How to travel the world — and have the confidence that your business is still running without you — with Nigel Bennett

As a teenager, Nigel Bennett showed up for his first-ever job alongside his dad — and ended up in a helicopter that Colombia FARC forces were shooting at. It’s been a worldwide adventure for Nigel ever since, as he eventually started his own company and scaled it to the point of working in more than 100 countries around the world. In his decades as a successful business owner and international traveler, he’s still found time to spend with his family — and keep his business running without him. 

 

Nigel joins us in this episode of the Measure Success Podcast. He is the Co-Founder of Aqua-Guard Spill Response, which provides a range of state-of-the-art oil spill response solutions. He’s also the author of “Take That Leap: Risking It All For What REALLY Matters” and co-host of the Impact Podcast. 

 

Tune into the full conversation for more on Nigel’s twisting and turning journey, his secrets to scaling a company, info about oil spills worldwide (which his company helps clean up), his year-long trip around the world with his family, and more.

 

Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Learn: 

 

• More about what Nigel’s company does in relation to containing oil spills — plus how often these spills occur 

• Why Nigel’s first day of work ever involved Colombian FARC forces trying to shoot down his helicopter, plus more about his time working in Egypt 

• Why Nigel had to build up the courage to tell his dad he was leaving his company and starting his own 

• How Nigel expanded and scaled his business to providing services in 105+ countries

• What got Nigel to the point of wanting to leave the business 10 years in — and how he got himself out of that burnout 

• When Nigel realized that “poaching” managers and dropping them into his business wasn’t working (and what he figured out he should do instead)

• How Nigel has been able to set up his business to run even when he’s not in it day-to-day — including when he and his family traveled the world for a year, including to places like Myanmar and Burma

• Why Nigel brought his teenage kids to high-level business meetings 

• How Nigel measures his own success, plus how those metrics have changed over the past couple of decades

• One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make and why leaders need to spend a couple of days on their own after a planning retreat in order to actually put ideas into action

• The one thing that Nigel started doing during the pandemic that’s had the most impact on his day-to-day life

 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 

• Nigel’s website

• Aqua-Guard Spill Response on Facebook

• Impact Podcast

• TruBeach

• GiftADD

• “Take That Leap: Risking It All For What REALLY Matters” by Nigel J. Bennett

• Nigel Bennett on LinkedIn

• “From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life” by Arthur C. Brooks

• Buy a copy of “Lost at CEO: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Strategy” by Carl J. Cox 

• 40 Strategy

• Contact 40 Strategy

• Carl J. Cox on LinkedIn