In this sixty-first episode of My Kind of Business, Alex is joined by Si Elliott, a strategic marketing and customer experience leader who has spent over twenty years helping brands build deeper, more meaningful connections, and whose career began less with a master plan and more with a series of happy accidents.

Si's journey started with a childhood entrepreneurial streak and a business degree he took without any real idea of where it would lead. It was almost by accident that he found his way into marketing and agency life, working up from student to managing director, and learning to lead long before he felt ready to call himself a leader.

Today he co-owns creative agency Diversity and is the founder of customer experience consultancy Fabricx, where he combines behavioural science with practical strategy to design experiences that genuinely resonate. He is also an award-winning guest lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and the Communication University of China, and has just published his first book, Customer Experience Thinking.

Through years of organic growth, honest self-doubt and a deep belief in putting people first, Si has built a way of working that proves business can be both successful and genuinely human.

In this episode Alex and Si explore:

• Si's childhood entrepreneurial spirit and his accidental route into marketing
• Going from student to managing director, and growing into leadership
• Navigating imposter syndrome and building confidence over time
• Why environment, team culture and trusted relationships matter so much
• Choosing organic growth over aggressive scaling
• Founding Fabricx and bringing behavioural science into client work
• How behavioural biases shape real marketing and customer decisions
• Balancing multiple ventures and keeping variety in his work
• The future of AI and automation, and why human connection still wins

Key Highlights

• How a non-linear, accident-driven career can still lead somewhere brilliant
• Why self-belief and the right environment are the foundations of good leadership
• What behavioural science reveals about trust, loyalty and decision making
• How to grow a business organically without losing its human heart
• Why, in a world obsessed with clicks and conversions, the human experience is what really counts

Featured Resource

🗓️ Join Alex for the Mid-Year Business Reset, a free, live workshop on Tuesday 30th June at 10am to help you take stock, get clear on your business and finish the year strong. 👉 Book your spot here: https://alexmccarthycoaching.as.me/themidyearbusinessreset

Connect with Si

https://www.linkedin.com/in/si-elliott/ www.sielliott.com https://www.instagram.com/si.elliott

Customer Experience Thinking out now: https://mybook.to/CXThinkin

Connect with Alex

alexmccarthycoaching.com

instagram.com/alexmccarthycoaching

In this sixtieth episode of My Kind of Business, Alex is joined by Sian Brennan-Todd, a former dancer turned entrepreneur, host and presenter who built a cheerleading empire spanning 250 schools before transitioning into the world of media and presenting.

Sian's journey is deeply rooted in her childhood love of dance. From performing arts college in London at 18 to working abroad in cheerleading and choreography, she has spent her career turning passion into profession.

After moving to Australia and building a global cheerleading business, Sian returned to the UK with a renewed focus on hosting, presenting and helping others build confidence through performance.

Through years of discipline, resilience and self-belief, Sian has created a business built on fun, passion and adding real value to the people around her.

In this episode Alex and Sian explore:

• Childhood passions and how dance shaped her entrepreneurial mindset
• The discipline and professional skills learned through performing arts
• Building a cheerleading business from the ground up with 250 schools involved
• Navigating lockdown and adapting to online sessions
• The move to Australia and building a global enterprise
• Transitioning into hosting and presenting
• How confidence is built through consistency and practice
• Balancing family life with entrepreneurship
• Advice for entrepreneurs feeling stuck or lacking confidence

Key Highlights

• How the skills developed in dance and performing arts translate directly into business success
• Why self-belief is the foundation of everything Sian has built
• The power of adapting and pivoting when circumstances change
• How to overcome fear and self-doubt and keep showing up anyway
• What it really means to build a business around something you love

Featured Resource

🗓️ Join Alex for the Mid-Year Business Reset — a free, live workshop on Tuesday 30th June 6am to help you take stock, get clear on your business and finish the year strong.
👉 Book your spot here:

https://alexmccarthycoaching.as.me/themidyearbusinessreset

Connect with Sian

https://www.instagram.com/sianbrennantodd/
sian@baysgymcheerdance.com
www.sianbrennantodd.com

Connect with Alex
alexmccarthycoaching.com
instagram.com/alexmccarthycoaching

In this fifty-ninth episode of My Kind of Business, Alex McCarthy walks through a proper mid-year business review — not a vague "how's it going" but a structured, honest look at the four areas that matter most. Are you approaching the halfway point of 2026 and wondering where the year has actually gone? This episode gives you practical questions, real examples, and a framework you can use today.

Main Topics Covered:

• Why the mid-year point is the most important moment to stop and look at your business honestly
• How to evaluate your offer, pricing, and structure for clarity and alignment
• The difference between having a marketing strategy and actually executing it consistently
• The operational systems and habits that are either supporting or quietly undermining your business
• The mindset patterns — including fear, perfectionism, and self-doubt — that create action gaps even when you know what to do

In This Episode:

• Why most business problems aren't marketing problems — and what to look at first
• How undercharging affects your energy, not just your income
• The watering-a-plant analogy that explains why consistency beats cleverness in marketing
• What "avoidance" in your marketing is actually telling you
• The difference between being run by your business and running your business
• Why the gap between where you are and where you want to be is almost always an action gap — and what's underneath it
• A real client story about a programme that nearly never launched — and what changed when the real block was named

Timestamps:

00:00 — Why the mid-year moment matters and what most business owners miss 02:15 — Introducing the four-area framework: offer, marketing, operations, mindset 03:00 — Area 1: Offer — is it still right, priced right, and simple enough? 08:30 — Area 2: Marketing — the difference between strategy and consistent execution 14:00 — Area 3: Operations — is your business running you, or are you running your business? 18:30 — Area 4: Mindset — the action gap and what's really underneath it 23:30 — Close and details of the free Mid-Year Business Check-In workshop

Resources and Links:

• The Mid-Year Business Check-In Workshop — Free 45-minute workshop, Tuesday 30th June at 10am. Register here to secure your spot; https://alexmccarthycoaching.as.me/themidyearbusinessreset

Connect with Alex McCarthy:

• Instagram
• Website

Whether or not you make it to the workshop, this episode will leave you with honest questions and a clear framework to take into the second half of 2026 with more intention and clarity than you started it with.