Are You Ready for the Future? The 5-Year Goal Setting Strategy | Dominic Baldwin Xantum Interview

Most business owners start financial planning with the money. How much have I got, what should I invest in, how do I save tax? Dominic Baldwin starts somewhere else entirely: what matters to you, and why. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he shares the exercises he uses to help families make good financial decisions before an exit, retirement or inheritance changes everything.

Dominic has spent 35 years guiding families with their wealth and today he and the team at Xantum look after business owners planning a capital event in the next three to five years, as well as high-performing athletes. His purpose comes from a personal place. His father, a Lake District farmer, inherited money in his late 20s and lost it through poor advice. Nobody ever asked him what mattered to him.

What You'll Learn:

- The Eight Priorities Exercise: How to name the eight most important areas of your life, score each one out of 10, and be honest about where you're falling short.

- Finding Your Real Values: A simple way to uncover your core values by thinking about someone you love and admire, and how they behave.

- The Five-Year Vision: Why writing down a day in your life five years from now, from the curtains to breakfast, gives you clarity on where you're heading.

- Your Enough Number: How to reverse-engineer the price you need for your business from the life you want afterwards, instead of picking a round figure like £10 million.

- Planning With Probability: How modelling shows the odds of funding your future at different sale prices, and why an extra £1 million can move you from 62% to 72% certainty.

- The Post-Sale Trap: Why owners become more risk-averse after a sale, and what happened to one client who rolled the dice again straight away.

- Avoiding Conflicted Advice: Why advisers who walk in with a product already in mind can leave business owners with unsuitable products and charging structures.

Dominic Baldwin has spent 35 years helping families plan and protect their wealth. He grew up on a farm in the Lake District, spent his first 15 years in the industry driven by sales and numbers, then rebuilt his approach around values after losing his father. Now a CEO, he and the team at Xantum work with business owners approaching a sale or retirement and with high-performing athletes, focusing on removing conflicts of interest so they can act as true guides. He has looked after some families for around 30 years.

Action Steps:

If You Haven't Started: Pause this episode and write a detailed description of a single day five years from now. Where you wake up, who's with you, what you're excited about. Then draw a circle, split it into eight segments, and write down the eight things that matter most to you. If You're Already Planning an Exit: Work out what life after the sale will actually cost, then turn that into your enough number. If your business isn't worth that yet, sit down with your coach and build the plan to close the gap.

For Everyone: Check your recent decisions against your priorities and values. If you've just had a capital event, take time to pause before taking on any new risk. Whether you're a business owner thinking about an exit, planning retirement or just want your money to serve the life you want, this conversation will change how you think about wealth. Subscribe for weekly conversations.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Truth About Building a Business People Actually Trust | Adam Willcox 55 Group Interview

Energy suppliers are about as trusted as politicians. Most businesses in a low-trust industry accept that and compete on price. Adam Willcox built his business to do the opposite.

Adam runs 55 Group, a family-run energy business with 12 staff that has grown to almost £10 million. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, he explains how his team lifted customer retention from 84% to 92%, won a customer service award, and why he now attends just four meetings a month.

The secret? Deliver what customers expect, plus a little bit more. Then let your team own it.

What You'll Learn:

- Agility as an advantage: Why a small team that can decide on Monday and deliver by Tuesday afternoon beats big competitors tied up in red tape.

- The WhatsApp service system: How customer WhatsApp groups with directors, sales and service staff mean a message at 9:30pm still gets a reply.

- Good is not world-class: How Geoff Ramm's "celebrity customer service" talk at BizX 2025 showed Adam's team they were good but not yet world-class.

- Team-led change: Why the improvements came from the whole team, not management demanding from the top, and what that did for the culture.

- Retention economics: Why moving retention from 84% to 92% matters so much when onboarding a new customer is expensive and margins are tight.

- Relationship-first rules: Why 55 Group won't take on a customer it hasn't met face to face, and how six days of personal Christmas videos reached almost 1,000 customers.

- Stepping back: How hiring an MD with an energy auditing background moved the business beyond a pricing desk and gave Adam the option to step away.

- Enter the award: Why putting yourself forward for recognition can be the catalyst that changes the business.

Adam Willcox founded 55 Group to turn the energy sector's poor reputation for service on its head. Over 10 years he has grown it to almost £10 million with a team of 12, with some customers now 10 years in. Working with his ActionCOACH, Gary Crosby, Adam has handed day-to-day running to MD Chris and expanded into energy auditing, solar and LED lighting. At 35, he is now building an industrial estate off the A1 near Stamford.

If You Haven't Started: Ask your customers what you do well, what you could do better and why they would stay or leave. Look for the odd nugget in the generic answers. If You're Already Delivering Good Service: Spend a full day with your whole team working out the gap between good and world-class, then let the team build the plan.

For Everyone: Run an exit interview with every customer who leaves. Then pick something you want to be known for and enter an award for it. Whether you run a service business, a family firm or a lean team competing with much bigger players, this episode shows how trust is built one relationship at a time. Subscribe for weekly conversations with business owners who are doing it.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leadership: The Truth About Leadership Insecurity (And How To Fix It) | Thriving in Toxic Culture with Natalie Abou-Alwan Most people think the loudest person in the room is the most confident.

Natalie Abou-Alwan has spent her career learning the opposite. In this episode of the Business Growth Podcast, powered by ActionCOACH UK, she explains why "insecurity is loud", how to handle a toxic boss without wrecking your career, and what to do when you realise the insecure leader might be you.

Natalie is an Oxford graduate who has worked as general counsel across several businesses, including JPMorgan Chase and BP. She was named a Rising Star on the Legal 500 Powerlist and is the author of How to Navigate Your Career Like a Legend.

Her core insight is simple. What looks like ego is usually insecurity, and humility is what separates real legends from bad bosses.

Natalie Abou-Alwan is an Oxford-educated lawyer who has worked as general counsel across several businesses, including JPMorgan Chase and BP, and spent more than 20 years working on trading floors. She has been named a Rising Star on the Legal 500 Powerlist. Her first LinkedIn article, on women who don't help women in the workplace, drew tens of thousands of views and is included in her book, How to Navigate Your Career Like a Legend, which uses real-life stories to help people handle toxic cultures and build resilience.

If You Haven't Started: Take Natalie's first action. Find a quiet moment, take the noise out and have an honest look at yourself. Ask what is worrying you and which parts of it you can actually control.

If You're Already Leading A Team: In your next meeting, listen for the quieter voice with the smart idea and credit them publicly. If you've handled something badly, go back to the person and say so.

For Everyone: Build your personal boardroom. Pick a handful of people who will tell you the truth, not just cheer you on, and check feedback with them before you take it to heart.

Whether you're dealing with a toxic boss, leading a team or working on your own insecurities, this conversation will help you lead with more humility. Subscribe for weekly conversations.

This episode is sponsored by Initium Corporate Finance: Initium is a specialist sell-side corporate finance advisory, providing valuation, consultancy, and business sale transaction services. Find out how Initium can help you at www.initium.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.