What do you currently do?
I am the Managing Director of RMD Power and Cooling. We maintain and equip data centres and server rooms. This includes power protection solutions to ensure that the servers never go offline, cooling, security and environmental monitoring products.
We understand our position within the market and our customers’ needs, and we plan for that accordingly. We look into carbon credits and how can we help our customers achieve within a datacenter environment. We also look into how we can control and monitor where they are today and plan for the future.
Who is your inspiration in business?
Michael Faraday, the British chemist and physicist, who contributed significantly to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry is my inspiration.
Faraday constructed the electric dynamo, which was the ancestor of modern power generators. Without this, I would not have a business!
He educated himself on a wide range of scientific subjects and consistently sought out opportunities.
Who do you admire?
My good friend Ian Eccles, a local farmer who is 72 years old and just fitted solar panels on his farm. He said it’s a better revenue stream than premium bonds. It just goes to show, you are never too old to learn.
Looking back, are there things you would have done differently?
To be truthful, the only thing I wish I had done differently was doing it earlier. I feel that the security a large company gave me created a large comfort factor that stopped me being creative and restricted my growth. We should nurture entrepreneurial spirit within a company and not see it as a threat.
What defines your way of doing business?
To define business is to look at your inner soul. Would you treat a customer as a friend or just an e-mail address? Relationships define the business and people; the rest is noise.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out?
Take a deep breath and seize the opportunity. It may take years and you will get it wrong, but be patient…it is all worth it when it falls into place.
I was lucky that I had a firm belief and a good wife. Both were absolutely critical to me. However, you should be prepared not to see your wife and children for some time when you are getting your business off the ground.
