Martin Gott - Broadhead Peel Rhodes
Who are you? What do you do? Where do you do it?
Former bank manager with NatWest with over 20 years’ experience in dealing with borrowing requests from business owners and those wishing to start up in business. In 1999 I joined Broadhead Peel Rhodes (Chartered Accountants). I continue to help owner-managed business with their financing requirements but now sit at the same side of the desk as the business owner/entrepreneur.
I provide advice and consultancy on banking matters but much of my time is now spent on raising finance for new businesses many of which are eligible for support under the West Yorkshire Ventures High Growth Programme. The work involves writing business plans/financing proposals, sourcing lenders and supporting the entrepreneur through the process.
Why did you start-up a business?
As indicated above, I have not worked on my own account in recent years (but please see below). If you were to ask why do I do what I do I would say that I am interested in the work, I gain great satisfaction from helping people – occasionally that means discouraging them from risking all (cash, house and home) on ventures which have more too much downside potential. At a time when the level of experience amongst bank managers has reduced significantly there is a need for business to be able to present its case to bankers in the language and format that they understand and respond to. I can assist with that, there is a need to understand and interpret for the business owner what motivates bankers’ thinking and I can assist with that. Also the money comes in handy!
How (and when) did you start-up a business?
In the mid seventies I left the bank (returning in 1978) and during that time I was self-employed in north-east Lancashire running an insurance brokerage for the NFU Mutual Insurance Company and acting as Group Secretary for the NFU. For all practical purposes it was a start-up business because my predecessor had died 12 months previously and a substantial part of the income had been lost to other brokers.
What have been the biggest challenges in running your own business? How have these been overcome?
There were many challenges facing me the most significant ones being inadequate technical insurance knowledge, being on my own after working for a large organisation in large offices, and having to build my reputation quickly because my income depended on winning back business for the NFU Mutual.
The technical knowledge I acquired by reading, talking to specialists and on-the-job experience. Working on my own felt strange at first but I quickly got used to it. The third and biggest challenge I met by being totally committed to giving the farmers who I represented the very best service, working hard to solve the problems for which help was needed. My persistence in pursuit of satisfactory outcomes paid off in that the successes earned me credibility amongst a conservative and wary sector of the local business community, who repaid me by giving me the opportunity to win back their insurance business.
The biggest challenges facing the new-business owners who I meet in my present role are – in no particular order trying to do everything i.e. sales, production and admin, with time spent on one often being to the detriment of the other two, inadequate funding often arising from everything costing more than budgeted and sales being slower than expected. It is not unusual then for debtors to take longer to pay than forecast/promised. The pressures arising from this combination then become a major distraction from running the business. And finally compliance and bureaucracy.
What have been your greatest achievements in running your business?
The most recent achievement is 100% success record in raising the funds for new businesses. In monetary terms this is in the region of £1m over the past 15 months.
What would be your advice to any young aspiring entrepreneurs?
Know your market, its trends and your competitors. Be prepared to work exceptionally hard. Dedication, determination and passion in all you do will bring success. I read somewhere recently that the dictionary is the only place where you will find ‘success’ coming before ‘work’. Understand that there will be bad days but if you have the right product and you are doing the right things you are much more likely to be successful.