The UK’s Chartered Management Institute has previously found that 41% of managers believe having direct reports increases their own productivity. So, I wanted to hear from someone who has built a strong team to help them achieve more.

Anant Sharma is the Founder & CEO of Matter Of Form, a leading luxury brand and digital agency based in London. Having founded his company in 2009, Anant and his team work with some of the world’s leading brands including Aman, Belmond & Knight Frank.

Keep listening to hear Anant’s advice on discovering your strengths & how to build a team around you to enhance your own productivity.

Anant’s advice

• Your business will evolve as you personally grow and change; you may have to let go of some initial ideas
• Prioritise what is important and what you should be doing; this may mean handing on to others the things you are experienced at
• Concentrate (without guilt!) on reflection / exploring opportunities / less quantifiable “work”
• Celebrate thinking time and allow space for it in your week
• There is no need to keep packing in information which is not always productive
• Be modest about your daily to-do list
• Have belief in where you want to go
• Know yourself and employ accordingly; you may require mirror personalities of yourself, or you may need strong support in those areas where you know yourself to be weak
• Know the value of meditation

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy found that 96% of UK entrepreneurs admit to ‘bottling up’ the stress of running their business. Many founders are clearly overwhelmed with too much on their shoulders, leading some to feel a sense of unproductive busyness.

So, I wanted to hear from a founder who has cracked the code of productivity. Emily Austen is the founder of leading PR agency EMERGE and the author of SMARTER: 10 lessons for a more productive and less-stressed life, publishing this autumn. Having founded EMERGE in 2012, Emily has navigated entrepreneurship and discovered a tried and tested formula for avoiding unproductive busyness.

Keep listening to hear Emily’s advice on how founders can avoid becoming busy yet unproductive and why tracking your energy rather than your time can help unlock your productivity.

Emily’s advice:

• Set boundaries, which will be different for everyone (soft ones which are ‘crossable’ and hard ones which are not)
• Be vigilant with your time; Emily uses a desk timer to time tasks and she maps out her day in minutes
• Prioritise
• Don’t be performative; it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about your working hours
• Know when to move aside from the top job
• Don’t allow small things to annoy you; take the long view
• Know your own energy cycles and plan work accordingly

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

It’s challenging enough to be productive while building one company. However, productively building multiple ventures at once requires incredible focus & purpose. So, I wanted to hear from someone who has achieved this alongside several investor, advisor & board positions all while keeping purpose at the heart of every endeavour.

Asad Hamir is the Co-Founder of Klyk, the sustainable IT company helping businesses tackle e-waste & reduce their carbon footprint. Alongside Klyk, Asad is also a Co-Founder of Ocushield, a clinician-led eye healthcare company. In addition to both his Co-Founder roles, Asad serves as a Non-Executive Director & investor in several tech & healthcare companies.

Keep listening to hear Asad’s advice on how to scale without losing productivity or purpose plus how to make your calendar work for you and not the other way round.

Asad’s advice:

• Any previous enterprises will have been valuable experience & will teach you what not to do
• At the start of the week, agree weekly objectives / at the start of the day, define what needs doing
• Allow time each day for checking emails, don’t leave them till the end of the day
• Leave space for you to react to clients’ needs if necessary
• Initially you will be fire-fighting on every front; aim to get to a place where you can look at the big picture as well as the immediate problems
• Celebrate both the big and the small wins - and keep your eye on both
• Try using Calendly - but protect your time
• Set boundaries for yourself and make sure your team understands those boundaries
• Parcel the week up, eg. meetings on Mondays, and maybe a certain day each week to concentrate on something different
• Focus is key; concentrate on one business at a time
• Draw a line at a certain time and finish your day
• Pay attention to your health / fitness / diet and you will be more energised
• Be open with your team and allow them to share your vision and plans
• B.Corp is a big help both guiding people inside the business and attracting people from outside who will want to work with you
• Write your own job description

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

CIPD research shows that 67% of UK working women aged between 40 and 60 with menopausal symptoms had experienced a negative impact on their work, with 79% reporting feeling less able to concentrate at work. Clearly, hormones play a large role in the lives of female founders of all ages.

I wanted to hear from a team with great experience in helping people overcome hormonal imbalances. Margo Marrone, founder of The Organic Pharmacy and her daughter Roxy are the co-founders of eyeam, the solution-led skincare, supplements and education brand. Inspired by Roxy’s experience with adult acne and hormonal imbalance, the duo are supporting people to overcome debilitating conditions which impact their energy both at work and at home.

Keep listening to hear Roxy and Margo’s advice on how founders can harness their hormones at work and how they can create a supportive environment for their teams too.

Margo & Roxy’s advice:

• Never go against what your body is telling you
• The four different hormonal phases are effectively four different sets of skills:
  • Follicular - energised, a good time to schedule and plan
  • Ovulatory - communicative, a good time to set up talks and events
  • Luteal - detail-driven, a good time to tackle paperwork
  • Menstrual - a good time for rest and reflection
• Communication is important; there is no shame attached to your bodily cycle so share how you are feeling. This is constructive and helpful for your colleagues
• Listen to your needs; you don’t have to push to the limits
• Managing hormones is not just a physical concern, it’s a mental one too. Understand why you are stressed and self-regulate
• Work smarter not harder; it’s the output that counts, not the time spent. Ideas which come when in the shower or on a walk can be so useful
• Quick ways to reduce stress can be breathwork (4-7-8 breathing helps) and humming
• Nutrition means not just food but your whole environment: the people around you, the things you read and watch, as well as what you eat
• Stop worrying about the to-do list; simply clear your head and tackle one task at a time

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

With Zippia reporting that happy workers are 13% more productive than unhappy workers, clearly it’s crucial to maintain a supportive and welcoming company culture as you grow your business. Not only will this keep your employees motivated, but you’ll also reap the benefits of higher productivity.

So, I wanted to find out how to grow a productive and happy team. That’s why I spoke with Katharine Pooley, Founder & Executive President of her eponymous luxury interior design studio. As one of the UK’s foremost interior designers, Katharine has grown her team to fifty people and adeptly balanced maintaining a creative environment with ensuring her team gets stuff done.

Keep listening to hear Katharine’s advice on how to keep your team happy as well as productive as you scale and why thinking about the octopus effect can really help imbue each and every employee on a daily basis.

Katherine's advice:
Know your limit in terms of number of employees
The happiness of your team is critical and will spring from:

• Enjoyment of the work
• Good collaboration
• Bonuses, salary raises and perks
• Knowing each other well
• Being allowed autonomy and being trusted
• Having a safe work environment
• A pleasant office with a reasonable commute
• Being trained and having the opportunity for meetings and discussions
• Examining a project after it has been delivered and discussing its good and bad points
• If a team is a happy one, productivity will be the result
• A happy team will be a loyal one and the longstanding employees will be so valuable
• Longstanding members can perhaps each manage their own team
• It’s a symbiotic relationship between employer and employed
• You need each other and ideally will stimulate each other

From the employer’s point of view, when interviewing:

• Try to assess the candidate quickly
• Trust the ones who speak with genuine warmth rather than the well-rehearsed speeches
• It’s important to like your employees
• Avoid ones who chatter rather than answering the question
• Those who can communicate and engage with you face to face will be strongest
• As the boss make sure you tackle your emails every single night
• If you have children be up front with them about what you need to do (and then make the most of your time with them)
• Give yourself goals at the start of the year and check up on them in August
• Remember, your enthusiasm will be infectious to your employees
• Be consistent
• Always be approachable; make yourself available at all times and respond to requests
• Try to deal with problems yourself rather than handing them down
• Be prepared to forgive mistakes

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

The Department for Education found in 2022 that 63% of UK adults hold multiple roles, demonstrating the extensiveness of the portfolio career. However, how do you create multiple roles for yourself and, importantly, ensure you deliver across them all?

To answer this, I wanted to hear from an experienced portfolio career holder who manages several roles at once - as an M&A growth expert, angel investor and advocate for inclusive leaders Nnenna Onuba founded her first business, LBB Skin, in 2018, & has since built a mergers & acquisitions consultancy and the leadership & inclusion advocacy organisation 100 Allies. Nnenna also holds directorships with organisations including the British Beauty Council and the Royal Veterinary College.

Keep listening to hear Nnenna’s advice on separating your different roles and effectively balancing competing demands on your time.

Nnenna’s advice:

• You need plenty of life experience first
• You must know yourself and what you’re good at, so you can hone in on your strengths
• You need to be the sort of person who enjoys continual learning
• Tackle the tough creative tasks at the beginning of the day when your energy is highest
• When you are relaxed you will be more creative
• Accept that as you age your energy levels may alter, and different times of day will suit you better
• Stay innovative
• If you mentor others you will learn from this
• Attract people with different skills to your own
• Don’t be afraid to delegate important things and trust others
• Additionally, surround yourself with people who inspire you
• If you tackle uncomfortable jobs you will get better at them
• If you are properly self-aware you will be more observant of others
• Try to do even one small thing that makes a difference

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

Let us know how your start up journey is going or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss in future episodes.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

UK productivity was ‘24% lower in 2023 than it would have been had it continued climbing at the rates seen before the global financial crisis’ according to the Economics Observatory. Given time is the most limited factor for any founder, for our eleventh season I’ve set out to find answers on how we can all improve our productivity in business.

First up, I wanted to find out how to scale a business efficiently. So I spoke with Nina Briance, Founder & CEO of CULT MIA, the online fashion marketplace for the world’s leading sustainable designers. Since founding CULT MIA in 2019, Nina has grown her business to become one of fashion’s leading online retailers.

Keep listening to hear Nina’s advice on implementing the right systems for efficient growth and how to avoid duplicating work.

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

Let us know how your start up journey is going or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss in future episodes.

Nina’s advice:

• Always aim to achieve more with less
• When you start you need a solid foundation of 1) clear processes 2) strong leadership 3) a business model which is scalable - that way you will be able to grow comfortably
• Time block your calendar well in advance
• Always ask yourself WHY you are doing something
• Keep focussed on your long-term goals
• Learn when to step back and let others make decisions (trust people and let them feel empowered)
• Save time by automating processes where this is possible
• All team members need to have a clearly defined role; a growing business does not necessarily need a growing workforce
• Keep auditing your thinking and structures

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link & Licence

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show

Building, scaling and maintaining one brand is challenging. However, successfully creating multiple brands is a brilliant feat of focus and endurance. With this in mind, I wanted to learn from an expert brand builder.

Hind Sebti is the founder of whind, a beauty brand that merges both science and sensoriality to deliver Golden Hour Beauty, inspired by her home of Morocco, in a high efficacy yet super indulging range of skin care, body care and fragrances, and the founder of Waldencast, a beauty and wellness platform that creates, acquires and scales the next generation of high growth purpose driven brands.

Waldencast Ventures, is a privately owned brand incubator that has launched and built whind but also sister brands coat[s] and glaze. Waldencast PLC acquired Obagi skin care and Milk Makeup and was listed on the Nasdaq in July 2022 and valued then at over $1bn.

As a multi-brand founder, Hind has a wealth of experience building brands that win customers’ hearts.

Keep listening to hear Hind’s advice on building multiple brands and effectively managing different businesses at the same time.

Hind's advice:

• As a founder you will start by doing everything yourself, but once you have a team you need to prioritise what to do yourself and what to delegate
• Those things only you can do will be the most important things - prioritise!
• Being able to trust your team and confidently delegate is vital; you cannot do everything yourself
• A combination of ambition and humility is good
• When building several brands at once, space out the various processes as you will learn from each one, which will benefit the next one - don’t put all your eggs in the same basket
• Be flexible when building a company culture; every business is different, and every employee works differently. Allow the employees to contribute to the company culture as people are your most important asset
• Be flexible and adaptable; businesses may not evolve in the way you had expected
• If you can find a partner whose skills complement your own, you are in luck as it’s great to have someone with whom you can discuss decisions

FF&M enables you to own your own PR. Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason. Email us at hello@fallowfieldmason.com or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

Let us know how your start up journey is going or if you have any questions you would like us to discuss in future episodes.

FF&M recommends:

• LastPass the password-keeping site that syncs between devices.
• Google Workspace is brilliant for small businesses
• Buzzsprout podcast 'how to' & hosting directory
• Canva has proved invaluable for creating all the social media assets and audio bites.

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod. Link &

Text us your questions for future founders. Plus we'd love to get your feedback, text in via Fan Mail

Support the show