Working On It

Brad sits down with Ben King, founder of King's Window Cleaning, who built a £1 million window cleaning empire after surviving a VAT fraud fine, a failed partnership with his best friend, and a mental breakdown that nearly ended everything. From starting with £5 petrol money and a battered Fiesta to building a systemised operation with 10 vans and a team that runs without him, Ben shares the raw reality of what it takes to rebuild after hitting rock bottom. Discover why Ben refused to call himself a million pound business owner until his round value hit the magic number, how watching The Founder changed the way he built his business, and why he spent years growing on emotion before finally learning the numbers that unlocked explosive growth. This is a masterclass in resilience, branding, systemisation, and building a business that works without you being on the tools. KEY TAKEAWAYS Partnerships Can Destroy Friendships: Ben and his best mate ran multiple businesses together, but their different mindsets and work styles tore the friendship apart. Money changes everything. They've since rekindled the relationship, but the lesson is clear: partnerships are high risk, especially with people you're close to. VAT Fraud Will Catch Up With You: Ben tried to run multiple businesses under the VAT threshold to avoid registration. He got caught, fined, and had to merge everything into one company. Trying to game the system always backfires. Pay your dues and build properly from the start. Mental Health Matters More Than Business: Ben hit rock bottom in 2019, walking his dog and imagining himself hanging from a tree. He shut down React Property Solutions, took a holiday, and came back with a new vision: King's Window Cleaning. Sometimes you have to burn it all down to rebuild stronger. Branding Is Your Competitive Advantage: Ben went through multiple brand changes before landing on King's Window Cleaning. The branding became so strong that other window cleaners told him it was the best they'd ever seen. All those iterations weren't wasted, they were the process that led to something great. Systemise Like McDonald's, Not Like a Solo Operator: Reading The E-Myth and watching The Founder changed everything for Ben. He realised he needed to build a copy and paste system where every van, every round, and every team member was identical. That's how you scale without chaos. Grow One Van at a Time: From 2020 onwards, Ben grew one van per year until this year, when he added four. Controlled growth with systems in place beats chaotic expansion every time. Know your numbers, know your capacity, and scale with intention. Don't Celebrate Until You Cross the Finish Line: Ben won't call himself a million pound business owner until his window cleaning round value hits £1 million, not just turnover. He also learned the hard way that slowing down before the goal costs you. Aim higher than your target so you land where you want to be. HOST BIO Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it, but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he's built a multi million pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow. He's still involved in the business a couple of days a week, but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day to day grind? That's been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting. Brad's also found his rhythm outside of business, with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it's strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he's a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader. Working On It is where he brings it

James Ashford shares powerful lessons on sales psychology, emotional control & What Should You Do 18–24 Months Before Selling Your Business? Get business help from me personally: https://bradstaines.com/ We Covered: ↳ How to 3x Your Prices Upselling "Experiences", handle price objections, build customer certainty, and increase sales without lowering your prices ↳ How to Increase Valuation Before sell & Get High Quality Employees ↳ How to overcome business failure, build a strong team culture, and turn setbacks into opportunities for growth You are going to learn: Chapters 00:00:00 How to Build a Business That Grows Without the Owner 00:00:19 Why “It’s Too Expensive” Is Rarely About Money 00:02:54 How to Build a Company Culture That Gets the Best Out of Your Staff 00:03:31 Staff Lost £125K: How Should a Business Owner React? 00:05:05 The Skill of Turning Complex Business Problems Into Simple Solutions 00:06:16 Competitors Were About to Take 25% of His Market: What Did He Do? 00:07:41 How a New Product Turned a Business Crisis Into £10K More Revenue Per Month 00:09:31 The More Things You Need to Be Happy, the Harder Happiness Becomes 00:13:22 How to Win More Sales When Customers Are Cutting Costs 00:15:56 Stop Discounting: The Real Reason Customers Say Your Service Is Too Expensive 00:18:06 The Sales Question That Reveals Hidden Objections Before You Discount 00:18:42 How to Turn a Price Objection Into a More Profitable Deal 00:19:34 The Question That Uncovers the Real Reason a Customer Won’t Buy 00:19:55 How to Discover What Your Customer Is Actually Being Measured On 00:22:14 How Grant Cardone Turned a £50K Donation Request Into a £100K Deal 00:22:51 Stop Negotiating on Price Before You Understand What the Customer Wants 00:23:53 How to Sell a £1,200 Experience Instead of a £400 Hotel Room 00:25:06 How to Sell to Your Customer’s Personal Goals, Not Just Their Business 00:25:59 Why Customers Reject Your Price but Pay More for Something They Value 00:26:45 How to Upsell Your Existing Customers Without Competing on Price 00:30:09 AI Is Making Software Development Cheaper and More Accessible for Small Businesses 00:30:25 How AI Helped Build a Simple App to Solve a Real-Life Problem 00:35:15 How to Raise Customer Expectations Without Constantly Losing Their Trust 00:40:10 The Difference Between Selling a Service and Truly Serving Your Customers 00:45:15 Your Company Culture Is What Employees Say When You Leave the Room 00:50:23 Could Your Business Survive 3 Months Without You? 00:53:40 Why Most Company Core Values Are Too Vague to Change Employee Behaviour 00:54:22 The Core Value That Makes Employees Accountable for Their Actions 00:55:11 How to Turn “Wow Customer Experience” Into a Measurable Standard 00:56:19 Struggling to Hire Staff? Your Company Culture Could Be the Problem 00:56:49 How to Attract Employees Without Advertising Every Job 00:57:35 Why Paying Higher Wages Can Help You Attract Better Employees 00:58:03 AI Can Triple Your Output, but Only If You Have the Right People 00:59:44 How to Measure Customer Experience Instead of Just Assuming You’re the Best 01:00:14 What Does a World-Class Net Promoter Score Look Like? (78 Explained) 01:03:37 The Customer Feedback Question Most Businesses Are Too Afraid to Ask 01:04:10 Stop Asking This Question to Your Customer 01:04:27 The Better Customer Feedback Question That Helps You Improve Every Month 01:05:24 The Question That Reveals Why Your Best Employees Might Quit 01:06:55 Why Business Owners Should Compete Against Their Own Performance, Not Rivals 01:07:34 Customer Lifetime Value: The Numbers Every Business Owner Should Track 01:15:15 Selling a Business: Why Sharing the Exit Money With Your Team Was So Rewarding 01:20:26 Business Failure: What Happens When Your Company Goes Into Liquidation? 01:25:09 Rejected by His Local Business Community After Failure: How He Rebuilt His Reputation 01:28:48 Why Entrepreneurs Need to Ask for Help Instead of Solving Everything Alone 01:40:17 Why Stop at £10 Million? The Question That Challenged His Business Goals 01:42:38 Gary Vaynerchuk’s Advice on When to Sell Your Business 01:50:26 How to Build a Competitive Moat Around Your Business in the Age of AI 01:55:31 Does Manifestation Work? Why Visualizing Success Is Not Enough 02:00:03 You’re Always Selling: How to Apply Sales Psychology to Everyday Life 02:06:53 Stop Delaying Happiness Until You’re Successful: What Actually Matters in Life 02:10:31 Business Going Downhill? Stop Making Excuses and Take Responsibility Helpful? Hit The Like Button!

Brad sits down with James Ashford, founder of GoProposal, who built and sold a proposal software business to Sage for millions. From navigating business failures and personal guarantees to building a world class culture and creating a moat around his business, James shares the raw truth about what it takes to grow fast, exit big, and do it all without losing yourself in the process. Discover why selling is the highest skill you can develop, how to kill the founder in your business so it can grow without you, and why the best entrepreneurs focus on the space above the bar instead of just clearing it. This is a masterclass in building a business worth buying, creating assets that multiply your impact, and living a life where fitness, family, and fulfilment come first. KEY TAKEAWAYS Selling Is Service, Not Manipulation: Selling is helping someone make the right decision for them. It's an exchange of energy, enthusiasm, and passion. If you can't sell your service now, you won't be able to sell your business later. Master this skill above all others. Kill The Founder To Maximise Value: You don't want a business that runs without you. You want one that grows, solves problems, hires, fires, and innovates without you. The less the business depends on you, the more valuable it becomes to a buyer. Build A Moat Around Your Business: Make your business defensible by creating assets competitors can't replicate. James built a community, wrote books, produced video content, and created IP that could scale into new markets using AI. The harder it is to copy, the more it's worth. Shorten The Buyer's Roadmap: Don't just sell revenue or profit. Sell speed. If you can help a buyer achieve their goals faster than doing it themselves, you become infinitely more valuable. Show them the leverage, not just the numbers. Core Values Must Guide Behaviour: Culture isn't pool tables or pizza Fridays. It's firing your top performer if they violate your core values. James learned from the All Blacks: always do what you say you're going to do. Make your values clear, measurable, and non negotiable. BEST MOMENTS "When people say, I can't afford this, it's too expensive, it's rarely anything to do with money. It's normally to do with certainty." "You don't want a business that runs without you. You want a business that grows without you, that can solve problems without you, that can hire without you, fire without you." "The culture is not a pool table in the staff room, it's not pizzas on a Friday. You are going to be fired if you do not stick to our core values." "Where is the gift in this? If I can find the gift in that situation, I'm much more able to find the benefit of it." "No one's coming to save you. But that also means no one's coming to stop you either." "We don't experience life. We experience what we focus on and the meaning we give it." HOST BIO Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it, but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he's built a multi million pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow. He's still involved in the business a couple of days a week, but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day to day grind? That's been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting. Brad's also found his rhythm outside of business, with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it's strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he's a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader. Working On It is where he brings it all together: growth, grit, and getting better every week.

Brad sits down with Aaron Knightley, a serial entrepreneur who became a father at 20 and turned workplace betrayal into the catalyst for building multiple successful businesses. From silently building his first venture while working a toxic 9 to 5, to launching logistics startup HODL and operational platform Exit Nine, Aaron shares the raw reality of what it takes to escape employment and create a life on your own terms. Discover why knowing your financial "North Star" matters more than chasing endless income, how Aaron survived on three to four hours of sleep for five years while replacing his salary, and why he now prioritises time with his son over every business opportunity. This is a masterclass in discipline, delayed gratification, and building a life where you potter about instead of constantly grinding for the next milestone. KEY TAKEAWAYS Know Your Financial North Star: Success isn't about earning more than the next person. It's about defining what "enough" looks like for you and working backwards from that number. Without clarity on your target, you'll keep moving goalposts and never feel satisfied. Keep Your Plans Quiet Until They're Real: Aaron didn't tell anyone at work he was building a business. He kept his head down, replaced his income in silence, and only resigned when he was ready. What they don't know, they can't destroy. Discipline Beats Motivation Every Time: Aaron slept three to four hours a night for five years, worked every weekend, drove battered cars, and lived on tight budgets. There were no shortcuts, just relentless consistency and sacrifice during the building phase. Time With Family Is Non Negotiable: Aaron now refuses to compromise on his son's football games or family time, even turning down lucrative brand deals if they clash. He learned early that there's no point building wealth if you miss the moments that matter. More Money Doesn't Equal More Happiness: Aaron knows people with far more wealth who are still lost, chasing the next milestone without ever feeling fulfilled. True freedom comes from knowing when enough is enough and enjoying the life you've built. BEST MOMENTS "What they don't know, they can't destroy." "I was embarrassed for a good two and a half years. I struggled to put five to six pounds of fuel in the car and we lived on the orange." "I slept on average three to four hours a night for five years. I made no excuses and I worked like a dog and it paid off." "I don't do a lot now. That's the God's honest truth. I potter about my house. I go to the gym twice a day. We do what we want." "I have friends that have far more money than me, but they're not happier. They don't know what they want. They're still lost with purpose." "I don't want to get to a point in my life where I look back and think, I should have just gone on that holiday. I should have spent more time with my parents." HOST BIO Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it, but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he's built a multi-million-pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow. He's still involved in the business a couple of days a week, but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day-to-day grind? That's been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting. Brad's also found his rhythm outside of business, with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it's strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he's a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader. Working On It is where he brings it all together: growth, grit, and getting better every week.

Craig shares the lessons behind his journey from cutting hair in his father’s salon to becoming a world champion, building a 200+ product beauty brand, and eventually selling the company. He also reveals what he learned from business failures, building strong company culture, using AI to create new opportunities, and understanding what customers really want. Get help from me personally: https://bradstaines.com/ We Cover: ↳ How Craig went from hairdresser to building and selling a successful beauty brand ↳ Why strong business culture starts with hiring the right people and putting people first ↳ How AI is changing the way entrepreneurs can build businesses with less money and fewer resources ↳ The biggest business failure Craig experienced—and what it taught him about risk, money, and knowing when to quit You are going to learn: Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:14 How Does a Hairdresser Build a Beauty Brand? 00:02:35 Why Can't You Earn More Just Cutting Hair? 00:03:19 How Do You Disrupt a Market Dominated by a Big Brand? 00:08:08 How Can You Turn a Salon Into a Lifestyle Experience? 00:09:27 How Do Emotions Influence What Customers Buy? 00:11:43 What Makes a Good Culture in a Business? 00:13:08 Why Is Authenticity Important in Business? 00:18:15 Why Is Never Giving Up So Important in Entrepreneurship? 00:19:10 How Do You Take Business Risks Without Losing Everything? 00:20:07 How Does Your Network Affect Your Success? 00:21:24 Why Is Entrepreneurship So Lonely? 00:22:59 What Was the Biggest High Point of Your Career? 00:24:38 How Do You Build a Business to Sell It? 00:25:13 What's the Biggest Business Mistake You've Made? 00:28:21 If You Lost Everything, How Would You Rebuild a Business? 00:30:08 How Do You Build Self-Belief? 00:30:56 What Business Should You Start Now? 00:32:09 How Is AI Changing the Way People Start Businesses? 00:34:54 How Should You Use AI to Build a Business? 00:41:12 Why Are Young People Addicted to Instant Gratification? 00:45:23 What Should You Do With the Money Your Business Makes? 00:47:34 Should You Invest in Yourself Before Your Business? 00:51:40 What's the Best Money You've Ever Spent in Business? 00:53:02 What Do Most Business Owners Get Wrong? Helpful? Hit The Like Button!