And the worst bits?
DG: This sounds corny, but there aren’t any! If there are then do something about it, or go and get a job!
Do you have any long-term aims for the business?
DG: For this product raise more money for good causes than any other promotional product in the world.
My number one goal is to make a promo product very cheaply for big companies. 80% of the profits from that would go to good causes chosen by the companies.
I’d also like to raise £500k a year to buy £4.5k titanium steel wheelchairs for paraplegics, in memory of my brother, who sadly passed away recently.
I’m not in this business for personal gain. My advice is: don’t think about making money – that will follow if you focus on what needs to be done.
Any other advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
DG: If you are going into a competitive field – and we’re not – find out what the successful competitors are doing. Copy it and improve it.
Think outside of the box. People in big corporations don’t always think outside the box – they have their existing suppliers and they don’t want to rock the boat. They see a lot of people each day – so think about what you can do to be different.
And if you’re rejected at one level by a buyer, then don’t be scared to go higher.
When you’re pushing for business, be aggressive; don’t be frightened. Mr Nice Guy gets an “oh, I’ll think about it”. If you’ve given all the good reasons to get a “yes” – don’t accept anything less.
And never accept “I will call you” – they rarely do and often don’t remember you.
Don’t rely on email or faxing; good old-fashioned letters to the right person work better.
If anyone is negative around you, get rid of them. Do not surround yourself with timewasters and going-nowhere-fast people. Unfortunately, a lot of new entrepreneurs listen to either negative people or ‘yes’ people, who tell them they’re great all the time – and that’s no good either.
At the end of every day, you should feel that you have accomplished something.
Never put off doing paperwork and other administration – but only do it in non-selling times, until you have someone to help you.
You have to do PR, but don’t rely on them to do it all, you are not their only client. You need to think about new angles, because that’s not their job – you have to feed them.
When we had our computer consumables business we would give away a little cream egg with orders for toner cartridges. Our sales went up 100%. They could buy the egg for 30p in the shops, but because it was something for nothing…
Work out the annual profits you need to break even. Divide this figure by the number of days you have in a year to achieve that. Set your daily target, but double what you need. Work out how many deals you need to strike and then the hours you need to sell a day to achieve that.
