TEES TIME
In our regular feature, we find out what makes local business leaders tick.
Name:
Tomas Roberton
Age: 34
Born: Thornaby Lives: Thornaby
Family: Married to Tasha with two children – Albie, aged three, and Ella, two
Tell us about your upbringing: My mam brought me up on her own, so it was just me and her. Keeping me on track was her main challenge, as I had a natural tendency to only do things I shouldn’ t! She kept the wheels on long enough for me to get to this point. I was very active growing up, be it playing football in the street or playing cricket, boxing and rock climbing in my teenage years. This was my mam’ s influence to keep me busy and out of trouble where we lived.
Tell us about your first job: I was a paperboy as soon as I could work. It was great, although I spent my wages as fast as I earned them on breakfast sandwiches from the butcher’ s opposite the shop I worked for.
How different has your career been from how you imagined it at 21? Honestly – not hugely! I started Circle Cloud when I was just 22, so being in the position I am now is exactly what I wanted to be doing. I must admit, the journey has been a lot different from what I imagined – I didn’ t think I had this much to learn or how hard it would be.
What one piece of advice would you pass on to those starting out in business? Pick a target market and interact with them as much as you can. Do that from the start and regularly. This will make potential customers aware of who you are and what you do and will speed up feedback and therefore understanding of your target customers.
Which part of your job do you enjoy most? The positive feeling of progress, regardless of the domain it’ s in. One thing I really enjoy is seeing young people develop in our team. We have a great record of launching careers at Circle Cloud and challenging people to move forward is a very rewarding part of my job.
Which part of your job do you least enjoy? Information Security Audits! They are hugely important but also tedious – they hurt a lot if you find admin painful.
Do you ever doubt yourself as a business leader? Sometimes we can mistake challenging our thinking for doubt. For me it’ s usually just a sign I need to consider something else before making a decision or moving forward. At times when it is purely self-doubt, I think you just have to plough on, as those doubts will only go away by proving to yourself you can do it.
How do you switch off from work? Almost all my time outside of work is spent with my family, especially as my kids are both toddlers and need plenty of entertainment. So, it’ s anything with them, really. Having a free-forall“ royal rumble” is usually the first stop when I get home from work. Aside from that, it’ s trying to stay fit through various types of sporadically planned visits to the gym.
Why does your business matter? We dedicate our business to providing a combined offering of IT support and cybersecurity protection for SMEs( usually 150 IT users and below). Nobody in our sector has dedicated themselves to small and medium businesses, so they tend to become the least important clients for most IT companies. We have developed an offering that is focused specifically on businesses of this size, and our full operation revolves around delivering value to this segment of the market.
Which of your personal traits has been the most important in your career? Belief is certainly a strength. I have a really strong and sometimes unreasonable belief that we will get where we want to be, which stops you from changing direction constantly due to a lack of conviction.
Which of your own personal traits frustrates you most? I have ADHD( diagnosed as a child) and despite the positive narrative I’ ve heard a lot in recent years, it primarily brings challenges when running a business, especially when it comes to trying to keep things organised. However, in the first few years of business, I found a way of working that suits me perfectly and deals with the challenges it brings.
Which trait in others do you dislike most? One I find extremely frustrating is a lack of self-awareness. Working with people who can’ t accept their weaknesses or mistakes is frustrating as it’ s impossible to improve without this. Maybe not a dislike, but it’ s frustrating. Can you tell it frustrates me?
If you were to recommend just one book to Tees Business readers, which would it be? Not a business book but one book I really enjoyed a while back was The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
What’ s your favourite local restaurant and why? The Devonport in Middleton One Row – there aren’ t many places that have such a high standard of food in a country pub setting.
What social media do you use? LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook.
Which local business leader would you like to see interviewed in this feature? Nicky Jolley from HR2day – she’ s just great!
The voice of business in the Tees region | 57