Rob Seaman

In this episode of Just Turn Up, Rob Seaman sits down with hospitality entrepreneur Tony Truman for an honest conversation about business, risk, resilience and the lessons you only learn by being in the trenches.

Tony’s instinct for putting on a party started early. At 15, he hosted his first event and managed to empty the school disco in the process. By his 21st birthday, he’d attracted 1,500 people to a venue built for 500. At 24, he opened his first bar.

What followed was a career built on doing things his own way.

Tony shares the highs and lows of building businesses in hospitality, from understanding why you need enough money behind you to survive that crucial first year, to becoming a victim of your own success.

He talks candidly about the mistakes too, from finding investment and navigating the reality when things don’t work out as planned, to learning how to operate businesses with multiple partners, personalities and opinions around the table.

Rob and Tony also explore what leadership looks like when you’re not watching the business from the sidelines, but right there in the trenches with your team, understanding the operation, the customers and the realities of hospitality from the inside.

This isn’t a story of getting everything right.

It’s a story of trying things, taking risks, making mistakes, learning quickly and continuing to build.

In this episode you’ll discover:

• How Tony went from hosting his first party at 15 to building businesses in hospitality.
• Why having enough capital behind you in the first year can make or break a new business.
• What happens when a business becomes a victim of its own success.
• The lessons Tony learned from mixing friendship, money and business.
• The realities of finding investment and what happens when those relationships don’t go to plan.
• How to navigate businesses with multiple partners and competing opinions.
• Why Tony believes in finding your own route rather than copying somebody else’s success.
• Why staying in the trenches with your team has remained central to the way he operates.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, business leader, working in hospitality or thinking about starting something of your own, Tony’s story is a reminder that business isn’t about avoiding every mistake, it’s about what you learn from them and what you do next.

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Connect with Rob Seaman
🌐 robseaman.com
📱 Instagram: @iamrobseaman

🎙️ Just Turn Up is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.