April 25, 2024
Talking Hospitality
Tim Andrews, Founder & Podcast Host
Talking Hospitality is a podcasting and e-learning company that supports hospitality businesses and workers at all levels with guidance and training from Levels 1 & 2 Food Safety, to management education.
Founder & podcast host Tim Andrews has around 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, initially working front of house in beverage service. He worked his way up quickly to become Membership Chairman for a private members’ club, before moving into hospitality recruitment and later starting a hospitality recruitment business in 2004.
Pivoting during unprecedented times
When he lost the business in 2020 during the coronavirus crisis, he pivoted and set up a podcast called ‘Timothy Put on the Kettle’, which ran for three seasons in its initial format. The series has since been further developed into a solutions-based podcast featuring a difficulty or problem within the industry, with an expert guest offering guidance on how to effectively deal with it.
Tim said: “It wasn’t until last year that I considered taking the podcast seriously and felt I was on to something. I rebranded to ‘Talking Hospitality’, focused on getting quality guests, and made steps to maximise the potential to monetise the podcast through creating a hub around it - a community site, blogs on podcast topics and paid e-learning courses for further education.”
The podcast’s listener base is predominantly made up of UK-based hospitality managers and leaders aged 40-55. They tend to be business owners or in senior management, with purchasing control.
Signs of growth
Even so early on in the journey, Talking Hospitality is showing signs that it’s resonating with the right audience and starting conversations.
Tim said: “At this early stage, we’re celebrating all the small steps towards growth, such as getting a website, social media presence and business model put together. Not only do we have a backlog of more than 50 high-calibre guests wanting to come on the show, but we’re also being invited to guest appear in other podcasts too, which is a great sign that we’re having the intended effect.
“We’ve also been able to invest in new equipment for recording the episodes and engaged an editor for the first time, so the production quality is improving as well as the content.”
Tim also secured a sole provider contract with a company that launches hospitality businesses for e-learning products, a major step in development for the business. The podcast has also received invitations for high-profile events, meaning it is reaching key individuals within the industry, helping the team to book better guests for the show.
Challenges and support in business
The biggest hurdle that Tim has come up against with his venture is securing funding through brand partnerships and other avenues, compounded by self-belief issues and imposter syndrome.
Tim said that being resilient, seeking constructive feedback and sharing of experiences with peers is the key to getting through it. For over a year, he has been based at coworking and business hub TownSq Islington where he’s been able to surround himself with entrepreneurs in the same boat: “Whilst some competitors pay lip service to networking opportunities in coworking spaces, TownSq Islington actually does it. It’s a truly collaborative place for people of all different experiences sharing their knowledge with each other, discussing each other's pain points and helping each other to grow.”
Socials
🤝 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 🤝
Are you an employee, entrepreneur or company within the hospitality space? 🍽️🍾
🎧One of our members at TownSq Islington, Tim Andrews, runs a fantastic podcast for anyone in the industry looking for expert guidance, insights and solutions to common pitfalls.
He has 20 years of experience in hospitality and is smashing it with his show, Talking Hospitality.
Talking hospitality social links -
https://www.linkedin.com/in/trandrews
www.talkinghospitality.com,
https://www.instagram.com/talkinghospitality/