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What happens when you stop working in your business and start working on it?

In this episode of Focus on the Fun Stuff, Emma Mills sits down with Julian Stafford, entrepreneur, sales expert and former owner of Midshire Business Systems, an SME he grew to £35 million in turnover before exiting after 21 years.

Julian shares how he built a business that felt like a hobby to him, why stepping away from the day-to-day sales became a turning point in its growth, and how surrounding himself with people who were better than him helped take the business to the next level.

They talk about sales training, marketing, leadership, decision-making, building a sales team, owner dependency and what actually makes a business attractive to a buyer when it comes to a business exit strategy.

Julian also shares the story of his eventual exit, including the moment he walked out of a negotiation at the Belfry when the buyer's figure wasn't quite what he expected, and how he now works as a business exit coach helping other owners get ready to sell a business of their own.

🎧 Hit play to hear how to build a business that can grow without you, make better decisions faster, and become genuinely ready for an exit.

What you'll take away:

• Why stepping out of sales helped Midshire's growth accelerate
• How to stop being the bottleneck in your business
• Why you need people around you who are better than you
• Julian's approach to making decisions quickly
• How to market a "boring" product by selling the outcome
• Why testimonials became the backbone of Midshire's marketing
• How to build and manage a sales team from scratch
• What makes a business genuinely attractive to buyers
• How Julian approached the three-year exit negotiation process
• Why you should build a business you actually enjoy running

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