Straight-talking tips and advice on a wide range of business and entrepreneurship topics from an experienced expert.
In my earliest hitchhiking days, any stopping vehicle was an opportunity to travel. The excitement of the moment put me in the car. Going faster by slowing down was a concept outside my impatient grasp…
To describe one of my first loves as a ‘big bag’ might be a little misleading, but it is quite true. Like any other 16 year-old, relationships were important to me. I wasn’t necessarily looking for love. But back then I had no idea how or why teenage love fires entrepreneurial spirit. Fast-forward. Thirty years…
Escaping the clutches of suburban Northampton by hitchhiking to west London might not be everyone’s idea of fun on a late Friday afternoon, but I was really up for it…
Stood by the roadside thumbing lifts was an empowering experience. Drivers who stopped validated what I was doing and thus hitchhiking became meaningful, worthwhile and rewarding. Whilst it wasn’t rocket science, I always thought carefully in advance about my appearance as well as how and where I stood. And I looked at the driver as…
Tell others that you want to go it alone and don’t be surprised when more people than you thought advise against such action. So how do you know when not to listen to business advice?
In the early nineties I employed a salesman on a short-term 10 week contract. I gave him a sales target of £10k and suggested we meet each Friday to review progress. This was my plan to achieve sales effectively…
“Where ya goin?” The van driver shouted above the noise of the engine. He was leaning over from his seat, pushing the passenger door open with his outstretched hand. Standing on the pavement and with my heavy rucksack held over one shoulder I replied. “Lake District!” The prospect of a lift added eagerness to my…