1998 – The Far East Crash cost me EVERYTHING!

It took 5 years to build a successful business and only one day to destroy it. I had built a business from scratch after investing £16k which at the time was all that i had in order to market my products to my target audience. From 1993 I had worked days, nights and weekends to reach my goal of becoming the UK’s leading promotional clothing and accessory business in the UK.

I had started to realise my dream and had secured clients such as Walt Disney, Imperial Tobacco, Coca Cola, Sky BSB, Virgin, Chelsea FC, The Spice Girls, Oasis, Team McClaren, Film 97,98 and I was a major supplier to Wembley Stadium. My turnover had gone from £350k to £3.2 million in the space of one year and we now had a 20,000 sq ft warehouse/ office and held just of £1.5 Million in rotating stock.

I had no ideas that the Far East would crash overnight! Once the crash happened my Korean Partners had to withdraw from UK operations and understandably so. Little did i know, the Korean Glory seeker (my initial stock supplier) had over supplied the UK and European market and was now re-called to Korea to answer to his superiors.

I had spoken to my father about returning the stock in great depth. The Koreans had asked for me to send all the stock back to a bonded warehouse but this would leave my warehouse practically empty with huge costs with a 3 year lease still to run… I was not sure whether to send it back or to keep hold of the stock and call their bluff? My father said to me “Do the Honourable thing son”….The Korean had promised that there would only be a 90 day delay before new stocks arrived, but i felt differently.

I returned the stock and the Koreans had no intension of re-supplying the stock and as a result i could not supply my clients and had no choice to liquidate the business. My advice to everyone when either choosing  a major supplier is to check the risk and exposure that you may face before entering into any agreement that could at a later stage cause your business potential harm!

 

I did return all the stock and did the Honorable thing, but there have many days where i wished that i had not and that i something that still haunts my memories still to this day!

Regards

TUE

2008- A mountain to Climb! Reaching Critical Mass

Well Monday has come just as quick a Friday went…… The concerns, pain and uncertainty are still there in abundance. It’s getting even more difficult to turn this new project around….. This is exactly the point where we loose most of our budding and aspiring entrepreneurs, through lack of finance, lack of knowledge or just plain and simply we reach the point where we can take no more!

I wonder just how many Entrepreneurs have just sailed past this point either through successful trading, lucky break or sheer determination?  Well my point is not aimed at the ones who have sailed through the stormy seas onto calmer waters rather than the entrepreneurs who’s ships run aground or sank at this point?

Two trains of thought:-

(1) You have an idea yet you are underfunded but you have to start the project anyway, because if you did not start the project then it would have never got off the ground. If you have a concept then some people will not believe and realise until you can show them something tangible?

(2) You wait until you have all the necessary funds are in place before commencing your project?

I believe that there are different project that at times need to be created in different ways. Some projects cannot possible start without having the precise funding in place whilst others can be started in order to gather interest and investment. Some projects are very clear cut and without a doubt you know exactly what to do and when, while some other projects, well i guess it’s down to how you feel and the circumstances, climate and the presents itself to you!

OK so we are are where we are, underfunded but a fantastic idea that is now very real and very tangable…. so what are the next steps? Forward momentum is everything…

1. Keep the dream alive at all costs
2. Remember why you started what you started?
3. Celebrate the wins
4. Ensure that you key team has a firm footing on where they are heading
5. Give clear direction
6. When all around you are doubting – raise your game
7. Remember to talk about your position openly with the people that you trust
8. Prepare a plan of action and move towards it
9. Look towards your customers first- they are your primary source of income
10. NEVER GIVE IN!

I always dreamed of big things but even the biggest joinery starts with small steps and i have said to so many people “Instead of trying to cross a raging river in one go, take small steps and use the stepping stones, if you look closely enough- you will see them!”

See you all on the other side….

GFI

Regards
The Unknown Entrepreneur

1995-Its the Man not the Van!

You have often heard the saying “Its the man not the Van”….. I believe that to be completely true. Whilst one man is sitting worrying about inferior another is getting busy in becoming superior. So what sets apart the doers from the shirkers?

The Answer is quite simple – Attitude, Belief, Strength, Purpose, Honor, Desire, Drive, Goal Orientation, Integrity and Honesty…

Let me tell you about a little van called “Hi Ho Silver”.. It was 1995 my promotions business needed every penny i could get my hands on to fire the business up and take on the Korean Glory seeker – see earlier post http://theunknownentrepreneur.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/landing-2-million-of-unsecured-stock-funding-credit-from-a-broken-chair/

So i sold everything my car and my house and all my treasured belongings… I could not afford  much by way of a car and actually i needed a van…. I came across old silver, a small Renault van that had been resprayed but had broken wing mirrors and dented wings…. £45 from the scrap dealers soon cured that.. and for £1145 i had my new van which would carry my stock, take me to appointments and would also act as my car….. “Hi Ho Silver was my work horse” this little van had over 195,000 mile soon the clock when i sold it… It was one of those fantastic buys that always started and never let you dowm….

I have felt let down by so many things in my life but old Hi Ho Silver always delivered- I wonder if he is still about? I’m sure he is…… It was not just the Van rather what i did with it.. Silver took me everywhere from trips up north to my manufacturers, to clients, and to weddings (although i always parked around the corner for those)…

In any case it’s what i did that me different from other people. i did not worry about what i looked like, instead i just got on and did the job at hand!

Regards

TUE