Not Finished Yet

Mark Kennedy
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Not Finished Yet is a documentary-style podcast sharing powerful stories of people who reinvented their lives, careers, and businesses after 40. Each episode explores the moment everything changed — the redundancy, the risk, the decision to walk away, or the realisation that life needed a new direction. Through honest conversations and storytelling, we uncover how ordinary people built extraordinary second chapters. This is not about starting from scratch. It’s about starting again with experience, Personal Growth, Reinventing yourself and career change You're Not Finished Yet

  1. 7h ago

    Are You an Entrepreneur or Not? | How to Start a Business & Find What You're Good At

    Are entrepreneurs born, or can anyone become one? And how do you know whether starting your own business is actually right for you?Everyone seems to want to be an entrepreneur. But is it the reality of running a business that attracts people, or simply the idea of being their own boss?In this episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on over 35 years of business experience to explore what it really takes to become an entrepreneur, where to start and why employment might be the best preparation for building your own business.Inspired partly by advice from  @markcuban5937  Cuban, the American billionaire entrepreneur and former Shark Tank investor, Mark explores why becoming exceptionally good at one thing can be more valuable than chasing multiple business ideas.You don't necessarily need to discover your passion first. Sometimes passion develops as you become more competent at something.What you'll discover in this episode• Are you really an entrepreneur? Understanding the difference between wanting independence and wanting to build a business.• Employment as a training ground: Why working for somebody else can help you discover your strengths, understand customers and develop commercial skills.• Master one thing: Mark Cuban's advice on developing a valuable skill before chasing multiple opportunities.• Passion vs competence: Why getting good at something can lead to greater confidence, enjoyment and opportunity.• Learn to sell: Why understanding customers and communicating value is essential in business.• Start lean: Why you don't necessarily need premises, employees or significant borrowing to begin.• Test demand: How to establish whether customers will actually pay before committing substantial money.• The reality of ownership: Understanding financial risk, responsibility, uncertainty and the demands of entrepreneurship.• Your first 90 days: A practical approach to moving from an idea to finding your first paying customer.The uncomfortable questionDo you genuinely want to run a business, or do you just want to escape your current job?Mark challenges the belief that everyone should become an entrepreneur. Some people build exceptional careers as employees, specialists and leaders without ever owning a company.And for those considering entrepreneurship, the starting point might not be a business idea at all.It might be discovering what you're genuinely good at, becoming excellent at it and finding somebody willing to pay for that ability.The Not Finished Yet TestMark finishes with seven questions to help listeners assess their skills, motivation, commercial understanding and readiness to start a business.Whether you're considering self-employment, starting a business, developing a side hustle or exploring your next career move, this episode offers practical advice and a realistic perspective on entrepreneurship.You don't have to be born an entrepreneur. And you don't have to leave your job tomorrow to start becoming one.After 35 years in business, Mark Kennedy is still learning, building and exploring new opportunities.And that's why we're Not Finished Yet.#Entrepreneurship #StartingABusiness #BusinessOwner #SelfEmployment #BusinessStartup #CareerDevelopment #BusinessAdvice #Leadership #MarkCuban #NotFinishedYet

  2. Nov 2

    Why Good Employees Leave Good Companies | Leadership, Management & Employee Retention

    Why do good employees leave companies that appear to be doing everything right? And why are managers so often surprised when their best people resign?"I didn't see that coming.""They seemed happy.""They never complained."But were the warning signs there all along?In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on over 35 years of business and leadership experience to explore why talented employees leave, what managers often get wrong and how businesses can avoid losing their best people.We've all heard the expression "People don't leave companies, they leave managers."But is that really true?People leave for better opportunities, money, career progression and changing circumstances. Yet sometimes businesses lose good employees because of problems that could have been addressed months earlier.What you'll discover in this episode• Why good employees resign: The warning signs managers often overlook.• Poor management vs genuine opportunity: Why not every resignation is the manager's fault.• The unwritten agreement: How unspoken expectations between employers and employees create frustration.• When employees stop complaining: Why silence doesn't always mean satisfaction.• Tolerating poor performance: How your best employees end up carrying others.• Pay, recognition and fairness: Why feeling valued goes beyond salary.• Career development: Why not everyone wants promotion, but everyone deserves clarity.• Workplace culture: Why company values mean nothing if management behaves differently.• Exit interviews vs stay interviews: Why businesses should understand frustrations before employees decide to leave.The uncomfortable questionAre your best employees leaving for better opportunities, or are you giving them unnecessary reasons to go?Mark challenges managers, business owners and CEOs to examine how they communicate, recognise performance, develop talent and respond when employees raise concerns.He also explores the responsibilities employees have to communicate their ambitions and frustrations rather than expecting managers to read their minds.The Not Finished Yet TestThe episode finishes with seven challenging questions, including:Who in my team might be thinking about leaving?Are my best employees carrying the people I'm failing to manage?When did I last ask a good employee what might make them leave?Whether you're a first-time manager, HR professional, business owner, managing director or CEO, this episode offers practical lessons on employee retention, workplace culture and effective leadership.You can't stop every good employee from leaving. But you can stop giving them unnecessary reasons to go.After 35 years in business, Mark Kennedy is still learning, challenging conventional thinking and exploring what makes people and businesses successful.And that's why we're Not Finished Yet.#EmployeeRetention #Leadership #PeopleManagement #EmployeeEngagement #WorkplaceCulture #Management #BusinessLeadership #HR #BusinessOwners #NotFinishedYet

  3. Oct 26

    The £100,000 Decision vs the £100 Decision | Why Businesses Focus on the Wrong Costs

    Why do businesses spend hours arguing over £100 while making £100,000 decisions with hardly any scrutiny?A manager questions a £50 expense claim but approves a £70,000 recruitment decision. A company negotiates small supplier savings while ignoring thousands in wasted labour. A business owner worries about software subscriptions but doesn't know which customers actually make money.Are we really controlling costs, or just controlling the costs that are easiest to see?In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on more than 35 years of experience building, managing and leading businesses to challenge how companies make financial and operational decisions.From recruitment and pricing to customer profitability, management meetings, budgets and investment decisions, Mark explores why businesses often focus on small, visible expenses while overlooking decisions that can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds.This isn't about encouraging waste. It's about understanding where management attention creates the greatest value.What you'll discover in this episode• The £100 argument: Why managers focus on small expenses while larger financial losses go unnoticed.• Expensive recruitment mistakes: Why employing the wrong person, or creating the wrong role, can cost far more than their salary.• Pricing and profitability: How a small discount can dramatically reduce gross profit.• The hidden cost of meetings: Why management time is an expensive resource that businesses rarely measure.• False economies: Why choosing the cheapest supplier, equipment or software can sometimes cost more.• The cost of doing nothing: How delaying difficult decisions creates unnecessary expense.• Customer profitability: Why your biggest customer isn't necessarily your most profitable.• Budgets and business performance: How departmental cost savings can damage overall company profitability.• CEO priorities: Where business owners and senior leaders should focus their time and attention.The uncomfortable questionAre you making the decisions that genuinely improve your business, or simply the decisions that are easiest to control?Mark examines realistic business scenarios, including recruitment, equipment investment, pricing decisions, customer relationships and operational inefficiencies.He challenges the belief that cutting costs automatically improves profitability and explains why understanding gross margin, cash flow, working capital and the true cost of decisions is essential.The Not Finished Yet TestThe episode finishes with seven questions designed to challenge how managers, business owners and CEOs spend their time, allocate resources and make decisions.What is the most expensive problem you're currently ignoring?Which cost-saving decision is actually costing your business more?Are you spending your time on the decisions that really matter?Whether you're a business owner, entrepreneur, managing director, CEO or departmental manager, this episode offers practical business lessons and a different perspective on financial discipline, leadership and decision-making.Because good management isn't about controlling every pound. It's about understanding which decisions make the biggest difference.After 35 years in business, Mark Kennedy is still learning, challenging conventional thinking and questioning how businesses can operate more effectively.And that's why we're Not Finished Yet.#BusinessManagement #BusinessLeadership #BusinessOwners #Profitability #BusinessDecisions #CostControl #FinancialManagement #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #NotFinishedYet

  4. Oct 19

    If I Started a Business Again Tomorrow | The Blank Sheet

    If you had to start a business from scratch tomorrow, knowing everything you know today, what would you do differently? Would you employ people immediately? Invest in premises? Borrow money? Chase every customer? Or would you approach things completely differently? In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on more than 35 years of experience building, managing and leading businesses to explore how he would start a company today — and why many traditional approaches to entrepreneurship may no longer make sense. This isn't another textbook guide to starting a business. It's a practical discussion about the decisions entrepreneurs face, the mistakes worth avoiding and how experience changes your approach to building something profitable and sustainable. Mark explores ten key decisions involved in starting and growing a successful business: • Choosing the right business idea: Solve a genuine customer problem rather than falling in love with your own idea. • Testing demand: Establish whether customers will actually pay before investing heavily. • Starting lean: Why expensive offices, large teams and unnecessary overheads can wait. • Understanding your finances: Cash flow, working capital, profitability and knowing your numbers from day one. • Pricing for profit: Why winning customers at any price isn't sustainable. • Using AI and technology: How artificial intelligence, automation and digital tools can transform how small businesses operate. • Recruitment and outsourcing: When to employ people, when to outsource and how to control costs. • Building systems: Creating processes that allow a business to operate without depending entirely on its founder. • Finding the right customers: Building profitable, long-term relationships rather than chasing turnover. • Creating future value: Why growth, profitability and eventual exit opportunities should influence decisions from the beginning. Technology has changed what's possible. Tasks that once required employees, expensive software or external agencies can increasingly be handled through AI, automation and affordable digital systems. But technology doesn't replace the fundamentals. You still need customers, sensible pricing, financial discipline and a compelling reason for people to choose your business. Mark explores how he would approach these challenges today, including what he would prioritise during the first 90 days. It's possible to build a company with impressive turnover, employees and customers while remaining responsible for every decision. But what happens when you want to step back, take a holiday or eventually sell? A successful business should create value beyond the person who started it. Mark discusses why building a company that can operate independently should be part of your thinking from day one. Whether you're starting your first business, launching another venture or running an established company, this episode offers practical insights, real-world experience and questions worth asking yourself. Because starting a business isn't just about having a great idea. It's about building something that works commercially, financially and operationally. And after 35 years in business, Mark Kennedy is still learning, still building and still looking for new opportunities. That's why we're Not Finished Yet. 👍 Enjoyed the episode? Like, subscribe and share your experiences in the comments. 💬 YOUR TURN: If you started a business tomorrow, what's the ONE thing you'd do differently? #StartingABusiness #Entrepreneurship #BusinessStartup #BusinessOwner #BusinessGrowth #BusinessAdvice #AI #Leadership #NotFinishedYet WHAT YOU'LL LEARNSTARTING A BUSINESS IN 2026 IS DIFFERENTARE YOU BUILDING A BUSINESS OR CREATING YOURSELF ANOTHER JOB?THE NOT FINISHED YET TEST

  5. Oct 12

    Stop trying to be the cleverest person in the room | Leadership, Ego & the Power of Listening

    Does being the boss mean you have to be the smartest person in the room? And could your ego be holding back your team, your business and your own success?In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on more than 35 years of experience in business, management and leadership to explore one of the biggest challenges facing managers, business owners, directors and CEOs: the need to always be right.We've all encountered leaders who believe their job title makes them the most knowledgeable person in the room. They dominate meetings, dismiss challenges, take credit for other people's ideas and surround themselves with people who agree with them.But does confidence equal competence? And what happens when employees become too frightened to tell the boss the truth?Mark reflects on his own leadership journey, from being a young manager determined to prove himself to becoming an experienced business leader who recognises that the best people in your organisation should know things you don't.Because leadership isn't about proving how clever you are. It's about creating an environment where other people can succeed.In this episode, Mark explores:• Confidence vs competence: Why the loudest person in the room isn't necessarily the most capable.• Leadership and ego: How the need to be right can damage decision-making and business performance.• The danger of yes-men: Why surrounding yourself with people who always agree can be disastrous.• Hiring people smarter than you: Why strong leaders aren't threatened by talented employees.• Giving credit where it's due: Why taking recognition for your team's achievements destroys trust.• Experience vs arrogance: Why 35 years in business doesn't automatically make yesterday's solutions right for tomorrow.• Creating a culture of honesty: Why employees stop telling management the truth — and the consequences for a business.• Listening without losing authority: How to consider different opinions while still making difficult decisions.• Admitting you're wrong: Why changing your mind can demonstrate strength rather than weakness.• Developing future leaders: Why your success should be measured by the people you help develop.The uncomfortable question every leader should askAre you more interested in being right, or getting the right result?Mark challenges the traditional view of leadership and explores why some of the most valuable knowledge in a business comes from people on the shop floor, dealing with customers or managing everyday operations — not necessarily those sitting around the boardroom table.He also examines how leadership must evolve as responsibilities grow, and why the manager you were at 25 shouldn't necessarily be the leader you are at 55.The Not Finished Yet TestAs with previous solo episodes, Mark finishes with seven questions every manager, business owner and CEO should ask themselves, including:When was the last time somebody genuinely changed my mind?Who in my organisation feels comfortable telling me I'm wrong?Am I employing people who are better than me?And am I more interested in being right than achieving the right outcome?Whether you're stepping into your first management position, leading a growing business, managing a larger team or operating at C-suite level, this episode offers practical leadership lessons, personal reflections and some uncomfortable truths about management.Because the higher you climb, the less important it becomes to prove how clever you are — and the more important it becomes to recognise the abilities of the people around you.After 35 years in business, Mark is still learning, still challenging his own thinking and still discovering that experience doesn't mean having all the answers.And that's why we're Not Finished Yet.#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Management #BusinessLeadership #LeadershipSkills #BusinessOwners #CEO #EmotionalIntelligence #ManagementMistakes #NotFinishedYet

  6. Oct 5

    The Mistakes I Made Building Businesses

    What are the biggest mistakes business owners make — and what do you only learn after years of running businesses?In this episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy looks back on more than 35 years in business to talk about the mistakes, decisions and lessons that have shaped the way he builds and runs businesses today.This isn't a story about getting everything right. It's about what happens when you get things wrong — hiring the wrong person, keeping someone too long, chasing turnover instead of profit, underpricing to win work, taking on the wrong customers, trying to do everything yourself and continuing with decisions long after the evidence tells you they aren't working.Mark explores 10 common business mistakes, including:• Confusing turnover with profit, cash and genuine business success• Believing every customer is a good customer• Underpricing just to win the work• Hiring people because you're desperate rather than because they're right• Keeping the wrong person in the wrong role for too long• Becoming the bottleneck in your own business• Failing to properly understand your financial numbers• Building a business around individuals instead of strong processes• Throwing more money at decisions because you've already invested too much to stop• Assuming a bigger business automatically means a better businessBut there's a bigger question running through the episode:When does a bad decision actually become a mistake?Mark argues that some of the most expensive mistakes in business aren't the original decisions that turn out to be wrong. They're the moments when you know something isn't working and carry on anyway — because of pride, ego, loyalty, fear, sunk cost or simply because changing direction is uncomfortable.The episode also tackles one of the hardest questions for any entrepreneur or business owner:Have you built a business — or have you simply built yourself a very demanding job?If everything depends on you, every decision comes through you and the company can't function when you're away, what have you really built?Mark finishes with the Not Finished Yet Test: seven questions for business owners and leaders to answer honestly about their customers, people, profitability, decisions, systems and their own role in the company.Whether you're starting a business, growing a company, running an established SME, leading someone else's business or considering becoming an entrepreneur, this is a practical and personal look at the lessons that rarely appear in a business plan.Because 35 years of experience doesn't mean you stop making mistakes.Hopefully, it means you stop making the same ones.Not Finished Yet with Mark Kennedy — real conversations about business, leadership, management, experience, reinvention and what comes next.#Leadership #BusinessOwners #Entrepreneurship #BusinessLessons #NotFinishedYet

  7. Sep 28

    Nobody Teaches You How to Be a Manager — Even When You've Been Doing It for Years

    Congratulations. You've got the job.Maybe it's your first management role.Maybe you've just been given a bigger team or more responsibility.Maybe you've started your own business and suddenly realised that employing people means becoming a manager as well as an entrepreneur.Or perhaps you've stepped into a senior leadership, director or C-suite role where the decisions are bigger, the consequences are greater and the people around you expect something different from you.Whatever the reason, there's a problem.Nobody really teaches you how to manage people.We often promote people because they're good at what they do. They're technically strong, commercially successful, experienced or ambitious.Then one day we give them responsibility for other people and expect them to know how to lead.But the skills that got you the job aren't necessarily the skills you need once you're in it.In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark Kennedy draws on more than 35 years of experience in business, management and leadership to explore what really happens when your level of responsibility changes.Because this isn't just a conversation for first-time managers.It's for anyone who's reached that point where doing the job yourself is no longer the job.Mark explores the mistakes managers and leaders make at every level: refusing to let go, becoming the bottleneck, believing your way is the only way, avoiding difficult conversations, confusing being busy with actually leading and feeling that, because you're now the boss, you're supposed to have all the answers.The episode explores:• Making the transition from doing to leading• Stepping into your first management position• Taking on a bigger management or leadership role• Becoming a business owner and employing people• Moving into senior management, director or C-suite leadership• Why being great at your old job doesn't automatically make you a great manager• Delegating without losing accountability• Why experienced managers can still become bottlenecks• Managing people who think and work differently from you• Having difficult conversations before problems become bigger• Creating people who make decisions rather than constantly asking permission• Why saying "I don't know" can make you a stronger leader• Building trust and accountability• Creating a culture where people are prepared to tell you the truth• Understanding that leadership changes as your responsibilities growAnd perhaps the biggest lesson of all:Every time you move up, your job changes.What made you successful as an employee may not make you successful as a manager.What made you successful managing five people may not work when you're managing fifty.And what made you a successful manager may not be what you need when you become a business owner, director or CEO.Mark finishes with the Not Finished Yet Test — five uncomfortable questions for anyone responsible for other people, including:What is it actually like to be managed by me?Whether you've just been promoted, started employing people, taken responsibility for a larger team or stepped into the C-suite, management isn't something you master once and then forget about.You have to keep learning.Because the higher you go, the less your success is about what you can do — and the more it becomes about what you enable other people to do.You're not finished yet.#managertips #managertips #managment

  8. Sep 21

    Career capital score with Mark Kennedy

    Mark Kennedy talks about reinvention, Career Capital and why reaching a crossroads in your career doesn’t mean starting again.In this solo episode of Not Finished Yet, Mark explores what happens when work or life unexpectedly changes — redundancy, technology and AI, changing industries, age, health, loss of confidence, or simply reaching the point where the career you built no longer feels right.Mark looks at the doubts that often come with change and asks an important question: if your job title disappeared tomorrow, what knowledge, judgement, skills, relationships and experience would you still have?The episode explores Career Capital — the value accumulated through years of solving problems, making decisions, leading people, building relationships, making mistakes and learning from them.Rather than asking “What job can I get next?”, Mark explains why a better question may be:“What have I spent the last 20 or 30 years learning, and where could that experience create value now?”Mark also discusses the messy middle of reinvention, rebuilding confidence, testing new ideas, portfolio careers, consulting, entrepreneurship and why clarity often comes through action rather than waiting until you have everything worked out.You’re not starting again. You’re starting from experience.Because whatever has changed, you’re Not Finished Yet.Topics include: Career Capital Score™ | Career Reinvention | Midlife Career Change | Life After 40 | Confidence | Transferable Skills | AI and the Future of Work | Starting Again | Career Change | Experience | Purpose | Your Next Chapter#NotFinishedYet #CareerCapital #CareerCapitalScore #Reinvention #CareerReinvention #CareerChange #MidlifeCareerChange #LifeAfter40 #FutureOfWork #TransferableSkills #ExperienceMatters #CareerConfidence #PersonalDevelopment #SecondAct #NextChapter #AIAndWork #Purpose #StartingAgain #Podcast #MarkKennedy

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About

Not Finished Yet is a documentary-style podcast sharing powerful stories of people who reinvented their lives, careers, and businesses after 40. Each episode explores the moment everything changed — the redundancy, the risk, the decision to walk away, or the realisation that life needed a new direction. Through honest conversations and storytelling, we uncover how ordinary people built extraordinary second chapters. This is not about starting from scratch. It’s about starting again with experience, Personal Growth, Reinventing yourself and career change You're Not Finished Yet

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Kennedy
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Mark Kennedy
  • Show Website
    Not Finished Yet