Your Business Won’t Scale While It Still Depends on You: Andrew Hulbert

By Chris Cook | August 6, 2026

In this episode of Business Growth Secrets, Andrew Hulbert explains why your business won’t scale while it still depends on you, and how he grew a property services company from his bedroom to a £100 million exit.

Your business won’t scale while it still depends on you: episode notes

Business Growth Secrets podcast: your business won't scale while it still depends on you

Download your FREE Start, Grow, Scale Roadmap in under 30 seconds: <a href=”https://www.bigbusinessevents.com/roadmap”>ROADMAP</a>

What does it really take to build a company that no longer needs you? Andrew Hulbert reveals how he went from starting in his bedroom to £50 million in turnover, more than 500 employees and an £100 million exit, and why the hardest part was learning to stop being the centre of everything!

Andrew Hulbert is an entrepreneur who built and exited a property services business over ten years. After growing the company through major contracts with brands including Bulgari Hotel, Yahoo!, Twitter, Candy Crush and London Zoo, he invested £1 million into a new leadership team, stepped away from the day-to-day operation and sold the business in November 2023.

He explains:

  • Why working harder eventually becomes the very thing stopping your business from scaling
  • How one trusted relationship helped him win his first major contract and create unstoppable momentum
  • Why he invested £1 million into leadership, temporarily flattened profit and built a company that could run without him

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 Intro
  • 00:00:26 Who Is Andrew Hulbert?
  • 00:01:26 The Superpower Behind His Success
  • 00:03:48 Where His Determination Came From
  • 00:07:06 From Intern To Operations Director
  • 00:08:18 How To Become Indispensable At Work
  • 00:10:45 His Advice For Young People Starting Their Careers
  • 00:12:19 Why Networking Still Beats Selling
  • 00:13:51 Build The Room You Want To Be In
  • 00:15:15 The Moment He Decided To Start His Own Business
  • 00:18:05 How He Reached A £1.5M Run Rate In Year One
  • 00:19:12 The Truth About “Starting With Nothing”
  • 00:20:06 Finding The First Customer Who Changes Everything
  • 00:21:58 How One Contract Created Momentum
  • 00:22:36 The Deal That Grew The Business 300% In One Day
  • 00:24:25 The Biggest Challenges In The Early Years
  • 00:25:37 What To Do When Clients Say You’re Too Small
  • 00:27:47 How To Make Rejection Irrelevant
  • 00:28:55 Why Every Business Needs A Memorable Hook
  • 00:30:11 How Donuts Helped Win Major Clients
  • 00:32:06 Why Sales Is About Thoughtfulness
  • 00:34:26 Ads
  • 00:35:12 When Andrew Started Planning His Exit
  • 00:36:12 Building A Leadership Team That Could Replace Him
  • 00:36:47 Why He Accepted Flat EBITDA To Scale
  • 00:38:12 The Moment The Business Stopped Depending On Him
  • 00:39:16 Selling The Business In Four Weeks
  • 00:39:54 How His Team Shared £15M From The Exit
  • 00:41:48 Why None Of His Senior Leaders Left
  • 00:44:29 The Reality Of Working 100-Hour Weeks
  • 00:46:49 The Personal Cost Of Building The Business
  • 00:47:38 How Much Is Enough?
  • 00:48:14 How Founders Can Start Replacing Themselves
  • 00:49:46 The Warning Signs Of Burnout
  • 00:50:44 Andrew’s Three Rules For Entrepreneurs
  • 00:53:28 Quick Fire: Strategy, Brand, Marketing, Sales And Operations
  • 00:54:29 How To Build Authority Through The Media
  • 00:55:10 Find Your Donuts
  • 00:55:47 Treat People How They Want To Be Treated
  • 00:57:19 Build Processes Before You Need Them
  • 00:58:36 Where To Find Andrew

Follow Adam Stott’s Socials:

<a href=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-stott-coach/”>LinkedIn</a> | <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/adamstottcoach/?hl=en”>Instagram</a> | <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/@AdamStottCoach”>YouTube</a> | <a href=”https://www.bigbusinessentrepreneurs.com/”>Coaching</a>

Subscribe for more Podcasts like this one!

Andrew Hulbert:

Instagram: <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/_andrewhulbert/?hl=en”>Andrew Hulbert</a>

LinkedIn: <a href=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhulbert/”>Andrew Hulbert</a>

Even More Value:

Download your FREE Start, Grow, Scale Roadmap in under 30 seconds: <a href=”https://www.bigbusinessevents.com/roadmap”>ROADMAP</a>

Learn how to build a 7 Figure SCALE plan that runs WITHOUT you: <a href=”https://www.businessscaleup.co.uk/request”>SCALE UP</a>

Get Adam’s tell-all book about building Million Pound Success: <a href=”https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1913839575?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_XX98PTMZ0QGJG81Q22ZR&amp;ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_XX98PTMZ0QGJG81Q22ZR&amp;social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_XX98PTMZ0QGJG81Q22ZR&amp;bestFormat=true”>BOOK</a>

Listen to another episode: The CEO Mindset Every Business Owner Needs: Jeannette Linfoot

Posted in Podcast and tagged , , , , ,