Stronger Business Together

How would you solve the biggest hurdle in your business right now? The Stronger Business Together Podcast is for business owners who want to make better decisions without adding more complexity. Hosted by Granger Forson , each episode is an honest conversation with an experienced business owner. Together they explore where their business is today, the journey that got them there, and the lessons learnt along the way. During the podcast, Granger and his guests try to overcome a specific business hurdle, that is holding back progress. A decision that feels heavy. A challenge that hasn’t yet been resolved. Together, they slow the thinking down, explore different perspectives, and consider the next sensible step. This podcast isn’t about outsourcing decision-making. Advice is welcome and AI can support thinking, but responsibility stays with the owner. If you believe business can be made simpler, that your people can grow businesses and that progress comes from great conversations and constructive challenge, you’ll feel at home here. Listen in and reflect on how you might approach your own next decision.

Stronger Business Together is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 27 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Stronger Business Together, a business show with 27 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Stronger Business Together

  E27 Find Early Leads Fast with Al Keck

  Aug 13, 202640 min

  In this episode, host Granger Forson sits down with Al Keck, an e-commerce growth specialist with 26 years of digital experience who successfully exited his previous agency after 21 years of operation. Al walks through his extensive history—from building Cotswold Outdoor's initial e-commerce infrastructure during the 2000 dot-com era to driving early growth for brands like Rapha and Reader's Digest. They unpack why Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is becoming a "dead metric," how to calculate the vital relationship between Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Lifetime Value (LTV), and explore how startup advisors can break through market noise when launching a new consultancy. Key Takeaways The Evolution of E-Commerce: Al cut his teeth in late 1999 scaling Cotswold Outdoor’s initial online presence from scratch into a multi-million-pound revenue stream, back when internet commerce was widely dismissed as a temporary trend. ROAS is a Dead Metric: Al argues that relying solely on Return on Ad Spend is dangerous because it ignores profit margins. A business can hit an impressive 5x ROAS target while still yielding a negative contribution to its bottom line. CAC to LTV Ratio: Sustainable growth requires understanding the cost of acquiring a customer (CAC) versus their long-term lifetime value (LTV). High-repeat brands (like Rapha) aim for a 6x lifetime value ratio over time rather than just chasing short-term turnover. Protecting Company Culture: Al emphasizes the importance of the 20-60-20 rule in team dynamics. Leaving negative "drains" in an organization drags down the middle 60%. Taking decisive action to remove toxic staff or misaligned clients creates an immediate positive "whoosh" in company morale. AI as Petrol, Not the Spark: Al views AI tools as excellent accelerators for mundane, time-heavy tasks, but stresses that human judgment and face-to-face rapport remain essential to verify outputs and build authentic relationships. The "Hurdle": Finding the Right Audience for a New Consultancy After exiting his 21-year-old agency, Al launched Claviger Consulting to advise boards, private equity firms, and founders turning over £750k+. His primary hurdle is cutting through market noise to connect with the right leadership "tribes" in a hesitant economic climate. Al’s Takeaway on Consistency "There are no magic wands despite what some online influencers tell you. Whether it’s in business or personal development, real success comes down to consistency, patience, and building strong foundations for the long term." Resource Links & Contact Info LinkedIn: Al Keck Services: Strategic e-commerce advisory and digital marketing guidance for boards and founders.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stronger Business Together

  E26 Systemise Your Selling with Andy Coghlan

  Aug 6, 202643 min

  In this episode, host Granger Forson is joined by Andy Coghlan, an adept customer experience and digital transformation consultant who runs CX Strategy. Andy shares insights from his 30-year career navigating global enterprises and explains his current passion for migrating his expertise to help local small businesses thrive. They discuss the immense power of managing an online reputation through automation, the benefits of modern "lights out" marketing, and walk through a critical coaching segment on tightening up the sales conversion pipeline. Key Takeaways The Evolution of CX Strategy: After decades executing high-level digital transformation, data-driven marketing, and management consulting for global enterprise brands, Andy is shifting focus to deliver simple, data-led technology solutions to local small businesses. The ROI of Inbound Reviews: Andy highlights a major success story with Cirque du Soleil, where ticket sales were suffering not because of the performance, but due to poor reviews regarding parking, merchandise lines, and bar queues. Implementing a proactive customer review strategy directly unlocked a massive uptick in ticket sales. Levelling the Digital Playing Field: Powerful marketing technology that used to require millions of pounds in corporate budgets is now entirely affordable and accessible for small, agile local businesses. "Lights Out" Marketing Automation: To prevent lead generation from falling down a business owner's busy priority list, Andy developed Reputation Autopilot—a plug-and-play suite of tools that manages and displays local search and AI recommendations seamlessly in the background while you sleep. The Shift to Productised Services: Moving away from being positioned purely as an expensive consultant paid for his time, Andy has packaged his expertise into software-and-education-backed frameworks. The "Hurdle": Patching a Leaky Sales Conversion Bucket Despite a deep expertise in mapping out flawless customer journeys for clients, Andy addresses his own internal bottleneck: a "leaky bucket" sales process that struggles to seamlessly move verbally committed or interested prospects over the finish line. [THE SALES PIPELINE MATRIX] [Marketing Funnel] ───> [Discovery / Checklist] ───> [Commitment Scale] (Inbound Leads) (Qualifying Pains) (The 1-to-10 Check) Andy’s Takeaway on Testing "We have all these cliches about 'fail fast, learn fast.' It is so important to do stuff quickly and manually first, see where it fails, ditch it, and amplify the things that do work, rather than creating an automated asset without real-world input." Resource Links & Contact Info Website / Email: andy@cxstrategy.digital LinkedIn: Connect with Andy Coghlan WhatsApp / Mobile: 07866 433144 Free Tools: Check his platform for a free AI Google Business Profile Audit and reputation scorecards.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stronger Business Together

  E25 Design One Core Offer with Marta Bagan

  Jul 30, 202638 min

  In this episode, Granger Forson sits down with Marta Bagan, a Krav Maga instructor and certified Wim Hof Method instructor. Marta details her journey from spending 20 years in corporate hospitality management to launching a "soul-led" business dedicated to helping high-functioning women overcome people-pleasing, overthinking, and toxic environments . They explore the difficult mindset shift of moving from employment to self-employment, the physical and emotional healing required to build a business, and Marta’s recent move to establish her practice locally in Gloucestershire. Key Takeaways The Core Framework: Marta combines physical self-defense, breathwork, cold exposure, and mindset training to help women build somatic strength so they can say "no" without guilt or fear . Reclaiming Space in Leadership: The business specifically targets female founders, business owners, and corporate leaders who find themselves making themselves "smaller" or second-guessing their choices in male-dominated environments . Shifting from Manager to Leader: Drawing from her hospitality background, Marta shares how learning to value herself allowed her to see the unique gifts in her team, delegate effectively, and ultimately double her venue's sales post-COVID . The Body Holds the Science: As a child who suffered from severe asthma, Marta used the Wim Hof Method to build extreme physical resilience, eventually leading her to successfully summit a mountain in Nepal . The Entrepreneurial Mirror: Marta highlights a common startup reality—when you launch a personal business, hidden emotional traumas and insecurities frequently surface, requiring internal healing before you can successfully offer solutions to the world . Current Business Focus & The Next 12 Months Having recently relocated to Stroud—a location she praises as incredibly welcoming—Marta is in the foundational phase of building her local footprint . Her near-term objectives include: Securing a Local Hub: Actively sourcing a dedicated studio space in Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Cheltenham, or Stroud) to host regular breathwork and self-defense classes . Workshop Influx: Launching intensive, in-person empowerment and resilience workshops. Digital Expansion: Reviving her online presence to stream live, accessible breathwork classes globally . Marta’s Core Philosophy "If you are a people-pleaser at home, you are a people-pleaser in your business. It doesn't change. Building strength in your body changes your self-worth, your confidence, and your capacity to handle stress.” Resource Links & Contact Info Location: Stroud, Gloucestershire Connect: Reach out to Marta locally to inquire about her newly launched Krav Maga and breathwork sessions .

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stronger Business Together

  E24 Fix Your Broken Lead Flow with Dr Emmanuel Akpe

  Jul 23, 202637 min

  In this episode, Granger Forson is joined by Dr. Emmanuel Akpe, a medical professional turned business stress management consultant who runs TSM Wellness based in Cheltenham. Dr. Emmanuel unpacks why traditional, abstract wellness approaches like generic mindfulness fail and argues that stress must be treated as a tangible business risk. Drawing from his medical background and international experience, he highlights the legal requirements of stress policies and explains how organisational-level interventions are the ultimate weapon against employee burnout. Key Takeaways Stress as a Bottom-Line Risk: Burnout isn't just a personal grievance; it's a massive productivity and financial hazard. TSM Wellness shifts the conversation from abstract resilience training to calculating the hard monetary impact of stress on a business. The Legal Blindspot: Under UK legislation, it is a legal requirement for businesses to maintain a stress management policy. Yet, after speaking with over 100 business owners, Dr. Emmanuel discovered that virtually none actually have one in place. Organisational vs. Individual Management: Telling a stressed employee to simply "go home and rest" is a reactionary band-aid. True mitigation happens at the organisational structure level, embedding simple, repeatable stress transformation systems directly into company policies. The Precursor to Mental Health Issues: While the modern corporate landscape focuses heavily on mental health conditions (like anxiety and depression), it frequently ignores the primary catalyst: unchecked, long-term environmental stress breaking down human resilience. Medical Contextual Awareness: Dr. Emmanuel leverages his clinical clinic background to connect physiological symptoms directly to behavioural stressors, making his corporate training sessions instantly relatable and results-oriented. Dr. Emmanuel’s Lead Generation Engine To feed his sales pipeline, Dr. Emmanuel utilises a systematic "value-first" inbound marketing funnel: The Lead Magnet: Offering a free, copy-and-paste, HSE-compliant Stress Policy Template and a diagnostic Business Stress Audit Guide on his website. The Authority Builder: Active thought-leadership writing on LinkedIn, which routinely converts into high-level conference speaking invitations. Strategic B2B Partnerships: Serving as the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) lead for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Gloucestershire branch to build direct lines to people managers. Memorable Quotes "No business owner deserves to be sick because they are running a business... The pressure could be too much. I want to help them reach their goal and also achieve their aim." — Dr. Emmanuel Akpe Resource Links & Contact Info Website: Find the free Stress Policy Template and Diagnostic Audit Guide at tsmwellness.co.uk (or via his localised platform). LinkedIn: Connect with Dr. Emmanuel Akpe . Affiliations: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Stronger Business Together

  E22 Branding for Scale Ups with Leonard Carey

  Jul 9, 202643 min

  In this episode, host Granger Forson sits down with Leonard Carey, the founder of Dampsmart , to discuss how sensor technology and data analytics are transforming the housing sector. Leonard shares his professional journey from pioneering Near Field Communications (NFC) in the UK telecoms industry to engineering unobtrusive, self-install hardware that tracks moisture, ventilation, and insulation in homes. They dive into the regulatory changes shaking up social and private housing, the trap of consulting versus scaling, and a deep-dive strategy session on applying the "law of diffusion" to cross the technology chasm. Key Takeaways Dignity-First Hardware Design: Dampsmart purposely engineered tiny, wireless, self-contained sensors that landlords can install themselves without intrusive wiring. This approach respects tenant privacy and ensures community consent rather than forced monitoring. Rooted in Structural Building Science: Instead of relying on reactionary measures like anti-mould paint, Dampsmart tracks the macro-relationship between localized internal dynamics (hallways, attics, lofts, basements) and shifting external weather patterns. Demystifying Complex Mathematics: Leonard’s primary focus is translating heavy mathematical data and algorithms into a simple, actionable platform. This enables property enforcement inspectors, landlords, and tenants to clearly understand their role in creating healthier spaces. The Vulnerability Double-Edged Sword: An early council deployment uncovered vulnerable residents living in severely damp homes who were completely missing from standard institutional vulnerability lists due to their personal stoicism. The Discipline of "No": As a small tech startup, the ability to say "no" to non-core applications—like adapting tracking sensors for forestry or wildlife—is vital for preserving operational focus and long-term viability. The "Hurdle": Scaling Operations Amidst Tighter Rental Regulations With strict legislative milestones like Awaab's Law and changing renters' rights hitting the social and private sectors, landlords are facing immense pressure from claims management companies and local councils. This environment has triggered a massive, fast-moving wave of urgent demand for Dampsmart's predictive data. Leonard’s Takeaway on Action "Sometimes you can really get bogged down in what you're going to do by the end of the year—the big target, the milestone, the revenue number. But the question of what you're going to do next week, that's what sticks in my mind." Resource Links & Contact Info Website: www.dampsmart.co Content: Read Dampsmart's recurring educational blogs across the Tenancy Deposit Scheme platform.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Stronger Business Together. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.