< PreviousEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk20FASTEST 40Mentor of the YearAdam HarrisVistage chair and founder ofwww.transmentum.co.ukWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far? Being the youngest Vistage chair in theworld. As a Vistage chair, I assist chiefexecutives and senior executives tobecome better leaders, make betterdecisions, and achieve significantly betterresults. I have as a result been to somefantastic places, worked with someamazing people and spoken in front ofmany thousands of people – the mainthing though is that this platform hasenabled me through my training anddevelopment to help change a number ofpeoples lives through helping themthrough the isolation relief that is runningyour own business. Stuart RossBusiness coach/Trainer and also themanaging director of Global High GrowthWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far? For one thing, I’m very proud to havehad such a long career full of greatachievements! Successfully launchingBoots the Chemists internationally wasfantastic, as was rapidly building up andselling a high growth software company.As a managing director, I’m also proud tohave built up a market leading coachingcompany which has achieved globalrecognition and has offices in San Diegodue to demand.Neale LewisManaging director at The BusinessCoaching PracticeWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?The biggest achievement in mycoaching/mentoring career to date hasbeen the results that I have achieved forour clients. We have always been veryfocused on achieving client results andhave been awarded with a number ofaccolades. Firstly winning theActionCOACH award in 2011 for bestclient results across Europe and then in2013 being recognised for coaching thefastest growing organisation across theUK. Our mission is to create 1,000 newjobs through the clients we coachbetween 2012 and 2017 and to date wehave 326 new jobs within the SMEmarket across the East Midlands.Paul StubbsManaging director at Edward Hands &Lewis, director at EHL GroupWhat has been the biggest achievement ofyour career so far?In his own time and at no cost Paul hasdevised and driven a programme foruniversity students to have ‘hands on’experience of the legal world. Afterdeveloping the format Paul attendsDerby University for 6 hours a week totutor and mentor students on clientinterview skills, drafting their CVs andhow to be recognised by prospectiveemployers. As a senior director of aGroup employing 126 people across 10sites it is unusual for so much time to begiven at no cost to the community Paulserves.Following the success of thatprogramme at Derby University, Paul hastaken on an individual student as menteeand Paul devotes his private time in theevenings and weekends to giving one toone tuition to the student to act as aguide to the many choices and pitfallssurrounding the early stages of hiscareer.Separately Paul also provides his timeat no cost to a charitable organisationcalled The Harvey Girls Trust whichprovides support and assistance to theyoung and vulnerable. Paul’s time is notspent with those benefitting from thecharity; it is spent as advisor and mentorto those running the charity in order thatthey too have someone to turn whendifficult situations arise.Adam HarrisStuart RossNeale LewisPaul Stubbswww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 21FASTEST 40CREATIVEINDUSTRIESGemma LovettCreative director, DE22What has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Being appointed creativedirector/Director in just over a year atDE22 Creative would have to be mygreatest achievement in my career todate. With joining a company that was inits 1st year of trading I saw theopportunity to push and drive thecompany along with the founder to makeDE22 Creative what it is today.DE22 Creative now in its fourth Year oftrading has now got an ever growingteam of employees, new premises andnew clients/contracts. I am proud to beDE22’S creative director and super proudof the team that I support, steer andinspire. It’s the quality of our solutionswe give our clients which makes themreturn to DE22 creative for a great loyalservice that works. Happy clients – isreally the best day to day achievement.Laura HamptonDigital marketing manager, HallamInternetWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Winning a £20,000 contract for thebusiness this year was a greatachievement for me. Prior to my currentrole, I was also selected for one of only 6positions on the TUI Travel LeadershipDevelopment Programme, out of 1,800applicants, which is something of whichI’m still very proud.Rob PearsonFounding director, Demystify the CloudWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Oh so many...!Inspiring cloud Technologies uptake inthe East Midlands via Demystify theCloud, and seeing the everydaysatisfaction on our customers’ faces.Aaron Dicks and Tom Craig (joint entry)Managing directors of ImpressionDigitalWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far? Building a business with a hungry,energetic team that is competingsuccessfully with older, more establishedbusinesses in the industry and winningnew clients by being more nimble andeager to deliver.Gemma LovettLaura HamptonRob PearsonAaron Dicks and Tom Craig Paul Atherton22 ÁEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk22FASTEST 40Paul AthertonOwner, N1 Visual SolutionsWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Turning the dream into a recognisablebusiness and generating my first profit inthe last financial year.David Jonathan RussellSales director, Secure RetailWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?My biggest achievement is becoming asales director at the age of 27. It’s easyto say that achieving targets or winningcertain customers has been importantbut from my point of view I alwayswanted to be in control of strategy andleading a team as I felt that would be mybiggest test and allow me to developmost as a person. My current MD was a client of mine forseven years before I joined them and forhim to put his trust in me as a person torun his sales team was real testament tothe way I had looked after him as anaccount and dealt with their company.Since we have worked together we havegrown the company by over 20 per centyear on year together to what will be a£15m turnover this year with over 10 percent net margins. Being responsible for the strategy thathas helped us achieve this and hopefullyat the same time develop that sales teaminto a successful unit is probably mybiggest achievement.OWNER-MANAGERSGraeme NaishCo-founder, Open Door AuctionsWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Taking Open Door Auctions to marketin seven months was a hugeachievement. I started planning thebusiness on our dining room table inMay and it was fully incorporated byJuly. I calculated that £15,000 would berequired to fund all start-up costs andborrowed this money from my parents.The company website followed onemonth later (August), the same time thatI passed all four National Association ofValuers and Auctioneers (NAVA) examsin one sitting – a key step in achievingcredibility as a start-up company. Isubsequently started approachingpotential vendors about the auctionmodel and, three months later on 29thNovember 2012, hosted an auctionfeaturing 24 properties worth £4.4m, 71per cent of which were sold. At the end of year one, our turnoverwas c.£185,000 and we were operatingan extremely healthy gross profit margin(81 per cent). Thankfully, I have neverhad to ask for additional funds – I stillhad £600 in my account when weachieved our very first property sale.And my parents were fully paid back bythe end of year one which was a hugerelief!Sally MajorFounder, WordNerdWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?I’m constantly amazed by how wellthings are going and what I’veachieved. I write blogs for an onlinelanguage learning company calledbusuu, which was voted one of thebest language learning blogs in theworld this year.I’ve written two first prize-winningaward entries for Adams CateringHire, who were crowned EHA HireCompany of the Year UK in 2013 and2014. I’m also very proud that withinless than three and half years I’m oftentold that I’m one of the bestcopywriters people who’ve been inthe industry for many years have everworked with.But my greatest achievement is thatI do it all while managing a chronicillness I’ve had for nearly 11 years.Working for yourself and setting up abusiness is tough but doing it with on-going health troubles makes it evenharder.Jeremy BullockDirector, Spruce Tree LettingsWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Setting up a UK-wide lettingsagency run from one central office,then setting up Spruce Tree Lettings.David Jonathan RussellGraeme NaishSally Majorwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 23FASTEST 40Phil WalkerFounder, Precision RecruitmentWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Buying a 6,000 sq ft office, beingfinalists twice in the Leicester MercuryBusiness Awards. Once in 2009 and in2014. Adam MaddockOwner, Gifts4YouTVWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Outside of business it wasrepresenting GB at tennis, and business-wise it was just getting the businessfrom being an idea into a reality.Scott SnaithManaging director, 50cyclesWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far? Building a multi-million poundbusiness organically from very littlebacking.Matthew TuckerManaging director, Morgan TuckerWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Completing the Olympic park railfreight project in 2012. The project wasa launch pad for the significant growththe firm has seen over the past twoyears and Matthew attributes thecompany’s turnaround to it.Morgan Tucker delivered thecomplex project on an extremely tighttimescale ahead of schedule andbudget. The average time of aconstruction project of this nature fromfeasibility through to construction couldbe as long as three years – MorganTucker delivered it in twelve monthsThe 28 acre site was developed tobecome a temporary rail connectedlogistics centre that enabled allconstruction materials to be deliveredto the Olympic Park by rail, thusreducing the environmental impact ofdelivering construction materials byroad.Matthew HolmesManaging director, WFP FabricationsWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Starting WFP with a small investmentand seeing it grow so successfully inthe past seven years. It has been a verysuccessful twelve months and we areexpecting our turnover to increase by30 per cent to break our £1m targetnext year.Phil WalkerAdam MaddockMatthew TuckerMatthew HolmesJeremy BullockScott SnaithEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk24FASTEST 40East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.ukPROFESSIONALSERVICESCaroline SmithPartner - head of retail property,ShakespearesWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Taking a leadership role to win andgrow the relationships and respect ofclients such as Domino’s Pizza, VisionExpress, Poundstretcher, Subway andTimpson. It’s a fiercely competitive marketand we are constantly developing to winahead of our competitors.Darren TomsOwner, Clumber ConsultancyWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?I won a multimillion pound tender in thefirst 7 weeks of my new job at thebeginning of 2014. This ultimately cost memy job as I was asked to relocate toLondon to look after the client. Followingthis news, I decided to launch my veryown business in North Nottinghamshirecalled Clumber Consultancy and havenever looked back. Becoming a businessowner has definitely been the biggestachievement of my career so far. Beingresponsible for every aspect of mybusiness has certainly strengthened me asan individual and given me a greatappreciation of the various functions ofhow a business should run. I’m veryexcited about the future of ClumberConsultancy and what we could achieveover the coming years. Ginny HallamOwner, HalbornsWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Being trusted enough by the Partnersof Berryman Shacklock to be invited tothe partnership at the age of 29: I am theyoungest person to make partner atBerryman Shacklock. Being trusted withthis responsibility was both challengingand rewarding. It provided me with anopportunity to manage my own team, theteam’s budget and financial targets. Isuccessfully built the team’s turnoverfrom £200,000 to more than £500,000.James BagleyManaging partner, Smith CooperWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?My hard work, determination anddedication to offering clients andcolleagues the best possible support hascontinuously been commended duringmy career at Smith Cooper. Whilsthaving a number of achievements I amextremely proud of including my quickprogression to Managing Partner ofNottingham, my biggest achievement byfar would be last year when at the age of30, I became the youngest ever Partnerto be voted onto Smith Cooper’sExecutive Committee, the decisionmaking body for the firm. Being voted onto the committee by mypeers, all of whom are highlyexperienced and exceptionallyknowledgeable, is a huge achievement.The committee is critical to SmithCooper’s success and I play a crucial partin managing the operations of the firm. Gareth SingletonEast Midlands lead partner, BDOWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Being made partner before I was 30 andregional lead partner at 35.Nic ElliotDirector, ActonsWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?It’s got to be achieving partnership atActons within 18 months of joining thefirm, and at the age of 33. I’m alsoincredibly proud to have been electedvice-president of Nottingham CityBusiness Club after only a year working inthe city, and I’m hopeful that I’ll becomepresident next year.Simon BrowningTax partner, UHY Hacker YoungWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?I think that becoming head of tax in theEast Midlands and managing a team of 20people in my previous role at BDO wouldhave to be my biggest achievement todate.Scott GallacherDirector, Rowley Turton (IFA)What has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Naturally delivering financial securityand peace of mind to our clients is key,however more specifically beingacknowledged as one of the leadingfinancial advisers within the UK, with JeffCaroline SmithDarren TomsSimon Browningwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 25FASTEST 40www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Prestridge (the personal finance editor ofthe Mail on Sunday) summing me up as‘Just brilliant’. Alison FovarguePartner, PKF Cooper ParryWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Making Partner at PKF Cooper Parry atthe age of 32, no question about it – I washugely proud to receive the recognitionfor the hard work and support I haveprovided to clients and colleagues alike.Victoria DytrychIT director, PKF Cooper ParryWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?Becoming a director at PKF CooperParry. It is a great company and I amhonoured to be a leader within thebusiness. James FranklinDivisonal sales manager, Centro SalesPersonnelWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?I was instrumental in implementing aninnovative Social Media strategy that hasresulted in a 66 per cent growth offollowers and a 66 per cent growth in thebusiness during 2014.Jo HigtonmHead of learning, Customer PlusWhat has been the biggest achievement inyour career so far?My work with Endress+Hauser UK hashad a significant impact for the client. Myobjective was to improve their customersatisfaction TRiM score by three points.The area they were particularly keen toimprove was complaint handling. Iworked with the team to create a changeprogramme called ‘little things BIGDIFFERENCE’ which included a launchevent, leadership workshop, twocustomer service workshops and a rangeof sustainment activities.The result of our programme saw theirTRiM score increase by five points, twoof which can be attributed directly toimproved complaint handling.Our work with the UK team has beenrecognised by the global Head Office inSwitzerland. I have now been contractedby the central team in Switzerland todesign a global complaints managementcourse and support its implementationin 37 countries across the world.Ginny HallamGarethSingletonJames BagleyNic ElliotScott GallacherAlison FovargueVictoria DytrychEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk26BUSINESS RESOLUTIONS2015East Midlands business leadersreveal their business resolutions Out with the old, and in with new as 2014 draws to a close. But what will the key businessleaders in the region be looking to achieve in 2015? We found out.Jamie Mollart, Rock Kitchen HarrisTo keep challenging the agency andour clients to produce creative, highcalibre work.John Forkin, Marketing DerbySimple, to convert our investmentenquiries in order to keep Derby’sregeneration momentum moving forward.Gareth Singleton, BDOContinue to invest and develop ourpeople. We have an excellent team ofindividuals coming through the ranks andmy resolution, along with all the partners,is to continue to stretch and empowerthis group to contribute to the ongoingsuccess of our clients in the region. Thereis no secret to achieving sustained growthand success in a people business and thatis to have the best people working foryou, and we will continue to work hard tomake that a reality.Andrew Granger, Granger & CoWe have our financial targets in place,with an aim to increase turnover by 15%across the firm. We want to work smarterand more efficiently. We’ll make surework is not duplicated unnecessarily andwill keep better historical records. Jill Evenden, EBS AccountantsAs a rule I don’t make New YearResolutions. However, as a businessowner and entrepreneur I start each NewYear by revisiting the business plan andlooking at ways of enhancing andadjusting this to reflect the evolvingneeds and progress of local businessesand our clients, whilst anticipatingchanges in legislation, tax rules and soon, to ensure we support clients so theycan respond. It’s important that advisersare always flexible and move quickly torespond. Paul Norbury, PwCTo make 2015 a record growth year forour East Midlands practice, enabling us toinvest further in our people, to supportour clients and the local community. Jeremy Bullock, Spruce Tree LettingsOne of our key New Year’s resolutionsat Spruce Tree Lettings will be tocommunicate more and also to use avariety of mediums in our communicationmethods – whether that be in-house, tosuppliers and contractors, or to ourexisting or potential clients.This is because we have realised thatdifferent people absorb information inArnab Dutt, TexaneChris Frostwick, Grant ThorntonJill Evenden, EBS Accountantswww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 27BUSINESS RESOLUTIONSvery different ways – so we will beendeavouring to promote key messagesusing a variety of formats and mediums,so that hopefully we can be more clearlyunderstood as a brand.Matthew Tucker, Morgan TuckerTo keep driving the business forwardand to keep growing out of the recession.We are working towards an ambitiousexpansion plan so we will continue todevelop our key areas.Tracey Burridge, TribeOur biggest business resolution will beto think bigger and stick to our brandvalues. To date, keeping this focus hasallowed us to aim for like-mindedcustomers who share our values ofprofessionalism.Chris Frostwick, Grant ThorntonTo spend more time with clientshelping them with their growth ambitions.Adam Kingswood, PWR LettingsIn 2015, we will be striving forunrivalled levels of customer service. Wealready possess high standards, but weare conscious that with more and morefaceless service providers coming to themarket, that it is essential to stand apart. Arnab Dutt, TexaneThis year, Texane has been doing well,and next year looks even better. We areaiming to double growth, and havealready invested in tech and R&D over aperiod of 24 months.My New Year business resolution is tolook for new markets beyond wheels forescalators, creating new components foreverything from oil rig drills to rally cars.Innovation doesn’t have to be somethingthat’s plucked out of a genius’ mind.In 2015, our new joint venture calledDexo will combine our partner’stechnology with our own to create anantibacterial coating that has potentialapplications everywhere from the foodpreparation and health sector to publictransport and retail goods.John Osborne, JoCo Learning andDevelopmentFor us, we hope this will be the yearthat dementia is no longer seen as ‘thelong goodbye’ but as a journey on whichpeople can still enjoy a good quality oflife. As a business, we resolve to achievethis by reducing the stigma surroundingdementia by signing up as manybusinesses as possible to our DementiaFriendly Organisations programme. Thiswill enable businesses to showcase theirability to support their customers andstaff who are affected by this disease.Melissa Bignell, Red Hot World BuffetLeicesterWe only opened in June but 2014 wasvery good to us as we served nearly100,000 covers. 2015 looks set to be justas promising. We want to go fromstrength to strength by engaging morewith neighbouring businesses and thesurrounding community. The localresponse has been fantastic and it’s reallyimportant to maintain that relationship.Another resolution will be to dedicateeven more time to staff training todevelop creativity in our team – we’vealready got 12 new dishes lined up fornext year, as well as an even biggerselection of desserts on the cards. Finally,we’ll be keeping an eye on what ourcompetitors, locally and nationally, aredoing so that we can stay ahead of thegame. It’s set to be an exciting year.Laura Hampton, Hallam InternetOur resolution for 2015 is to retain oursmall business feel despite our rapidgrowth. As a company, we really valueour team and fun activities such as ourMonday cake days and Friday teamlunches will remain a staple part ofHallam life, even as our team of digitalmarketing experts grows even more overthe coming months.We believe this is an important part ofour ethos because it is reflected in theway we work with our clients. Each clienthas a single point of contact, socommunication is as easy as it would bewith a much smaller business, whilst eachconsultant is also supported by a wealthof knowledge from the wider team -which is a benefit of working with a largeragency. We believe we've got thatbalance right and intend to keep it thatway into 2015.John Forkin, Marketing DerbyMatthew Tucker, Morgan TuckerPaul Norbury, PwCThere is no secret to achieving sustained growth andsuccess in a people business and that is to have the bestpeople working for you, and we will continue to work hard tomake that a reality.Gareth Singleton, BDOBUSINESS PLANThe challenges of being afast growing business – anentrepreneurial marathon Many established businesses seem to find a happy mediumwhereby their operation seems to find a reasonable level ofequilibrium or balance, with the occasional peak or rushthrown into the mix. For those at the forefront of a fastgrowing enterprise, it is often like being on an entrepreneurialhigh, day in day out, for what seems a relentless period oftime. What then might constitute a fast growing business? Theanswer is varied, but in essence such businesses arecharacterised by those that significantly outperform their peersand counterparts in their sector. It is also those with newproducts or services, which from a standing start, gain marketshare or sales that match or surpass the market share or salesof similar businesses that are deemed to be market leaders.With the majority of established businesses in the UK reportingstatic, or 1 per cent or 2 per cent increase in business, fastgrowing businesses are likely to post sales growth in excess ofdouble digit or triple digits.In essence it is the pace of growth that creates an oftenunique set of challenges faced by running a fast growingenterprise. This can be the case whether the business is drivenby a highly entrepreneurial individual or by the opportunitiespresented in the market place or a combination of the two. Inparticular there seems to be a number of key issues affectingthe success or otherwise of such ventures:1. Reliance on a key individualTypically, it seems most rapid growing enterprises, arereliant on the vision and energy of one individual. Whilst theymay have the support and resource of other team members todraw on, the venture is often reliant on them being focusedand fit for the journey. There is often a risk that businesssuccess is impaired by loss of direction, lack of consultation,and simply because of physical burn out.2. ControlIn the early days of running any business it tends to berelatively easy to keep or have a sense of control. Whilst thedigital age means we can access information anywhere andanytime, as businesses grow it is often the case withincreased staffing levels, sales and simply the provision andneed for more information, that control of the business can beadversely affected. Knowing what information is importantand which systems need to be in place to monitor and controlthe business as it grows, is vital. Success cannot be left toentrepreneurial gut feel.3. Maintaining MarginsCertainly for the profitable fast growing business it can bethe case that the pace of business gives rise to a loss ofcontrol of costs and margins. The euphoria of sales andprofits and the need to make quick decisions are often at thecost of margins. It too is often the case that time is not takento review margins and supply chain procurement to ensurethat these are maintained with growth.4. Cash and FundingUnfortunately, an abundance of cash or free cash is a luxuryfor few businesses, not least those growing quickly. Typicallythen, burn rate (the speed at which you use the cash to fund abusiness) is often higher for a fast growing business. Withoutadequate working capital, management and responsivebudgeting, rapid growing businesses can run out of cash.From a broader perspective, there is often a danger thatwithout professional guidance and advice the overall fundingof a fast growing venture is done on a wing and a prayer. It isnot unheard of people using personal credit cards, orextending payment terms with suppliers or deferringpayments to HMRC to fund the venture – a scenario that isoften fraught with pitfalls and one which should and could beavoided.5. Recruiting and retaining key personnelFor any new or growing business, taking on members ofstaff is probably one of the biggest challenges they face. Thisis even more so for the fast growing business, which oftenfaces the challenges of identifying the roles to be filled,recruiting suitable candidates and being able to remunerate orAs a sponsor of the East Midlands Fastest 40and having worked with many fast growing orhigh growth enterprises, Streets CharteredAccountants is very aware of the challengesthat entrepreneurs or managers face inrunning and developing such businesses, saysJames Pinchbeck, marketing partner.East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk28BUSINESS PLANretain them. Certainly, for thosethat are not able to pay or rewardstaff at levels they would like, thepromise of future rewards oftenmakes it essential to look atalternative remuneration packages,including staff incentives and evenemployee share schemes.6. Forgetting why youstarted the business orbusiness idea – beingtrue to your rootsBringing an idea to life andseeing the success of the businessis the ultimate driver for mostentrepreneurs. The whirlwind of afast growing business, however,can take you off track with theoutcome being that you find youare doing something you hadnever really set out to do. Forsome it may be you find yourselfin a role you never intended to do,or doing work you don’t like or aresimply not enjoying what you’redoing, just because things are toobig. In this situation it may betime to look again, or to consideran exit route or change ofstructure.In summary whether you arerunning a fast growing business orlooking to start one it is worthtaking time out with a professionaladviser who has experience of theunique challenges you are likely toface. Certainly we look forward tomeeting and hearing about theexperiences of those that haveentered the Fastest 40 awards inFebruary 2015.www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 29Next >