
How ambitious, lifestyle business owners just like you improved their business AND their lifestyle.
FINALLY! A UK SMALL BUSINESS PODCAST, FROM PEOPLE WHO’VE ACTUALLY RUN A SMALL BUSINESS…
The Ambitious. Lifestyle. Business. Podcast (or ALB Podcast to it’s friends) is a UK small business podcast, hosted by bestselling author John Lamerton and his business partner Jason Brockman.
John and Jason have been running small businesses together in the UK for the last two decades. They’ve been involved in more than sixty small businesses in that time, working at the coal face, so they know what it takes to make a small business in the UK thrive.
Every month, John and Jason interview real small business owners – there’s no “gurus” here doing the circuit, plugging their latest book, seminar or “magic system”. Just real business owners like you, who are creating ambitious, lifestyle businesses.
The ALB Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe on your favourite platform!

Here’s our most recent episode….

We’re getting too old for this sh*t…
Summer is here again, and unlike the great British weather, you can rely on John and Jason to deliver a spectacular summer special - In this episode, we put the world to rights, discussing: Whether we're "getting old" by focusing on retirement goals. The sort...
Recent Episodes:
“I just want to play golf and have holidays without worrying about money…”
Today, we're joined by Nathan Counter from Portable Putts. In this episode, you will hear: 1. Why Nathan still has a day job, and runs his business as a "side hustle".2. How he "didn't really know what the One Percent Club was", but joined anyway!3. The many, many...
“I beat 30,994 people and cried on national TV…”
Today, we're joined by our first EVER returning guest, Tom Boulden from Complete Mortgage Advice. In this episode, you will hear: Why Tom, John and Jason are no longer business partners. How John punched Tom in the face, and gave him a black eye. Tom's...
“I’ve made family fun my day job…”
In this episode with Ian Ebbs from Football Boots, you will hear: 1. How Ian grew an audience of 1.4 million YouTube subscribers 2. The difference between "being a genius" and "being lucky". 3. Why Ian was locked up by Border Security. 4. How Ian has made "having fun...
“I don’t want to work for anyone else…”
In this episode, you will hear: 1. How Alison Davis was told "not to fall in love" with buying a pub - and promptly did just that. 2. The importance of "doing the right thing" - and how it can lead to winning clients. 3. How Alison built resilience battling a...
“I tried to drive my car off a bridge…”
In this episode, you will hear: 1. The 3 mistakes most photography business owners make2. Jeff's "greatest-ever failure"3. Depression, debt and divorce4. The difference between a good photographer and a good photography business5. Why every mentor should have a mentor...
“I couldn’t work 8 hours a day if I tried!”
Meet One-Percenter Michael Lieberman, owner and founder of Printed Editions. In this episode, you will hear how: Rolf Harris turned Michael from an accountant into an art dealer Michael sold a £180,000 piece of art last year. Michael does "important work, not...
The man who built a property empire in 15 minutes
Ian's been working in the Corporate world for Lloyds Bank 21 years tomorrow he started working there when he was 11! Buying his first investment property in 2014 his Corporate job was flipped upside in 2016 and the penny clicked that he should create a lifestyle...
The Christmas Special 2021
Practically Morecambe and Wise This is the 5th year running of the Christmas Special and you could say that it has turned into an Evergreen Asset. This episode is packed with all of the usual content for you to grab a mince pie, a festive tipple and lookback over...
ALB83 – The man with the BEST podcast voice
This month’s guest is fellow One Percenter Jonathan Rees. Jonathan delivers soft-skills workshops, strategic facilitation, keynote talks and 1:1 coaching, building on experience from corporate life including 14 years at Hewlett Packard, where he led a virtual team...
#ALB82 – John Warrillow
This month’s episode is slightly different, as you know we normally chat with a client, but today we are taking to bestselling author John Warrillow, who is the author of best-selling book Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You was recognized...
#ALB81 – Alun missed the memo regards 1% weekly gains
Alun Parry is a registered psychotherapist who works on a 1-2-1 basis with his clients but also teaches and shares his expertise with other psychotherapists through his website fresh therapists. He uses this platform to educate therapists and counsellors on how to...
ALB80 – Summer Special
For the 5th year running, we have the ALB Summer Special edition with John and Jason. So, what have they been up to this year? Book-writingEditingFixing leaky bucketsClosely looking at assets Customer retention and a whole lot more, oh and of course getting ready to...
#ALB79 – Why Sarah Lamerton closed the doors after just 18 months
Being married to John, Sarah is not a stranger to the Ambitious Lifestyle Business he has strived to achieve, and she was very aware that the pressure she was under from her employed teaching job was far from fitting in that box. The nagging “Who am I doing this for?”...
#ALB78 – A ticket to Italy please
Andy attended 11 different schools and left with no GCSE’S due to his family’s service upbringing. He then went back to college to obtain his GCSE English and Maths, he also studied Business Studies but by his own admission doesn’t remember a thing about that, but it...
#ALB77 – Dan Harrison
Dan had a simple plan he wanted to be a millionaire, he wanted to own a big beautiful log cabin in his own forest. He wanted his business to dominate the industry, but this actually led him to work himself to the bone and left him feeling pretty low by all accounts....
ALB76 – “I thought if I worked harder, everything would be alright…”
Lee Penton spent years building a small graphic design agency, only to find that his business was running him, not the other way around. He was burning out, and needed to find another way. One "lightbulb moment" later, Lee now pays as much attention to designing his...
#ALB75 – Mummy by Day, Business Owner By Night
Emma Walton was a teacher, with two (very!) young children at home when she started her Tuition business - and through a process of constant, never-ending improvement, Emma’s business has grown alongside her kids. She now employs 45 tutors, and helps 350 children a...
#ALB 74 – THE NINE-YEAR OVERNIGHT SUCCESS
Nine years ago, James Marks sat, head in hands at his kitchen table, wondering how he was going to pay the bills. Today, James owns a number of businesses, employs 34 people, and has systemised his entire operation - leaving him free to write romance novels. Yes,...
#ALB73 – The man who keeps people connected….. Tony Smith
2020 was the year we relied heavily on keeping connected virtually, and truly appreciated how important it is whether that has been for business or to speak to friends and family. This is something Tony has known for years. Genius Technology Solutions provides all...
#ALB72- Christmas Special with John and Jason
So, the end of 2020 is in sight and I am sure that it will be a welcomed goodbye for a lot of us. But firstly we have the upbeat and uplifting ALB Christmas Special, which has become a bit of a Christmas tradition, grab yourself a festive beverage, sit back and enjoy...
#ALB71- The man with the 6-year plan
In this months episode, we have our One Percent Club resident Facebook ads expert Danny Harris. If Facebook ads are what you need advice on Danny is your man, when he started working in this industry, he was purely managing Facebook pages . There was no advertising...
#ALB70 – The man who proves “You can have your cake and eat it”
This months guest is Steve West owner of The Pudding Compartment, (John’s perfect client). Steve makes delicious handcrafted cakes, biscuits, flapjacks, Brownies, sticky, toffee, puddings cookies, scones, you name it, all white labelled for businesses such as Virgin...
#ALB69 – Meet The One Percenters
It is September, which means the doors to the One Percent Club are officially open! The One Percent Club is a community of like-minded business owners. One Percenters want to be held accountable, they want focus, and they want structure. In this episode John and Jason...
#ALB68 – The Ghost of Business Past
#ALB68 – The Ghost of Business Past This summer special episode is going to take you all on a little trip down memory lane and look at not only what John has done over the last 20 years, but also and maybe most importantly what he has learned. Some of the mistakes...
#ALB67 – Rupert Bassadone “The Greatest CADman”
Rupert spent his early years in the circus, living in trucks and caravans. It was inevitable he would work within the event industry. Over the last decade-and-a-half, he’s led many high-profile events across the world including leading equestrian events and music...
#ALB 66 John Risby
Join us with our guest, John Risby, this Thursday for the latest episode of the ALB Podcast. John has worked for himself most of his life, originally a programmer, and later a web developer. He eventually discovered affiliate marketing. Where, like many of us, he made...
#ALB 65 The Queen of Green
In this episode we welcome Karlie Somerville aka the queen of green, at the moment she is helping more than 4000 business owners deal with the crisis that coronavirus has brought. Karlie is a two-time former One Percenter and made a guest appearance in John’s last...
#ALB 64 – Paul Burton
Paul Burton, was the youngest ever editor of the Plymouth Herald. In this episode, you're going to hear Paul talk about how some cardboard sunglasses persuaded the people of Plymouth to queue around the block to buy a printed newspaper. Paul is also going to talk...
#ALB63 – The man who walked away from a £5million business
In this podcast we speak with longstanding One Percent Club member Chris Harris. Chris started his business, working from home with just £300 pounds, building it up into a £5m per year empire. Chris decided to walk away from that £5 million pound a year business, to...
#ALB62 Natasha Conway
In this podcast, we will be chatting with our guest Natasha Conway, the lady who creates ads that make people buy stuff. Over 5 years Natasha has worked on hundreds of Google Adwords and Facebook Ad accounts, and successfully helped business owners and entrepreneurs...
#ALB 61 Colette Mason
This episode we welcome Colette Mason as our guest, Colette is a book coach and publisher, who has helped create more 3,000 titles, she has also worked with 13 best-selling authors, including John Lamerton. Get Notified Of Future EpisodesThis episode we welcome...
#ALB60 – Christmas Special
Here we have the 2019 Christmas special with John and Jason, we are not just coming to the end of the year but also the end of a decade. Apparently, there is a rumour that these pair between them have some good banter, but we will let you be the judge of that.Get...
#ALB59 – The teachers who chose sanity over salary
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: In this episode we are going to be talking with a couple who chose sanity over their salary. Paul and Emily Hughes from Parent Guides to GCSE. Paul and Emily met in 2003 as trainee teachers assigned to the same school and have been...
#ALB58 The PE teacher who climbed a mountain (or six…)
play audio Watch and Subscribe on: Our guest today is Ben Knight from High 5 Sports and Activity Camps. There's a saying: all who wander are not lost. This would probably be a good way to describe Ben's life so far. Wanderlust means a strong desire to travel. And this...
#ALB 57 – The Man who stood on an IED
play audio Watch and Subscribe on: On Christmas Eve, 2007 Royal Marines Commando, Mark Ormrod was out on a routine foot patrol in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan when he stepped on and triggered an Improvised Explosive Device. He was airlifted by helicopter to an...
#ALB56 – The Japanese Trainspotter
play audio Watch and Subscribe on: Chris King has built a business around his greatest passions - travel, riding trains and Japanese food. Originally from the UK, Chris now lives in Osaka, Japan, and spends a lot of his time travelling by train in Japan, Britain, Asia...
#ALB55 – The Black Belt Wedding Singer
play audio Watch and Subscribe on: #ALB55 – The Black Belt Wedding Singer This episode is with soon to be black belt wielding, wedding singer Jamie Reeves from The Best Singing Waiters. So,who is Jamie? Jamie started out as a DJ when he was just 16 years old and...
#ALB 54 – Routine Machine
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: This episode is a little different from the norm - it’s a LIVE reading (complete with some stumbles) of a few chapters from John Lamerton’s latest book on habits and routines - Routine Machine. Why did John write a morning...
#ALB53 – John’s first business mentor and coach
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: In this episode John and Jason are joined by special guest Clarke Duncan. Who is Clarke Duncan? Clarke was John's very first business mentor back in the day and he also appeared heavily in John's first book 'Big Ideas for Small...
#ALB52 – With Elaine Colliar
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: In this episode John and Jason are joined by Elaine Colliar. Elaine is the Five Times World Mind Mapping Champion and Grand Master Trainer for Tony Buzan International Ltd. Tony Buzan was Elaine's mentor, tragically between recording...
#ALB51 – Carly Freemont
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: In this episode we are joined by Carly Freemont of ‘Freemont Property Solutions’ based in Plymouth. Carly talks to us about her career as a professional dancer and how this took an unexpected turn, but more importantly how she...
#ALB50 – Jason Shiers
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: Jason is a transformative coach and certified psychotherapist. He has been working with businesses and entrepreneurs for several years. This podcast takes a deep look into mindset, decision making, lifestyle decisions and Jason even...
#ALB 49 ThreeSixty Mortgages
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: In today's episode we are joined by David Aggiss and Tom Boulden of Three Sixty Mortgages who are based in Plymouth. During this podcast we discuss, priorities making them and keeping them, how to obtain and maintain healthy business...
#ALB48 – First Podcast of 2019 – New Year Special with John Lamerton
play audioWatch and Subscribe on: First podcast of 2019 – New Year Special “Time above all else” “Looking at opportunities from a different perspective” “If I am saying yes to this, what am I saying no to? Something’s got to give” Following on from John Lamerton...
#ALB47 – Christmas Special 2018 with Jason Brockman & John Lamerton
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB#47 – Christmas Special 2018 with John Lamerton and Jason Brockman “Committing to it, then figuring out how you are going to do it” “No real rational reasons just outside my comfort zone” In this Christmas episode you will...
#ALB46 – How Tracy Irwin runs a UK business from Sunny Spain
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB#46 – How Tracy Irwin runs a UK business from Sunny Spain “I tell people how lucky I am but actually it took 16 years of hard work to get here.” In today’s episode, we’re joined by Tracy Irwin, founder of TI Accountancy and TI...
#ALB45 – Elvis isn’t dead… and neither is print media – Alan Marriott
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB#45 – Elvis isn’t dead… and neither is print media – Alan Marriott “A lot of people will tell you that print media is dead. And I think that they’re absolutely wrong.” Back in the 80’s, Geoff Capes could rip a Yellow Pages in half...
#ALB44 – How Jon Monks DOUBLED his sales, whilst working HALF as hard
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB#44 – How Jon Monks DOUBLED his sales, whilst working HALF as hard Everyone loves Black Friday, right? Especially today’s guest Jon Monks. Last year, Jon managed to DOUBLE the previous year’s Black Friday sales figures. But he...
#ALB041 – How to SPECTACULARLY fail your way to success…
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB#041 – How to SPECTACULARLY fail your way to success… We tackle Fear of Failure in this month’s episode, with lessons and advice from Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger and Scott Adams. We learn about the £100k risk that John and Jason...
ALB#040 – Take a simple idea (and take it seriously…)
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB#040 – Take a simple idea (and take it seriously…) We “keep it simple, stupid” in this episode, with key takeaways and lessons from Elon Musk, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger about the power of simplicity in business.Some more Big...
ALB#039 – The KING of Routine
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB39 - The King of Routine Meet the King of Routine. In this episode, a chance conversation with a fellow podcaster leads John to make a huge realisation - understanding the huge part that daily habits and routines have played in his...
ALB#038 – Gerald Ratner, Hot Cross Buns and Sweaty Assets
play audioWatch and Subscribe on:ALB#038 – Gerald Ratner, Hot Cross Buns and Sweaty Assets It’s the Easter edition of the Big Idea Podcast, so it’s only natural that we talk about… Hot Cross Buns! Specifically, how Hot Cross Buns can teach you a thing or two about...
“John and Jason have been there and done it and don’t have an ego about it like many others.
I know I am better organised, better planned and prepared and more likely to succeed sooner, thanks to their wisdom and experience.”

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