What do you currently do?
I am one of the founders and CEO of TV and online (www.hochanda.com) shopping channel Hochanda, which broadcasts on Freeview 39, Sky 663 and Freesat 817.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I recognised there was a gap in the market for a demonstration led TV channel dedicated to crafts, hobbies and arts and we set up Hochanda so we could inspire crafters and capture their imagination with new ideas and products.
Who do you admire?
Anyone who can start a business from scratch, whether it grows to be big or it stays small but is still successful, I admire their ability to make a genuine profit from it
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Hindsight is a wonderful thing! In essence yes I would change things if I had a magic wand, but no in the sense that I have got to where I am by learning some hard lessons. I do actually believe that who I am today is the sum total of all my experience including my mistakes.
What defines your way of doing business?
I look a long way down the road and try to build systems and make decisions that give me wriggle-room in the future. I try to define business by minimising the downside and giving myself flexibility and somewhere to turn if things go wrong.
What advice would you give someone starting out?
My advice to anyone starting out is to encourage them to invest money on their business plan with a professional business plan writer. This will smooth out any flaws in your business model, which can give you confidence in whether to go ahead or abort the plan altogether. I meet far too many business people who end up beating themselves up on a daily basis trying to make a business work that really never will. If you do your homework you’ll make more money and the business will be easier to run.
