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Joanna Jensen is the founder of Child's Farm, the hugely successful baby and child skincare company that was recently sold for £40m.

This is one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve had since we launched the podcast. Joanna is a fabulous storyteller, and her enthusiasm is infectious!

Hers is an amazing story of grit, resilience, and sheer determination to succeed against the odds.

Joanna battled cancer, surgery, and a divorce, all while building her business.

She funded it in the early days with credit cards, renting out rooms in her house, and even selling jewellery!

She started the business out of necessity. In fact, 99% of female consumer brand entrepreneurs created their company out of a personal need. They needed something in their own lives that didn't exist, so they started a business to fill the gap in the market—and that’s what Joanna Jensen did to help one of her children who had very sensitive skin.

• Joanna discusses the importance of sheer hard work, taking complete responsibility for one's decisions, and not blaming others.
• She explains why it’s important to build your ‘tribe’. She found that many other people had similar issues with their children’s skincare and leveraged the press and social media to create a movement of like-minded advocates.
• And as we’re now in the campaigning period for the general election, Joanna has some words of advice for all politicians about the vital importance of SMEs and entrepreneurship in the UK to ensure a vibrant economy—she doesn't mince her words!

There were so many gems of wisdom in this conversation and it should be shared with as many business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs as possible.

Business can be tough and this conversation could just be the inspiration they need.

I give you Joanna Jensen, one of the UK’s greatest female entrepreneurs.

Links

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannajensenuk/

https://www.childsfarm.com/

https://buywomenbuilt.com/

https://femalefoundersrise.com/

This podcast is produced by GR Media
Sponsored by Capital Asset Management

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Welcome back to the Bulletproof Entrepreneur podcast, where we delve into the minds of experienced entrepreneurs and uncover their secrets to success.

I’m your host, Alan Smith, and I’m really excited to bring you my conversation with today’s guest, Alexis Sikorsky.

Alexis is an entrepreneur who built a software business from the ground up and eventually negotiated a sale to private equity for over $100m.

I’ve just read his new book, "Cashing Out: A Business Owner’s Guide to Selling to Private Equity".

It’s a great book, as he dives deep into the details of life as a founder—the downs as well as the ups. I encourage you to buy it immediately and read it cover to cover!

During our conversation, Alexis shares lots of great stories, such as

• How he agreed to a sale valuation based on a multiple of his very ambitious future forecasts at a time when his company was barely breaking even.
• He explains Why he thinks that raising capital should be avoided at all costs for most businesses — a very different view from the one held by the VC world,
• He also outlines the vital importance of being a ‘benevolent dictator’ when growing your business, as democracies simply don't work!

These are only a small sample of the wisdom he shares, forged at the coal face of real-life business building.

It's a master class for all business owners, and we’re privileged to learn from his experiences.

So now, let’s go over to the conversation with my brilliant guest. ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr Alexis Sikorsky.

Links:

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alexis-sikorsky-consulting

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cashing-Out-business-selling-private-ebook/dp/B0CZ148DCJ

This podcast is produced by GR Media
Sponsored by Capital Asset Management

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If you’re a business owner who plans to sell your business one day, this episode is essential listening.

Picture this: You've poured years of your life into a business, helping to build it from the ground up, and then the business is sold.

As a result, you receive a seven-figure sum, and you’re financially secure.

Or at least you hoped so.

But then you take the proceeds, decide to invest in a new company, and lose it all.

That’s the situation today’s guest, Jim McLaughlin, experienced when he made an exit several years ago.

If you've been listening to this podcast for a while, you’ll have heard entrepreneurs share their journeys of scaling, successfully exiting, and creating economic security for themselves and their families.

But not every story has a happy ending, and I’m grateful for Jim's candid sharing of his story.

It reminded me of the time I met a client who had just sold his company, and I asked him what his biggest financial concern was now - he looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Losing it all’

Founders know a cash sum at exit often represents years of grind, hard work, and sacrifices. However, they’re immediately faced with big decisions about what to do with the capital.

Unfortunately, Jim made a few errors and is keen to ensure that others learn from them.

• Jim talks about the importance of knowing your numbers and the 3 KPIs he tracked weekly.
• How he was able to be resilient in the face of incredible challenges.
• He also shares the work he’s doing now to help small business owners and the buzz he still gets from it.

He also outlines the most important thing you must do if you sell your business for a significant sum—that advice alone is worth listening to the episode for!

Contact details and Resources Mentioned

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-mclaughlin-b227975/?originalSubdomain=uk

Content hubs | FSB, The Federation of Small Businesses

Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life

The Wolf of Wall Street eBook : Belfort, Jordan

Think And Grow Rich: Amazon.co.uk: Hill, Napoleon: 978

This podcast is produced by GR Media
Sponsored by Capital Asset Management