Daryl Woodhouse - Founder & CEO of ABP

Training.

But what if you are at

a senior level?

an interview with

Founder
​
​Daryl Woodhouse

Miron Bykov London - 23/12/2019

Today we spoke to Daryl Woodhouse, Founder & CEO of Advantage Business Partnerships (ABP)
 
ABP, founded by Daryl Woodhouse in 2012, offers business growth consultancy and leadership training.
 
Tell me about the day the idea was born.
I was working for a FTSE top 10 corporate company and I was in a national leadership role. The company wanted to get some of the senior directors and executives to join in an initiative to give back to the community, therefore generating some good publicity. A couple of days every month I mentored young entrepreneurs in London as a volunteer. It was a great experience and opened up my eyes on how much help young entrepreneurs require due to the lack of any strategic and leadership training that I got from my corporate career. I enjoyed helping them fill in the gaps in their knowledge. I enjoyed it so much I was crazy enough to create a company to provide further help!
 
What was the biggest turning point in the life of ABP?
It was when I found my first business partner to join the team. For the first 3 years I was responsible for almost everything. As the business expanded, I got too stretched out simply doing too much. My patience eventually paid off as I found the perfect person, he has complementary skills to me meaning that we became very productive as a team. 
 
Three top tips for aspiring entrepreneurs:

1. Make sure that your idea is sound – do your market research and research onto your ideal customer profile (is your product affordable to customers?)
2. Don’t do it on your own. You are not perfect at everything; you need others who are experts at their job.
3. Be patient, it takes a long time.

 
What gets you out of bed every morning?
I just like helping people! I am excited that all the companies I have are making the lives of  people better.
 
What did you want to be when you were little?
That changed several times. A footballer, at one point, when I was very young and stupid! A teacher, a bank manager, a recruitment consultant. All of the set!
 
Favourite Disney character:
Hardest question, but I’m going to go for the easiest answer of all: Anna (frozen) as it’s my daughter’s favourite character.
 
What is ABP planning for the world next?
We have just launched our additional marketing services called ‘Phoenix agency’ and we are building an international client base. This is all about bringing new life into the marketing of the companies that want to grow their profits and scale up. 
 
Secondly, we are also in an early concept research phase of a new premium leadership development programme which involves senior director level leadership developments. This will also be linked with the motorsport world as there have been some amazing businesses in this area and can be learnt from.

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