One idea to Build your Business, one idea to Scale your life. Every Wednesday.

Welcome to Winformation Weekly. My 13 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m, and the life that goes with it. All wrapped up, in one winning weekly email.

Simon Says

Winformation This Week…

3rd January 2025 marks my 14th year in business. While I knew from the start that running a business would be full of ups and downs, there have been some eye-opening lessons I never saw coming.

These days, social media is flooded with "entrepreneurs" posing next to rented Lamborghinis or staging photoshoots on stationary private jets. But that’s not the reality of business ownership , not even close. So, in this week’s Business section, I’m sharing the real lessons I’ve learned since launching my business all those years ago. These are the hard-won, non-obvious insights that no amount of motivational Instagram quotes will teach you.

With 2025 just around the corner, one thing is certain, we’re all going to encounter difficult people. Whether it’s a tricky client, a draining colleague, or even someone closer to home, how we handle these interactions can make or break our progress toward our goals.

That’s why this week’s Life section is focused on practical ways to manage difficult people and navigate conflict. No one is immune to it, but learning how to respond (instead of react) could be one of the most valuable skills you develop next year.

If you’re setting big goals for 2025, remember this; it’s not just about strategy and ambition. It’s also about managing the people who’ll test your patience along the way.

Next Week

You’ll notice that next Wednesday is Christmas day, but winning doesn't wait for Santa to finish his rounds. We have a special Christmas Day Winformation Weekly next Wednesday, with a special gift from me included.

Business

The Brutal Truths About Starting a Business That No One Warns You About

Planning is everything when starting in business, right? But there are certain things I just didn’t realise until well after I founded and operated a business, facts and lessons I just didn’t think were a thing. I want you to benefit from my crystal clear hindsight. Here are the top 5 things unforeseen revelations from launching and running a £100m business.

1. Employed world v start-up world. When you are employed, the whole system is there to support you to victory. When you start your business, the whole system is there to ensure you lose. Let me explain. The support mechanism at your employer…if they are decent there is private healthcare, coaching sessions, regular reviews, online learning, flexible working, Christmas jumper day…you get the gist. This is the employed world wrapped in the employee protection that comes with it in the UK. When you set up a business, you leave the world of employee protection and enter one called capitalism. Now, in that world outside of your immediate friends and family, everyone in that system needs you to fail. That system is one of survival of the fittest, where your main competition can be very friendly when you when you see them at events etc, but their main role is to drive you out of business and visa and versa. This may sound obvious, but it’s a real eye opener when you walk into this world.

2. They don’t want to know you at first. When you first start out, you can reach out for help, jump up and down and even attach fireworks to your belt, the truth is, humans being humans really won’t care or notice until you have done something big. The issue is when you do, they all come running saying how they believed in you the whole time. You then have a decision to make as to how you respond knowing what you know now.

3. Never start a company to simply make money. Truly great companies aren’t built to make money, they are built to solve problems. Solve enough people’s problems, and guess what, the money comes. Basing your success on a monetary figure is pointless as everything is relative and you quickly outgrow this figure anyway.

4. People like you growing, but only to a certain size. You will have people close to you that seem like they want you to succeed at first and maybe at the time they do….but only until you grow your business to a certain size. And this is generally the size where they start to feel they wouldn’t experience the same success given the same set of circumstances. They want you to win, to a degree where their ego can handle it. I’ve had this numerous times, and it’s from the people you would least expect.

5. It’s an ultra marathon, not a sprint. Please be prepared for it to take at least 3 times the length of time you thought it would. And with 20/20 hindsight vision, I’m telling you now, you want it to take a long time. The quicker you find success, the more likely you are to lose it. It took me around a decade. In that decade of building a company, I’m also building my skills of retention. This is made up of technical knowledge, mindset and resilience. Remember the problems don’t get smaller, you get better at dealing with them. If we built our £100m business in 18 months, we would have been in a world of trouble.

Life

How to Deal with Difficult people

Life is not all plain sailing. You may have a clear vision, but not every person you come across in life with will be aligned with that. The solution is not avoiding these people. Nor is it arguing with them. The real superpower is managing conflict successfully. This can create an improved and positive environment. Like so many other areas of life, preparation pays off. Here are five tips to help you deal with difficult people.

1. Cut to the chase. You can be both direct and honest without being hostile. This is about stating your concern in a calm and respectful manner. As the saying goes, often, it’s not what you say, but how you say it. So, it’s worth writing down what you want to say first and practising how you do so.

2. Listen properly. Remember, this is still a two-way conversation. So, stay in control of your feelings and avoid interrupting the other person. Listen to what they have to say before making any counter points. That doesn’t just mean not talking while the other person is, it means fully taking on board what they have to say.

3. Focus on the facts. This should not be about looking to apportion blame on to others. That is not going to solve problems, but instead create new ones. In your discussion ensure you stick to facts.

4. Maintain attention. Try to avoid getting sidetracked with any other issues. Part of the objective here is to remain focus on the concern you have raised. If you find the interaction is going off topic, bring it back.

5. Allow space for conversation. This might sound counterintuitive, but you don’t need to fill the interaction with you speaking. Once you have shared your issue, have the confidence to stay silent and allow the other person to answer. This isn’t about defeating an enemy, it’s about finding solutions to create a better environment, not a worse one.

Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!