How would you describe your business?
I work with architectural glass.
What, if anything makes your business unusual?
Mine is the only company in the UK that specialises in making cast glass window blocks. I think of what I do as jewellery for architecture. It has a lot of presence even though it is just a small part of the overall building.
You could think of cast glass like ice cubes. You fill a negative space with glass, but it is heat, rather than cold, that casts it.
Do you work alone/ with partners/associates?
I am a sole trader but I work collaboratively with architects. Every commission is different and requires different equipment, so I sometimes collaborate with different companies, which including Sarah Blood and myself specialise in certain techniques. This is one of the joys of living in the North East.
How did you become an architectural glass artist?
I went to Sunderland University and trained in blown glass, stained glass and kiln formed glass. One aspect of kiln formed glass is casting. Whilst still at university I spent two weeks in Dublin at a master-class on the secrets of glass casting, given by the world famous David Reekie.
Can you talk a little about some of the work that you have done?
My work includes public art commissions, as well as purely sculptural art pieces. I continually work to develop my visual language so that each project can be fresh rather than just churned out.
The year I graduated I showed my work as part of an international exhibition on the island of Murano in Venice. I have also exhibited twice in the Limoges area of France, The first exhibition, "Sacred Geometry', took its theme from the phrase "God is in the Details" and demonstrated that what you do not use can also be symbolic and paring everything back can still leave you the room to be symbolic. The second was called "Convergence/Divergence".
The Limoges area of France is famous for its porcelain and enamel-work, both of which are "arts of fire", like glass, but the glass element was very British with seven emerging British glass artists, including Sarah Blood and myself included. It was interesting to note the differences between the British and French ways. In Britain we tend to get a degree, set up a small workshop and work to commission. In France they have a very different approach. There is lots of support for the arts, but they tend to become designers within a company and work solely for that company.
I try to produce work that is contemporary, yet timeless, because I am conscious that it is around for a long time. Medieval stained glass, for example, is still very much our reference point for telling the story of a time and place.
What's next?
My business is expanding and I need more space. I have been collaborating for three years with three other designer makers (Katherine Hodgkinson, Mark Collett and Ben Atkinson) to set up a workshop called "Cobalt" (so named because cobalt is a catalyst in chemistry) in the Ouseburn Valley.
The knowledge I gained on GLEAM about finances and business planning has been very helpful in obtaining funding and in building up a relationship with Newcastle City Council to bring this project about.
What hurdles have you overcome and what lessons have you learned from overcoming them?
I can really say that I have learned more from my mistakes than from things going well. I have also had to learn that people do not do what they say they will and you need to know how to head that off and manage people properly, so that so that you can get things done without being confrontational. That is really a skill that comes with experience.
It is not always that easy and I have had to learn not to be intimidated by people. A recent example of this was working with an architect who was paid to manage, but had not been talking to the site manager. The lack of communication was causing all sorts of problems and I found the appropriate people to communicate with so that we all got the outcome we needed.
There are also technical problems to overcome in working with glass and new techniques are continually evolving. One solution is to recognise that other glass-makers are not necessarily your competition and to form networks with them. If you are worried about the competition you will not learn from others. But you can only really do this if you are confident in your own abilities.
In terms of confidence, my philosophy is that you should never let your past define you. You should always look forward and bear in mind that other people are often much more generous with your abilities than you are.
Have you got a philosophy and has it changed over the years?
When I started I thought I was running a glass business. Now I recognise that its all the other things that I am good at that makes things work. This creative approach to finding ways round things is especially important if you are working to a tight budget.
The GLEAM Effect
GLEAM taught me that you could be business-like about being creative. Even in the arts, you need to apply the rules of business planning to function efficiently.
Jim Mann
How would you describe your business?
Paintball and everything related to it. We import, manufacture, wholesale and retail our own and others' product ranges. We also arrange and promote tournaments.
How did you get started?
I went paintballing for a day. It was very expensive and I thought, "Someone is making a lot of money out of this!" I had paid my way through university by working six nights per week as a DJ and contracting out work to other DJs and this provided a good living while I was setting up the paintball site.
Did you hit any particular problems and, if so, what did you learn from them?
My advice to anyone would be "just get on and do it". I knew what the penalties were and accepted them, but I let nothing stand in my way. You really need a problem-solving attitude to succeed. You can solve problems in two ways: attack them head on, make a mess and come out the other side, or take a detour.
One of the first problems we experienced was in obtaining funding. Banks really do not like to lend to small businesses. Our turnover has gone up quite impressively over the years, but the banks continue to refuse to lend us what we need to expand, even on a retail turnover of £60,000 per month. We have even been told we are growing too fast. The banks will not even recommend us to the Small Firms Guarantee Fund. Because I am determined not to sell equity in the company so we are developing our franchise operations to raise funds.
What's next?
I have an exit strategy and I plan to retire in two and a half years' time, which is the major reason why I refuse to consider selling equity. Meanwhile, we are building up a very strong brand, developing the franchise operations and bringing in partners, which will provide us with greater overseas buying power. We have just launched in the US, France and Germany and are in talks with Russia, the fastest growing market in the world.
What are the most valuable lessons you can pass on from your experiences?
When we began we opened a retail outlet, promoted ourselves through Yellow Pages, websites, leaflet drops and so on and were successful in a small way in a relatively small marketplace. Selling through the web means that success in the UK can be multiplied worldwide, as long as you ensure that people can find you when they search on the Internet. That's why optimising a website to ensure it hits the major search engines is so important. When I first did that we went from sixty visitors a day to 3,000. We are now twenty times bigger than any other paintball site in the UK and we do not pay for our visitors. In fact, competitors are paying us to advertise on our site.
Do you think entrepreneurs are born or made?
I think you are definitely born one. You can learn from a businessperson, but a good entrepreneur will find different ways to make money anywhere. Until someone bought me Branson's autobiography for Christmas I had always "pooh-poohed" entrepreneurs' autobiographies. When I read that I went into work the next day and said, "Get me Freddy Laker's autobiography!" So much is built on hype. We have hyped things and let the hype become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What are the qualities you need?
Bloody-mindedness, resilience and adaptability.
Have you experienced difficulties and if so how have you overcome them?
You have to accept that your staff will not share your level of motivation. But it is important to make sure that they feel a vital part of the company's success. I am happy to buy champagne and cream cakes and to make sure I say "thank you" for hitting a target early. But even so, people will still create a problem, just to be the focus of attention and to feel important. You have to accept that and move on.
A growing business - and we have experienced phenomenal growth - has a constant problem with cash flow. To secure the cash flow to sustain our growth, we have to run it very tight, and we continue to do this by, for example, improving the terms on which we buy products, paying people when it suits our cash flow and making sure that we get invoices in on time.
Do you have a particular philosophy?
I want the competition chasing me, not the other way round and so we never stand still, we are constantly innovating. There is no fun in a market that is static. Unlike big companies, we can move quickly and turn through 180 degrees immediately if need be, so we thrive in situations that are unstable and are able to continue to do the unexpected.
The GLEAM Effect
I like the idea of £50 a week! GLEAM also introduced me to a world that I had not had access to before with prestigious legal advisers and so on. Since that time I have always retained an expensive lawyer with a big name. I get into scrapes all the time and these guys just go through the opposition. I would advise any entrepreneur to do this.
The personal contacts I made through GLEAM are also still important to me and I am still in touch with people like George Kinghorn, with whom I am involved in a joint venture.
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