Mentor Business Podcast

Dr Lewis Haydon — Business owner | Founder, MentorBusiness.com
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Mentor Business Podcast explores real-world business decisions entrepreneurs are rarely prepared for. Hosted by Dr Lewis Haydon, business owner across multiple ventures and Founder of MentorBusiness.com, the podcast examines where business theory breaks down in practice — leadership under pressure, ownership decisions, scaling a business, and board-level judgement. Recorded within the university and real entrepreneur ecosystem, these are not advice-led episodes. They document lived experience so the next generation of entrepreneurs gain earlier access to judgement usually learned too late.

  1. 2d ago

    What Is a CRM? How to Build One for Your Small Business | Ep 125

    Most small business owners think a CRM is expensive software for big companies. It isn't. Here's what a CRM actually is, and how to build one this week. A CRM is a system that remembers your customers so you don't have to. Without one, leads are forgotten, follow-ups don't happen, and sales are lost to people you've already met. In this episode of the Mentor Business Podcast, Dr Lewis Haydon opens a new series on marketing for business owners who were never taught it, starting with the CRM. In this episode: Why the software is almost never the reason sales go missing, and what the research says actually is.The three steps every CRM runs on, and the one most businesses skip.The five levels of a CRM, and the one you can start this week for free.Why you should never buy a list, and what to build instead. Chapters:00:00 Why every owner needs a CRM00:52 What is a CRM?06:20 How does a CRM work?08:57 How do you build a CRM? The five levels12:40 What's the best CRM for a small business?14:06 Your next customer is someone you forgot to call back17:34 Your one job this week, and what's next Next episode: how to start email marketing from scratch. What's your goal? I'll tell you the plan. Watch more at https://mentorbusiness.comWork with Dr Lewis Haydon: https://lewishaydon.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentorbusiness.com_/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mentorbusiness-com/

  2. Sep 25

    How to Build a High Performing Team | Ep 124

    Most owners think they can't find good people. They can. The good ones leave because there's nothing to own. In the largest review of why people quit (316 studies), pay turned out to be one of the weaker predictors. How the job is designed mattered about as much. In this episode, Dr Lewis Haydon, business mentor, covers: what a high performing team actually is;the three-week test;the five conditions a team needs before good people will stay;how to improve team performance without being the bottleneck. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction and the Haydon 5Cs(01:09) What is a high-performing team?(02:06) The three-week test(06:07) The 5Cs of high-performing teams(18:38) Building a high-performing team(20:13) Improving team performance(27:17) What's your goal? Know an owner whose business pays everyone but them? Tell them to talk to Dr Lewis Haydon. The Mentor Business Podcast — what owners learn too late, taught early. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mentorbusiness.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn

  3. Jul 29

    How to Pay Yourself as a Business Owner (Without Being Paid Last) | Ep. 123

    How to pay yourself as a business owner — the actual order, from someone who owns businesses, not just talks about them. Episode 123. My best year on record paid me less than the year before. This episode is everything I learned fixing it: why your pay was never in the plan, salary versus dividends and the third route nobody counts, the cascade — pay, profit, margin, revenue, price — why your diary predicts your income better than your strategy, the pricing and discount trap, and what to do when the business "can't afford" to pay you. Plus what paid-last looks like at corporate scale, all the way up to the shareholders. 🎙️ Want free live coaching on the show? If you're brave enough to share your business, message me "LIVE" on LinkedIn. 💬 More on AI and automation in your business? Comment on the YouTube version and I'll make it. Connect with me on LinkedIn: [Dr. Lewis Haydon]50+ mentors, new content monthly: https://MentorBusiness.comComment "$100k"to get the Playbook Now! CHAPTERS:(00:00) The best year that paid me less (01:32) Why your pay was never in the plan (03:19) Why time-for-money caps every owner (11:01) Salary, dividends, and hours back (11:43) Know your number (19:53) Pay, profit, margin, revenue, price (26:32) Show me your diary (how to spell PAY) (28:16) Would you hire yourself? (33:51) Pricing, and the discount trap (36:46) When the business can't afford you (40:28) Route it: make your pay permanent Know an owner whose business pays everyone but them? Tell them to talk to Dr Lewis Haydon. The Mentor Business Podcast — what owners learn too late, taught early.

  4. May 21

    How to Find an Investor → Why Most Founders Are Not Investor Ready With Jof Walters | Ep 122

    Most founders look for investment before they understand what investment actually tests. Funding does not remove pressure. It exposes the founder’s judgement, financial discipline, commercial evidence, and ability to be trusted with someone else’s capital. More founder-led conversations at ⁠⁠MentorBusiness.com⁠.⁠ In this episode of the Mentor Business Podcast, ⁠⁠Dr Lewis Haydon⁠⁠ speaks with Jof Walters about why most founders are not investor ready. This is not about raising money quickly or perfecting a pitch deck. It is a discussion about trust, risk, decision-making, and what investors really look for before they commit capital to a startup. Jof Walters is an angel investor with experience working with startups and larger businesses, giving him direct insight into what changes as companies move from early-stage ambition into commercial accountability. His experience includes assessing founders, reviewing investment opportunities, understanding risk, and seeing how businesses behave once investor capital enters the company. He brings the investor’s perspective on why some founders secure backing while others lose credibility before the opportunity is fully understood. Dr Lewis Haydon is a multi-business owner, investor, founder of MentorBusiness.com, and Doctor of Management specialising in leadership and organisational psychology. Together, this conversation examines how founders are judged when they move from building with their own conviction to asking someone else to take financial risk alongside them. The discussion explores what makes a startup investable and why many founders misunderstand what investors are actually assessing. Jof explains why enthusiasm, ambition, and a promising idea are not enough, and how investors look for evidence, financial understanding, founder judgement, and the ability to communicate risk clearly. This episode also examines what happens after investment is raised. The conversation addresses how investor expectations change the founder’s responsibility, why funding can expose weak cash control and poor strategy, and how scaling with outside capital creates a different level of accountability. This is a serious conversation about startup funding, angel investment, founder readiness, pitching investors, financial discipline, investor trust, scaling with capital, business risk, and leadership accountability. Not theory. Not motivation. Just the reality of asking someone else to invest, being judged under pressure, and learning what investors see before founders do. Takeaways: Most founders are not investor ready when they start looking for funding. Investors assess judgement before they assess the pitch. A strong idea is not the same as an investable business. Financial discipline matters before money enters the company. Founder credibility can be lost in the first conversation. Investor capital increases accountability, not freedom. Funding exposes weak decisions faster. Scaling requires more than ambition.Investors look for evidence, not excitement. Taking investment changes the responsibility of ownership. Chapters:00:00 Why Most Founders Are Not Investor Ready05:10 What Investors Look For in a Startup12:40 Why Investors Say No to Founders20:15 How to Find an Investor Without Wasting the Meeting28:30 What Makes a Startup Investable36:50 The Responsibility of Taking Investor Capital45:10 Why Startups Fail After Funding55:20 Scaling a Business With Investment Keywords: how to find an investor, startup funding, angel investor, investor ready, what investors look for in a startup, why investors say no, how to pitch to investors, raising investment, startup investment, scaling a business with investment, founder accountability, business funding, investment readiness, startup founder, investor expectations Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mentorbusiness.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn

  5. May 14

    Running a Business Into Burnout — Why Founders Must Let Go Earlier with Jim Sephton | Ep 121

    More founder-led conversations at MentorBusiness.com.   Burnout in business is often misunderstood as a personal capacity issue: too many hours, too much pressure, not enough rest. But for many founders, burnout starts much deeper than workload. It begins when the business keeps depending on the owner to make every decision, rescue every problem, carry every standard, and absorb every consequence.   In this episode of the Mentor Business Podcast, Dr Lewis Haydon speaks with Jim Sephton about what happens when running a business becomes unsustainable because the founder has not let go early enough.   Jim Sephton is the owner of UK HADO, as well as several events and experience companies. His current work focuses on building HADO into a national sport, from grassroots participation through to professional teams.   Together, this conversation explores how burnout can build through people decisions: hiring the wrong people, struggling to delegate properly, keeping too much responsibility, and delaying the difficult moment when someone is clearly not right for the business.   This is a serious conversation about founder burnout, people, delegation, leadership pressure, trust, character, responsibility, and what happens when the business becomes too dependent on the person who built it.     Takeaways:   Founder burnout is often structural, not just personal.Running a business becomes dangerous when every decision comes back to the owner.Hiring people does not reduce pressure if the founder still carries the responsibility.Delegation means transferring ownership, not just assigning tasks.The wrong people can increase burnout across the whole business.Keeping the wrong person too long can damage good people as well as the founder.Founders often struggle to let go because the business began with them doing everything.Character matters when pressure exposes how people really operate.Business owners need to build around their strengths and weaknesses.Letting go earlier is not stepping away from responsibility; it is learning how to lead the business properly.  Chapters:   00:00 — Introduction 03:00 — Jim Sephton’s business background 07:00 — When business pressure becomes burnout 14:00 — Why founders become the bottleneck 22:00 — Hiring people but still carrying the load 30:00 — Delegation, trust, and control 39:00 — Keeping the wrong people too long 48:00 — Character versus qualifications 56:00 — Letting go earlier 01:05:00 — Final lesson for business owners     Keywords:   running a business, business owner burnout, founder burnout, how to run a business, people decisions, delegation, letting go as a founder, founder bottleneck, business leadership, managing people in business, hiring the wrong people, business owner pressure, leadership burnout, founder responsibility, UK HADO, Jim Sephton, Mentor Business Podcast, Dr Lewis Haydon, MentorBusiness.com Find out more at Mentorbusiness.com | Instagram | LinkedIn

  6. May 7

    Starting a New Business: Challenges Founders Don't Think About with Moshesh Reid | Ep 120

    More founder-led conversations at ⁠⁠⁠MentorBusiness.com⁠⁠⁠. Starting a new business often looks simple from the outside: an idea, a website, a plan, and the belief that people will support it once they understand the value. But new founders quickly discover the real challenge is knowing where to place their attention when funding, proof, marketing, criticism, and time are all pulling in different directions. In this episode of the Mentor Business Podcast, ⁠⁠⁠ Dr Lewis Haydon⁠⁠⁠ speaks with Moshesh Reid about the challenges founders often do not think about when starting a new business. This is not about startup motivation. It is about building something meaningful while facing the realities of funding, exposure, technical development, partnerships, and getting people to understand the problem. Moshesh Reid is the founder of LearnAnyJob.com, a platform being developed to help businesses offer work experience, job shadowing, workshops, taster sessions, and informal learning opportunities. His work focuses on helping people explore career options through direct experience, while giving businesses a different way to discover talent beyond CVs, interviews, and qualifications. Together, this conversation examines the pressure of building while working full-time, the frustration of needing proof before support is available, and the hidden cost of accelerator programmes, pitching events, business plans, and repeated advice when they do not lead to real progress. This is a serious conversation about starting a new business, founder attention, funding pressure, partnerships, marketing, human connection, and building proof in the real world. Takeaways: New founders must think carefully about where their attention goes. A strong idea still needs real-world proof. Funding can become difficult before traction exists. Accelerator programmes do not always create progress. Business plans can become a cycle of delay. Criticism can be used to improve the business. Partnerships may solve problems money cannot. Marketing and exposure can change the funding conversation. Human skills still matter in an AI-driven economy. Starting a business tests the founder before it tests the market. Chapters:00:00 What new founders should think about before starting01:38 Building LearnAnyJob.com while working full-time04:31 The reality of trying to access startup funding06:35 Why investors ask for traction before funding08:39 The gap between advice and practical support10:28 Where startup support can become frustrating12:07 Turning lived experience into a business problem14:28 Moving an idea from thought into action17:55 Handling criticism when challenging an existing system23:28 Improving the business instead of proving the idea26:48 Why empathy and human skills matter in 202632:11 AI, emotional intelligence, and the future of work36:44 The real constraint holding the business back37:52 Building through partnerships when funding is limited40:50 What founders should think about earlier43:50 The future vision for LearnAnyJob.com48:37 Whether the real issue is funding, marketing, or both Keywords:starting a new business, new founder challenges, startup funding, early stage founder, business proof, founder attention, accelerator programmes, business partnerships, startup marketing, work experience platform, AI and human skills, founder pressure, real-world validation, business ownership, LearnAnyJob.com Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mentorbusiness.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn

  7. Apr 23

    How to Build a Business That Runs Without You | Why Founders Become the Bottleneck With Olusegun Akande | Ep 119

    Starting in business without recognising how quickly you become the constraint creates a ceiling that only shows itself under pressure. Growth doesn’t slow because demand disappears, it slows because decisions, standards, and execution remain tied to the founder. What worked early becomes the thing that limits scale later. More founder-led conversations at ⁠⁠MentorBusiness.com⁠⁠. In this episode of the Mentor Business Podcast, ⁠⁠Dr Lewis Haydon⁠⁠ speaks with Olusegun Akande about what happens when a business outgrows founder-led execution. This is not a conversation about growth tactics. It is about decision dependency, operational pressure, and what breaks when a business can no longer move at the speed of the founder. Olusegun Akande is a multi-business owner who built a group spanning wholesale, retail, distribution, e-commerce, and hospitality, employing over 120 staff across the UK. Starting from a van in London, his journey reflects the shift from doing everything yourself to building a structure that can operate without you. Dr Lewis Haydon is a multi-business owner, investor, founder of MentorBusiness.com, and Doctor of Management specialising in leadership and organisational psychology. Together, this conversation examines what changes when the founder is no longer the engine of the business. The discussion explores how founders unintentionally create bottlenecks as businesses grow, particularly when control is not transitioned into systems and people. It breaks down how dependency builds inside teams, and why execution slows when decisions still route back to the owner. This episode also examines the operational reality of scaling , from cash flow pressure and supplier relationships to hiring, accountability, and systemisation. The conversation addresses the tension between speed and structure, and what happens when process is delayed. This is a serious conversation about scaling pressure, operational systems, founder dependency, team structure, and building a business that can function without constant founder involvement. Takeaways: Growth slows when decisions remain dependent on the founder.Early involvement creates long-term constraints.Teams stop taking ownership when authority sits above them.Lack of systems creates pressure during scaling.Structure becomes more important than speed as complexity increases.Cash flow and operational load increase faster than expected.Founders must transition from doing to enabling execution.Systems require accountability, not just implementation.Hiring without structure compounds inefficiency.A business that runs without the founder is built, not assumed. Chapters: 00:00 Why founders become the bottleneck in their own business02:10 Starting with a van → early-stage growth model06:45 When the business can’t move without you12:30 Decision bottlenecks and team dependency18:20 What starts breaking during growth24:50 Cash flow, staff, and operational pressure at scale31:40 Why systems become non-negotiable38:10 Building structure before expansion44:30 Franchising and scaling risks most founders ignore52:00 Maintaining standards without founder involvement59:10 What a business that runs without you actually looks like01:05:00 Where growth still carries risk today Keywords: founder bottleneck, scaling a business, decision dependency, operational systems, leadership under pressure, hiring structure, business growth problems, founder-led companies, cash flow pressure, building systems Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mentorbusiness.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn

  8. Apr 16

    Second Time Founder - What I Got Wrong the First Time (And Changed After) With Dan Haywood | Ep 118

    Starting in business without fully understanding ownership structures creates long-term constraints that don’t show up until pressure forces change. Control is often given away early through convenience, not intention, and hiring decisions compound quietly over time. More founder-led conversations at ⁠MentorBusiness.com.⁠ In this episode of the Mentor Business Podcast, ⁠Dr Lewis Haydon⁠ speaks with Dan Haywood about what actually changes between a founder’s first business and their second. This is not a conversation about growth or ambition. It is a discussion about control, decision-making, and what happens when early choices limit your ability to move later. Dan Haywood is a multi-business owner who scaled his first recruitment company beyond £10 million before facing structural limitations in ownership, hiring, and control. His experience includes navigating COVID disruption, rapid scaling, and an attempted management buyout that exposed how little control he actually had over the business he built. He is now building multiple ventures including a technology platform in the warehousing space, approaching them differently from the outset. Dr Lewis Haydon is a multi-business owner, investor, founder of MentorBusiness.com, and Doctor of Management specialising in leadership and organisational psychology. Together, this conversation examines how business judgement evolves when founders move from building for opportunity to building with intention. The discussion explores how founders unknowingly give up control in early-stage businesses, particularly through ownership structures and external funding. Dan reflects on scaling a business under conditions where decision-making authority sat outside the founding team, and how that affected hiring, direction, and long-term outcomes. This episode also examines hiring decisions and how early recruitment based on familiarity or attitude can create long-term operational risk. The conversation addresses the tension between hiring people you trust versus building a scalable system for hiring unknown talent, and how culture, process, and leadership behaviour influence outcomes over time. This is a serious conversation about business ownership, control, hiring decisions, scaling under pressure, investor influence, operational systems, and leadership accountability. Not theory. Not motivation. Just the reality of building, losing control, and rebuilding differently the second time. Takeaways: Early ownership structures determine long-term control.Hiring decisions create compounding operational risk.Building with external backing limits flexibility later.Scaling exposes weaknesses in process and structure.Control is often lost gradually, not suddenly.Experience changes how founders approach risk the second time.Culture alone doesn’t scale without systems.Investor alignment impacts business direction.Hiring known people doesn’t translate to scalable hiring.Business judgement forms through consequences, not intention.Chapters: 00:00 Scaling a First Business Without Full Control05:10 Management Buyout and Ownership Reality12:40 COVID Pressure and Business Survival Decisions20:15 Hiring Early vs Hiring at Scale28:30 Culture vs Process in Growing Teams36:50 Investor Influence and Control Trade-Offs45:10 Building the Second Business Differently55:20 Risk, Ownership, and Long-Term Decisions Keywords: scaling a business, founder control, management buyout, hiring mistakes in business, business ownership structure, investor influence on startups, leadership under pressure, recruitment business growth, second time founder, operational risk in scaling Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mentorbusiness.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn

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About

Mentor Business Podcast explores real-world business decisions entrepreneurs are rarely prepared for. Hosted by Dr Lewis Haydon, business owner across multiple ventures and Founder of MentorBusiness.com, the podcast examines where business theory breaks down in practice — leadership under pressure, ownership decisions, scaling a business, and board-level judgement. Recorded within the university and real entrepreneur ecosystem, these are not advice-led episodes. They document lived experience so the next generation of entrepreneurs gain earlier access to judgement usually learned too late.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Lewis Haydon — Business owner | Founder, MentorBusiness.com
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    125
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Dr Lewis Haydon — Business owner | Founder, MentorBusiness.com
  • Show Website
    Mentor Business Podcast