This week we speak to Nigel Botterill, Founder of Entrepreneurs Circle. Nigel tells us why bootstrapping is the WRONG way to run a business, how incompetence launched his most successful business, the day he found £500k missing from his business bank account and the bedroom business that went multi-million pound in months. He also gives a 'how to' that, to quote Nigel, is "the most powerful 'how to' that you have ever had on the podcast." INTRODUCING NIGEL BOTTERILL Nigel Botterill - serial entrepreneur, Sunday Time best-selling author & one of the UK’s most sought after business growth experts. He ‘took the leap’, left his corporate career and started his first business in 2003. Since then, he’s built ten separate million-pound-plus businesses from scratch. Now, at the helm of Entrepreneurs Circle, the country's largest organisation dedicated to helping its members businesses grow, Nigel spends his time helping other entrepreneurs to do what he’s done – escape mediocrity, get and keep all the customers their business needs and live the lives they’ve always wanted EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:00] The spark to start as an entrepreneur [00:07:00] The plan…. And the smart move [00:10:00] The conference that changed Nigel’s life [00:12:30] The side hustle, MyMag, that became a £6m phenomenon [00:15:00] The ‘Best of’ online business [00:18:00] The genius of incompetence and the start of Entrepreneurs Circle [00:20:00] The effects of the lockdown announcement [00:28:30] What is Entrepreneurs Circle [00:30:30] The importance of the ‘rhythmic acquisition of customers’ [00:36:00] The nightmare of missing revenue [00:38:30] Going into a CVA [00:42:30] The key learning from going through a CVA [00:45:45] How to get your business to where you want it to be KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS • Funding growth through revenue isn’t the best way to grow • All businesses need rhythmic acquisition of customers • When you spend your time in business juggling cashflow it’s like a cancer • As a business owner you need to be all over your numbers • Anyone managing their business by looking at their bank account is bonkers • It’s the day-to-day that kills dreams • Profit and loss accounts are a work of fiction BEST MOMENTS “I had a year to move £100,000 from the business to our personal bank account” “We were one of the first customers of Google ads in the UK” “We set up over 2,500 magazines in three years” “What she did was genius but did it out of incompetence” “We had a massive hole and we just didn’t have the money” “I didn’t want to go to work and I didn’t want to go home” VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/ Website: https://entrepreneurscircle.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/entrepreneurs-circle https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelbotterill/ Shout out tags: https://www.trustelectricheating.co.uk/ https://rushfirthcreative.co.uk/ https://www.tendo-uk.com/ DON'T FORGET THE LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST ‘FAIR DEAL’ My half of the agreement; Every week I bring you inspiring Leeds Business people FOR FREE. Your half of the deal has two simple steps; 1) Share this episode with just ONE person who you think will get value from it 2) Post a review of the show YOU MAY ALSO...