Beyond the Business

Hiring the right people is one of the hardest parts of building a successful business. After interviewing more than a dozen candidates in just two weeks, Sean and Paul share the biggest hiring mistakes they’ve made, why intuition often beats CVs, what they look for in every employee and how they’ve built a high-performing team over the past decade.The conversation explores hiring, leadership, company culture, work ethic, business growth, entrepreneurship, recruitment and why the best businesses are built by people who genuinely care about the mission. Whether you’re growing a startup or leading an established company, these hiring lessons could save you years of costly mistakes.00:00 The hiring mistake most businesses make00:42 Welcome to Beyond the Business01:30 Why hiring is so difficult03:15 Interviewing 15 candidates in two weeks05:05 Why your gut instinct matters07:00 Intuition vs logic in hiring08:50 The interview mistake we used to make10:45 Should CVs really matter?12:40 Spotting red flags in interviews14:30 The three qualities we hire for16:20 Why hard work still matters18:30 Work-life balance vs career success20:40 Finding people who buy into your vision22:45 Building a startup mentality24:35 Company culture explained26:15 Why attitude beats experience28:10 Hiring future leaders30:00 Degrees vs real-world experience31:45 Why insecurity can drive success33:40 Building a high-performing team35:10 The most important lesson on hiring

In the first episode of Beyond the Business, Sean and Paul share the story of buying their family business from their father. What should have been a straightforward succession plan became a difficult business negotiation, made even more challenging during one of the hardest periods of Paul’s life.They discuss family business succession, negotiation, leadership, private equity, business acquisitions and the lessons every entrepreneur can learn from navigating high-stakes decisions with family. It’s an honest conversation about business, wealth, mindset and building a company that lasts.Subscribe for new episodes of Beyond the Business every week. 00:00 The business deal that changed everything00:45 Welcome to Beyond the Business01:30 Buying our family business03:10 Paul's personal tragedy05:30 How grief changed business forever07:45 Becoming a single parent09:50 Losing an inheritance11:50 Negotiating with our own father13:50 The first business offer15:45 Why we rejected the deal17:35 Family business succession mistakes19:15 Learning business negotiation21:00 The best business deals22:30 Private equity explained24:30 Selling a business the right way26:15 Business valuations and acquisitions28:10 Leadership in a family business29:45 What we'd do differently31:20 The biggest lesson for entrepreneurs32:35 Final thoughts

What does wealth really mean, and are we prepared for the biggest transfer of wealth in history? Sean Standerwick sits down with Jay to discuss his journey from Bloomberg to taking over and modernising his family’s financial planning business, and what he’s learned about money, entrepreneurship and building a business along the way. They explore the huge opportunity in buying existing businesses, the realities of succession and family business, and why both parents and their children may be underprepared for the transfer of wealth happening over the coming decades. Plus, Sean shares his thoughts on AI, personal branding, company culture, client experience and why wealth ultimately means far more than simply having a number in the bank. 00:00 - What Does Wealth Really Mean? 05:00 - Leaving Bloomberg for the Family Business 10:00 - Starting From Scratch as a Financial Adviser 15:00 - Modernising the Family Business 20:00 - Building a Strong Company Culture 25:00 - Why Businesses Need to Keep Evolving 30:00 - Taking Over From Your Parents 35:00 - The Opportunity in Buying Existing Businesses 40:00 - Negotiating a Family Business Buyout 45:00 - Starting vs Buying a Business 50:00 - The Future of Financial Advice 54:00 - AI & the Opportunity for the Next Generation 58:00 - Why Personal Branding Matters 01:02:00 - Creating an Incredible Client Experience 01:07:00 - The Power of Marginal Gains 01:12:00 - Old-School Marketing Still Works 01:17:00 - The Biggest Wealth Transfer in History 01:22:00 - Inheritance Tax & Family Wealth 01:27:00 - Why Families Need to Talk About Money 01:32:00 - Health, Happiness & What Success Really Means 01:36:00 - The Advice That Changed Sean’s Thinking

Episode write-up Sean Standerwick sits down with Dodge Woodall to talk money, business and the reality of building long-term wealth. Sean breaks down how his family wealth management business grew from £20m to over £260m under management, the tax pressures facing UK business owners, and some of the simple financial habits entrepreneurs often overlook. They also get into the much more personal story behind Sean and his brother buying their father out of the family business, an 18-month process that tested both the business and their relationship. From ISAs and pensions to management buyouts, entrepreneurship, hiring and building a team, this is a wide-ranging conversation about what happens beyond simply making money. 00:00 - Coming Up 01:34 - Growing £20m Into £260m 04:10 - What Is Wealth Management? 06:25 - Why UK Business Owners Are Being Squeezed 12:20 - Tax, Dividends & Building Personal Wealth 16:05 - What To Do With Money After Selling a Business 19:25 - ISAs, Pensions & Tax-Efficient Investing 24:15 - Building Better Wealth Habits 27:10 - Buying the Family Business 31:20 - Negotiating With Your Own Father 36:05 - The Reality of an 18-Month Management Buyout 41:15 - How Management Buyouts Actually Work 47:00 - Why Entrepreneurship Is an Extreme Sport 52:15 - Obsession, Pressure & Switching Off 56:10 - Building a Business Around the Right People 01:01:10 - Growing the Business After the Buyout 01:04:15 - How Wealth Managers Make Money 01:07:00 - The Biggest Financial Mistakes People Make 01:10:15 - Hiring Hungry People & Giving Them Responsibility 01:14:20 - What Actually Makes Someone Valuable 01:16:30 - Final Thoughts Chapters

Sean Standerwick discusses taking over a 43-year-old family business and bringing a startup mentality to one of the UK’s most traditional industries. From embracing failure and bringing younger talent into financial planning to using AI, building a personal brand and creating a company culture people actually want to be part of, Sean explains how MLP Wealth is trying to do things differently. He also shares why consistency compounds far beyond investing, the challenge of finding great people and why financial planning needs to become louder, more relatable and more human. 00:00 - Taking Over a 43-Year-Old Family Business 01:45 - Bringing a Startup Mentality to Financial Planning 03:30 - Why Failure Is Just Feedback 05:00 - Bringing Young Talent Into the Industry 07:00 - Why Financial Planning Has a Huge Opportunity 08:30 - Going From Paper Files to AI 10:30 - Changing the Culture of a Legacy Business 12:15 - Why Financial Advisers Need a Personal Brand 14:30 - The Power of Consistency 16:30 - The Hardest Part of Running a Business 18:15 - Why Financial Planning Needs to Change 19:30 - Be Different and Lean Into Who You Are

Beyond the Business Brought to you by MLP Wealth Our Website: https://www.mlpwealth.co.uk/ Connect with Sean: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanstanderwick/ Connect with Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-standerwick-9b481b1/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlpwealth/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MLPWealth