First to give you a brief background on how I got to where I am now.
I qualified, a professional university graduate in 1989, moved to the UK where I worked for 4 years and them onwards to Asia. I was lucky to be moderately successful and moved back to Europe in 1999, with enough money accumulated for a very nice house, some nice cars and a number of nice years.
Deciding to move away from my qualified profession - I was enticed by a friend to set up a sister company of his UK based company specialising in the handling and transport of hazardous waste.
Again a lucky break the company was very successfull and I had sold my 50% share within a year of its establishement. How could I go wrong?
I followed this with a failed attempt to set up a hazardous waste processing facility. The failure was due to the withdrawal of a large consultancy firm witdrawing their services prior to submission of various applications.
Why did they withdraw their services - a conflict of interest! They had tendered for and succeeded in winning a contract from the very governemtal agencies to which we were required to submit our applications! When had "poacher become gamekeeper" - 6 months before announcing the conflict of interest. Needless to say a "breach of contract" courtcase is in the pipeline - I could write an entire blog on this process alone.
And so there I was with nothing to do, my latest business venture grinding through the cogs of justice. What would I do now. I needed something simple a strightforward, something with a proven track record, something which would be an easy sell, something which would be very profitable - A FRANCHISE!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
€100,000pa MBA
I'm in the middle of a €100,000p.a. MBA course.
The course has lasted two years so far and I can say I've learned a lot a long the way.
€200,000 for a two year course! - Where am I Harvard, Yale, a secretive Swiss MBA which guarantees business success?
The answer is much more mundane - I am in a struggling business - what's worse it's a struggling franchise.
A struggling franchise - impossible I hear you say. You buy a franchise is to buy into a successful existing business plan and model. Surely nothing can go wrong - well I've learned some hard lessons there also - but more of that in due course.
My business, and I use the word reservedly, has been like a New Years Eve celebrant on the streets of Barnsley. It lurched forward occasionally, back regularly, and around in circles. In a similar fashion for the past two years I have had constant nausea and been always on the verge of vomiting!
Recovery is now on the horizon and as I emerge from this two year business hangover I thought I might put some thoughts down on a retrospective and ultimately current blog.
They may be of some assistance to some of you would be entrepreneurs and may help you achieve a respectable “doggy paddle” and keep your head above water.
The course has lasted two years so far and I can say I've learned a lot a long the way.
€200,000 for a two year course! - Where am I Harvard, Yale, a secretive Swiss MBA which guarantees business success?
The answer is much more mundane - I am in a struggling business - what's worse it's a struggling franchise.
A struggling franchise - impossible I hear you say. You buy a franchise is to buy into a successful existing business plan and model. Surely nothing can go wrong - well I've learned some hard lessons there also - but more of that in due course.
My business, and I use the word reservedly, has been like a New Years Eve celebrant on the streets of Barnsley. It lurched forward occasionally, back regularly, and around in circles. In a similar fashion for the past two years I have had constant nausea and been always on the verge of vomiting!
Recovery is now on the horizon and as I emerge from this two year business hangover I thought I might put some thoughts down on a retrospective and ultimately current blog.
They may be of some assistance to some of you would be entrepreneurs and may help you achieve a respectable “doggy paddle” and keep your head above water.
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