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Join the One Percent Club: https://www.bigidea.co.uk/one-percent-club

The Hedgehog Concept Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEKrdrasXFY

What can small business owners learn from How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps by Sir Richard Harpin?

In this episode, I review How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps and pull out 7 small business lessons from HomeServe founder Sir Richard Harpin, whose company was eventually sold for £4.1 billion.

Now, this is not really a book written for normal small business owners.

Richard Harpin's mission is to help build more large UK companies, and some of his advice is aimed squarely at founders who want to scale aggressively. But buried inside the book are some brilliant lessons that apply just as well to a six or seven-figure business.

In this review, I cover:

- Why copying what works can be a smart business strategy

- Why boring marketing can produce extraordinary returns

- Why customer retention is where the real money is

- Why hedgehogs build more wealth than foxes

- Why selling the pain often works better than selling the dream

- Which of Harpin's 9 steps actually matter for small business owners

- Why you probably do not need to build a billion-pound business at all

There are also some wonderfully practical ideas in here, including direct mail, retention, hiring your replacement, getting a mentor or coach, building a not-to-do list, and staying ruthlessly focused on the thing your business does best.

If you are a small business owner, freelancer, coach, consultant or entrepreneur looking for practical business growth lessons, this episode will help you decide which ideas from How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps are worth stealing for your own business.

Because you may not want a billion.

But you can still learn a hell of a lot from someone who has built one.

In this episode:

0:00 From Schoolboy Salesman to Billionaire Empire

0:49 Why Copying Is Your Greatest Business Asset

2:06 The Unfashionable Secret to Massive ROI

4:38 Foxes vs Hedgehogs: The Wealth Strategy

7:45 The Nine Steps to Building a Billion

Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uRQj4skw90A

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h0jTgJjudQU

Join John and Jason in the One Percent Club: https://www.bigidea.co.uk/one-percent-club

Watch our interview with Gary about sacking his business partner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teBd-z42hak

Dealing with a toxic business partner is exhausting.

Learn how to manage the situation without destroying your company.

When your co-founder constantly vetoes decisions, treats the company account as a personal piggy bank, or simply refuses to pull their weight, the situation quickly becomes unsustainable.

Many founders ignore these warning signs until it is too late, but letting partnership problems fester is a fast track to resentment and operational gridlock.

This discussion provides practical small business advice for navigating these conflicts.

We look at how to protect your assets and your sanity, ensuring that one person's poor behaviour does not lead to total business failure. You will learn how to set boundaries and manage the partnership dynamic before the damage becomes irreversible.

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In this episode:

0:00 Navigating a Toxic Partnership

0:48 The Importance of Shareholder Agreements

3:09 Identifying the Root of the Problem

5:35 Knowing When to Part Ways

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Are you wasting time on tasks that do not move the needle?

Learn how to apply the 80 20 principle to focus on what actually matters. Most business owners treat every daily activity as equally important, but this approach rarely leads to growth. By identifying the few inputs that generate the majority of your output, you can stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress.

This episode explains how to audit your daily workflow to ensure you are prioritising the right areas for your company. We look at why focusing on impactful tasks is the most effective way to improve your overall business results.

Whether you are a solopreneur or leading a small team, shifting your mindset away from busywork is essential for long-term small business productivity. It is not about working harder, but about ensuring your energy is spent where it counts.

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