Michael Godsmark is the Managing Director of Woodville Accountancy, an accountancy business in Chorley.

Topics for today's episode include:

[00:01:21] Michael's brief overview of his history, including his experience as a superstar DJ and working at nightclubs, and what he has learned from this stint
[00:10:30] Working at Woodville Accountancy and what our focus is
[00:12:08] The start of Michael's entrepreneurial journey
[00:16:33] How Michael realised he needed a bit more “help”
[00:18:45] Moving into an office, the rebranding process, and growing Woodville Accountancy's team
[00:19:51] Working with Woodville Accountancy's customers
[00:20:52] How no one teaches a person how to be a leader/manager and why having a set of values in creating a work culture is important
[00:22:26] Advice he would give to someone who has not yet made the step to employ someone
[00:24:49] Having procedures for everything and setting up values
[00:25:58] Lee Houghton's podcast interviewing Damian Hughes
[00:27:04] Difficult situations Michael's had to overcome throughout his entrepreneurial journey – working with customers (and all the problems they bring)
[00:32:08] Why you should review stuff and change something that is not working
[00:33:21] Advice Michael would give to a smart college student starting out in the real world – getting as much experience as you can
[00:39:30] Pricing structure to make a business work
[00:45:37] Why being frugal is crucial to workflow
[00:46:52] Advice Michael would give to someone changing their business' pricing structure
[00:49:47] Boosting your team's morale drives everything forward
[00:50:57] What Michael would do differently if he could start over again
[00:53:27] Advertising and referrals
[00:56:42] Looking at what the big boys are doing
[00:57:37] Trialling new tech (cloud bookkeeping software, QuickBooks)
[01:05:33] What Michael's plans for the future are
[01:05:45] Celia Gaze's talk at the Entrepreneurs Circle
[01:09:58] “The Barcelona Way”
[01:11:28] Michael's personal goals
[01:14:48] Being careful about setting goals
[01:18:36] What separates the entrepreneurs
[01:19:27] Tim Ferriss' TED Talk on defining your fears