Week 1| What Is NTP? | Not Truly Professional Podcast

Welcome to Not Truly Professional – a podcast hosted by two family members who also happen to be business owners.

Every week, we dive into the realities of running a business, balancing family life, making tough decisions, handling setbacks, celebrating wins, and navigating the challenges that come with entrepreneurship.

Nothing is scripted, nothing is off-limits, and there's no corporate jargon. Just honest conversations, real experiences, and lessons learned from being in business day after day.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, business owner, aspiring founder, or simply interested in what goes on behind the scenes, join us for authentic discussions, practical insights, and plenty of laughs along the way.

Subscribe and follow to catch new episodes, and let us know what topics you'd like us to tackle next.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Oh hi everybody. Just want to introduce you to our new podcast. Hello, don't go on.

SPEAKER_00 0:07

I wouldn't have thought so, but yeah, we're uh we're gonna introduce we're gonna introduce ourselves first. So I'm Kelly, uh one of the directors and founders of MTP.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Um this is I'm Daryl, I'm the original founder of MTP Online Learning, and I started back in 2000 and a long time ago. Now when Driver CPC first came out. Am I not original? Were you original?

SPEAKER_00 0:32

You want one original? Well, what do you mean this year? Are you original? Well, yeah, but I have there's only one of them. Um so no, we're bringing back the um podcasts, and I think actually fetching a cup of tea isn't really, but yeah. Um we're fetching back our not truly professional podcast because we had it years ago. You enjoyed watching the videos, they've got lots of hits. However, the not truly professional was about being us, about being real, about us personally and what shit basically we've gone through in business and other stuff. However, one team member member made it and not truly professional. Not corporate. So it didn't work.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

So it didn't work for us because obviously, as you can see, we are not corporate and we couldn't be ourselves, so it just didn't work for us. So when it it came to making like videos and things, and we were expected to make videos, it it was just too difficult because we just couldn't be ourselves because I'm talking with airs and graces that we don't have. So we thought today we'd calm our nerves a bit by having wine. We'd never tried wine for breakfast before, so we thought, well, perhaps how long we do we have, but we thought we'll drink wine, so we've got some nice prosecco. Got some nice prosecco rose, quite nice, and we thought that we'd we'd have that today to calm our nerves a bit odd just so we could jab around a bit more shit, whichever, it works anyway. So we started off, as Kelly said, we started off back in 2009 when Driver CPC first came out, and before that, previous to that, we were in recruitment, and I spent 25 years in recruitment. And Kelly spent around about what nowhere near that long about again, about 10 years. No, because Kelly's not obviously as old as me, although I know she's looking a bit rough, but she's not as old as me. Can't expect anything of this, really. Kelly's my daughter-in-law, by the way. We're fancy. For now, for now, she's my daughter-in-law, she still likes me, I think. I just give a bit more wine, she liked me a bit more. So, yeah, we started off then. So we'd we'd been in recruitment, I've been in recruitment for 25 years. I've done all sorts of recruitment from industrial, where we're supplying sort of 500 people a day, and then I got fed up with that, and after a few years got burnt out after doing that for maybe 15 minutes, physically burnt out, not burnt out physically. Um, and then uh I went into industrial, sorry, commercial recruitment, um, and specialised in oil and gas, like a challenge. And I was very successful. I had some very big I worked with some very big corporate companies. Um corporate companies. Um, and I learned some valuable lessons along the way. And I can't say that I'm a fan of the corporate world, mainly because can't decide. I can't stand being told what to do.

SPEAKER_00 3:45

I think it's because it doesn't come naturally. I think that's what it is. I think that's the part of the corporate, is putting on the amazing grace of speaking with your plug in your mouth and all the rest of it, what's expected in the corporate world, and not swearing, not having a personality is not what we're good at. We've got a personality.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Um we are optional, and you know, we just say it how it is, whether you like it or not. It's how we say it, we're honest and up front, and some people like it and some people don't. I mean, it doesn't it just doesn't work in a corporate world, and and that's the problem, and I think because we're a family business, that's why it works, because in a corporate world, you all sort of, you know, you you've you've got differences of opinion, but you can't air them differences of opinion, or you can, but they're not listened to and not acted upon. So therefore, nothing gets sorted out, so then everybody starts to shrink away. So, really, in a corporate world, everybody's doing their own little bit, but nothing's gelling together, which is why it doesn't work. In a family business, at least we all argue it out.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Good argument, good punch up, sit at our desk salt for a bit and then get back to it.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Yeah, we argue it out because the thing is we might not always agree, we don't always agree on things, but the thing is, the thing we're fighting for is you, the listener, the learner, the you know, for your success. And that's what we're passionate about. We want to make that happen. So sometimes we do have a difference of opinion of how things are going to be delivered and how things are gonna work, but the end goal is the same, and we're all working towards the same end goal. And so long as we all get there and we do sort it out, you have a whine. And then we sort it down, we we find a happy medium, we look at each other's points of being thinking, yeah. Well, I can see you know where you're coming from, and that's how it works for us, isn't it? Yeah, we sort it like we sort it like that. Um, so the good thing about getting into training, when we first ever got introduced to training, when driver CPC came around, and we as I said, we had experience in recruitment, so although we knew absolutely that much about knowledge and logistics and the industry, we knew nothing, but we did know how to recruit the best trainers money can buy, and that's what we did. Um, and it's been a learning curve, hasn't it? But we won't be outside looking in, and that's the beauty of everything that we've been able to do, and that's why we're so successful.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

I think everything's I think looking at it from outside and not actually being in it, so you're seeing it from the training industry, you're seeing from a different point of view. You're not seeing it as a driver, you're not seeing it as a transport manager, you're not seeing it as an operator, we're seeing it as someone who's got no idea whatsoever. And it gives you a different perspective of how training, how the industry actually works. Yeah. That's a problem. Yeah, that's different.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

Definitely, it definitely does, doesn't it? Because that's the thing, it's such, God, such stiff upper lip. You know, you've got to do it this way, it's so structured. Everybody's always done it this way. I must have heard that a million times. I wish I had a quid for every time I'd heard that. It's only done this way, you know, it's never been done that way before.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

And obviously, the the transport industry's got to have structure, you've got to have rules, you've got regulations, you've got to adhere to all that. But outside that, as a person, you've got to figure as well. And that's what's missing from this industry. You ask why this is that.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

You've got to understand what you're doing when you're obviously running your transport operation, but it's not rigid. This flexibility because life's not, you know, life's flexible. When you're out there on the road, things don't happen like it says in your book. There's going to be problems, and you've got to know how to adapt to them. And I think that's the problem with the transport industry. And people find it so daunting, you know, actually doing these courses because they think, oh my god, it's just so I'm never going to learn all that. They think they've got to learn a book like this, and in actual fact, you haven't. You've got to understand what it is you're expected to do. And that's the thing that we teach. We show people what it is you're supposed to be doing. But we're not teaching today, we're not selling today. That's not what today's about. It's just about you getting to know us because behind every business there are people and faces and families and people with real lives. And we've been through our ups and downs and our tragedies. And last year I lost my son. Um, and you know, we all had to get some time off work, didn't we? And uh we took a few weeks off. And you know what, business survived on its own without me, without Kel, without other members of the family. Um, and and it survived, and we got through it, yeah, it was tragic. That's another story for another day. But you know, we've had some hard times as well as some good times. Um, but we are very proud of what we've done. I mean, we recently um won an award, didn't we? This year, we won three awards actually. We were we were shocked when we got there, went to this nice event in London. We actually forgot what awards we entered, what we'd been entered for. People were asking us when we got there. What awards are you on to follow that? Can't remember. We had to get we had to get uh what's it called, programme so that we could see what we were actually um in for.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

We were shocked actually that we were in for two of them. Um we didn't realise that we didn't know. We need excellence, excellence awards it was and to come as a small well family running a small family-run business, yeah, because that's what we are, and we're all we are all passionate about what we do, and to be up against the likes of Haven Hollidays, um Lloyd's, Bartley's, uh T SPL. I don't one of big banks, anyway. Um other training companies, Rolls Rice, um, lots of different training companies. To be up against them and Burley King, why are the ones that we're up against? And it's all about the training and the services that we offer. To be up against them and beat them is a massive achievement.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

It's really nice to be able to. And that's another thing as well. We don't sit back and look at ourselves and think, oh god, we've done a really good job, really.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

But I don't want to mention that it's not truly professional podcast. If you're out there, Karen, you're watching this. Yeah, we won. I mean, I'm real. That's Karen who gave us a nice waiting on Facebook to say that.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

On actually, she said that there were no such thing as business awards, and um that we it wasn't possible to win, and it were just a load of bullshit. So I did send her a link and told her to enter as well because she was a training company and told us to get back in bed and probably get out of the side because she was clearly having a bad day.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

But yeah, thanks.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Anyway, I do send her a prescription. You can't from Amazon, they're they're coming on and they try some. So yeah, I did send her some of those to be honest, because she did um rock objected a little bit. That's the same. But yeah, business awards, really good, really nice to bring.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

But we've won them twice. I won uh two, three.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

Did we win in 2022? Yeah, we won in 2022. Um, when our corporate family member um was here. We had to do things in a regimented way, so we, you know, sort of took a back seat, you know, to be honest. Um we served the customers, we did the job, but we weren't happy, and then the corporate member left. And um, but it's been all fun and game since then. It's really, it's really been a happy wedding moment, hasn't it? And we don't want to work together, we all had it together as well. So we'll you know, we have fun as a family. I mean, yesterday we barbecued gardening with that hot, we had loads of people, grandkids, and and uh, you know, lots of family members around. So we're doing that as well. So it's not you know, we don't fall out, fall out. We have differences of opinion, as you do when you're a you know, when you're a family business, but we don't fall out as such. So over the next few weeks, we're gonna be bringing you lots of podcasts. We're gonna be having what they call special guests, not special people, special guests. I think I've had enough wine, maybe. Maybe wine for breakfast is not such a good idea. Although it is going down well. In fact, I'm gonna let Shelly talk now and take a breath.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

I'll fetch you some more con flakes in podcast one.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Oh wine on the conflate now there.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

But no, we are gonna be fetching you a series of um podcasts every week. We're gonna launch them. They're gonna be launched on a Monday morning. Um 7am, we're gonna have them released on a Monday morning for you, just to brighten up your week. Um, we'll know that you've been waiting for us. We're gonna be um launching things like um business bullshit busters, um, fan packet rules.

SPEAKER_01 12:21

Although we don't smoke anymore. Well, I'm just wondering five packet anymore because I've stopped smoking, so I've written my little bit of paper, five packet size.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

And then we've got um why the industry standard is shit. Um, that one you won't have gonna want to watch, and rules are for fools, which is and then we're gonna bring you lots, lots more um podcasts. But yeah, like you say, we're gonna launch them every Monday morning, 7am. They're gonna be ready for you to go. So don't forget to keep coming back um to watch the next episode.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Um and why are we doing this? You know why? Because it works, because it's fun, and you need to get to know us, how you know what all what we old we are behind business.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

And yeah, what's mine for breakfast and unclear?

SPEAKER_01 13:15

That's what we're all about, and so that you know we're approachable, but friendly, and you you can come for advice on a service note. Well, we're not drunk though, that's the advice now. Get some advice that you like. We you know, you can bring, we are approachable, you can ring us for advice, you can talk to us if you set appointments. We're here to to help you to move your career forward, and that's the good thing about being in recruitment. We're helping, we're good at helping people to progress, not only in their role, uh learning something, as in their life as well. So we give advice and help while we're trying to point them in the right direction.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

And that's also not truly professional. Or now I'm not being truly professional.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

I could have given you the corporate version, but it wouldn't work saying, but it was so boring, it was like I wanted to kill myself when I watched him wanted to kill me too.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

What else am I going to talk to you about today? Where's your wine good? The wine is really good. It's for second if anybody is interested. It is rose for Seth Home. What volume is it? Let's have a look. 10.5. Oh, ten point five. I would advise having a breakfast, not if you're driving, obviously. We're in all the done logistics training. You cannot drink and drive. But if you're not going to be driving, or I'm managing, I'd recommend this for a second.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

What for breakfast?

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Why not? Why not? Let's start a new trend. Wine for breakfast. Especially if you've been on nights as well. Definitely have some wine, you'll get some sleep. When they're mowing their lungs and you're trying to sleep, you've been on nights. Bring the second. I'm gonna be bringing you these podcasts every Monday morning, so while you're at gym, if that's for those of you that go to gym, then in your lower in your cab listening. You can just listen and giggle if you want. But for those of you that go to gym, you've got something to listen to while you're doing your half an hour work out on treadmill or one piece my end. Anyway, no more wine for me. I'm gonna hand you over to the lovely Kelly. I don't know what focus, I've lost my hang on with well. You might be more professional since you are being official. Kelly's a transport manager.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Yeah, I am. I don't know why that matters. In both HGV and PSB, but I will assure you because we've been drinking wine, I'm not doing no official um management of any training whatsoever or anything else while we're recording these podcasts. And if you did early give away the background, um that's because we've got our what do you call yourself? Camble. Cambubble. I know you said something else.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Hi, she's on hi woman. She's not on that woman, that's a granddaughter. She's hiding behind the scenes, behind her. She doesn't like speaking to the camera. She might come on as a special guest. But we might get her on a special guest because she's special. Uh and anyway, that's a wrap for today, folks.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

It's all folks.