Andi Davies – From Funny Business to Serious Business

Andi Davies, is one funny guy. He’s been doing stand-up comedy since he can remember. He loves to make people laugh, but is equally serious about helping local businesses to succeed. Andi previously worked alongside Andrew De Groot and Adam Fleet as business development manager and now heads up FOMO Content. He continues to handle ActionCOACH Exeter’s digital marketing as one of his growing number of clients in this new start-up.  So who is Andi Davies and what makes him tick?

Andi Davies – from teacher to digital marketer

Andi has always been a bit of a joker. It started at primary school where he says, “I wasn’t a very good boy!” In fact, the headteacher used to get him to do the ‘joke of the week’ at assembly, just so he wasn’t telling him off all the time.

The ironic thing is that Andi went from naughty schoolboy to become a teacher himself. “I had very good teachers who were patient with me and great role models,” he says, “That’s probably why I decided to go into teaching.”

Growing up in Wales, Andi may have been a terror, although actually he was more of a ‘tenor’! The Welsh are known for their strong music tradition, and he sings all the time. “I’m typically Welsh, I sing, and I love rugby,” Andi chirps. He also plays several instruments including the guitar, piano, drums, clarinet, and saxophone.

Then there are the languages, Welsh, English, Portuguese and Spanish! Andi has lived in both North and South America and Vietnam. He has been an entertainer on a cruise ship and yet studied at Cambridge University!

His studies culminated in him working as a teacher for 14 years and he was deputy head for the last six years of his time in education. Having worked with children extensively, Andi now has two of his own. He and his wife Lucy are the parents of Millie and George who are their pride and joy.

Andi’s transition from teaching into digital marketing started when he went to work for Introtweet, a social media management and training company started by former teachers Laura Brown and Pete Andrews.

“I must give credit to Laura and Pete as they played an important role in my switch from teaching,” Andi says. “They were specifically looking for a teacher to join their company. I put in the application thinking ‘I’ve got no chance, I don’t know anything about social media,’ but they said my teacher skillset was ideal.”

Andi got the job using his clear communication skills that are so key to being an educator, along with top notch grammar and spelling. This helped to extend Introtweet’s service from Taunton to Exeter.

Both he and ActionCOACH Exeter franchise-holder Andrew De Groot were members of the local BNI Chapter and Andi turned to Andrew for personal development advice. This resulted in him working at ActionCOACH Exeter for a season as business development manager.

One of the innovative things that Andi has brought to ActionCOACH Exeter is his ability to connect with clients and tell their stories through his vlogcast, aptly named ‘Business Spotlight’. He has recorded dozens of video testimonials and written much of the content on this website, answering the questions people ask about business coaching.

ActionCOACH Exeter values Andi’s sense of humour and ability to connect with people from all walks of life. Also his unique approach to client communications or what he calls ‘Marketing done fun’. The company has also sponsored Andi’s comedy gigs, along with other comedians, that has come to be known as ‘Funny Business’.

From Andi Davies to ‘Boring Nigel’

 Anyone who knows Andi is aware that he is a born comedian. You may not know that he uses the ‘stage name’ ‘Boring Nigel’. He is also a serial networker, so it’s not surprising this would result in a comedy networking evening.

“I love to make people laugh,” Andi says, “Whether in a 1:1 meeting or on stage, I like to put people at ease and that is what humour does. When I hear their laughter, I feel I can just be myself!”

Funny Business came about when Andi saw a gap in the local networking scene and was thinking about doing something light-hearted where people could relax and get to know each other informally. He was talking to Ollie Jackman who had done something similar in Plymouth and they decided to try it in Exeter as a charity fundraiser.

“We thought, if we could get about 50 to 60 people together that would be great, and we were delighted that 87 came!” Andi exclaims. “More importantly, we were able to raise £3500 for the Children’s Hospice.”

After this successful debut evening of comedy, networking and fundraising, Funny Business is now become a regular occurrence.

The business of having fun

Given the many talents of Andi Davies, it’s not surprising Andrew De Groot saw his business potential. While Andi has a fun approach to business, he is also a serious student. Soon we will need to refer to him as Dr Davies, once he graduates with a PhD in the Leadership of Organisational Cultural Change.

Andi also fully believes in business coaching. He has been an active part of ActionCLUB where he has learned the skills of long-term business survival.

Part of Andi’s doctoral thesis focuses on the business of having fun, in keeping with the book, Fish: A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results. This draws lesssons from the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle which is world famous for its fun, atmosphere and customer service.

“The Pike Place Fish Market was a bog standard, boring work environment, but they decided to make selling fish fun. They created a playful work environment by throwing fish to each other and somehow they always seem to catch! This is now known as ‘The Fish Philosophy’!

“I learnt about this in my first job in the USA and I have never forgotten about it. It has defined my approach to work and business ever since. I love the concept of making work fun, a place where people love to show up.

“This is a core value at ActionCOACH Exeter. We are in the serious business of making businesses thrive, not survive… and often the best results are achieved when we have fun. That is what lends itself to obtaining our key objective, to help companies create raving fans!”

Connect with Andi Davies on LinkedIn  or visit FOMO Content.

Also consider joining one of ActionCOACH Exeter’s programmes that will seriously work for your business while giving you more time to enjoy your family and hobbies and generally put the fun back into your life.