32 | Tees Business
Serving the Teesside Business Community | 33
FIND SOMETHING YOU'RE WHOLEHEARTEDLY
PASSIONATE ABOUT AND GO FOR IT.
The best part of my job is… dealing with
people. I'm very much a people's person,
so whether that's dealing with staff or
customers. I don't get to do it anywhere
near as often as I'd like to these days,
unfortunately.
The biggest downside of my working
life is… long hours. More often than not I'll
work until the early evening, much to the
annoyance of the wife.
Four words to describe me are…
motivated, passionate, obsessive and driven.
My business mantra is… always be better
today than you were yesterday.
The advice I’d give to business start-ups
is… find something you're wholeheartedly
passionate about and go for it. If you're doing
something just for the money, it won't work,
and will more than likely end up being a
millstone around your neck.
The best business decision I ever made
was… probably buying the Upton's building
when it came on the market and developing
it into the store it is today.
TEES
UP!
The worst business decision I ever made
was… starting our own label, because it
was a nightmare getting paid! We opened
showrooms in New York and London in 2003,
but getting the money was a nightmare and
it very nearly took us down.
If I could change one thing to help my
business it would be… improve my worklife balance. The wife is often on the phone to
me when I'm working late so it would have
to be that.
NAME:
AGE:
BORN:
LIVES:
COMPANY:
JOB TITLE:
STEVE COCHRANE
55
MIDDLESBROUGH
YARM
PSYCHE
MANAGING DIRECTOR
My tip for the top among Tees businesses
is… I would like to see Middlesbrough
and Stockton councils come together and
become one urban conurbation. We're
constantly vying with Newcastle for
investment and we would be much stronger
as one, and I'm convinced we wouldn't be
overlooked as much. We really need the likes
of Zara and Gap in Middlesbrough... Pizza
Express etc... it would attract more people
into our town centre and, from a selfish point
of view, that would benefit my business.
When I was at school, I wanted to be…
a doctor. I don't think I ever had a chance
of becoming a real doctor, although I was
recently awarded an honorary doctorate by
Teesside University, if that counts?
My greatest achievement is… it would
have to be getting the honorary doctorate. I
was absolutely bowled over by that.
In retirement, I’ll spend my time…
working! I don't think I'll ever retire. I'm
inspired by a good friend of mine, Alastair
Powell from Cleveland Cable Company. He's
63 this year and he is still expanding - he's
just opened a new store in Dubai and a club
in Darlington. He has no intention of retiring
and I think I'll go the same way.
Teesside’s a great place for business
because… from my point of view, people
love to go out, they love looking great and
they take pride in their appearance. I also
love the fact we're blessed by the North York
Moors and the coast, which provide plenty of
opportunities for days out.
My biggest frustration about Teesside is…
driving up or down the A19 or A1 and seeing
sign posts for Teesside, there should be sign
posts for Middlesbrough! In all seriousness,
though, I do think the North-East, and
Teesside especially, is really badly done to
when it comes to finance and investment.
The national image of Teesside is dire...
prostitution, drug dealing, car crime, obesity,
ill-health... and as we all know, that doesn't
portray a true picture of Teesside. We have
some fantastic businesses here, places to
go for days out, to eat out, to shop. And the
potential could be much more if we weren't
overlooked when it comes to investment.
My favourite local charity is… Cash For
Kids. Children are our future, and troubled
kids can become troubled adults. If we can
help the most vulnerable youngsters, then
that can only solve a lot of our problems in
the future.
The biggest character on the Tees
business scene is… probably Steve Gibson,
because of his profile, but Alastair Powell has
got to be up there as well. Alastair and his
brother Michael have overtaken Steve in the
Sunday Times Rich List.
When I’m not working, I like to spend my
time… if I'm not spending time with my two
sons, I'm very sporty so you'll either find me
biking, running, swimming or playing squash.
I love football, of course, and I'm a Boro fan,
but I don't get to go to the games that often.
I have such a busy schedule, any spare time
goes to the family and my sports.
My guilty pleasures are… chocolate. I eat
far too much of it.
The best holiday I ever had was… anything
to do with snow. I'm a snowboard fanatic and
we love to go snowboarding two or three
times a season. Anything to do with snow
and the Alps, we love it.
Not many people know this about me
but… I was in a punk band when I was
younger. But that's how I got into fashion
in the first place. I was studying a degree in
engineering, but in my spare time I used to
design our clothes and the girlfriends would
make them. The only trouble was I think
people enjoyed our outfits more than the
music. I thought it was very glamorous so I
decided to open a clothes shop, and that was
33 years ago...