#493 - Jamie Darkin - Growing a Business

Over the last ten years, Jamie has been growing a business from the ground up with no outside investment, working with councils across London and the South East to house hundreds of vulnerable people. These days, he is also investing in tech and buying businesses, so he's got a fair few stories, lessons, and scars to share.Summary of the PodcastJamie's entrepreneurial journey Jamie shares how he has been an entrepreneur from a young age, starting with selling items at a wedding as a child. He continued pursuing various business ventures throughout school and university. However, he eventually dropped out of university to focus on his entrepreneurial pursuits.Growing a business - By providing social housing Jamie explains that he co-founded a business with his father that provides social housing for local authorities, working with families in need of temporary accommodation.Diversifying into other investments In addition to the social housing business, Jamie has also invested in a social networking app startup. He shares that over the years, he has been involved in a variety of other business ventures, though not all have been successful.Lessons learned and keys to success Jamie reflects on some of the key lessons he has learned as an entrepreneur, including the importance of focus, building the right team and management. It is important to be willing to take action rather than overthinking opportunities.Launching a podcast - "Driven" Jamie discusses his recent launch of a new podcast called "Driven" which features interviews with entrepreneurs, business owners, and others pursuing their purpose. He shares the goals and approach behind the podcast.Leveraging personal branding and AI Jamie explains his focus on building his personal brand and leveraging AI tools to be more efficient in his business and podcast efforts. He sees this as an important part of pulling in new opportunities.Future plans and priorities Looking ahead, Jamie shares that his main priorities are continuing to grow his property business, especially through acquisitions, while also scaling his podcast and personal brand initiatives. He acknowledges the challenge of juggling all these priorities.Closing thoughts and reflections The hosts, Graham and Kevin, provide their final thoughts on the conversation, praising Jamie's entrepreneurial drive and ability to take action, while also noting the importance of building the right team and processes to support rapid growth.The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-HostsGraham Arrowsmith Graham founded Finely Fettled ten years ago to help business owners and marketers market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, where he introduces AI Agents that you can talk to, that increase engagement, dwell time, leads, and conversions. Now, Graham is offering Answer Engine Optimisation that gets you ready to be found by LLM search.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 <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-appleby-295417a/"...