on and of course some simple solutions. But that’s a problem with simple solutions isn’t it? They never are but here I am to give you some pointers. 2025 feels different for small business owners. Not quieter. Louder. Noisier. Heavier. What I am seeing everywhere is not a money recession.It is a doing recession. Too much content. Too many platforms. Too many options.TikTok. LinkedIn. Facebook. News. AI tools. Advice from everywhere.All of it shouting. None of it helping you decide. So people stall.They overthink.They delay.They consume more content instead of fixing their own business. That is not because you are broken.It is because you have stopped trusting yourself. You will not solve today’s problems by scrolling harder.Or by chasing the next shiny idea. The fix is boring. And it works. Stop.Take a notebook.Write down what is actually not working.Pick two things only.Break them into steps.Work the problem, not the noise. If you spend time defining the real problem, the solution usually shows up. If this sounds uncomfortably familiar and you want hands-on help, get in touch.below or at smallbusinessninja.co.uk If you need some sales help for your business, then please get in touch. It’s costs nowt to talk. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Email Send Message

    6 min

  8. 11/27/2025

    November 2025 Number 3 | Podcast – Small Business Decision Making

    In today’s podcast, I’m talking about  some important things for small business owners – in particular those of you that work in your own show (business) As small business owners, we often start the day fighting fires, staring at the “burning embers” of yesterday’s problems. This leads to overwhelm, analysis paralysis, and the feeling that you need 100% of the information before you can move an inch. In this latest update, I tackle two critical components for future-proofing your business: The Speed of Decision Making and The Leverage of AI. Here are the specific questions this episode answers: 1. Why am I stuck and unable to move forward?You are likely treating every choice as a life-or-death situation. The episode explains why “waiting for all the information” is killing your momentum and why competitors won’t wait for you to be thorough. 2. What is the difference between a “One-Way” and a “Two-Way” door?Richard breaks down this vital management theory. He explains how to distinguish between irreversible decisions (firing staff, killing a product line) and reversible ones (hiring, testing a new method). The key to growth? Make the reversible decisions immediately. Just do it. 3. How can I safely test new ideas without risking the business?Treat new marketing or product launches as a “side hustle within your business.” If the door swings both ways, the cost of waiting is usually higher than the cost of fixing a mistake later. 4. How can AI act as a “Highly Qualified Helper” for my team?Beyond just writing emails, how to create custom AI tools that do a “deep dive” into your specific company policies and expectations, guiding staff and solving client issues exactly how you would. 5. Can I build a “Virtual Board of Directors”?Yes. The episode answers how you can use AI models to build a portfolio of knowledge uploading the works of figures like Lincoln, Edison, or Darwin to act as a virtual peer group when you need advice on a difficult problem. You can choose who you want – even me. But then again I do swear a lot. Listen to the full episode to learn how to stop overthinking and start automating. Ready to get a “shimmy on” with your business growth?If you are a small business owner looking for hands-on help to implement these decision frameworks and AI tools, get in touch using the form below. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Phone Send Message

    5 min

  9. 11/24/2025

    November 2025 Podcast Update – Ai in the workplace.

    There are a number of questions that I am trying to answer in this podcast enjoy. 1. The Role and Impact of AI in the Workplace • How will artificial intelligence models shift and change the parameters in relation to our work and how we work? (The sources confirm that AI models are going to change a “hell of a lot of things,” although they are not necessarily the one thing that will transform everything.) • What useful functions and access can these AI models provide? (They can give access to things that we perhaps never had access to before, and they allow for interpretations on life and our actions, if we choose to use them.) • Is artificial intelligence the panacea for business problems? (No, the speaker states they do not believe artificial intelligence is the panacea.) • What are the useful use cases for so-called artificial intelligence? 2. Leveraging Personal and Business Knowledge • How can a business owner effectively package up their expert knowledge and personal business processes into a working AI tool? (This process involves collecting details about the working process, qualifications, understanding, and procedures of the owner.) • How can this customised AI tool be used to help staff members? (The tool can be given to staff, allowing them to do a deep dive into how they should be working, how they should be answering questions, and how they should be dealing with stuff by laying out policy, views, opinions, and ways to help clients.) • How can stuff that has never been packaged up before be wrapped into a usable tool? 3. Virtual Mentorship and Decision Making • How can AI models address the business owner’s need for mentors or advisors (like legal advisors, accountants, or other business owners)? (With these models, users are able to start building a portfolio of knowledge.) • How can an AI tool be directed to create a virtual peer group of famous or expert figures? (The works of famous people, such as Lincoln, Edison, Dale Carnegie, Darwin, James Clear, and Naval, can be put into a working package, and the tool can be given direction to treat these figures as “peer writers”.) • How does using a knowledge-loaded AI tool relate to the concept of an imaginary peer group? (It is compared to a British-based entrepreneur who would ask questions to an imaginary peer group in his mind and wait for the answers. The AI tool collects information and gives the best response from the data it has, similarly providing answers from a virtual peer group.) • What should I do if I am maybe stuck or not sure what to do next in my business? (The leverage gained from these tools is effectively like having a highly qualified helper to give direction.) 4. Implementation and Tailored Use • How can a small business owner start to get good levels of leverage from AI tools? • How is the application of these tools different for various small businesses? (The idea is that every small business is different and will require a different tool or a different way of doing things I do hope that this issue of the podcast has helped you focus on how these AI models can help our businesses thrive and survive in the current world. It really isn’t all negative. There are a considerable number of positives that we need to be focusing on and using these as a available tour instead of a distraction or something to be avoided. As always, if you’re stuck with any of this, please get in touch. I specialise in working with small business owners to get the shimmy on that they need in the marketplace.. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Email Send Message

    6 min

  10. 11/18/2025

    November 2025 Podcast

    Welcome to the November 2025 issue of the podcast. There is quite a bit to talk about today and I am going to begin with this whole issue of distraction and how our small business owners suffer with destruction purely because it’s baked into the way we live our modern lives. in this short podcast I cover some of the issues that we have been discussing face to face with some of my clients over the past couple of months and also to let you know there is more content over on the Small Business Ninja Tik Tok feed which is currently part way through my 100 series of short videos for small business owners covering such things as business development sales marketing and running away with the circus enjoy and I look forward to hearing from you with your questions. Go Deep, Not Wide: Unlocking Profit from Your Existing Customer Base Are you obsessed with chasing new leads while ignoring the goldmine sitting right in front of you? In this episode, Richard Smith—one-half of Small Business Ninja—challenges the traditional approach to business growth. If you feel like you are constantly spending money on ads, SEO, and trying to attract strangers into your funnel, you might be “missing a trick.” Richard argues that while finding new customers is part of business, building a truly profitable, consistent enterprise requires going deep, not wide. Key Takeaways from this Episode: The 80/20 Rule of Growth: Richard guarantees that 80% of your new business potential lies within your existing customer base—the people who already know, love, and trust you. Stop Waiting for the Phone to Ring: Your customers are like your dentist; they might trust you, but they won’t call you spontaneously just to chat. It is your job to proactively reach out using text, WhatsApp, email, or even “snail mail” to keep the relationship alive. The “Deep Dive” Strategy: Sustainable growth comes from offering added value to current clients. This includes upselling, cross-selling, or even offering affiliate products and services that solve their problems. Aligning Business with Life: With a background in financial services, Richard explains why your business finances need to be structured to support your personal life goals, not just your business turnover. Ready to stop chasing and start nurturing?If you want to learn how to implement these retention strategies and get off the “new lead” hamster wheel, head over to Small Business Ninja. Check out Richard’s 100-video series on TikTok for daily tips. Get in touch when you are ready. Get In Touch Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name * Email * Subject * Comment or Message * Name Send Message

    7 min
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Small business, sales, marketing, how to get stuff done.

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