From Talent Scouting to Tech Trends | Freddie Potter

Freddie: [00:00:00] The main thing is building relationships and keeping those relationships and providing a good service.

I mean, as you said, the, um, the recruitment market is so saturated that there's recruitment companies opening up left, right and center, uh, whether it's sole entrepreneurs or, you know, like myself, six, seven years ago, kind of, I took two, me and myself, me and my business partner, Michael, we took on two people at the time straight away.

So, However you do it, there's, there's recruitment agencies constantly open. And so you've just kind of got to make sure that the relationships that you've got, um, are strong enough for them to keep coming back to you

Matt: Well hello there and welcome to Push To Be More with me, your host, Matt Edmundson. And we are about to dive into another deep exploration of what truly fuels the journey of life. [00:01:00] And joining me today, I have a fellow Scouser.

Oh yes. Freddie, uh, Potter from Scope Personnel and Off The Chain will be diving into his unique life experiences, the hurdles he has had to push through, the way he recharges his batteries and what steps he's taking to be more. Oh yes, I'm looking forward to this one. Now don't forget you can find all the detailed show notes and complete transcript of our conversation at the website pushtobemore.

com and hey while you're there why not sign up for our newsletter each week we'll zip all of the show's insights links and goodies directly to your inbox absolutely free which is totally cool so make sure you do sign up for that now this episode is proudly powered and sponsored by aurion Media The magic behind the scenes that lets entrepreneurs and business leaders like you and me amplify our voices by hosting our own podcasts.

But you might be thinking, [00:02:00] why on earth would I start a podcast? Well, let me tell you, my podcast journey has been nothing short of transformational. It's not just about marketing, it's about community, it's about connection, it's about amplification and all those posh buzzwords. Oh yes. It's given me a platform to celebrate my customers, my team, my suppliers, and create a ripple of impact far beyond what I could have imagined.

But I get it. The technical stuff can feel daunting. Set up, distribution, getting the tech right, understanding the strategy. It's a lot, isn't it? And honestly, who wants to get tangled up in production? No one. Not me, that's for sure. And that's where aurion Media steps in. They're the backstage crew that makes sure your show goes flawlessly.

You get to do what you love, engaging with incredible people, and aurion Media takes care of all the nitty gritty details. So if you're wondering whether podcasting is the missing puzzle piece to your marketing strategy, It probably is. Uh, it's probably time to have a good [00:03:00] old chat with aurion Media. Check them out for more information at aurionmedia.

com. That's A U R I O N media dot com. So that's today's sponsor. Let's talk about today's guest. Freddie, a Liverpool native and the driving force behind scope personnel and off the chain, his infectious curiosity and unyielding belief in the transformative power of the crypto blockchain industry has enabled him to craft a talent magnet, oh yes, by which he's attracting the brightest minds to a trailblazing business.

Wow, that's an intro. Freddie, great to have you on the show. How are you doing, man?

Freddie: Yeah, thanks very much for having me. Appreciate it.

Matt: It's funny, isn't it, because I don't know, whereabouts in Liverpool are you? Let's start off with that question.

Freddie: Uh, so I live in Robey at the moment. It's kind of, um, and not far from Huyton. It's basically Huyton,

Matt: Yeah. Yeah.

Freddie: uh, I call it Robey.

Matt: Yeah [00:04:00] It's just a few miles down the road from where I am and yet here we are speaking on the on the old digital internet as it were, but it's good to have someone from Liverpool on the show. I've enjoyed every single guest we've had on the show. Uh, Freddie, I really have, but it's just nice to hear a familiar accent,

Freddie: Yeah, definitely.

Matt: great to...

I suppose the question is, red or blue?

Freddie: I'm a red.

Matt: Yeah? Ah,

good.

Freddie: well at the moment.

Matt: we can carry on the interview. It's funny because half the guys in the office are blue and obviously half of the guys in the office are red. Um, and so I definitely fall on the red camp side. And if you're outside of Liverpool, uh, by the way, just to let you know what we're talking about, there are two football teams.

uh, in Liverpool. What was it Shankly said, Liverpool and Liverpool reserves? Um, yeah, there's also a football team called Everton. Everton wear blue, Liverpool wear red, and there's a little bit of rivalry between the families, which is quite nice and quite good fun. Um, but it's good to know I'm here. [00:05:00] I'm here talking to a fellow Red, and you're right, we are doing quite well at the moment.

You must be pleased.

Freddie: yeah, yeah. I don't think there's much rivalry. I don't think there's been rivalry. I think it's just because we're in the same city, but, you know, if you talk about like, um, position and stature and stuff, I don't think there's much rivalry right now. But, um, it's nice. Yeah, of course. Yeah. No, no, it's, um, it's not looking good for them, but no, we're in a great spot, you know.

Um. Jürgen Klopp is a, is a true leader, isn't he? He kind of defines, you know, what it is to be a leader, you know, his character, and I just think, you know, his infectiousness. The way he brings people together and stuff, even has rivals liking him, um, says a lot about him as well, so, and, uh, know, he's worth his weight in gold.

Matt: yeah, absolutely, I couldn't agree more, a real character, I'd love to have him on the show. Jürgen, if you're [00:06:00] listening, come on to the show, man, we'd love to have a conversation with you. Which leads me nicely actually, Freddie, into the opening question that we always like to open with. The Push To Be More Podcast, or On The Push To Be More Podcast, correct English, uh, as you know, this show is brought to you by aurion Media, experts in making podcast dreams a reality for folks just like you and just like me.

If you could amplify your voice with your very own podcast and invite anyone past or present who's had a big impact on your life, who would you, uh, who would you have on your show and why?

Freddie: Um, I mean, I had a really good think about this, I mean, as a, as a Scouser, obviously I'm always gonna... Leaning towards the Stephen Gerrard's Robbie Fowler's of the world, but, um, you know, I'm a avid Liverpool fan, but, you know, I kind of dug deep into like what actually did change my life.

Matt: Mmm.

Freddie: Um, and [00:07:00] as kind of cliche as it was, the Rhonda Byrne would probably be, because I read The Secret along many, many years ago now, and I was, I was quite young.

I was. Probably 15,

Matt: Mmm.

Freddie: um, and I ran, I read the book, The Secret, and My life at that time, I was just kind of, um, I don't know, I must, I must have been in a good place and to read that book when someone told me to, um, and that kind of changed my perception.

Matt: Mm

Freddie: Hugely. So I don't know. I think that would be an interesting conversation to have in regards to the secret and deep dive, dig a little bit, dive, you know, dive a little bit deeper into, into that book.

Um, that's the one that really stuck out in my mind to say like, that's the one that. You know, really [00:08:00] change the course of how I think,

Matt: So what was it about that book that, that sort of transformed your journey? What, what are some of the things that stick, stick out from it?

Freddie: just the, you know, the law of attraction, what, you know, what you, what you think and what you believe, um, and how hard you work is what, you know, is what you'll get in life. Um, you have to truly believe it. You have to really believe it and think it and do it. Um, in a nutshell, you know, and that, that then thoughts can change a person's life, I would say, and it certainly changed mine.

Matt: Yeah. It's interesting, isn't it? And um, I have to be honest, it's a book that I remember coming out. I've not actually read it, and I, I always remember the cover of it, you know, with the sort of the wax seal and the sort of the old script type thing. Uh, and, um, it's. It'd be an interesting book to read now because it was first published what in 20, I'd probably only say,

Freddie: a long time ago.

Matt: Yeah. a long time, [00:09:00] maybe 20 years ago now, I must be, you must be getting on for that.

Um, so the law of attraction, um, is that, is that, I mean, no spoilers on the book. Um, obviously people need to read it, but is that predominantly what she talks about in the book?

Freddie: Yeah. A lot of it, you know, a lot of it is something that I couldn't take in at the time. I mean, if you, if, for the readers that, to listeners that have read the book, and if you read the book, you know, a lot of it's kind of good, goodly, godly, you know, it's some stuff that I don't understand, but a lot, a lot of the stuff that I took in was, um, You know, was the, was the, you know, the way you think,

Matt: Yeah.

Freddie: know, that, that kind of drove me, um, and that kind of stuck with me forever.

Um, and that's obviously from a, from a kind of a young age when you're quite immature and stuff. Um, that kind of changed me in a big way, um, you know, so, so yeah,[00:10:00]

Matt: Yeah. It's an interesting one, isn't it? Yeah. Because I remember. When I was a teenager, I didn't read The Secret because I wasn't a teenager when that book came out. I wish I was, but I wasn't. Um, a little bit older. Um, I remember reading books like How to Make Friends and Influence People, um, and the other one that had a big impact on me, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Similar sort of thing, you know, and it was, I don't know if I'd, I, I, I... Looking back, I've read the book several times, both of them, and I, I still think they should be on everybody's reading lists. Do you know what I mean? I think everyone should have a good gander at those books. I bought them for my kids, especially the How to Make Friends and Influence people.

I don't know if, at my current, uh, state of life, um, whether or not I would subscribe to all of the theology taught in those books, but... What it did teach me at that time was how to think bigger than the life that I was in, um, and [00:11:00] how not to constrain myself by my think, by my thought patterns, by my thinking patterns.

Um, and that's a super powerful lesson, isn't it? And that sounds to me like what you learned when you were, when you were 15, that actually. Um, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he, that kind of thing, you know, actually a lot of life is how we think about life, how we interpret life. And so it sounds to me like a pretty powerful lesson to learn when you're, when you're 15.

Freddie: Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, for any, for any young, youngster, I mean, to read, to read a book, obviously, you know, when you're that age, it's kind of, you know, maybe unheard of, you know, a lot of, I was kind of playing PlayStation and stuff, probably back then as well, so, for me to, for me to do something like that, at that early age, it kind of, um, Yeah, it's, it's, it is a pretty powerful thing and it's always stuck with me.

And I definitely think people should need to read more, um, and try and take [00:12:00] inspiration from, you know, it doesn't have to be the entire book, but definitely certain things that could change, change your life for the better. So, yeah.

Matt: Yeah, totally, I'm a big fan of reading books, and fortunately it's a habit that my kids have picked up as well, so, although Zoe, my daughter, she just likes to read novels, we were in the car the other day and my son Josh suggested she read a book and she'd go, Josh, why on earth would I want to read a book?

A non fiction book. Which I thought was quite funny. Um, but you're right. It's um, I, I, I'm still with you. I love to read. Book or Kindle, Freddie? Where do you settle on that debate?

Freddie: Uh, I haven't got a Kindle, but I, uh, I do listen to books. I do listen. Um, you know, so I do listen to books. I, yeah, I, I haven't got a Kindle, so that's my, that's my opinion.

Matt: No, fair play, fair play. It's again another interesting debate, the whole book or [00:13:00] Kindle debate or both, you know, but like you a lot of people now getting into the audiobooks as well, which is quite fascinating. Um, so tell me about Scope Personnel. So, um, fast forward a few years, Scope Personnel is a business you run.

What does that do?

Freddie: So Scope Personnel are a automotive recruitment agency. Um, I started the business back in 2016. Um, I worked for a company called Proactive Personnel for probably six, six odd years. Um, and they did a bit of automotive work. Uh, and I just kind of always wanted to, I kind of always had in the back of my mind that I needed to find something where, one, I enjoyed, two, made a lot of money.

Um, and I obviously wanted to be my own boss and, you know, create an environment where I really enjoyed. To work, I had freedom, um... In every sense of the word, so [00:14:00] I kind of fell into, into recruitment and yeah, so Scope Personnel is an automotive recruitment agency. We supply car dealerships, HEV companies, body shops, um, so, so yeah, so we, we kind of dabbled in doing a lot of data science work.

We recruited in data science in New York for a bit. We still do a lot of, um, we still do a bit of, uh, legal. Work. So solicitors, paralegals and stuff in the Northwest. Um, so that's something that we still, we built up a bit of a network for that once we took some people on. Um, we still do little bits of that, but predominantly automotive.

Matt: Yeah, no, fair play, fair play, you kind of stumbled across that and into that, uh, which is quite interesting. So, you've been running your own business now for what, seven years, seven, eight years did you say? Is that right? Um, what is, uh, not just business, I [00:15:00] suppose, this question, but in life as well, Freddie, what are some of the big challenges that you have faced in trying to build the business to where you are now, um, or in life to where you are now?

What are some of the big things that you sort of had to deal with?

Freddie: Um. The most challenging thing is probably, you know, it's taking the, the right risks at the right time,

Matt: Oh yeah,

Freddie: um,

Matt: that,

Freddie: yeah, I would say taking the right risk at the right time. That's the kind of most challenging thing. I mean, we took on a lot of people just before COVID, you know, we've, uh, So, I mean, that was the wrong risk at the wrong time, the right risk at the wrong time.

Um, I mean, we were, that was about four or five months beforehand. You know, we were, we were flying at that point and obviously kind of COVID hit. We, we, we, we stayed and, um, [00:16:00] no one got let go and stuff, but it was, you know, they're the types of risks that a business owner has to kind of swallow, um, during certain times and stuff, but, um, yeah, taking risks at the right time.

Well, who knows when the right time is?

Matt: it's an interesting one, isn't it? Because yeah, a lot of life, a lot of business is dealing with the unexpected. So COVID, no one predicted unless you watch the movie. What was that movie that did predict it? Um, uh, Contagion. Uh, that was the movie that predicted this kind of thing happening, wasn't it? And then wasn't it Bill Gates who like five years ago or whatever it was.

Predicted COVID was coming and no one sort of listened to him, but everybody thinks he's a genius now. Um,

Freddie: Yeah.

Matt: but we, we, like you, COVID hit the business, um, some good ways, some bad ways, and we, we sort of had to deal with that. We had to, to sort of, um, face that challenge, but I'm kind of curious with recruitment, um, you know, you've, you've, recruitment to me seems to be, and correct me if I'm wrong here, Freddie, it seems [00:17:00] to be a very competitive landscape.

Um, so how do you win business in a very competitive landscape? How do you stay relevant? How do you keep pushing on that? Because it strikes me that to be good in recruitment, you've got to have a continual drive.

Freddie: Yeah. Yeah. No, definitely. I think, um, I think the way to stay relevant is, is to build relationships, you know, um, we are, we are a specialist in a niche, in a market. Um, it's not really niche or automotive, but definitely the crypto market is niche. Um, but I would just say it's. The main thing is building relationships and keeping those relationships and providing a good service.

I mean, as you said, the, um, the recruitment market is so saturated that there's recruitment companies opening up left, right and [00:18:00] center, uh, whether it's sole entrepreneurs or, you know, like myself, six, seven years ago, kind of, I took two, me and myself, me and my business partner, Michael, we took on two people at the time straight away.

So, However you do it, there's, there's recruitment agencies constantly open. And so you've just kind of got to make sure that the relationships that you've got, um, are strong enough for them to keep coming back to you. Um, I would say that's the only thing, I mean, there's no real, in my opinion, there's no...

Real USP with a recruitment agency, they all do the same thing unless they have, you know, developers working for them that they've created a system where they can test of, you know, for example, on the crypto side, but you can always pay a company to do that. So you know, and these are the things that we try and do to offer to clients.

We try and, you know, really. [00:19:00] Um, and I think that we send over to clients as well. So they're the types of things that would make you different to other agencies. You would hope to think that they're not doing that. These types of things that would cost you money that the client doesn't know about. Um,

Matt: yeah, yeah.

Freddie: So, I would say building relationships is the main thing.

Matt: And so how have you, how do you do that? How do you build relationships? Cause I, it's one of those things I like going back to the book, How to Make Friends and Influence People. It's a beautiful book, uh, but it's, it's quite, I mean, it's very practical, but super generic as well in a lot of ways. So how do you do that?

What have you found that works for you in terms of building good quality relationships where customers do keep coming back time and time again?

Freddie: Um, giving back when not asked. Um, you know, um, whether it be discounts and they don't ask for it. [00:20:00] Um, sending stuff, you know, to them if need be. Or, um, just constantly staying in touch with them when there's no need to... Contact them, you know, when you're speaking with clients, you know, you don't always want it to be sales.

You want it to be, um, like I said, just build the relationship and, you know, you want to be speaking to the people when they're not recruiting, not just when they are recruiting and as a transaction,

Matt: that's super powerful. I love that. I'm writing it down. Um, that phrase, stay in touch with them even when there's no need to be in contact with them. Uh, there's no reason to contact them. Um, that's, that's actually one of the things that I think people don't do now because they're so busy. Uh, everybody's, you know, trying.

To run around like a, I always say like a blue ass fly. I don't know if it translates. It's just, do you know what I mean? But it's one of those, isn't it, where everyone's just crazy, crazy busy, but making time to stay in touch with [00:21:00] people and check in with people when you have no real need or reason to do so, other than you're just being genuinely kind and curious, uh, is quite an extraordinary gift.

Um, it really is. I, I've. I have to put, I've got this thing in my diary, um, called check ins, uh, and I put it in my diary and there's people that I need to check in with at various points, like some people it's once a week, some people it's once a month, some people it's once every six months, some people once a year, it's fine.

Um, but I just, I, if I put it in my diary, I know I'm going to do it. If I don't put it in my diary, then... Four years has gone past and I've not been in touch with anybody. Do you know what I mean? And it's, um, it's quite an interesting one. So, um, I love what you say there. Do you have any tips and tricks on how you do that?

I mean, I do the diary thing. It's simple, but what do

Freddie: I mean, yeah, as old school as a diary is, I think, um, diaries work amazingly. Um, obviously the software out there as well, that'll always kind of prompt you as [00:22:00] well to kind of do these things. But, um, you know, diaries is, is, is the kind of number one for me really at this present moment. I haven't got any, um, I haven't, there is a software that we use that we've, that we've kind of, that we've taken on recently.

Um, That we put, you know, clients into pipelines and kind of, you know, we touch base, you know, every X amount of days, whether weeks, months, whatever it may be, like you said. So, um, that's making it super easy to do, but yeah, I'm a, I'm quite old school in that sense as well. I'm a, a diary type of person.

Matt: I love how we're saying it's old school to have a diary, such is the state of the world in which we live. Um, that's, that's fascinating and I think you're right, building relationships, staying in touch with people, um, and just, you know, taking the cheeky moments, thank the show sponsor again, Ori Media.

That's one of the great things about podcasting, you know, doing a podcast, you get to stay in touch, you get to meet people, you get to stay in touch with people, it's awesome. [00:23:00] So you mentioned, uh, Freddie there in passing, and we talked about it a little bit in the intro, but you, you talked about the crypto market.

Just explain what you're doing in the crypto sector.

Freddie: So we, uh, supply crypto companies across the world, um, so obviously crypto is a kind of the wild west, I suppose, um, but we, yeah, we supply crypto companies, you know, they're all obviously all software companies, so they're all building something that, on the blockchain, um, and Once they get raises, whether they've got raises or they're, you know, they've been going for a few years, um, we'll help them grow with the right staff, basically.

Matt: That sounds, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? It sounds incredibly niche. I mean, and very different to automotive. I mean, did you just wake up one day and think, ah, I'm just going to do crypto as well as

automotive? Or was there a [00:24:00] story there?

Freddie: yeah, there is a story. Yeah. Um, so myself and my partner, we always kind of just wanted to, we wanted to invest in something. And, um, I mean, I, I, I did invest into Bitcoin back in, I think it was around 2000, it was 2017, 18, something like that when XRP first came on and it was Ethereum, Bitcoin, and there was a big, there was a big hype over it.

And I think, I think Bitcoin went to. Whatever it went to, I think it was like four or 5, 000 or something. And then before COVID, um, myself and my partner, we were just kind of like, oh, we're not, we didn't know what to do because we wanted to invest. And then when we kind of got back into work, we were like, right, we need to, you know, we can see Bitcoin kind of moving and someone randomly was speaking to us about it.

So we started looking into it properly because a good few years ago, I was just betting on it because there was a big, massive hype on it, but I didn't understand it. [00:25:00] Um, this time I actually went a little bit deep, you know, went down the rabbit hole, as you say, in, in the Bitcoin thing.

Matt: going down it,

Freddie: and I'm, and I'm still going now.

Yeah. Um, I don't think I can see the light, but I think there's, I think there's a light of a different light at the old, at the, uh, in this, in this rabbit hole that I'm in. Um, so, so actually we started trading Bitcoin. Um, we. We put some money into Bitcoin and then we started doing research on all the, um, well the, they're called altcoins, um, so...

The old coins are including Ethereum, Solana, BNB, you know, all those, all those types of companies that are not decentralized as Bitcoin is the only one that is decentralized. So we started trading all these companies that were raising, obviously stocks were going crazy. And then we started looking into these companies because that was our strategy to trade.

Um, and [00:26:00] we looked at their websites and their careers pages. Um, Every one of them was like hiring like crazy and we were like, Oh my God, they're making a lot of money on the crypto markets. What's, like, why can't we just like kind of pivot a lot of the business into hiring, looking for these, looking for these companies because I mean they were raising 15, 20, 30 million dollars every day.

Why couldn't we have a piece of the pie?

Matt: yeah, yeah,

Freddie: So we did. So we basically, um, kind of started reaching out to companies and I mean, it, it absolutely went manic. It was just, we were fighting clients off in the end. I mean, we was, we were just saying, look, you're going to have to pay upfront, um, for, for roles because we've got so many jobs on, you know, we can't, we were paying us upfront, um, and the rest is history really.

I mean, it was just. Uh, yeah, it just kind of, I mean, obviously it went like that, you know, Bitcoin went up [00:27:00] to 65k, um, came down from 65k to 30k, then went back up to 65k, and then obviously it is what it is now. Um, but yeah, it, it just kind of, it kind of went from there. We just kind of... We made a decision at the right time.

Like I said, we, we took a risk, um, at the right time and it paid off hugely. Um, so at the moment it's a bear market. It's not as busy. Um, we are ticking over. It's, you know, we're still, we still believe that there's going to be a real recession coming. Um, In the next coming months, and then bitcoins are called a tarving, um, which hopefully bitcoin will start to start to rise again.

And, you know, things, things will start to look up again. But, um, yeah, so that's the kind of story really. We took a risk at the right time.

Matt: I love that because you, well you say you took a risk, you saw an [00:28:00] opportunity. Um, you know, on the hiring pages, you guys were great experts at recruitment and you think, well, maybe we could recruit into this industry as well. Did you find that by diversifying slightly like that, did it take away from the automotive business or was it like a case of, you know, a rising tide sort of floats all ships as it were and everything started to go up?

Freddie: Yeah, no, we, um, we still, we still do a lot of work in the automotive and we've still got the team working on the automotive side. It was myself, um, Michael, the director, and Josh who was, we kind of said, right, we're gonna, we're gonna move away from, from what we're doing here. Um, because at that time we was actually doing data science in New York.

We wanted to move into a tech industry. Um. So we, we did prior do tech roles, like software developers and stuff. Well, a developer, I mean, a data scientist isn't a developer that, you know, they're some of the smartest [00:29:00] people that I've ever spoke to in my life. You know, they're all PhD, been to Harvard, Stanford, et cetera.

Um, so we were doing data science. We just pivoted. The data science side, um, into the crypto side, we basically, we, we can scale the automotive side, but the fees, I mean, I mean, it sounds quite, um, it sounds terrible, but the fees just aren't big enough in the automotive industry. It's, it's kind of a race that, a race to the bottom, as they say, um, you know, the, the salaries are.

The salaries are low in the UK compared to what they are across the world, and all these tech companies that are paying minimum 100, 000 and 150, 000, our fees are 20%, you know, so for, for us to get a 30, 000 fee, um, you know, that's. Potentially seven to 10 placements in automotive, you know, so data science was the same, you know, New York, obviously cost of living was a lot [00:30:00] higher.

Data scientists were on 150, 000, our fees were 20%. So you know, we could, we could knock one or two of them out a month and you know, you're doing, you're doing a lot of money. So we pivoted the data science side. So we were already doing a lot of Zooms on, on, on, on calls and stuff. So we had a lot of experience during that, a lot of experience speaking with U.

S. companies, um, developers and stuff. We understand. Front end, back end developers, all that. I mean, when I say understand it, I'm no coder, I'm no developer, but I kind of, kind of get it. I know what languages they use, etc. Um, but, yeah, we just kind of pivoted that side of it. So, the automotive side, I mean, we've just recently took on a few people for that because, um, they are Exceeding expectations right now, um, and they've never been busier.

Um, so we've, we've, we're growing that side as [00:31:00] well as this side, you know.

Matt: fantastic, fantastic, wow, love it, it's, it's, it's, um, and good on you, good on you. I'm curious, Freddie, you know, you're, you're busy running around, you've got, uh, you know, these sort of two recruitment agencies going on, you're doing your own trading in blockchain, um, you're watching Liverpool Football Club, obviously, uh, What do you do to, um, to be as in, how do you recharge your batteries?

How do you stay mentally sharp? How do you stay on top of your game? Um, what, what drives you? What do you do?

Freddie: Um, how do I wind down or how do I, um, stay sharp in what I do?

Matt: Let's go with both. Yeah, yeah. Congratulations.

Freddie: Okay, let's go, uh, so, okay, we'll start off, I mean, we do, um, Myself, we, we, we kind of learn how to trade a little bit better, you know, we're, we're [00:32:00] constantly on Twitter, we're constantly doing, um, podcasts, um, you know, staying on top of what is relevant right now.

Um, so they're the types of things we're doing trading courses as well. Um, you know, during the day we'll do an hour or so a day of a trading course, just so we wait for the new. When the bull run comes back, just so we can kind of position ourselves a lot better than we did quite sporadically on the last one, even though, I mean, it was like shooting fish in a barrel in the last one.

You could put your money into anything and everything was flying up at that given moment because, um, I mean, the, the, the, uh, the print machine was on. Um, so there was a lot of, there was a lot of, um, there was a lot of money about, people throwing money about, so it was, it was literally like shooting fish in a barrel.

So I think this time is going to be a little bit different, but it is, you know, it'll still be, um, you know, ready to go, guns [00:33:00] blazing kind of thing. We just, we're just trying to position ourselves. Mentally for Hoda. Um, so podcast is the way forward and Twitter lives on, on, on, on, on the crypto market. And then, um, and then wind down, I mean, obviously family.

Um, I've got a wife, uh, young daughter, one on the way. Um, so you know, they're, they're the. Thank you. They're the things that ground me when I get home. Um, so, you know, that's the kind of main thing. And then, you know, obviously I like a lot of sports. I've played a lot of sports over my life. And, um, I mean, I play a lot of golf, which obviously my wife doesn't really, uh, appreciate.

Matt: You know what I got, um, I got the other day, Fred, I got, I was given tickets to the open on the world. I said

Freddie: I went.

Matt: is a few, oh, you would've been there. Uh, I, and I went, um, I was given two tickets, uh, by a client. Very kind of him, um, uh, [00:34:00] DHY from Revive Active. Uh, he, um, he gave me a couple of tickets and I went along to the golf.

Golf, knowing nothing about golf, other than I knew a bit of it was called the green, right? Because I've, I've been so, I've never been good at golf my whole life. And so I've now got to that stage of life when My kids are old enough that I can hang out with their best mates and actually have a good time.

And so I went with my son's best mate, a guy called Sam, who knows an awful lot about golf. Um, and he works at a, uh, a golf place during the, you know, when he's not at uni. And, um, we went, we had a couple of beers, we enjoyed the golf, and I learned a lot about golf and I thought actually this was very good and I, I, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I thought I can see why, uh, men of a certain age get sucked into golf and will spend insane amounts of money, uh, to, to hit the ball around the, around the fairway in the green, and I thought it was a fascinating insight into the world of golf.

I really enjoyed it.

Freddie: Yeah, it was, [00:35:00] it was a super day. I think I went on the Friday when it was quite sunny, which is, which was nice. Um, but yeah, a long time. The one thing I love about golf, um, I played football all my life as well. I've, uh,

Matt: Yeah, you were a professional footballer, weren't you?

Freddie: yeah, when I was, well, I, I signed a one year at Chester. Um, and then, um, and then after that, I, uh, just played semi-professional football for probably 15, 16 years.

Something along those lines. Um, so I was getting paid to play retired probably a year and a. A bit ago now, um, age got the better of me, unfortunately, I think I was picking up, picking up too many injuries, but that's the, the one thing I missed about football is the, is the camaraderie with the lads and the switching off during football.

I mean, there's, there's literally nothing else that you think about during football when you're playing those

Matt: Mm, mm,

Freddie: and it's the same with golf, it's the, it's the one time and I don't pick up that, that screen, that, [00:36:00] that phone for four hours. I mean, it's, it's, um, it's bliss. You know, otherwise you're stuck to it, aren't you?

And I think it's become such a part of the human body. Um. It's hard to get away from it, but they're the things that, like, really kind of replenish the soul.

Matt: Yeah, yeah, yeah, no fair play, fair play, and you're right, I mean just doing something to get away from the phone and the screen and the business is a beautiful thing to do, um, but four hours of golf, yeah, especially when you've got young kids, I imagine you have to choose your times carefully,

Freddie: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I make sure, I make sure I do some things in the house, you know. I'm currently, uh, painting the fences in the, uh, in the garden and stuff. So I've been doing a lot of gardening, um, doing a few bits around the house. So, uh, yeah, I pick my times well.

Matt: How often do you do a round of golf?

Freddie: I try and play at least once a week, once a, every Sunday I'll play, but [00:37:00] I'll play at like half seven, eight o'clock, so I'm home by five o'clock, so I've still got some part of, you know, the day in front of me, um. I mean, yeah, I, yeah, I kind of took it, I took it on, I took out a membership at my local course a year before I was going to retire, so I thought if I get into it a little bit more now and I start paying a membership fee, it makes it easier, the transition easier. I used to play every Saturday, so I thought if I just play every Sunday, you know, four hours, it's better than losing the whole Saturday.

Matt: yeah, yeah, fair play, fair play. What does the future look like for you bud? What does more look like?

Freddie: Um, growing the business, um, growing the business is the, is one of the main aims, I think, and putting myself into a position where I, um, I mean, financially, completely [00:38:00] financially free would be, you know, the, uh, the main goal. Um, I would say, you know, it's a tough one because it's just, I mean, my rabbit hole, hole, um, sees the future quite bleak, um, so I am trying to position myself where I don't get caught in, uh, the web.

Matt: Yeah, interesting, it's interesting as well, phrases like financially free, because I'm always curious what they mean. For people, because they mean different things to different people, don't they? And, and, uh, what that means and what that looks like. And why do you think the future's bleak?

Freddie: Um, how long have we got? Not bleak, um, I just think there's, um, there's, there's too many naughty people. Uh, there's the, I [00:39:00] just think the power above has taken and trying to take too much power away from the people and I think it's spiraling out of control. Um, whether we can do anything about it, I don't know, but, uh, yeah, I just, it's hard to see past it right now.

I mean, yeah, COVID, like you said. Bill Gates predicting COVID and then COVID happening, um, kind of says it all for me, but I don't want to go down that. I don't

Matt: Fair play. Fair

Freddie: to go down that thing, but it's just, it's just, um, yeah, I mean, it doesn't, it's not bleak. Um, there's, there's definitely, there's definitely hope, you know, there's, you know, there's a lot of transformation happening.

AI, chat GPT, which will probably take over recruiters in five or 10 years time. I'm assuming, you know, um, AI bots and stuff like that, you know, um, you know, there, [00:40:00] there's going to be a lot of companies, a lot of jobs going to be getting taken, you know, a lot of drivers, you know, I'm sure there's probably going to be, I know there's a company right now I'm following on LinkedIn.

Um. Stop. Stop. You know, there's, there's a AI robots kind of driving lorries or they, they are creating them right now. So there's a lot of jobs that are going to be taken. So that's going to be difficult. And then the whole, the whole phrase of own nothing and be happy kind of worries me. Um, so yeah, those types of things worries me, but it's, it's time to get past the, what can I do about it to, what can I do about it?

Or, um, that's why I say when I'm saying financially free, I haven't got a number in my head. I just want to be in a position where if I want to get up and leave and go to another country, I can at any point in given time, that would be. I mean, I probably can't do that right now, but,

Matt: yeah,

Freddie: I [00:41:00] just want to, I want to be able to do that and not worry at all, you

Matt: yeah, no, fair enough. If you were, um, if you start again today, would you still do what you're doing now? Would you start in this market or would you, would you throw your energy and resource into something else?

Freddie: Um, I wouldn't change anything because, I wouldn't change anything because I just think, It's made me who I am today. Um, um, it's easy saying, you know, it's easy saying if I had a magic ball and I, I would love, love to have done tech back in the day, obviously, I mean, if I would have got into tech when I first started the business and recruited an IT, IT people, the UK or wherever it may be, I would have made a lot more money, but yeah, I would have made a lot more money.

Um, I wouldn't have met the people that I've met, um, and I wouldn't be on this journey now, and I love the journey I'm on, it doesn't have to always be rosy, um, so, [00:42:00] I mean, we learn from every, everything that we've been through, and I'm happy with how everything's gone, so I wouldn't, I can't, I can't say I'd change anything, because I can't change anything anyway.

Matt: yeah, that's very true, that's very true. Uh, right, let's move on to the question box. Ah, yes, this is where I take the questions out of the box. I'm going to flick through them, sir. You're going to tell me when, stop, wherever it stops, that's the question that we are going to ask. Stop. Okay. This is a fascinating question. Uh, in what ways are you prone to addiction?

Freddie: In what ways am I prone to addiction? What do I get addicted to?

Matt: Yeah, I guess it's an interesting question, isn't it? What way do you, like, I know, for example, if I was gonna answer this question, I suppose there's a number of different ways I'd answer it. [00:43:00] What sort of things do I get addicted to? What draws me in? So, food wise, I can't eat just one of the biscuits, I have to eat the whole packet, which is never good, right?

It's, it's, it, so sugar would be, would be on my list. But I also know if I, um, if I'm working and I get sucked into something, um, and you, I'm, I can, I can get addicted to work in, in a lot of ways, do you know what I mean? And, and, uh, think about that. So yeah, I don't, I, I don't know if that's a, these questions are just open ended questions.

I'm just curious. It's a really fascinating question, isn't it?

Freddie: yeah, no, and it definitely is. I mean, I'm not a, eat the full type, full packet of biscuits. I've never done that, you know, I know people do say that. I've never actually done

Matt: mate, just be very grateful. Thank, thank the Lord that that's not, that's not something that, uh, you

struggle with.

Freddie: I just think I've always kind of, um, I've kind of always watched my weight I suppose, and I've always thought three biscuits is enough, you don't need any more than that. So I think I [00:44:00] developed a, um, a habit of drinking my tea as quickly as I can, just so I can't dip any more biscuits my cup of tea.

Matt: That's brilliant.

Freddie: So I've, um, I think my tongue's now, um, used to boiling hot water. Um, I've adapted my mouth to, that. Um, so in that sense, yeah, like two or three biscuits of a night, you know, that's definitely it. A cup of tea is, I can't go to sleep without one. Um, but I think, um, what am I prone to addiction? Um, proving, proving, not proving to people that I can do it. Um, but, I think always, I, do you know, on the other side, flip side of it, I love people proving me [00:45:00] wrong. I

Matt: Mmm.

Freddie: would say that's kind of, I expect, my addiction is to get the best out of people. Um, but when people aren't giving me the best, whether they're gonna, whether they're gonna achieve what I know that they can achieve, um, but they're not doing it.

And I like, I like seeing that

Matt: Wow. Yep. Deep. Loving that. Loving that. Um, and so how do you, it's interesting isn't it, I guess when you're seeing people and you, you feel like they're not getting the best out of themselves, which they... , which you see in them. You know, some people say see it the gold. You see the golden of the people. Um, and I watch TV shows like, um, hell's Kitchen with Gordon Ramsey, who just is effing and Jeff and shouting everybody now.

He's either a big complainer or he sees something in them that maybe they don't see in themselves and his, and that's the way he's been taught to get it [00:46:00] out of them. So I guess, are you a, are you a Gordon Ramsey kind of a guy? Or are you a sort of a juergen lop, hug them and smile kind of a guy?

Freddie: bit of both

Matt: he Fair answer. Fair answer.

Freddie: and sort. I think of, uh, I think of a little bit of both. Um, I think I can be stern when, when need to be stern. Um, but uh, I put my, I do put my arm around people when, when, when needed as well. So I. I'm a bit of both. I think I'm the, I'm the so called bad cop in the office. Um, but I can be the good cop and we'd be, yeah, someone's, someone's got to be that person.

So I would probably say that, but that's why I kind of, um, love Jürgen just the way he is. I mean, you've obviously, you've got to try and have both sides and wear many hats, obviously when you're running a business and stuff. So, um, you have to, I think when I, when I, when I talk about that, it's. Because, because of my drive and what [00:47:00] I, what I expect of myself, I kind of expect of others.

Matt: Yeah,

Freddie: But, it's not that I don't want them to do that, I do want them to, to go on and achieve whatever they want to achieve. It's just I want them to, to push on and really, um, earn good money and... When they're not earning good money, I just know it's because they're not working hard enough and, um, it's trying to, trying to manoeuvre them into the best way possible, I would say.

Matt: there's a fair point and I, I can't imagine for one second that Jürgen is all nicey nicey when things aren't going well, I imagine there's a few, few sessions of straight talk, let's

just put it that way, you know, you can, I don't speak German fluently but I don't think you'd need to with some of those sessions, right, and I think sometimes Um, when I think about the team and I think about people and trying to get the best out of people, sometimes I wonder if I'm too soft on people because you do need to [00:48:00] be sometimes, don't you?

Hard on people. Um, there's, there is a balance I think and, and sometimes I wonder if I go too far the other way and too softy softy. Uh, and I wonder if that's actually a downfall of me and my leadership style. It's good in some respects, but it's not good in every respect. Um, and so, yeah, I think we're all still learning the balance, aren't we?

What that means, uh,

Freddie: Yeah, definitely. That's why me and my partner, well he's actually my best friend, but funnily enough we, um, I mean the first year, the first year and 18 months was a rollercoaster because you, you go into, you go into business with your best friend. I mean, it's, it's, uh, It's an absolute eye opener, um,

Matt: Oh yeah.

Freddie: you go from best friends and then when there's, when it's business, it's, you're working in different ways and you're trying to figure each other out and stuff.

Um, but we work so well now that, um, he is literally like, he's the nicest guy. Everyone loves him. Where as I'm the complete opposite, everyone likes me, but just not as much as my [00:49:00] business partner, so, um, but it works so well, you know, um, and that's the kind of just how the roles that naturally kind of progress, but it's, it's He sees, he kind of learns from me, and I learn from him as well, that sometimes people can take your kindness for weakness, but, um, it's just about being stern at the right time, just like taking in business, it's about, it's about taking risks at the right time, it's about speaking to people at the right time, and being stern at the right time, when Enough is enough, you know, people get a little bit too, um, cosy with certain jobs or, um, cosy with their work and environment and when you do you need to really come down and, um, make it real for them, you know, um, so I would definitely say there's a time and a place isn't there?

You know. I'm all about kind of making a happy environment and making an environment in work where it's, you know, it's super cool to come to work. Um, and everyone loves it in our work, I think. [00:50:00] Um, not many people leave, but, um, yeah, it was just, it's just about creating that environment, isn't it? But if people

Matt: Yeah.

Freddie: do take, take the, the Michael, uh, then, uh, literally in this case, it's his name, then, uh, we have to put our foot down.

Matt: Yeah. No, fair comment. Fair comment. Listen, Freddie, I'm aware of time. I'm, I'm fully engrossed in the conversation though, man. And, um, totally appreciate you coming on the show. If people want to connect with you, if they want to find out more about... Uh, the recruitment business, um, or the recruitment businesses, or want to connect with you.

What is the best way to do that?

Freddie: Uh, yeah, just follow me on LinkedIn, uh, at Freddie Potter, um, and the, the scope, uh, LinkedIn is at Scope Personnel, um, same with off the chain, off the chain if you're into, into crypto, um. And you want to get into that market. It's, uh, off the, at off the chain. Uh, we've got Twitters [00:51:00] as well, which is just literally the same at off the chain at Scope Personnel.

Um, obviously websites are all the same. Www scope personnel.co uk off the chains, off the chain do xyz. Uh, we try to make it a little bit more crypto E. Uh, A little bit more tech. Um, so, so yeah, they're, they're the kind of the main ways that you can, that we can get hold of, get hold of us. Um, so yeah.

Matt: Fantastic. We will, of course, link to, uh, all of those in the show notes. Now, I love, Freddie, how you're still calling it Twitter, uh, as

Freddie: Oh, it's X. It's yeah. Elon. Yeah. Yeah. Another, he was probably my other, he hasn't, he's inspired me. I mean, um, He definitely has inspired me. He would be one of the three people I would love to get on a podcast. How, how interesting that would be. I mean, I've listened to a lot of his podcasts and stuff, but actually seeing him in person and that would be, that would be super, super cool and super incredible.

So he would be, he would be up there.

Matt: Yeah, no, [00:52:00] no doubt. I'd love to have him on the podcast. Again, Elon, if you're listening, and why would you not be? Uh, do get in touch. We'd love to have you as a guest on the show.

Freddie: Well, he loves his crypto. He loves, he loves Dogecoin, doesn't he? And stuff.

Matt: Oh, does he? I, I've no idea what he's

Freddie: Yeah, he's a, he's a, he was a big part of why Bitcoin kind of, you know, sometimes, you know, goes up and down and stuff like that. So, you know, he's a, he's one of the most powerful people on, on planet earth, definitely by a, by a, by a big way.

Um, he's super cool. Um, also we've done a, uh, charity events, just wanted to shout this out very quickly. We've done a charity event at the Titanic Hotel recently. Um, we've been supporting a friend of ours, um, we've got about 200 people there. I think we raised close to 22, 000

Matt: Oh, well

Freddie: it was, and it was for this.

If you can see it, I don't know whether you can see it.

Matt: Yep.

Freddie: It's the Darby Rimmer, um, MND Foundation. It's basically, um, Stephen Darby used to play for Liverpool. Um, he's caught, [00:53:00] uh, a disease called motor neurone disease, basically. Uh, and we raised some money for him, but it was just to make your listeners aware. Uh, you know, of MND. Um, and obviously if you've got any, if you need to have a look at their website, that's the Darby Rimmer Foundation.

Um, it's a, obviously he's a close friend of ours and something that we're constantly trying to raise awareness for, so.

Matt: Fantastic. Fantastic. Well, we'll send us the link. We'll put it in the show notes as well. And people can link through to that. But that 22 grand, that's an amazing amount of money. That's, uh, that's awesome, man.

Freddie: Yeah, no, it was good. It was a good night. I'm still feeling it, to be honest, I'm a little bit, I'm still feeling it.

Matt: course. Hmm.

Freddie: Yeah, it is, yeah. So, um, so yeah, so it was amazing. We had 200 people there with a lot of auction stuff. Um, we had some trips to go and watch Bayern Munich play. Um, Flight Hotel, we had Harry Kane shirt signed, Trent Alexander Arnott shirt signed.[00:54:00]

Um, Loads

Matt: did that go for? I should have, I should have been in on this auction.

Freddie: Um, I think the Trent shirt went for about 600. I think the Kane shirt went for something quite similar. I think the Bayern Munich trip, that was for four people in the end. We extended it. It went up for 2, 600. Um, I mean, it was just incredible. We had, we had... We had, um, Liverpool box tickets, um, sitting in the box.

We had the beautiful game, so it was, it was incredible, really, and to get to the 22, 000, I mean, it exceeded our expectation again, but, I mean, it's probably a drop in an ocean to put, compared to what they need, but every little helps.

Matt: Yeah, you can't let the big numbers scare you out of doing the little numbers, right? You just gotta keep going. Gotta keep going. Freddie, listen, really, really enjoyed the conversation, man. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Just throwing my pen on the floor. Uh, but thanks so much for coming on the podcast.

Really appreciate it. Great to chat with you about all of these things and a great way to [00:55:00] end by sharing the news on the MND charity there.

Freddie: Thanks very much for having me. I really appreciate your time. It's been great.

Matt: No, it's been great. It's been great. Well, that's a wrap on another fantastic conversation. A huge thanks again to Freddie for joining us, uh, and, uh, just chatting away. Just love that. And a huge thanks, obviously, to the show's sponsor, aurion Media. For all you change makers out there contemplating podcasts as your new vehicle of expression and connection, definitely connect with them at aurionmedia.

com. And of course the links to everything or media, Freddie, their charity will all be on the website. Push to be more.com. Now remember, keep pushing to be more. Don't forget to follow the show wherever you get your podcasts from because we've got some more seriously compelling conversations up our sleeves.

And I don't want you to miss any of them. And in case no one has told you yet today, let me be the first person to tell you, you are awesome. Yes you are created. Awesome. It's just a burden you have to [00:56:00] bear. Freddie's gotta bear it. I've got to bear it. You've got to bear it as well. Now, Push To Be More is brought to life by aurion Media.

For transcripts and show notes, swing on by the website at pushtobemore. com And a big kudos to the team that makes this show possible, including Sadaf Beynon and Tanya Hutsuliak, and a huge shout out to Josh Edmundson for the fantastic, upbeat and funky theme music. So from Freddie and from me, thank you so much for joining us.

Have a fantastic week. Wherever you are in the world, I'll catch you on the flip side. Until then... Keep on pushing and bye for now.