Successes & failures: Invaluable lessons from entrepreneurs

After several years working very hard on my first venture, an experienced mentor and friend drew me a simple diagram to demonstrate how to run a much more effective company. "It's all about knowing how to shape your business and getting the direction right" Chris said, taking his pen off the paper and sitting back in his chair. I peered at the illustration. None the wiser I looked up at his smiling face and asked him to explain. What he told me influences my thinking everyday... Read More

Small team challenges. Is the entrepreneur better working alone? Flush with hitchhiking success, I regularly encouraged friends to thumb lifts and wherever possible join me on my travels. I genuinely wanted to share the road freedom I had discovered. However, only a few ever followed. On the odd occasion I hitched in company, I discovered the differences small team challenges bring compared to working alone. Read More

Successful job hunting requires entrepreneurial approaches When people ask for advice about finding meaningful employment, I always suggest they don’t waste time applying for jobs. The  traditional job-hunting process wastes so much time and money. Money and time is lost because everyone is trying to go through… Read More

Rejection hurts but the thick-skinned entrepreneur goes further... Even as a thick-skinned entrepreneur, at the start of any day hitchhiking, there was always a feeling of nervousness. It typically happened just before sticking out my thumb or holding up a sign. This is the moment of truth. You’re declaring your presence and your reason for being to all passing motorists... Read More

Entrepreneurial, independent and self-reliant? Why not consider startup business bootstrapping your venture Failure has a wonderful capacity to reveal opportunities that otherwise remain hidden. Disastrous 'A' Level results in 1984  forced me to take a gap year. Whilst I envied friends destined for university, part of me delighted in the chance to step off the education treadmill... Read More

Killer business plans. Do we get what we wish for? Killer business plans were definitely not on my mind in 1983. But my hitchhiking career was about to start. The decision to thumb a lift that cold, blue-sky October morning was pure instinct. In fact, if it had been planned, it probably would never have happened. Stood alone at the Keswick bus station not long after sunrise, I discovered a coach journey home (Nottingham) would cost me a shed-load (£12). Aged 17, that was nearly 20 pints of beer... Read More

Think like an entrepreneur and create that winning entrepreneurial mindset? Creating a successful start-up business requires a winning entrepreneurial mindset and appropriate attitude of mind. It’s not so much a skill but a way of thinking. Since childhood I've been curious. Discovering ideas, creating opportunities and doing new things has always been important. And the wiring of my brain means I enjoy travel and meeting people... Read More