entrepreneurs 17


Pictures by Angus Thomas


and I understood the value of money and hard work from a very young age. He was very successful and the roots of CV-Library come from recognising how important your reputation is, being seen as a trusted organisation and looking after your customers. That, together with keeping a strong and motivated team is what makes us successful.


How important is giving back to the local community?


I like to give back and to inspire those around me. Fleet is a great place to have a business. 90% of my staff are local, I went to school here and still go back to mentor pupils and help with things like CVs and mock interviews. When I first


returned to school there were some teachers who remembered me, so that was interesting. I also work closely with a couple of local businesses to help them grow. One is Gandys Flip Flops launched by Rob and Paul Forkan, who lost their parents in the Boxing Day tsunami. Rob was my first ever employee and it’s good to be able to help them become more successful. They’ve had some great PR and now they give me tips on getting media coverage.


Where does the business go next?


I bought out my former partner in 2013, so I now own 100% of the business. We’ve expanded our IT division, taken on a new financial director and we’re going from strength to strength. Turnover by June 2014 will be £11.5m compared with £8.8m in June 2013. We moved into a new building three years ago as part of our 10-year plan and we only have room for four desks left, so we’re looking for additional space already. I want to be bigger and better than all our competitors. Our next move is into the international market, we’re building a global platform at the moment which has a very unique element to it. By the autumn we expect to be in the US which is very exciting.


Your website profile says you hate mess


For me, a tidy ship is a happy ship. Some might say I have OCD, but I just care about my things and like a nice tidy place to work. Also, if you look after things properly, it keeps costs down.


You have quite strict rules for staff


I run a very structured operation, our days are 9 - 5.30, no private mobiles allowed in work hours, no smoking breaks, no private Internet usage. It’s very productive and our staff are very motivated. We have lots of incentives and events for staff, plus training and reward schemes and we have very good staff retention.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MARCH 2014 What are your personal ambitions?


As a true entrepreneur, I’m never really satisfied and that probably makes me difficult to live with. I don’t have any investors or a board of directors to report to, I like to learn my own lessons and rely on gut feeling – my dream is to turn CV-Library into a global business where I can travel the world and keep an eye on the business at the same time. And I’d also like to start a “Good News” TV channel – telling everyone about all the good things that are happening.


Details: www.cv-library.co.uk www.businessmag.co.uk


A couple of years ago we employed 35, now we have 75 and we’re looking to expand.


Who do you admire in business?


I read a lot of autobiographies, people like Lord Sugar. They are mainly about business people, I’ll often choose a book about someone who I don’t like on face value and see if reading their life story changes my opinion about them.


What do you do to have fun?


I’m single, so I have lots of energy to focus on the business and it’s only rarely that I’m not thinking about work. I work really hard and take the view I can play later in life. Ideas often come to me when I’m away from the office though, either in the gym or on my boat, which I keep in Majorca. I don’t watch or play a lot of sport, but I have a big old cottage and I enjoy wandering around antique shops finding interesting things for it.


I love travelling and exploring other cultures. I can’t lie on a beach, I want to know everything about a country, its economy and how it works. I visited India and loved it because everyone has a story to tell, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur.


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