Each issue, we ask a flooring industry professional 10 Questions. This month, we chatted Jason Ashby, CEO of UK Flooring Direct.
10 QUESTIONS WITH… Q8 Q9
On a business level, I feel like my proudest moment might still be to come because every time we achieve something, I want us to go further again and achieve more. Our aim is to get to £1bn in revenue.
Q4
If you could hire anyone to be part of your team,
who would it be and why? I’d love to have someone like Richard Branson in the boardroom with me. He’s an absolute inspiration in what he’s achieved but also how he communicates and supports.
Q5
What’s the best advice you could give to
someone new coming into
the industry? To anyone coming into retail, I’d always say put the customer first. Find out what the customer wants and then put your whole proposition around them.
Q6 Q1
What was your first job? When I was 13 worked at a
timber yard with my dad in the summer holidays. I’d do 12 hour-days five or six days a week and I loved it. I used to get £1 an hour and was happy with that.
Q2 Q3
How did you get into the industry?
I could have got a job working with my dad but I had a desire to do something myself and everything was all about getting a trade back then so I got a job as a YTS carpet fitter, and that was on £27.50 a week. I would have earned more working at my dad’s place.
What has been your proudest moment?
On a personal level, it’s got to be my three kids and, of course, marrying my wife, followed by Liverpool’s Champions League successes. In that order – I promise.
42 | 10 QUESTIONS Q7
What’s the first thing you’d do if you won
the lottery? If I won £20m, I’d buy a couple of businesses. You always need money to expand a business through acquisition, which is something we are looking to do. Winning that kind of money would certainly help us grow.
If you could have a dinner party with any
three people, dead or alive, who
would you choose and why? Richard Branson, for the reasons I touched on previously. Nelson Mandela, what a life experience. To go through what he did and to come out and still want to change the world and turn those bad experiences into positive ones was incredible. My final one would be Bill Shankly, the former Liverpool manager. Is he the best manager? I’m not sure, that might be Bob Paisley, but he started the change and he allowed everything afterwards to follow. For me, that is what leadership is about. It would be an interesting evening.
Q10
Lizzie Elston, National Sales
Manager at UltraFloor, asked: Do you believe in luck or do you
think we make our own luck? I hate the word failure because for me anything in life is a lesson, not a failure. If you put those lessons against your wins – the bits that you’d put down to luck – the lessons will always outweigh the wins. You only get that luck because of the lessons you’ve learned – unless you win the lottery of course!
www.ukflooringdirect.co.uk
Check out next month’s issue to see what Jason asked our next industry professional.
What did you want to be when you were
growing up? I wanted to be airline fighter pilot but I was rubbish at school.
What do you think the future holds for flooring?
It’s going to become more and more about sustainable products and having green credentials. We are going to be looking at how we can use less raw materials. Products, such as tiles, are going to become more about using composites. Design trends will always change but it’s going to be more about the construction of products.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
