Unleashing Business Growth Through Innovation

I talk to successful business owner Rob Jones, winner of The Innovation Award 2025, on what it takes to create innovation in your small business and how this opens up new markets, new income streams, new opportunities, motivates and inspires your team and raises your visibility.

We also chat about the reality of success, what drives us to succeed, the magic of driving your dream car and how a chance encounter with a dog changed everything.

Rob's links:

MyRAMSapp

556 Safety

LinkedIn profile

Innovation Award

Enter The Top 100 Business Awards incorporating The Innovation Award, sponsored by Rob HERE

This Podcast is a Production of:

Zokit Business Hubs - the leading network and resource for owners, directors and entrepreneurs. https://zokit.co.uk/

Lead Producers: Neil J Lloyd

Transcript

Neil 0:01

Hello, I'm your host Neil J Lloyd, and in this podcast we will be exploring the latest thinking core principles and time tested strategies to help you run, grow and lead a truly successful business. One that gives you do the impact and income you want on your terms. So get switched on fired up and ahead of the curve. It all starts with you. From the inside out, you can create your version of Business Bliss. Let us help you get there faster and enjoy the adventure along the way.

Neil 0:34

Welcome everybody to the Business Wisdom Show podcast. I'm delighted to be welcoming Rob Jones here today from My RAMS app. Hi Rob.

Rob Jones 0:45

Hey, Neil, how are you?

Neil 0:46

Very good. Thank you for coming along and sharing your wisdom with us today because we're going to talk all about business, construction, and innovation, because innovation is such an important part of business generally. I know you're doing some really exciting stuff in that construction space, which we'd love to love to hear about. Before we dive into all that stuff, tell us a little bit about you, your your business or your businesses, should I say, and a little bit about My RAMS app.

Rob Jones 1:19

First and foremost, I am uh manager director of 556 Safety Limited. And that is a self-contained safety consultancy working largely in the construction industry. Um, and me and the team provide safety consultancy services, compliance, that kind of things, to uh construction and related industries throughout South Wales and the West. So that business stretches from clients in Bristol all the way down as far as Haverfordwest, up as far as Hereford, and there's a several sort of in between. There's 160 clients in in that region, so it gets a little bit hectic.

Neil 2:04

I can imagine

Rob Jones 2:06

uh and then off the back of that, really, it's sort of My RAMS app, sort of I developed that. Um, and it it was to look for a solution to smaller companies who don't want to pay someone like me. Because you know, brainy services are not cheap. Um, and it's one of those things where you just think, I I I could make a little bit of money off an awful lot of other people, and they would get a value for money service that makes them compliant.

Neil 2:38

I love that. And I think you know, the construction industry, generally the health and safety, that that that all whole industry, there's a real opportunity for innovation in there. And I always think that when you've got an established business, uh, I suppose sector, there's so many of these little things across the journey, across the processes that are ripe, aren't they, for doing something better, something innovative, something modern. And I think the idea of making it available to many people um, you know, in a cost-effective way and making their lives easier is it's a great. I mean, obviously looking at things like Uber, you know, that don't own a taxi, they they uh uh but that kind of came from seemingly came from nowhere. But for people that might not know what is a RAM and why should I have a My RAMS app ?

Rob Jones 3:29

RAMS is a is a sort of in industry acronym, if you like. It stands for risk assessments and method statements. Um, and it's something that all contractors have to have to go and work in a commercial environment. Um, and it's compliance paperwork that the HSE set out uh in their remit that everybody must have because it shows then how you control risks and hazards at site. Um, so it needs someone like myself who's got the various qualifications, um, to write as a rule because you need to cover everything. You have to be constantly thinking, well, what if? Um, and it's it's it's that mindset, and there are thousands and thousands of safety consultants out there. And the trouble I think with it is the legislation is a grey area. So I can translate it in my head in one way, and uh someone else working for a different company might think of it a different way. Now we'll both come up with similar solutions, but we might come up with sort of slightly different answers. So I think that My RAMS app, which is the sort of digital side of the business, if you like, um, it it offers that solution to those who are less sort of experienced in the industry. Um, they're smaller companies that are just sort of coming up and employing a few people and getting into this sort of commercial work then that will allow them to grow. It gives them a cost-effective, cost-effective, compliant solution to finding that initial safety paperwork.

Neil 5:07

Yeah, I think I think that's great. I in fact, it's so great that uh that Rob actually won our innovation award last year at the National Business Expo and Top Hundred Business Awards, uh, which were held in Cardiff. And I think that the judges around that were just really impressed with the fact you'd spotted this as an opportunity, created it, developed it, and distributed it, which is no mean feat, is it? I mean, sometimes these things, I mean, I'm sure sometimes you come up with these ideas, we think, oh yeah, that's a really good idea. But then, of course, it's often the implementation, isn't it, of that idea.

Rob Jones 5:46

Yeah, so what the story around the company came about is a strange one, to say the least. Um I I I rent service offices here in Tonypandy. Um, it's local, it's convenient, uh, there's lots of parking outside. That's why I'm here. I met a dog in the car park. Brilliant. Um, and the owner of that dog, as it turns out, worked for a digital software company. And they they created apps from ideas. Um, and I'd been looking for about two years for someone to do that, but obviously you go look online, and sort of most of that is what they refer to as offshore. So it's uh subcontinent and that kind of stuff, and sort of the other people that you're bumping into. I didn't want to offshore the idea because then you lose any sort of chance of protecting your IP. Um, so I wanted to keep at least keep it within Europe, and then you know what it's like, because I'm already running an existing busy business. Um, you lose focus for five minutes, and then sort of, all right, in case something else happens, there's a there's another disaster I've got to sort out.

Neil 6:54

Yeah, sounds familiar.

Rob Jones 6:56

But in a five-minute conversation with um this young lady and her dog, turns out that's what she did. She just went into an office down the corridor here. Um, so I had a more in-depth conversation with them. Um, I then meeting a couple of developers from AND digital. Um, they were pretty confident that they could translate what was in my head into an actual app using software and templates that I had already I was already using daily in the business. Um and like you said, a year later we won uh the innovation award uh with uh with your company. And yeah, that that is question number two, I believe, the our proudest moment uh that we've achieved in business is having someone else recognize it as genuinely innovative, something that was new um and shaking up the industry. Um and it was it was a genuinely proud. I mean, I'm never speechless ever, and I and I was. There is sort of recorded evidence of me being speechless in receiving that award. So yeah, I was uh looking back on that, it is a it is a proud achievement. Um, and it's on the desk there.

Neil 8:11

I can see it. But no, we'd have to do a screenshot uh before uh as well, aren't we? And and and pop this on our uh on our Instagram as well. Yeah. Next to the plants and the cactus, cacti.

Rob Jones 8:25

There's two different offices that are in the plants. A friend of mine, very good friend of mine. Um, when I first had my own office, bought me a little cactus, and he said, It's gonna be difficult for you to kill. I know how useless you are. You'll you'll end up looking after it. And then when I moved into this larger space, he bought me another one, which is equally as difficult to kill.

Neil 8:45

That's good. Yeah, I'm I'm I'm good at sort of nurturing businesses, but I'm not very good at nurturing plants, I must say. I need I need things like cacti and uh spider plants, things that kind of whatever you know, things that will survive um nuclear, you know, that kind of stuff. I need that.

Rob Jones 9:01

They they survive like ignorance more than anything else. Yeah, I think the cleaners water them more than I do.

Neil 9:08

Because I'm looking now at uh and uh you know, this is an audio podcast, but I'm looking now, you know, uh Rob's in his office, he's got a lovely lake in front of it. I was recently there recording for Rob's podcast, um, which is what you want to tell us about your your podcast because you you launched a podcast fairly recently.

Rob Jones 9:26

I didn't know uh uh four or five months ago we we we launched that. And the idea behind it, you know, as these things are going to spin out now in this uh modern day and age is the I didn't want to do it, and the marketing company talked me into it, saying that we can use it and chop it up into shorts and things like that, and that'll direct people then into the the sort of brand awareness for the app. Um, and yeah, to a certain extent, that has worked and everything else. And um I sort of enjoyed it, I've more sort of tolerated it more than anything else, really. Because I think that's great. Anyone will tell you I'm not the most sociable.

Neil 10:05

But that, you know what? I must be impressed by that is that if something you've you know you've said and you said to me it's not something that you would naturally have thought of doing or going out and doing, but you've done it, you know. And I think that kind of getting out of your comfort zone is really important because things happen then sometimes, don't they? Because you think you could have you could have you didn't need to do the podcast, you could have just carried on as you were.

Rob Jones 10:27

It took a while for them to persuade me into it, to be fair. It did take a little while. I relented. And a couple of friends of mine that I I know quite well that I do work with, um, they agreed to do it as part of the sort of you know, marketing of of my Rams app. That podcast, the the idea behind it sort of that I decided upon was I'll talk to business people relatively locally that have all done well for themselves, yeah, and then prove that construction isn't a second-class industry at all. Some of the wealthiest people I know are working in construction.

Neil 11:04

Oh, it's a great industry, and you're building building assets as well in construction.

Rob Jones 11:09

Yeah, yeah, and they they didn't need you know a super formal education, they haven't got masters and doctorates and everything else. They they work with their hands and they and use their brains. And yeah, all right, they've had a little bit of luck along the way. Um, but they all took the chance, they all made that leap away from employment. Um, and and with the generally speaking, with the agreement of their bosses at the time, they went on their own and had a little bit of support, and then sort of here we are years later, and they've got 10 or 12 or sort of 20 employees, um, and in some cases, many, many more. Um and they are now bringing people into the industry and teaching them everything they know. And whether that is plant hire or sort of electrical work or plumbing or roofing or whatever, whatever, whatever trade is is sort of applicable to the industry, really. Um, it is a genuinely proud moment to see people come in. They're happy to, because obviously people are happy to talk about their own work. It's the one thing that sort of these people will will actually talk to you about freely. Um, and and how protective they are of their companies and their families and everything else. Um, but how encouraged they are too by the fact that we can from little acorns, big oak trees can grow.

Neil 12:34

Yeah. There's a lot of opportunity, I think, in the sectors and I think, and and being able to share. It's interesting that some sectors are very much like that, aren't they? People are happy to share um expertise or knowledge, pass it down. And I'd imagine that there are some things that kind of stay similar. There's certain sort of art and crafts to it that kind of will always be. And then there's this opportunity that uh, you know, that doing things differently in terms of new materials, an ethos in terms of design and what people want. So I imagine there's quite a bit of a balancing act, isn't there, between kind of keeping that, keeping the the old stuff alive that's needed still, and also learning about all the new things that are on the market.

Rob Jones 13:24

And and these guys who are sort of running their own relatively small but also sort of relatively large companies in some cases, they are constantly learning. And and and everyone has said the same thing that we've spoken to so far. And that's why we called it what we called it. It was a throwaway comment in a meeting I was having. Um, someone said, Well, these are ordinary working Joe's. And I said, That's it. That's what we call it. We call it ordinary working Joe. Because they are ordinary people that you would walk past on the street. They're not driving Rolls-Royces and Bentley's. Um, but you know, they are they're good, genuine people and bloody good business people in most cases.

Speaker 1 14:06

And I think that is so valuable because I think there's there's a lot of podcasts out there where it's all about, you know, you're 10x in this, you know, make a million pounds on Bitcoin overnight watch to sleep, you know, all this, and a lot of it is is rubbish, some of it's genuine, some of it's not. You know, buyer beware, do you do your due diligence? But the reality is that the majority of people in business are running a sort of good honest business. They worked hard at it, they're, you know, they may be really successful, um, and they may be hyper-local, they may, you know, only just be operating in their own towns and villages. But that is um, you know, that is a that that is no mean fee. That is something to be you know really proud of, but also something we're sharing to other people because I don't think everyone necessarily wants to be this kind of you know, high-flying trader jet setting around the world. I think a lot of people actually what they're looking for through in business is how do I run a good business that gives me a nice lifestyle, allows me to provide for my family, to enjoy it, to feel I'm doing something of value to my community. And I think and I think that's where construction is a clear winner in on all those areas.

Speaker 3 15:22

Where most people started is they went on their own to A, get a better life, let me improve my quality of life, that went wrong. Um and and to provide for their own family, food and a roof over their heads. And they they worked hard to do those two things: provide for their family and put a roof over their heads, give them a future security. That's why people go into the into business for themselves. I can make a little bit more money, maybe, that's great. It'll allow my family to have a better life. We're not I don't I I say me, I'm not including myself when I when I say we're not genuinely not everyone sort of wants to run around the world, um, sort of selling Bitcoin or whatever. Yeah, people like the fact that they can work with their hands, there is a material thing that they put together, yeah. And and people see a value in that, and absolutely there should be a value in that, and any trades should be applauded on a daily basis, in my point of view. Yeah, and and the thing on the news last week, the economy was stagnant in December in January, it didn't improve at all, it stayed flat. And my initial thought was it rained for 62 days at the beginning of the year. Of course, construction was flat.

Speaker 16:44

Yes, what do you expect?

Speaker 1 16:48

Is that yeah, what's the story behind the figures? And they say they get presented a certain way, but let's let's say you know the rain. Yeah, it has. I mean, we're talking now on this wonderful sunny afternoon, and we've got a couple of days now in Wales where we record this podcast where we're actually warmer than Madrid, which is uh novel. Novel. So but the whole of Europe has been very, very rainy this uh this year so far, and of course, yeah, it does have that that impact. Is that it's the long term. I suppose that's with with construction, it is very much long term, isn't it? You're looking at long-term, I mean obviously there's short-term things as well, but there's often long-term projects, assets, you know, uh uh will kind of um investments will pay off longer term in that. Um because brick and mortar, you know, is it's needed and it's still one of the more secure investments. Absolutely, yeah.

Speaker 3 17:48

I mean, and you just say about long-term, I think everything that we want now is immediate, everything's based on on short-term gains. So I had a conversation yesterday, weirdly, um, with uh one of the guys from the IT company that I I use that is supporting my Rams app. Um, and he said, if you're looking at the figures daily, you're gonna give yourself anxiety over the figures. And he's right. Yeah, it's a long-term plan, and I should be thinking about it that way. But I've I've minimized it and minimized it and minimized it, and now I look at it every morning and every afternoon, and it's driving me bloody mad. So I'm gonna change.

Speaker 1 18:29

Yeah, I think that's right, you guys that whole thing, isn't it? Yeah, look at the the you know, the look at the calendar rather than the second hand on a watch sort of thing. It's it's yeah, it's hard to read anything into a daily figure. Yeah, there's that there is that balance, isn't there, between your monitoring and trying. I'm a big fan of measuring, you've got to measure things and monitor them. But you can get anxiety if you over-analyse and over-measure. I don't know what the answer is there. I just I've never quite worked out how frequently do I need to be looking at the numbers. It's a bit of a bit of a trial and error, I've always found. So yeah, if you find out what that magic number is, let me know.

Speaker 2 19:09

I'll stop and let you know, yeah.

Speaker 1 19:11

I'd like to know that. But yeah, we'll drop uh for the podcast, we'll drop the link into the sh into the show notes so people can have a uh have a listen to the people that you've interviewed, and there's some really good conversations there. I've listened to a couple of the a good while about three of the episodes, I think, now. Um I know you've got to be. Oh yeah, yes, I will be reversing. I'll be on I'll be on the hot suite as being interviewed. We'll keep an eye out for that as well. But in terms of sort of innovation, how can businesses make sure that there's that culture of innovation in their teams, even if it's just them and maybe a small team? I think it's important somehow to keep that freshness. So, any any tips there? What have you done? How have you kept it?

Speaker 3 19:54

I think it's easier in a small team than a big team because you can speak to the people directly and and and and it's easier then to identify what I what I think people call it the pain point. Find that point of pain and then work out how you relieve what other uh to remove or to remove that pain. So if if technology is the analgesic, the painkiller, all we're gonna do is work out what that pain point is, and then is there anything available currently um to make that pain go away? And whether that is admin, which generally these things are generally admin related, because you know, we haven't invented robots yet. They're coming, but they're not coming, yeah. Um, and but it's it's because of the practicality of the people that I live with, um, it's the admin that they struggle with. So bookkeeping, that's all sorted now. Everyone's got zero and and and sage and everything else, and they're all sort of gone digital like they were forced into doing. And they've all had their arms twisted behind their back to make them do it, but they've done it, they've had no choice. And and health and safety now, even though it's it's it's a required compliance, it's it's not something that anyone's really thought of previous prior to a couple of years ago. Um, and it was the bigger entities that were being offered digital solutions. So when these guys were ringing me and saying, right, Rob, I know we don't know one another, but uh, you deal with so-and-so, and I know him well, and he said to give you a ring because I was telling him about my problems. I need a set of compliant patent work for this job and starting next week. And I um I'll pass me eyeballs in work already. Um, and I say, right, okay, it's gonna be when I started 10 years ago, it was 60 quid to develop a set of RAMs for you and send them to you in a PDF, and they were yours. Do them all they will. Um and it went, it kept up and up and up as I ran out of time. Um, and last going off, I think it was 110 quid just for a set of Rams. I felt that. I'm a thick kid from Blaine Ronda, right at the top of the valley there. So I mean, that kind of money an hour, I I had sort of imposter syndrome. I'm not worth this. Um so I needed to offer them a better solution, but obviously I needed to also value my own time. Um and that's why I came up then with this simplified system of creating the paperwork in the first place. Um and that took a couple of years to work out. Um and then but that led into the sort of the app design then. So it's based on those sort of Excel sheets that I was working with all in years, um, and what they wrote in the background in in God knows what code, um sort of replicates that if you like. Um, and then we added things like digital signatures. You have to be able to acknowledge that you've received this brief of information in the paperwork pack. Um so the one thing that we managed to get into the app was you can open the paperwork pile, click the button that says add signature, and then then digitally sign it and it adds it onto the document at the end. So all you've got to do then is press the email function and send it to your client. It's all done.

Speaker 1 23:26

It's much easier, isn't it? And I bet doing it the old way now is hard work and frustrating.

Speaker 3 23:32

So and and and to bring it back then, my point of pain was time. Their point of pain was knowledge, and that's what this thing does. It combines those two things, it saves them time because it gives them my knowledge at a really good rate. If they're only only a single trade, it's only 20 quid a month. If they're multi-trade like General Bill does, it's 30 quid a month. It's for nothing.

Speaker 1 23:55

You can scale that up, can't you? And that's the that's the power when you can when you innovate something like that. You know, looking at something in your industry or in your business where you think, and that's a really hard, time-consuming thing to do, or it's overly expensive thing to do, that's where that opportunity is. That's the that pavement, that problem.

Speaker 3 24:14

If you're working with the Word template that you can download from the HSC website, you're gonna be there for at least an hour, depending on how quickly you type and how good your knowledge is. Our system, you can do it in three minutes.

Speaker 1 24:26

Yeah, well, that's amazing, isn't it? That's that's worth it. And it's and it works out potentially cheaper as well. Well, it does actually, because just the the time alone saves.

Speaker 3 24:34

How much you value your time, Matt? Definitely cheaper.

Speaker 1 24:37

Yes. I'm I don't know whether sort of the Rams thing is just a UK while European or or or what.

Speaker 3 24:42

I mean, that's that's the it's it's unique to the UK because we've got our own health and safety laws, uh-huh. Although a lot of them are derived from European laws. There's only one country where it's really, really similar, and that's Germany. Um, so I'm researching that now to see if we can launch into the German market.

Speaker 1 25:02

That's interesting. So I like that idea. So you looked at what other countries is similar enough that it's not a big leap. Yeah, it's not a massive leap to make it. Yeah, it is in the German version.

Speaker 3 25:12

The the biggest pain in the in the behind that I can tell from that is the translation.

Speaker 1 25:17

I mean, I'm not sure whether Google translates quite good enough. Yeah without the safety.

Speaker 3 25:23

So if you if you know someone who's fluent in German, send them my way.

Speaker 1 25:28

Well, I I there is there are a few people actually, and I don't know well, but I know that are fairly local that do business translation. So um, yeah, when you're ready, let me know and I'll I'll introduce you.

Speaker 3 25:41

Something that one of one of my software guys thinks um we can possibly get a grant for. Um there's an interest in in translating it into Welsh. Yeah, absolutely, yeah. Which, all right, fine, you know, sort of we can get a grant for that, and it can be in Welsh. I don't speak Welsh personally, but you know, it's sort of it, I I I see a benefit in it, I suppose. Um but that will also then give us access into the system to get it done into German. Um, and I don't think it's much of a tweak to convert it the system to the German compliance system.

Speaker 1 26:19

And even, you know, kind of putting this through the the UK, I mean it's a big market already, just in the UK, isn't it? Even if you didn't do change.

Speaker 3 26:28

So you you'd be surprised. Construction is a big market. Um our sort of software side, our app, is designed for these smaller contractors. So up to about £2 million, two and a half, three, three million pounds turnover a year, employing five or six guys, that's what this is designed for. Your smaller contractor going into that commercial world. Um we're fishing in a pond of about 250,000 potential customers. Um and in at the end of sort of five years, if we've got an 8% market share, that's great.

Speaker 1 27:04

Yeah, very good. Very 8% when you sort of do the figures. Um, yeah. Uh I say this is the power when you innovate, it enables you to scale. Whether you're doing something like uh, you know, like Rob is doing, where um you've got a piece of software or an app, or even something that you can just apply across all your various uh I suppose franchise areas, if you're a franchise business or centers, you know, whatever it is, is that ability to scale through your business and then beyond into the market and then potentially into new markets as well. And it'd be interesting to find out whether or to explore even beyond that, maybe the technology now that you've developed for my Rams app could be repurposed for a different use case. Potentially, that could be something entirely different inside construction or out. I mean, there's so many, so many different talking now about sort of innovation within the app itself for the time being.

Speaker 3 28:04

Um so we we've sort of got up another level. We started with a about just a single trade version, um, and you signed up, select whatever trade you were working in, and that's what was available to you. Now a year later, we've released the multi-trade version. So now you the sort of selection of trades moves into the second stage, if you like. Um, so you can now sign up with multi-trade and then create a RAM in a project folder for that particular trade, and then back into that same folder to cover your bricklayers and your sort of carpenters, electricians, and plumbers, and everything else that we cover to effectively build a house from groundworks all the way up to the roof. We covered all of those trades. Um there are some trades inverted commerce that we we don't cover. Um, I hear a lot from tree surgeons, but I consider that to be too high risk to be done in a in a digital uh environment because it is really high risk. Um, so even though we wouldn't be liable, I think morally it wouldn't sit well with me.

Speaker 1 29:17

Yeah, you want to make sure you want to feel it's right for you. So it may be that it's ready down the line, or maybe it's just not appropriate at all.

Speaker 3 29:24

An electrician working in a building. I mean, all right, I understand they work with electricity, and we've got plenty of systems to cover the those sort of safety elements of that. Sort of lock-out targets and safe isolations, blah blah blah blah. There's plenty of that. But a tree in a back garden next to a glasshouse is that different lots of things that go wrong there in that scenario.

Speaker 2 29:48

It's an entirely different sketch, and I'm not comfortable doing it.

Speaker 1 29:54

With innovation as well, because sometimes it comes from the boss, doesn't it? Or it comes top down, and sometimes it comes from uh people in the team that either fed up with their work because they're like, I'm bored doing this, I think there must be a better way. And I'm always interested in finding ways that we can kind of build a kill a culture of innovation so that people, no matter where they are in the structure of that company, can feel able to voice their opinion and to say, ah, I think there's a better way of doing this, or wouldn't it be nice if? What are your thoughts on that? I mean, do you find that because you your setup's really nice where you've got your lovely office and your lovely space, it's a very friendly vibe. I can I felt that when I was there. Do you think that's something that a lot of businesses struggle with?

Speaker 3 30:40

Because it doesn't matter what level the the idea comes from. Yeah. If if you can understand it, because you know it's a difference in explaining what that issue is. And I like people that come to you sort of with problems that they've already thought about. They're not just telling you what there's a problem. They come into you, there's a problem, but if we did this, this, and this, do you think that would solve it? They've come to you with the solution pre-thought out, and it might need tweaking, but that's something you can work out sort of as you go through that process, then. Right, that step doesn't quite follow that step, so let's come back and work it out again. And you do that together, and then reward that person for coming up with that idea in the first place. That's the way to run a company. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Empower everybody. I mean, we used to have suggestion boxes and they went out of fashion. And but you'd be surprised where good ideas come from.

Speaker 1 31:44

Absolutely, yeah, and and and say sometimes the the most quality, high-quality information is you know, is the people doing the work, isn't it? That's they're they're doing it day in, day out. They're they're noticing these things. And yeah, the suggestion box, you know, I kind of feel we need to bring that back. So maybe differently. Anonymous message boards.

Speaker 3 32:04

Providing these sort of you know, you can put swear filters in and everything else, so you're not getting abused. Um then that that that's your your modern suggestion box, isn't it? Um that kind of thing. They would just go onto a uh a landing page, type in the box, problem. Here's how I think we solve it at uh X, and sort of they give they get a reference number, blah blah blah. That there's that, there's that has to be done. Is encouraging them to have that idea in the first place. And I think you do that from day one. Yeah. Your recruitment guys have gone through that process, you get to meet them when they come through the door. Um, and from that moment, you are paying them. Well, how you then treat them and nurture their own sort of abilities is important from the first minute.

Speaker 1 32:57

Yeah.

Speaker 3 32:58

They have to feel empowered to be able to bring you new and innovative ideas, and they can come from literally anywhere.

Speaker 1 33:06

Yeah. And and be, you know, and be listening, isn't it? So we're listening to it. We're not just, I think when as a business owner, if you stop listening to your team and to your customers, then you you the writing's on the wall, you might as well, you know, it's it you we've got to always keep open.

Speaker 3 33:21

Well, at the app further, I mean, I I'm relatively lucky in that I've got a client base. Yeah. And and it's relatable to all of them. So I can ask them if you could have the X, Y, or Z, what would you choose? What would be the most important thing?

Speaker 1 33:37

Yes.

Speaker 3 33:38

And that's and that's that that's how we're innovating stage three now of MyRams app. So that's something that we're already in um and and developing and sort of constantly working on now is is level three, which is what we're gonna call or there's got a working title of principal, principal level. Principle level, I like that. Um, and it comes from obviously the an industry language of principal contractor. You are the contractor that's responsible for the site. Anyone else that comes on the site works below you. They're in that sort of that that sort of tree below you. Um, so yeah, we we we're working on that function currently, and it brings in additional levels of paperwork that you must have.

Speaker 1 34:20

So you have this you have this fantastic app now that you know you've innovated, that you've got a plan for further innovation. How how are you marketing that then to reach that 8% target market share or beyond? Um, has that been challenging? Has it been easy?

Speaker 3 34:38

Yeah, it's been entirely challenging because it's not an area that I'm I'm entirely familiar with. Because as you can tell by looking at my face, I'm bloody old. So marketing company were brought in. Um and I use them because I like them. They're they're nice kids, really. Um, and they understand the social media world far more than I ever will. Um, and so we we trust them. Um currently getting 50 odd thousand hits a week on the landing pages on the website. Um not a huge amount of conversion, uh, but what's what's coming in is is sort of that top-end funnel, if you like. So you get subscribers in and then you get subscribers cancelling out because the nature of the game is they might not be only needed Rams every three months. So why would they pay monthly? I completely understand that. They can always sort of come back in, resubscribe, go back through the process again. Um, so that but the the funnel in now is is better now than multi-trade is there. We're of more use to more people, um, and we're we're seeing a wider audience. Um, and our funnel out is slowing down a little bit. Um, so yeah, that's where we are at the minute, entirely social media marketed. So um I'm not quite a TikTok star, but the company is. It's a wild amphitheater of nonsense, the gen release weekend. Um, I mean, people stand in front of random products and just talk like they would on a shopping channel. And I think that's a tomandas. It is, yeah, it's a different thing. I'll be there for the anti-Trump volumes, if I'm honest. Are you?

Speaker 1 36:27

There's a lot of those at the moment. There's a lot of those. There's the Amy So you've touched a little bit on sort of um some of the developments that you're you're doing, you know, uh around the app itself. Um, so what's what's new, you mentioned about going to Germany. What else is next for my Rams app or you generally as a as a as in all your businesses? Have you got a sort of are you very much sort of innovating and seeing where it goes? Are you it's something that you've got some plans to expand?

Speaker 3 36:58

I don't think I'm sort of because it's it's still relatively new to me. So I I don't I don't consider myself innovative. Um I started my own safety company because I was unemployable. Um it's it's uh I suppose it's a mindset of just leave me alone, I'll do the job. And and then all my ex-bosses got fed up with that, and they fired me in the end. So I had no choice but to go on my own. Nobody else would give me a job.

Speaker 1 37:30

Um, and then necessity is the mother of invention. Is that the word? Phrase, yeah.

Speaker 3 37:37

And then, like I said, through chance, I had the idea that sort of, oh well, the system could probably go into an app, but that's just me sat at a desk in ton of pandy thinking to myself. And then I met a dog in the car park, and that changed that idea. So that's what brought that about. Now, sort of with a small but creative team, you know. Yeah, um, you've not met Richard, our CTO. Uh he's based down in the the Gower, um, and our sort of uh IT team, they're external, but they're very much part of the team that is Poddle um IT in Cardiff. Uh-huh. Um, and G and James there are sort of very good at what they do uh on the technical IT side. We've got Bethany there in marketing, uh, who you met uh a couple of weeks ago. Yeah. Anyone who watches the Ordinary Working Joe podcast has sort of heard about Bethany because I refer to her constantly, because she is the pain in my bum. If anyone's pushing me to be more confident in front of cameras and telephones and on and via social media platforms, it's that one. And one day I'll kill her, but not quite yet.

Speaker 1 38:52

Now, this is recorded now. You know you've got it on evidence. No, it's fine, it would actually kill her. Yeah, well, I thought you were a natural actually in in the interviewer's chair. So she's obviously done a very good job.

Speaker 3 39:05

Yeah, I would sort of I didn't have much choice. I was brow beaten into it, like you said earlier. Um, but it it's not something I'm entirely comfortable doing. So this is what the thing, I'm old and I've had a hard life, but it all shows of my ugly money.

Speaker 1 39:21

I think you're looking very youthful actually, but maybe it's the sunshine, I don't know, came in three ones.

Speaker 3 39:25

It's the t-shirt, it gives me a younger vibe.

Speaker 1 39:28

So tell me, aside from work and business, what else is your passion?

Speaker 3 39:33

Uh motor sport, uh, specifically endurance racing. Um so every couple of years I save my pennies and I go to watch the Le Monde 24-hour race in France. Nice. Um, and I absolutely love it. And we we don't mess around, which is why I save my pennies, and we go the full hospitality route. So we're spoiled rotten for the entire weekend. Um we drive down there, we've got out sort of me and a couple of friends got some silly sports cars, um, and that's all part of it, you know, sort of the the channel, tunnel ride across. So we leave you at the clock in the morning. It's probably caught a bus firefight, it's about three in the morning. Um, in the in sort of in June. Um, truck across to Folkston, go across on the on the Channel tunnel, and then enjoy the drive down through France. And it is fabulous. And even the drive with the sort of the vague hangover back on the Monday morning is equally as enjoyable.

Speaker 1 40:33

It's a great country to drive through, isn't it, France? I just think it's there's something about it, and you're going down now. Oh, it's fabulous. It's fabulous.

Speaker 3 40:41

I went and I was really lucky last year. I got to go to Sicily as well to watch uh a different car rally, uh, the Targa Florio, more historical rather than these sort of super cutting-edge new vehicles that are at the moment in the 24-hour race. The Targa Florio was uh uh a series of rallies that start after one another on the same day. And they go from old cars um to slightly uh more modern and then really modern rally cars. Um and it was the old cars we went to watch. And the weird thing is, so we were in Palermo in Sicily, um, and we walked across from our converted 15th century palazzo loft that we were staying in. We and a friend of mine, we thought we were the coolest kids in Palermo. We certainly weren't. So we went over to the presentation on a Thursday night, and the first car we saw was a um a sunbeam hat uh something or other. Um, and the guy that was driving it in the rally was from Pencoint. Oh wow! And he'd driven that car from Pencoin all the way down to Sicily. Um, and that was the first game we saw. I mean, that was it. Then we were we were fans of this uh this sunbeam then for the entire time.

Speaker 1 41:58

Well, I hope we got a chance to try some Arantini and some uh cannoli as well, because I mean that is just fantastic down in Sicily, basically it is, and I did take that risk, even though I'm lactose intolerant.

Speaker 3 42:10

I I I took that calculated risk to make sure that I gave it a try.

Speaker 1 42:14

Brilliant. And I can attest to to that passion because uh Rob's office and studio is is filled with images of cars and all sorts, isn't it?

Speaker 3 42:26

Uh it is, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's it's kind of visual. I'm gonna like to have a have a map in at home. So uh I can but I can do what I like here. I'm in charge, yeah.

Speaker 1 42:35

It's your man cave.

Speaker 3 42:37

It's it'd be man cave slash office.

Speaker 1 42:39

Yeah. Brilliant. Um, so just to finish off, I got a few quick this or that questions, the quick fire questions. So just go from from the gut which one is uh right for you. So are you ready?

Speaker 3 42:53

Yes.

Speaker 1 42:54

Okay. Early bird or night owl?

Speaker 3 42:57

Early bird.

Speaker 1 42:59

Eat out or food delivery? Apple or Microsoft? Microsoft, I suppose. Coffee or tea? Or coffee. I'm a carnivore. By the pool or by the beach? Uh beach car or motorbike. Football or rugby? Rugby? Email or WhatsApp? Email. City or country. Country. Period features or modern design. Modern design. Oh, really? And lastly, work from home or work from the office. That separation, I love it. Do you like the separation? Oh, fantastic.

Speaker 3 43:43

Yeah, I did. I the first couple of years I worked from the kitchen table and he was hideous. The dog didn't leave me alone. I love my dog to bits, but he would not leave me alone. The dog was thinking, Why why are you still here? Why are you still if you're here, I want to go. For a walk, that was the problem.

Speaker 1 44:02

They are very needy dogs, aren't they? I mean, I I find that I can't get any work done with a dog. I mean, the cats find a cat, as long as you feed them, it they don't. But a dog will just con need constant touching, walking.

Speaker 3 44:16

Yeah. I'm gonna spring a spaniel. I wear him half the time as a bloody necklace.

Speaker 1 44:23

So uh Rob, thank you so much for being uh on our podcast today. Tell tell us how can people get in touch with you um about my Rams app or the health and safety? What's the best way to get hold of you?

Speaker 3 44:37

Uh websites are pretty simple. There's myramsapp.com. Um, and sort of uh that that takes you into that digital side of the business. 556safety.com takes you into the sort of the more consultancy side of the business. Um uh or they can contact yourself and you can give them my number. Because I'm I'm contrary to popular belief, I am approachable.

Speaker 1 45:00

You are approachable, very approachable. Well, that's fantastic. Well, but put all that other details into the show notes and um we'd love to sort of interview again, maybe you know, when you've sort of done the next iteration of of uh my Rams app.

Speaker 3 45:14

Soon anyway, won't I? Because uh I know we won the Innovation Award this uh last year, but we're gonna sponsor that same award this year, so we'll see you doing that anyway.

Speaker 1 45:23

Absolutely. So if you if you're listening to this and you fancy your chances of winning the Innovation Award, then have a look at zocket.co.uk forward slash awards, and you can fill the form in there. And as uh uh Rob mentioned, we're delighted that last year's winner is now sponsoring this year's award. So we're looking really for, and it could be any any uh business, any sector, it doesn't have to be construction, any sector. As long as you're doing something innovative, it could be technical, it could be about business process, it could be about marketing or finding a new market. It doesn't have to be about um tech and and and IT and all that stuff. There's lots and lots of different ways of being innovative. So do have a little look. And then you'll of course uh meet Rob and the team. I'm wondering what car you'll be bringing to the it'll be in the Cardiff City Stadium this November. So uh yes, I'll be looking to see what's going on. Choice the three now, yep. Choice of three, okay. What is your dream car then?

Speaker 3 46:26

Do you know what? I own my dream car. It is a Porsche 911 convertible, and I love it too bits.

Speaker 1 46:33

Okay, so so you might you might see your Porsche 911 down there.

Speaker 3 46:37

Depending on the weather, it doesn't come out in the rain.

Speaker 1 46:41

It's never yeah, it's always a bit uh a bit dicey in Wales, isn't it? Mind you, last year we were quite lucky, weren't we? So I'm hoping fingers crossed this year we'll have another sunny day. But that's great. Uh thank you so much, Rob, and we shall see you soon.

Speaker 3 46:53

We're blessed. Thank you, Neil. I appreciate the uh conversation.

Speaker 1 46:57

Well, that's a wrap. Thanks everyone for tuning in. Please hit subscribe to get notified for the next episode. And please leave us a review. I'd love to hear from you. You can check out our show notes for info and links from today's episode. One of the single biggest success factors for business is networking. Done well, it speeds up your growth. Having a supportive group of peers not only helps you avoid some of the pitfalls, but also opens up your perspectives and creates real opportunities. Leading a business can be a lonely place. And it's this isolation that often stops progress. It's why most businesses fail in their first five years. At Docket, we have a network of hopes that create a support structure of growth-minded business leaders, and we'd love to invite you to be part of the thriving community to skyrocket your business. Head over to docket.co.uk where you can request a free guest part to one of our online events, accessible from anywhere you can get on Zoom. Or book a ticket to meet in person at our mixtures in Cardiff and Bristol. Hey, you may even want to launch a hub in your own area. Tune in next time. This is me, your host, Neil J. Lloyd, wishing you the best in business.