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The Downtown Den Podcast. In conversation with the leading business personalities from the Downtown network.
Episodes
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Chrissie Wolfe is an award-winning solicitor, entrepreneur, careers coach and business consultant who has been breaking the boundaries in the professional services sector.
Spending the first 7 and a half years of her career as a solicitor at a major law firm, in 2017 Chrissie launched her Youtube channel and brand Law and Broader as a way to improve accessibility to the profession for aspiring lawyers. She has since built up a major following of over 80,000 followers across her social media platforms and is a regular guest lecturer and speaker at national and global events.
Chrissie was also crowned ‘Woman of the Year 2019’ at our City of Birmingham Business Awards.
In this episode, Chrissie discusses:
- Being an ‘early adopter’ of social media
- Personal branding
- Building an online community
- Finding content that interests your audience
- Dealing with ‘trolls’
- Gen Z attitude to work and the ‘Great Resignation’
- Alternative models to traditional law and consulting
- Being a Commonwealth Games commentator
- The Birmingham Experience
Follow Chrissie n:
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
LinkedIn
Twitter
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Friday Oct 28, 2022
Friday Oct 28, 2022
Ed James is a self-proclaimed lover of people and their stories. Experiencing his first taste for radio at the age of 12, Ed now boasts over 20 years of experience as a Heart Radio presenter.
Born in Yorkshire, now an honorary Brummie and one of the city’s biggest ambassadors, he has a passion for all things Birmingham and its community spirit.
In this candid discussion, Ed opens up about how his optimism and enthusiasm was tested at dark times in his life, and how he managed to bounce back from tough times, inspiring him to write his book Be More Kid and co-founding the successful HDY Agency.
DIB boss Frank McKenna talks to Ed about:
- Optimism and work ethic
- Forging a career in radio
- Being an honorary Brummie
- Birmingham’s successful leadership
- Managing a work-life balance and family relationships
- Bankruptcy and bouncing back
- The beauty of hindsight
- Being more kid
- Finding the right fit for your business
To follow Ed on Instagram, click here.
To follow Ed on Twitter, click here.
To find out more about HDY Agency, click here.
Follow DIB here:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Find out more about joining DIB here.
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Friday Oct 21, 2022
Phil Neville may not be considered to be one of the most naturally gifted footballers of his time – but few would claim to have been more hard working and committed than a man who played for Manchester United and Everton Football Clubs.
Whilst at United, he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and a Champions League. He won 59 caps for England, and he captained Everton for the bulk of his eight years at Goodison Park.
Phil moved into coaching and was appointed head coach of England women’s team in 2019, leading the ‘Lionesses’ to fourth place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
He now manages MLS team Inter Miami. He is also the co-owner of Salford City and the innovative Trafford-based University UA92.
In this fascinating conversation, Phil explains the huge influence his family have had on his career, shares his tips for team building, and lets the cat out of the bag in terms of his tattoo!
DIB boss Frank McKenna talks to Phil about:
-Miami and Becks
-Family values
-The culture of the club
-Sir Alex & Manchester United
-Leading by example
-People, Character, and Recruitment
-England
-Terry Venables
-Missing out of the World Cup
-The Lionesses
-Winning the treble
-Evertonians
-Politics
-Non-retirement plan
Listen and enjoy one of the most honest and open conversations we have had the privilege of hosting in the Downtown Den.
Follow DIB here:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Find out more about joining DIB here.
Friday Oct 14, 2022
Friday Oct 14, 2022
Victoria Brown set up her first business when she was just 17. She has gone on to become the owner of multiple businesses, including leading HR consultancy company HPC, award winning tech business oneHR, and property investment company Viridis.
In this fascinating insight into the thinking of an entrepreneurial mindset, Victoria takes us through her journey of teaching PT sessions in church halls, owning and eventually selling a hair and beauty salon, building a successful HR consultancy, launching an online brand, and striking the right work/life balance.
DIB boss Frank McKenna talks to Victoria about:
-Hair, Beauty, and Fitness
-HR
-Business Culture
-Building a Team, Building a Business
-Having a Business Coach and Accountability
-Selling a Business
-Social Media Influence
-Making a Difference
-Kids
-Learning to Live Dangerously
To find out more about the HPC and DIB partnership, click here.
To follow Victoria on Instagram, click here.
To follow Victoria on Twitter, click here.
To find out more about High Performance Consultancy, click here.
To find out more about oneHR, click here.
Follow DIB here:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
This episode was sponsored by Moore Media
Friday Oct 07, 2022
Friday Oct 07, 2022
How does a shy lad from the small town of Berwick-Upon-Tweed end up becoming one of the most successful footballers of his generation?
In the first Downtown Den podcast of the new series, DIB chief executive and Group Chairman Frank McKenna is in conversation with Trevor Steven.
Through the Eighties and Nineties Trevor played for Burnley, Everton, Glasgow Rangers, and Marseille. He also represented England, winning 36 full caps, and competing in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup Finals.
In his club career he won two English League Championships, an FA Cup and a European Cup Winners Cup; seven Scottish Premier League titles, and three Scottish League Cups; and a French Ligue 1 championship.
He is now a mental health ambassador for Causeway Technologies.
In this fascinating discussion, Trevor talks:
- Berwick Rangers
- Burnley and cleaning Martin Dobson’s boots
- Scoring the winner at the Stretford End at the age of 16
- Everton, Howard Kendall, and resilience
- Turning down Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United
- Glasgow Rangers and moving abroad
- Mental health
To find out more about the Causeway/DIB mental health campaign go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s73qRXrtwbQ
https://causeway.com/mentalhealth
Trevor’s Instagram is @trevorsteven7
Trevor’s Twitter account is trevorsteven63
Follow DIB here:
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
This episode was sponsored by Moore Media
Thursday May 13, 2021
Thursday May 13, 2021
As we get set to return to ‘live’ events, we could think of no better guest to launch our new podcast series than Thom Hetherington, the chief executive of Holden Media and a huge influencer and advocate for the Hospitality and events industry.
In this fascinating discussion, Thom talks about his career journey, which has included two redundancies, two economic crashes and a near death experience. Despite these challenges, his business is in good shape and his passion for live events, bars, restaurants, Manchester, and the North shines through in his contribution here.
For an optimistic view of the future, for some key business lessons, and for some great stories, A Frank Conversation with Thom Hetherington is well worth a listen.
Friday Mar 26, 2021
Friday Mar 26, 2021
From the 10 year old starting work in a fish and chip shop in Belfast to the successful entrepreneur and author of ‘Fear Less’, in this weeks Downtown Podcast we hear from Founder of International apartment buildings, Dream Apartments, Tom Smyth.
Tom joined Downtown in Business CEO, Frank McKenna to discuss all things business from struggling to start out to the international success Dream Apartments is today.
Friday Mar 12, 2021
Friday Mar 12, 2021
Downtown in Business CEO, Frank McKenna caught up with Lancashire based entrepreneur and owner of Cotton Court Business Centre in Preston.
Frank & Rob discussed the progression from Rob spending 17 years at a previous company, building up from starting out as an apprentice, to today as the owner of a successful business in Lancashire and widely known entrepreneur across the region.
Friday Mar 05, 2021
Friday Mar 05, 2021
Downtown CEO, Frank McKenna speaks to Founder & Managing Director of Manchester based Marketing & PR Company, Roland Dransfield, Lisa Morton.
Frank and Lisa discuss Lisa's progression from starting work (at just 8 years old) to their joint works with UnitedCity, the newly created group of business leaders from across Manchester, working together to help get the city back on its feet post-Covid.
Friday Feb 26, 2021
Friday Feb 26, 2021
In the new episode of The Downtown Podcast, Downtown CEO, Frank McKenna spoke with Founder & Owner of Salford Restaurant and Bar Menagerie, Karina Jadhav. Frank and Karina discuss Karina's journey from hospitality worker, to the stepping stones in becoming the owner of the venue visited by international superstars from Justin Timberlake, Drake & even Beyonce's dance troupe, but also how the pandemic has impacted the venue and building back up to success from their reopening on 17th May.