Podcast Radio Business Interviews Podcast Radio

Dilly Carter, entrepreneur and TV presenter speaks to Clayton M. Coke of Podcast Radio Business to discuss Sun, Sea and Switching Off!
97% of small business owners and local entrepreneurs end up working while on holiday.On average entrepreneurs took 5 days actually ‘off work’ last year.48% so passionate about growing their business that they find it hard to switch off.
Running a business, even as a side hustle, takes plenty of blood, sweat and tears, requiring tonnes of passion. But, it seems many who do, whether as retailers, personal trainers, make-up artists, builders or farmers, are embracing their entrepreneurial spirit a little too much, without really ever taking their foot off the throttle.
So dedicated are these entrepreneurs to the daily grind, that they took off only five days in the last year—less than a third of the time claimed by their salaried colleagues, who enjoyed an average of 17 days away from their 9-5.
Even when they do finally give themselves time off for a break, 97% still end up working, meaning that they never really switch off, with them putting in on average 3.5 hours a day when they are supposed to be relaxing, nearly half a day!
TUI’s research highlights there is a ‘Downtime Deficit’ among a growing number of local entrepreneurs and small business owners, who ignore the temptations of tropical sun and embrace the hustle, doubling down on work.
Entrepreneur Dilly Carter offers the benefits of her experience, explaining how she developed her business while also discussing the advantages of time away from the daily grind.
There is clearly an appetite for rest and relaxation, with 45% wishing they could take more holiday, 48% seeing their mental health benefit from regular breaks and holidays while 44% notice feeling refreshed after a trip away has a positive effect on their work.

Dr. Junade Ali, Computer Scientist & Security Expert speaks to Clayton M. Coke of Podcast Radio Business to discuss why Your Password Isn't Strong Enough!
We are all guilty of using our favourite holiday destination, a pet’s name or our birth year for a memorable password across multiple sites.
But this World Password Day (Thursday 2nd May 2024), a Cyber Security Expert is warning that the importance of strong passwords on our devices and online accounts is more important than ever as hackers are targeting multiple accounts of victims due to weak and predictable passwords.
65% of people in the UK admit they are scared about being hacked in the future, with 84% thinking hackers are becoming more inventive. Yet only a fifth of people (20%) are able to correctly identify a secure password over a compromised one which can be cracked by a computer in less than a second, and 20% admit to having just one password for multiple websites and devices.
New research by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) shows we are extremely predictable from a scammer’s perspective, with almost half using a significant date (21%) or a pet’s name (20%) as the topic of our passwords. 
When we do stray away from the predictable, we aren’t putting much thought into it either, with 38% believing replacing letters with numbers e.g.p4$$w0rd is more secure when thinking about a password, with 45% believing it makes them harder to guess.
65% of people think passwords should never be written down, despite advice from cybersecurity experts, and 77% think changing passwords frequently makes them more secure, despite GCHQ recommending against this practice.
p4$$w0rd is in dictionaries of common passwords, so it can be cracked in less than a second. If you use the same password for every website and the password is breached from one site, all sites can be compromised without the attacker needing to try any other passwords - this is known as credential stuffing.
Cyber Security Expert and Computer Scientist Junade Ali is urging us to take action now with these simple tips to boost our security and keep hackers away:
Use randomly generated, long, unique passwords for each website.Enable Two-Factor Authentication where possible.Use a password manager to store your passwords for you and tell you when they have been in a data breach.
The threat is ever growing with 40% of 16-24-year-olds (Generation Z) and more than a third (37%) of 25-34-year-olds (Millennials) admitting to being impacted by cybercrime.
In fact, even those who haven’t been impacted are being targeted regularly, with a fifth (21%) of people receiving a scam email every day, 73% thinking hackers are becoming harder to detect and 41% admitting they wouldn’t know what to do if they’d been hacked.
Junade Ali wants to raise awareness of our common password pitfalls and provide some useful insight to bolster our defences against cyber threats.
ABOUT JUNADE ALI:Dr Junade Ali (27) was named the youngest-ever Fellow of the IET in June 2023, and is believed to be the youngest ever Fellow of a professional engineering institution.
In order to secure Fellowship, Dr Ali demonstrated personal responsibility for significant technological innovation and independent contributions to original research that have resulted in international recognition.
During his career, he invented the technology which allows websites, password managers and web browsers to warn users when their password has been found in a data breach, without the password ever needing to be shared with a third party. This technology has been adopted by companies including Apple and Google.
Other contributions have included developing software to help de-escalate cyberwarfare situations...

Katie Paxton-Fear, lecturer in Cybersecurity at Manchester Metropolitan University speaks to Clayton M. Coke of Podcast Radio Business to discuss FROM DEEPFAKES TO CHATGPT PHISHING, WARNING OVER RISING SCAM THREAT AI POSES.
With fraudsters scamming more than £1 billion, 48% of us feel more at risk of scams
We are being warned about the growing threat Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses to us as it emerges that fraudsters have already scammed more than £1 billion from our bank accounts since the start of the year.
Top 3 Scamming Tactics This Year
Phishing Emails or Messages (11%)Contact from unknown individuals (11%) Fake Online Shops (8%)
Almost half of us (48%) are feeling more at risk of scams as  scammers become increasingly sophisticated in how they use advances in technology to overcome the measures financial institutions put in place to protect us. Conventional scams are difficult enough to spot, but AI-based scams are even more dangerous because they are even harder to detect.
Deepfakes allow criminals to create seemingly legitimate audio and video, often featuring someone famous, while ChatGPT phishing gives text the tone and coherence of legitimate sources, voice cloning replicates somebody’s tone and language to trick someone else into having a genuine phone conversation, and verification fraud can be used to subvert standard security checks. With these tools ready to use at the scammer's will, a surprising three in five (61%) UK adults are confident they can tell the difference between human and AI-generated communication.
Despite us losing on average £83.69 as a result of scams in the last year, with them costing men (£93.48) more than women (£70.22), fewer than a third (30%) of us report the incident to the bank, according to Raisin’s research, with only a quarter notifying the relevant online sales platform, with more than one in four (27%) not reporting the scam at all. This may be due to anemotional cost, with us most likely to feel very angry (28%) and anxious (27%), while 23% develop trust issues.
RESEARCH INFORMATION: The research for Raisin was carried out online by Opinion Matters throughout 23.02.2024 – 26.02.2024 amongst a panel resulting in 2000 UK adults responding.
All research conducted adheres to the MRS Codes of Conduct (2010) in the UK and ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines. Opinion Matters is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office and is fully compliant with the Data Protection Act (1998).

Mike Willians Co-Founder & CEO of Flake Bake speaks to Clayton M. Coke of Podcast Radio Business to discuss BAKING THE BIG TIME: PECKHAM BAKERS WIN OVER ALDI BOSSES WITH JAMAICAN FLAKE BAKE PATTIES.
An independent, family run wholesale bakery in Peckham, South London, producing authentic Jamaican patties, has landed a life changing contract with supermarket Aldi. The supermarket will stock its Flake Bake Beef patty (99p, 140g) in stores nationwide from today (10th April).
Flake Bake produces authentic Jamaican patties, filled with a range of flavours including chicken, lamb, saltfish and vegetables – a Jamaican twist on the beloved British Cornish pasty.
Paul Williams, (54) and son Mike (33) of Flake Bake showcased their most popular flavour, Flake Bake Beef patty, as part of Channel 4 series ‘Aldi’s Next Big Thing’, now in its second season. Mike and Paul were picked from hundreds of applicants competing for the coveted contract to stock Aldi stores nationwide. 
From dinners and baked goods to party foods and confectionery, each episode sees hopeful suppliers compete for a space on Aldi’s shelves, before Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, decides on a winner which will appear as a Specialbuy in over 1,000 stores.
Impressing the judges with its standout flavour, Mike and Paul’s Flake Bake Beef patty beat five other hopefuls, including the world’s first bowler hat shaped bread, an edible cookie dough range, an award-winning brioche bun and an allergen free gooseberry and elderflower whoopie pie.
Bursting with Caribbean flavours, the Flake Bake patties come with a spicy ground beef filling, wrapped in a flaky pastry crust. Julie was blown away with the taste and flakiness of the pastry, but with no packaging, a production line falling short of Julie’s minimum order and a shelf life of just five days, the father and son duo needed to scale up production and make changes to the recipe, without changing the flavour of the patty, to win the order.
Mike and Paul got to work addressing Julie’s feedback, enlisting the help of a food scientist who suggested the addition of garlic, a natural flavour enhancer that preserves the life of food with its powerful antioxidant properties.
Having successfully doubled the shelf life to meet Julie’s quota, the pair then sought the help of Mike’s uncle, Lavar, a graphic designer, to create a shelf-ready and eye-catching, individual packaging design. 
Returning to Aldi Headquarters, Mike and Paul wowed with their new look Flake Bake Beef patties, presented in individually wrapped packs.The judges were delighted with the changes made, agreeing the flavour was just as delicious as the first batch, and the duo successfully secured an order to supply over 1,000 Aldi stores nationwide. 
The father and son duo pride themselves on the bakery’s origins and its dedicated workforce, who hand craft every element of their patties. Producing thousands of patties a week, Flake Bake also has social responsibility and community values baked into its core.
Working with local charity, Leaders of Tomorrow UK as well as local schools, it provides work placements for students at its factory. Most notably, the family business trained and mentored BBC Young Master Chef contestant, Jaheel John, then just 15 years old. Jaheel is now an Assistant Manager at a major British restaurant, at the tender age of 19.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, says: “You can’t help but fall in love with Paul and Mike, and their product tastes beautiful. It’s clear how much care goes into making the product. The pastry is unbelievable, every part of it is delicious – I just love it!”
Mike Williams, Co-Owner of Flake Bake, says: “We have an incredible team, they’ve been making patties for a long time,...

Scott Manson, Director of Cyber Security at CISCO UK & I speaks to Clayton M. Coke of Podcast Radio Business to discuss why 73% OF BUSINESSES EXPECT TO BE AFFECTED BY CYBERATTACK IN NEXT 2 YEARS
Last week, Britain’s AI minster urged UK businesses to “step up” their cybersecurity in response to growing challenges and risks,noting the UK is second-most attacked country in Europe behind Ukraine.
Today, data from cybersecurity leader Cisco has revealed 54% of UK businesses experienced a cyberattack in the last 12 months,while 70% believe an incident will disrupt operations within the next 12 – 24 months.
Meanwhile,analysis of cybersecurity protections – based on five core pillars: Identity Intelligence, Machine Trustworthiness,Network Resilience, Cloud Reinforcement, and AI Fortification – has determined only 2% have security measures rated ‘mature’ to remain resilient.
Similarly, despite many acknowledging the impact AI is having for both defenders and attackers, only 5% are rated ‘mature’ specifically on AI Fortification, with more than half yet to have deployed any AI into their security.
Despite this, 78% feel very or moderately confident in their ability to stay resilient against the evolving threat landscape, which is seeing supply chains attacked, social engineering used to compromise networks, and criminals increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities in common applications.
This overconfidence could stem from the fact 91% have increased their cybersecurity budgets over the last few years, and the majority expect they will grow further. Cisco believes UK firms are not properly assessing the true scale of the challenges they face.
To improve readiness to face future threats, Cisco recommends UK businesses:
1.Continueto accelerate investment in protective cybersecurity measures across the board, and adopt a ‘platform’ approach to ensure solutions can be effectively leveraged
2.Urgently assess and close vulnerability gaps created by unmanaged devices and unsecured WiFi networks
3.Keep abreast of the latest developments in Generative AI technology and use them to enhance security programs and operational resilience
4.Ramp up recruitment to close security talent gaps and avoid more costly downstream consequences.
5.Establish a company baseline of how ‘ready’ you are across the five major security pillars
ABOUT CISCO:Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that securely connects everything to make anything possible. Our purpose is to power an inclusive future for all by helping our customers reimagine their applications, power hybrid work, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on X at @Cisco. 
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries.
A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.
ABOUT THE 2024 CISCO CYBERSECURITY READINESS INDEX:The 2024 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index is based on a double-blind survey of 8,136 private sector business leaders who have cybersecurity responsibilities in their organizations.
The organizations cover 30 territories in North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mainland China, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden,...

Chris Bavin speaks to Clayton M. Coke of Podcast Radio Business to discuss Aldi's Next Big Thing
Supermarket Aldi will consider selling a ‘Stormzy approved’ Short Rib Mac & Cheese in the new series of Aldi’s Next Big Thing.
The six-part prime time show, which kicks off again on Tuesday 2nd April with the ‘dinner’ episode, sees artisan suppliers pitch to win a life-changing
contract and have their product land on shelves in over 1,000 Aldi stores nationwide.
Viewers will see chef to the stars, ‘Chef Vickz’ pitch client Stormzy’s favourite to Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK, Julie Ashfield.
Chef Vickz, from South-East London, has been a personal chef to Stormzy, amongst other clients, for six years, since qualifying in Patisserie and Confectionary at the University of West London.
She says:“Stormzy was looking for a chef and I got put forward, that's how it all started… This Mac & Cheese is his favourite dish.“It’s special as it’s made with short rib, which has been slow roasted for a very long time.“It would be the opportunity of a lifetime to have my product in Aldi, I want to be able to cook for thousands.”
Multi award-winning rapper and singer-songwriter Stormzy will send his well wishes to the chef via a cameo on the show:
“Vick we’re rooting for you, we love you, you’re the best. Hurry up and get back…I’m hungry!”
On the first show in the series, Chef Vickz will be pitching her dinner time treat against other creations including:
Halal Wagyu Pastrami from the Malik ButchersPasta Bombs from the Stonehouse SmokeryRainbow Burgers from Leonati CateringVegan Toad in the Hole from Mabel’s FoodsCrabululous Crabcakes from The Fabulous Catch Company
Hosts, broadcaster and author, Anita Rani and Chris Bavin, of BBC’sThe One Show and Eat Well for Less, are joined by Aldi boss Julie, who deliberates on taste, affordability and scalability, before deciding if the celebrity-approved dish will make it into the final two.
Finalists then have four weeks to work on Julie’s feedback, before returning to Aldi with their new and improved products, to learn who has won the biggest contract of their lives.
The winning product will then appear as a Specialbuy in over 1,000 Aldi stores nationwide on Wednesday 3rd April.
Anita Rani, says:“For these small food and drink businesses, winning a contract with Aldi is a potentially life changing opportunity.“Seeing products go from a prototype to supermarket shelves, in just a few months and finding out the stories behind them, has been a really special experience.“I’m excited to see viewers’ reactions - I'm sure everyone will love the winning products just as much as we do.”
Chris Bavin, says: “As an ex-greengrocer, I know only too well the ups and downs of running your own business.“It’s inspiring seeing such an incredible mix of homegrown food and drink suppliers and heartening to know they’re getting the recognition they deserve, by one of the UK’s largest retailers.“I can’t wait for viewers to discover the winning products for themselves!”