From School Side Hustles to Global Agency Founder: George Meressa’s Journey in Entrepreneurship

In this episode of Your Mind Your Business, host Carina McLeod sits down with George Meressa, founder of Clear Ads, to dive deep into the real journey of entrepreneurship. From childhood side hustles to running a global digital advertising agency, George shares the highs, the gut-wrenching lows, and the moments that almost made him quit.

He gets real about:
✔️ The struggles of scaling a business
✔️ Making tough decisions, including layoffs
✔️ The importance of having the right people around you
✔️ How his mother’s belief in him fueled his fire
✔️ Why hitting financial success wasn’t what he expected

This is a raw and honest look at what it really takes to build a business. If you’re an entrepreneur (or thinking of becoming one), this is a must-watch!

📢 Subscribe now for more real-talk on business, growth, and grit.

#Entrepreneurship #AmazonAdvertising #BusinessGrowth #YourMindYourBusiness #BusinessOwners #BusinessChallenges

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Transcript

What was really special was I had to tell my mom, hey. I wanna set up my own company. And then she didn't say go do it. Well done. Or, you know, this is really good.

She went upstairs, and she doesn't have much. Right? She came down and she gave me an envelope of £5,000 and said, here. And I was like, that really choked me up because I was like, wow. Like, she believes in me so much.

It's like, I wanna invest in you. That that was, like, more powerful than any words. Welcome to Your Mind Your Business, the podcast that dives into the real grit of entrepreneurship. I'm your host, Carina McLeod, entrepreneur and fitness fanatic. And today, we have a special guest, George Meressa from Clear Ads.

Welcome, George. Thank you. Thank you for having me. So before we get started, I always like to find out and share with our audience a bit about where who you are and where you're at before I then hit rewind and we start really delving into your entrepreneurial journey. So do you wanna share with the audience a bit about where you're at right now?

Oh, yeah. Sounds good. So, I own an ad agency based in London, but we work mostly with US brands, and we help them with through, Amazon advertising. So I have a team of, I think about 15 here in The UK. A few dotted around, Asia, Africa, and North America too.

Fantastic. Yeah. Great. And, so you've got your team of, 15 in The UK and, as you say, dotted around. But I guess, that's taken some time to get to where you're at and, it probably didn't come easy.

So if we hit rewind, I'm really keen to understand a bit more about your journey because, of course, I know you where you're at now, and I don't actually know sort of how you got there. So do you wanna Yeah. Yeah. Go as far back as you can remember before you, well, when you became an entrepreneur? I think the I've had the flare, like, from a very young age.

So there was, a moment when I bought, like, Fanta fruit twist. Right? I just saw Fanta fruit twist just first came out. And, I would buy them for about, 50 p. And then I figured out I figured out that I could sell them for a pound after p.

Right? Because everyone was really thirsty and wanna find a free choice. So then I kinda was able to, okay, make quite a bit of money doing that. And then the score at the time, they banned me from doing that, which is annoying. And then, and then I started selling Dragon Ball z pictures.

Right? So people love Dragon Ball z at times. They're kinda as anime. And then I would print out the pictures in the library and then take it to school and then, set sell them to school. So that was, like, my first taste of, like, entrepreneurship, and I loved it.

So then that kind of sowed the seed for, like, doing business at university. So I did universe business at university, and I did business management. So it was quite varied and wide. So I was doing business law, business marketing, and branding. And then the my favourite module was entrepreneurship.

Right? And it was incredible because they said, right. Find a product to sell. Right? Whatever product you want.

Right? And sell it, but you have to, like, present on it as well. Right? And I would that that wasn't work for me. Right?

I've ordered my that that was not work. I was like, this is so much fun. So we found these USB sticks. Right? So this is just when the floppy disks were going out, USB disk USB sticks.

We're in, two gig memory. You can put one of these bad boys at the time. Right? So then I went to the library, and I was like, this is my this is, an audience that's gonna be, right for this product. So I'd go around the library and go, hey.

How are you gonna transfer that information from this this computer to a computer you got at home? You need a floppy you need you need a USB, disk. So then, we sold quite a lot. So, yeah, I just loved it. So that's kind of where it started.

Oh, awesome. So did you start selling those USB sticks at university as well? Yeah. So the project that you were given, the assignment, ended up translating into you. Yeah.

Because we effectively presented as well, which in how many did we sell, like, on what condition did we find. And then the market moved fast because by the by the start of the new year, they had USB sticks with greater memory and cheaper as well. So then it kind of, killed us. But the whole project the whole thing was so much fun. So I really enjoyed it.

And then they could tell I was passionate about it because I went off the script when I was presenting and just talk about kind of how the idea come about and stuff. It was called, Save More Solutions. Save More Solutions. Looking back at it. Oh, it was cringey.

Did you have a logo? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was like a swirly logo.

Yeah. It was yeah. And I remember tonight, if he's watching this, like, we I did it with him and, yeah, we come put it together. I love that, though. I love the fact that you I mean, it started all the way down to when you were at school and you just had that natural flare.

The fact that you obviously can see those opportunities by, by selling the Twist Vans and the pictures and everything. And so I guess that's just constantly grown, like, so you've done you've gone to university, you were selling USB stick USB sticks at uni. Where did that then take you once you finished uni? Well, it actually continued whilst I was at uni.

So, this is during the financial crisis two thousand eight, and so people probably need to save more money. So I spoke to, two friends that were studying him, and he had some development. And he did they were able to kind of they're the developers, and they're able to help me kind of create this website where I could help people save money. Right? It's a budgeting tool.

Right? This is before Money Saving Experts. And, I was like, right. I'm gonna build this tool. So then whilst everyone was at uni, I worked, like, five to nine after uni every day, and then we have had a reading week.

It was at nine to nine. Saturday, Sunday was, like, ten to seven at this, like, call centre. So I worked with my friends. So my friends, they went and bought Alfa Romeo GT Sport cars. Right?

And then I just literally just ploughed through, and I just spent all the money making the website, getting the website done, and speaking to web design and getting it all done. And I did it so wrong. So, like, the guy was, like, create a brief. And as I created a brief, but I didn't think it through properly. And then it's supposed to cost me 1,500, but then because I kept adding stuff to it, it cost about 2,800 at the end of it.

And that's when I learned, okay. You really have to think of it carefully about what it is you want it to do, whatever you want design what it is you want it to do, from all angles. So I had that done. And then someone called me looking to buy it from America on a private number, and then they wanted they offered me $3,000, and I was, like, negotiating up until 10,000. And I was so excited.

Right? But then, they said, okay. Yeah. We'll reach out, but I never got their details. Oh, no.

They never got their details, and they never called me back. Oh, wow. So I had I had an offer for it, but then it just never happened. But, anyway, it's there's this idea of building something from nothing and using your imagination and just it comes to be. You know?

And just the idea someone even was interested in buying, they just must have found us online. Yeah. For me, it was fascinating. It shows you're onto something, though, doesn't it, if all of a sudden somebody wants to have a piece of that as well. Yeah.

So you got so you built the website. So, what happened then? Well, this nothing. Just, like, didn't do anything. I was 2,800 down in a bin from what people think.

Right? But, actually, I knew exactly who to go to get a website made, and I knew, like, how to kind of articulate myself when, like, wanting something done. And that was the person I got my first website with the agency done. So it worked out well in the end. It's almost like the learning though, isn't it?

Because it's like the hands on learning. Like, you go to university and you sit there and you're learning all the theory, but until you actually do it, you don't really know Yeah. The real way. Exactly. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And so then that's when you, I guess, created was it Clear Ads straight away, or did was there a step before that? Yeah. So I worked for my friend's company, Simon.

Right? So he had a Google Ads company. Now this is a crazy thing people probably don't know. So Google Ads went at that time, they didn't have customer support team. Right?

They would give they would pay agencies 10% of all the ad spend in their kind of what was called a my client centre. Right? So Sai was getting, like, these massive wads of cash every quarter when he started his business. Right? So he was laughing.

And he's a phenomenal sales guy. Right? And I basically joined like, he was like, George, come and join the company. I want you to come in in sales because he knew I was working at a support centre. He said, come and come and join, the company.

And I said, okay. Just let me finish uni. I've got, like, three weeks left. So I finished uni, went in. So I went to Ethiopia with my mom for, like, eight days, and then came back, went straight in, started working with Sai, and he put me in the sales call.

I was horrible at the call. Like, I remember the first call you made is that right to pick up the call and say, hey. How's your Google Ads AdWords going? And then it says and it's like I called the guy, and I went, hi. My name is George.

What's your name? And he went, oh, it's Wayne. He's like, how's your and before I even said, how's your Google Ads going, I froze. And then I just hung up. And then so I was like, why did you do that?

And I was like, I don't know. And then the phone rang. And then he's like I was like, hello? And he goes, is that George? I was like, yeah.

And he goes, why did he hang up? And I was like, I don't know. And then he and then he hung up on me. I was like, I am horrible at this. So then I spent a month of torture doing that.

Yeah. And then he had some, real cowboys working him at the time, right, doing sales. And they were like, did you know flowers is the most searched thing on Google today, and you sell flowers? So, you know, we wanna that that's kind of pitch they would do. Right?

I just couldn't I couldn't do that. And then they asked him to become an account manager, and that was for me the dream. Right? So there's a guy called Nick. Right?

He would walk in, speak to no one, have his headphones in, move a coffee, sit down, drink, and just work away until lunchtime. And at lunchtime, we would all go out to eat, and he would talk to us. And I was like, that is why that that's my goal. Right?

This is what I want. Right? So then when it came to lunchtime I mean, so when it came to the end of the month, I said, Sai, is there any chance I could I could be an account manager instead of sales? And he went, yeah. And I was like, okay.

That at that moment, I knew my life had changed. Right? Like, just I knew, you know, Google Ads and where that was going. It was just, like, incredible. So, like, I got into that.

And then, people kept go coming and going. And I was I stuck around. And because I stuck around, I eventually ended up getting the bigger accounts. Now at the time, Si didn't make me sign a contract. So I was kind of, which was quite odd.

But I was like, right. Okay. I didn't sign a contract, so I could effectively set up my own company. So what was really special was I said to my mom, hey. I wanna set up my own company.

And then she didn't say go do it. Well done. Or, you know, this is really good. She went upstairs, and she doesn't have much. Right?

She came down, and she gave me an envelope of £5,000 and said, like, here. And I was like, that really choked me up because I was like, wow. Like, she believes in me so much. It's like, I wanna invest in you. That that was, like, more powerful than any anywhere.

So and, like and my mom left Saudi Arabia to come here for a better life for me and my sister. Right? So I was like, okay. There's, like, this fire in my belly to kinda make sure that I I do right by that. So I set up the company, set it as dormant for now, and nothing happened.

And then the way it happened is, I bought some supplements online, and they came battered. Right? And I just emailed the company and said, hey. They these are, like, horrible. Like, they're so bad.

This is so bad. And the CEO, he re emailed me back and said, hey. Really sorry to hear that. If you wanna chat about this, just here's my mobile. So I called his mobile.

I told him, and we got him so well. And I asked him one question at the end, which is how how's your Google Ads going? And then he went, oh, George. It's horrible. Really bad.

And I said, look. I can do an audit for you if you want. Just have a look here. Okay. Because by that point, I know accounts, like, inside out.

So I did the audit, and then I showed, like, like, low hanging fruit and loads of potential. So is that fine? So then in like, he paid me, like, £500 for the first month and then just for a one month trial, and then we were able to save him about £12,000 or something like that and get him an extra 30,000 in sales for that first month. And he's like, alright. This is a no brainer.

So he signed up. So that's how I got my first client. And I was still working with Cy, and I was working for a charity part time as well, like, doing that Christian youth work stuff. So by that point, I had the free, but then stuff I had to give. And then and then this chat recommended someone else to me and then, like, kinda burn out.

And then, and then at that point, Simon said he's gonna move his company to well, he moved the company to Brighton, and he needs me in more every week. And I lived in London, so I said, I can't do it. So I kind of then ended that relationship. But we still get on good terms. I mean, I'm still friends with Simon now, but, that's when I started the company.

And at that point, I mean, it was, like, just under a thousand pounds a month. Right? And I got all my friends in The UK making, you know, 30 to 40,000 a year salary, like, working in London straight after university. And I'm, like, having to go back to my mom's, get food or cook at home, like, just to kinda keep going, really. But I was like, I don't want I wanted to give this a go.

I love that. There's so much to unpack there. First of all, the fact that you went into that role doing sales, and I smile because I'm no good at sales because I'm just I just say it how it is. Yeah. And the fact that you stuck with it, and then you knew where you wanted to get to and you then became you went into account management and then you kinda stuck with it to get the bigger accounts because that takes real grit as well.

Because you could just turn around and go, oh, no. I'm no good at this. I'll go and find something else. But it was kinda like you kinda knew, I don't know, if that was your overall goal subconsciously to kind of bear with it, if that makes sense. Yeah.

And I think one thing I notice now with a lot of people is they get balled easy. Right? And it's like you really have to stick at something for a little while before you get anywhere. And it's like, if they're always moving around, it's like, you like, what are you gonna be known for? What's your craft?

Like, I'm in this now fourteen years, like, with my company, and now I wanna go another twenty years. Right? And then that's when people think of me, I want them to think of, like, advertising and Amazon advertising in general in particular. So yeah. Yeah.

And that's like, as you say, like, even if sales wasn't for you, it then paid off again later on when you talk spoke with someone because when you run a business, you need to understand all functions as well. Yeah. Yeah. And I think one of the big learning things that I learned kind of points that I learned there is just, I mean, like, do what you say you're gonna do. Like and just, like, show up on time.

Right? Like, take ownership of accounts. That is literally it. Right? I did that, and I was like, okay.

So Sy trusted me. I was like, alright. Okay. He's leaving. Which accounts of his do you want?

I was like, alright. I want these five, and then the rest you can give someone else. So it's like, that's how I think there's some very straightforward ways you can get leverage because there's so many people who just don't do that. Yep. Yeah.

Definitely. I love that part about your mom. It kinda made me sort of feel quite emotional when you told me the fact that your mom Yeah. Was almost like had had it there for you Yeah. And believed in you.

And as you say, that gave you that fire. And I guess that's the part, right, I'm keen to understand, like, that then journey of potential setbacks and challenges. Right? So you've got this fire in your belly. You know that Yeah.

You're being backed, but I'm guessing you've hit some walls along the way. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, so when we when I hired my first person, Megan, she was wonderful. And then we hired her, and then business started declining, and it was getting worse.

And then and then she knew it was getting worse. And then I actually set up a painting decorating company to make sure that I have enough to pay me and her. Right? And so I was doing that on the side while she's managing the accounts. And then and then she left, and I was so guided.

Like, she went and worked for TUI, that is a, a travel company here in The UK. And then, so that was, like, really guiding. And then, she left, and then I was like, what's the point? Is I just moved I kinda took a step forward and then, slapped three steps back. So then I was like, right.

And at that point, I was like, I wanted to give up, and then I was like, let me just I don't know what it is. It's just like just every I'm just gonna get up and just keep it going and just keep going. So I kept going. And then then it started to pick up again, and then I hired Emily. And then, unless she left after four months to work at Google, and I was but then, and that was sad.

But Emily's been amazing because I like, I mean, Megan's great as well, and I still keep in touch with Megan. But Emily, like because she was, like, kind of in a rough place with like, she left where she lived in Devon, came to The UK, and worked this, like, horrible company in doing a badly. So I said, look. Come. Where do you wanna where do you wanna do?

What do you wanna go? She wants she wants to work with Google. I said, right. Just come with me, and then we'll make sure within a year, you'll get there. And it took, like, four months.

But she's very, she's very good with words, and she kinda she's really good with people. Right? So, like, I could see why she kinda ended up there. She's the one that brought me to Amazon. So we had that relationship.

We kept, like, we kept in touch. I could have easily been like, you said you're gonna give me a year. No. Don't ever talk to me again. But I said, you know, I said, yeah.

Whatever you want, I'll give you a reference, whatever you need. And then, like, we kept in touch. And she got me into Amazon. She got me into DSP because at that point, she was at go she went and worked all that big ad agencies and she told me what their gaps were. So I was able to get in early because of because of hers.

I know quite a lot. So, yes, she was great. So that was one of the big hurdles that we had. And then, obviously, I hired Tom, and Tom was phenomenal. And it's that one person.

It's like when you find that first person, if it's the right person, then, like, that that's when you can I mean, one person to two people is the hardest because two to three, Tom can train the third person? But one to two is like you're now trying to run the business whilst trying to teach this person you've just bought. Right? And, like so your time is really precious, and it's, like, really spent investing in that one person.

So that's the hardest bit. It's like making sure you find it. And then one thing I've learned is don't hire friends and family. Like, don't do that. Like, don't do favours.

Like, that like, don't just don't yeah. But, yeah, that's one I think that was one of the hurdles. And then in the fifth year, like, again, I was ready to kind of throw it in. Like, I was ready I was ready to put my kind of, flag in it, like, the white flag down. What year is your fifth year?

Was that February and 02/2016. Two thousand '16. Yes. So at that time, what happened? At that time, we just weren't getting business in.

And I had this mentor at church, like, amazing man, and he, sadly passed away, Andrew Moore. And he said I said, I'm ready. I said, Andrew, I'm ready to quit. I'm ready to leave. And he goes, okay.

Let he said to me, let's give it six months. Right? Give it your all in the next six months. Not only that, but go and apply for jobs to see what you can get. Right?

So I started applying for jobs, and I gave it my all six months. And then, like, it just flew. And I was like, right. There's no way I can get this with any company I work to. And then then, like, yeah.

It's just yeah. There's just no way I could do that. I was like, I'd rather just do this, and then I did it. And then what was crazy is, my big goal was always to make $10 a month, right, like, growing up. Like, and, like, this is just some people are gonna laugh and go, oh, yeah, George.

Like, especially, like, American friends because, that's like pennies to them. Some of them. But, like, but yeah, that's my goal. And I remember one year, I was just working hard, and I hit that goal. Right?

And then I had this insane euphoria, which lasted about ten minutes. And then I came crashing down, and that crash lasted five, maybe six months. I sacrificed friendships. Like, I just never responded to any of invitations from my friends. I sacrificed a life.

My health, I was just eating so much bad food, everything, to that. And I was working every hour of the day, and I was like, what's the point? At that point, I was like, I don't see why I've done all of this for that. Like, it makes a difference. At that point, I was like, well, let me let me actually just try and find a team or build a good team around me.

And then and then, like, I've got and, actually, I we can celebrate together. We can do things together. And then I just kind of probably like to call it, like, a midlife crisis, but I decided, like, just to travel the world and just, like, go everywhere I can as often as I can and make new friends. And that was, like, a brilliant year. But yeah.

Yeah. So that's kind of There there's so much there. So when you hit that, like you said, you had that goal, and then you hit that goal, and you're like, okay. You how do you recognize or how did you recognize that you needed something to change? Like, you you've gone in down that path of, like you say, unhealthy habits.

Yeah. What was that pivotal moment that made you think, right, this this is I can no longer sustain this? It's just like on a Friday night. Right? Like, you know, best friend's going out.

Who do I call to go out? Like, who am I gonna hang out with? But there's no one because it's like yeah. Because I spent most Friday nights just absolutely blazing it. I when I I'm not the smartest person, but, like, if I put my my mind to something, I could just become laser focused and just ignore everything.

And a lot of people, they were quite respectful as well because they're like, hey. He's working. Like, weddings I miss so many weddings. Like, I should not have missed, and I missed them. Like, really, really bad.

Like, really good, amazing people in my life, and I missed them. And I was just like, they're so bad. Like, yeah. But do you think you needed to go through that to be able to get where you're at now? Yeah.

Yeah. Because they say what do what most people won't do for two years to then do what most people can't do for the rest of their life. I'm slower, so I need the ten years for that. And then but, yeah, now I'm, like, having an incredible team around me. Like, I'm not needed on the day to day.

I'm able to take a, like, a nice stroll here to Liverpool Street to do this podcast review and, like yeah, I may just got back from Morocco, took my mom. So, like, I was able to go for a few days with my mom just to because I got we got an event in a few weeks and just test it out and, like, show her a bit of the world. So, yeah, so there's benefits to it. But there's also, like, there's a there's a real ugly side to it.

And I think that's the side that, like, when you look at social media, it shows the flowering past, but there's the real ugly side. There's, that especially when you have a team, like, they trusted you to work for you. Right? They could, like, they could work at a bigger company. They're working with you.

Not only them, like, their income is relying on you, and they have a family. And so even now, like, the market isn't strong. Right? That is the Amazon space, like, it used to be, like, it's harder to close any business now. Like, you know, there's like, when we do an audit for an account, there's, like, five or six other companies doing what it's for, and, like, half of them are, like, way lower in terms of price compared to us.

So so there's that burden. So I'm having to, like and then sometimes I don't sleep because I'm like, I need to innovate. Like, that's my job. I need to innovate, and I need to come up with something that is gonna make us stand out for everyone else so that we can still be positioned the way we have been positioned and continue to grow and continue to excite the team. And that's a massive that's, I think, that's probably the biggest and hardest thing I still struggle with now.

And it's funny because my head of operations, she's like, George, the team love it when you're around. You should be around more. And I said I said, I am. Like, oh, we should speak to them. I said, unless I have something called substance to tell them, I don't wanna just say words for the sake of saying words.

Right? I wanna be like, hey. We're about to close this big project because I put my time and energy to or we're gonna move into this exciting new avenue. That's the kind of information I wanna tell. I don't wanna be like, hey.

It's tough, but we're gonna get through it and keep saying that same message again and again. Because, you know, at the end of it, those words don't have that much substance. I guess from what you were saying, and there seems to be that pattern there is that you really do care about your team Yeah. And them working for you. So, like, you mentioned about those sleepless nights of innovating, but I guess there's also that those sleepless nights of just wanting to do right for the team that have backed you up.

Yeah. And then and then this last eight months has been horrific because, you've had to make a number of redundancies. And we used to have, like, a culture of, hey. It's a family feel, and everyone, you know, we had to look out for each other, but then just the numbers weren't adding up. And, like, so something had to give.

And every decision I was making so I was having to make one or two big decisions every month for two months. So I was very heavy on the right I became ruthless with my sleep, right, because I wanna be I wanna make sure I'm as as sound of my judgment as possible. Right? So I would get a full night's sleep. And if anyone asked me a big, question to answer, I'm gonna if it's if it's after 03:00 in the afternoon, you're not gonna get the answer.

I'm gonna think about it and give it to you the next day. And there were moments where, you know, we've had to make one or two people redundant and half the team were really upset, and they have the other team were like, yeah. That was the right decision. It's like, and there were a few moments where it's like you had to make that decision and, like, someone's gonna hurt. Someone's gonna be upset by it, but, like, knowing what when to make the right decision.

And now that's been really tough in this last year. Every single person has been hard. Yeah. The big decisions are tough. Right?

And the fact that you know that you need to be in the right mindset to be able to manage those big decisions is huge. Like, the fact that you know you need a good night's sleep and actually doing them after three. I mean, huge kudos to figuring that out and not kind of being like, oh, well, I'll deal with that at midnight because so much on and and the hustling and that. You know when you're gonna be at your best. I think one of the biggest things that I'm really fortunate for is I've got a coach, a business coach, a few years back, and he basically taught me to only do the jobs that you need to do, right, and not do the jobs that you don't need to do.

So I don't get involved in any account management stuff now. Like, so if you ask me about PPC, like, I can give you an answer, but it won't be as polished as what my account managers would tell you. Right? So and that's been that's served me quite well because I do process slowly. I don't process quick like some people do, so I need to really digest wherever I'm gonna talk about.

So having that freedom and that time and those gaps to just think and really, like, ask questions to myself and others around me that I really respect. So there's a few people I go to as well. It's like, oh, I got this big decision. If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Is there any areas I haven't thought of?

This is everything I've thought of. So then I the a whole I ask a whole range of random people and say, okay. Am I going crazy? I'm thinking this person has this like, am I a line here? Or and then that's been really good.

So I'm always trying to think like so my mom has been good at that. Like, I speak to a few business people as well. And then I have, like, my Christian mentor. Like, he's been amazing at it. And from time to time, I'll speak to my business coach as well.

Like, having that wide net of people that I ask, and then I go, right. Okay. Here's what we're doing. And then make a decision. I love that you have a network around you.

Like you mentioned, your Christian mentor, your mom, your business coach, and everything. Did you have that network before, or is that something you've realized you've needed over time? Build it over time. Yeah. And it just needs to be networking is incredible.

I think people can go to networking events and try and find ways to generate new business. And that's really hard to do, when there's so many other people who do what you what you do, but, like, it's really good for just leveraging people's skills. Like, there's gonna be, like, skill sets that you just don't have. You never learn. You're never gonna have the time to learn.

That other people have years of experience in, so why not tap into that? I think there's, you can get caught up with, arrogance sometimes with this stuff. And it's, like, I think for me, I would I I just want everyone. I wanna just have the smartest people around me so I could just get lean on their guidance and figure out. Because there's been some time in which I never thought of her like that.

And, actually, that's such a good point. And even, like, our HR lady we found. I don't even know how we found her. And, yeah, she's brilliant. Like, anytime we have an HR issue, we speak to her.

And because she's just outside of the situation, she just gives the best advice. Like, we just hired a new fractional CFO. And, oh my goodness. Like, the way she deals with numbers, like, it's just like, it gives you imposter syndrome. Like, you think why how like, why am I doing this?

Like and it's like, so many things are wrong. I mean, June I remember June on my birthday last year, I was like, this is bad. But I was overspending, like, crazy. This is, like, really bad. And then, like, she helped put everything in check, and she's been great.

Like and it's just again, it's figuring out, okay, there's a problem, and who's the best person, and just asking people. And then, I mean, the more you're in business, the stronger your network gets, and then the more people you can kinda lean on and ask, well, who do you know that could help with certain situations and stuff? How does it you know, you talk about sort of having those people around you in that imposter syndrome. Do you find that is because of those certain areas? Or you also mentioned about sort of social media.

So how do you find when you when you're in this state, like, you're thinking, right, we're overspending, you're having to make redundancies, and then you go on to the something like social media and you've got you've always got a few voices out there who make it out like everything is so easy and there's overnight successes. How does that make you feel? I try and block it out, really. I don't know.

Yeah. It just it should try and block them out. Like, if there's anything that's unhelpful, I just I just would just avoid it. And then there's a certain few people that I'll, I listen to, like, a an amazing amount. Because when especially when people give actionable things to do, if they give action if they're just talking about how great things are and they don't they've not given any substance as to how they've done it, then you've lost me already.

If if you're saying how great things are and you're given ideas of how you did it, okay, then I'm gonna try it out. And then if I try it out and it works, great. I have so much respect for you. I'm gonna continue to follow you and stuff like Alex Mosey's stuff has been, like, incredible for us. Like, he's like, there's so many things I've taken away and just implemented that, like, I've seen first-hand, like, impacts on the business and stuff.

So it's just about figuring out. What they say and kinda act acting on it. Yeah. And it sounds like you're someone that is willing to learn and listen from others, and it's like that no ego. Right?

You're prepared to have people like you say, you process things a bit slower that you want that time, but also having people around you that might be smarter at things and that which is fantastic because that's how you you grow. Right? Yeah. Yeah. And that's always been something I've tried to do.

But and I've taken in a business partner, or two now, and they're some of the greatest minds in the space and, like, constantly seeing how they think about things and how quickly they can, like, come up with ideas. It's just I mean, for a first month or two months, I was like, this is insane. It's exciting, but it's like this. It makes you feel more like an imposter. Like, it makes you feel more like, wow.

There there's so much more that I could be doing. And now that's the question I have is, like, we work in a certain way. How is everyone else working in the space? Because there are some quiet agencies out there that are doing exceptional stuff. And I've been speaking to one or two recently, and when I look at their LinkedIn, no posts.

Nothing. Zero. And that's the people I really wanna find and I really wanna speak to, and I wanna pick their brains and understand how they think through certain, like, challenges and a lot of obstacles. Yeah. Definitely.

Definitely. You spoke earlier about redundancies, and I didn't sort of go into that in terms of your state of mind of dealing with that because that's quite a lot of weight to have on your shoulders. How did you manage that? Having a core group of people have been really helpful. So, like, really like, that sound people that can help.

So, head of operations, she's always been she's my rock, really, because she has to deal with this with the entire process. And I'm HR have always, recommended that I can't be involved in those process. I mean, there's one young man I was involved in because I had such a history of him, so I really wanted to just be there. Even though I wasn't allowed to say anything, I just wanted to be involved in the in the process.

But, having them to talk through things have been good. But then it's like, just I'm so blessed that I could just sleep. Right? So something can get really overwhelming, and I just have a good night's rest. Wake comes out.

Right. Okay. How are we gonna deal with it? So, yeah, it's helped a lot. So yeah.

So people have has helped. And is that because you've got healthy habits or you just sleep really well? I think it's a combination, but, like, I feel so sorry for those who struggle with insomnia. Like, I don't know how I mean, if I have five hours sleep or six hours sleep, it's a write off. Like, I'm gonna have to cancel any meetings of significance like that.

It's just not happening. And I do like, I I'll try and get to bed for 9PM every night, 09:30PM. And my partner, she struggles with that. Like but I need to. And then I'm up five, maybe six in the morning every morning, and then get started early.

But s every day, like, every day I'm doing that. That that for me is helpful. So those patterns really, really helped. So do you have you're quite disciplined. Do you have other sort of habits that you have in place just to make sure that you are sort of how do on your a game each day?

Yeah. So, first, it's, like, I work best in the mornings. Right. That's when I'm, it's just I don't know.

Just a quick pure clarity. Right? Is it is my morning. So I try and start early. I get all of the heavy jobs done there.

If there's something that needs to be really thought about, it needs to be processed, it needs to be reviewed, Yeah. Give it to me in the mornings. And then, like, by 1PM, two PM, I could do phone calls. I could do, like, internal phone calls and stuff, but, like, nothing, important. That's the first thing.

Another big hack that's been really, really helpful is having an exec assistant. So I've just hired an exec assistant. So she goes through all of my emails. She gets through everything that's not important. She, she's basically planning our event right now.

She's doing most of the heavy lifting on that, which then frees me up to do the stuff that is gonna make the biggest impact on the business. So that's been that's been really helpful. Personally, for me, I don't eat until about twelve in the afternoon, maybe one in the afternoon. And it just makes it just intensifies the calorie. But at the moment, you eat, you just kind of yeah.

It's just like praying for a good stuff. And that but yeah. So that's and there are a few things I've done. And so with that, do you so you mentioned about having a good sleep. Do you have to do you make sure that you how do you completely I'm sorry.

You make sure that you have a good sleep and you also don't make big decisions after three. Do you also have boundaries in terms of the hours that you are on and off in terms of working? No. No? No.

I should put, like no. I go through seasons. Right? So if I'm excited about something, I will I will just blaze at it, and I'll go every day. And you think I would've learned from my mistakes.

And, like, I've like, in the past, I've, like, like, like, not spending as much time with people and stuff. But, actually, no. I think, when you love what you're doing, it's not work. Like, so I was I was I just had this argument with my girlfriend because, you know, she was like, oh, when we go on holiday, are you gonna work? And I was like, yeah.

And she goes, no. You should not. You shouldn't do that. And I was like, well, are you gonna read your book when we're on holiday? I said, yeah.

And is that right? So then tell me not to work because the fulfilment you get from reading that book is what I get. So, like, even in the mornings if I'm away, if I could spend two, three hours just working for a few things, I actually really enjoy it. And I think that's one big thing as well. So I actually really enjoy what I'm doing.

I love the idea that I can have an idea. I can then find someone who can help me put it make it to go to life. And it might mess up, but if it doesn't. Is there been a time where you haven't enjoyed it? Of course.

Yeah. I mean, there's about I mean, there's a few me evenings. I was just like, why am I doing this? And I remember I was trying to get a mortgage, and, like, they ripped me apart. The underwriters are like.

What is this? Like, what why are you even applying for a mortgage? Your three year tax returns look horrific. And I was like, I've got great deposit. And so now this looks like and I was like, what am I doing?

And I and I remember it was, like, 06:00 in the evening, and I'm trying to do I had this campaign idea to write handwritten letters on, like, of the addresses to charities to try and get them on the Google ad grant ad grant program. Right? And I'm just writing these letters. It's like, why am I doing this? Like, why am I doing this?

And at that moment, it was like Gary v helped me out so much. Because, like, Gary Vee was like, hey, just keep going, keep grinding, keep grinding. But it's, yeah. I think when the dream is big. Like, you just keep going.

And then and then even sometimes, like, when you're doing it again and again and again and again and again and again and when you started, it's like, even when your whole body's like, why are you even doing it? Because you've just been doing it, you just carry on doing it. And even when there's moments when you don't wanna do it, you just end up doing it. It's just once you get that habit in place and once you get going. Like, and having that special place.

And I had that office. I mean, there's an office I had in Croydon. No windows. I didn't even know. Is it raining outside?

Is it is it sunny? I don't know. Right? And once I was in insane floods all around. I didn't even know.

I was like, alright. And I didn't see sunlight for days and days because I'll get in before the sun comes out, and then I'll be going home in the winter before the, what whilst the sunset. So whilst the sunset. So, yeah, I mean, there's been, yeah, there's been, like, real moments of just like, what am I doing? But, I mean, you got you got the people behind me.

Like, you know, people are relying on me. Like, that that is it regardless of I mean, it's like asking a parent, do you ever feel like you wanna give up, like, on your kids? It's like, there's, like, they're still they're still going, and they're still relying on me, and they and they're still working their off. So it's like, I have a duty as well to just find a way of innovating and making sure that, okay, we might be good for the next year, two years, but how can we be good for the next five years, ten years? 

Definitely. And you do a lot of work for charity as well. Yeah. You've mentioned. How do you balance that when you're when you're a business owner and, you know, a lot of business owners are like, well, I wanna get x amount of revenue.

I wanna be this millionaire. I wanna do that. How do you balance kind of that drive to get to somewhere versus that part where, actually, I wanna donate my time, invest my time in charities, but also make sure that things are fair, if that makes sense, you know, when you're working for companies and you're growing their sales, but also there's that charitable piece. I mean, I don't do the charity to like, I feel I've been called to do the work that I do there, but the fulfilment you get from that charity, nothing else compares.

Like, I mean, closing a major deal compared to changing that kid's world with the affirmation you've given them at that moment or making them lie laugh or seeing a breakthrough with someone, like, nothing compares to that. Like, yeah, there's nothing that compares. And, actually, there's moments where you need that as well because it brings everything into perspective. Like, you know, we're struggling with making richer rich people richer. That's what we're in, the work that we're in, when actually there's so many other things that you can do, outside of that.

And, actually, I've always used the company as a vehicle. I mean, one of the big reasons I set up the company was because I wanted to be able to help out as many of the camps in the summer as possible. And there's free camps run up entire for the whole of August. What company in their right mind would give me the whole month off and then holiday on top of that? No one.

But now I still do it. Like, every year, I'm, like, I'm at least two, maybe three weeks in the summer throughout the New Year, and that's why it gives me the opportunity to do that more. And that's kept me grounded as well. Like, it doesn't, like, it doesn't let me get too caught up in the other things. And they're an amazing bunch of people that I help lead with as well.

And, actually, when you when I go to those settings, it reminds me of just how selfish I am sometimes. I was just like, oh my goodness. They just give their time. I'm like, I've already made them a cup of tea. I'm not doing that.

I'm not doing anything else. So I'll clean this room as well. I just anyway, so they're so giving. And actually, that is that's that actually I've been able to take some of those qualities into the business world. Right?

Now if you if you like, there's moments where, like, if there's people in the space that I really respect and, are really good people, you know, how can I just give to them without have asking for anything in in return, actually? If you keep doing that with loads of people, without asking that anything can return, it makes such a difference. And, actually, you stand out as well. So I don't know. Like, I think I think that the charity stuff, it grounds you so much.

Yeah. Completely. The grounding bit, as you say, is it puts things into perspective, right, when you're getting frustrated with certain things in your business and then you go to these charities and the feeling that you get, as you say, from helping a child Yeah. Versus closing a big deal is, Yeah. Is so different.

I mean, even with the campsite we're doing now, we're, like, we've got more young people going than we've ever had in, like, in, like, in the, like, sixteen years or fifteen years I've been doing it now. Like, it's crazy. Like, and, actually, there's so much joy and encouragement to get there. And, actually, when things aren't going so well here or they're tough, actually, that keeps me, like, like, inside. I'm still kind I'm really, really happy.

It's going well. That's really interesting because you mentioned earlier about that what gave you the fire in your belly was your mom believing in you. And then you talk about how you know, those tough times knowing that the team are depending on you, but I guess you've also got that part where you've set up your business, which has given you that freedom to be able to do the charitable stuff as well. Yeah. So all kind of big, big motivators.

Yeah. And I think one thing people don't understand as well is, like, like, as the CEO, you think that they were on big bucks and stuff. And, actually, there's times when I'm earning way less than every single person in the team because that's just kind of what you have to you have to bear the brunt of that. Right? And, actually, you have to just assure everyone everything's gonna be okay.

Everything's gonna be fine. Actually, you're scrambling around trying to see, okay, how tight can I be with my budget now? How careful and prudent can I be with my money? Where can I get finance deals to sort out this next two months that we've got of these, like, sticky situations? And there's that to bear in mind as well.

So, yeah, like, if you're gonna come in trying to if you're gonna try and set up a company and you think it's just gonna be incredibly profitable from the get go, yeah, it's just, like, it's just not true. It's not it's not true at all. And even if you like, even when there was a moment when we saw success, right, like, when, actually, we were growing really fast just during the pandemic, the drill lockdown. Actually, it was quite overwhelming because the infrastructure, we didn't have that. Right?

And it's like there's still a lot of the team members that relied on me. So every account that came on, not only did I have every client speaking to me, but I had every account manager asking me questions. So there were, like, so many things being thrown at me because of it. And the trauma I've got from that now is I never respond to messages now. Like, I barely respond to any messages because during those times, it was so overwhelming.

But now I was getting so many messages again and again and again and again and again. Actually so even if you see success, actually, there's pain there as well as when, like, it's hard. %. And, this has been so inspiring, everything you've been talking about today and, hopefully, for our listeners today. I always like to end things up and end things with, a question of what tip would you give to, your younger self?

Wish I went into America quicker. Wish I went into America quicker. When we went into Amazon ads, we were one of the first companies to do this. Right? But there was no one really advertising, and we ran a Google Ad campaign on it.

Right? And people were calling me up, and they were saying, we've been looking for someone like you for years. And that's how the conversation started. Right? So it's like, basically, take my money.

Right? All I would have needed to do was clone that campaign, change the location settings from The UK to The US, and we could have been so much bigger as an agency right now. And then, so the founder of Teikametrics, Alastair, he basically we were working with him. I think they saw an article we wrote, and they gave us an account and we're like, we can't believe people made that money, kind of money on Amazon. That the cut the amount that they were making per month just through ads ad sales was more than any brand that you're managing doing in a year.

And if we got in at that time, we would've we would've cleaned up. So, I mean, just knowing that knowing the marketplaces and just experimenting and saying getting out of your comfort zone. Actually, now we live in such a global world, and it's like you have to think outside of The UK or you have to think outside of, like, the small little territory that you are in because, yeah, the possibilities are, like, just endless. Like, having a virtual store is like you have a front door to the world. Yep.

And do you think do you believe in things happen for a reason? To an extent. I think, like, if there's a one in 10 chance that something is gonna work. And then you do 10 things, you know, the odds are just stuck in your favour, don't they? And I think that's the thing.

Oh, oh, yeah. People were lucky. What people oh, George, you got into Amazon so early. It worked. Yeah.

What you what you didn't know is I've got into LinkedIn ad, flopped. Facebook ads, flopped. TikTok ads, flopped. Expedia ads, flopped. TripAdvisor ads, flopped.

All of these errors, they failed. But, like, obviously, I'm not gonna talk about them. Like, oh, yeah. I've done this and it failed because it failed. I said, right.

Let's move on. And actually, I think it's sometimes it comes down to grit as well. So when if when you fail, are you just gonna carry are you gonna move on to the next week? Are you gonna just, like, dwell on other fact that that failed and so on? I'm not right.

Even now, it's like, okay. Yeah. Amazon stuff is stagnant, and, actually, we're seeing some growth, but nowhere near what we saw in the past. Okay. What can I do next?

Like, what is that? We tried TikTok, flopped. Like, I think it was a wrong time. I mean, people were receptive to it, but when it came to closing the deal, no one no one actually paid and signed up. Is that right?

It flops. And then okay. Right. Amazon full service. People are signing up for that.

Right. Let's just put our resources into that because it's showing a clear return on investment. So let's go into that. And I think that's the thing. So things do happen to for a reason.

And I think this is one thing I always say to people is, like, I think you have two or three big opportunities in business in in in in a span of ten years. Right? And I remember there was one account. Right? They were spending a crazy amount on advertising.

And then, like, the owner talked to me, and I just didn't close the deal. And I was like, that's one of my big opportunities that I missed out on. I think another big one is, like, Matt, my business partner. Like, I mean, it was, like, I was I was at the event, and he was telling me just how hard things are gonna get. I was just miserable.

And I went, and I sat down next to him. I was at the Prosper Show. And I just it was a moment. I just said, I'm just gonna ask this question, and I'm probably gonna get, like, told why enough would I ever do that. And I said, would you ever consider coming on board with us?

And he's at an agency that does, like, 8 figures a year, compared to us. Right? And he said, yeah. Sure.

And then sometimes he's asking those big bold questions as well. So it's like, fate can you know? Yeah. But you fate to an extent where you need to sometimes think so big. To make those changes.

Like and I'm like, if he didn't come on, I think we would be such a small company. I think I don't know I don't know if we'll be around now. I don't know. Like, I really don't know because it's like, yeah. So there's just areas like that that, like, you have to rethink about.

Thanks, George. I've absolutely loved talking with you today, and congratulations just in for the success of your company, but also the fact that it enables you to do work, not only for helping businesses, giving people jobs, being able to do the charity work that you do as well. So thank you so much. I'm truly inspired by our conversation. And hopefully, our listeners are too.

And, thank you everyone for listening today, and thank you for being an awesome guest. There is. Thank you for having me. Love this episode? Don't miss out.

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