RSS Feed

Apple Podcasts

Overcast

Castro

Pocket Casts

English

Non-explicit

Careers

Business

Education

Self Improvement

Business

Entrepreneurship

libsyn.com

50:22

It looks like this podcast has ended some time ago. This means that no new episodes have been added some time ago. If you're the host of this podcast, you can check whether your RSS file is reachable for podcast clients.

Stories of Success Podcast

by Volker Ballueder of Ballueder Partners interviews leaders for your personal

The podcast Stories of Success is a listening experience for your personal development. Volker Ballueder regularly interviews high achievers, entrepreneurs, consultants, visionaries, coaches, and mentors about their secrets and experience.Learn from the best! Enjoy!

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

Episodes

Farewell, not goodbye. End to Season 5

8m · Published 15 Sep 07:29

This is the end of season 5 episode. You might think it's earlier than anticipated, but there is a reason. There is always a reason.

I say thank you.

Please stay in touch and add me on Linkedin or subscribe to my newsletter.

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Tom Glason - Creating value for interim and fractional revenue leaders

32m · Published 08 Sep 05:55

Today's episode is with Tom Glason. Tom is the co-founder and CEO of Scalewise which helps ambitious B2B tech scale-ups accelerate growth by providing unique and flexible access to a community of world-class Scale Experts. He's also the founding member and Chair of the London chapter of Pavilion - a private community for high-growth revenue leaders.

I am a big fan of Scalewise, the Sales Impact Academy and I recently joined Pavillion. Tom definitely created a lot of value for people like myself, but also for companies in the start- and scale-up world.

Topics we discussed, and unfortunately, we ran out of time:

How he stumbled into sales
The hard lessons you learn from telemarketing and picking up the phone
Hard work paying off
His background and degree in sports psychology
How he met his wife when she offered him a job
His experience launching a juice bar
Tech and enterprise sales
How he founded Pavillion (formerly Revenue Collective) to build a community around tech sales
The latest report on interim and fractional leadership
How this lead to him founding Scalewise and building a platform to get companies and interim and fractional revenue leaders together
The average tenure of a CRO being 18 months
The change of work patterns for C-Levels pre Covid but then the accelerated change due to Covid
Redundancies and recession
Flexibility and work life balance
Sales Impact Academy - creating content and qualifications for sales leaders
Tom on Linkedin if you want to get in touch

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Storytelling & Positioning - Martyn Baker

32m · Published 25 Aug 07:30

Martyn Baker and I got introduced back in the days when he left Twitter and I started my consulting career. We have since worked together on projects under his brand Gardn. He looks back at a corporate career, working with big clients like adidas, Twitter, Telefonica and Microsoft. That wealth of experience lead him to found Gardn as a company helping businesses to position themselves, get their storytelling right and make sure every company he works with operates at its most efficiency.

I invited him to speak about how he can help freelancers and interim and fractional professionals to tell a better story, and how he launched himself into this world. Looking at the space from both ends.

But who would be better to go into more details than Martyn himself.

Topics we discussed:

Companies Martyn worked for and how they lead him to do what he loves
How is storytelling skills apply to entrepreneurs, interim and fractional leaders or any portfolio professional
Why he started his own business www.gardn.co
Wanting to be more hands-on
Interim and fractional commercial roles
How he scales Gardn
Working with both scale-ups and big established companies that want to go to market with a new product
Sales narrative
Pitch decks
Breath and depth of positioning
50% of business is coming through recommendations
Establishing a single narrative to talk to all people
You can't be all for all people, you have to narrow your focus
Negotiations
Value propositions
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martynbaker/

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Future Work/Life - Ollie Henderson

37m · Published 11 Aug 07:25

On this episode I welcome Ollie Henderson. It's another expert talk episode, where Ollie and I talk about the future or the state of work.

Ollie creates insights and systems for first-time founders and CEOs who want to attract clients and the best talent by sharing their ideas with the world. As a former start-up founder and CEO, he understands what it takes to grow a business while operating under pressure and time constraints. He is doing all that whilst having a family with 3 kids!

In May 2020, he launched "Future Work/Life" as a newsletter to document the fast-evolving relationship between our work and personal lives. This lead to a podcast and Ollie is currently writing a book called Work/Life Freewheel.

Things we discussed:

Ran a digital advertising agency for over 10 years
Exited in 2020 to start a new business when the pandemic hit
Started his newsletter to figure out what to do next
Created a system for work-life
He got a book deal and started working on his book which will be published January 2023: Work/Life Flywheel
Interviewed 100s and surveyed 1000s for his book, listen to the interviews on his podcast
You can subscribe to his newsletter on his website
He works as a fractional CEO 2 days a week
Hybrid working
How to get more out of people: does collaboration IRL work?
If we improve collaboration by 20% meeting in person, does that balance the opportunity to get top talent from around the world dialling in, improving collaboration by more than 20% virtually?
Access to specialist skills
How IRL meeting helps with resolving conflict
Networking as a graduate
Selling oneself as a freelancer/interim/fractional person
The future of work being personalised work which gives the individual more choice
Marketplaces for freelancers
What happens when the economy slows down
Unbundling the workforce
Creating virtual teams of experts
Aggregation and re-bundling in verticals
Idea generation - put them out there!
Is Work Life Balance possible
Connect with Ollie on Linkedin

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Simon Severino - Strategy Sprints

33m · Published 28 Jul 07:25

I learned about Simon and his business when listening to another podcast, and loved his business idea: coaching and consulting businesses on the back of successful blueprints. So I bought his book 'Strategy Sprints' and I reached out to him. We hit it off, and I thought it would be great for him to share his journey and his programme for solo entrepreneurs.

In my series about fractional and interim leadership, Simon can help us to explore what individuals have to do in order to stand out and get more business.

Things we talked about:

Doubling revenue in 90 days thanks to business blueprints
His sprint coaching programme
www.strategysprints.com
Enjoying business instead of the business running you
Pattern of solo entrepreneurs feeling guilty
Making the how happen
Increased LTV (life time value)
Taking holidays and switching off
We know what's right but don't know how to put it into practise
Focus on sales, and how to sell
Work out your go to market
Onboarding
Do the magic
Forget about lead generation, play instead!
Talk to people!
Create value
How to have skin in the game
Business models:

Exchanging money for time
Packaging things up as a retainer
Charge upfront and outcome based

Cash flow vs. profitability
His book, Strategy Sprints
His YouTube channel
You find lots of free open source blueprints on his website

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Interim, Fractional, Positioning, Content, Social - David Pawsey

31m · Published 14 Jul 06:57

This podcast is with copywriter and content strategist David Pawsey. He helps freelancers, interim and fractional leaders, and companies to position themselves. He actually helped me with my positioning and my website content. David is a former journalist, so he is naturally inquisitive and creative.

He also works for himself, so can look at the space from an expert and contract perspective.

Topics we discussed:

Being a wordsmith
Getting your story across
How to position yourself and tell your unique story
Juggling work and life, particularly as a freelancer and stay at home dad
Content is king
Direct response and sales copywriting
Playing to people's psychology
Email marketing workshops
SEO content writing
Relationship building
Finding work through Linkedin and networking
Pricing dilemma and selling services
Putting a price on passion
It shouldn't be about money
Do what you enjoy and what is sustainable
Be the thought leader
Be yourself
Get yourself know, get yourself liked, get yourself trusted
Personal content
www.deepsocial.co.uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pawsey-45496b2b/

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Jonathan Younger - The great (freelance) awakening

34m · Published 30 Jun 07:20

I am honoured to welcome Jonathan Younger on my podcast.

Jon and I met when I reached out to him on Linkedin about some of the articles he has written about the new way of working on Forbes. He is an HR thought leader, author, teacher and early stage investor. He writes about the freelance revolution and the future of work. Jon's books include HR From the Outside In, HR Transformation, and Agile Talent.

We discussed:

Him learning from an early age about productivity and freelancing, bettering processes in a factory
How he defines freelancing and a portfolio career
The variety of freelance job boards
Differences in demand for consultants, marketing and tech workers
His involvement in the space since 2012
How the pandemic changed the freelance work even further
40% of US workers having a side gig
How companies should appreciate those workers developing new capabilities and skillsets
'Freelancer Light' - the ones that still have a full time job
The Great Awakening vs. The Great Resignation
Survey on Freelancing and some key incomes
The need for a portfolio for freelancers
Challenges for freelancers to sell themselves
Advantages for companies to employ top talent as freelancers
Open Assembly
The Center for the Transformation of Work
Jon's profile on Forbes
Jon's Linkedin

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Ben Legg - Portfolio Professionals

33m · Published 16 Jun 06:59

This is a very exciting episode with Ben Legg. Ben was the former COO of Google Europe and turned to being a successful portfolio professional. I actually met Ben a few years ago in Cannes, talking digital marketing.

In his portfolio career, Ben focuses on supporting founders and investors in the startup and scale-up ecosystem.

He is also CEO and co-founder of The Portfolio Collective, a global community of thousands of portfolio professionals, which is why I asked him to join me as an expert on the topic of interim and fractional leadership.

So in this podcast we will learn not just from Ben's personal experiences, but also from the diverse learnings captured from members of The Portfolio Collective.

On the show we discussed the following:

The differences and sameness of Portfolio Professionals, fractional and interims, as well as freelancers
How a lot of the change in work style start with a side hustle
How the pandemic triggered more people to look at their lifestyle, and side hustles
Lockdown influencing the way we are working, and that hybrid is now the norm
Focused experts
The Portfolio Collective platform he founded
2030 will see 50% of the workforce having more than one job
NEDs
Hedging bets with equity and jobs
Not putting all your eggs in one basket from a job/career and income perspective
Ben's journey from army to corporate to portfolio
A book about the portfolio career written by my former guest Katie Ledger
Leapers.co - a community for freelancers
TPC community and how it can help you to become better at your portfolio career, including insights, networking and jobs
The future of work: hybrid working, economy of offices
The dreaded commute
His piece of advice: Know how to tell your story and identify your ninja skills
Ben on Linkedin

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Selling a proportion of your brain - Adrian Cockle

32m · Published 01 Jun 07:01

Today's episode is with Adrian Cockle. Adrian and I met through Leapers which is a community and support group for freelancers. With our own slack channel we have a great community spirit and I encourage anyone going on their own to join!

Adrian is a freelance digital strategy consultant and fractional head of digital - an interim and fractional CDO. Freelance on and off since 2016, previously spent 9 years as head of digital for WWF-UK and WWF International. He has been doing digital in various forms since working in the UK’s second Internet cafe back in 1995!

Currently working with a tech startup, two philanthropic foundations and providing mentoring and due diligence services to an investment firm representing sportspeople.

Outside of work, he is a father to two kids, cyclist, swimmer and mildly obsessive coffee nerd.

Things we discussed:

🙂 Coffee: www.chimneyfirecoffee.com
Leaving the corporate world or staying there forever
Finding confidence as a freelancer
Old school managers not allowing a hybrid approach (4/1)
How important accountant s and finances are when going freelnance
Transitioning back into a full tiime role and transitioning out again
Being an internal consultant
The meaning of interim, fractional, non executive, advisor, mentor
How to find a job as a freelancer
The importance of networking
Lunchclub.com
Managers looking for output rather than processes to be followed
Selling time vs. output/projects
Selling a proportion of your brain
Working life, family life, work life balance and holidays
How to structure your work week
Growthmentor.com
It's all about the fit
Think about your workplace, make it yours and efficient
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancockle/

Volker is a sales, strategy and leadership consultant working as an interim CRO. Find out more on his website or subscribe to his newsletter.

Get out there and engage - Fractional CTO Damien D'Souza

35m · Published 19 May 07:01

I welcome Damien D‘Souza on this episode who is a business and technology transformation leader. His CV states COO, CIO and CCO experience, yet he markets himself as an interim and fractional ‚CTO‘. With his vast years of experience across multiple industries, he has worked in his portfolio career since 2019.

Things we discussed:

Whilst he started his portfolio career in 2019, he started working for himself in 2012
He left the corporate world after 30 years after taking redundancy and money for a runway to try 'self-employment'
Work is all about what you want to do, not why you do it
Damien started with IBM, then worked for Ericsson, Hutchison and Nokia
The corporate world is about politics and if someone says jump, you ask 'how high'
Most jobs come through his network
Whilst he is a technology leader he is also a COO but has done work in sales and marketing and supply chain in senior roles
It's not what you do but how you market yourself
Working with start- and scale-ups
How to help businesses to evolve and deal with things
It's like being a 'father', a business mentor as much as doing the job
It's about value add and outcomes
He prices based on projects and outcomes, with regular milestone reviews
Key principles he learned early in his careers:

Listen not hear
Never turn up late or unprepared for a meeting
Don't waste anyone's time, get the terms of reference right
People need to understand what you deliver (bring people along on the journey)

Interim and fractional CxOs are equal in the C-Suite rather than being a contractor
You constantly pitch for opportunities
Going to work for something one loves with people you like
Satisfaction through using one's skills
Reward is the flexibility, and pay is just as good
Priority is always oneself, not the work - a life work choice he made (Life-work balance NOT Work-life balance)
Younger companies benefiting from experience and an external viewpoint
Skill transfer and knowledge capital being important for the future
New business models emerging
Get out there and engage!
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damiendsouza/

Stories of Success Podcast has 100 episodes in total of non- explicit content. Total playtime is 83:57:23. The language of the podcast is English. This podcast has been added on October 28th 2022. It might contain more episodes than the ones shown here. It was last updated on March 24th, 2024 21:42.