00:04 - Jess White (Host)

So welcome to the Networking Spark. My name is Jess White and I'm here to interview inspiring entrepreneurs. Today we've got a really amazing guest who I find inspiring. When I met Vinnie Barnes, I asked him what he did. He told me he had three businesses and didn't run any of them himself, which, at age 26, I think is pretty inspiring. So, Vinnie, thanks so much for being on the podcast hi Jess hi.

00:33

May I ask you, Vinnie, where did you start in life and how has it brought you to where you are today? You're only 26, which is quite young yeah, um.

00:44 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

So I started. School wasn't fantastic for me. I never really got on with the school's curriculum or anything inside it. Really nothing was compatible with my skill sets or anything like that. So school wasn't great for me. I, from school, came up with no GCSEs. I didn't really know what I wanted to do and decided that I wanted to just go into college to learn some trades. See how I got with that. So I did from that point onwards.

01:15

I came out of college, had qualifications, but not in what I wanted to do. So my dad said to me he said look, you've got to get a job. I'm going to send you to the army, which really gave me a kick up the arse to um, to really get on and do something. So I got a summer job that was in tree surgery, started with that, realised quite soon that there was a lot of money to be made in it. So I learned, I got all my qualifications. I really pushed on with trying to do the best I possibly could and went from company to company until I got the best I possibly could be and started a business which is my first business doing that. So yeah, it was a long old journey and didn't really know what I wanted to do but fell sort of onto my feet by learning a trade which was, which was really handy in the, in the situation, and, um, yeah, the rest, the rest, for that is is history, I mean I would you say?

02:12 - Jess White (Host)

Would you say your dad was strict?

02:14 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Dad was very strict yeah, that was straight. He um, he made me cycle to school. He made me cycle to school seven miles there, seven miles back, because he wanted me to learn hard work and I think it's one thing that massively we miss in the world today. I mean, it's so easy to you know, comfort your kids rather than really pushing them into doing something good. So, yeah, I think that was strict. Mum was also quite strict, so it definitely gave me that sort of hard-working sort of.

02:48 - Jess White (Host)

Because we live in a society where the roles have reversed a little bit. It's gone from Victorian ages where everything where you know kids were brought up in a really strict household right, and it seems to have reversed now these days whereas kids get to choose and the parents are very, very soft on their kids. So do you believe that having strict parents like you did, do you think that's done you a lot of good?

03:18 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

yeah, for sure, I mean it's definitely learned me discipline and you know I've learned a lot from both my parents in different ways.

03:25

I think the biggest thing for me is teaching people. Discipline is great because it works out in your life. You've got to be disciplined whether you're driving down the road and you know someone's having a go at you in the road. You've got to be disciplined enough to be like, look, I'm gonna let it go. And discipline going to work, making sure you're there on time, making sure you treat people fairly for what they are and I think it's massive.

03:50

You know you have to be disciplined to do anything, especially in business. You know it's such a big thing. You've got to be disciplined to not lose your head when things are going wrong. You know you're gonna get failures along the way and I think in business you have to be so unbelievably disciplined to be able to deal with the failures. And I think in business you have to be so unbelievably disciplined to be able to deal with the failures you get. I mean, you know, I know you experience failures a lot of the time. You know, and that's it's those 50 failures. But having that one success is what makes it. So you know it's being disciplined in every aspect of that that really, really pushes you on absolutely wise words, Vinnie.

04:22

Um, tell us a little bit about what you do about your businesses so when I started my first company, which was Relief Tree Services, which was the first company I ever started, we basically sell tree services, whether it's cutting down, reducing, you know, supplying logs, anything like that and so we started off doing that, which I really enjoyed. But I believe I'm partially partially lazy in the fact that I want other people to do the work so I can focus on growing it, and I think I've done that quite early on. So I started the business in 2020 so that's four years ago roughly now and I just sort of went with it. I got for a year and then I got a PA on because I didn't want to answer the phone anymore. So again, it's the laziness.

05:14

And then I just got loads of staff in that could just carry out the work, and soon I realised it was making me more money, not going into the going into doing the sort of day-to-day running to the company, and then I could really focus on growing other projects. You know things like that, and so that was the first company I started. When you take people's trees down, you usually put up a fence or, you know, lay a patio or something like that. So then instantly I sort of run into doing the landscaping as well. So we started a separate company that supplies and fits all landscaping, you know, products for customers, patios, fencing, anything, anything along the lines of renovating gardens, we do so.

05:58 - Jess White (Host)

So that's one come. So just tell me, you've got three right.

06:02 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Got three companies. Yeah, one is tree surgery.

06:07

One's landscaping and we've recently set up a loft insulation company which is a bit diversified, going from the garden to the inside of the house. But I think there's a lot of movement on where you can go from building houses. You can start off with loft conversion, then you could go into roofing and it's all building up that wealth of knowledge, roofing or, and it's all building up that wealth of knowledge. You know we've got good people on the ground that can run it for us, that are very knowledgeable. Um, so we just sort of run the business side of it me and one of my friends and I think it's really, it's really good to diversify because it teaches you such a massive change that's good, beneficial to you know building yourself.

06:43 - Jess White (Host)

I think so you've gone from being a real hands-on person, practical person, to being the person that runs the company, to being to working on the business rather than in the business. Which do you prefer?

06:59 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Honestly, I prefer being around on the tools. I love being on the tools, I like being fit, healthy, so I like being busy. But I know it's not best for me and it's so difficult as a business owner when you first start a business to sit back and go. No, I make more money on the tools, which short term you do. You know, when I was on jobs we were making a lot of money, a lot of high turnover with limited staff.

07:25

The second I came off the tools. It's very nerve-racking because you're like well, how can these people do a better job than me? But it's so egotistical to think you're the best person in the world, because I know some of my staff in some aspects of my company do a better job than me, because I will rush for it, because I value it less. So I believe getting yourself from doing the day-to-day to becoming a business owner is such a massive thing because it's it changes your life it's a huge jump that a lot of people don't make manage to make yeah and yet you've done that, so huge congrats.

07:59 - Jess White (Host)

No thank you, um, if you, um, if you were to. So you've come quite far, quite quickly, right Cause that was 2020 and now it's 2024 and you've gone from being a hands-on person in your business to now working on your business. So what? What inspired like? Who is your biggest inspiration?

08:27 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

For a start, To be honest, it was probably the last company I worked for Me and my friend Graham. He was like a dad to me. He was 45, he was good looking, big house, swimming pool and he's got a tree surgery business. He started off again by himself, built up and he did have one of the points, one of the biggest companies in England, and so I worked for him probably two years and he taught me everything I knew to start a company and go from there.

09:00

But he was such a great inspiration because he said to me I want you to live with me, I want you to be my top boy, you know big nine bedroom house which is lovely and simple. So that's great. And so I lived with him and he just taught me not only the best things to do in business, but he taught me really good sort of inspiration outside of business how to hold yourself, how to carry yourself into things, and it was definitely a massive impact in my life and I I think without him I wouldn't be where I am today. He's taught me a lot. I still call him up for advice now.

09:30 - Jess White (Host)

So it's good, it's good and we've had a fantastic relationship for a while it's good to have someone that's someone that you can pick up the phone to, but also someone that inspires you to get through the difficult bits as well. Yeah, I'm talking about people that inspire us, that the you to get through the difficult bits as well. Of course, yeah, talking about people that inspire us. We are some of the people that we surround ourselves Absolutely.

09:53 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Your network.

09:53 - Jess White (Host)

Is your net worth Absolutely? What's your thoughts on networking?

10:01 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Yeah, I believe networking is probably one of the most powerful things you can do in business for many reasons, but one of them being a lot of people sit in their surroundings where they're comfortable in.

10:12

They sit with their friends. If you're the most successful person in your friendship group, you're never going to benefit from that, and I believe my journey with networking has been very, very good because I've surrounded myself with people generically older than me in the business environment. But I think the biggest thing is creating the connections that you need to push yourself further on in life, because if you're sat, just say, in a pub with five of your close friends and you're the most successful person there, you're never going to push to do any better, because everyone sees you as this big figure builds your ego up to be how great he or she is. I mean, it's just not beneficial. And I think the second you start networking, you can really push yourself into an environment, first of all out your comfort zone, but secondly into pushing yourself into doing more, creating ideas that you wouldn't have had before, and I just believe it's it's a massive benefit. I wouldn't be where I am today without networking so, so what?

11:10 - Jess White (Host)

What's the best connection you've ever made? What's you know? It's said that you know you might meet someone in networking and you think, well, I've got, there's no point in me talking to this person. But actually, behind every person there can be, you know a thousand people and and and so many different paths and connections. But in your experience of networking, what is the? What's the one sort of person that you've met that's opened so many doors?

11:35 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Yeah, I mean so when I first started my company um, being a company, the industry I'm in it requires quite a lot of capital equipment to start. So I've got a lot of capital equipment to start. So I got a lot of finance out on things and I financed a van. I financed things I don't come from money and I just thought that's a good short-term fix to my issue. Probably wasn't the best idea, but I went with it.

11:56

Things started to go wrong in the business quite early on and we were eating money quicker than we could earn it and like most businesses do at some point of their life. And so a friend that I met through networking, who's a really, really good friend now again, I call him Dad as well he believed in me and he said to me you know, you're going to make it. He lent me £20,000, because my van was playing up at the time and he said to me he's like, come round to my house. He, because my van was playing up at the time and he said to me he's like, come around to my house. He knew what was going on, he knew the stress it was causing me, and so he he said, come around to mine, we'll have a chat. When I went there, he said look, I'm gonna pay you some money now go and buy yourself a new van. And I just think for him to do that, to believe in me.

12:38

I believe networking is what you make it, you know, if, if you can converse with people and you can if you're a likeable person, then I believe it's so impactful because you can make these connections that will last a lifetime and it's so important. You know, he helped me when I was down, and I mean something that my parents couldn't do, you know, and something that my comfort zone couldn't achieve. So it was definitely so good meeting him, having that, to be able to push my business further forward out of the red. And then the rest has, you know, just been up and up and up. So it was massive for me to network with him, to make that connection, you know.

13:22 - Jess White (Host)

It sounds to me that he just believed in you.

13:24 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Absolutely. And that means the world, right, yeah, yeah, and that's what you get out of networking. I mean it's you know you first of all create friends for life. In diff, you know many different industries that are completely different to yours. You will also benefit so much financially through them for each other. You know it's not just a one-way street. They're benefiting. You're benefiting because you can inspire each other to do so much more.

13:50 - Jess White (Host)

I mean you and I have met each other through networking really through a mastermind right, and I think it's amazing to meet people.

13:59

You know, sometimes when you've got an entrepreneurial mindset and you're surrounded by people that maybe do the 9 to 5 or not being derogatory here at all but you meet those people around you are like, why are you so driven?

14:17

But then when you go and meet other people who are as driven as you and have got that same mindset, then you inspire each other and it's it's. It's really cool, I think, and that's what I love about networking is to find to meet other business owners and although we might do completely different things I mean you, you go up or you did go up trees and and with chainsaws, and I teach yoga, which is totally different but although it's two different things, there's this mutual connection of like ah, okay, you know you. I was saying earlier today that most, no, pretty much every entrepreneur I've met um has had struggles in life, like massive struggles or massive trauma. Um, and often has not fit into that box in school and often has come out with no qualifications. But the most amazing thing is is that they've gone and proven to those naysayers that have said you've got to get qualifications that actually you can be successful without them?

15:21 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Absolutely yeah, of course.

15:23 - Jess White (Host)

What would your tips be to someone much younger than you? That's kind of struggling a little bit.

15:30 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

I believe the biggest thing you've got to do is take it one step at a time. I mean, it's so daunting when people say, starting a business, you have to do this, this, this. It's so daunting and you know I started when I was working for someone else for probably three years. So I probably started essentially my company when I was 19 and you know, as we know, start now perfect later and it's on the weekends. I was doing my own business on jobs and you know it was no legitimacy behind it, but I was providing a service to people and you know there was no legitimacy behind it, but I was providing a service to people and you know I started that and it went from strength to strength. I was doing one job a week and it was two jobs a week, so I was working seven days a week.

16:14

And I believe providing if you're good at something, can you know you can do it professionally. I thought why not just start? You know you can still work a job and you can do that on the side if you want to. You know we've all got, you know, choices in life and we've all got the same 24 hours and I think providing you can capture what you want to do and you've got the first few steps. I mean, all you've got to be able to do is start pushing towards it, whether you register a company and do it the other way to how I done it, which is probably the sensible option. But I just thought I'm good at what I do, I can rent a van, I can rent any machinery I needed, so why not just go out and do it?

16:53

So on the weekends, every single week, I would go out, at least a Saturday, sometimes a Sunday go and provide people the service. And I got to the point where I was like I'm sure I can do this all the time. I can just quite easily just do this the whole time. You know, I had good staff. I had good people around me that were willing to help me.

17:11

You know, like I said to you, the guy that I met, graham, who's like a father figure to me, he was more than happy to help me with anything I needed. So he would give me advice on how to do it and the best steps to take, and I think, providing you get advice from people within your industry, that's a really, really good tip, I think, because it really that will push you on. If you don't know, if you don't plan, you plan to fail, don't you? So it's, it's a big thing getting the right advice before you start business finding people in the industry that you want to be in for sure finding mentors to guide you, which is, yeah, you know what's happened with?

17:44 - Jess White (Host)

you, yeah, would you do anything differently?

17:49 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

loads, um, I think, probably less rash decisions. I'm a very grunt card, own mindset, risk everything for the benefit, and well, I used to be much more than I am now. But um, I think that's you partially need that to start a business. I think it's a really, really good mindset to have to start a business, but it's not economical, it's not very good to sort of maintain that. So, yeah, I think that is important to to sort of touch on, because it's something I would definitely change.

18:24 - Jess White (Host)

Yeah, because as the CEO of your business, you have to change and adapt as you grow you have to grow with your business. So what initially sets you up as a founder, as a startup which is making those daring decisions, might not necessarily be able to carry on. You have to change your mindset, right yeah of course, go on's loads of other things.

18:53 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

I mean I staff, maintaining staff. Obviously, when you go from having a job to becoming a business owner and you've all of a sudden got these people around you in a professional environment and if they don't perform, it affects you massively. I believe I'm quite a tough boss. People don't necessarily like working for me, but I don't think that's always a bad thing. But certainly when I started I wasn't capable in a professional manner to manage people. So that was a big step for me to try and learn again from networking that's and learn again from networking that's. You learn how to deal with people. You learn how to really converse with people in a way that's not patronising in some ways and you know you have to. There's so many skills that you do when you start, when you go from working in to a business owner. You can change. I could go on about all day, but I think definitely people skills is one of them. Um, and obviously just risk taking.

19:51 - Jess White (Host)

Minimise that once you start so why do people not like working for you?

19:56 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

um, I'm just difficult to work for. I expect people to work extremely hard for the time they are with me. Um, I believe I'm a good person. I always look after the people that work for me. I pay them very well, but in turn they get paid to work very hard. So you know, it's a bit of both. It's just I'm difficult to a certain extent to work for just because it is quite full on.

20:18 - Jess White (Host)

Is that because you want people to meet your standards?

20:21 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Yeah, absolutely the only thing that I will ever go by is providing the best possible service. You know, if the only thing that I will ever go by is providing the best possible service, if people aren't working hard, how can they provide a good service? And that's one thing especially. My dad always taught me cycling to school. You're going to have to work for that before you get it. And I'd be like I don't want to go to school and dad would be like you're going to cycle to school and I'm going to call your teachers when you're there, just so I could get into school. And he just wanted to drive into me that you're about to go into an adult lifestyle where it's not school. You know you're not giving your lunch break, you know it's not paid for. You're about to go into a difficult world and you need to meet the standards of what the world will give to you, because otherwise it'll smack you in the face. As you know, we all know, yeah, it's difficult, difficult do you think people have it too easy in the uk?

21:06

Definitely. I think all of western society, you know, is too, too easy on people. You know you're brought up with the mindset that you shouldn't. Essentially, your kids and stuff are, you know, usually in charge of the parent. And you know, if you do this, you know I'll get you a treat on the way home. But I'm very much in the mindset of, ultimately, the child should be disciplined and they should behave anyway. You know I see some parents that are really strict on their kids and some people don't like that. But it works. You know you get the best out of your children. You know not feeding them sugar constantly, otherwise they're really hyper and then they crash and it's. You know there's so many things that we can all learn from. You know watching other people do good things to um, to like benefit our lifestyle and when you've got good kids they grow up to be good people. I think, and you know, providing you're strict and disciplined with them, they always grow up the correct values.

22:00 - Jess White (Host)

I think so how many children are you gonna have, Vinnie?

22:02 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

oh, it depends on how successful I am. I'd love to have eight, eight, but it's um yeah, I mean you need to be strict I know, yeah, that's the thing, it's. Um, yeah, I'd love to have eight children, but I think, reality it's going to be two or four wow, yeah, amazing, yeah, um, what are your thoughts on money?

22:22 - Jess White (Host)

Do you think money makes you happy?

22:24 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Yeah, I. I think everyone should earn more money. I mean, I've been at the bottom of the food chain and I'm not saying I've done amazingly well, but I've had money as well and I enjoy going on holiday and I don't think anyone can say they're not happy when they're on holiday. It's just what people do to have fun. And you need money in life.

22:44

Everything is so expensive, so you've got to be able to sort of push the boundaries and it's it's bad to see, but the amount of poverty in this country or in any western country is massive, because people only earn the bread line. You know whether they're paying rent payments, car payments. You know paying off credit card. They've got this much at the end of it and I think it's so important to push yourself out of your comfort zone to either start a business or grow a business to make sure that you've got enough money to push forward, because all it takes is for that small change in your life, whether you push to get 10% better out of your business or push to start that business. You know, change your life straight away, because three or four years ago I probably went on one holiday a year which skinted me, and now I, you know I probably over holiday, but I enjoy holidays um, and you know, now I can go on holiday whenever I want.

23:42 - Jess White (Host)

I know someone that doesn't like going on holiday Rob Moore.

23:47 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Rob Moore probably not. Yeah, hates holidays, yeah.

23:50 - Jess White (Host)

But I agree with you, yeah. I love holidays too, yeah, or just to be able to travel and have a mobile lifestyle as well Of course. To have the freedom. Yeah, yeah. Which is what essentially earning more money means?

24:04 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Certainly yeah, and being successful earning more money means yeah, and being successful, I think as well. Just pushing on. That is, I think, one. Once you've got a point where you can I send teams out or have people passively earning you income, you get so much more time to do stuff for you. I mean, like whether it's another business you want to start or whether you're happier with the income you already earn. Once you've got people to passively do that for you, you can really do what you want to. You know, just say you want to go for a coffee at lunchtime, you can, whereas in a nine-to-five you're told when you have your breaks. You know, you're told when you go home, you're told when you get there. And that never really worked for me. I mean, I was always disciplined, always went to work, always made sure I turned up. I still do now, but I think it's so regimented. It's nice to have a bit of your life back and to be like if you wanna go out, say, on a Wednesday, you can go out on a Wednesday.

24:58 - Jess White (Host)

So the threat of being in the army is like being told what to do every single day obviously did it for you because it gives you freedom running your own business in a way of course it does.

25:08 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Of course it does. I mean the army. For me I would have probably loved it. I would have probably absolutely loved the army, because I do enjoy being hands-on, I do enjoy having a regimented life, but the army's just I don't know, it's difficult. I know people that are in the army and they say it's a difficult lifestyle to lead, but I respect everyone that's in the army. I think it's a great thing to do, but for me it just wasn't. You know, having someone shouting at you telling you what to do. You know, I prefer to be the person shouting at someone telling them what's there was a good, good motivation to sort your shit out it was absolutely.

25:38 - Jess White (Host)

Yeah, of course um Vinnie, what, what, um. What drives you? What's your passion? What drives you in life?

25:47 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

it's a really good question. Um, what really drives me is I want to be the best that I possibly can be, to leave a good legacy for if I have any children. Um, yeah, I want you know my kids to look at me and go that's my dad over there, you know, oh, is that your dad? You know that sort of thing. You know that's. I'd love that and to have. I mean I respect my parents completely and fully, but I think it's nice to have you. I mean, you remember school. You know you'd see the parents turn up in a really nice car and everyone go, wow, whose dad's that? You know. Just to be that cool parent and set a good example for your kids and I. I think family's a big thing for me. I'm massive on family, doing things for family, and I think to have that is just that next level and be able to provide for them, be able to take them on holidays making more of a rounded person is such a big thing for me.

26:39 - Jess White (Host)

So you know that's, that's really my main driver and and even if we're not talking about children being an inspiration to you know, to someone that's younger than you, that might be listening on this podcast, right, what? What advice would you give to someone that's maybe really wants to be successful, but might not totally believe in themselves, might be lacking in confidence?

27:08 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

I mean we all do that at the best of times. I mean you know you must have had a point in your in your mind, where you thought is this a bit too much for me? Have I bitten off more than I could chew? I've definitely had that loads of times and I think if you don't know, you will never know. And I think if you don't do it now, you're risking everything, because the only people that really are the biggest risk takers are the people that do nothing at all. And I think, personally, if I had taken no risks in my life, I would probably still be going on the one holiday a year.

27:38

Skin yeah not doing anything in my life, not getting anywhere, um, and I think it's so important to really really just try and push and if something doesn't work out, don't quit first time, because, like I said earlier, you know you can have 50 failures and one success, but that one success is the thing that really makes you, and you know people that fail 10 times usually give up, but it could be the 11th time you win, you know. So it's it's so important for young people to understand and really believe in themselves and just push forward, because no pain, no gain. You know you've got to really push yourself out your comfort zone to get anywhere in life.

28:17

I think that's it's such a big thing for me sometimes those failures can be a lesson, right exactly yeah, of course I think you know I try and learn from every, every failure, and every failure and self accountability is something that I was not very good at doing before. That's one thing I didn't say and trying to realise where you failed and trying to make it so it doesn't happen again. Is I actually really enjoy doing it now? I never enjoyed it when I first started the company, because I'm like this has happened because of that and it. You know, most of the time it hasn't.

28:52 - Jess White (Host)

you've put the person in that position. You've done this, you've done that and I think it's so good to so good to be accountable for everything you do. Um, do you believe in philanthropy giving back?

28:59 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

massively, massively. It's a big thing for me. I I believe in giving back. I want to help people. Um, I was actually going to put a thing up on my Facebook about how we can help people to start and grow a company. I was going to do this completely free of charge and I really want to make as many people around me have the best opportunities in life, and I think that only comes from having business, because we live in a world where you go to the shops and the apple that used to be 30p is now a pound, you know, and it's. I think. Personally, you have to have a business in this day and age to actually succeed, and there's so much to it that you've just got to network. You've got to make sure that you make not rash decisions, but make decisions to benefit your life. Whether they do or not, it doesn't matter, because if you fail, you gain knowledge, but yeah, it's so important.

29:53 - Jess White (Host)

What would you say as someone that owns three businesses and is doing pretty well at your age? What is your biggest strength and what's your biggest weakness?

30:05 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

My strength is my drive. I can work 24 hours a day, every single day, if I wanted to um, and probably my people management is still not fantastic. I need to get better at managing people. That's one thing I'd really like to sort of learn and, by the end of the year, be much better at um. But yeah, definitely, I think my drive is is something that I really sort of respect to myself and that's something, again, I have to thank my dad for, because I wouldn't be uh, I wouldn't have that if it wasn't for him.

30:36 - Jess White (Host)

So that's really nice. Um, if you close your eyes and look into the future, in 10 years time, what would you like to see?

30:47 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

I would like to see. I would like to see that's a good question, I don't know I would like to probably have a few businesses that run themselves. I'd like to have a nice house, nice family, and I would probably like to just have some nice cars, be able to go on holiday when I want. You know, same thing now, but just bigger and better. So that's, you know, what I'd like to happen in 10 years really cool.

31:13 - Jess White (Host)

Um, and what would your top tips be for those that are just starting out in business? We're talking about personal development, healthy habits to put in every day and tips to build a business. You can have as many as you like, but what would they be if you're teaching?

31:29 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

yeah, I think the best thing to have is to be driven and mindset is massive, to have a good mindset and to be positive, because I think in this day and age it's so easy to have a bad mindset.

31:43

You know, especially if you're in the pub with those same five friends to sit there, and you know if they're down, you're down, oh we can't make rent payments this much, so on, so forth. And I think to have a positive mindset and to manifest things is such a big thing for me. I mean, I wake up every single morning and I look in the mirror and I tell myself it's going to be a successful day, because I want it to be a successful day. And you've already won past that point, because you've told yourself and you have that smile and I wouldn't do it in front of anyone because I think it's but, but it's, it's nice, it's nice to do that and every single morning to have that, because before you've even done anything, you've already had your first success.

32:25

I think and it's it's important to yeah, mindset is so important and just to be driven, just to be consistently driven. You know, it might be one thing to work five hours or something and be driven in within those five hours, but you need to at least dedicate, rather than five hours, and don't do anything for a month. One hour a day, everyone's got an hour what's it take?

32:41 - Jess White (Host)

so somebody asked me yesterday why am I so driven? What do you think it means being driven, and like how? If you're not driven, then you know why would you want to be driven. If you're like comfortable in the comfortable?

32:55 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

yeah, I think that's right, um, to be driven is just to be able to be able to do something can rather than sat at home watching netflix. And you know some people enjoy that. I mean, I enjoy it every now and then. I don't really watch a lot of tv, um, because I think there's better things to do and you know you've got to find out what you're actually passionate about. You know, some people aren't driven towards money, but they might be driven towards their kids and I think it's really good to have drive and passion about the things you do and for me it's business. So you know I'm very driven.

33:28

A lot of people tell me that also. I know you're very driven, um, but it's it's just to have that passion about something that really makes you light up. It's so important in life, again for mindset, because you know, if you sit in your comfort zone and you go home and you watch a different Netflix series and you've watched all of the series on Netflix or all of the videos on Netflix, essentially I think you know it's a little bit of a waste of life, because there's so many good things to do in this world and so many good people out in the world and so many good connections you can make and and just you know, meeting people achieving goals is so important.

34:05 - Jess White (Host)

You're never going to do that at home did you ever struggle with your confidence when you were younger, or have you always been super confident?

34:14 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

yeah, always been quite confident. I mean I believe it or not, when I was younger I was really fat, so but I was still confident I was, I was quite a fat child and um, but I've always just been confident.

34:24

I've always thought confidence for me was never really an issue, just because I you know just natural way, um, but I believe you know, even if you're not, you can make yourself confident because the second you push yourself out there. I mean, you know, like meeting new people and getting out of your comfort zone is massive, like I'm not half as confident, or sorry, I'm far more confident than I was four years ago because of what I've done in business and networking events and things like that. I think it's so important. I mean, the first time I met you, obviously at a networking event, you know, I'd never met you before and now we're friends and I think it's it's really good to push on these things where the connections you make, you know, last a lifetime, you know, if you use them well.

35:08 - Jess White (Host)

So for sure, yeah, for sure. So what sort of legacy do you want to leave? I think we might have touched upon this, but if you we're talking not if we're not speaking about children, if we're talking about what impact you want to have on the world yeah um, or is that a bit too? No, no, it's not at all, not at all.

35:29 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

No, it's a good question. Um, I would like to have a business that changes things. I would like have. I know we spoke about this earlier. I'm starting up a clothing brand at the moment which I can't say too much about because of copyright and trademark at the moment.

35:45 - Jess White (Host)

Congrats anyway. Yeah, thank you.

35:48 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Yeah. So I'd like to leave a legacy within the business world that leaves a stamp on people's lives, for sure, and just create something that really is good and people recognise as good. I think would be nice. The tree surgery and the landscaping and the insulation businesses are great, but they're not life-changing. I really want to do something that is life-changing and something that can really make an impact on people, public people that I've never met before, which we do at the moment, but on a very small scale. I'd like to multiply what we've got now, doing something else that people can use in their day-to-day life.

36:23 - Jess White (Host)

Awesome Daily habits. Do you think they're important?

36:26 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Massive.

36:26 - Jess White (Host)

What are yours?

36:27 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

Massive Daily habits. Wake up same time every day. Make sure you go to work, Make sure you just have a good mindset every single day.

36:50 - Jess White (Host)

Waking up's a good one. Vinny, waking up's a very good one. Yeah, waking up and just being positive in yourself, yeah, awesome, and just like just being positive. Do you think sometimes you have to put you know people that drag you down? What do you do with them?

36:58 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

I listen to everything I'm told and I used to talk a lot more than I listened, and I've found out that listening is far better because, as you're educated, people that try and bring you down will always try and bring you down, and that's what I found. Through friendships, through starting companies, you learn who your friends are massively. You know, do they share your posts? You know it's free to share a post. Do they do that? Quite a lot of the time they don't, because people don't like to see other people succeed. They'll, so they'll try and drag you down.

37:24

But this actually goes back to. Obviously, connecting with new people is when you put yourself in a situation when you're the least successful person in the room, you're in the best advantage because you have a situation where no one can bring you down. They just want to build you up. So it's so important to be around with people that are better than you, because I believe it pushes you to do far better things. I've got some really good friends, um, who I, who I go out with frequently, and we all met each other through business and they've helped me massively. I've helped them and I think it's. It's a really good relationship because we've all got a generic interest, which is business, and you know they were far better off, far further in business and they've helped me to get where I am now.

38:11 - Jess White (Host)

So I believe it's so, so important yeah, again, coming back to the people you surround yourselves with right, because at Spark we form this community where we lift each other up all the time and I share you know we always share each other's posts and talking about raising the vibration right all the time Because the people you surround yourself with are super important and every day I say it's collaboration over competition yeah, absolutely always and that can speak volumes about somebody as well of course if they are in a space and they just want to be the only person that does that, yeah, um, then what does it say about that?

39:00 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

person exactly. Yeah, of course, and I think it's good to have some competitions. It always pushes you on further. But friendly competition, rather than yeah, it's a competition, is always. You know, I mean, I'm group of friends of a lot of other business owners and some of them have got new businesses, some of them been established for years. But one thing we all bring to the table is if somebody's doing something, it's always good to compete with them.

39:24

So if somebody takes on a new project and it's a big project, thinking where's my next project coming from, and having it friendly, I mean, we'd all sit up for a meal, go out and help each other out, but we all push each other on as well. And I each other out, but we all push each other on as well, and I think it's so important to have that. Where you can, even if they're in the same industries, you know you can push them forward and you can help each other out because ultimately, especially if they're in the same industry, you don't want that negative competition with people. You want to be making sure that you're using that person to the best of your advantage, and same goes for the other side. You know, because you can if you're in the same industry, you know the same things. You can help each other, and it's really important to do that awesome Vinnie.

40:03 - Jess White (Host)

Well, congratulations on everything that you're doing. Thank you, uh. Last question what's the meaning of life?

40:09 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

meaning of life. I'm gonna have to say legacy again. I'm gonna have to say legacy. I think by the time I get put six foot under in a sort of wooden box, I want to be. I want to have people for generations time remembering who I was. I think that's the most important thing for me awesome.

40:25 - Jess White (Host)

I'm gonna ask you one last question sorry, one last one. Do you believe in manifesting?

40:31 - Vinnie Barnes (Guest)

absolutely massively. I think, every single day, people should wake up and tell themselves something in the mirror. It's something that I actually learned, um, just through an influencer that I watch, and I think it's so important to wake up in the morning, at the same time, every single day. Whether it's weekends, you can obviously have a little bit of a line, but wake up and tell yourself what you're going to do in that day, whether it's different every day, whether it's the same thing, um, I think it's important to make sure that you do manifest something every single day, because four years ago, I manifested my success in business and I would never have believed it was where it is now if I didn't tell myself it's going to be like that it's powerful massively because you tell yourself that thing and you become that thing, but you've got to tell yourself first.

41:17

Oh, absolutely believe it or was. It will never happen exactly, yeah.

41:23 - Jess White (Host)

Well, Vinnie, thank you very, very, very much for being on the networking spark. Um, it's been awesome to meet you and um, yeah, that's it. Thank you so much, thank you.