Category Archives: entrepreneurship

Engaging Hearts and Minds – with John Maguire of The Phoenix Car Company

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Wikipedia: Employee engagement, also called worker engagement, is a business management concept. An “engaged employee” is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about their work and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests.

So, employee engagement is a business management concept. It’s also a hot topic. But how does it translate into the real world of business?

John Maguire, MD of The Phoenix Car Company (once rated as the Fastest Growing Privately Owned Company in Scotland) not only embraces it, he practices it.

Keeping his employees engaged and motivated has been central to the company’s success since it launched in 1993, at the former site of Chrysler in Linwood, next to Glasgow Airport. Since then, the company has progressively grown to include 18 dealerships spread across Paisley, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Grangemouth and Stirling.

“People are your greatest asset”. It’s been said many a time before but, speaking at a special event in Glasgow, John made the cliché real.

“I have heard this many times before,” said Graham Steed, “But John made the cliché real and demonstrated the impact that engaging your staff fully can have.

“Also, the focus on attention to detail, constant professionalism and getting it right first time, every time.”

Graham, SEO Business Intelligence Division
 BiP Solutions, said John’s Phoenix story was “inspirational”.

“John’s presentation style, experience and down to earth attitude made the time go very quickly. Hearing about his vision for his company and how quickly he made it happen was inspirational.

“John demonstrated that the best leaders understand what the pulse of their business is, and stay in touch with the key drivers of it regardless of what else may be going on. His personal role in hiring staff was also very interesting and underlined the importance he places on having the right people in the organisation.”

Mike McCloskey of Rainbow Delivery said he took away 3 key tips from John’s talk; the first being to invest in your people to make them winners. “I take that as much as ‘time is money’,” said Mike.

“You need to make people feel like they are part of a business doing something good. Why? It lifts my thinking out of the grunge and focuses my mind on helping my team do the same.

“From now on we’ll be placing more emphasis on our ethos/mission ‘Delivering Peace of Mind’ and more fun and engagement in the wider community.”

Feedback

“Key tips for me – start new staff who are energetic and motivated to work for the company and not just for money. Take time to hire the best staff. Don’t settle for staff that ‘will do’. Create a company culture that everyone believes in.”

“Tips for me – acting as an agent for the consumer. What to look for in new employees; energy, enthusiasm, intensity and excitement.”

“John’s enthusiasm was contagious. It helped me remember that it’s about more than delivering parcels (i.e. what our “job” is). I also liked John’s attitude to investing in his people to “turn them into winners”. It reaffirmed my decision to get more involved and John’s version of Open Door policy ties right in with that!”

Pressurefab Group’s Hermann Twickler – Annual Conference 2013 – Highlights

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With just as much enthusiasm as with his award-winning acceptance speech at the Annual Dinner, Hermann took to the stage at the Annual Conference.

He spoke of his passion and enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and shared his journey from beginning – as a child – until now.

A fascinating tale, but it was Hermann’s focus on how to fix the UK’s “broken economy” that proved the talking point.

The government and banks are looking to “us” to get the country out of recession, he said. “They need us to have the vision and to take the risks, to create the jobs and opportunities. “

But if they want us to do that, said Hermann, then they need to do something about payment terms. He called for the government to make it a legal requirement that companies pay suppliers in a timely manner.

“If the government really wants to improve business conditions they need to address payment terms, make it normal for businesses to pay each other in 30 or 45 days. Even make it illegal to ask for longer payment terms.

“I would go so far as to say the British economy will thrive on this, or stagnate if we don’t do anything about it.”

And Hermann knows it will work – because he has done it himself.

In 2010 Hermann’s company was struggling. Money had dried up because of 90 day payment terms, and in some cases, longer.

So Hermann closed all the accounts that weren’t willing to pay in 30 days. He explained how important it was to pay him on time, how important it was that they have a strong supply chain to work with and how important it was that they have a supplier with a stable business.

Within a few months Pressurefab recovered well. Long-standing debt had been settled and he was being paid on time. So he started to pay his own suppliers in 28 days.

The result is that Pressurefab is now saving 15% on its purchasing strategy.

“I believe it was my breakthrough as an entrepreneur,” explained Hermann. “I had hit rock bottom, I couldn’t pay anyone, I couldn’t draw or transfer funds, my hands were tied behind my back by someone else blocking my business.

“This is real entrepreneurship by my standards, it’s not just about throwing capital at a business, it’s about finding a solution from within.

“Since then my business has grown to more than 100 employees and £10m turnover this year.”

Parkmead’s Tom Cross at the Annual Conference – Highlights

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Tom Cross, Annual Conference 2013

Tom Cross, Annual Conference 2013

Tom spoke passionately and honestly about growing a business in Scotland with an international perspective. He shared lessons learned the hard way from Dana Petroleum and before. Tom believes absolutely that businesses of all sizes experience the same challenges, and offered advice from his own experiences.

For example, Tom still believes he listed Dana too early, a mistake he learned from quickly.

“There’s a great mix of people in this room, some small businesses, some startups, just like mine – I’m involved in startup businesses right now,” said Tom. “I would advise you to think very carefully about going public. Advisors often push you in that direction but it’s not a panacea. I still regard going public so early with Dana as a mistake, I should have worked harder to find alternative funding.”

Dana was listed in 1996 because the banks, said Tom, were a “non-starter”. He grew the business over 14 years from just £200k seed capital. By the end of 2010 the company was worth $3.1bn, it sat just outside of the FTSE100 with $600m t/o.

An incredible performance, especially considering the very small team, which was making $5m profit per employee.

Tom’s access to boards of directors and government officials across the world enabled him to see a bigger picture, he says it helped crystallise his determination to form a new type of oil company, one that was free from nonsense, one where he could just get on with it, simply find a lot of energy and supply it to people who need it.

The philosophy worked. Within 12 months of starting up Parkmead, they had their first production. It’s the thing he is most proud of with Parkmead and not surprisingly, when you consider the average in the industry is probably 5,6,7,8 even 9 years.

“All this makes the difference, you get cash coming in and you have choices,” explained Tom.

“We all share the same challenges, looking after customers and partners,” said Tom. “Another thing I have learned the hard way is to temper your enthusiasm. All of us are completely enthusiastic, we see an opportunity and want to push, push, push, grow, grow, grow and sometimes you have to reign back a bit.

“For every 20 opportunities we explore, we probably do one, it’s a very high filter rate. We are ruthless in terms of taking opportunities forward. But when we take on that one, we are ruthless again.

“You are never going to get everything right. If we get 7/10 or even 8/10 we will do well.

“I have an open door policy and have stuck by it in the 20 years I’ve been in business. I encourage people to come to me with their ideas, it doesn’t matter if it sounds crazy, drop me an email, tell me you’ve got an idea, I’ll always look at it and if I can’t do it, I’ll point you in the direction of someone who can help.”

“Entrepreneurs do this naturally guys. We’ve been building Parkmead over the last 18 months and it already has a value of £200m, but what has made that possible is all the goodwill coming back. Our very first deal was with Exxon Mobil, the biggest company in the world – not the biggest oil company – the biggest company.

“If you can do well with Exxon Mobil, as a tiddly little company in a 2up 2down in Aberdeen, that’s serious credentials. So try to make sure you help others.”

Tom is passionate about the future of Scotland. He speaks regularly to groups of young people and encourages them to think big, and give entrepreneurship a try.

“I absolutely believe Scotland has a unique formula, an ability for growing businesses. We are surrounded by excellence, we have great schools and universities, targeted at business. We have a very intelligent, experienced workforce, it’s not huge but quality makes up for quantity. People deal with people who are trustworthy.

“We have shown the way with fantastic world beating public companies, large and respected private companies, and great smaller companies working to become world leaders in their area in Scotland.

“I see Scottish companies operating all over the place, it fills me with pride and makes you want to do more.

“There is no doubt in my mind, and I say this to many young people, we have the potential and framework and mind set to build many more world class companies right here.”

Annual Conference 2013 – Mike Clare, Clarenco

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Mike Clare, Clarenco

Mike is a passionate and serial entrepreneur, probably best known as the founder of Dreams which he launched – at the age of 30 – with one store in 1987 growing to more than 200 superstores before he eventually sold most of his shares in 2008 and stepped down as Chairman and CEO.

Mike is currently in the early stages of a dynamic new bed retailing venture….called ‘Buzz Beds’…..watch this space!

Mike realised he wasn’t quite ready for retirement in 2008 so he decided to pursue his love of unusual and iconic properties by turning a hobby into a business. Mike formed Clarenco LLP in 2009 and has now built up a considerable property portfolio including towers, castles,forts and monasteries (throughout Britain) under the ‘Amazing Retreats’ division. These properties are let out for exclusive use, weddings, corporate hospitality and themed events.

Clarenco has also invested in many pre-let commercial properties in Buckinghamshire as well as larger residential homes through Beaconsfield Executive Homes. Another division of Clarenco is Country Manor Estates, which as the name suggests specialises in the development of substantial country houses for short and long term lets.

By far the largest part of Clarenco is the Amazing Retreats portfolio which boasts three incredible properties in Scotland – Ackergill Tower in the Highlands, Kinnettles Castle just outside of Dundee and Carberry Tower just South of Edinburgh. There is also Plas Rhianfaa French Gothic chateau in Wales, Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire and Solent Forts, a trio of incredible sea forts in the Solent.

The Clare Foundation was created by Mike and his wife Carol in 2009l; the charity aims to support and improve the efficiency of other charities throughout the UK and help them become more commercial and entrepreneurial. Based near High Wycombe, The Clare Foundation also acts as a hub for local charities by offering subsidised accommodation and shared resources.

Mike also supports many other philanthropical organisations including The Princes Trust, the Retail Trust, Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers, Bucks 4C, Bucks Community Foundation and Skidz.

More recently, through a joint collaboration with Bucks New University, Mike helped launch the Clare Business School. This is an exciting new initiative enabling the Education and Business sectors to work together by bringing ‘real live business’ experience to students in Buckinghamshire.

Among all of this, Mike still finds time to help and mentor many local businesses and entrepreneurs and is often heard on the speaker circuit, lecturing and advising students and business men alike to help make their ‘Dreams’ come true.

Mike is a Freeman of the City of London, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and a winner of numerous entrepreneurial awards. In 2009 Mike was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Bucks New University in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of commerce and entrepreneurship.

Annual Conference 2013 – Kevin Dorren, Diet Chef

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Kevin Dorren, founder and CEO at Diet Chef

Kevin Dorren, founder and CEO at Diet Chef

Kevin Dorren is the founder and CEO of Diet Chef, the UK’s leading delivered diet company.

Diet chef was started in 2008 and has grown organically to more than £15m in revenue in the last five years. The company makes dieting easy, tasty and convenient by delivering a month’s worth of chef prepared and calorie counted meals to your door.

The company began after Kevin spoke to a friend about dieting. She said that she wanted to be like a Hollywood celebrity with her own diet chef who would do all the shopping and cooking so she could just sit back and lose weight.

Originally a chef by training – and passionate about food – Kevin thought it was a brilliant idea and decided to create a diet chef that would be affordable for everyone. It was very important that the Diet Chef meals would be prepared by real chefs in a kitchen, not just mass produced on a production line, and he also wanted to make sure that meals would be “healthy with absolutely no nasty artificial ingredients”.

Diet Chef is now the largest diet home delivery company with more than 50,000 customers from all over the UK, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

In 2010 Piper Private Equity bought a minority equity position in the business for £3m and has worked with the founders to expand the team, geographic reach and marketing channels.

Prior to founding Diet Chef, Kevin was a founder of Orbital Software, a knowledge management company that grew in Edinburgh and Palo Alto and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2000 before being sold to Sopheon plc in 2001.

Making your Market Focus Dinner

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It is one thing to have a great product idea, and quite another to get it to market and sell it.

Ben Hounsell of TenBu Technologies, shared his experiences about the challenges, from setting up manufacture to getting retail partners on board. He talked openly and honestly about the many issues he faced when growing his company and the passion that has driven him to strive for success.

Many of the elements of Ben’s presentation resonated with Paul Grant of Mackays Marmalades and Preserves and he took time to explain how similar the steps to market entry are, whether it is a high technology product or a product targeted at a very mature category like traditional food.

Paul says:

1. Your product must be fit for both purpose and market.
2. You should research case studies of home and overseas markets.
3. You, the entrepreneur, must lead the early market entries
4. Optimise your networking opportunities by attending trade fairs, trade missions, and linking with Global Scots.
5. Selectively pick the best chance markets initially.
6. Market entry partners must have a competent English speaker
7. Market entry can be costly.
8. Free goods and sampling is a minimum requirement.
9. Market development/brand building are very costly so you should agree an annual plan with
each market partner.
10. Emailing is essential. A follow up phone call is even better. But a customer visit is the key!

Neil MacMartin took many valuable nuggets of advice from the evening’s discussions. For Neil, the most memorable pieces of advice were to “Cap your distributors, to put a minimum spend of each invoice into marketing your product”. And that you need to have your standard operating procedures and key performance indicators nailed before growing internationally.

“I will be changing the way I deal with approaching international distributors and manufactures now,” said Neil of Freeflow Global Ltd. “I will make sure they have a very high competency in English, especially the first 20 countries, and then will also make sure that I tie them in to re-spend on marketing and branding within their country. “

Feedback after the event was positive, and there are a number of quotes on the event page worth reading. But one attendee took time to share the key tips they learned that night:

1. It might be easy to get manufacturing done cheaply, however, it does not mean that it will be done efficiently. Efficiency needs to be worked on over time.
2. When you are dealing with companies abroad in either manufacturing or distribution, someone on their company board/ operations team has to have a full understanding of English.
3. In order to release full value from your products when entering into discussions with big multiple retailers you must know your lead times and, more importantly, they’d better be right!
4. Build your brand through big brands.
5. Case studies on international markets are a must read before going international, not just your home markets or markets you like to read about.
6. To win in globalisation of a company you have to win over your first markets.
7. America is the most expensive country in which to build a brand.
8. When selling internationally you should put a cap on each invoice sent to the country that states a % of the invoice goes towards marketing ie 10% of every invoice.
9. Get your overseas partners or distributors to invest significantly in their first order or, better still, invest in the company as this will then bind them into making your product/ market work.

Diary of an Entrepreneur #4

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Been it, seen it, done it ...

Been it, seen it, done it …

Spring is just around the corner – it must be, since I no longer wake up in the morning feeling that I’ve only had 30 minutes sleep and it’s actually darker than it was when I went to bed.

Everyone seems cheery in the office as well, although perhaps that might be because I’m smiling (and not with my manic middle eastern dictator smile either), it’s a proper, happy smiley face. I even say good morning to the two new factory staff whose name I haven’t quite got round to remembering yet (I personally subscribe to the 3 month rule: never establish an employee’s name unless they’ve worked for 3 months, makes life a lot simpler with fewer names to remember).

All in all, I feel it’s going to be a good day. Right up to the point when I look on my desk and see it. There it is. The one thing I know is destined to potentially decimate every plan I had for the day. It sits evenly, squarely on the desk, all alone, pristine and innocent looking – the white envelope.

Why is it they always leave it at the top? Could they not hide it, so you don’t find it until lunchtime and you’ve then got half a chance of a moderate day? Not only that, it’s a white envelope from our stationary cupboard (I can tell, as we still have stock of those envelopes Tracey bought; the glue must have been specifically designed with non-bonding properties, so much that only the space program would have a use for it). Now, I know I shouldn’t open it, I know I don’t want to open it and I know that whatever happens, I’m unlikely to like the contents. There’s a 99.5% chance that this letter can only be one thing: the resignation letter.

I sit contemplating the envelope, wondering if now is the time to use some of that “power of positive thinking” Jack Black was trying to persuade me was deep in my “inner self” (so deep that Chilean miners couldn’t find it, as it turns out). I sit back and imagine that it’s the resignation letter from the engineer who refuses to go up ladders on the basis that he’s got vertigo (even though his previous job was a scaffolder).

But I know that’s unlikely. If I’m looking at the envelope then that means it’s from a staff member and the crunch question is; is it is someone I want to lose, someone I don’t mind losing, or the absolute disaster case, someone I don’t mind losing – but just not right now when I’m trying to plan a 2 week Easter break in the sun.

As I pick up the envelope and it springs open I notice with surprise that it’s from Tracey, and it’s a request to be considered for promotion. The relief overcomes me and I’m tempted to award her the promotion on the spot. However, common sense reminds me that I have more pressing things to deal with (like that Easter holiday) and I acknowledge her request by email, highlighting that whilst I appreciate her attempt to use up her stocks of the non-bonding envelopes, perhaps an email would have sufficed.

I move onto the day’s next pressing issue: February – affectionately known as the “month from hell” in our offices. Not only is it the month where the sales team can no longer blame festive holidays for the dip in sales, but the accountant is screaming at them to make sure they reach his forecast targets, which curiously seem to have been based on a 5 week sales month. Actually, now I come to think about it, all his monthly sales forecasts seem to be based around a 5 week month, perhaps this is a sign he feels he can trace his lineage to pre-Gregorian time.

Either way, the sales team spend more time in this month trying to find excuses, rather than sales, until somebody points out that some of our larger customers have been placing unexpected orders, with the result that the sales team might, just might hit their targets this financial year. With only two months and 1 week to go, the sales team glance up from their desks with a look last seen by a leopard pacing an antelope on the Serengeti plains as they realise they are within grasp of their bonus.

I make the point to Mary the sales manager that perhaps the telesales team might like to contact the customers, just to make sure they are still alive. If we wanted to really go out on a limb and establish if they had any need for our products in the immediate future, then that could be quite helpful too.

The well-rusted machine that is the sales team then thrust themselves into action with a frenzy. Customers are called and quotes are issued. The sales team is even working late at nights, again, a sure fire sign that spring (sorry, bonus season) is around the corner.

Triumphantly, Mary announces with a glint in her eye (which tells me she’s spending her bonus already) that she’s confident that we’ll make it. The glint in Mary’s eye dims as I smile and point out that’s excellent, we now need to look at what growth we’ll be adding for next year’s budget.

Well, I have to find a way to pay for that Easter break …

Highlights from An Evening with Colin Robertson – part 2

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Colin Robertson’s talk was honest, humourous and hard-hitting in parts but the Exchange members lucky enough to attend all found something relevant to their own business they could take away and apply.

Here the members share some of the highlights of the evening, and what they learned from Colin’s story.

John Gardiner of TALENTStream was busy taking notes to take back to action.
“I’m taking away very rich ideas you can apply directly in your business and know they are proven.”

Joanna Dunbar, Stewart First Aid, thought Colin had a brilliant story to tell.
“It’s fabulous to see something started in Scotland and going all over the world.”

Nicola Gillespie Syme, Gillespie Financial, loved the humour Colin used to get his message across.
“Colin’s fundamental belief and passion in everything he does is infectious.”

Robin Wornsop of Rabbie’s Trail Burners appreciated the information about how Colin turned the business around.
“The key things were communication around making sure every one knows where you are going and what your vision is to take the company forward so you get the company behind you – every one actually wants to be in a winning team.”

Highlights from An Evening with Colin Robertson – part 1

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If you weren’t at An Evening with Colin Robertson, then you missed out on a quality event.

2012′s Entrepreneur of the Year Colin Robertson was on top form, his talk both entertaining and educational.

In part 2 of this blog we’ll share highlights from the evening through the eyes of some of the members who attended, but for now you can listen to Colin talk about de-risking Alexander Dennis Ltd, growth in products, sales and profits, customer retention, moving out of comfort zones, and hitting £1bn t/o in the not too distant future.

Trust us, this is one video you really want to watch.

Acquisition Secrets Revealed – Jim McColl

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Growth by acquisition can be exponential, exciting and financially rewarding. If you get it right. But in many cases the acquisition doesn’t work out, the acquiring company struggles to integrate the new company, and the new company fails to fit in.

Jim McColl

Jim McColl


So how do you make successful acquisitions? Who better to ask than Jim McColl of Clyde Blowers whose successful acquisition strategy over the past 10 years has seen the business develop into a truly global portfolio of 90 companies in 30 different countries, employing 6,000 people, with an annual turnover in excess of £1.35bn.

Murray Strachan chaired the evening. He summed up Jim’s key advice quite simply:
• Focus on what you’re good at, what you can add value to and/or leverage.
• Remember the best business to be in is the one you’re already in.
• Research competition, market/industry sectors and look for gaps, potential and to identify targets.
• Development and implementation of a 100-day plan is the key to integration and success.
• Motivate the management team, help them understand the vision and let them help in developing the storyboard.
• Be careful with the brand of the target, and/or eroding its inherent value.
• Always present an acquisition as a merger.

“Jim’s key approach came down to four factors, said Murray. “Big ambition, a “can do” attitude, understanding your markets and thinking globally.

“There were so many lessons and golden nuggets from Jim my arm hurt writing them all down. What a guy!”

For Amanda Boyle of Bloom VC the key lesson was that successful acquisitions focus on the return not the cost and the most valuable due diligence is carried out on operational issues by an internal team before professional services are engaged.

“Planning and ambition are important at every stage of building your business,” said Amanda. “It’s important to map and articulate these then share with everyone, every day… so that’s what I aim to do!”

She added: “Doing the right thing can be compatible with big ambition. A strong sense of personal values shines through Jim’s approach to negotiation.

The most memorable piece of advice that Tony Banks took away from the evening was that Scotland would flourish as an independent nation.

Tony, of Balhousie Care Group, added:” The highlights for me were tips to get your own team to do most of the operational diligence during an acquisition and then get the ‘expensive’ professionals to only provide confirmatory diligence.

“There will be no major changes in my business but I need to talk to Jim about raising funds and becoming a debt financier,” smiled Tony.

Attendee Thoughts and Key Tips
“Lots of practical advice and guidance, underpinned by focus, patience and sharp vision. What shone through were Jim’s priorities and values, and a very clear sense of self.”
“Target peoples dreams not just how much they want to be paid. Make that dream a reality!”
“Key tip for me – operational diligence before you bring in the expensive professionals to carry out the confirmatory diligence.”
“1. Get to know the firms first, just ‘drop in’ for a coffee whilst you’re in the area – so really get to understand the business from afar 2. Let them think you’re merging 3. Keep staff informed & updated with your goals 4. Do diligence internally where possible.”
“My tips from the evening – Market analysis – get to really know your market and competitors – Key staff – play to their dreams when looking to incentivise – Story board – set out clearly the vision for all to see and buy into – Can do attitude is essential – Look at what you are good at – best business to be in is the one you’re in!”

Jim also recommended a number of his favourite books, his personal top ten list is here. Better get them on your Santa list!

1. Think and Grow Rich – by Napoleon Hill
2. Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude – by W. Clement Stone
3. You’ll See It When You Believe It – by Wayne W. Dyer
4. You Can If You Think You Can – by Norman Vincent Peale
5. Born to Success – by Colin Turner
6. Are You Positive? – by Richard Gaylord Briley
7. The Secret – by Rhonda Byrne
8. A Passion for Success – by Kazuo Inamori
9. Ask And It Is Given – by Esther and Jerry Hicks
10. Abundance – The Future Is Better Than You Think – by Peter H. Diamandis

Biographies “here”