I left university in 1970 with two results – one, a vast knowledge of mathematics, which included the skills necessary to design bridges that would not collapse and secondly, that I had fulfiled my parents’ desire that I should have a full and useful education.
Unfortunately, neither of these two achievements seemed then, or in fact, were ever to be, an influencing factor on my career.
My desire to run my own business was hampered by two major issues, one, lack of money and the other, of not having any particular aspirations to any particular type of business.
I settled on the thought of opening a travel agency and hence St Anne’s Travel Agents (Blackpool) Limited came into being on July 23 1974. I opened with no knowledge, except a mass of enthusiasm and the assistance of an extremely capable and mature lady, who guided me through the initial stages.
As my experiences grew, I soon realised there were no companies in my area that specialised in business travel, and this seemed to offer an exciting future. Crammed with this new felt enthusiasm I recruited new staff and with the help of one or two personal introductions, started to specialise in business travel in 1976.
That year, I embarked on my first Information Technology project which was a simple credit-control procedure using a very basic PC. The remaining years of the 1970s saw the company through the winter of discontent, move to dedicated premises solely for business travel and be one of the first organisations to have travel agency system Travicom.
As my company expanded, we became more dependent on IT and I, in turn, became more dependent on the excellent team of people I had built up around me. I really began to enjoy the sales buzz in the 1980s, which so many that have survived the industry, have strived upon.
By the early ’90s I had expanded the company both vertically and horizontally with a firm grip in the public sector as well as the private. I started to study the concepts of marketing, which, among many initiatives, encouraged me to take part in business competitions. I was awarded business person of the year in the Firm Partners award programme in 1997 and the company in the same year was voted small business of the year. We went on to win the Parcelforce small company of the year award for the northern region, two years in succession.
In 1993, I started to take an active interest in the local community, which included serving as chairman of the local hospice fundraising committee; becoming a director of our Town Centre Forum; a director of Blackpool Challenge Partnership, the body responsible for the distribution of the single regeneration budget granted to Blackpool and also become an active Rotarian.
In the early ’90s, I closed the last of my retail sites and became totally business travel focused by 1997.
I achieved service standards accreditation ISO9002 for the company in August 1994 and hope that my employees will be rewarded by recognition from the Investors in People by the middle of the current year.
During 1995, my passion for the theatre drove me to form the Premier Theatre Company. Our first creation, in 1996, was the 10th Anniversary production of Sir Tim Rice’s Chess for which we raised £12,500 for Sir Tim’s own charity The Lords Taverners, and for the British Olympic Appeal. The Premier Theatre Company goes from strength to strength and this year will present Mack and Mabel at the world famous Grand Theatre in Blackpool, with a view to raising a substantial amount for The Lords Taverners fund for disabled children in sport.
November 1999 saw two milestones. I turned 50 and had been in business travel for 25 years.
As we move into the 21st century , I still have the same optimism and drive that I enjoyed at the age of 21, now supported by an excellent team of people. Our industry is in a whirlwind of change and whether we like the concepts that are about to be forced upon us or not, it is unlikely that we will be able to change radically the future that lies ahead of us.
I believe, with planning, foresight and support of my team, I can enjoy my role as managing director for many years to come.
1974: formed St Anne’s Travel Agents.
1975: moved to dedicated premises solely for business travel.
1978: admitted as a member of Institute of Travel and Tourism.
1991: moved to custom designed premises, began trading as Business Travel Plus.
1991: purchased Kinsgate Air Centre specialising in selling airline tickets to non-International Air Transport Association and ABTA travel agencies.
1995: received Diploma from London Academy of Musical Art and Drama in Acting.
1999: celebrated 25 years of trading.
l There are no problems, just opportunities.
l Know your costs, is the key to the future.
l Praise your team.
l Learn from others mistakes.
l Participate in your community, you will earn respect and new customers!
l Arrive at the office early, leave late. The time in between is your own.
l A well informed employee is the bestsalesperson a company can have.
l A mistake is not serious, unless repeated.
l I have also found truth in the saying that team work ‘Together Everyone Achieves More.’