What do you currently do?
I am the founder and MD of specialist SME graduate recruiter, Give A Grad A Go. We find bright, hard-working graduates paid work placements with SMEs. We also offer our SME client base recruitment advice and support.
What is your inspiration in business?
Watching businesses grow and become successful is always inspiring, and this is basically what all of our clients are trying to do.
The knowledge that what we’re doing is making a difference to our candidate’s lives is also very inspiring, and just adds to our determination to make Give A Grad A Go a success.
The biggest boost for us is when we are able to tell someone who has previously found job hunting very difficult, that they’ve got the job they really wanted.
Whom do you admire?
I admire the online generation, specifically guys like Mark Zuckerberg. However from a traditional business perspective it would have to be Richard Branson – not just because of his financial success but also his ability to enter new markets and change them for the better.
Looking back are there things you would have done differently?
There isn’t much that I would change at the moment; you learn a lot by making a few mistakes early on. However, there is still a huge amount to do and we will probably make some more mistakes along the way!
We managed to get to where we are now with a relatively small amount of start-up capital, which can now be paid back, and we have built a great team who all strongly believe in what we are doing.
Early on in the process I turned down some large investment offers, and it’s only natural to consider where the business would be had I made different decisions, but these are just “what ifs?” I still have complete control, which counts for a lot.
What defines your way of doing business?
I take a friendly, honest and straightforward approach that gives clients value for money through a results-driven process.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
I would advise anyone starting a business to make sure they remain open to new ideas, regardless of how long the business has been up and running. It’s also important to maintain a good work-life balance; try to enjoy yourself, and find a hobby that gets you out of the office for at least a couple of evenings a week!
