Chances are, you’ll recognise John’s face if you’ve had business support from the BIC, attended our hugely popular Growth Lab events that he co-hosts or you’ve been on LinkedIn recently!
But his backstory might come as something of a surprise. Here, he opens up about his own ‘rollercoaster’ journey as an entrepreneur that saw him have some big wins, some big losses but gain priceless perspective and values along the way…
I always wanted to be in business so after graduating, I started an IT company in 1995 with a friend and we still have a business together today.
We made a real success of it, and in 1998 we decided to use some of the proceeds to diversify into property. We built a substantial property portfolio and rode some big successes.
The property market was booming at the time, as was IT, and it was like everything we touched turned to gold.
We’d only known the upward rollercoaster at that point but in September 2007 the direction dramatically changed.
I was on holiday in Greece and I distinctly remember sitting in a bar with an ice-cold pint of Mythos when I caught sight of the TV.
The news was reporting a run on the Northern Rock bank, which was the first signal of the impending global financial crisis. I had no idea of the implications at the time.
We had everything we’d worked for invested and tied up in property projects. A year later we’d lost it all through the credit crunch.
Fast forward a year or so, I had lost my house in the countryside and all of the trappings of the success I’d had. We managed to stay afloat by the skin of our teeth but it was a massive shock.
Things got pretty dark and difficult, but after more than 15 years I can look back and reflect that it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me.
I was very young and I think success came a little too early.
I needed to experience some of the downs as well as the ups of being an entrepreneur. They say you’ve never failed until you actually give up and I truly believe that failure is a prerequisite for success. Some of your most important lessons are learned in the tough times.
If you look at all the big-name entrepreneurs, they’ve all had failures in their past and they’ve learned lessons the hard way, in both life and in business.
So, I threw myself into personal development, learned about resilience and rebuilt from there.
It took a good few years to rebuild my confidence and mindset. I had to dig deep. I’d lost my identity and belief. But gradually I developed the inspiration to go again, and I started a solar energy business with another partner. Thankfully this turned out to be a successful venture.
I learned a lot of lessons from the initial failure of the property business and the success I had with the solar business. I knew I had built a strong mindset and the resilience to keep going when times got tough. I now knew life and business could be a rollercoaster.
I then ventured into a sporting events business with a friend which was focussed on raising funds for charitable causes. One of my favourite memories was delivering hundreds of toys in a huge Luton van to the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital at Christmas.
We felt like Santa Claus that day and it made me realise there’s definitely more to life than money and material success.
I grew up in an era when you were told by everyone that money equals success. Experience made me realise that it doesn’t really – although it does give you options.
Success means so many different things to different people. It might sound like a bit of a cliché but I got such a buzz from helping other people. I realised you can be an entrepreneur and have a social conscious.
That gave me an appetite to use my property experience to benefit vulnerable people, and I moved into the supported housing sector for seven years. I still have a supported housing consultancy today.
As I came up to my 50th birthday I had something of an epiphany. Property just wasn’t doing it for me anymore and I wanted more from my life.
I needed something new to challenge me. My work wasn’t varied enough, exciting enough or big enough. I felt I had so much more to offer. But where to start?
I began by writing down all of the things I love to do and all the things I’m good at. Then added those things I’m not so good at and how I could be better.
From that I started to plan what would be the ‘ideal’ for me. What would make me want to jump out of bed on a Monday morning? What would inspire me take the actions I needed to achieve this ideal scenario.
I wanted to align my time to the things that really mattered to me. If I could live by my values then I’d be more fulfilled.
Just afterwards, I saw a role advertised at the North East BIC for a part time business adviser, mentor and coach and I thought that would suit me down to the ground.
I have a lifetime of entrepreneurial experience to share, at exactly the right time in my life. I took the role at the BIC December 2022 and loved it from the outset.
My analysis of myself highlighted how important variety is to me so I decided to continue to run my own business too.
Then I got involved with men’s mental health charity Space North East because that’s an area close to my heart after having experienced such highs and lows.
I also became a non-executive director for a business and personal performance coaching company called Is This You? Coaching has played an important role in helping me pick myself up from the dark times and design the life I want so I’m living proof that it works.
The thing I love most about my work is seeing people flourish and seeing their businesses flourish.
I know from experience, that entrepreneurs often find it difficult to draw the line between their personal and business life. They almost live and breathe their business. So, I try to help them make it all work as a whole and try to balance it all out.
I feel like I can combine business support with personal development support well, drawing on my experiences and the knowledge I’ve built up to help others on the same path.
I’ve done a lot of personal development in my life. It’s really helped me through tough times and helped me in business too, so I try to pass this on.
As a team, the BIC gets so much positive feedback from our work to help people to achieve their business goals.
In the past people have thought of business advisers as traditional and a bit stiff but we are anything but! We are really approachable and we show business can be fun. That really comes out in the #GrowthLab events we do.
I now feel like I’ve experienced almost every element of an entrepreneur’s journey…
The most important thing I’ve learned? Nobody knows what’s round the corner so you have to keep your feet on the ground. The best athletes don’t get too high when things are going well and they don’t get too low when they’re going badly. Keeping level between the two is the ideal.
This is one of the reasons why joining Is This You? resonated so well with me. The directors and coaches are from an elite sports background and are able to bring that mindset into business and personal coaching.
When I look back, I realise how tough it’s been at times.
But without those experiences, I wouldn’t be the man I am today. Not the same father, not the same friend, not the same partner, not the same colleague and not the same business adviser and entrepreneur.
My advice? Embrace it all, the good and the bad. Learn from it all, believe in yourself and don’t ever give up!