Josh Hanning is the founder & CEO at Hanubu, a company redefining automotive accessories by building the first online destination that combines eco-responsible proprietary and partner products.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
Most of my career has been spent in customer facing sales and revenue focused roles. I had what you might call a baptism of fire working as a field representative for Sky in the mid 2000’s on 100% commission. Northern lad banging on doors in Dagenham and East London was certainly not for the faint hearted!
I progressed up the ladder working across tech in London over 12 years and in 2015 was given an opportunity to launch a VAR (Value Added Reseller) which I was MD for 4 years, my first bite at entrepreneurship and I’ve never looked back.
I’m currently the founder and CEO at Hanubu, a digital native brand that’s redefining how people think about car accessories by designing premium products and introducing a sustainable business model into the mainstream to cater for an unmet need in a vast global market worth circa $6billion.
2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
I wear many hats as all Founders do at the start, we’re approaching our 2nd birthday so it’s still very much startup life.
I’m constantly reassessing priority tasks but with a focus on gaining traction in the right areas, for us at the moment that’s product market fit and achieving some key milestones in terms of building our community and as a result seeing revenues increase MoM.
I try to balance tactics vs strategy, so I’m thinking ahead while focusing on what’s important here and now. This in itself can be a challenge as I’ve got a big vision for the company, but it’s vital that you lay the foundations and keep an eye on the immediate metrics. We’re also fund raising at the moment, so it’s a very busy time.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
In my previous company, we helped clients to build agile teams using SaaS to manage all aspects of onboarding talent through to issuing payments. Hanubu was formed in the first wave of Covid as a remote business, so I’m a big advocate of flexibility.
Having first-hand experience of building agile teams, hiring the right people for the right roles on the right terms is crucial. You really can’t afford to be complacent and put ‘bums on seats’ . It needs to be carefully considered and I’d also say it’s smart for Founders to find a balance so you don’t become isolated.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
For me that’s trying to listen to myself. I find it hard to switch off and if I’m not careful that can result in not being present with the people that I care about the most, like family for example.
I do believe that entrepreneurs and passionate founders can be excused for being obsessed and having an insane work ethic, it’s par for the course. I like getting outdoors, watching sports and eating good food to stay balanced.
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
I’ve stopped beating myself up and started to allow myself to enjoy the journey more.
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
I don’t read lots of books, but a few audio books that I’ve really enjoyed are Influence by Robert B. Cialdini, great for learning how the human psyche works and Unshakeable by Tony Robbins is a great refresher for applying good financial sense in your life.
I like to read PWC reports and find they publish extremely well researched papers on a variety of topics. The shared mobility markets have been the most recent areas that I’ve enjoyed learning more about.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
Can’t live without Colman’s Mustard, Asana keeps me organised and LinkedIn is a great business tool
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
Richard Branson seems to have nailed it, I’d be keen to hear how it’s changed for him over the years.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
I’m not an expert, so I’m only basing this on my experiences and some common ground I’ve seen with other founders, leaders etc. I think most people recognise when they’re energised and when they’re not, but I don’t think we make a note of when and why.
I’d recommend trying to hone in on the times when you’re really firing on all cylinders, ideally you can create a scenario where this is more than 50% of your time. Finally, trying not to create problems for yourself by making better decisions, this one often comes with experience but it’s important to work on solving good problems that progress the business.
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