From Bedroom to Boardroom | With Rob Spence

The BNI Hypocrisy Problem | Episode SeventeenBNI has wound Rob up again. In this week's unfiltered episode, he takes on the hypocrisy at the heart of some BNI chapters — not the concept itself, but the behaviour that contradicts everything the network claims to stand for. Two specific incidents this week brought it all to a head.Key TakeawaysBNI works for plenty of people, especially those in trade. Rob isn't disputing that.What he won't accept: using your platform to devalue other businesses, or ignoring your own members to use AI instead.If you're in BNI and you refer Rob business that converts, he'll pay you properly. No gold star required.There's more to business growth than one networking group; keep your eyes open.Got Thoughts?Are you a BNI member? Does Rob have a point, or is he being unfair? Drop a comment on Spotify — he's genuinely up for the debate.Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give them some love:Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvl

A slightly scrappier episode this week — Rob forgot to record and wasn't letting that stop him. Hunched over a laptop with a mic, he talks about reigniting his passion for content creation, launching a brand new TikTok channel, and the business lesson that ties it all together: if you don't do, you'll never learn.Key TakeawaysContent creation is a skill that compounds — the earlier you start experimenting, the faster you improve.Combining two existing interests (reselling + content) is a smart, low-friction way to build something new.Creators build; voyeurs consume. Which one are you?You don't need perfect equipment. This episode was recorded on a laptop and a mic, and it still went out.Find Rob on TikTokSearch Animal Spence on TikTok — physical media, reselling, and whatever else Rob decides to throw at it.Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give them some love:Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvlProductionThis podcast is brought to you by Paragon Creative Studios — a full in-house production team based in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. Whether you want to hire a studio by the hour or need a complete team to write, produce, record, and distribute your podcast, Paragon Creative Studios has you covered.

Too Little, Too Late? Starmer's Small Business Bill vs. The Damage Already Done | Episode FifteenRob Spence was doom-scrolling Facebook when a post from Keir Starmer stopped him in his tracks, and not for the usual reasons. For once, something the Prime Minister said actually resonated. In this episode, Rob breaks down Labour's record on small business since taking power, reacts to Starmer's late payments post and the newly introduced Small Business Protections Bill, and gives his honest, unfiltered verdict on whether this is a genuine turning point or too little, too late.Fair warning: Rob isn't here to do politics. But he is here to do business, and right now, those two things are impossible to separate.Key TakeawaysLabour's changes since taking power — NI hike, wage increases, SSP reform, business rate changes, dividend tax — have added thousands of pounds per year to the cost of running a small business.Late payments are a genuine crisis for small businesses. The domino effect of one unpaid invoice rippling through the supply chain is real and damaging.The Small Business Protections Bill has some genuinely useful measures, particularly the mandatory payment term limits. But several of these protections already existed in law — the issue has always been enforcement.Big firms will feel the pressure of the new legislation. SMEs, already squeezed by the government's own policies, are a different story.Rob's bottom line: welcome, but read the room. The business community needs costs to come down, not just another bill to add to the pile.About From Bedroom to BoardroomHosted by Rob Spence, From Bedroom to Boardroom is the podcast for business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone thinking about taking the leap. Raw, honest, and always unplanned. New episodes every Wednesday.Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give them some love:Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvlProductionThis podcast is brought to you by Paragon Creative Studios — a full in-house production team based in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. Whether you want to hire a studio by the hour or need a complete team to write, produce, record, and distribute your podcast, Paragon Creative Studios has you covered.

Decide Faster, Win Faster | Episode FourteenEight and a half years into running his business, Rob Spence has identified one of the things that's held him back recently — and it's something he used to be brilliant at. Making decisions fast.In this episode, Rob gets brutally honest about the fact that slow decision-making has started to stagnate his business. He backs up his gut feeling with research, quotes from some of the world's most successful business leaders, and a tangent about why he genuinely doesn't understand people who hate Amazon. As always, this is unfiltered, unplanned, and real.Key TakeawaysSlow decision-making doesn't just delay progress — it actively costs your business through stagnation, missed opportunities, and a compounding backlog of unmade choices.You don't need 90% of the information to make a good decision. 70% and moving is almost always better than waiting for certainty that never comes.Indecision doesn't give you a free mind — it fills it. Unresolved decisions quietly consume your headspace, even in your downtime.Empowering your team to make decisions isn't just good management, it's a speed multiplier. Approval chains kill momentum.The worst outcome isn't a wrong decision — it's no decision at all.Other Podcasts from Rob🎙️ How I Failed in Business — Rob and co-host Megan dig into the world of business failure, what goes wrong, and the lessons that come out the other side.🎙️ The Sales Circle — Focused on sales, sales training, and business growth. Currently on a brief pause, but worth following for when it returns.About From Bedroom to BoardroomHosted by Rob Spence — multi-award-winning entrepreneur and founder of multiple businesses — From Bedroom to Boardroom is the podcast for business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone thinking about taking the leap. Raw, honest, and always unplanned. New episodes every Wednesday.ProductionThis podcast is brought to you by Paragon Creative Studios — a full in-house production team based in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. Whether you want to hire a studio by the hour or need a complete team to write, produce, record, and distribute your podcast, Paragon Creative Studios has you covered.Ready to start your own podcast? Head to paragoncreativestudios.co.uk or click the link in the show notes for your free consultation.

Why Are We Tied Down by our Emails and Inboxes?! | Episode ThirteenA slightly different episode this week — Rob is recording from home (yes, ironically, the week after the WFH episode) because his partner has just returned to work and baby duty calls. The audio might not be quite up to its usual studio standard, but the conversation is every bit as honest.The topic? Email. Specifically, the quiet, creeping obsession that turns a simple communication tool into a full-blown source of anxiety. When did we start feeling obligated to reply to emails instantly? When did the inbox become the boss? Rob unpacks his own complicated relationship with email, shares what he's done about it, and makes the case that most of us need to step away from the inbox — and stop apologising for it.Key TakeawaysFeeling obligated to reply to emails instantly is a habit — not a requirement. Most things can wait.Push notifications are productivity killers. Every coach, every performance expert, every high-performing business owner says the same thing: turn them off.Adding friction to your inbox (like Face ID) is a surprisingly effective way to stop mindless checking.The best test of email urgency? If it really matters, someone will follow up — or pick up the phone.Being an entrepreneur means you set the rules. You don't need to justify your schedule to your inbox.Rob Wants to Hear From YouAre you enslaved by your inbox? Have you found a system that works? Or do you think business owners should be checking emails constantly?Drop your thoughts in the comments on Spotify — and let Rob know whether you think he's right or wrong on this one.A Note on This EpisodeThis episode was recorded at home on a slightly different setup than usual — Rob's partner returned to work today (Wednesday 6th May) and he's on dad duty. Normal studio quality resumes next week.About From Bedroom to BoardroomHosted by Rob Spence, From Bedroom to Boardroom is the podcast for business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone thinking about taking the leap. Episodes are deliberately unplanned — raw, real conversations about business life, leadership, and the things nobody else is saying out loud. New episodes drop every Wednesday.Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give them some love:Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvlProductionThis podcast is brought to you by Paragon Creative Studios — a full in-house production team based in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. Whether you want to hire a studio by the hour or need a complete team to write, produce, record, and distribute your podcast, Paragon Creative Studios has you covered.

Why I Don't Believe in 'Working From Home' | Episode TwelveIn this episode, Rob Spence tackles one of the most hotly debated topics in modern business — working from home. In true From Bedroom to Boardroom style, this one is unfiltered, unplanned, and pulls absolutely no punches.Rob openly admits to being a hypocrite: he loves working from home himself, but as a leader running a telemarketing business, he found WFH for his team added enormous pressure, constant check-ins, and a serious drop in accountability. From police misconduct hearings to a live Amazon search mid-episode, this is a candid, at times darkly funny, and genuinely thought-provoking look at why trust alone might not be enough when it comes to remote work.What We Cover in This EpisodeRob's WFH Contradiction Rob sets the scene — he has a great home office, he's more productive when he works from it, and he gets all the benefits everyone talks about. But when his team started working from home? A completely different story. Constant report-checking, chasing people down, and an unmanageable workload created by the need to monitor others.The Moment That Said It All A team conversation about WFH took a turn when a team member casually mentioned their dad places something on the keyboard to look active — and then just plays games on his phone all day. In front of the whole team. Rob explains why that moment cemented his position on WFH once and for all.Leicestershire Police & A Pattern of Misconduct Rob shares four real-world cases of police officers — people who should, arguably, be the most honest and accountable in society — caught abusing WFH policiesThe Mouse Jiggler Discovery (Live on Air) Mid-episode, Rob goes on Amazon and searches "mouse jiggler" — a USB device designed to keep your screen active and show you as "online" on platforms like Microsoft Teams. What he finds is eye-opening:Multiple products available, some as cheap as £5.99One product alone has over 5,300 reviewsAnother with 8,800 reviews had over 300 purchases in the past month aloneRob reads actual customer reviews — including one reviewer (let's call him Dave) who proudly declares the device "keeps the status light green and the bosses none the wiser"The Bigger Picture If the people society trusts most — police officers — are faking their work from home, what does that say about accountability across the board? Rob argues that for every genuine, hardworking remote employee, there are far too many willing to exploit the arrangement. The result? More pressure on leaders, less trust, and a culture where the good workers are dragged down by the dishonest ones.Are you pro-WFH or against it? Do you think Rob's being too harsh — or is he spot on? Are there genuinely great remote workers out there, or does laziness inevitably creep in?Drop your thoughts in the comments on Spotify — Rob would love to hear where you stand on this one.About From Bedroom to BoardroomHosted by Rob Spence, From Bedroom to Boardroom is the podcast for business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone thinking about taking the leap. Episodes are deliberately unplanned — raw, real conversations about business life, leadership, and the things nobody else is saying out loud. New episodes drop every Wednesday.Please don’t forget to subscribe and/or follow so you never miss an episode!Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give them some love:Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvl

Should We Name and Shame Companies That Fail to Pay? | Episode ElevenIn this week's episode of From Bedroom to Boardroom, I talk openly about ongoing cases I have against people who are refusing to pay their invoices; and I know that this is a problem that many businesses and business owners face on a daily basis. Should we, as a collective economy, allow for bad business owners to ruin it for the rest of us? Or, should we stand up, name and shame, and collectively stand up to the bullies of the business world?Rob Spence is a multi-award winning business owner, founder, and Managing Director, with a huge passion for studying, learning, and development. Rob has authored three books on sales and is known for his creative approach to sales, marketing and business training and consultancy. Rob is also a podcast producer, and host, with his own studios situated in the Countryside of Leicestershire.Please don’t forget to subscribe and/or follow so you never miss an episode!Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give them some love:Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvl

Managing Oneself | Episode TenOne of the best books I have ever read was Managing Oneself. This book reminded me of the importance of managing yourself like you would a business; delivering the best possible service, looking at revenue in to your 'business', monitoring expenses and costs, and ultimately doing what you can to take yourself to the next level. In this episode, I discuss openly my fears for the next generation, how I managed myself professionally, and my recommendations on what we can all do to ensure a fair, even and equal workforce. Rob Spence is a multi-award winning business owner, founder, and Managing Director, with a huge passion for studying, learning, and development. Rob has authored three books on sales and is known for his creative approach to sales, marketing and business training and consultancy. Rob is also a podcast producer, and host, with his own studios situated in the Countryside of Leicestershire.Please don’t forget to subscribe and/or follow so you never miss an episode!Massive thank you to my partners - make sure you give them some love:Paragon Creative Studios - www.paragoncreativestudios.co.uk monday.com - https://try.monday.com/9fu602qtcgca Xero - https://referrals.xero.com/i5kqkglg3n3w-nx0cim Apollo.io - https://get.apollo.io/b3kjbubqrsvl