I remember a particular moment in my first and only job in an Architects office looking down out of the window of the office, I am 18 years old, its winter, snowing, and the first thing I noticed was that all the nice cars in the car park seem to be owned by the freelancers and wondered why that was. It was a moment when I realised that being in business seemed to offer something more than the ordinary.
After a while I discovered that most of the self-employed freelancers also did small private projects at home outside office hours. 1 small project could be a month’s salary.
In addition, because I was the office junior I got to work closely with the owner and his PA which gave me an insight into his personal life. I witnessed the details of his great lifestyle which I had not really experienced before in the circle of friends and family that I was used to.
This was a perfect example of how being around people more successful than you can drive you to think and do things differently, its something most people don’t get to experience as they tend to hang around with people like themselves.
As soon as I finished college I decided to set up on my own and work freelance through an agency, probably 5 years before I was ready, but I was young and hungry, so I just got on with it. This gave me valuable experience working with numerous different companies across the same sector and taught me how different people ran similar companies in very different ways.
If you have ran a business for many years you come to believe your way is the best way and don’t try anything different because of the fear of losing what you have built.
Then recession hit and as a freelancer I was out of work with two small children and a mortgage to pay. Luckly, I had my own small projects to fall back on and increased my advertising to replace my lost income. Although I did not realise at the time, this was a valuable lesson that you should always have more than one form of income.
My Story
I set up my first business Easyplan in 2001 which taught me about brand and marketing and the resilience to survive on my own as a small business. Ran it for almost 20 years and helped over 4000 people extend their homes.
Like most owner operators I could have could have just continued to operate the business but understood that unless I removed myself from the day-to-day operations, I would be chained to a certain lifestyle forever which did not particularly appeal to me.
I had a desire for more freedom and flexibility that I thought being a business owner would provide but, as many of you will know, that is not the reality for most.
So next I decided to Franchise Easyplan across the UK. I sold 7 franchises which introduced the systems and processes to remove me from day-to-day operations.
This was a huge step forward as it gave me the freedom and time to think about and explore other interesting opportunities.
Sold the business in 2020 to my franchise manager which was my first exit.
My First Business
Next, I decided to pivot the concept into a national brand but needed to raise £2 million.
I gathered a Board of Directors; wrote a prospectus and each month we would travel around London meeting Investors and Corporate Advisors. This taught me about what investors are looking for and the power of a good team. My business partner was a very successful character who used to be the CEO of third largest Architect in the world. This gave us the credibility to get in front of a new level of people.
My advice is to reach out to people that you think won’t respond and suggest some sort of partnership, you may be surprised, but remember you need to be able to offer something of value to them.
I remember one meeting with KPMG accountants in their very impressive offices in Central London I had a feeling that I was finally playing on a different level. Meeting people in all the top London hotels and restaurants it finally felt like I was making some progress.
My search for Investors even took me to Hong Kong which provided the perspective of a totally different culture. But it was not to be, despite all our efforts we failed to raise the funds required. However, like most failures it became the catalyst to a new direction which changed everything.
During one meeting, after listening to my pitch, an investor suggested that I was making life too difficult, and I should just buy an Architect and morph that company into the new format.
After some consideration in the taxi on my way back to the station I realised that his comments made a lot of sense. Sometimes the simple decisions can be the most effective.
This was a pivotal moment which led me to immerse myself in the M&A community to discover whole new world that many people in business never get to explore.
The result of this was that in 2021 I acquired £2.5 million pound revenue central London based Architects practice with 33 staff. This company was larger than the business that my first boss had taken 30 years to build, and I had acquired it in 12 weeks.
This highlighted the power of M&A that can cut out huge amounts and time and help you make progress on a scale that I never imagined.
It was towards the end of the pandemic; the business was in trouble losing money and required turnaround and restructure. This was a huge lesson in dealing with staff and responsibility.
I remember walking into the office for the first time as the new owner, the team was split over two floors in an office just around the corner from the Shard in central London. It suddenly dawned on me that I was now responsible for paying 33 mortgages each month, with a payroll of over £150,000.
When you are an employee, the end of the month seems to take long time to arrive but as an employer it seems to come around a lot faster.
The business was run by several Directors, and I was determined as an owner not to get dragged into the daily operations.
Sold most of my shares in the company to a plc in 2023 to facilitate a restructure and then partnered with them to build a larger group in the sector.
I spent 18 months identifying target companies to buy, performing due diligence and negotiating with business owners. Identified and agree terms with five companies which would have given us a group of businesses with a £12 million revenue.
Then out of the blue, PLC decides not to proceed which taught me not to have put all my efforts into one project. In the future, I will also always be diversified into sectors, business partners and even countries.
Now my focus is helping business owners to prepare themselves and their company for sale so that they do not lose the value they have created over many years.
Having spoken with over 1000 business owners and seen many of them lose everything they have worked for because they cannot sell when they could have just changed a few things and had a hugely different outcome. It has also given me an insight into the complexities and emotions of the business owners mindset and how their whole identity is linked to their company, sometimes at the expense of everything else in their life.
Raising Finance
Author
This experience led me to write my first book “Pathway to exit” which aims to introduce owners to the idea of a sale and make them aware of the practical and emotional complexities of an exit.
I am also the founder of Routetoexit.com an online platform which gives business owners, the tools and resources to implement changes themselves as a start to building financial freedom away from their current business and help them consider what their next chapter looks like.
This platform was born around the realisation that owner operators are proud resourceful people and sometimes prefer being given the tools to begin the process themselves, rather than trust a consultant or advisor to assist them.
I now try and reach as many people as I can by speaking at events and podcasts. I’m very lucky that this has taken me around the world to many interesting places and gain different perspectives.
My main message to owner operators is that things don’t have to be the same as last year. Unfortunately, most get trapped in their comfort zone and fear prevents them from moving forward.
Its such a shame that these talented people don’t get to benefit from their efforts at the time in life they need it most. They also don’t get exposed to the many exciting opportunities that are available for experienced people.
Most just need a framework to work around and an outsider to make them accountable on a regular basis, and that’s where I can help because I have been where they are now.
I’m currently working on number for projects ranging from a Healthcare Group in the UK, a Digital Marketing Group in Canada and an Engineering Company in Romania to an Insolvency business in the UK&UAE.
All these partnerships have all evolved from being immersed in the M&A community and having the time to explore new opportunities. Something that even successful business owners with multi-million-pound revenue never get to achieve because they become stuck inside their business.
My biggest lesson in 40 years of business is that of lost opportunity cost. Throughout our lives all of us are presented with endless choices and opportunities but unfortunately most either don’t see them or take the decision to continue along our chosen path, something which many regret in later life.
When you switch from an operator to a shareholder mindset the world becomes a very different place. Once you have the time to network and meet with interesting people, every conversation becomes a step towards another new chapter.
