The Instructor Podcast with Terry Cook talking with leaders, innovators, experts and game changers about what drives them.
Terry CookWelcome to the Instructor Podcast.
Terry CookThis is a show that helps you become an even more awesome driving instructor.
Terry CookAnd as always, I am your slightly robust host, Terry Cook.
Terry CookAnd I'm delighted to be even more delighted that you have chosen to listen because we are continuing season nine, which is all based around technology.
Terry CookAnd who better to have as a sponsor for Season nine than My Drive Time, the industry's premium award winning business management app.
Terry CookFind out more@mydrivetime.co.uk but on today's show I am joined by Josh Holleran of Mirror Signal Podcast and we dive into our top five online resources for driving instructors.
Terry CookNow, we do step away from some of the more obvious choices, but I'd like to advise you to take a look at some of our suggestions, especially the ones you haven't used previously.
Terry CookAnd you'll find links for all of those in the show notes.
Terry CookBut just before we get stuck in, I want to take a moment to remind you that it is Road safety week on November 17th and this show goes live on November 17th.
Terry CookSo I'm going to encourage you to take part in that.
Terry CookAnd one of the ways you can do that is to raise money and raise funds.
Terry CookAnd you can donate directly through the Instructor Podcast link because we are trying to raise £1,683 for break because unfortunately that's how many people died as a result of traffic collisions in 2023.
Terry CookSo we're going for that number.
Terry CookWe're already 10% of the way there as I record this.
Terry CookSo if you head to the website ww the instructor podcast.com@the top of that page you'll find a button that says Donate to break.
Terry CookSo you could donate yourself, you could raise some money with your driving school, or you could just share this link and get again, get other people donating.
Terry CookThat would be awesome.
Terry CookBut I'd really encourage you to do something for Road Safety Week.
Terry CookBut for now, let's get stuck into the show.
Terry CookSo welcome to Terry's top five online resources for driving Instructors.
Terry CookI'm delighted to be joined by the man who has been missing in action for quite a while, Mr.
Terry CookJosh Holler.
Terry CookAnd how we doing, Josh?
Josh HolleranI'm doing great, thank you very much, Terry.
Josh HolleranThanks for having me.
Josh HolleranI thought I'd been missing long enough to just be forgot by everyone, but here we are.
Josh HolleranI'm glad to be back.
Josh HolleranIt's good to catch up with you.
Terry CookWell, no, I was Deciding to do these top five online resources because it fits really nicely in with this technology season.
Terry CookAnd I thought, who do I know that's spoken to lots of people, so who will know lots of resources?
Terry CookAnd.
Terry CookAnd you obviously came into my mind.
Terry CookWell, yeah, pretty close up to the top, if not the top.
Terry CookBut what I will say before we get into this, I think we've both kind of agreed that we're not going to mention the instructor podcast or Mirror Signal podcast within this because I'm confident that you would have chosen the instructor podcast in your top five.
Terry CookAnd also I would have chosen instructor podcast in my top five, you know, so whatever.
Terry CookBut I will just mention as well before we start the.
Terry CookI think that were talking about this before and I don't think we can actually say this is the top five.
Terry CookI don't think this is either of our top five.
Terry CookIt's maybe five of the best or our kind of personal favorites rather than the top five.
Terry CookWould you agree?
Josh HolleranYeah, I mean, when you messaged about this, I was like, ah, top five, easy.
Josh HolleranThen I started thinking about, right, well, what do we mention?
Josh HolleranWho do we mention?
Josh HolleranAnd the list was pretty big.
Josh HolleranSo I've gone slightly different.
Josh HolleranI know we've spoke about it and there's so many great people that you have on your show and that are doing great things for the industry.
Josh HolleranSo I've done it slightly different and I'm like, well, what do I use regularly as a driving instructor within my business?
Josh HolleranI was like, well, let's talk about them.
Josh HolleranAnd hopefully someone picks up something that can help them within their school and what they're up to.
Terry CookYeah, and I think I've just gone for five of my favorites.
Terry CookBut again, if I'd wrote these on a different day, it may well have been a different life.
Terry CookBut just before we get stuck in, as I mentioned, you are the host, the creator, the founder of Mirror Signal Podcast in all these incarnations, officially a podcast.
Terry CookNow, when are we back?
Terry CookWhat's the plans?
Terry CookWhat's the future hold?
Josh HolleranI did want to be back this month, to be honest, but as, as you know it, it takes time to produce the episodes and, and everything that goes on behind the one hour episode that goes out there.
Josh HolleranSo it's been delayed a little bit.
Josh HolleranI'd like to be back in the new year.
Josh HolleranI've got a few things that I need to sort out.
Josh HolleranLife, children, business.
Josh HolleranSo in answer to your question, I don't know, soon, hopefully I am missing it and I'm glad to be here because this is I've missed this, chatting to people and just sharing ideas.
Josh HolleranSo, yeah, as soon as I can.
Josh HolleranHopefully the new year, but that doesn't really answer it.
Josh HolleranI don't know, it's.
Terry CookIt's interesting to say that about life because I remember a little while ago I posted a past picture up on my TC drive page and I think I shared on my personal page and I think it was Lee Sperry who actually come up and said, I forgot you're a driving instructor as well.
Terry CookYeah, I enjoy doing this stuff.
Terry CookI'm not giving this up.
Terry CookBut any other projects on the go or why you've been in hibernation, if you like?
Josh HolleranI'm doing a lot of studying at the minute for hopefully a standards check.
Josh HolleranI know I've mentioned it on my episodes a few times and I think I might have mentioned it when I was on yours previously, that I want to get a standards check done and start working towards kind of training and helping people.
Josh HolleranSo I'm doing a lot of studying at the minute, looking back at the competencies, the different publications that we use within the industry and then one that's, that's going to appear later on in, in my top five.
Josh HolleranI've been working with Dr.
Josh HolleranJulia Malkin quite a lot on that project.
Josh HolleranSo we'll go more into that a little bit later and just getting back to driving lessons because that's what pays the bills and I had a lot of bills that need paying.
Terry CookAs we do.
Terry CookAs we do.
Terry CookLet's get stuck in them.
Terry CookSo what is your first, your first item within this, this top five?
Josh HolleranSo my first one, I've gone straight in because I'm using this all the time and that's an app called Canva and it might be a little bit out there for some people, but I'm using that for a lot of my social media posts and logos and pictures that I'm putting out there to help.
Josh HolleranHelp grow my school.
Josh HolleranYeah, I'm on it quite a lot and I think it's great.
Josh HolleranIt's free and if you're sat there wondering how you can promote your school, get more students, maybe design a new logo without having to go and pay someone off, find a graphic designer.
Josh HolleranI think it's just easy to use, free, quick and it gives you content to put out and get yourself out there as an instructor.
Terry CookIt's interestingly, we're talking beforehand about we won't have any of the same.
Terry CookWell, I've got Canva on my list, but I will just mention for listeners because These top fives usually go in my premium episode, but I thought it tied in quite nicely with a.
Terry CookWith a text or, you know, a lot of people have heard these before.
Terry CookWe don't know our top, each of us top five, so we kind of find them out as we go.
Terry CookBut I agree.
Terry CookI think Canva is such a.
Terry CookAn underutilized resource, and it is free, like you said.
Terry CookI would advise anyone, if they've got the money, to use a paid version because there's.
Terry CookThere's a lot more available.
Terry CookBut there's so much stuff in there, whether it's just creating an image, whether it's changing your past picture, so you want to put your password shop.
Terry CookYou can get them in Canva.
Terry CookYou can get, like you say, your logo on there.
Terry CookYou can personalize it so it's.
Terry CookIt looks like unique to yours.
Terry CookAnd there's a few people out there do this, and they just stand out a bit more.
Terry CookYou know, you can use it to create presentations.
Terry CookSo.
Terry CookAll right.
Terry CookI appreciate most instructors what use that feature, but it comes up from time to time, or if you're wanting to do something with a theory or summit for your students, you can use it in.
Terry CookIn there to create that there.
Terry CookThere's, as I say, there's videos we can do.
Terry CookThere's also got AI, so it can generate AI images and AI videos for you, which is quite good.
Terry CookSo, yeah, I think this is a great show, and it's one that I use a lot as well.
Terry CookI'm probably every day I'm doing some on Canva, even if it's just tweaking one of my podcast covers to change the title or something and then put that out.
Terry CookBut I think every day I'm on Canva, what do you reckon you use it for most?
Josh HolleranSo I used it with my podcast for all of the thumbnails over on YouTube.
Josh HolleranGo check it out.
Josh HolleranI use it.
Josh HolleranLike you said, I don't use it for past photos specifically.
Josh HolleranI use the picture that's there.
Josh HolleranBut what I do, I take a couple of photos and I'll create an image to go on Facebook and I'll use that then with whatever offer I'm running or that there's driving lessons available.
Josh HolleranAnd it's just every image can be unique.
Josh HolleranAnd like I say, you can create your own brand with it.
Josh HolleranSo I use it a lot for that.
Josh HolleranAnd another thing that I've been using is we sometimes feel like we don't have content.
Josh HolleranI'm like, what can I post about?
Josh HolleranI need some students But I keep posting the same thing.
Josh HolleranSo what I'll often do if I'm struggling for content is I'll go back through my reviews and I'll.
Josh HolleranI'll either screenshot and put it in an image or I'll copy and paste the review.
Josh HolleranI don't know how the algorithms work on social media, but if I put it on a different image and it's.
Josh HolleranIt's not the same thing.
Josh HolleranCopy and pasted every week.
Josh HolleranSo I'm using it almost daily to promote my driving school, to create logos for.
Josh HolleranLike, when I was doing the podcast and creating that, I was on Canva, tweaking different things.
Josh HolleranIf you go back through my Facebook page far enough, you'll see all the different logos and thumbnails that I trialed before I got to the one that I was kind of happy with now.
Josh HolleranSo, yeah, logo design.
Josh HolleranCreating images for promoting my school and putting text on a different format than just a random screenshot or whatever it is, just to make it look different and stand out for when I'm promoting the business.
Terry CookYeah, and we come into a specific time of the year.
Terry CookWe come into the time of year when it's bad weather, it's Christmas, you know, kind of notorious, if you like aspects of the year.
Terry CookSo this is perfect for Canvas.
Terry CookWhether you're taking a picture and uploading it to Canva and then putting some text around it, or whether you're using the Canva to get the image of snow, for example, that makes your social media look better so you can get that image of the bad weather again, whether you're using your own photo and tweaking it, whether you're getting one from Canva and then put your written post around it that looks better than just a written post with someone taking a picture out of a car window.
Terry CookA lot of the time you can make these things look snazzy, you can make them stand out.
Terry CookAnd yeah, if everyone started doing this, then everyone's on an even playing field.
Terry CookSo it kind of takes away that aspect of it of making your driving school stand out.
Terry CookBut if everyone started using Canva and making things look a bit more professional, we might start appearing a little bit more of a professional profession rather than kind of, you know, just a little picture somewhere that looks drabby and nothing done to it.
Terry CookAnd.
Terry CookYeah, I mean, it's not the end of the world, but, yeah, I think that's a.
Terry CookA great shout.
Terry CookJosh, is there anything else you want to touch on around Canva before we move on?
Josh HolleranI think we've covered it.
Josh HolleranYou.
Josh HolleranYou went well in depth with all the different things that there are on Canva.
Josh HolleranI don't use 90% of what's available on Canva.
Josh HolleranI open it up, I click at the bottom, create a new.
Josh HolleranI think it's just a logo that I create.
Josh HolleranDrag and drop some photos onto it or put a text box and some cool pictures around it and then, yeah, put it out there.
Josh HolleranAnd I think creating a brand or at least just some colors or a theme on your social media and then when people are seeing it regularly, they're going to think of you and it's.
Josh HolleranIt's going to generate some work.
Josh HolleranWe have a lot of content as instructors.
Josh HolleranWe've just sometimes got to use our imagination as to how we can create that content to put it out there.
Terry CookYeah, suppose the only other thing I'd say is the design.
Terry CookSo there's loads of templates on there.
Terry CookSo if you're not the most creative of people, if you're going to struggle to think of ideas or whatever, there's loads of designs on there that you can just like almost copy and paste or upload and just tweak accordingly.
Terry CookAnd yeah, it takes a bit of practice if you haven't used it, but I think it's a great one to start.
Terry CookSo we both got Canva there, so we've had yours and mine, so we'll come back to yours.
Terry CookWhat's your next on your list, Josh?
Josh HolleranMy next one, a very kind of similar theme for getting our business out there is GoDaddy.
Josh HolleranAnd I don't spend an awful lot of time on there now.
Josh HolleranI spent maybe three to four hours probably 18 months ago.
Josh HolleranNow my timelines are terrible.
Josh HolleranI spent three or four hours once upon a time on GoDaddy creating a website that cost me less than two pound.
Josh HolleranSo a couple of hours work less than two pounds and I generate with no promotion, no nothing.
Josh HolleranIt's just on there.
Josh HolleranI get probably one inquiry a week from my website now, a return on investment.
Josh HolleranI'm not sure we've got many that are going to be much better than that.
Josh HolleranGetting a client a week from something that cost me two pound.
Josh HolleranThat was the domain, that was the website that was hosting.
Josh HolleranNow I expect it's going to cost me a little bit more when it comes to renew, probably 15, 20 quid, whatever it is, for the annual hosting.
Josh HolleranI don't know, you'd have to go and have a look on there.
Josh HolleranBut I think GoDaddy has been really beneficial for my business at a Very basic level.
Josh HolleranI created three or four pages, drag and drop and it's, it's constantly generating work.
Terry CookI like that shell.
Terry CookAnd I think the thing I would tagging a little bit is not necessarily just go, go Daddy.
Terry CookYou know, there's Webador and Weebly and Squarespace and all the other stuff that's out there.
Terry CookSo I suppose a bit like anything, I would advise instructors to find the one that works for them.
Terry CookBut in terms of online tech, I think setting up a website is.
Terry CookWell, if you've got the funds, I would advise you to get someone else to do it because it can be time consuming.
Terry CookA lot of people can do it better than us.
Terry CookBut I've set up my own because I don't have the funds and, and it, as you say, it works.
Terry CookPeople see your website and it's just such an easier place to send people as well.
Terry CookBecause if you're seeing like your Facebook page, someone asks you for that, you say a Facebook page and you've got to say go search for.
Terry CookWhereas if it's a website and I just say, I'll go tc drive.co.uk you know, or whatever it is, it's easier for people to find that way.
Terry CookOr you put it on a business card or someone can put it on the phone while they're there.
Terry CookAnd you think of a lot of youth today.
Terry CookI say youth.
Terry CookThis applies to me as well.
Terry CookI don't do phone calls, I do text.
Terry CookSomeone rings me, the phone gets stared at until they stop ringing, then I'll text them back and ask them what they want.
Terry CookAnd the youth are like that as well.
Terry CookSo the idea of getting that website on there so they could click through a message, I think that's, that's a great show.
Terry CookHave you encountered any problems or any negatives with it?
Josh HolleranNo, not any negatives.
Josh HolleranAnd I think like you said, there's so many out there.
Josh HolleranGodaddy just for me was the cheapest and I was like, I'm just going to create a website.
Josh HolleranI've seen a lot of benefits and what I'd like to talk about because as you was talking then I got thinking about the website and I probably need to update it.
Josh HolleranAnd this is going off on a tangent a little bit, but a lot of the talk often comes up within the social media world of pricing and how we price as instructors.
Josh HolleranNow, the way I manage what I do now, I put my prices on my website so anyone can see them.
Josh HolleranBut I used to feel bad when I was quoting my prices to people because I'm like eyes it's this much per hour.
Josh HolleranAnd my thoughts on money at times is that's quite a lot of money for an hour.
Josh HolleranIt's, it's removed that for me when I get the inquiries.
Josh HolleranHi, what are your prices?
Josh HolleranI can now send them the link to my website and then I can have prices set whatever I want.
Josh HolleranI have a different pricing structure now to what I used to, but it's just removed a lot of the.
Josh HolleranI charge this much per hour and almost feeling guilty at times I did personally.
Josh HolleranSo when I get random inquiries now rather than a lot of to in and fro in I just send them the link to my website and my.
Josh HolleranAll my information is on here.
Josh HolleranPrices are on here.
Josh HolleranHave a look.
Josh HolleranEither drop me a message or fill in the.
Josh HolleranWhatever the box is that's on my website.
Josh HolleranSo it's cut a lot of to and fro messages.
Josh HolleranSo it's almost streamlined my independent business a little bit because I've just got somewhere to send people that are messaging me.
Terry CookIt's interesting you say that because I'm the opposite there, which is unlike me because I like that interaction with a student because I, I like those early messages because it gives me an opportunity to suss a student out a little bit and I don't want to work with this person.
Terry CookAnd I can, I get that feel after, after a few messages.
Terry CookBut I do get what you mean about the prices because it's not always a nice conversation to have.
Terry CookYou know, we are a business, we are transactional, we are selling ourselves to a degree but we're selling our services.
Terry CookSo yeah, I can, I can see why that would be a benefit.
Terry CookJust sending someone your.
Terry CookYour page or your prices on or whatever.
Terry CookI can say that that'd be good.
Terry CookSo anything else you want to touch on around GoDaddy or websites that might benefit the instructors listening?
Josh HolleranNo, I think you've covered it.
Josh HolleranAbout the costing.
Josh HolleranI think there's definitely a benefit to having a website.
Josh HolleranI see a lot of people commenting on social media that you don't need a website and yeah, you probably don't.
Josh HolleranI didn't have one for the first year or two that I was doing the job.
Josh HolleranBut I do, I do think it can add like you mentioned about the canva and the professionalism.
Josh HolleranIf we have a website and it looks somewhat professional, I think it adds credibility to us as instructors.
Josh HolleranIf we are wanting to increase prices or expand or go into other areas.
Josh HolleranI think a website and that online presence is.
Josh HolleranWhy wouldn't you have it if you can do something for a couple of pound initially and maybe don't renew if it's costing loads of money, but just get something on there.
Josh HolleranI can't see the negatives to having that for your business.
Terry CookNo, I'd agree.
Terry CookI think it's not needed, but it's definitely beneficial.
Terry CookRight, I'll.
Terry CookI'll move on to my next one then.
Terry CookSo I said canvas.
Terry CookSo the one I'm going to shout about next is, and I have spoken about this a little bit before, but it's the ADAS Knowledge Hub.
Terry CookNow, ADAS stands for Automated Driver Assistance System.
Terry CookAnd I did have to write that down because I always forget and I just think this is such a wonderful little website.
Terry CookIt covers loads of different technology that I didn't know was there for all of it.
Terry CookSo I think it's a great resource for driving instructors to go and dig into to find out the stuff that they didn't know.
Terry CookBut I also think it's a great resource to send to our students so that like for my car, for example, it doesn't have adaptive crude control, it doesn't have intelligent speed assistant.
Terry CookSo if I send my students to this, this website and I give it to them all as a resource, they can go and check and see what else is available.
Terry CookSo they've already got a good idea because it breaks it down really well and explains it.
Terry CookAnd if I can understand what things are as a result in this website, anyone will be able to.
Terry CookSo I just think this is a cracking resource and it covers all sorts in there just to clarify all kinds of different stuff.
Terry CookSo yes, I would highly recommend the ADAS Knowledge Hub.
Terry CookAnd again, I should just clarify all the stuff we're talking about today.
Terry CookI'll include links for, in the comments in the blog post on the website.
Terry CookJosh, There you go.
Terry CookOn the website, links will be all, all there so people can go and find it.
Terry CookBut is this something you're aware of, the ADAS Knowledge Hub?
Josh HolleranIt's not.
Josh HolleranAnd you, you've got me intrigued.
Josh HolleranYou give a bit of information there about like the adaptive cruise control and things like that.
Josh HolleranSo is this specific technology to vehicles automobile or is this.
Josh HolleranWhat is it?
Josh HolleranWhat.
Josh HolleranWhat am I going there for?
Terry CookSo essentially go on the website and it's got all different kinds of things.
Terry CookSo if I'm looking at the website now, I'm looking at the one that says adaptive cruise control and I'll just click on that where it says find out more.
Terry CookI will do a word.
Terry CookThere we Go.
Terry CookYeah.
Terry CookSo basically when it comes up, it's got loads of written information on there, it's got a couple of videos that show you how that adaptive cruise control works and then there's loads of links to go for further information and stuff like that.
Terry CookSo any of that technology.
Terry CookSo let me have a look what we've got on here.
Terry CookWe've got the anti lock braking system, we've got brake and emergency brake assist, electronic stability control, autonomous braking speed assistance, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings, steering assist, lane keeping assistance, lane change assist, driver monitoring, sensors and cameras, unresponsive driver intervention E call and then there's one on tires and on back to the ABs there.
Terry CookSo loads of stuff covered there and it gives a real detailed breakdown on how that works.
Terry CookSo that if there's technology maybe in your car that you don't know how it works or if there's technology that isn't in your car, so therefore you don't know how that works, you got a better way to explain it to your students or you can send it to the students so they can check out as well.
Josh HolleranI'm.
Josh HolleranI'm going to have a look at that because in lessons we have conversations.
Josh HolleranOne that stood out was like the electronic stability assist, I think it was, and I don't know the ins and outs of that.
Josh HolleranI'm assuming something like traction control.
Josh HolleranAnd when we're in lessons and we're talking about certain things, why we maybe don't want the clutch down going around a corner because certain things won't be working in the car, that's going to help me understand certain parts of the vehicle so that I can then have more in depth knowledge to help my students.
Josh HolleranSo I like that.
Josh HolleranThat's another place I'm going to spend some time while I'm in my development stage of my career.
Terry CookWell, I will mention this now and yeah, I was debating what I say, but I will the guys behind it road safe.
Terry CookI have been trying to get them on the podcast for a long time and let's just say they are not the best at communicating.
Terry CookSo I am desperate to get them on for this season.
Terry CookIn principle, they want to come on for this season, but they are not the best at communicating.
Terry CookSo if at the end of this season Rod Tafe hasn't been on, there will be a very, very grumpy Terry.
Terry CookSo yes, we'll see what happens for the rest of this season.
Terry CookBut it's a brilliant website, just not always great at replying to emails.
Terry CookBut either way, what's next on your.
Josh HolleranList, Josh so my next one, I've, I've got two together and I think the purpose of them remains the same, but I'll go with the first one and that's the Open University.
Josh HolleranI've recently found that.
Josh HolleranAnd anyone that's following my socials at all will see a couple of the certificates that I've got from there.
Josh HolleranPeople have recommended it to me in the past and I've, I've never really spent much time on there, but a few weeks ago it took about five minutes to create an account, get enrolled on a course and start a course.
Josh HolleranIt really didn't take long at all.
Josh HolleranAnd the amount of courses that are available for free on the Open University is great.
Josh HolleranAnd I'm finding the courses quite well as well.
Josh HolleranThey're.
Josh HolleranThere's videos that come with it, there's text, there's little exercises that you can do within the course to try and kind of check your understanding of it.
Josh HolleranSo I'm getting a lot of benefit from being on there and learning about some somewhat random topics, but I find them interesting emotions and psychology and things like that.
Josh HolleranSo I think that is a great resource.
Josh HolleranIf you've got some free time and you want to learn about a topic specific, whether it helps you with this industry or whether it's an interest somewhere else, there's a lot of courses on there for free that you can work through.
Terry CookA bit of an exclusive coming up of an exclusive on my own podcast that I'm going to mention now.
Terry CookI have roughly nine weeks to properly apply for my honors degree in history and politics because I used to want to be a history teacher when I was younger and I got distracted.
Terry CookSo that's potential in the pipeline.
Terry CookNot leaving the industry just to make this clear, but it'd be like part time history teacher, part time driving instructor, part time podcaster, all that kind of stuff that's potentially for me next year.
Terry CookSo the Open University I'm aware of, I've not done any free stuff, so maybe I should go and check that out before coming into a seven year part time honors degree course.
Terry CookBut yeah, I think that would be a really interesting place to start because I mean no offense when I say this to anyone, but I hear a lot of people selling courses and stuff like that and, and I look and I think are there courses?
Terry CookAnd I don't Again, I'm not meaning to be rude, but you look at a course that you get on Open University which might be 12 weeks of studying, that to me feels Like a course.
Terry CookWhereas when I do a video that I put in my membership.
Terry CookYeah, it's useful.
Terry CookYeah, you can learn from it.
Terry CookYes.
Terry CookYeah.
Terry CookPlease come and sign my membership.
Terry CookBut it's not a course.
Terry CookThat's my video for people to go and watch, you know, and I don't know, I think that this is somewhere you could go to get proper education, like you say, get those free courses to begin with, and then I suppose you can up the ante and get some proper educational learning.
Terry CookI like that.
Terry CookI think that's a good shout, Josh.
Josh HolleranThank you.
Josh HolleranAnd the one linked for that, before we get onto yours, is very much on that same thing of development.
Josh HolleranAnd I know we're on a podcast and we want your listeners to stay here, but one that I'm enjoying at the minute is Audible.
Josh HolleranAnd for that same reason, I love what everyone's doing within our industry.
Josh HolleranAnd in the new year I'm going to be on the courses because I'm hoping for a standards check at some point.
Josh HolleranBut Audible allows me to delve into certain things that I want to learn about specifically.
Josh HolleranAgain, something that's getting me is emotions and psychology at the minute.
Josh HolleranI think they're hugely linked to our industry and I think Audible is great for that.
Josh HolleranYou get.
Josh HolleranI think it's a credit a month.
Josh HolleranDon't know how much it costs, but it's under 10 pound, I think, because I'm not sure I'd pay anything more than a tenor at the minute.
Josh HolleranBut, yeah, linked with that kind of development and just learning and maybe something outside of the industry, a passion elsewhere.
Josh HolleranWhatever it is, Audible is another one that I'm spending a lot of time on at the minute.
Terry CookI like Audible.
Terry CookI've had that for a few years.
Terry CookI mean, obviously I'm an audio guy, so this is.
Terry CookIt's my go to.
Terry CookAnd I'm in an Audible phase the minute.
Terry CookI tend to go through phases of podcasts and audiobooks and podcasts and audiobooks, and I'm audio audio books at the minute.
Terry CookSo.
Terry CookYeah, so you've cheekily snuck into selections into one there.
Terry CookYou've got the Open University and Audible in one selection.
Terry CookSee what you've done there.
Josh HolleranSorry, I've got a fit five in somehow.
Josh HolleranSo we're going for five bands instead of five specific things.
Terry CookThe.
Terry CookThe guests on Terry's top five play fast and loose with the number five.
Terry CookI think Sam Harp holds a record for 17.
Terry CookSo either way, let's.
Terry CookLet's move on to my next one then, because I.
Terry CookI have got Five.
Terry CookMy next one is slightly predictable, but I'm sticking with it and it's the Honest Truth.
Terry CookBecause I think that I'm getting to a point where I'm thinking this is one of, if not the best online resource specifically for driving instructors.
Terry CookI just think that the more I use it.
Terry CookSo I started using a few years ago before it was a proper app.
Terry CookThen I took a little break away from it.
Terry CookNow I'm using it again.
Terry CookAnd I don't know, so much clicked for me this year with it that I'm really getting into it and I'm just seeing some better results now.
Terry CookI don't know whether that's because I'm embracing it more, so therefore I'm seeing better results, which is probably the case.
Terry CookHowever, something's changed, but I should just say, because there will be people out there don't know what the.
Terry CookThe Honest Truth is.
Terry CookIt's basically an app you can get for your phone.
Terry CookThere's 10 videos on, all committing to a road safety message that they call the Truths.
Terry CookAnd you watch this two minute video with your students.
Terry CookI think of it as a conversation starter.
Terry CookBut even if they don't have a conversation about it, they're still getting taught this road, what they call a road safety intervention.
Terry CookThey then get an email with that video on and some more data and they can share it with the family and stuff like that.
Terry CookSo I just think it's one of the best things that's come along in our industry.
Terry CookAnd yeah, massive fan of it.
Terry CookJust today, in fact, I released an episode in the Premium that I've started calling Honestly, talking about the Honest Truth and how we can better use it and all this kind of stuff.
Terry CookSo, yeah.
Terry CookWhat are your thoughts on the Honest Truth, Josh?
Josh HolleranI need to put some more time into it.
Josh HolleranI've signed up, I've got my account.
Josh HolleranI'll be honest.
Josh HolleranI.
Josh HolleranBecause it's.
Josh HolleranIt's an honest truth that we're going for.
Josh HolleranI don't use it that much at the moment.
Josh HolleranI need to.
Josh HolleranI spoke to Ollie and I know they're constantly updating as well, like you say about the app that's come out now.
Josh HolleranSo I know about it, know what it is.
Josh HolleranI need to embrace it more in my lessons and utilize it.
Josh HolleranThe thought that Ollie's got behind it as well.
Josh HolleranI know you've spoke to him on yours and I've had him on, on the podcast.
Josh HolleranI think it's great, the message that they're sending and how they're connecting to the youngsters.
Josh HolleranI know some of us still think that we're in our early 20s, unrelatable, but it's come to my attention a few times that my students see me as an old person.
Josh HolleranSo what I'm saying isn't always relatable to them, but I do know the honest truth.
Josh HolleranKind of use a peer group, don't they?
Josh HolleranSo the message is coming from similar ages.
Terry CookMy student yesterday told me that they were born in 2007 and that's just horrible.
Terry CookDidn't like that at all.
Terry CookAnd I had one recently where I was talking about €96, which was quite a while ago, but it doesn't feel like a long time ago to me.
Terry CookAnd they're like, yeah, I want born then.
Terry CookI don't know about that.
Terry CookI'm like, oh, okay, interesting.
Terry CookBut yeah, just to you, Josh, specifically, you know you're a member of the instructor podcast premium.
Terry CookGo and check out that first episode about today.
Terry CookHonestly, that'll help kickstart you with it.
Terry CookBut just in terms of the app itself, it's, it's, it is a bit of a game changer, you know, I.
Terry CookIf anyone listens to the inspiring shutter training podcast, they may have heard me relay a story around this recently where there's a video on there about seat belts.
Terry CookIt's a two minute video about seat belts and we watch that and the student kind of opened up and said, I probably won't wear my seat, but when I've passed this is.
Terry CookAnd it was like he wears his seat belt because he expects, he knows I expect him to wear it.
Terry CookSo because he get, when he gets one of his parents, when he gets in with me, he just bothers it but on no problem.
Terry CookBut when he gets in car his mates, he doesn't and none of them do.
Terry CookAnd it was really interesting because we've had several conversations about that.
Terry CookNow I can't guarantee he'll wear a seat belt, but he's more likely to wear a seat belt because of the conversation we've had and he's admitted that, you know, he said, you know, I'm more likely to wear one.
Terry CookI don't think he said probably.
Terry CookI think I'm getting him closer probably.
Terry CookBut he's more likely to wear one now.
Terry CookSo I wouldn't have had that conversation about seat belts with him if I hadn't watched that video.
Terry CookAnd there's other stuff around distracted driving.
Terry CookThis one's in my head because there's another one that came up recently with a lad saying that he's concerned about One of his friends, because one of his friends is really annoying in the car.
Terry CookAnd we were talking about how we can manage it and deal with it.
Terry CookAnd he's now got some, almost a set of resources that he can help control that situation.
Terry CookAnd the big one that worked for him, the idea that he come up was simply telling them beforehand.
Terry CookIt's like, I'm going to tell him, you dick about in my car.
Terry CookYou're not coming in my car.
Terry CookAnd knowing that he can say that before they get in the car feels like he's empowers him to do it when they're in the car.
Terry CookSo using all this truth, like I say, it's a conversation starter, but.
Terry CookBut it's much more than that.
Terry CookI think it's.
Terry CookI probably shouldn't say this, and I'll probably get told off by Ollie Taylor for saying this, but I'm going to say anyway.
Terry CookThey've got about 600 people signed up now, 600 instructors to this, and all is chuffed with that.
Terry CookAnd in a way it should be.
Terry CookI'm disappointed with that.
Terry CookThe 40,000 driving instructors, it's seven pound fifty a month, and loads of people can get it for free by going to the website and seeing if their area is covered because certain areas get it for free because of government funding.
Terry CookSome places provide a discount as well.
Terry CookSo some, if you're with certain organizations, I don't know which ones you'll have to ask, you can get it for a fiver.
Terry CookAnd I just feel like it's the most underutilized resource in our industry as well as being one of the best.
Terry CookBut, yeah, I'm gonna get off my soapbox and I've had my rant about the honest truth there anything you want to add to that, Josh, before we move on?
Josh HolleranNo, just I need to put time in to get that incorporated in my lessons because what you said then kind of stood out a little bit.
Josh HolleranLike that chat with the student about the seat belts.
Josh HolleranThat one person, if you can have an effect on that one person and then they get in the car, it's going to remove the peer pressure of no one wearing a seat belt.
Josh HolleranIf one person's doing it, someone else, well, I might as well chuck mine on.
Josh HolleranAnd before you know it, you've now got a car of teenagers all wearing the seatbelt because of just one person that's.
Josh HolleranThat's had the conversation with you.
Terry CookWell, this is it, you know, it might not be.
Terry CookYou might not be able to move that person where you want them on the Like a safety spectrum if you like.
Terry CookBut you might be the person that convinced them not to use their phone while they're driving or not to have a drink or not to smoke any, you know, weed or whatever before they drive.
Terry CookYou might be able to make that road safety intervention.
Terry CookSo even if you can't affect everything, you can affect something and that could be the thing that saves theirs or someone else's life.
Terry CookBut you'll never know that.
Terry CookThis is the annoying thing.
Terry CookYou'll never know that.
Terry CookBut you could be the person that makes that difference.
Terry CookBut let's move on to the next one.
Terry CookJosh.
Terry CookAnd will this be your third?
Josh HolleranFourth.
Terry CookFourth.
Josh HolleranI've.
Josh HolleranI've got a list so that I can keep on track and not keep throwing.
Josh HolleranI'm trying to keep it to five.
Terry CookYeah, I've lost track because the five all over the place now, but go on.
Terry CookAnd we're just taking a brief pause to give a shout out to a few of our latest signups to the Instructor Premium.
Terry CookAnd they are James Parsons, Ian Gibson, Gray and Vicky.
Terry CookNow, these fine folks have decided to upgrade their CPD and become an even more awesome driving instructor with a membership to the Instructor Podcast Premium.
Terry CookNow they get immediate access to hundreds of hours of video, audio and written training to help them become even more awesome driving instructors.
Terry CookSo whether you're looking to grow your business, become a better instructor, or get some help looking after your mental health and mindset, sign up to the Instructor Podcast Premium.
Terry CookThere's currently a three weeks trial or you can get a 16% discount off an annual membership.
Terry CookTo find out more, you can use a link in the show notes or head to the instructor podcast.com now we also want to take a moment to thank my Drive Time for being sponsors of season nine of the Instructor Podcast.
Terry CookOne of the excellent features that my Drive Time offer is dynamic reflective logs.
Terry CookNow, these are fully customizable and you can fill them in with your students or encourage them to complete them after the lesson.
Terry CookEither way, I'd encourage you to add a section asking if there was anything you could have done differently as an instructor.
Terry CookFeedback is always a great way to improve.
Terry CookNow find out more@mydrivetime.co.uk but for now, let's get stuck back into the show.
Josh HolleranSo the next one from me is talking send with Dr.
Josh HolleranJulia Malkin MBE.
Josh HolleranAnd this is a fairly new resource for driving instructors and this is available on Patreon.
Josh HolleranIt's £11amonth plus VAT because Patreon set the prices.
Josh HolleranAnd this is lots of Short videos on average between five and 10 minutes, just talking about different additional needs.
Josh HolleranSo some examples that we've got on there at the moment are autism, what it is, how it might look in the lesson, how we can help our students who might have autism in the lessons, what we're looking for, how we can help them prepare for a driving test.
Josh HolleranThen we've got the same with adhd, the different types of adhd.
Josh HolleranAnd there's a collection now of the additional needs, up to dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia.
Josh HolleranAnd the reason this has gone out is it's just short videos.
Josh HolleranIf you don't have time to do a course, like you said, they're about courses and they're weeks long, or you don't have the finances to do a course, then these are just short videos.
Josh HolleranMaybe you've got a student who's got ADHD and you're noticing things in the lesson.
Josh HolleranThere'll be a short video that might help you understand that student or as part of the membership, you can drop a message to Julia and then there will be a video around that topic on maybe how you can help or what to look for.
Josh HolleranAnd I seem to be getting a lot more students with additional needs and I'm not sure what other instructors are like, but it is on the rise.
Josh HolleranMore people are talking about it, aware of it, getting diagnosed with these different conditions.
Josh HolleranSo this, I think is a great resource just for.
Josh HolleranTo hand information to help you with your neurodiverse learners.
Terry CookI've seen this.
Terry CookI haven't signed up to it yet.
Terry CookIt's on my list of things sign up to, because when I find some space, it'll be.
Terry CookIt'll be on there.
Terry CookBut yeah, I think this is one of the things that's.
Terry CookThat's lacking in the industry a little bit because we.
Terry CookWe've got.
Terry CookNow we've got lots of podcasts now.
Terry CookWe've got a growing number of people doing content like Facebook lives and podcasts and YouTube channels.
Terry CookIt's just exploded over last year with people doing this stuff.
Terry CookI think it.
Terry CookWhat it feels is lacking a little bit in the industry at the minute is niche stuff.
Terry CookAnd I think that's why I'm drawn partly to the honest truth, for example, because that's very niche for road safety.
Terry CookAnd I think I was pleased when I saw this come out because this is obviously very niche towards send.
Terry CookI think that's what's missing or what's been missing from the industry, that niche bit.
Terry CookAnd this is covering the niche of the send the special educational needs.
Terry CookAnd I think that it's never going to be the thing that 40,000 people sign up to because not everyone is working with loads of people with special educational needs.
Terry CookBut I think it's more of the thing that's needed in the industry.
Terry CookAnd, you know, I've got one coming up later on that again, is a bit.
Terry CookIt's a bit niche and, and I, I like that I got, I don't want to say excited, but I was a bit excited because it's something new, it's something a little bit different.
Terry CookAnd I see that much of people doing the same thing of, oh, here's another membership on how to be a better driving instructor, or here's another Facebook Live on a Q A.
Terry CookI really hope no one thinks I'm aiming at them because I'm not aiming at people individually when I say this, but, you know, here's another Facebook Q A, here's another Facebook Live or whatever.
Terry CookAnd, and that's why I got excited by this.
Terry CookOh, something a little bit different that's needed.
Terry CookAnd so, yeah, I think that that's a good show and anything else you want to tell us on this, Josh?
Terry CookBefore we move on to my.
Terry Cook1, 2, 3, 4.
Josh HolleranIt is fairly new.
Josh HolleranThere's quite a comprehensive list of content that's on there now.
Josh HolleranThe purpose and what Julia wants to do is share the message of how we can help these learners.
Josh HolleranSomething that I'm seeing occasionally pop up on social media now, and I think it's becoming more relevant, is since the trigger system's been brought in for driving instructors and the standards check, there does seem to be people becoming a little more concerned of taking neurodiverse learners to the driving test.
Josh HolleranAnd part of this membership will help you understand your learners in preparing them for the driving test.
Josh HolleranSo we minimize that.
Josh HolleranBut it's.
Josh HolleranIt's a challenge for those learners to find someone that understands them and can help them.
Josh HolleranAnd, and this is Julia's message, like, get as much information out there so you can understand those learners so they've got someone to go to.
Josh HolleranBecause learning to drive for those people that maybe aren't as socially accepted or feel like they are, who have social difficulties, getting on a bus, getting public transport can be a bit of a challenge, but getting their driving license is a huge step and a massive leap in independence.
Josh HolleranSo it's.
Josh HolleranThe purpose of it is, yes, understand those needs, but how can you help them learn to drive?
Josh HolleranWhat can you do in your lessons?
Josh HolleranSo I think it's relevant to a lot of people, but at the minute, the content is definitely aimed at driving instructors, driving lessons and helping them understand in the car submit.
Terry CookI've got so many social difficulties.
Terry CookIf you get us to a course on me.
Terry CookYeah, the Terry course.
Terry CookI don't know.
Terry CookBut yeah, no, I love that you brought that up and I love that you're involved.
Terry CookAnd like I said, I like it feels like there's something new that's needed in the industry especially.
Terry CookAnd I'll screw it.
Terry CookI'll say the words, especially by someone that knows what they're talking about.
Terry CookSo.
Terry CookSo, yeah, I like that.
Terry CookBut again, it's in its infancy.
Terry CookAnd I think back to when I started the Instructor Podcast Premium.
Terry CookThe first person to ever sign up for the Instructor Podcast Premium was Lee Sperry, and that was run on Patreon.
Terry CookSo when I started that, there was a couple of videos on there, a couple of audio files, and that was about it.
Terry CookAnd it felt like a hard sell because I just started it.
Terry CookBut it was never, ever meant to be coming here.
Terry CookThere's all this stuff.
Terry CookIt was meant to be coming here.
Terry CookWe've got exciting things planned.
Terry CookIs that a little bit of what it's about as well?
Josh HolleranOh, we've got so much more planned with it.
Josh HolleranAnd you're exactly right.
Josh HolleranWe've got to start somewhere.
Josh HolleranAnd I've not been too clear, but I'm working with Julia on this, helping her with some of the things that are going out there is a lot planned, and I think there's a huge array of directions that it can be taken.
Josh HolleranThere's a lot to come at the minute.
Josh HolleranIt's been very specific on the more common additional needs.
Josh HolleranBut, yeah, we're looking to get more content out there, potentially things to help instructors as well, because instructors are coming out with these additional needs.
Josh HolleranAdhd, we've got driving instructors with autism.
Josh HolleranAnd Julia, like you said, she knows her things.
Josh HolleranYou're learning from someone who has a doctorate.
Josh HolleranIt's amazing the knowledge that she's got.
Josh HolleranAnd that's the plan is just keep growing it and take it in the direction that the members want it to go.
Josh HolleranSo as a member, you can request where you're struggling, tell her where you're struggling, and there'll be content to help you understand it.
Josh HolleranSo, yeah, lots to come.
Terry CookI like this.
Terry CookAnd like, for me, I say using the Premium as an example.
Terry CookIt's like when I first started that I was selling it on this exciting stuff is to come.
Terry CookAnd now I Sell on.
Terry CookWe've got all this awesome stuff in there, but we've also got this exciting stuff to come, so I'm looking forward to getting to that point.
Terry CookBut if you roll on nicely, segue to my fourth one.
Terry CookBecause speaking of things in the infancy, my fourth one is Co Pilot, which is also in its infancy.
Terry CookNow, for those of you that don't listen, I run a sister polkas of this called Driving Instructors Division Zero and James Evans recently on there talking about Copilot, which is.
Terry CookIt's basically Facebook for road safety and it's such a wonderful resource.
Terry CookNow look, I will chuck this out there straight away.
Terry CookIt is not cheap.
Terry CookThe price is 300 quid for a year's membership and that's 300 quid plus VAT.
Terry CookHowever, there is a 40% discount for driving instructors.
Terry CookI managed to convince James to throw that out there to get us a 40% discount.
Terry CookSo there is a good discount there.
Terry CookI think it works out 18 quid a month, but you do need to pay upfront and I've been playing around on that over the past week or two and I'm just so impressed.
Terry CookIt's a properly put together thing, like I said, it's like good Facebook for road safety.
Terry CookSo there's some awesome trainings in there.
Terry CookAgain, it's in its infancy, so you're not going to go in there and see hundreds of hours of stuff.
Terry CookYou're going to go in there and see 5, 6.
Terry CookSo, for example, you've got Laura Laker that's talking about Language Distracted Driving with Professor Emma Briggs, or some of you may know from the podcast Vehicle Technology with Professor Nick Reed.
Terry CookYou know, there's all these kinds of people that are doing the trainings, there's networking stuff on there.
Terry CookThey've got a proper comprehensive list of events.
Terry CookSo, for example, I've got my events page on the instructor podcast, but I have to go and search for those.
Terry CookTheir events page is updated by the people that do the events, so it's all updated with links and stuff like that.
Terry CookPlus they've got like an ongoing feed and all this kind of stuff.
Terry CookSo, you know, I went on there and introduced yourself on the, like the Facebook feed, almost like they've got.
Terry CookAnd there's people come and say hello and all this kind of stuff and it's just such a wonderful resource of people and information.
Terry CookAnd the other thing I'm quite looking forward to, that they've just kicked off is something.
Terry CookI forget what they call it now, but it's like social Fridays.
Terry CookSo I think there's an hour or two on a Friday where it's like opens up for everyone to get together for a little online getting to know your session.
Terry CookAnd again there's people in there like Dr.
Terry CookElizabeth Box, James Evans and you know, these, these type of folks and I love it, I'm absolutely almost addicted to it already.
Terry CookAnd I think it's, it's got the chance to be somewhat really special.
Terry CookSo I would advise any, any instructor who is in the financial position because if you're not in a good financial position, don't prioritize this, just to clarify, prioritize your finances.
Terry CookThis is something that's an add on if you like.
Terry CookBut when you're in the financial position, get your hands on this.
Terry CookAnything you know about this Josh, or anything you want to ask me about this?
Josh HolleranLots of questions.
Josh HolleranIt's not something I know about.
Josh HolleranI'm sure I have seen you share posts because I obviously follow you on social media along with everyone else.
Josh HolleranI try and keep up with what's going on.
Josh HolleranSo you've mentioned it's like Facebook and there's all these events.
Josh HolleranAre these events like presentations from the big names that you've mentioned and are they included in the price?
Josh HolleranKind of.
Josh HolleranHow does that work?
Terry CookRight, so the events are basically just ongoing events of India in the sector.
Terry CookSo there'll be some that are specific or opened up to people in co pilot.
Terry CookThere'll be some that.
Terry CookSo for example like recently we've just had the road safety GB conference.
Terry CookSo that's been advertised on there with links to get track tickets and stuff.
Terry CookSo it's for any road safety event basically there will be some that are specific to copilot that will be included in the price.
Terry CookThere'll be some where copilot members can get a discount but it's just any event within the industry that's just a list and I just think it's really nice to see a proper, full and comprehensive list on there.
Terry CookSo for example I'm looking on there now and I can see, I will list all the events what I'm looking at when I can see Friday the 15th, Tuesday the 19th, Wednesday the 20th, Friday the 22nd, you know all these dates that most of them won't be relevant or not relevant, most of them won't be doable for everyone.
Terry CookBut it's just nice to be able to see all that.
Terry CookAnd this is what I wanted to achieve when I create this events page on the website.
Terry CookBut I cannot keep up to date.
Josh HolleranWith this so is it aimed at everyone in the road safety sector?
Josh HolleranIs it aimed at.
Josh HolleranWho's their audience?
Josh HolleranWhat's.
Josh HolleranWhat's the purpose behind all of this?
Terry CookIt is aimed for the road safety sector.
Terry CookSo if you're within the road safety sector, that's who it's aimed at.
Terry CookMuch like you spoke about with.
Terry CookWith Julia in the.
Terry CookThe direction of traffic will direct the flow of traffic.
Terry CookYou know, it's a bit like that.
Terry CookSo if they get flooded with 180, they're going to create content for ADIs.
Terry CookIf they get flooded with 100 engineers, they're going to create more content from engineers.
Terry CookIt's in its infancy and the members.
Terry CookI.
Terry CookWell, I didn't create it.
Terry CookI don't want to put words in James mouth, but it's kind of what he said and the members will decide where it goes.
Terry CookAnd the idea is to bring the road safety sector together and we're part of that.
Terry CookAnd I think, yeah, again, I'm a week or two into using it, but I'm mightily impressed.
Josh HolleranNice.
Josh HolleranIt sounds interesting.
Josh HolleranWhen I do have some free finances available, I'll be looking for this episode and getting on that link on your.
Terry CookWebsite, check out the Driving Structure podcast, Driving Shortness Division Zero.
Terry CookThere's an episode there with James Evans.
Terry CookWe spoke about it quite a lot, but that was my fourth one, so I'm presuming you're on to your fifth now, your final one.
Josh HolleranI am.
Josh HolleranIt is my final one.
Josh HolleranAnd this again goes away from the industry, but it's something I see come up quite a lot.
Josh HolleranAnd I'm back to now talking about my business and what helps me run my business.
Josh HolleranI'm gonna throw the first bit in just business banking, but I'm using Starling bank and I see this come up a lot on social media.
Josh HolleranDo I need a business bank?
Josh HolleranDon't I need a business bank?
Josh HolleranAnd a lot of the comments like, no, you don't need to.
Josh HolleranYou're a sole trader.
Josh HolleranYou can do it through a personal bank.
Josh HolleranAnd the benefits I've seen since day one of taking money for a driving lesson, of having that separate business account where it's all in one place has been great.
Josh HolleranAnd I'm going to talk about Stalin, because that's what I use.
Josh HolleranAnd I.
Josh HolleranDo you use Stalin?
Terry CookNo.
Terry CookSo I use Lloyds.
Terry CookI had a business account with Lloyd's.
Terry CookI had an issue, let's put it that way.
Terry CookBut I have a separate account now for all the business stuff.
Terry CookYeah.
Josh HolleranSo with Stalin Business bank, what you can do.
Josh HolleranAnd I'm sure other banks can, and maybe personal banks can do it.
Josh HolleranBut the way I like doing things, you can create spaces.
Josh HolleranSo it's almost like another account behind your account that your money goes into.
Josh HolleranSo my business account, all my students money goes in there and then I can move it into different saving spaces.
Josh HolleranOne of them for my tax that I neglected this year, but that's another story.
Josh HolleranOne of them for like, I don't know, car maintenance.
Josh HolleranOne of them for other business expenses.
Josh HolleranAnd I just find it really helps me manage my business finances.
Josh HolleranAnd then my personal accounts are where my spending money goes.
Josh HolleranAnd I know people have got personal preference, but it's an episode on Top five Resources.
Josh HolleranAnd I think having Starling as my business bank has been a huge benefit to running my business as an independent driving instructor.
Terry CookI think me and you could do a bonus bit after this.
Terry CookSean, Terry and Josh's financial mistakes in 2024.
Terry CookThe I don't think I have much to add to that, if I'm being honest, because I think that that does what it says in its tin.
Terry CookI like that you've.
Terry CookYou brought that in.
Terry CookI kind of, I don't regret not doing it because you have, but I think I would like to follow that one.
Terry CookI think that's.
Terry CookIt's definitely a good show and I think it's.
Terry CookIt's something instructors should be doing to make sure that we're keeping those finances separate.
Terry CookBecause, you know, I made that mistake a few years ago.
Terry CookIt was when I first went independent and didn't get the separate account.
Terry CookWhether that's business, personal or whatever, I didn't get a separate account.
Terry CookThe money's got tangled.
Terry CookSome of the money got spent.
Terry CookSomeone asked for a refund.
Terry CookAll of a sudden I was in a bit of a pickle and to get started and split so that you know that, that, that money that students might have paid you in advance or whatever is in that separate part.
Terry CookI think is.
Terry CookIs a weight off the shoulders.
Terry CookI think when it, when you don't always realize it at the time, but it prevents problems massively.
Terry CookSo, yeah, good show.
Terry CookAnd anything else you want to touch on that before I move on to my final one?
Josh HolleranNot really.
Josh HolleranYou've covered it.
Josh HolleranI think there is maybe a little interject we could do at the end about the finances side of it for those that are in their first year of trading and that is speak to an accountant and be prepared for on account.
Josh HolleranI'm not a financial advisor.
Josh HolleranI'm not an accountant.
Josh HolleranBut look into what on account is and how your first year's tax works out because you pay 50% in advance.
Josh HolleranAnd yeah, we're here, we're on a podcast.
Josh HolleranI want to help people.
Josh HolleranIt's caught me out a little bit in, in all honesty because I've got to pay this year's tax and 50% of next year's tax because my first two years were part time and it didn't really affect me.
Josh HolleranNow I've got a full year of earnings.
Josh HolleranI've got to pay the tax on that.
Josh HolleranAnd then 50% have projected for next year.
Josh HolleranSo those that are in the first year of trading, just have a look into it.
Josh HolleranDon't take my word for it.
Josh HolleranMaybe have a Google do your research.
Josh HolleranI didn't, I fell short.
Josh HolleranBut back to the point, the business banking has really helped me separate it like you said and it's easier personal business, whatever you decide to use.
Josh HolleranThe separation of the two finances has really helped me.
Terry CookYeah, get an accountant.
Terry CookJust get an accountant.
Terry CookWhether you, you've got one like on a monthly fee or whether you just get one as a one off to start off with and get some advice.
Terry CookAsk someone in the industry.
Terry CookDave Shannon is bookkeeper.
Terry CookHe's been on the podcast before.
Terry CookHe can do this stuff for you.
Terry CookFbtc, sort of driving instructor, specialist accountants.
Terry CookThey're the two that come to mind.
Terry CookJust get someone to speak to.
Terry CookDo not rely on, you know what you think.
Terry CookDo not rely on what people say on Facebook comments.
Terry CookBecause, just because it applies to one person and their business might be slightly different for yours.
Terry CookJust get it from accountant.
Terry CookThat, that's all I'd say.
Terry CookBut yeah, I'm glad you brought up.
Terry CookSo let's, let's move over onto my, my fifth and my fifth is confident drivers.
Terry CookKevin Tracy fields confident drivers.
Terry CookAnd the reason I wanted to put this in particular, it's just because of, it's just so good.
Terry CookYou know, I've had them on the podcast before.
Terry CookI think they've been on your podcast, Josh.
Terry CookThey're, they're everywhere.
Terry CookRight.
Terry CookBut they're just so good what they do.
Terry CookAnd in terms of both for learners and for instructors, the calming nerves.
Terry CookI forget which way around it is, but they've got the course to do for instructors.
Terry CookThey've now got their fully full qualification.
Terry CookThey do for instructors, which I haven't done yet, so I can't really comment.
Terry CookBut speaking to the people that are taking part on it, it sounds pretty impressive.
Terry CookThey've got the learner's stuff that they do.
Terry CookAnd I just think it's.
Terry CookIt's just such a good resource that covers everything.
Terry CookI worry about them too, sometimes that they're spreading themselves a little bit thin because it's just the two of them doing so much.
Terry CookAnd, you know, you turn on talk TV and they'll be on like with Vanessa and then they're in the newspaper the next week.
Terry CookAnd you know, that I, you know, joke up sometimes about who's the most well known people in industry.
Terry CookThose two are the most well known people outside of the industry.
Terry CookSo on the outside looking in, it's nuts.
Terry CookBut yes, I think that that's something that every instructor should at the very least check out and see if they can make use of their nerve stuff for them or whether there's something they can share with their students.
Terry CookEven just a podcast.
Terry CookTheir podcast is one that it's been going for years now.
Terry CookThey're more consistent with it than anyone else.
Terry CookThey're the most.
Terry CookThey're the second most consistent podcast in the industry.
Terry CookThe most consistent is Dipod.
Terry CookWe're going for like 20 years or summer and they've only missed an episode of a Covid.
Terry CookThe Kevin Tracy field with a confident drivers podcast is like ridiculously confident.
Terry CookRidiculously consistent and confident.
Terry CookAnd there's just quality stuff out there for learners.
Terry CookIt's one that I share with my learners and I'm very, very selective with the resources.
Terry CookSo I feel like I've kind of waffled and gushed over them a little bit there and.
Terry CookBut yeah.
Terry CookAny thoughts on that, Josh?
Josh HolleranYes.
Josh HolleranWhen we spoke about doing the top five resources, my initial thought went to a bunch of people in the industry that I'm like, these are great.
Josh HolleranThese are great.
Josh HolleranAnd they was there.
Josh HolleranI think you spoke about having a niche and they have many in different fields and they are spread all over.
Josh HolleranIt's amazing.
Josh HolleranBut when I spoke to them, something that kind of stood out and I think it does get missed, and their name sums it up is the confident drivers.
Josh HolleranThe people that have passed that are not confident.
Josh HolleranWhen you get people, I've got family members, and when they're ready to go on motorways or drive further afield, I'd be sending them to their website because there are drivers that are just not confident to go outside of their area.
Josh HolleranAnd these guys are special in it, specializing in that as well.
Josh HolleranLike, how do you develop someone that's been driving years on the same roads?
Josh HolleranSo, yeah, it's for us as instructors and for students and for everything else that they're doing because they do courses, I think on neurodiversity as well, if you want to learn about the additional needs.
Josh HolleranSo they've got that.
Josh HolleranYeah, the license holders, people that need support who don't know where to turn, confident drivers because they've got experience in it.
Terry CookI think the only thing I'll chip in where you couldn't wish for too nicer people.
Terry CookYou know, there's.
Terry CookThere's a lot of people in our industry that try to be very careful.
Terry CookI word this, but we passed my cut off time, Josh.
Terry CookThat's the issue.
Josh HolleranI've done it.
Terry CookYeah, there's a lot of people in our industry that aren't necessarily in it for the good of their heart.
Terry CookWe're all in to make money.
Terry CookYou know, there's no hiding from that.
Terry CookWe want to make earn a living, but there's some of us that want to earn a living and want to help.
Terry CookAnd I think it stands out massively with Kevin Tracy Field, that that's one of those things.
Terry CookThey want to help where they can.
Terry CookAnd so, yeah, I want to chip in with that just to finish off with her.
Terry CookAnd if I will just say this, Tracy reached out to me recently because I mentioned Kev on another podcast, like almost like a passing mention and apparently had a giddy fit when he heard his name mentioned on someone else's podcast.
Terry CookSo I'm intrigued to hear what is how he's responded to this one.
Terry CookBut have you got any honorable mentions?
Terry CookHave you managed to cram them all into that?
Josh HolleranI wanted to be strict and stick with five.
Josh HolleranI've managed to sneak six in sneakily.
Josh HolleranThere's, there's one.
Josh HolleranAnd, and this comes back to the business that I wanted to talk about.
Josh HolleranI've been independent from day one and there's often questions about how do you get students, how would you do this?
Josh HolleranAnd I think with what we've covered, there's some really great resources there for people.
Josh HolleranBut using social media, that, that's another one that I've got as a reserve.
Josh HolleranAnd I think you can start at any point.
Josh HolleranYou can post almost anything on social media.
Josh HolleranBut getting your presence out there, we've done websites, we've done canva, we've done all of that.
Josh HolleranBut yeah, I think use social media a little bit more.
Josh HolleranLess scrolling and more posting.
Josh HolleranGet yourself out there.
Josh HolleranIf you're needing students, there's.
Josh HolleranThat's where the majority of my work comes from, is consistent posting in the local groups, the local area.
Josh HolleranSo yeah, back to that.
Josh HolleranBuilding your business, keeping your Diary full use social media.
Josh HolleranIt's free.
Terry CookI'm not going to talk about social media because I'll talk about it enough and we'll do another 20 minutes.
Terry CookBut I am going to mention one other thing because there's this one other particular thing that I was debating putting it into this top five and that's my drive time and I think maybe people wondering why you haven't potentially.
Terry CookBut full transparency.
Terry CookThe reason I haven't is because they're sponsoring the show so they got advert at the start, an advert in the middle and advert at the end.
Terry CookSo they don't need an extra advert in my top five.
Terry CookBut you know, I think they would have been in there.
Terry CookI'm not going to say who would have taken out by the way, but they would have been in there if they'd not sponsored the show.
Terry CookBut they get mentioned anyway.
Terry CookSo yeah, quick rundown of your top five, Josh.
Terry CookWhat?
Terry CookRecap your top five for me.
Josh HolleranSo we had Canva, GoDaddy, Open University, Audible Personal Development, Talking Send with Dr.
Josh HolleranJulia Malkin, Business banking.
Josh HolleranI said Starlin, but maybe based on what we spoke about, just separate bank accounts, personal business, whatever you decide to do, however you do it, just separate separate accounts and then utilizing social media to help build your business, get your students keep you busy.
Josh HolleranThey were my 5/6 or 7 that I managed to sneak in.
Josh HolleranWhat about yours, Terry?
Josh HolleranWhere are we at with yours?
Terry CookMine was the ADAS Knowledge Hub, the Honest Truth Canva co pilot and confident drivers.
Terry CookSo you know, 10 to 12 awesome resources that we've discussed there.
Terry CookSo loads more online resources.
Terry CookSo if we have missed any that you're particularly annoyed about, the comments will be open on Spotify and on other social media.
Terry CookBut I just want to take a moment to thank you for joining us, Josh.
Terry CookAnd you want to remind everyone where they can find anything you might have to offer.
Josh HolleranYeah, thank you for having me.
Josh HolleranI'm at the minute so I'm working with Julia over on talking send with Dr.
Josh HolleranJulia Malkin.
Josh HolleranYou can find that on Facebook and on Patreon.
Josh HolleranSo a bit of time there.
Josh HolleranI occasionally use the Mirror Signal podcast page so I am still posting on there, trying to keep up to date with everything on there and it will be back when we'll, we'll figure that out.
Josh HolleranBut it will be back and just on my socials, type my name in on Facebook, give me a friend request I post the odd thing, share what people are up to and yeah, that's me at the minute.
Josh HolleranI'll be giving you a shout at some point when the podcast is back, Terry.
Josh HolleranHopefully in the new year at some point.
Terry CookAwesome.
Terry CookWell, thank you for joining us today.
Terry CookIt's been an absolute pleasure.
Josh HolleranThank you very much.
Terry CookSo, a big thank you to Joss for joining me today.
Terry CookIt was.
Terry CookIt was fun speaking to Josh.
Terry CookWe've not spoke for a while and good hearing that he's planning to come back with his podcast, Mirror Signal podcast.
Terry CookFind links for that in the show notes or just search for Mirror Signal podcast on YouTube or podcast apps.
Terry CookAnd I'm looking forward to Josh getting back on track with that.
Terry CookAnd I hope you've got some ideas from today's top five.
Terry CookI do just want to clarify, these aren't necessarily what we will say are the best five, because I'll be honest, since I've done this, I thought even more.
Terry CookBut they're five that you can find useful and there was 10, 12 overall that we mentioned.
Terry CookAnd you can find all of them useful to help you with your driving school, with your online resources.
Terry CookSo definitely go and check them out.
Terry CookAnd, you know, as I mentioned during the recording, my drive time would have been in there because I think they're a tremendous resource.
Terry CookI'm super grateful they're sponsoring the show and I would really advise you go and check them out@mydrivetime.co.uk if you've got any questions, reach out to them.
Terry CookThey'll happily have a chat with you and walk through what's available, or just sign up and see how you go.
Terry CookYou may like it, you may not.
Terry CookI'm sure you will give it a go.
Terry CookWhat's the worst that can happen?
Terry CookI also want to take a moment, as I said at the start of the show, to remind you that it is road Safety Week.
Terry CookNow, this is run by Brick, who they're essentially a charity that help people who have had family members die as a result of a crash and they don't get any government funding.
Terry CookYou know, everything they do is either voluntary or raised through.
Terry CookThrough donations.
Terry CookAnd that's what I'm doing at the instructor podcast across this week.
Terry CookYou know, I'm trying to raise money.
Terry CookI'm trying to raise £1,683 to give to Brick.
Terry CookNow, me personally, I'm going to be doing the Break challenge and I'm walking 5km a day across this week.
Terry CookConsidering I've just broken my Fitbit.
Terry CookIt's not gone off to the best of starts, but I'm going to be raising money.
Terry CookPersonally, I'm hoping to raise a bit of money from my driving school.
Terry CookI'm doing a raffle and a couple other bits I've got going on there.
Terry CookBut I'm also hoping to raise money through the podcast.
Terry CookIf you are raising money, you can donate directly into the instructor podcast just giving page.
Terry CookOr if you're not raising money but you want to donate, you can do that as well.
Terry CookWhat I will point out is there's 40,000 driving instructors.
Terry CookIf a hundred of us raise £16 83, we would hit that target.
Terry CookSo we just need a hundred of 40,000 and there's going to be somewhere between 500 and 1,000 people listen to this show.
Terry CookSo all we need is somewhere around about 10% of this audience perhaps, and.
Terry CookAnd we'll be away.
Terry CookWe'll get that money.
Terry CookSo consider doing it like life is difficult at the minute.
Terry CookYou know, cost of living, all that stuff.
Terry CookSo fees.
Terry CookDon't feel obliged.
Terry CookYou have to prioritize you and your financ chances of helping over to a charity.
Terry CookBut if you can find a way to raise or spare £16 83, that'd be awesome.
Terry CookBut as I said, please don't feel obliged.
Terry CookAnd the best way to donate is go to the instructorpodcast.com There's a big red button up at the top that will say something along the lines of donate here, go and click that.
Terry CookAnd when you've done that, have a look through the website.
Terry CookYou may find something that helps you, but for now, let's just keep raising standards.
Terry CookThe instructor podcast with Terry Cook talking with leaders, innovators, experts and game changers about what drives them.