Working On It

Andrew Holbert, founder of Pareto FM, shares the unfiltered story of how he went from starting a facilities management business in his bedroom (in his pants) to building a £50 million operation with 550 staff and exiting for nine figures at age 37.
Andrew reveals the strategic decisions, brutal work ethic, and unconventional sales tactics that allowed him to achieve profitability levels two to three times higher than industry competitors, all while maintaining an 8 in 10 win rate on major contracts. From winning London Zoo as a £1.5 million turnover business to sitting in client offices with trays of donuts (including vegan and gluten free options), he breaks down exactly how he built a service business designed for scale and sale.
You are going to learn:
00:00 Intro
01:04 How I Started A Business In My Bedroom (In My Pants)
03:21 Growing From Bedroom To £50M & 550 Staff In 9 Years
05:47 Why Our EBITDA Was 13% When Competitors Were At 4%
09:12 The Overhead Light Model That Changed Everything
12:38 Why I Turned Down Work When I Was Starting Out
15:29 How I Used AI Before AI Existed (And Why I'm Glad It Wasn't There)
18:44 Hiring The C Suite: Building A Senior Team That Never Left
22:17 Working 19 Hours A Day & Still Having Two Kids
26:03 The 1,000 Day Wall Planner That Kept Me Going
29:51 Why Work Your Arse Off Is Still The Answer
33:26 I'm Not An Entrepreneur, I'm Someone Who Achieves Things
37:14 What Success Really Means (And Why It's Not What You Think)
40:58 The Three Things I Was Willing To Lose
43:37 Why There Are Two Times To Start A Business
46:22 The Air Conditioning Opportunity Everyone's Missing
49:08 How London Zoo Made Us Grow 300% In One Day
52:41 You Only Get Lucky When You're Doing Something
56:19 Why I Never Won A Single Pound On LinkedIn
59:47 The Donut Strategy That Won Million Pound Contracts
01:03:25 How To Read A Room & Adapt In Two Seconds
01:06:52 The Fake Job Advert Trick To Learn About Competitors
01:10:18 Why Price Was Only 20% Of What We Focused On
01:14:36 What To Do When You Lose A Contract
01:17:29 Sitting At Client Desks & Buying 20 Cheeseburgers
01:21:43 Why I Saw Myself As A Character, Not As Me
01:24:16 Taking Myself Out Of The Pitch To Win The Royal Household
Get help from Brad personally: https://bradstaines.com/
HOST BIO
Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it, but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he's built a multi million pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow.
He's still involved in the business a couple of days a week, but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day to day grind? That's been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting.
Brad's also found his rhythm outside of business, with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it's strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he's a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader.
Working On It is where he brings it all together: growth, grit, and getting better every week.
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From the kid who wouldn't raise her hand in class to speaking confidently in front of thousands, Kirsty Carden reveals how she built a thriving coaching business helping women find their voice, attract high-ticket clients through speaking, and create the freedom they actually want.
Kirsty shares her journey from corporate life at Sky Broadcasting to becoming a sought-after speaking coach, NLP master practitioner, and hypnotherapist. She breaks down the practical steps that transformed her from terrified of public speaking to commanding stages worldwide, and why she believes communication is the foundation of every successful relationship and business.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Build Your Confidence Muscle Incrementally: You don't go from classroom silence to speaking to thousands overnight. Start with a Facebook Live, then a small group, then a workshop. Each tiny step builds the resilience your nervous system needs to handle bigger stages.
Clarity Drives Action: Knowing exactly what you want and why you're doing it is what pushes you through fear. When Kirsty knew she had to be visible to get clients, that clarity motivated her to overcome her terror of video and speaking.
Smaller Rooms Convert Better: While speaking to a thousand people builds authority and credibility, intimate events of 20 to 25 people create deeper connection and higher conversion rates. Kirsty made £200,000 from one 25 person event by creating genuine connection.
Your Personal Brand Opens Doors: Major speaking opportunities, client inquiries, and business growth come from people actually seeing your face, hearing your energy, and understanding what you do. Hiding behind text posts won't cut it anymore.
Environment Is Everything: The fastest way to change your life is to change your environment. Get around people who've already done what you want to do. Their blueprint becomes your possibility.
BEST MOMENTS
"Everything starts with knowing what you want. I had to overcome my fear of visibility because I decided I was going to start a business. It's putting yourself in a situation that forces you to actually have to overcome it."
"I think there's a difference between a business owner and an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur will constantly look for opportunity, where a business owner will just want to scale that one business."
"Something that used to be a dream becomes your reality, and you can lose grip of actually, you've actually created something that was just something you desired. You've got to keep appreciating it."
"Your brain, when you're listening to stuff like this, is opening it up and going, oh, that sounds good. That's possible for me now. Even if you can't physically access those people yet."
"I think the biggest thing I've gone through in business is building resilience. Business is like the biggest self development journey you'll ever go on. It finds parts of yourself, knockdowns, rejection. You learn a lot about yourself."
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Instagram: @kirstycarden
HOST BIO
Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it, but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he's built a multi-million-pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow.
He's still involved in the business a couple of days a week, but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day to day grind? That's been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting.
Brad's also found his rhythm outside of business, with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it's strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he's a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader.
Working On It is where he brings it all together: growth, grit, and getting better every week.

In this week's episode of Working On It, entrepreneur and wealth educator Rob Moore breaks down the realities of authentic personal branding and why navigating social media criticism is a mandatory part of modern business.
Rob and Brad dive into the urgent need for financial literacy outside the traditional education system, the incoming wave of AI disruption across all sectors, and why self-investment remains the ultimate safety net. Emphasizing practical parenting and leading by example, Rob offers a no-nonsense look at why ditching hero worship, adapting to new technologies, and building your own independent financial knowledge base are the blueprints for long-term freedom.
Key Takeaways
Authenticity on social media inevitably invites criticism, but triggering an emotional response is essential for building a genuine, highly engaged audience.
The rapid rise of AI will massively disrupt traditional white-collar and administrative roles, making immediate adaptation and up-skilling non-negotiable to avoid being replaced.
The traditional school system completely fails to teach financial literacy; true wealth generation requires independent education in investing, taxes, and emotional management.
Parenting the next generation of entrepreneurs requires showing rather than telling, demonstrated by helping kids build real-world businesses instead of just lecturing them.
True financial security comes from recognizing that the best asset class is your own knowledge and taking actionable steps to continually invest in it.
Episode Quotes
"emotions create response. So if no one has an emotional response a trigger, to your content, they're not going to comment."
"if you don't ride the wave of AI you're going to drown. That is a fact."
"You don't get what you want, you get what you are."
"the best investment you can make is in yourself... your knowledge plus action will probably make you more money than any passive asset class."
VALUABLE RESOURCES Follow Rob's new podcast, Cars and Money
HOST BIO Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it - but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he’s built a multi-million-pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow.
He’s still involved in the business a couple of days a week - but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day-to-day grind? That’s been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting.
Brad’s also found his rhythm outside of business - with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it’s strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he’s a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader.
Working On It is where he brings it all together - growth, grit, and getting better every week.

Aaron Knightley reveals why making more money doesn’t always make you happier, how to escape the 9–5 & why he believes AI could replace 10M jobs within the next two years.

Get help from me personally:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradstaines10/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradstaines/

We Cover:

00:00 What’s the Worst Advice About Making Money Online?

01:38 What Made You Leave Your 9 to 5?

03:40 How Do You Start a Business When You Don’t Know What to Do?

06:15 What Does It Really Take to Escape Financial Struggle?

08:37 How Do You Know When You Have Enough Money?

12:14 You Know What to Do, So Why Don’t You Do It?

12:32 What Is the Biggest Lesson About Health and Longevity?

16:40 Do You Really Not Have Enough Time?

17:25 Why Do So Many People Hate Their Jobs?

19:07 How Much Money Is Actually Enough?

20:41 What Is Your North Star in Life?

21:54 Are You Living Your Own Life or Someone Else’s?

28:37 What Skills Will Protect Your Career From AI?

31:38 What Is Exit Nine and How Does It Work?

34:21 How Do You Achieve Time and Financial Independence?

35:30 How Much Money Do You Actually Need to Retire?

40:18 Why Repetition is the Key to Success?

41:03 How Did You Grow to 2,600 YouTube Videos?

47:10 How Do You Grow a Social Media Account From 200 Followers?

49:00 What Does It Take to Succeed in Business?

52:25 Ai Could Replace Millions of Jobs in the Next 2 Years

59:15 What’s the Best Money You’ve Spent on Business?

01:02:37 If You Want to Be Wealthy & Happy,...

01:05:40 Things I Wish I Knew in My 20s (Motivational Advice)

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In this candid conversation, serial entrepreneur Aaron Knightley shares how becoming a father at 20 and navigating workplace toxicity propelled him to break out of employment and build multi-venture success in logistics, tech, and online education.

Aaron breaks down the mechanics behind his logistics startup HODL and operational platform Exit 9, while revealing why massive content volume and disciplined self-investment are non-negotiable for modern business growth. Emphasising life balance over endless hustle, he offers a no-nonsense look at why knowing your financial "North Star," keeping family first, and moving before the AI shift reshapes the workforce is the ultimate blueprint for long-term freedom.

Key Takeaways

True freedom comes from defining your precise financial "North Star" and knowing when enough is enough rather than endlessly chasing higher figures.

Building a sustainable online brand and securing your business requires relentless consistency, high content volume, and clear positioning.

The rapid rise of AI and changing digital landscapes make up-skilling and creating proprietary assets urgent necessities for anyone still relying on a traditional job.

Entrepreneurial success is meaningless without prioritising personal health, mental well-being, and irreplaceable time with family.

Episode Quotes

"What they don't know, they can't destroy."

"If you don't know your North Star, and you don't work back from that, how do you know what vehicle you're going to use?"

"You're either a creator and you have your head screwed on, otherwise there's this side of it where it's really dangerous: consumption, you validate against other people, you compare yourself."

"At some point, these people will go silent because they realise content isn’t optional—it becomes mandatory."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Aaron Knightley - https://www.aaronknightley.co.uk/

HOST BIO

Brad Staines is a founder in the thick of it - but by design, not by default. As the face of Aquamark Cleaning, he’s built a multi-million-pound operation with 30+ team members, strong systems, and a culture that gives people space to grow.

He’s still involved in the business a couple of days a week - but only doing the parts he genuinely enjoys: building relationships, growing the brand, spending time with the team, and spotting new opportunities. The day-to-day grind? That’s been handed over to a structure that runs without constant firefighting.

Brad’s also found his rhythm outside of business - with a deep commitment to physical and mental training. Whether it’s strength work, early morning runs, or cold plunges, he’s a believer that how you show up for yourself shapes how you show up as a leader.

Working On It is where he brings it all together - growth, grit, and getting better every week.