Serving the Teesside Business Community | 39
When I was at school, I wanted to be … a radio or TV presenter. I used to be a radio geek and volunteered for hospital radio for years when I was younger.
The best business decision I ever made was … opening my own venue. I started off promoting nights in clubs before opening my first bar, Blu in Middlesbrough. It was a huge learning curve and I probably tried to take too much on. I was young and naive at the time.
The worst business decision I ever made was … I don’ t think I have a worst decision. I try to learn from mistakes and if you do learn from them, then that has to be a positive.
The best part of my job is … interacting with customers, and the wide variety of customers I deal with. I like spending time with customers and love working the bars on an evening when I can. But we have three venues now, with a fourth on the way – the two Nuthatch cocktail bars, The Townhouse in Middlesbrough and our new restaurant, Finkle & Green, opening in the new year – so running them all takes up a lot of time during the day.
The biggest downside of my working life is … unsociable hours. It’ s the nature of the industry I’ m in, of course. But as time goes on I’ d like to do fewer evenings. Although I think I’ d struggle to let go completely.
If I could change one thing to help my organisation it would be … having a consistent pool of staff. I have a great team right now, but finding good staff in this area is difficult and I think we have a major issue with talented people leaving Teesside to work elsewhere.
Four words to describe me are … committed, passionate, relaxed and driven.
My business mantra is … I’ ve struggled with this one. What about‘ anything can be solved with gaffa tape and a staple gun!’? Or‘ win or lose it’ s all about the booze’? But seriously, I’ ve never been afraid to take a risk, and I try to instil that in other people. I hate it when people ask me if they can do things, I prefer them to get on and make their own decisions. Don’ t be afraid to go for it and try something different.
My greatest achievement is … The Nuthatch being nominated for the Living North Awards. We were nominated in Best Bar category. We didn’ t win it, but I thought being shortlisted was a great achievement, just six months after opening.
The advice I’ d give to business start-ups is … don’ t be afraid to make mistakes. I struggle to take advice. I prefer to try it and learn from my mistakes. Obviously, it is a serious business and ultimately the numbers have to add up. But in my game I think you need to be open-minded towards risk.
The biggest character on the Tees business scene is … Jamie Pennington at Viral Effect. I think JP is hilarious. We go back a few years – we used to promote club nights together and he has never changed at all. But he has done really well for himself and I’ m delighted for him.
Teesside’ s a great place for business because … I think the help we get from our local authorities here is very good. My experience of dealing with both Middlesbrough and Stockton councils has always been very positive, they’ re very keen to get involved and help businesses, especially start-ups.
My biggest frustration about Teesside is … I think there seems to be a massive expectation of failure. Everyone seems to be cynical, particularly when it comes to major projects, or when local authorities announce ambitious plans, for example. I think we need to think more of ourselves and be bold.
My favourite local charity is … Zoe’ s Place. The work they do is fantastic.
DON’ T BE AFRAID TO GO FOR IT AND TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT
When I’ m not working, I like to spend my time … I don’ t have any hobbies, I’ m a really boring person in terms of how I spend my spare time. But I bought a new bike in the summer and I’ ve used that to get out and about when I can, which I really enjoy.
My guilty pleasures are … eating out. I always eat out and very rarely cook. There’ s never anything in my fridge. My favourite places are Muse and Cena in Yarm. I also like Wetherspoon’ s Curry Club!
The best holiday I ever had was … my brother and dad both live in Australia so I go over there to see them at least once a year, sometimes twice. I also went to San Francisco earlier this year, it was all a bit last minute but it was lovely.
Not many people know this about me but … I used to do the traffic and travel reports for BBC Tees a few years ago. I did it for about five years and it was great fun. That was before I accidentally fell into promoting club nights. I also don’ t drink a lot, which you might find a bit odd given my industry.
In retirement, I’ ll spend my time … hopefully travelling. I really wish I’ d travelled more when I was younger. So I’ d like to think when I’ m older I’ ll be able to afford to travel the world.