PROFILE
TEES UP !
Name : Age : 50 Born : Lives : Organisation ( s ) & Job title ( s ):
When I was at school , I wanted to be … out of school ( and I was , frequently !). I pretty much disliked the whole five years . I liked maybe three teachers and three subjects , and it ’ s testament to how bad the education system is that I still ended up with eight O-levels and three A-levels !
The best business decision I ever made was … I ’ ve made some horrors , but getting Steel River Drinks off the ground was a minor miracle and continues to be my number one purpose in life .
The worst business decision I ever made was … starting businesses with not enough planning , know-how , finance or real heart .
The best part of my job is … creating different products . Creating my own Utopia . Meeting mentors . Making customers happy .
The biggest downside of my working life is … in my industry , there are a lot of chancers who create brands but don ’ t actually make anything of true value - and when you get good at something , you get copied .
If I could change one thing to help my organisation it would be … to find a million pounds for marketing !
Jay Byers
Four words to describe me are … good , not necessarily nice .
My business mantra is … some friends ( more than you ’ ll ever know ), some family , some colleagues , some advisors , will want you to fail in business , so don ’ t give them that satisfaction !
My greatest achievement is … coming back from a situation where I was sleeping in my car in 2016 to starting Steel River Drinks with my last ten pounds , making gin in my kitchen and now heading for £ 1m turnover and using that success to give back to my community .
The advice I ’ d give to business start-ups is … resist the urge to take on early investors . Try to run as far and as fast as you can on your own before lending money . But do look early for mentors .
Middlesbrough Darlington Founder , Steel River Drinks
The biggest character on the Tees business scene is … any business that gets to a stage where they are employing five people ( 95 per cent of businesses don ’ t get that far ). Those founders are all big characters .
Teesside ’ s a great place for business because … people are proud of their region . So , if you offer something good and valuable and become meaningful , Teesside will support your business .
My biggest frustration about Teesside is … too many people have put faith in those who don ’ t deserve it .
My favourite local charity is … there are too many to mention , but I support mental health charities on the whole , plus the Teesside Charity and Little Sprouts .
When I ’ m not working , I like to spend my time … drinking alcohol , eating out , spending time with a few select people and also spending time in Granada , Spain , drinking wine , eating tapas and tending the vines on my land .
My guilty pleasures are … seeing an outcome months before it happens and smiling and shaking my head when it does .
The best holiday I ever had was … a tour of Andalucia in 2005 . It set me on a course in life that has benefited me in so many ways . It has been my “ home from home ” since then .
Not many people know this about me but … I leave the pound in every supermarket trolley I use , just so it makes someone ’ s day later on .
In retirement , I ’ ll spend my time … flitting between Teesside and my vineyard near Granada , Spain – although I ’ ll never fully retire .
52 | Tees Business