Ben Johnson leads Particle41, which exists to strengthen your team with flexible technology. That manifests as a team of our own that is uniquely able to exceed expectations during every step of a project. In a marketplace flooded with partners who over-promise and under-deliver, Particle41 is doing things differently.

Graham, Kevin, and Benjamin introduce themselves. Benjamin shares his background as a serial entrepreneur and founder of several tech companies, including his current venture Particle 41 which provides CTO consulting, software development, and other tech services.

Benjamin discusses how Particle 41 leverages talent globally, with teams in India, Brazil, Argentina, and the US. He emphasizes the importance of finding talented individuals and building diverse, execution-oriented teams to deliver the best service to clients.

The group discusses the critical importance of focusing on customer experience and ensuring businesses have the right processes, policies, and level of maturity in place (e.g. password management, subscription management, onboarding/offboarding procedures) to operate effectively.

The group explores the ethical implications of using AI, particularly in areas like content creation where AI can reduce authenticity. They caution against defaulting to technology just because it's available, and emphasize the need to thoughtfully consider the human element.

Graham and Kevin summarize the key takeaways from the discussion with Benjamin, highlighting his passion, purpose, and experience as a serial entrepreneur. They discuss potential opportunities to collaborate, including leveraging Benjamin's expertise in areas like RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) AI.

Graham Arrowsmith

Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. Graham founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, which combines the world's biggest source of 10,000 marketing experiments with AI. Find Graham on LinkedIn.

Kevin Appleby

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com

Liz Steblay's business is about mentoring professionals. She champions self-employed professionals, protecting their rights as small business owners and helping them to create the career of their dreams.

Get Liz's book here: 6keys.info

Liz Steblay discusses her own journey from corporate consultant to successful solopreneur, and the common challenges and fears that people face when considering making the leap to self-employment. She emphasizes the importance of developing confidence and a growth mindset to overcome the "FUD Monster" (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).

She explains the importance of narrowing your focus and becoming known as an expert in a specific area, rather than trying to be a generalist. She provides tips on how to identify your niche and make yourself memorable to potential clients.

Liz advises that successful solopreneurs focus on building relationships and trust with clients, rather than traditional "sales" tactics. She emphasizes the value of networking and using social media to establish yourself as an authority in your field.

Wait! You'll discover a brilliant way to get the price you want for your services. Liz shares strategies for pricing your services effectively, including using a range rather than a single rate, and considering a hybrid model that blends hourly and value-based pricing. She cautions against underpricing to win business.

Mentoring Professionals expert Liz provides the details for her book "Succeeding as a Solopreneur" and her website 6keys.info, where listeners can learn more about her work and resources for solopreneurs.

Graham Arrowsmith

Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. He is the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, which combines the world's biggest source of 10,000 marketing experiments with AI. Find Graham on LinkedIn.

Kevin Appleby

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com

Betsy Kent is a world expert on the formation of the Ideal Customer Profile. Since 2018, Be Visible has paved the way in identifying the perfect audience for businesses. Now with MeclabsAI, Betsy is creating Simulators for ICPs and that is transformational. Empower your business with smarter, faster, and more effective marketing driven by AI Agents and Customer Simulators.

Kevin and Graham introduce the podcast and welcome their guest, Betsy Kent, an expert in the creation of an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). They provide background on how Kevin and Graham started the podcast years ago after meeting through an online marketing course.

Betsy explains that an ICP is a detailed profile of a business's perfect buyer - the person or people who will see immediate personal benefit in the offering and are in a position to say yes. She shares how she developed her own methodology for creating ICPs when working with clients, going beyond just demographics to deeply understand the customer's mindset, emotions, and decision-making process.

Betsy provides a case study of how she worked with a high-end dentist client to identify their ideal patients, leading to immediate improvements in how the dentist interacted with and converted prospects. She emphasizes the importance of truly understanding your target customer, rather than just casting a wide net.

Betsy discusses how she is now using AI to take her ICP process to the next level, creating "buyer simulators" that allow businesses to test ideas and content with a highly detailed, interactive version of their ideal customer. She explains the benefits of this approach compared to traditional market research methods.

Betsy shares her vision for making her ICP and buyer simulator tools more accessible and user-friendly for businesses to use themselves. The hosts and Betsy also discuss her other interests and plans for the future. The hosts thank Betsy for being a fantastic guest on the podcast.

Graham Arrowsmith

Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. Graham founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, which combines the world's biggest source of 10,000 marketing experiments with AI. Find Graham on LinkedIn.

Kevin Appleby

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com