There are around 5.7 million businesses in the UK. An extraordinary 75% of them…approximately 4.3 million, employ nobody other than the owner. (See link below to the Office for National Statistics if you don’t believe me) You might say: “But that’s OK, Mike. I like working on my own. I like being a solopreneur.” And that may genuinely be your preference. But let’s be brutally honest: in many respects, being a solopreneur is actually worse than having a job. If you’re employed, you’ll generally receive: - A predictable salary - Paid holidays - Statutory sick pay - Employer pension contributions - Maternity, paternity or adoption leave - Legal protections around your hours, pay and working conditions - Colleagues to cover the work when you’re unavailable - The ability to go home without taking the entire business with you As a solopreneur, you probably receive none of those things. - If you don’t work, you don’t earn. - If you’re ill, the income can stop. - If you take a holiday, the business often comes with you… or you spend the entire time worrying about what isn’t being done. - You do every job: the good, the bad and the ugly. - You are the salesperson, administrator, accountant, customer services department, operations manager, marketing team and delivery person. - You probably make yourself work hours that, if you tried to impose them on an employee, you’d be jailed for slavery You might officially own a business. But the uncomfortable truth is that, unless it can operate without you, you haven’t really built a business. You’ve created a self-employed job, and possibly employed yourself under the worst boss you’ve ever had. It is hard to scale a business. It is hard to get off the tools. It is hard to delegate. It is hard to recruit, manage and retain good people. But remaining trapped as the only person who can make your business work is hard too. It reminds me of the principle often called Choose Your Hard: Building a team is hard.

The most powerful meeting I ever had, I wanted nothing. 👇 Years ago, me and my business partner spotted in a trade magazine that the chief exec of one of our biggest clients was turning 60 - and marking 40 years at the same company. So we rang his PA and booked a lunch. He came along, and for two hours we just talked. The industry, where it was heading, what he’d seen over 40 years. No pitch. No proposal. No “while I’ve got you…” As he got up to leave, he stopped and said: “Thanks boys. Lovely lunch. But… what was it you wanted?” Nothing, we said. We saw your milestone and wanted to say thank you for your business. He couldn’t compute it. He walked off down the waterside and every few steps he looked back over his shoulder - waiting for us to shout the catch after him or try to sell something to him. It never came. A week later we got a letter. He said in 40 years, nobody had ever travelled to buy him a lunch and want nothing. Nobody. In 40 years. From that day on we made it a system. Regular meetings with the people who mattered to us - clients, contacts, connectors - with one rule: no selling. Go to listen, to learn, and to say thank you. That’s it. Hardest discipline in business, that. Because nearly everyone can’t help themselves. They book the “catch up coffee” and then out comes the pitch - and the other person saw it coming before they’d even sat down. But here’s what happened to us. Those no-agenda meetings brought us more business, more referrals and more loyalty than any pitch we ever gave. Because when you want nothing, people relax. And when people relax, they talk. And when they talk, they tell you exactly how to help them - then remember you as the one who never asked. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. 👊 So here’s this week’s challenge. Pick one person - a good client, an old contact, someone who’s helped you along the way. Book a coffee or a lunch. Go with nothing to sell and nothing to ask. Listen, learn, say thank you, leave.

Read that again. The past doesn’t need to still be happening to still be controlling you. Being bullied at school. Being told you were stupid. Growing up without money. A parent or teacher telling you that you’d never amount to much. A business failure. A bankruptcy. A relationship that knocked your confidence. A time you took a risk and got badly burnt. Those things may have happened 10, 20, 30 or even 50 years ago. But the beliefs they created can still be sitting quietly in the background today, influencing your confidence, your relationships, the risks you’re prepared to take, the opportunities you pursue, the money you believe you deserve and almost every important decision you make. And most of the time, you don’t even realise they’re doing it. That’s why I often say: Your biggest enemy is the six inches between your ears. One of the biggest parts of mentoring isn’t teaching somebody another business strategy. It’s helping them recognise the deeply rooted beliefs and behaviours that are stopping them implementing the strategies they already know. You have to understand your own psychology. You have to work on your mindset. And sometimes you have to challenge beliefs you’ve carried for decades that simply aren’t true anymore… and perhaps never were. So ponder this for a few minutes today: What happened in your past that is no longer present in your life… but might still be controlling your future? And more importantly: What could change if you finally stopped letting it?

The most dangerous person you’ll ever lie to isn’t your boss. It isn’t your partner. It isn’t your customers. It’s yourself. The moment you tell yourself: ❌ “I’m too busy.” Instead of… ✅ “I’m avoiding something.” ❌ “The market is the problem.” Instead of… ✅ “My strategy isn’t working.” ❌ “People don’t get my vision.” Instead of… ✅ “I’m not communicating it clearly.” Growth stops. Self-deception protects your ego… …but it also protects your problems. Every successful founder I’ve mentored has one thing in common: They’re prepared to have the uncomfortable conversation with the person in the mirror. Because you can only fix the problems you’re willing to admit exist. The truth hurts. But the lie costs far more. 👇 What’s one lie you’ve caught yourself telling recently that, once you admitted the truth, actually helped you move forward?

On yourself: It’s been proven that Every conversation you have with yourself is literally changing your brain… ...make sure you are making the right cuts I love this concept and have used it for years but it’s great to hear an actual brain surgeon talk about it https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbk3UE1sezv/?igsh=MWdseGszMXY5MDg4cg==