Rhiannon Simcocks joined Belinda “Bee” Murray on the Bee Formless™ Flow Driven CEO Podcast for an honest, down-to-earth chat about business ownership, systems, and the value of having good people in your corner.
Rhiannon Simcocks has spent most of her working life doing one thing. She looks at a business, works out what it really needs, and helps rebuild it from the inside. She got her first taste of it at 19, when, halfway through a business degree, she stepped into a struggling hospitality business and helped turn it profitable within three months.
Years later, she was asked to take a look at James Home Services. Her honest advice at the time was that it wasn’t one to buy as it stood. The business needed genuine transformation first. She could have left it there, but instead she rolled up her sleeves and took it on, and today she is the CEO leading that change.
That same honesty runs all the way through her recent conversation with Belinda “Bee” Murray on the Bee Formless™ Flow Driven CEO Podcast. It’s a thoughtful chat, and well worth a listen if you have ever wondered what sits behind a service business that actually works.
The people in our network are business owners
Early in the conversation, Rhiannon talks about the language the industry uses, and why she has quietly stopped using the word “franchisee.” To her, the people in the network are business owners, plain and simple.
It might sound like a small thing, but it shapes everything about how James Home Services works. The focus isn’t on renting out a brand. It’s on helping everyday people build something that genuinely belongs to them, with the systems, skills and support around them to make it last. That framing changes the whole relationship, from something transactional into something more like a partnership.
Support matters, and so does ownership
None of that means someone else does the work for you. Rhiannon is very clear that having support around you doesn’t take away your own responsibility for the business. The two go hand in hand. Good systems and good people in your corner give you the best possible shot, but you still have to show up and drive it.
That is part of why James Home Services takes such care over who it starts. The team receives hundreds of enquiries every month and begins with only a handful. They look for people who are financially ready, who genuinely want to own the outcome, and who have something meaningful they are moving towards, rather than simply something they want to get away from. As Rhiannon puts it, it matters that you know what you are running towards, not just what you are running from.
Business is simpler than it can look
Ask Rhiannon what a business actually is, and her answer is refreshingly grounded. She describes it as a series of systems and processes, repeated to get a good outcome over time. Once you see it that way, a lot of the noise falls away. It’s less about hustle or a clever brand, and more about getting the foundations right and doing the simple things consistently.
She also makes a lovely point about how many people already have far more of the skills they need than they realise, and she notes this is especially true for a lot of women. Running a household, managing people, juggling competing priorities and keeping everything moving are real business skills. A straightforward service business can be a very natural first step, and for some people it becomes the foundation for something much bigger.
Keeping the main thing the main thing
When Bee asked what leaders should focus on amid all the noise, tools and complexity that come with running a business, Rhiannon brought it back to something simple. Look after what already works. Protect the culture. Keep good people. Stay focused on the things that genuinely move the business forward.
It’s a helpful reminder for anyone who feels like they’re drowning in apps, tactics and advice. Being busy isn’t the same as making progress.
Have a listen
This is a genuinely good conversation about what business ownership can look like when it’s built on support rather than going it alone, from someone who has done the rebuilding in real life rather than in theory.
You can watch the full episode with Rhiannon here: Bee Formless™ Flow Driven CEO Podcast on YouTube.
If Bee’s approach resonates with you, she shares this kind of thinking through her formless™ methodology across her channels:
Watch the episode: youtube.com/watch?v=sEkQ5oM2evI
Belinda “Bee” Murray on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/belinda-bee-murray
Bee on Instagram: @beemrry
Bee Formless™ on YouTube: youtube.com/@beeformless
The Bee Formless™ Podcast: beeformless.com/podcasts
You can also connect with Rhiannon on LinkedIn.
To learn more about how James Home Services helps everyday people step into business ownership with real systems and support behind them, visit jameshomeservices.com.au.
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