November 4, 2024 • 21 mins
Join us for an episode with Kelly Whitfield, founder and CEO of KLIK UK, who launched her entrepreneurial journey with just a £500 overdraft and built it into a powerhouse career.
In this episode, Kelly shares her game-changing insights on standing out, staying true to your vision, and why focusing on personal growth is everything.
From the legendary inspiration of Coco Chanel, Daniel Priestley, and Simon Sinek to a life-changing battle over maternity leave, Kelly’s story is one of resilience, ambition, and integrity.
Listen to learn:
- The key traits that fuel entrepreneurial success
- Why embracing fearlessness, adaptability, and learning from setbacks are non-negotiables
- The power of knowing your "why" in business
- Essential advice for women stepping into (or back into) industries where they’re often underestimated.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast live
from our we Are Power studio.
Every week I get theopportunity to speak to some of
the most amazing individuals inand from across the whole of the
UK lots of cracking northernersas well.
That's what we love People fromdifferent paths, different
adventures, different stories,and we bring them together so we
(00:33):
can pass on some of those toptips, guidance, tote bag moments
, slogans on t-shirts, you nameit.
That's what we're trying tocheck, and today I am delighted
to be joined by Kelly Whitfield,who is the founder and CEO of
Click UK.
I can see that in yourbackground there, kelly.
Kelly is a businesswoman,entrepreneur, director, media
personality, mentor with over 20years experience in, to name
(00:57):
but a few, policing, recruitment, human resources, technology.
Get it all in one basket there,kelly.
Welcome to the pod.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Absolute pleasure to be here, delighted to be here.
I think I need to lie downafter that.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
My goodness, I've got a fair few things to my board,
shall we say you are on one heckof an adventure and you have,
as a serial entrepreneur,founded multiple companies,
including Adept, MVB, Freeportand ClickSAS.
I was going to say SLS decidedto spell it out, but it's all
(01:30):
good.
What are the key ingredients tolaunching and growing
successful businesses in today's?
Because it's super competitiveout there.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Oh yeah, it is, and I think competitive is the key
word.
Let's focus on that.
I always look at the need tostand out.
I think it's so important todifferentiate yourself in a
competitive market.
So with my first business,simone, back in 2006, when I
incorporated Adept, I needed itto be better.
(02:02):
I needed it to be better and Istarted that business with a 500
quid overdraft and I paidsomebody 50 quid to draw me the
best, most professional logothat I could get at the time and
I put an advert in the YellowPages.
If you can remember that, wow,if you can't, everybody look it
up.
But that's pretty much all wehad back then.
And you know, I made a geniusmove of describing my businesses
(02:26):
deliberately different with twocapital Ds, and it was my way
of saying I'm not like them.
You know what we do and how Iwork is deliberately different
from what they do, and I thinkthat's the key thing.
Starting in a competitivemarket, you've got to
differentiate yourself and then,once you've perfected what it
is that you do, I think then youneed to innovate.
(02:47):
You need to constantly try andstay, not necessarily one step
ahead of the competitors.
By the way, I always had halfan eye on my competition, but I
never wasted time on them.
So I always wanted to stay onestep ahead of myself.
So I always wanted to stay onestep ahead of myself.
But yes, that's the key is todifferentiate and then to
(03:08):
continuously innovate andimprove.
How do you not get distracted?
Sometimes I think you can getdistracted by the sirens, by
what are they doing, are theydoing it better or whatever.
So how do you not do that?
(03:28):
How do you not get caught inbeing caught over there by the
siren?
Do you know what?
So I know we're gonna have a.
I know we we're gonna have agood, um, a good discussion
today around other ideas andsome of that good stuff I want
to bring in a little bit later.
But being distracted by thesirens, just yeah, you've got to
be aware of them.
But if you, if you're too busylooking at the, you know the,
the, the ambulances whizzingpast with the sirens and the
blue lights, you're taking youreyes off your own steering wheel
.
Keep looking forward, perfectwhat you are doing and aim to be
(03:51):
the best at that.
That's my advice on that one.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And I love.
We talk a lot about role modelsand people who inspire you
along the way, and you havethree very different people out
there.
So Coco Chanel, danielPriestley and Simon Sinek how,
why, what?
How would you say?
Are there different chain fecesthat inspire you?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
do you know what I?
I so Coco Chanel's an unusualone, because I actually don't
have a closet full of her stuff.
Um, I'm a mom.
You know, if I did it would bean absolute, it would be ruined.
My youngest boy is five and I'ma rugby mom, so I don't know
whether many people know, butshe had a pretty tough start.
I think her mom died when shewas relatively young and her dad
(04:33):
just basically abandoned her,and I think, when you look at
her, she was, above all else,rebellious.
And I don't know whether I'm aself-confessed underdog.
I had a pretty tough upbringingand I, you know I champion
underdogs and you know I wantthe Seabiscuits to win, if ever
you've seen that.
(04:54):
You know that was a racehorsethat was taught to lose and then
somebody you know enabled himto win, and goodness me, he.
So Coco Chanel she was.
She was rebellious, she wasincredibly creative.
You know, in those days womenwere confined by their clothes
(05:14):
and she brought comfort into it.
You know I'm I.
I remember reading something,clearly, I've read something
about her and you know, black.
When you think she was born1880s, something like that and
you know black was used formourning, then you know, you
think of.
You know Victoria, and she madeblack chic, you know, and we
(05:35):
all have dresses in our closetsbecause of her.
And also, one thing that Ireally do like is she was really
controversial.
She applied men's wear towomen's wear, so then women were
wearing two-piece suits.
You can go to the loo, you werecomfortable.
I just really like that.
Now the other one, danielPriestley.
I like him because he's like me.
(05:58):
I'm very linear, I like process, I like things to be clean and
lean and efficient.
You know, I like things to workand he's very much of that
mindset.
And I think Simon Sinek is why.
If you've ever heard his TEDtalk, you know he talks about a
lot of businesses, know whatthey do, but not everybody knows
(06:20):
why they do it.
And I think I remember, Iremember watching that talk and
it it really sort of saidsomething to me, because I think
I'm always steered by the wantand the will to do good and do
better.
And Simon Sinek bringing whyinto it, you know, I think
that's quite powerful and Ithink a lot of businesses and a
(06:42):
lot of entrepreneurs andmanagers and leaders, even if
it's not their own business,could probably do good to sit
down and just think right, ok,so I know how we do what we do,
and I know you know, I know whatit is that we do, but why do we
do it?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
And then communicate that, and that goes back to your
needing to stand out, doesn't?
It Goes back to some of that.
I get more reason for it If wego forward now.
To Click this business now isall about focusing, helping
businesses to focus in onconnecting and collaborating,
which I love, and also to staycompetitive when attracting
(07:17):
talent.
What advice would you throw outthere to business leaders who
are struggling to hire andretain, actually more
importantly in this fast-movingmarket right now?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah.
So the first thing I would sayand and I'm I'm going to be
careful when I say what I'mabout to say I'm saying it from
the perspective of a previousrecruitment entrepreneur who had
a specialist search andrecruitment firms that then
evolved, by the way.
So we talked differentiatingand then innovating.
So my business, back in 2012,innovated and we then partnered
(07:54):
with a company in Silicon Valley.
We were providing recruitment,employee engagement, then
retention initiatives, which iswhat enabled me to retire at 42,
by the way and I think myadvice, with those hats on, is
for employees to takerecruitment in-house, and I've
been asked to write a bookaround this subject.
(08:14):
And in my head, I've got thisworking title of being fit to
compete.
And when I talk and think aboutbeing fit to compete, it's to
encourage employees to say right, hang on a second, let's just
take a step back.
If we were going to offersomebody a job and they had
another offer, why would theyaccept ours?
What's it like to work here?
(08:34):
What can we offer outside ofmoney?
And, by the way, employers, itisn't just about money.
I've been a board advisor forquite a few years and I remember
being helicoptered into a boardto enable that business to
scale from 16 to over 100 peoplequite quickly in the UK and
(08:55):
then to set up a secondoperation overseas in Australia,
and I knew that thatsignificant and rapid scale
would dilute that culture.
But I also knew we were goingto have a challenge in
recruiting people because wewere headhunting from oil and
gas and asking people to comeand work in a business in
Teesside in an office, andeverybody knows oil and gas pays
(09:15):
a handsome salary.
So I remember saying to theirthen advisors and accountants
what else can I promote otherthan money?
And I ended up working withtheir accountants and we put
together a flexible benefitscheme that enabled people,
instead of working overtime andit being lost, they counted it
and they got an extra day offeach month.
(09:36):
Then we had compressed workingweek schemes and flexible
working so they could pick upand drop off.
So then I was able to say toour consultants when you are
talking to a candidate, say tothem look, we're not going to be
able to really compete withyour salary.
However, you can sleep in yourown bed, you can drop your
children off and pick them up,and you can.
You can get up to 12 additionaldays holiday a year, just from
(09:59):
doing a bit of overtime, andthey loved it.
So take recruitment in-house.
Have a look at what it's like towork for your organization.
What's your culture like?
Do engagement initiatives?
Are people happy?
Take the feedback that theygive you, because that is
absolute diamond, diamond, golddust.
Uh, advice on how you cancreate a better place to work
(10:19):
within your business.
Um, that would be my top thingsand what's another piece of
advice?
Speaker 1 (10:25):
while we're seeking some of that out, you've worked
in many different industriesthat we talked about.
But to women, particularlystepping in or stepping back
into industries where they mayfeel they're outnumbered or
overlooked, what's your onepiece of advice?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Oh, now this one makes me want to rattle cages in
the kitchen because I am awoman and I shout louder, I
stand taller, I push harder.
I remember being a police lady.
I was independently policedwhen I was 19 and my sergeant I
(11:02):
forget his name.
He said to me, kelly, knowledgeis confidence.
He said.
If you learn all of yourlegislation and all what we used
to call points to prove around,all the different bits of
legislation that we used to haveto memorize, you can go out
onto that street and you candeal with absolutely any
situation that can come up, asin if somebody walks past me,
(11:22):
simone, with a handful ofpheasants and a shotgun over
their arm, I need to knowwhether I can lock them up or
not.
So knowledge is confidence andI think if you know your stuff
and I make it my purpose and mymission to know my stuff I think
you can enter a male dominatedindustry.
I've done police and I've donetech and I've done recruitment,
(11:42):
as you say, and you can standyour ground.
I do not and I will not playgolf.
I'm not interested.
So if there are deals beingdone on the golf course, you
know I'm going to miss out.
That annoys me, but you know, Iremember hearing a story once I
think it was actually DanielPriestley where there's 100
(12:04):
people in a room and there's anauction in a room.
And there's an auction and thisguy on the stage is offering,
you know, a one-to-one some ofhis time to the highest bidder.
Out of those hundred people,only two people were competing
with each other and that drovethe price up.
You don't need to promoteyourself to the hundred people
in the room, just find the twothat want you.
Let them do the deals on thegolf course.
(12:26):
Who bloody wants it anyway?
Speaker 1 (12:28):
now, one of the best bits of advice I read about you
that you received was the valueof extra work by itemizing and
invoicing discretionary effortat zero cost to highlight the
value.
Talk to me about that, becausethis is something I know
particularly.
You know not wanting to justsolo focus on female founders,
(12:50):
but this happens a lot, doesn'tit?
Just do it for free.
Just do it for free, You'll getlots of exposure.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, so, yes, that is true.
I think my take on this was along time ago.
I got this, you know this wasgosh.
This was within probably thefirst two or three years of
Adept, so it would have been,you know, 20 years ago and back
then.
When you're starting out, let'sfocus on that.
(13:16):
You do things for love and youprovide what I call
discretionary effort.
You go above and beyond, andthat's all well and good when
you're winning business and youwant to take care of your client
.
But it's incredibly difficult,as you know, simone, to maintain
as you scale.
And the problem then is ifyou've done something for free
(13:39):
and then, all of a sudden, youcan no longer do it.
You know that's a difficultbridge to cross.
(14:01):
So my advice is, when you'redoing the small things or the
big things for love, whetherit's traveling or whether it's
attending a meeting or whetherit's, it depends on how you, I
guess it depends on how twohours, you know, and just enter
a zero free, just putcomplimentary the fact that when
they're looking at it, it'sseen, it's recognized, it's
appreciated.
And also it would make me feelgood if I was looking at an
(14:24):
invoice to pay for one of mysuppliers and there was a few
little gestures on there.
I would think nice one, guys.
And then, when it comes tobuilding your business and
scaling and you know, looking atwho you award more work to you,
go to the people that make youfeel good, that you value, and
they value you.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
So yeah, that's my advice on that one Love that,
and you said you got that manyyears ago, so that stayed with
you right.
And you said you got that manyyears ago, so that stayed with
you right.
You know you've got over 20years of industry and
entrepreneurial experience.
What do you think are thosekind of real top qualities that
you need to thrive and growthrough entrepreneurship and
leadership?
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Yeah, I think you need to be fearless.
I think you need to beincredibly flexible.
I think if you're starting outin business now, you've got to
pick one thing and be good at it.
I delivered a talk, actuallyfor the first time ever, on this
particular subject at somethingcalled Netfest a couple of days
(15:23):
ago you might have seen it andthere was a lot of startups or
budding entrepreneurs in theroom and I said to them look,
just, focus on one thing andjust if all you're going to do
is do the same as many others,as in competitive, saturated
market, as we've talked about inthe first question you asked me
(15:45):
just do it better, justwhatever it is.
If you're selling shoes, sellshoes better than your
competitors.
Put something in the bag withthe shoes that makes them feel
good.
And I think you need to be verydriven to be good at the one
thing that you do do, but alsobe prepared to fail, and fail
(16:06):
quickly and ideallyinexpensively.
So when I was coming up withthe idea of Click, before it was
even called Click, I built aprototype, an inexpensive
prototype, on a differentplatform than what the final
product was, and that was my MVPmy minimum viable product
product, took that to market andtested it over a good period,
(16:29):
got some phenomenal feedback andwe knew at that point actually,
yeah, we can put our you know,an element of our children's
inheritance into this and beconfident in the outcome because
people liked it, um.
But you know, I don't believein failure, I believe in
feedback.
I don't think I don't think youfailed to invent the light bulb
.
You've just found another waythat doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
I love this.
I can't even.
I'm running out of pages towrite down these tote bag quotes
on and we're going to.
There's not enough t-shirts outthere.
Looking back, I'm from Teesside.
We talk quickly.
Looking back, what is the onechallenge that actually has
helped shaped you and how didyou kind of batter it down?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
right, this is a good one.
This is a controversial one,and I'm gonna I'm gonna share
something with you that I've gotto be careful sharing um to, so
it's a bit of an exclusive, butum, it's not something I've
spoken about openly, um, but Ido think it's something that
should be shared.
So, to put it bluntly, I waspregnant, then screwed, and I
(17:33):
don't know if you've heard ofthat website.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
We know Jolie.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Brilliant, absolutely fantastic.
So I actually co-founded abusiness with some nameless men
and the business was phenomenal.
It was fantastic up until thevery last board meeting.
That again was recordedphenomenal and fantastic.
And it was until we got to theany other business bit and I
(17:59):
said I need time off.
And I asked for about fourweeks off and when I eventually
told them that you know I wasexpecting my third son and I
knew at that point that that wasit, we were done, we were
finished, we were over.
And you know not to be seriousand not to be downbeat about it,
because actually it's the bestthing that ever happened, but
(18:21):
sure enough, that was probablythe most challenging thing I've
ever gone through.
We did go to court and,stupidly, those individuals had
used our company email tocommunicate on how to trump
maternity pay.
How can we make her lookincompetent?
I've never made a solventbusiness look insolvent, but I'm
sure it can be done.
(18:42):
And, long story short, it didgo to court and I did win.
And, long story short, it didgo to court and I did win.
So you know, it was one for theladies on that one.
And what was really phenomenalabout that was I.
We actually had staff.
I walked into the offices andsaid to everybody and they knew
At that point I was heavilypregnant I said, look, I love
(19:02):
you all, but I'm never, evergoing to come back to this
business.
I'm going to personallyguarantee all your salaries.
I will help you, I will supportyou until you, you know, you're
settled and you've moved on.
And what was ironic, thatbusiness ran for quite a long
time, didn't need a single pennyfrom me, and it was only when
the last wonderful person washappily reappointed, I went in,
(19:25):
locked the door, took the moneyout of the business as you would
expect, because at that point Iwas 100% shareholder sat down
and came up with the idea ofClick, and it took me to go
through all of that to then besufficiently motivated and to
have the time and the clarity tothink.
You know what I want to do.
(19:47):
I don't want to go back intobusiness.
I want to have a digital asset.
I want to create a machine thatgenerates reoccurring revenue,
that makes money while I sleep,and then I want to offer that
technology to other people sothat they can license it, so
that they too can have areoccurring revenue asset.
And that's what I've done so.
(20:07):
Thanks guys.
By the way, that's the firsttime I've heard that, but I
think it's a good one to share.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I love that and I really appreciate you sharing
that with us.
And Kelly, honestly I feel likethis is part one of probably a
four part series for you and Ion this.
We need to do this again.
I want to thank you so much forjoining me.
The fact that you need to standout.
You are the self-confessedunderdog.
It's all about the why you haveto be fit to compete.
(20:36):
Knowledge is confidence.
Know yourself.
Fail first, Fail inexpensivelyand actually it's not failure,
it's feedback.
They were just some of the onesthat I could scribble down as we
chatted today, but, Callie,thank you so much for joining us
on the podcast today.
You're a total legend.
I look forward to continuingthis conversation and thank you
(20:56):
for being you.
Fab Love to you all.
Oh, and thank all of you forjoining us.
There is so much conversationto carry on after today's
episode.
Kelly, total star, Please dokeep on the conversation going.
Subscribe, watch our podcastnow from our fabulous studio
YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify orwherever you get your podcasts.
Leave a review.
(21:17):
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Find out everything that we'redoing on our digital hub,
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So much going on, so manyphenomenal role models out there
.
Thank you for joining me.
My name is Simone.
(21:37):
This is the we Are Powerpodcast.
Hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast live
from our we Are Power studio.
Every week I get theopportunity to speak to some of
the most amazing individuals inand from across the whole of the
UK lots of cracking northernersas well.
That's what we love People fromdifferent paths, different
adventures, different stories,and we bring them together so we
(00:33):
can pass on some of those toptips, guidance, tote bag moments
, slogans on t-shirts, you nameit.
That's what we're trying tocheck, and today I am delighted
to be joined by Kelly Whitfield,who is the founder and CEO of
Click UK.
I can see that in yourbackground there, kelly.
Kelly is a businesswoman,entrepreneur, director, media
personality, mentor with over 20years experience in, to name
(00:57):
but a few, policing, recruitment, human resources, technology.
Get it all in one basket there,kelly.
Welcome to the pod.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
Absolute pleasure to be here, delighted to be here.
I think I need to lie downafter that.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
My goodness, I've got a fair few things to my board,
shall we say you are on one heckof an adventure and you have,
as a serial entrepreneur,founded multiple companies,
including Adept, MVB, Freeportand ClickSAS.
I was going to say SLS decidedto spell it out, but it's all
(01:30):
good.
What are the key ingredients tolaunching and growing
successful businesses in today's?
Because it's super competitiveout there.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Oh yeah, it is, and I think competitive is the key
word.
Let's focus on that.
I always look at the need tostand out.
I think it's so important todifferentiate yourself in a
competitive market.
So with my first business,simone, back in 2006, when I
incorporated Adept, I needed itto be better.
(02:02):
I needed it to be better and Istarted that business with a 500
quid overdraft and I paidsomebody 50 quid to draw me the
best, most professional logothat I could get at the time and
I put an advert in the YellowPages.
If you can remember that, wow,if you can't, everybody look it
up.
But that's pretty much all wehad back then.
And you know, I made a geniusmove of describing my businesses
(02:26):
deliberately different with twocapital Ds, and it was my way
of saying I'm not like them.
You know what we do and how Iwork is deliberately different
from what they do, and I thinkthat's the key thing.
Starting in a competitivemarket, you've got to
differentiate yourself and then,once you've perfected what it
is that you do, I think then youneed to innovate.
(02:47):
You need to constantly try andstay, not necessarily one step
ahead of the competitors.
By the way, I always had halfan eye on my competition, but I
never wasted time on them.
So I always wanted to stay onestep ahead of myself.
So I always wanted to stay onestep ahead of myself.
But yes, that's the key is todifferentiate and then to
(03:08):
continuously innovate andimprove.
How do you not get distracted?
Sometimes I think you can getdistracted by the sirens, by
what are they doing, are theydoing it better or whatever.
So how do you not do that?
(03:28):
How do you not get caught inbeing caught over there by the
siren?
Do you know what?
So I know we're gonna have a.
I know we we're gonna have agood, um, a good discussion
today around other ideas andsome of that good stuff I want
to bring in a little bit later.
But being distracted by thesirens, just yeah, you've got to
be aware of them.
But if you, if you're too busylooking at the, you know the,
the, the ambulances whizzingpast with the sirens and the
blue lights, you're taking youreyes off your own steering wheel
.
Keep looking forward, perfectwhat you are doing and aim to be
(03:51):
the best at that.
That's my advice on that one.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And I love.
We talk a lot about role modelsand people who inspire you
along the way, and you havethree very different people out
there.
So Coco Chanel, danielPriestley and Simon Sinek how,
why, what?
How would you say?
Are there different chain fecesthat inspire you?
Speaker 2 (04:11):
do you know what I?
I so Coco Chanel's an unusualone, because I actually don't
have a closet full of her stuff.
Um, I'm a mom.
You know, if I did it would bean absolute, it would be ruined.
My youngest boy is five and I'ma rugby mom, so I don't know
whether many people know, butshe had a pretty tough start.
I think her mom died when shewas relatively young and her dad
(04:33):
just basically abandoned her,and I think, when you look at
her, she was, above all else,rebellious.
And I don't know whether I'm aself-confessed underdog.
I had a pretty tough upbringingand I, you know I champion
underdogs and you know I wantthe Seabiscuits to win, if ever
you've seen that.
(04:54):
You know that was a racehorsethat was taught to lose and then
somebody you know enabled himto win, and goodness me, he.
So Coco Chanel she was.
She was rebellious, she wasincredibly creative.
You know, in those days womenwere confined by their clothes
(05:14):
and she brought comfort into it.
You know I'm I.
I remember reading something,clearly, I've read something
about her and you know, black.
When you think she was born1880s, something like that and
you know black was used formourning, then you know, you
think of.
You know Victoria, and she madeblack chic, you know, and we
(05:35):
all have dresses in our closetsbecause of her.
And also, one thing that Ireally do like is she was really
controversial.
She applied men's wear towomen's wear, so then women were
wearing two-piece suits.
You can go to the loo, you werecomfortable.
I just really like that.
Now the other one, danielPriestley.
I like him because he's like me.
(05:58):
I'm very linear, I like process, I like things to be clean and
lean and efficient.
You know, I like things to workand he's very much of that
mindset.
And I think Simon Sinek is why.
If you've ever heard his TEDtalk, you know he talks about a
lot of businesses, know whatthey do, but not everybody knows
(06:20):
why they do it.
And I think I remember, Iremember watching that talk and
it it really sort of saidsomething to me, because I think
I'm always steered by the wantand the will to do good and do
better.
And Simon Sinek bringing whyinto it, you know, I think
that's quite powerful and Ithink a lot of businesses and a
(06:42):
lot of entrepreneurs andmanagers and leaders, even if
it's not their own business,could probably do good to sit
down and just think right, ok,so I know how we do what we do,
and I know you know, I know whatit is that we do, but why do we
do it?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
And then communicate that, and that goes back to your
needing to stand out, doesn't?
It Goes back to some of that.
I get more reason for it If wego forward now.
To Click this business now isall about focusing, helping
businesses to focus in onconnecting and collaborating,
which I love, and also to staycompetitive when attracting
(07:17):
talent.
What advice would you throw outthere to business leaders who
are struggling to hire andretain, actually more
importantly in this fast-movingmarket right now?
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah.
So the first thing I would sayand and I'm I'm going to be
careful when I say what I'mabout to say I'm saying it from
the perspective of a previousrecruitment entrepreneur who had
a specialist search andrecruitment firms that then
evolved, by the way.
So we talked differentiatingand then innovating.
So my business, back in 2012,innovated and we then partnered
(07:54):
with a company in Silicon Valley.
We were providing recruitment,employee engagement, then
retention initiatives, which iswhat enabled me to retire at 42,
by the way and I think myadvice, with those hats on, is
for employees to takerecruitment in-house, and I've
been asked to write a bookaround this subject.
(08:14):
And in my head, I've got thisworking title of being fit to
compete.
And when I talk and think aboutbeing fit to compete, it's to
encourage employees to say right, hang on a second, let's just
take a step back.
If we were going to offersomebody a job and they had
another offer, why would theyaccept ours?
What's it like to work here?
(08:34):
What can we offer outside ofmoney?
And, by the way, employers, itisn't just about money.
I've been a board advisor forquite a few years and I remember
being helicoptered into a boardto enable that business to
scale from 16 to over 100 peoplequite quickly in the UK and
(08:55):
then to set up a secondoperation overseas in Australia,
and I knew that thatsignificant and rapid scale
would dilute that culture.
But I also knew we were goingto have a challenge in
recruiting people because wewere headhunting from oil and
gas and asking people to comeand work in a business in
Teesside in an office, andeverybody knows oil and gas pays
(09:15):
a handsome salary.
So I remember saying to theirthen advisors and accountants
what else can I promote otherthan money?
And I ended up working withtheir accountants and we put
together a flexible benefitscheme that enabled people,
instead of working overtime andit being lost, they counted it
and they got an extra day offeach month.
(09:36):
Then we had compressed workingweek schemes and flexible
working so they could pick upand drop off.
So then I was able to say toour consultants when you are
talking to a candidate, say tothem look, we're not going to be
able to really compete withyour salary.
However, you can sleep in yourown bed, you can drop your
children off and pick them up,and you can.
You can get up to 12 additionaldays holiday a year, just from
(09:59):
doing a bit of overtime, andthey loved it.
So take recruitment in-house.
Have a look at what it's like towork for your organization.
What's your culture like?
Do engagement initiatives?
Are people happy?
Take the feedback that theygive you, because that is
absolute diamond, diamond, golddust.
Uh, advice on how you cancreate a better place to work
(10:19):
within your business.
Um, that would be my top thingsand what's another piece of
advice?
Speaker 1 (10:25):
while we're seeking some of that out, you've worked
in many different industriesthat we talked about.
But to women, particularlystepping in or stepping back
into industries where they mayfeel they're outnumbered or
overlooked, what's your onepiece of advice?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Oh, now this one makes me want to rattle cages in
the kitchen because I am awoman and I shout louder, I
stand taller, I push harder.
I remember being a police lady.
I was independently policedwhen I was 19 and my sergeant I
(11:02):
forget his name.
He said to me, kelly, knowledgeis confidence.
He said.
If you learn all of yourlegislation and all what we used
to call points to prove around,all the different bits of
legislation that we used to haveto memorize, you can go out
onto that street and you candeal with absolutely any
situation that can come up, asin if somebody walks past me,
(11:22):
simone, with a handful ofpheasants and a shotgun over
their arm, I need to knowwhether I can lock them up or
not.
So knowledge is confidence andI think if you know your stuff
and I make it my purpose and mymission to know my stuff I think
you can enter a male dominatedindustry.
I've done police and I've donetech and I've done recruitment,
(11:42):
as you say, and you can standyour ground.
I do not and I will not playgolf.
I'm not interested.
So if there are deals beingdone on the golf course, you
know I'm going to miss out.
That annoys me, but you know, Iremember hearing a story once I
think it was actually DanielPriestley where there's 100
(12:04):
people in a room and there's anauction in a room.
And there's an auction and thisguy on the stage is offering,
you know, a one-to-one some ofhis time to the highest bidder.
Out of those hundred people,only two people were competing
with each other and that drovethe price up.
You don't need to promoteyourself to the hundred people
in the room, just find the twothat want you.
Let them do the deals on thegolf course.
(12:26):
Who bloody wants it anyway?
Speaker 1 (12:28):
now, one of the best bits of advice I read about you
that you received was the valueof extra work by itemizing and
invoicing discretionary effortat zero cost to highlight the
value.
Talk to me about that, becausethis is something I know
particularly.
You know not wanting to justsolo focus on female founders,
(12:50):
but this happens a lot, doesn'tit?
Just do it for free.
Just do it for free, You'll getlots of exposure.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, so, yes, that is true.
I think my take on this was along time ago.
I got this, you know this wasgosh.
This was within probably thefirst two or three years of
Adept, so it would have been,you know, 20 years ago and back
then.
When you're starting out, let'sfocus on that.
(13:16):
You do things for love and youprovide what I call
discretionary effort.
You go above and beyond, andthat's all well and good when
you're winning business and youwant to take care of your client
.
But it's incredibly difficult,as you know, simone, to maintain
as you scale.
And the problem then is ifyou've done something for free
(13:39):
and then, all of a sudden, youcan no longer do it.
You know that's a difficultbridge to cross.
(14:01):
So my advice is, when you'redoing the small things or the
big things for love, whetherit's traveling or whether it's
attending a meeting or whetherit's, it depends on how you, I
guess it depends on how twohours, you know, and just enter
a zero free, just putcomplimentary the fact that when
they're looking at it, it'sseen, it's recognized, it's
appreciated.
And also it would make me feelgood if I was looking at an
(14:24):
invoice to pay for one of mysuppliers and there was a few
little gestures on there.
I would think nice one, guys.
And then, when it comes tobuilding your business and
scaling and you know, looking atwho you award more work to you,
go to the people that make youfeel good, that you value, and
they value you.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
So yeah, that's my advice on that one Love that,
and you said you got that manyyears ago, so that stayed with
you right.
And you said you got that manyyears ago, so that stayed with
you right.
You know you've got over 20years of industry and
entrepreneurial experience.
What do you think are thosekind of real top qualities that
you need to thrive and growthrough entrepreneurship and
leadership?
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Yeah, I think you need to be fearless.
I think you need to beincredibly flexible.
I think if you're starting outin business now, you've got to
pick one thing and be good at it.
I delivered a talk, actuallyfor the first time ever, on this
particular subject at somethingcalled Netfest a couple of days
(15:23):
ago you might have seen it andthere was a lot of startups or
budding entrepreneurs in theroom and I said to them look,
just, focus on one thing andjust if all you're going to do
is do the same as many others,as in competitive, saturated
market, as we've talked about inthe first question you asked me
(15:45):
just do it better, justwhatever it is.
If you're selling shoes, sellshoes better than your
competitors.
Put something in the bag withthe shoes that makes them feel
good.
And I think you need to be verydriven to be good at the one
thing that you do do, but alsobe prepared to fail, and fail
(16:06):
quickly and ideallyinexpensively.
So when I was coming up withthe idea of Click, before it was
even called Click, I built aprototype, an inexpensive
prototype, on a differentplatform than what the final
product was, and that was my MVPmy minimum viable product
product, took that to market andtested it over a good period,
(16:29):
got some phenomenal feedback andwe knew at that point actually,
yeah, we can put our you know,an element of our children's
inheritance into this and beconfident in the outcome because
people liked it, um.
But you know, I don't believein failure, I believe in
feedback.
I don't think I don't think youfailed to invent the light bulb
.
You've just found another waythat doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
I love this.
I can't even.
I'm running out of pages towrite down these tote bag quotes
on and we're going to.
There's not enough t-shirts outthere.
Looking back, I'm from Teesside.
We talk quickly.
Looking back, what is the onechallenge that actually has
helped shaped you and how didyou kind of batter it down?
Speaker 2 (17:09):
right, this is a good one.
This is a controversial one,and I'm gonna I'm gonna share
something with you that I've gotto be careful sharing um to, so
it's a bit of an exclusive, butum, it's not something I've
spoken about openly, um, but Ido think it's something that
should be shared.
So, to put it bluntly, I waspregnant, then screwed, and I
(17:33):
don't know if you've heard ofthat website.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
We know Jolie.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Brilliant, absolutely fantastic.
So I actually co-founded abusiness with some nameless men
and the business was phenomenal.
It was fantastic up until thevery last board meeting.
That again was recordedphenomenal and fantastic.
And it was until we got to theany other business bit and I
(17:59):
said I need time off.
And I asked for about fourweeks off and when I eventually
told them that you know I wasexpecting my third son and I
knew at that point that that wasit, we were done, we were
finished, we were over.
And you know not to be seriousand not to be downbeat about it,
because actually it's the bestthing that ever happened, but
(18:21):
sure enough, that was probablythe most challenging thing I've
ever gone through.
We did go to court and,stupidly, those individuals had
used our company email tocommunicate on how to trump
maternity pay.
How can we make her lookincompetent?
I've never made a solventbusiness look insolvent, but I'm
sure it can be done.
(18:42):
And, long story short, it didgo to court and I did win.
And, long story short, it didgo to court and I did win.
So you know, it was one for theladies on that one.
And what was really phenomenalabout that was I.
We actually had staff.
I walked into the offices andsaid to everybody and they knew
At that point I was heavilypregnant I said, look, I love
(19:02):
you all, but I'm never, evergoing to come back to this
business.
I'm going to personallyguarantee all your salaries.
I will help you, I will supportyou until you, you know, you're
settled and you've moved on.
And what was ironic, thatbusiness ran for quite a long
time, didn't need a single pennyfrom me, and it was only when
the last wonderful person washappily reappointed, I went in,
(19:25):
locked the door, took the moneyout of the business as you would
expect, because at that point Iwas 100% shareholder sat down
and came up with the idea ofClick, and it took me to go
through all of that to then besufficiently motivated and to
have the time and the clarity tothink.
You know what I want to do.
(19:47):
I don't want to go back intobusiness.
I want to have a digital asset.
I want to create a machine thatgenerates reoccurring revenue,
that makes money while I sleep,and then I want to offer that
technology to other people sothat they can license it, so
that they too can have areoccurring revenue asset.
And that's what I've done so.
(20:07):
Thanks guys.
By the way, that's the firsttime I've heard that, but I
think it's a good one to share.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
I love that and I really appreciate you sharing
that with us.
And Kelly, honestly I feel likethis is part one of probably a
four part series for you and Ion this.
We need to do this again.
I want to thank you so much forjoining me.
The fact that you need to standout.
You are the self-confessedunderdog.
It's all about the why you haveto be fit to compete.
(20:36):
Knowledge is confidence.
Know yourself.
Fail first, Fail inexpensivelyand actually it's not failure,
it's feedback.
They were just some of the onesthat I could scribble down as we
chatted today, but, Callie,thank you so much for joining us
on the podcast today.
You're a total legend.
I look forward to continuingthis conversation and thank you
(20:56):
for being you.
Fab Love to you all.
Oh, and thank all of you forjoining us.
There is so much conversationto carry on after today's
episode.
Kelly, total star, Please dokeep on the conversation going.
Subscribe, watch our podcastnow from our fabulous studio
YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify orwherever you get your podcasts.
Leave a review.
(21:17):
We love that, but please keepthe conversation going.
We are power underscore net onInsta, TikTok and Twitter.
We are power on LinkedIn andFacebook and we are underscore
power on YouTube.
Find out everything that we'redoing on our digital hub,
wearepowernet.
So much going on, so manyphenomenal role models out there
.
Thank you for joining me.
My name is Simone.
(21:37):
This is the we Are Powerpodcast.
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