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The Fun Side Of Business
Let’s keep it real, business life isn’t all boring meetings and stiff suits. Behind the polished pitches and fancy titles is a whole other story!
We’re talking about the real stories, the unfiltered, uncut moments you won’t find in any polished promo video.
Behind every brand is a story—unexpected, totally entertaining, and 100% human. So here’s to the real ones: the dreamers, the grinders, the risk-takers.
Business life? It’s not what you think. It’s way more fun.
The Fun Side Of Business
When Your Mom Says "Look at Your Room" but You Own a Cleaning Company
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The Fun Side Of Business - The Extra Slice
Exclusive access to premium content!How do you build a successful cleaning company when you don't even know how to use a mop? Our conversation with George had us doubled over with laughter as he shared his entrepreneurial journey that defies conventional business wisdom.
George's background in recruitment and sales – not cleaning – gave him the skills that truly mattered. From day one, his business model was built on delegation. While most business owners start by doing the work themselves, George focused on getting contracts and building his team. His natural talent as a "born closer" and his people skills proved far more valuable than knowing how to properly mop a floor – a fact hilariously demonstrated when an emergency cleaning situation found him on all fours, using his socks as impromptu mops while the actual mop bucket sat unused nearby.
Are you holding yourself back from starting a business because you lack technical expertise? George's story proves that understanding your strengths and weaknesses – and building a business model that leverages the former while delegating the latter – might be the most important skill of all. Share your thoughts on this unconventional approach to entrepreneurship!
Good morning, welcome to the extra. Do you know it's going to be called the extra slice just because you keep doing it? The extra slice, the extras bit of the fun side of business. Podcast Morning Gem.
Speaker 2:Morning Nick.
Speaker 1:So we have just had, oh my God, the guest that has made my cheeks hurt the most from having him on.
Speaker 2:George, George, George. Even just thinking about George is just making me laugh now from having a mum. George, george, george, even just thinking about George is just making me laugh now. You knew some of them stories already, maybe not as in-depth as he's explained them. I didn't, so I was getting them first hand and you know I love someone who just says fuck it. I'm going to start a cleaning company. Oh well, can you clean?
Speaker 1:No, that's lovely. That was the thing. Even the, even the rawness of going, yeah, his mum going, look at your room. That that's my like snippet out of that one. I know you kind of had the one about oh yeah, being on all fours and what have you, but my snippet is the one going along and you know, oh yeah, by the way, mum, I've just set up a cleaning company. No, you can't look't. Look at your room.
Speaker 2:Look at your room.
Speaker 1:But yeah, so honestly.
Speaker 2:He's a legend.
Speaker 1:Now you understand why when I said like, look, I've heard something and people need to hear this. There needs to be a platform for it and it was such a nice idea. So, while we talk about Helen going along and moving the concept of the podcast from the funny, the light, the fun stories to the raw to the raw and the real and the true. Yeah, you understand why. Why it started as the fun side and it was.
Speaker 2:You know, it's so good for me because I've I've known george obviously similar times you have and I see him out on the networking scene and vivo here and vivo there. But to know how he started and he just was like I'm just going to give this a go. I don't really know what I'm doing or where I'm going with it. I'm just going to do it and the success he's had in the last four years is amazing and I respect that. I think that's brilliant.
Speaker 1:But I think the more you talk to him, the less you kind of have this thing of almost going yeah, it was a coincidence, or it was luck, or it was whatever, because you know full well he's then got that background in cold calling.
Speaker 2:He's got the background he's a people's person in selling.
Speaker 1:But but that's the thing I think you know, when you first meet george you're like, yeah, you know, I don't know why, but when I see george, like I don't know whether or not I kind of see as George the serious businessman. But knowing the contracts he's got and knowing the stuff he's got, he clearly is a born closer. He's a born salesman and the success he's seen at Vivo he's clearly a born director as well.
Speaker 2:But if you think, going way back to when he was coaching the squash or something I think it was squash, um, and how he's on the phone trying to get people in for the lessons and taking, he's been driven from that age to close deals. Do you know to do that?
Speaker 1:but. But you look at the amazing lesson and you know I almost wish I'd have spoken to george before we started rs ed, because even from step one, day one, here we go, you've got an oven clean. His first thought was delegate, yeah, it's not my job, and and it's not a case of going is beneath him, because you know, as you've heard, the being on the fours and using your socks as a mop, um, but when you go along and see that the business model was always doing is not my forte.
Speaker 1:Yeah, managing is yeah so I will be able to source staff. Because he's got his history in recruitment, I can get new contracts. He's had his history in sales. Yeah, he can cold call, he can manage, but in that industry, apparently according to his mum and that contract, and the supervisor, yeah, he wasn't there to do.
Speaker 2:He definitely wasn't there to do.
Speaker 1:But it shows how amazing it is that you know every business owner will start their business. And I think what if I had to guess, I'd say 90, 95 of them start with a. They know the industry, they know the job, they can do the job, yeah, so they start that business. In comes client number one. They do the work.
Speaker 2:They'll do the work and not worry about employing staff at that time, because, again, it's a cost, isn't it? So I'll do the job. I know what I'm doing, but yeah. But George's model from day one was was nope I'll build the business yeah and staff can go out and do that job, because I can't do it but look out, look at what he's done.
Speaker 1:So there's a fantastic lesson in there for people, yeah who would have thought would actually be doing business lessons. And now, now let's just see. How on earth do these two things go together, right, a business lesson, a garnell fours mopping up with a hoodie. How can that be from the same person?
Speaker 2:I think that's and I don't. If you guys know jordan, you'll get them.
Speaker 1:I just can't get the image out my head on all fours water everywhere, but I think that says something about you, because you've just heard george the sportsman, but not once have you thought about him with a squash racket. Instead, you're just thinking of him on all fours, his hoodie off and socks on his hands. Yeah, that that's your image, that you're going to take away from it.
Speaker 2:There's a lot more about me than it is george the recruiter.
Speaker 1:Nope, george the, you know it does this. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, george, on all fours. Apparently that's your um one to take away, I'm sure, there's like a hashtag george on all fours. Apparently that's your um one to take away. I'm sure there's like a hashtag george on all fours or something coming from this one, you're welcome george.
Speaker 1:He's not gonna thank us for this at all, is he? And? And can you imagine it if, like people like john bradbrook and you know everyone else, you know they don't quite know all the stories oh yeah, we've just.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's all out there for all to hear. But you know, on the flip side, yes, it's funny and we can laugh about it, but it also shows a manager director of a company who's going to get stuck in yeah I don't know what I'm doing, but my staff have called me. We're desperate, time's not on our side. We need you, yeah, so he's gonna get involved.
Speaker 1:I don't know how much of a help he was I don't see, this is the thing I would say, that actually I'm gonna back george and blame claire right how there we go. So actually it's not so much the person who doesn't know how a mop works, yeah, it's the person delegating and saying, george, can you just go?
Speaker 2:and mop somewhere on the phone.
Speaker 1:I mean, we heard the story on the phone. You can just carry laundry now. I reckon george would have been good at carrying laundry yeah, strong folding but carrying fine but no one mentioned a mop on the phone no one mentioned like oh, I mean, here's the thing for an oven clean. He youtubed it or googled it or worked out how to clean an oven.
Speaker 2:If someone would have said to him like oh yeah, you can just come and mop the floor he could have googled it or youtubed it before he's got that right video on how to mop a floor or gone outside ask the cleaner.
Speaker 1:Oh, this is the thing is. It's so laughable, isn't it? Because you just assume that everyone would know. Yeah, can I have an instructional video on a mop?
Speaker 2:oh, it's brilliant, you know? Yeah, I didn't, and we did ask who actually cleaned up the mess afterwards. Well, I mean, I'm assuming the team had to comment in I'm guessing the rest of them went in afterwards.
Speaker 1:I mean not being funny, bearing in mind he's decided that the best way to get up a flood is with a hoodie and two socks and here's the thing he's probably moving the mop bucket out of the way that the mop would have done the job perfectly well to get all the water up if he just understood how to use a mop, bless him.
Speaker 2:You know, the funny thing is, she said to him go and mop that bucket villa or whatever it was. Wasn't it a lodge? And everything else is done you've just got mop the floor, get out, shut the door. We're done.
Speaker 1:I never had to go in and sort all this out, so she's pulling like staff from everywhere else. Yeah, either that or it's, without doubt, the best best scenario. You know, when he says like, if you want no one to ever ask you to make a cup of tea the first time you get asked, make a bad one. I wonder how many more times you got asked to mop after that no, no, george, you are a legend, george.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much absolutely amazing to have you on um and yeah, I think this is um the number one. We've laughed the most so far to part two with george yeah once we go once we go like video or or the hundredth episode in vegas.
Speaker 2:Yeah, whatever it may be I might get him to mop the floor and we record it live Not on all fours.
Speaker 1:We could imagine that we could go and set up a Mrs Hinch type set just for George. George, we've got a bit of a job for you. Yeah, so we're running the podcast now on video. We'd like to contract Vivo to come and clean the set for us, but it has to be you and just run the cameras anyway, yeah, it's been brilliant having george on. And yeah, at the moment and you know I know, we've probably still got lots of guests to come but yeah, I'm gonna wake up with um sore cheeks tomorrow.
Speaker 2:that was a lot of laughing so, yeah, enjoy the rest of your day, everyone thanks, guys, and obviously, um, hang on.
Speaker 1:Do you want to? Do you want to thank george, or do you want to also thank, maybe, the subscribers? Do you want to thank him this time or you're just going to ditch him again?
Speaker 2:oh no, I'm going to thank them this time you're going to thank them this time. I really appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart there we go.
Speaker 1:That was so sincere, jen, like I mean it. Anyone who knows you guys, you've been sarcastic I'm lying, I'm not lying.
Speaker 2:yeah, true, yeah, that's dead in the eye, that's a genuine one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so yeah, thank you very much guys and obviously, if they haven't already got it, george's mum needs to hear this. I reckon We've spoken a lot about George's mum Pick up George's mum. Yeah, respect Cheers guys.
Speaker 2:We'll see you at the next one.
