Atomic HQ

Atomic HQ ATOMIC is the Online Community for Small and Mighty Business Owners and Hosts of ATOMICON. We invested in a website, but the developer gave up halfway through.

Hi, we’re Andrew Pickering and Peter Gartland and we run a company, believe it or not, called: Andrew and Pete! We actually randomly got placed in the same halls at university and became friends, bonding over a passion for one day (ruling the world) running a successful business empire. When we left university we then had a decision to make, do we find a comfortable graduate job or do we try to make it on our own in the big bad world? We decided to go for it of course, BUT we had a problem...

We were young, inexperienced, and Andrew wanted to move to the other side of the country (Newcastle upon Tyne) to live with his girlfriend, Vicky. This meant we had to start up our marketing company in a city we barely knew, with no money, and no business contacts what-so-ever. Ouch. So we dug deep and invested the rest of what little savings we had in another more expensive web development company...

What could possibly go wrong? Unbelievably they also ripped us off and didn’t give us our money back! We felt the weight of the world come crashing down on us. By this point we had no website, no confidence in web developers, and we had spent all of our savings. Worst of all, it was at the time of the worst financial crisis in decades… and to top it off, Business Link (who funded many websites and marketing investment in the area) had been shut down so no one in the area wanted to spend any money, especially on marketing. Great. So what did we do? How could we compete with all these bigger marketing companies with all their fancy marketing materials? How could we come back from this crushing waste of time and money? With nothing to live on we needed to act, and fast...

With no budget, we turned to blogging, email marketing and social media. Being young and ambitious we thought we'd be global thought leaders within a couple of years. We were wrong. After a few years it was still our networking and referrals where we got most of our business. Blogging is tough! We are living in a 'Content Crisis' whereby there is an overwhelming amount of content out there - most of it boring, most of it just sales messages in disguise. There are over 2 million blogs posted every day. We needed to do something different... we needed to stand out. We got great a reaction at networking when we did something a bit different. Would the same be true with content?? We developed our brand and let it shine through our content. The results were incredible. We started to get fans who loved reading our content... and sharing it!! Now we were going somewhere. Then we started our video channel and OMG it was amazing. Straight away we had more sales, fans, subscribers and shares than ever before. Quicker lead times. People binge watching our videos, and joining our membership site without any lead nurturing. More speaking gigs booked than ever before and many, many other benefits! AT THIS POINT WE KNEW WE HAD TO SHARE THIS DISCOVERY...

CONTENT MARKETING DOESN'T NEED TO BE A LONG-TERM STRATEGY! NO LONGER DO PEOPLE NEED TO WASTE THEIR TIME FOR YEARS ON END BLOGGING FOR NO REASON - JUST WORK ON CREATING REMARKABLE CONTENT AND YOU WILL GO FASTER THAN YOU EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. At Andrew and Pete, we never stop trying our best, always learning and always eager to push the boundaries to inspire others. Today, we work with some amazing clients from all over the world, have been featured on some of the world biggest and best podcasts and blogs, written 2 books, won numerous awards and continue to collaborate with world-leading experts. None of which would have been possible without our amazing fans. We've been through thick and thin, but we believe that:

“ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS LIVING A FEW YEARS OF YOUR LIFE LIKE MOST PEOPLE WON’T, SO THAT YOU CAN SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE LIKE MOST PEOPLE CAN’T.” ANONYMOUS. We are on an ambitious journey, coming very far, very fast. We think it is down to our ambition and hard-work ethic… but more importantly, letting our creative juices flow and standing out. Fast forward to now, our signature programme ATOMIC helps businesses double in 6 months or less. We teach the processes, strategies and way of thinking that took our struggling £12k/year business into a multiple 6 figure one, by stopping swapping time for money and instead focussing on how to scale the smart way. We'd love you to check it out at www.andrewandpete.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and hopefully we shall hear from you soon. Have a great day! Andrew and Pete

18/09/2026

Courage is what moves you before certainty arrives...

shares why fear is often the real reason people stay stuck.

You rarely get complete certainty before launching a new offer, changing direction, or taking a bigger opportunity. At some point, you have to move before you know exactly how things will turn out.

That first step is where courage starts.

🎧 Hear the full conversation on Don't Work Harder. Tap the link in our bio or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the episode!

17/09/2026

Being the go-to expert doesn't happen by accident...

explains how she deliberately built the trust and visibility needed to become the name people bring up when a problem needs solving.

Her podcast became more than a place to have conversations. It gave her a way to strengthen relationships, demonstrate her expertise and build a reputation as a speaker and thought leader at scale.

The opportunity often starts long before someone needs your services. It starts with what they already associate your name with.

🎧 Hear the full conversation on Don't Work Harder. Tap the link in our bio or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the episode!

14/09/2026

Nadia Nagamootoo started her business with a new baby, an MBA on the go, and just 6 months of runway.

11 years later, she runs Avenir Consulting - a multi six-figure leadership and inclusion consultancy with clients like Warner Bros, Starbucks, Paramount and AstraZeneca 🤯

But she didn't build it by going viral, or spending a ton of money on ads...

She did it by building a personal brand designed to land BIG contracts.

And in this conversation, Nadia breaks down exactly how she did it 👇

- How to get corporate decision-makers to notice you when they aren't active on social media 🙏

- The number of touch points you need to make with a corporate client before they spend big with you 👀

- How she used a podcast to build authority, grow her network and get in front of HUGE names in her industry 🎙️

- How one podcast guest eventually turned into a Warner Bros. Discovery contract 🤯

- The exact strategy she used to book big name podcast guests WAY outside her network 🔥

- How to become the person people think when they have a problem you can solve

Plus, how she won a £36,000 MBA scholarship, built a big business with ZERO full time employees, and a lot more.

Nadia knows exactly how to build a personal brand so that the right people know who you are, trust what you have to say, and think of you when they need help.

If you want to build a personal brand that gets you big name clients - this episode is FULL of secrets you can implement to make that happen 🚀

Go to our link in bio to listen, or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the link to the ep.

12/09/2026

Being credible isn't enough if nobody sees you...

explains why the person getting the biggest opportunities isn't always the person with the most expertise. Sometimes, they're simply the one who's made that expertise visible.

You don't need to be the loudest person in the room, but you do need to be intentional about where and how you show up. Because credibility can only create opportunities when the right people know it exists.

🎧 Hear the full conversation on Don't Work Harder. Tap the link in our bio or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the episode!

10/09/2026

If you don't show up, who's missing out?

shares a powerful way to rethink the fear that comes with building a personal brand online.

Instead of worrying about what people might think or say, focus on the people who need your perspective. Your story, knowledge and expertise could be exactly what someone needs to hear, but they can't benefit from it if you never put yourself out there.

🎧 Hear the full conversation on Don't Work Harder. Tap the link in our bio or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the episode!

07/09/2026

Everyone wants to generate lots of revenue and opportunities from their personal brand, but not many people know how.

Today’s guest knows the secret.

Justice Williams has attracted over 400 speaking engagements, built a Facebook community to 1,600 members in 3 months, a Clubhouse room to 20,000 in 6 weeks, and secured a $50,000 investment - all from her personal brand.

Oh… and she’s a self-described introvert.

In this conversation, Justice reveals the secret.

She teaches us:

- Why she decided to go all in on LinkedIn… NOT Instagram

- The steps she takes to land big corporate clients on LinkedIn

- The exact LinkedIn growth strategy that she used to land double her audience size

- How she positioned herself as an expert, despite being an introvert and not the loudest person in the room

- How she built a Facebook group to 1,600 members in 3 months with no funnel, email automation or ads

- One little change that took her speaking fee from £200 to £2,000

- Why chasing views and visibility is the worst thing you can do for your personal brand

- How she wins high ticket clients without being overly salesy

How she used other people's expertise to position HERSELF as the go-to name in her space 🤯

We knew that Justice’s track record was astonishing.

But even we didn’t expect how she would be able to break down her methods into such practical, actionable steps.

For anyone looking to use their personal brand to grow their business (and that really should be all of us!) this episode gives you the full playbook.

Go to our link in bio to listen, or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the link to the ep.

04/09/2026

Great leaders don't need to know everything...

challenges the idea that age or experience automatically means you have more to teach.

Leadership works both ways. You can share the lessons you've learned while staying open to what younger people can teach you, and the real reward comes when you see those people grow beyond where they started.

Your team's success isn't separate from your success. It's one of the clearest signs that you've led them well.

🎧 Hear the full conversation on Don't Work Harder. Tap the link in our bio or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the episode!

03/09/2026

Your most valuable skills aren't always taught in school...

shares how the skills she developed in hospitality ended up carrying her throughout her entire career.

Listening, starting conversations, understanding people's problems and finding solutions in real time aren't just people skills. They're foundations for sales, leadership and business, and proof that the strengths you already have can take you further than you realise.

🎧 Hear the full conversation on Don't Work Harder. Tap the link in our bio or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the episode!

31/08/2026

Dr. Alison Edgar MBE is one of the UK’s most recognised sales experts, a keynote speaker, TV business expert, and the woman known as the Entrepreneur’s Godmother.

But her approach to sales is NOT about being pushy, manipulative or having the perfect script.

It’s about understanding people.

And if you think you’re “just not a salesperson”, Alison wants to change your mind.

In this conversation, Alison reveals:

- Why people who think they’re BAD at sales probably aren’t - and what they’re missing 👀

- The sales framework she created that ended up in Ireland’s national apprenticeship programme 💪

- Why understanding different personality types can COMPLETELY change the way you sell 🧠

- The BIGGEST mistakes business owners make when trying to close a sale

- How to know when it’s actually time to ASK 💰

- Why networking ISN’T about selling to the people you meet 🤝

- How to become more confident in selling, even if you don't currently like sales

Plus, the incredible story of how she received an MBE for entrepreneurship, why she got into Daniel Priestley’s taxi (?!), and the business lesson she believes matters more than simply working harder.

Alison doesn’t believe great salespeople are born.

Sales is a skill. And like any skill, it can be learned.

Because once you understand the process, understand the person in front of you, and have the confidence to actually ask for the sale - selling starts to feel VERY different.

Go to our link in bio to listen, or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the link to the ep.

29/08/2026

Relationships only work when you keep investing in them...

shares why networking should never be treated like a one-off activity.

Real relationships are built by consistently adding value, checking in, and staying present over time. That is what keeps you top of mind when the right opportunity, introduction, or collaboration comes up.

🎧 Hear the full conversation on Don't Work Harder. Tap the link in our bio or comment "LINK" and we'll send you the episode!

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