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My 14 years’ experience of growing a business from £0-£100m as well as the life that goes with it.

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Simon Says

Winformation This Week...

What do Air B&B, WhatsApp, Fed Ex, IBM, Microsoft and my little (in comparison) company all have in common? And, no...this isn't me prepping you for your next pub quiz, this is my version of a much-needed pep talk! All of these companies were set up during periods of economic doom and gloom. And let’s be honest, after this week’s budget in the UK, could things be any more doom and gloom? So below, in today’s One Idea to Win in Business I go deep into despite the economy looking grey, why now could be the time and press “go” rather than hold back. Let’s ‘av it!

Everyone and their dog are talking self discipline at the moment, and for good reason. It is THE superpower of the successful. The good news is, it’s not something you are born with, it’s a muscle you can build over time, but how? In today’s One Idea to Win in Life we look at steps you can take to build cast iron self-discipline ready for your best ever year.

One Idea to Win in Business

Something to Think About

How We Built a £100M Business in a Financial Meltdown…And Why You Can Too 

If you have started, scaled a business (or want to in the next years) then there really is no way to see the Rachel Reeve’s budget this past week as pretty negative. It’s almost anti-business. So, while the masses put off growth plans, or plans to start a business altogether…there will be another crowd of people thinking this is the perfect time to press go. IBM, Mircrosoft, WhatsApp – they are started life in full blown recessions. And whilst we may not be there yet, here is why now could be the perfect time to launch, or scale.  

My real world experience 

How do I know? Because we set up our business in 2011. We were two guys in a garage, as the world was still in the midst of THE global financial meltdown. To the doom-and-gloomers this would have been an unthinkable move. We were naïve, 14 years later looking back that much is 100% clear. BUT...would we have changed the economic climate we set up our business in? In hindsight, no. 

The perfect time 

A period of economic doom and gloom is actually the perfect time to set up a business. Businesses don't always fail because of a lack of customers, but because of a lack of systems and processes. It sounds funny to type this sentence 14 years later, but when we launched, we weren't distracted by too many clients (ha!). We had the luxury of time. We had only a trickle of revenue that went through a mechanism we spent the first 18–24 months perfecting. We “tested” the business with a small number of clients. Something so powerful and so overlooked by others desperate for a big start in business. This wasn't purposeful, but enforced, and my god we wouldn't go back and change that now. 

Riding the wave 

When the economy finally took off, as it always eventually does, we rode that wave, not in a small rowboat (as we would have done, trying to keep up with our clients' demands), but in a fully equipped warship we had built and perfected, ready for battle. 

Everything was scalable, everything just worked, and we grew faster than anyone could have imagined. I'm not claiming to be in the same league as the organisations mentioned above, but the journey at least seems very similar, albeit much smaller. 

The issue is not the economy but the opinions of people always looking for an excuse not to act. During the boom times, they will say "I wouldn't build a business now, that ship has sailed, too much competition." During the tougher times they will say "too risky, we’re in a downturn." 

The truth is some people are always in doom-and-gloom mode, no matter what the economy is doing. There is never a perfect time to launch or scale, but a period of economic doom and gloom is as good a time as any, if not the best. 

Don’t forget, in years to come, you won’t be rewarded for the work you did, but the risk you took.  

Let’s go!  

One Idea to Win in Life

Something to Build THE Superpower

The Discipline Blueprint: 5 Steps That Make Motivation Irrelevant

Looking for motivation? It’s everywhere online. Videos, quotes, epic speeches. Motivation feels good. Who doesn’t love a bit of Goggins in the morning? But I’ll be honest if I worked when I felt motivated, I’d be working about 40 minutes a day. Huge success in business and in life is built on compounding discipline. It’s desperately sad, but true (ha!). No way around it.  

Discipline isn’t a god given trait, but something that can be developed over time. Here’s how.  

1. Know what you want 
Clarity is the starting point for any meaningful progress. If your goals are vague, your results will be too. Get specific. Instead of “run more,” try “follow a schedule to run a 5K in under 25 minutes by Easter.” It gives your brain a target, not a vibe. 

2. Build consistent routines 
Discipline grows in routine. That doesn’t mean becoming a robot. Think of routine as your personal defence system - it protects your momentum. Make habits easier by linking new actions to existing ones. I track my daily habits on a habit tracker. I don’t want to be accused of promoting a product, so if you want the name of the one I use (it’s amazing by the way), reply to this and I will send you the details.  

3. Keep your eye on the buzzer 
Time moves whether you’re ready or not. You can’t control the clock, but you can control your focus. Time-block your priorities and treat those blocks like booked appointments. And for the love of productivity, close the 37,000 tabs. Three is enough. Focus wins baby.  

4. Embrace accountability 
Vision boards and spreadsheets look nice, but results come from ownership. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin teaches a powerful idea: discipline equals freedom. When you plan ahead, follow your routines, and keep your standards high, you gain control over the only things that matter - your time, your decisions, and your outcomes. 

5. Delay gratification 
Choosing long-term wins over short-term comfort is a genuine superpower…it’s also really rare in 2025. If you can forgo smaller comforts now for a bigger win later, you are instantly ahead of 95% of people that seem to seek instant dopamine hits!

Win or Wonder?

Ask Me a Question…

No matter where you are on this mad journey. Starting out, scaling up, or somewhere in the messy middle feel free to ask me anything.

Business, life or mindset, I read and reply to every question. The best ones will get featured in future editions of Winformation, with your permission of course!

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Until next week! 

Let’s win, together!