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Optimum Professional Services are delighted to launch the new monthly conversational series, “Optimum: LIVE!” which will provide the opportunity for you to hear from members of the Optimum team and special guests each month as they delve into a variety of subjects in light-hearted, fire-side chat style productions.
Each episode will be shot or broadcast live (yep! One take!) which means that it is not scripted or edited and has a more natural and engaging tone.
This is a https://www.visual-pr.co.uk production
00;00;00;00 - 00;00;52;08
Chris
Welcome back to Optimum Live episode 24. It is December, but we didn't just want to do a typical Christmas one. This one is called Christmas Musings of New Year business plans. We all do it after that Christmas Day and it's that lull. We start getting creative. So join us as Mike talks us through the things that we should think about during that time.
00;00;52;10 - 00;00;57;22
Chris
So welcome back to optimize. And it is Mike, I've already said it's you that's joined me. Greetings, sir.
00;00;57;23 - 00;00;59;05
Mike
I guess I do. Yeah.
00;00;59;05 - 00;01;20;18
Chris
Good. Thank you. This was your idea for this episode, and I thought it was a great one because as soon as you suggested it, it rang true. I'm still in there. Excited slash. Terrified. I'm not organized about Christmas at the moment, but I don't know. What does it say? Boxing day, or maybe the day after Boxing Day.
00;01;20;20 - 00;01;22;28
Chris
You're in a slump. Food coma?
00;01;23;03 - 00;01;24;16
Mike
Yeah, definitely.
00;01;24;19 - 00;01;28;01
Chris
But the mind as a business owner, the mind starts getting creative.
00;01;28;03 - 00;01;59;23
Mike
Yeah. It's a it's it's one of those time periods of the year or the only time of the year where most businesses stop. So that's their customers have perhaps stop emailing or querying, send an order through suppliers or stop staff or at home having their Christmas so that the emails are generally quiet. The phone stops ringing. And then once you finish building all the Lego sets after Christmas, you start just perhaps just so just having a cup of tea one morning, not rushing to get to the office, get to the warehouse and you still starts thinking.
00;01;59;23 - 00;02;04;26
Mike
And those ideas start coming out around that. That's at that period of time because you've been able to stop.
00;02;05;01 - 00;02;33;21
Chris
Yeah, exactly. Saturday I'm picturing myself. I'm going to do it. I know I will. SAT there with a Baileys in hand or a book as if it's early. I mean, early afternoon. I mean, obviously, and you do, and it's not it's not just creativity. There's possibly, a melancholy, that makes you quite pensive. And it's just as important to have a think about what maybe isn't working quite right.
00;02;33;21 - 00;02;38;15
Chris
How can we change it? So you've got to sort of think of it both ways.
00;02;38;17 - 00;02;58;11
Mike
Yeah. There's a it's just the period of reflection and period of what was working, what hasn't worked in the year. And then what are you going to do about it next year? Because I don't think there's many businesses that do the same thing year after year. Something changes, whether that's home life gets more expensive as the kids get older, or maybe they've moved out.
00;02;58;11 - 00;03;18;06
Mike
So the pressure at home, that is less so. Therefore, the busyness can take a different turn to not be money focus. Perhaps it could be more time orientated. It might be a new member, a new baby come in that actually makes you go, you know, unwinding, think, slowing things down. What worked, what helps for that. And so it's that period of reflection back on the year.
00;03;18;09 - 00;03;33;16
Mike
And you only have to do it when you stop. I say to a lot of clients, I book some time once a week, once a fortnight, to go sit in a coffee shop on your own for an hour just to stop, to turn your phone off, turn your emails off and just sit with a notepad and see what comes out.
00;03;33;18 - 00;03;55;08
Mike
Because it it's that stop in and stop in that distraction, the emails and the phone calls. I say it to everyone I know. I don't do it all the time, but there is a period I used to do it with my daughter's gymnastics. So go sit it, be a couple of hours and you just sit in the coffee shop and just sit with my notebook and just doodle and just see, just see what comes out that goes, oh, actually, I've forgotten about that.
00;03;55;08 - 00;04;21;09
Mike
Or how about doing it this way? But it's taken that into something a bit more Christmas, where there's definite downtime. And as much I don't want people to be thinking, oh, no, it's Christmas. I've got to think about work. Because if you don't, you don't. But a lot of people do. So if you are, it's the things that they're all that January people come back in in January and I get loads of emails and new business start ups.
00;04;21;09 - 00;04;36;27
Mike
I've been thinking of this. I've been thinking of that. So it's not that I'm telling them to do that. They're all doing it. Those people are doing it. I like I do switch for quite a few of those days. It it might get to the 30th for me until I go. Actually now I've got a period that I'm, I'm thinking of.
00;04;36;29 - 00;04;38;05
Mike
Yeah.
00;04;38;08 - 00;04;39;28
Chris
Yeah. All the snacks have run out. Yeah, yeah.
00;04;39;28 - 00;04;47;02
Mike
That's it. Yeah. The side is still stuck. She's getting a bit low. I'm thinking I'm after. I'm to get outside and get some exercise.
00;04;47;09 - 00;05;08;28
Chris
Yeah, I'll go and see people. Oh, I'm, I'm, I mean, I've made a note. If your thing about stop and think once a week, once a fortnight, whatever it might be, I don't do that. I'm so hectic all the time and I do. You know what? I think I am missing something there. And I like your comment in that you're not saying right, you should do this during this period.
00;05;09;00 - 00;05;36;26
Chris
We do it. We start thinking, so therefore embrace it properly. If you if you find yourself suddenly doing it, grab that notebook. I'll tell you what my wife's got for me. I've got a book that stays by the side of my bed that says on the cover things I thought about whilst I was sleeping because I used to wake up early hours of the morning with either a problem or an idea, and that was it.
00;05;36;28 - 00;05;48;12
Chris
Couldn't get back to sleep. Yep. But they reckon if you just go right, write that down, close it. You've got everything you need to pick because I'm always terrified I'm going to forget the next thing I'm saying.
00;05;48;12 - 00;05;53;20
Mike
So I email my work fine. Okay. So that you email myself dinner to go see that you do.
00;05;53;20 - 00;05;54;29
Chris
Don't you have a ahead then that.
00;05;54;29 - 00;06;06;01
Mike
Will come in in the morning? That could be when I've had a busy night. That'll be a load of emails that. Oh from myself. And you're like did you get much sleep last night? I was like, yeah, I don't know. I actually I just I didn't get these ideas.
00;06;06;03 - 00;06;27;15
Chris
And I think that that's the nature probably in this period, sort of between that Christmas and New Year is allow it to happen, but grab a pad, grab something, make a note of it, click brainstorm off of that maybe, and then put it away and get back to yeah, the family, the fitness, the whatever you choose it to be.
00;06;27;18 - 00;06;39;01
Chris
Because I find that there's a second stage to that is that when we come back at being in a January as a team, we then bring those ideas that have percolated through that period.
00;06;39;04 - 00;06;54;04
Mike
Everyone does it. It's not just business owners. The staff will have had some ideas or thought about change in this. This, this got really annoys me last year and I was thinking, this is how we can fix it. So it's actually embracing that as well and getting everyone together as that new start of going might have a good time.
00;06;54;04 - 00;06;58;09
Mike
Christmas, get all that and go. And just finding out what people thought. Yeah over that, over that period.
00;06;58;09 - 00;07;01;24
Chris
Because when we can be our most creative, I think when we've got that redo.
00;07;01;27 - 00;07;14;25
Mike
On because it's time and, and it's gone quiet and people have pause for a moment. And I do think that that is the key bit is that that's the characteristic that we should have probably several times during the year, but we definitely get it.
00;07;14;26 - 00;07;33;02
Chris
The ones I think you're right, because the summer holiday, it's it's all spread out when people are doing it. So it's not all at the same time. And and then when I go on holiday, I try not to very much, but I'm still, you know, looking at emails and sorting a couple of bits and pieces a lot less.
00;07;33;02 - 00;07;41;17
Chris
Yeah, I still am. So we never fully start where it's like, you're absolutely right. Christmas is the one time where, generally speaking, stopped.
00;07;41;20 - 00;07;55;14
Mike
Yeah, things have stopped and you're not. So on holiday you're at a hotel, you're at the beach, so there are things still to do. You might be chilled and you're away from work, whereas Christmas is just about. You went on walks seeing family.
00;07;55;16 - 00;07;57;10
Chris
You get having a Christmas home.
00;07;57;11 - 00;08;11;17
Mike
I said I can't wait, I love it and I it's the build up for me with the young kids on Christmas Eve, all the way through the excitement and stuff. So I love it because as well it's backed up with, you can have that good family time because everything stopped.
00;08;11;19 - 00;08;24;04
Chris
Yeah, absolutely. I don't know why I've gone with this, but my, you know, my brain does this, right. So there's all squirrel, eggnog. Have you ever had eggnog? No, I don't know why I brought that up, but I was just picturing.
00;08;24;10 - 00;08;29;28
Mike
What's the drink that goes in it? The. Is that is it clear? Clearance right now is like that.
00;08;30;03 - 00;08;31;12
Chris
I can't remember, I don't know.
00;08;31;18 - 00;08;37;09
Mike
I only have a drink when I was at uni making weird and horrible cocktails. But no, that's not. No.
00;08;37;11 - 00;08;41;03
Chris
We're just glad that mobile phones and social media wasn't allowed in those days.
00;08;41;03 - 00;08;42;09
Mike
For us, it was just about.
00;08;42;09 - 00;08;45;11
Chris
Oh was it? I got away with it.
00;08;45;13 - 00;08;48;02
Mike
Yeah, I know I don't look it, but I'm a little bit younger.
00;08;48;04 - 00;09;09;06
Chris
Wow. No. Good point. You are. Yeah. So I got away with it. So it's all. It's all top secret. Obviously it's quite an interesting one. This one as well is that what's Christmas Day is on the Thursday. Christmas Eve that the Wednesday. Boxing Day, the Friday. So we still got a little bit in the week leading up to it.
00;09;09;08 - 00;09;32;15
Chris
Not always the most productive of weeks. It's not the high but it is that opportunity. I also find before we get into that sort of like post Christmas of coming up with ideas for the New Year's is a great, what I call it housekeeping period as well, where you're tidying up the odds and salts. Yeah. Or as the kids say, six seven.
00;09;32;18 - 00;09;35;20
Mike
Yeah, my little four. You could just see him out there now doing it.
00;09;35;20 - 00;09;38;03
Unknown
Yeah, yeah.
00;09;38;06 - 00;09;48;23
Chris
Get rid of a bit of everything. Which we're doing a lot. And I've got to say, it's been really, useful and cathartic that all these little niggly bits that were being put off and it's like, get those done.
00;09;48;23 - 00;10;01;19
Mike
Because you got that's how deadlines get it done before Christmas. You're on it. Linger in afterwards. You want to come back with it. And yeah. And they're always the ones that you actually sit and do. And it's it's a five minutes a day we've been putting on for a month.
00;10;01;22 - 00;10;28;00
Chris
It just gets bigger in your head, doesn't it? I the last episode of, Optimum Live was obviously reviewing the autumn budget without bringing the mood down. I missed this festive episode. Is that. That's another reason why I think a lot of people are going to think about things over, you know, in that downtime period. Because a number not all a number of those things will be coming in place next year.
00;10;28;01 - 00;10;50;19
Mike
Yes, it from April. So it's it might be so naturally for us. We always look towards the forecast in the cash flow, seeing where the business needs to be, where it's likely to be, where you want it to be. And hopefully the three, you know, line up right is interesting. I've been doing it with a client recently, and the want and need to be a very different to the likely to be.
00;10;50;22 - 00;11;09;16
Mike
And so actually by having those three, it does open up those conversations. Now that sort of level of detail is not going to happen between Christmas and New Year. However, the thoughts of where you want it to be possibly will be so that when you come back into the new year and the email comes into the inbox for us, it goes right.
00;11;09;18 - 00;11;31;28
Mike
We've been thinking about it. This is what I want to be able to do next year or this year. Yeah, for 2026. New store, new changes freshen things up. And it's taking the those ideas and then pushing it into these forecasts of going right. If you want to be able to do this, whether it's four days a week, whether it's to earn another ten grand a year, this is what you're going to need to do each month, each year.
00;11;31;28 - 00;11;53;16
Mike
This have a gradual build up towards it, see where it ends up, and then that starts that process of just having a review the accounts and looking forward, not looking backwards, always looking forward. You only look in my view, you and you look backwards to reflect on what you attempt you attempted to do and what actually turned out so that, you know, on a forecast how likely it is.
00;11;53;18 - 00;12;06;14
Mike
So if someone tells me, go, I'm going to do 100 grand next year. Turnover. Brilliant. What did you do last year? 20. What do you think? What did you think you were going to do? I thought I was going to do a hundred grand. Okay, so the hundred grand, this is quite unlikely that unless there was something major.
00;12;06;14 - 00;12;13;14
Mike
But so it's kind of that's what I use the looking back for. But it's more it's more important. Where you going.
00;12;13;16 - 00;12;40;27
Chris
You add in a rationale to the look at what happened. Why did it happen? Because that narrative can have an impact on that forecast. And for me, the big thing I'm picking up there from, from this part of the discussion is when I start percolating, when I start noting ideas down, have them submit worries down or good changes and force changes whatever we think it might be, don't do the paralysis by analysis.
00;12;41;00 - 00;12;57;08
Chris
Get them down. Get the thoughts down. If you're equipped to be able to take that further, fine. But I'm like, they're going, I know what my limit is. And so for me it would be like write, note it down. This is what I'm thinking. This is what I think needs to happen. This is what I need to happen.
00;12;57;08 - 00;13;07;26
Chris
Want to happen. As you said, to then come and speak to you guys that are able to sort of like join the dots together behind of, you know, can we should we how will we.
00;13;08;02 - 00;13;13;21
Mike
Make most business owners will know what's working and what's not just by got.
00;13;13;24 - 00;13;18;04
Chris
But not necessarily always why and how it can be changed.
00;13;18;07 - 00;13;28;15
Mike
No, but just that there is something that needs attention and it might be that they know a certain member of staff isn't quite doing what should be, or one's doing more than it's expected.
00;13;28;15 - 00;13;29;11
Chris
You don't have enough.
00;13;29;14 - 00;13;43;09
Mike
Yeah. And it's just that balance between the two. And there'll be something, then it'll go help me understand what is and isn't working over here. I think it's this. And it just gives us an angle to go towards, sort of the light at the end of the tunnel.
00;13;43;11 - 00;14;07;22
Chris
And it's. That would for the trees is that you're not even just with your financial expertise. And I've always said you guys are very much about, business advisors, not just, you know, accountants. And so to be able to be that external set of eyes that I, as a business owner, can be going, this isn't working or I need to be able to do that, or I'm really excited because I think this will work.
00;14;07;22 - 00;14;24;09
Chris
And you stood back or able to take that oh, objective, non-biased view, which isn't always you going thy will or won't be done. It can create that conversation that then makes it happen with backed up by figures.
00;14;24;15 - 00;14;45;05
Mike
Exactly that. And it's also remembering that for each client a problem is different. Yes, someone else could be in the same position. Where one person doesn't like something or sees an opportunity is not where someone else will. And it comes down to again what everyone's after. It's some people might look at it as purely on a monetary basis.
00;14;45;05 - 00;15;09;05
Mike
Some of them might work on quality factors. So you need to understand what the client is wanting and that's where those ideas that sort of note pop up inside. The bad idea helps to build what what it is someone wants from the business. I speak to my best mate most days about the business and his business and everything just going on, and we just we talk through things.
00;15;09;07 - 00;15;27;22
Mike
So that creates sustainable. But it also like we're we're working out. He he'll go, this is a problem. I can't get out of this problem. And I'll look at and go, but it really isn't because what's the worst that can happen if you fix it? What's the best that's going to come from? Not a lot. It's going to change.
00;15;27;24 - 00;15;44;25
Mike
And we're able to talk, quite frankly, each other. And there's times where I go just leave that it doesn't matter. And where he was getting fixated on it because to him, it felt like it was having that objective view as well, made it seem, made it realize I'm actually. Yeah. And it was it is. Okay.
00;15;44;27 - 00;16;09;15
Chris
I get that regularly, I think running the business where I think it falls into overwhelm. I think it probably falls into that bucket, doesn't it, where you kind of everything is there, and then suddenly there's this little bit here that because of the everything else being there, is that it makes it feel so much bigger. Yeah. That's why the things like the walks and what have you for the rest of the year as well, is that you get to separate them out.
00;16;09;18 - 00;16;17;18
Chris
And that whole notion of, you finished your Christmas dinners. Yeah, yeah. You drink in one day, probably. I can finish that one.
00;16;17;20 - 00;16;22;09
Mike
You just. I've seen what's in the in those cupboards for Christmas. I'm good. I'm, I'm going to be sorted for a while.
00;16;22;09 - 00;16;39;03
Chris
Sounds good. So have kids. I'm we're sort of just, keeping the, the coat on. They're ready for New Year celebrations, of course, as well. Yeah. And and it's like, yeah, grab that part. Yeah. I don't feel you have to. I think I want to re-emphasize your narrative on that. So you have to.
00;16;39;03 - 00;16;39;28
Mike
Oh, absolutely. Yeah.
00;16;40;02 - 00;17;05;18
Chris
But if there's things start sparking positive or negative. Grab a pad, note them down. Don't get to necessarily feel you got to get to a conclusion in those thought processes, but be the basis of conversations. In the new year I find new year as well. I don't know, as I've got older. It used to be great fun as a late teenager and in my 20s.
00;17;05;21 - 00;17;16;12
Chris
Now I find it an oddly weird phrase I'm going to use now, considering what happens, but a sobering period where it isn't always the most positive I know.
00;17;16;14 - 00;17;36;15
Mike
But then it's. But then you can you turn the page, start a new calendar, starts a new year, and it's that fresh notebook. Yeah, okay. Start off neatly. The start of where like somewhere where we want to go. And it's, it's just that sort of like it's an excuse to go. Let's freshen things up. Yeah, let's change things.
00;17;36;18 - 00;17;42;19
Mike
And there are the cliche ones of new year, new start. Let's go to the gym. Let's go do this.
00;17;42;21 - 00;17;44;16
Chris
I'm never going to packed.
00;17;44;16 - 00;17;59;07
Mike
And yeah, I know I never go down. I want to go down that route. But it's just going. I know there will be things that have been bugging you. There's things that you can turn into a positive, like just literally just start a new calendar, start fresh and go right. This have an opportunity to look at things differently.
00;17;59;09 - 00;18;15;15
Mike
And it and it might be that things don't need to be change. Fantastic. But just have a quick chat. We do it. So we'll travel around, see some family and we got a little go to players and stuff for the kids. So they sit in the back with the headphones on. So the the way we get without car journeys like any arguments.
00;18;15;18 - 00;18;32;19
Mike
But then that's just me and Ruby then sat in the car on our own quietly because the kids are just in their own little world. Listen to whatever, lightning McQueen, whatever. Yeah, and we'll chat about the toy shop for for her talk about options for me. And we'll just just chat about stuff. Because you just got that time.
00;18;32;21 - 00;18;43;12
Mike
Because you just drove in two hours to go see some family. Yeah. Which is two hour again. You'll find all these little spaces it like when you don't expect to.
00;18;43;14 - 00;19;05;21
Chris
A lot of. Very emotive TV is on as well I find whether it's movies, whether it's series, whatever, it is great entertainment, but some of it can be very emotive. And I find I'm going to use the word inspirational, but I don't always mean that in the, you know, let's go kind of way. It can just make you kind of go, wow, you know what?
00;19;05;22 - 00;19;25;10
Chris
I yeah, I think I had it last year. I needed to spend more time with my family than working, working too hard. I don't think I managed to change it this year. But, you know, that will be one that will come out and it's like there's a business plan as well, isn't it? Right. How can I get the balance right?
00;19;25;14 - 00;19;28;23
Chris
Yeah. And most of us business owners don't know.
00;19;29;00 - 00;19;47;25
Mike
No, it's no, it's I've gone through the same thing and I've probably lately I've got to a good balance with things, you know, over the last few months and it's been really nice actually, because you can see the benefits of getting it right. And it is possible. Yeah. And it we've fortunate we've had some good hires. You've got some good hires.
00;19;47;25 - 00;20;00;21
Mike
So it's just and that just needs time. Yeah. And for us it was it's just the time for the for everyone to settle in and understand my mad way of thinking. Yeah. Gosh. Okay.
00;20;00;24 - 00;20;19;17
Chris
But that there like, for example, I know that's going to be a big one for me this winter. This this festive period is okay. The highs I've done so far work. Well, if you like the obvious highs as in the obvious roles, but there are there is work that I'm doing that going. Hang on, I could do with that.
00;20;19;17 - 00;20;37;06
Chris
Not being me isn't the existing highs because that's not their role. They're more on the production side, etc.. And I want someone to do it better than me as well. So not just relieve it. So I then start thinking, okay, what does that look like? What would that person be? Is it full time? Is it part time?
00;20;37;06 - 00;20;39;03
Chris
Is it outsourcing the other way?
00;20;39;04 - 00;20;57;12
Mike
Looking at it as well is with that. So starting afresh, do all those things need to it or you just doing it because you've been doing it for a year or two now? Like half the time. I bet you look at a thing on your list and it's been on your to do list for two months, so if it's still on, does it actually you need to do it.
00;20;57;14 - 00;21;25;14
Mike
So then you look at a fresh thing and go and actually do you need to do those things or actually you were chasing something that the outcome isn't going to be any different. Yeah, it might be nice, it might be a bit more streamlined. It might be a bit straight edge to whatever, but it's actually going to change the other things that you're aiming to get, because if not the that point of refreshing of going, I constantly choose to do that, and it might be networking with a couple of different groups.
00;21;25;14 - 00;21;41;17
Mike
It might be making sure that you do a bit of admin, a bit of this, a bit of that. But if the outcome isn't going to change anything and it doesn't take any boxes for yourself in the fact that it was a benefit to you or to the businesses over, then also it's that time to look at it.
00;21;41;17 - 00;21;42;29
Mike
Go is actually worth it.
00;21;42;29 - 00;22;02;19
Chris
That's a really interesting one. I think that's been a real ping moment for me because I'd never really thought about it. Equally, there is systemize and or automation, things like that that you kind of go, well, actually, is it definitely a person, an additional person that I need or is it actually some streamlining internally?
00;22;02;26 - 00;22;16;16
Mike
I had someone today give me their 90 day plan of where they weren't like in quite a large firm in a finance function of all the things they want to change over the next 90 days. And some of it was just like keywords and bits, but like a couple of them it's like, but why? Why do you want to change that?
00;22;16;16 - 00;22;42;03
Mike
What are you aiming to get from there? It seems a nice thing to do to get this all nice and perfect, but why? Or what is the benefit? And and it was easy, let's say when. So no actually then I just thought we needed to but and it's that and so that you can do that yourself in this period where you're just thinking and things through and you go and.
00;22;42;03 - 00;22;48;01
Mike
Right, actually, what things do I want to be doing in the new year? What what things you should like. And it's just cross out, of course, that.
00;22;48;07 - 00;22;55;03
Chris
It's a two phase one on that I say is that, yeah, me and my wife will probably do that. She'll be delighted when she finds that out.
00;22;55;05 - 00;22;57;06
Unknown
Here's my. Yeah.
00;22;57;08 - 00;23;23;10
Chris
But equally, those that then sit on the list is that you're still there as the sounding board. Are you guys, that could still remove it or add it back in or find alternative ways to do it, etcetera. You have a sounding board with, with and of course, you guys are always gonna have a very different perspective to the person running the yeah, you know, pogo stick manufacturer or whatever on nurse.
00;23;23;10 - 00;23;26;28
Chris
It might be, showed my age they had a gig and I.
00;23;27;01 - 00;23;28;00
Mike
Was trying to turn into a joke.
00;23;28;00 - 00;23;29;25
Unknown
Yeah.
00;23;29;27 - 00;23;31;01
Mike
Too many springing ideas.
00;23;31;01 - 00;23;34;26
Unknown
Yeah. Oh.
00;23;34;28 - 00;23;36;16
Chris
Gosh. And we haven't even got the eggnog.
00;23;36;18 - 00;23;39;03
Unknown
No, no.
00;23;39;05 - 00;23;41;16
Chris
We were tempted. What was it, a few, I think it was.
00;23;41;16 - 00;23;46;01
Mike
1 or 2 years ago. Yeah, one of our first ones with a beer jumper.
00;23;46;04 - 00;24;12;06
Chris
It was. That had to be remotely. We were all working from a Christmas jumper in a can of beer. Yeah, it was good. We resisted this time because it's still too busy at the minute. We you've obviously we mentioned that episode 15 where we talk about starting up a business. You've also got on your blog from around March time, your blog page on the Oppt scope that UK there is, starting a new business.
00;24;12;06 - 00;24;35;12
Chris
What you need to know plenty of advice so that if people it doesn't give all the answers straight away does it? But it's about getting us thinking. And I like the way you've done it in the fact that you there's some hard facts. There's legal and financial things that need to be considered. You would make us just a you show kind of thing, but equally very supportive.
00;24;35;13 - 00;24;39;05
Chris
You are very supportive of people starting the new ideas.
00;24;39;10 - 00;25;01;27
Mike
I yeah, I love it when people come along. I've just gone into business and said that to speak to you because you you help us understand now, I when I came over to Swindon eight years ago, picked up a client base who was essentially just tell me where to sign. And I was like, no, no, no, give me five minutes minimum just to try and explain what it is you're signing.
00;25;01;27 - 00;25;16;19
Mike
Let's go through the accounts, understand what it means. And that's fed into loads of other things. So when people come to me go, I'm going to go. I'm an employee. Maybe an hour ago, I'm going to go out on my own. I'm like, amazing. Let's have a look at what you're going to do. What do you need to do?
00;25;16;21 - 00;25;35;17
Mike
That's an and the number of business I've seen you fly in because they took that gamble. Now I love to be part of that. And there's ones where they have come to me and go on the go do this. And it's like a you sure? I think you need to look at this one a little bit differently, because what you think you're going to get, I can't see it.
00;25;35;20 - 00;25;50;00
Mike
But if you go for it, always going to be behind you. I'm going to support everyone all the way because you never know what idea comes out. Yeah. Out from the bedroom essentially from like like you look at Apple and all the all the other ones like that. So it's, I just realized that can get cut quite badly.
00;25;50;00 - 00;25;53;03
Mike
What I said just that. Well, ideas come out eventually.
00;25;53;03 - 00;25;58;00
Chris
We do that. Would we do that to you like,
00;25;58;02 - 00;26;00;09
Mike
But, it's.
00;26;00;12 - 00;26;01;28
Chris
I was letting it go. Yeah.
00;26;02;00 - 00;26;24;14
Mike
Well, I think myself the whole, But it's so we. Yeah. So naturally. So was it an existing business owner? We'll look at their business over that period of time. It'll be those ones that ago. Jill. Or I've had enough of it. And a lot of it will come from people being being employed. So they take the gym and go, I'm going to go on my own this time.
00;26;24;14 - 00;26;45;15
Mike
I'm going to go and work for myself. I'm gonna go do this now. We get a lot in January. It was so much that two or maybe three years ago, I started to put on a new business, kind of course, for I had 12 businesses because they all started in January. I took them all on. I said, hang on, let's all get together, because then I can teach you all the same thing at the same time.
00;26;45;17 - 00;27;06;08
Mike
Yeah, and I put on a free course just to be able to help those businesses. Now. All. Yeah, all of them still trade and still go and still strong. Still doing what they wanted to do out of it. So which is amazing. And so but that all come comes out of January that sort of freshly for good job.
00;27;06;11 - 00;27;09;25
Mike
My employer didn't get me a nice enough Christmas bonus. I'm going to go own.
00;27;09;28 - 00;27;11;20
Chris
Yeah, yeah.
00;27;11;22 - 00;27;24;23
Mike
Whatever it is, the catalyst at that point, it might be that they just got burned out through being pushed and pushed and pushed and they go, oh, I've decided I'm going to go make something random. Yeah, yeah, but why not?
00;27;24;25 - 00;27;40;17
Chris
I still finding it. Oh, is that you were starting to say, you know, I got fed up. They were feeling burnt out. Do you know what it's like to be a business? I know the stress. I used to have a full head of hair. That's not true. That's not good. So, But it is. It's just a different challenge, isn't it?
00;27;40;17 - 00;27;45;25
Chris
And, you know Marmite, isn't it? Well, one person's meat is another one's poison.
00;27;45;25 - 00;27;52;08
Mike
And sometimes I always say some people just try it life short. Try it. You might find that you don't like it.
00;27;52;15 - 00;27;54;07
Chris
Especially the side hustles as well.
00;27;54;07 - 00;28;10;04
Mike
Yeah a lot of people think that. A lot of people actually don't like to be a business owner. They don't like the pressure, don't like what it brings. Although there's some benefits here. They don't like that side of it, and that's fine. But if you try to, it saves it being, oh, if only I tried it. If only you never want to have hindsight.
00;28;10;04 - 00;28;17;22
Mike
I just go with the best interests. And I think if you make it turn, you go. Not by that. Lost a load of money. I'm going to go back over here.
00;28;17;23 - 00;28;18;10
Chris
Yeah I know.
00;28;18;16 - 00;28;21;13
Mike
And so it at least you tried it. Yeah.
00;28;21;15 - 00;28;24;19
Chris
Yeah. I don't know which stage I might not know.
00;28;24;22 - 00;28;25;21
Mike
It's my time to tell.
00;28;25;23 - 00;28;48;23
Chris
Yeah, exactly. Have I've just got three different businesses. Oh my God, at the moment. And all of them stress me out. But I don't think that'll ever change. Which, incidentally, there's one that I think, is a challenging but exciting one that people think of myself very much in this camp. Someone told me they said a phrase, that it's more stressful managing a growing business than it is a failing business.
00;28;48;23 - 00;29;12;23
Chris
And I went, well, that doesn't make any sense, that that's horrible. I went through, gripping on my fingernails through the pandemic with open doors, training. It was awful. That's not true. It is the challenge to scale up. I know with visual PR productions, the the, the the potential is massive, but to keep going up is a real, real challenge.
00;29;12;23 - 00;29;23;02
Chris
And that's where my Christmas is going to be. Is okay. How do I then do the next seesaw up and all of that kind of thing? It's it's got to be very managed to measure, doesn't it.
00;29;23;05 - 00;29;40;02
Mike
Oh, absolutely. And that's the I think when you've got your backs against the wall for a business that struggling is you just know you've got to fight. You just got to go with it. You got to get some wins. You've got to do this. You've got to do that. But when things are okay and settled, you go, the pressure off a little bit.
00;29;40;02 - 00;29;58;26
Mike
I'll deal with that next week. And then it's like, well, actually, how do I get it to do a level up? How do I take that step? And you're like, well, I've got some money. Yeah, but I don't really want to chuck some money in because I went through that bit. And that's the bit that you cycle that you, you always want to know that it's going to be a good outcome by going, oh, I'll feed it that.
00;29;58;28 - 00;30;02;18
Mike
Is it going to is it going to jump there. No. And so that's the person.
00;30;02;19 - 00;30;04;09
Chris
Well how quickly is it going to jump.
00;30;04;14 - 00;30;21;19
Mike
Yeah that's it. You do the person battles. But then you look around at the business that have taken jumps and fake leaps of faith and stuff, and you and actually a load of them are doing really well. Like we've, we've had a few on the business on the show and along the way, and you could just see all of them just making tough decisions but growing as well.
00;30;21;21 - 00;30;26;28
Chris
Yeah. We we're adamant on the new business that we're not going to go into excessive detail on.
00;30;27;03 - 00;30;28;10
Mike
It because we've got the episode. Yeah.
00;30;28;12 - 00;30;29;08
Chris
At 1059.
00;30;29;12 - 00;30;40;13
Mike
And actually a lot of it is still completely relevant. Some of the tax rules are changed slightly, but even on that, I've said the rules and everything else is all the same. So, yeah, we don't need to go over or grind, I don't think.
00;30;40;13 - 00;30;49;11
Chris
No, I mean, other than the fact that it is. Get the idea? Down as much as you can, then come and speak to you. Get that email. Got a new idea here.
00;30;49;12 - 00;31;07;27
Mike
And to be honest, if someone's thinking they might use that time, the time, time to have some thoughts, drop us an email because I can give you the things some ideas of like like on a spider diagram, if you go like the big sections going like think about this, think about this, think about this while you're off. So quite often someone come to me, go.
00;31;07;27 - 00;31;23;13
Mike
I've got these ideas. All right. Brilliant. Go back and think of these bits and then let's catch up for a coffee. Yeah. So I can bring it all together. So if there is anyone that's watching this that does want that, just just drop us an email because, I'll, I'll give you those bits. It's nothing complex. It's not groundbreaking by any means.
00;31;23;13 - 00;31;29;09
Mike
You probably go on ChatGPT and it'll all be on there as well. But it's just those sort of tailored ones that then I can work with.
00;31;29;11 - 00;31;48;23
Chris
Yeah. And then that's the foundation for the conversation that makes absolute sense. Equally, the ability to break down, the different revenue streams and have a look at what's working, what's not working or what could work if we did x, y, z.
00;31;49;00 - 00;32;12;18
Mike
I think that's a really interesting one because so many businesses, it doesn't just make a widget in one way and that's it. It just come through. One bit of production goes out. If it's one item being produced, there's lots of different stages, so there's cost centers there that need to be looked at. It might be transport in, transport out there's but for most businesses.
00;32;12;18 - 00;32;31;24
Mike
So like for us we've got a bookkeeping, we've got some software. We've got some accounts, some tax, some consulting. So within our business we've got loads. So you need to look at some of sometimes you need to look at all of them go. Are they completely separate. Could you do one bit on its own or is it connected to these bits and actually then work out what of those ones?
00;32;31;24 - 00;32;48;29
Mike
Are they working. Because quite often you'll just be doing it because you've always done it. Because you've needed to chase the turnover. But actually they don't. They use up your time and they don't generate anything. And if there's no other benefits like the opportunity costs and benefits for it, then why.
00;32;49;00 - 00;32;58;16
Chris
Yeah. And some of them, I think a very common one is that that's a legacy that was there right back then. And you're like, we'll go more that's that's going to stay there. But it's everything else has evolved and you're still doing this legacy.
00;32;58;16 - 00;33;02;11
Mike
But the best bit about a small business, you can do a handbrake turn at any point and change much.
00;33;02;13 - 00;33;03;29
Chris
Is not turning to the.
00;33;03;29 - 00;33;15;07
Mike
Corpse. Exactly. You look at the in Covid, the number of businesses, little businesses that changed overnight, how they worked, the the new ideas that came out, the adapting to new processes.
00;33;15;10 - 00;33;16;05
Chris
All the costs.
00;33;16;05 - 00;33;38;14
Mike
Yeah. Just everything just change. And so it's it's kind of going nothing's set in stone. Things can change. You can do things in a different way. I'm quite a few little light bulb minutes or so. Yeah. I like the rooms getting brighter each time. But. And so it's just looking at those and it might be, say, a bar, different drinks, like types of drinks that are more.
00;33;38;15 - 00;33;39;20
Chris
I know we'll get back on to do.
00;33;39;21 - 00;33;56;18
Mike
Yeah, yeah. We go we'll get it there eventually. Yeah. It's just we took a moment to to the like sensible stuff but like it might be the sort of like it's different drinks or foods or types of food or opening times. They're all different types of revenue stream of a business that typically is a food and drink, a food and, a food and drink.
00;33;56;18 - 00;34;14;27
Mike
Let pub. Yeah, but there's different times, different days, different things. And you could it's just and it doesn't have to get to the minutia to detail. But you might be loaf with someone I'm working with now. They've just Wednesdays don't work, so they've just looked at it when they've broken it down daily, by bar. And they worked out.
00;34;14;27 - 00;34;45;22
Mike
Wednesdays just don't work however hard they try. It just doesn't work. Right. So then so that's been isolated in that and then so but you can do it all from like say the the business owner has a gut gut feel for how the business is. Keep looking. Keep using that to go right. Actually if I was being honest with myself and that's the bit that's hard to start with, is to actually go, let's be honest, let's think of it from the outside in, what's working, what's really good, because what's really good needs to keep driving.
00;34;45;22 - 00;35;06;00
Mike
What can you do more with that? Yeah. And these things like, what's not working, right. However, don't just focus on here because it might take you 50% your time in February to, in January, say, to fix this bit. Yeah. But actually the benefit of that is small. If you focus on the one that's doing really well and put 50% of your time in, that might grow exponentially more.
00;35;06;05 - 00;35;13;22
Mike
Yeah. So it's it's just, again, being honest with yourself and just stepping back.
00;35;13;24 - 00;35;24;01
Chris
Yeah. I'm trying to remember what it was because there was a, thing that came up from the wall where they had the the diagram of the bottom of the planes and showing where all the bullet holes were.
00;35;24;03 - 00;35;24;15
Mike
Oh, yeah.
00;35;24;21 - 00;35;34;14
Chris
And, and they were like, right. So we need to focus on protecting that area. No, no no no, no, we need to protect everywhere else because those bits were already safely taken.
00;35;34;21 - 00;35;37;12
Mike
We can't we can see you that thing. But it came back. Yeah.
00;35;37;12 - 00;35;43;24
Chris
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, and I think you whether that's true, it remains to be seen. But you kind of get.
00;35;43;25 - 00;35;44;18
Mike
That idea, right?
00;35;44;25 - 00;36;11;22
Chris
Yeah, exactly. It's like, don't necessarily flog a dead horse is I be honest with yourself. And you're right, that might be difficult. And equally, it might not be a physical change. There can be a messaging change can make all the difference. I can talk about from our experiences, that one that came up that is still us doing what we do here with the video content, whether it's the studio, whether it's remote, whether it's, on site, whatever.
00;36;11;24 - 00;36;34;06
Chris
We suddenly were doing training video content for people. Well, that wasn't what I created visual PR productions to do. It was about bringing public relations and, you know, relationships to to life. But yeah, it's still conversational the way we do it for training content, induction videos, we're like, yeah, that isn't changing what we do, but it's changing the messaging.
00;36;34;10 - 00;36;46;27
Mike
And that's what, again, small business, a customer comes can you can you do this? Absolutely. I work out how I'm going to do it. But but again, that's the joy of being a small business. And actually I'm going to do that. Yeah, that sounds like fun.
00;36;47;00 - 00;37;05;26
Chris
Richard Branson had a great book. Screw it. Just do it. It's such a good book and really encourages you have to sort of take a nucleus of an idea and go and work out how to do it. Say yes and go and work out how to do it. And I think that that's, that's such a, you know, the British way and, and like.
00;37;05;26 - 00;37;06;13
Mike
Let's just.
00;37;06;16 - 00;37;27;22
Chris
Go on. Yeah. So I think that. Yeah that that makes sense. Why that people kind of have that, that confidence once they're, they're not exhausted. They're not preoccupied. Yeah. And I think it's a great opportunity. So I reckon there's going to be also a lot of musings about things like mergers and acquisitions. We've talked about this before.
00;37;27;22 - 00;37;37;17
Chris
A lot of the stuff that's come out with the budgets that suddenly makes it standalone quite difficult. But actually there's complementary business. Yeah.
00;37;37;19 - 00;38;02;18
Mike
And I think it's the to single person business owners. Yeah. Coming together to the got someone else to work with to go through the difficult times but also again I reduce what some of your biggest costs. It could be an overlap of certain cost synergies of staff buildings, software. You can bring it together and actually by being together you're bigger.
00;38;02;25 - 00;38;23;22
Chris
Yes. Increasing capacity. I remember a story you told me and I'll try and say this without giving anything away, but was about they had a target of this and you went, okay, so the fee paid per customer is this. So you'd need this many, but there's a capacity of that many. And it was, it was oh my god.
00;38;23;22 - 00;38;31;12
Chris
Yeah. Good point. I hadn't thought about that. And it's like right either. No. And really adjust your thinking including what your costs are therefore going to be.
00;38;31;14 - 00;38;32;23
Unknown
Or.
00;38;32;26 - 00;38;34;24
Chris
This needs to be achieved in a different way.
00;38;35;01 - 00;38;37;20
Mike
Another revenue stream, another something else.
00;38;37;20 - 00;38;42;25
Chris
Because that was that was a condition, not an objection. That was a condition that could not be be changed.
00;38;42;25 - 00;39;00;02
Mike
Yeah, that was it. And it's it might be that you have to run two businesses to get what you needed at the bottom for the, for financially, one might not do it, one might help another one out. So it's like two, three quarter businesses or something like that. Like it's just that sort of changing things up, being adaptable.
00;39;00;02 - 00;39;01;21
Mike
00;39;01;24 - 00;39;04;23
Chris
Weird tangent, but it is really. I saw the light bulb. You did.
00;39;04;25 - 00;39;05;26
Mike
Well, it's.
00;39;05;27 - 00;39;23;27
Chris
Not an awfully a light bulb, but it was one of the things that came up that did have an impact for me. Is the associated company companies. What's that now? 2 or 3 years ago that that came in that suddenly splits the threshold.
00;39;24;00 - 00;39;25;17
Mike
For.
00;39;25;19 - 00;39;26;13
Chris
Corporation.
00;39;26;13 - 00;39;28;00
Mike
Corporation tax. So yeah. So that.
00;39;28;00 - 00;39;28;22
Chris
Between two.
00;39;28;22 - 00;39;29;11
Mike
Three, four.
00;39;29;12 - 00;39;30;09
Chris
Businesses, whatever.
00;39;30;11 - 00;39;57;04
Mike
However interesting a conversation I had with someone is that they wanted to use different brands. But you could still have it connected to the one company, so you could have, so like, we've, we, everyone knows this as optimum, but that's not our official titles. But you could have might bleak and limited and have one brand to run three brand for.
00;39;57;06 - 00;40;13;24
Mike
So. But so you can use all the separate logos separate. But it all comes into here the bank account is this company. But you can have all that. So actually where I've been working with a new client a couple two, three weeks ago is I want to be called this, I want this one, and this one. I was like, well, that's three businesses.
00;40;13;24 - 00;40;17;11
Mike
That's three companies for tax. That's three lots for me.
00;40;17;12 - 00;40;19;03
Chris
Yes. And I'd say three accounts like.
00;40;19;05 - 00;40;35;06
Mike
But you don't need to pay that if what you're after is just having the brand names and the website names and all bits like that, you can have them all under their own thing that funnel into one company. And as long as on those brands, it says trading, it's a trading name of such and such a little I.
00;40;35;07 - 00;41;04;29
Chris
Have it visual PR limited to my company, and then I've got open doors training and it all from all those comms, which is my media work. And yeah, it finds it, again, I'm trying not to go down a rabbit hole here, but it's these exciting things that I start then going thinking this once I'm sat with me w Christmas is cool, but in the future, if one of those businesses was being, you know, approached for acquisition, the others should be nothing to do with that.
00;41;04;29 - 00;41;14;11
Mike
Yeah. So if that's, one of the games you think is quite likely, then a separate business is nicer because it's clean. It's in its own little box.
00;41;14;13 - 00;41;17;15
Chris
But if there's a time it doesn't have to be from day one.
00;41;17;20 - 00;41;28;21
Mike
You can move it out if you go. Actually, we'll see how it goes for now. But in ten years I'm going to sell it for five years. You might start that transition into its own one.
00;41;28;23 - 00;41;37;16
Chris
To sorry, on that basis, could that be I might sell it. So I'm not saying I'm definitely going to, but it could be.
00;41;37;18 - 00;42;06;05
Mike
Yeah. So I think again, it's going to come down to the likelihood and we'll sit with the client to understand what the likely outcome is. But most of the time, most of the time of business won't sell. No, because it's too heavily involved around the owner. So actually make it easy and make it simple. The software is nowadays you can track which business it is so you can have business trading one trading start to train style three easy.
00;42;06;08 - 00;42;24;19
Mike
You can even run a profit and loss off for each. Each one so you can track it well. So if someone was to come in and you suddenly out of the blue, it went really well. And tomorrow somebody came along and wanted to buy this one, right? Because if you've got good bookkeeping, good control, you can just go, here's what it does.
00;42;24;22 - 00;42;37;18
Mike
And you could check that you can go away. Let's check these customer invoices to make sure they're ready. Said let's check the cost. How do we do? That's right. That's still okay. So someone could still do that. It's not as clean cut because it's not in its own form.
00;42;37;18 - 00;42;38;12
Chris
Or due diligence.
00;42;38;12 - 00;43;02;22
Mike
But yeah, but it doesn't mean it's not possible. And actually the savings in all that time of single companies less tax hopefully, less accountancy fees, less software fees, less insurance fees, all that the benefit might be in the actually will run that risk because it's okay to have it in that one business. Yeah. Yeah. And it's also like unfortunately not all these new ideas take off.
00;43;02;25 - 00;43;24;04
Mike
So if you can have it in it's own little thing, just ticking along here with the other businesses, it just dilutes its risk. Yeah. There's two sides to it actually. It dilutes its risk that it's there's a lot to do to close it down. It increases its risk is if it is a poor business that runs up there because actually it's going to bring the other good trades into it.
00;43;24;04 - 00;43;39;27
Mike
So again, it's whether it's seen as a risk, because actually having it under that one bit, could make you put the others at risk. Yes. So again, it's, it's we got to sit with you and understand it a bit more and talk it through. But I have the idea I.
00;43;39;27 - 00;43;41;10
Chris
Was about to say is.
00;43;41;13 - 00;43;57;16
Mike
Just happy to have these go wild. Yeah. Just come up with these thing, like, do it as an experiment. Then it go like, what would I do if I had a clean slate? What would I do? Yeah, yeah. And then you go, right. That's what I would do if I, if I got all my knowledge of up to.
00;43;57;16 - 00;44;13;21
Mike
No. And I had a clean slate, I would set it up like this. All right. After time, you can still do that with a couple of changes. Some of the changes are harsh that you just got to put on your big boy pants and go, let's deal with the other ones. Actually, you look at, you go, that's really easy to change.
00;44;13;21 - 00;44;35;13
Mike
That and get to this bit. If this is what's key, and it's all that those things that just come out from this January, this December, January time. And it is it's I love it. I actually I really do enjoy, coming into January, which is chaos for us because it's that year in the tax season. But having all these new people coming up good.
00;44;35;16 - 00;44;40;09
Mike
I've come up with this idea. I'm like, come on in this other coffee, I want to hear about it. This is amazing.
00;44;40;09 - 00;44;41;16
Chris
I bet it must be quite cool.
00;44;41;18 - 00;44;51;05
Mike
And yeah, there's they're all really exciting. And I like because I like to feed off the back of the energy of some good night coffee time. Yeah. And it's fun.
00;44;51;08 - 00;45;08;29
Chris
I love it, I love it. I think that really is the mantra that we're getting at here is, is go for it. Get those things thought about, get them down. Don't feel you're making a commitment or taking the risk right now. It's but, you know, get rid of that. What if and have that conversation.
00;45;09;01 - 00;45;12;27
Mike
Like you say, have a bunch of side hustles to start with. Just little bits here.
00;45;13;00 - 00;45;34;04
Chris
And whilst yes, we've done a lot on the new business ideas, hopefully we've done justice to existing businesses about what's working and could go even bigger. What's not working, either needs to be done this to improve or heaven forbid, cut the head off the snake, whatever it might be. You know, have those thoughts, but don't feel.
00;45;34;06 - 00;45;52;06
Chris
I mean, I almost would be, like, encouraging not to come to an answer over that Christmas period is get all those thoughts collated. Then come and speak to to yourself. Yeah. So grab those pads. Both of us. Now use the, the electronic versions.
00;45;52;06 - 00;45;53;27
Mike
However, I've lost my pen.
00;45;54;00 - 00;45;54;21
Chris
No way.
00;45;54;22 - 00;45;58;23
Mike
Yeah, but the kids found it. Put it on the side, and it's not on the side.
00;45;58;26 - 00;46;03;14
Chris
Oh, no. Okay, back to paper and pen.
00;46;03;16 - 00;46;04;02
Unknown
Yeah.
00;46;04;04 - 00;46;22;04
Chris
Get it noted down. Get it. Thought about. Grab that, glass of whatever your favorite drink is, in hand, and just relax. Don't get too serious about it. Allow yourself that freedom that we feel. Yeah, even if it is bright. Now, I want to escape from the chaos.
00;46;22;06 - 00;46;22;11
Unknown
Of.
00;46;22;11 - 00;46;41;24
Chris
That period as well. It's wonderful, but it is exhausting as well. And and just shoot the breeze. Yeah, I think that's the reality. Excellent. I'm really looking forward to that now. And I kind of, I'm anticipating I'm going to do this now, blank pages and brainstorm.
00;46;41;26 - 00;46;43;09
Mike
To just see where the pen teacher.
00;46;43;09 - 00;47;07;22
Chris
And I think that's, I've actually got my team, tasked with this, 2nd of January. I've said, look, there's no point coming in on just that Friday, I'm going to keep the office shut, but I'm not to take a holiday. But what I would like you to do is at some point during that, or one of the other days, is up to them brainstorm, of ideas of things, creative content that we could do for us, for our clients, whatever.
00;47;07;25 - 00;47;14;28
Chris
And the important thing is for people who haven't necessarily brainstormed is you don't limit it. You get it down, don't overthink it.
00;47;14;28 - 00;47;15;25
Mike
Whatever it is.
00;47;15;28 - 00;47;38;10
Chris
It is even if it's the craziest thing ever, don't filter it. Get it down because it can be filtered out later. Or it could actually be someone else could hear that crazy one and go, well, actually I had this. If we put those together, we could do that. Because I find people with brainstorming get too restrictive. They, they analyze, don't they?
00;47;38;13 - 00;47;39;24
Mike
Just let it fill the page.
00;47;39;24 - 00;47;54;27
Chris
Go for it. Yeah, exactly. So Christmas musings of New Year business plans. Great episode. It's got me festive. It's got me motivated. It's going to enable me to think about an awful lot and get excited about, 2026.
00;47;54;29 - 00;47;56;02
Mike
Let's get to the Christmas party.
00;47;56;07 - 00;48;12;27
Chris
Exactly. Thank you so much. My, you know, I personally thank you guys for all of the help that you give, my businesses as well. So great for that one. I hope that you have a fabulous festive period. From visual PR. We wish you a merry Christmas.
00;48;13;00 - 00;48;15;17
Mike
From up to, the second Merry Christmas.
00;48;15;20 - 00;48;26;29
Chris
I have a cracking one. And get those ideas down and come and speak to the guys afterwards. But for now, until 2026, ourselves. I hope you've enjoyed ultimate life. We'll see you next time.