[kate1]

You have to look into where the financial back up has come into with this dragons den crap


Whose made it on their own, whose made it on family finance,

[weetot]

and for that reason... I'm out!

[kate1]

Im out too

[mci services]

ohh everybodys comming out

[kate1]

Its a family business you dont automatically become an expert, for me her demure is not to invest unless its a cert.

[Clive McDonald]

I just love seeing the people succeed that they havent backed.

It boils down to exposure.  Whether they back you or not.

In the grand scheme of experts, if they were, you would think that they would all agree.  Isnt that what experts do.

Debra Meaden I believe "fell" into the industry because of her family already being in that industry.  Not started on her own.  Another "expert" was another lady that was on there, but the BBC had to ask her to leave because she had had a failed company, and they didnt think it was fit to advise other people.

But I do love seeing people make a success of themselves, without the patriot of money.  Great.


Good post katie.This is my angle on this and what you say.

Deborah talks out of her kilt, hardly ever invests, and has seen her business dip too.She's likeable enough but hard to take seriously as an expert.So i agree with what you say.

The one who went bankrupt i have little more time for.I read her book, her company was called red letter days and she virtually invented an industry sector.Some large retaillers picked her brains, went to the final signing, and then did it in house to give her a royal screwing.Thats all by the by.What i took away from her was that she spent a great deal of money designing a box so that her customers (who were basically buying a ballon ride/parachute jump/some kind of present experience, for someone else) had a physical thing to actually give on the day.(birthday/xmass/etc)

I translated this into my business and gained an unbelievable response.


Your second point about people succeeding despite lack of investment is a bit silly.They only invest in businesses whose return is meteoric.

For example the guy who had the glass of wine got roasted.Since then he's done very well and is stocked in 600 M&S's (that's more that even dave cleans).But upon the resvisit it still didn't stack as an investment. The guy will do well and they gave him a hard time when he didn't deserve it, but it still wasn't a great investment.



Trouble with Debra, she will not take risks, dosent see a bigger picture.  Where as I think Peter Jones does, he looks further than the immediate.  They are all very different people.

They all have contacts in different sectors, leisure, retail, It, transport, communications.

So they see an opportunity, and think right I have these contacts that I can sell to.

I like the inventors ideas, that physically make something

[kate1]

Hi slump

The original person that created red letters,  has been on Dragons Den but they had to export her because they didint feel that she was enabled to offer business advice. The business didnt fair as well as it should have done

Im not so sure whether Red Letters is trading I dont know

[Clive McDonald]

i've got her book upstairs, i'll go and have a look.I think one the big stores has red letter days.

She earns a living on the after dinner circuit.I think the book is about failure.


I have another book by matt haig 100 brand disasters.Thats prettty good too.


A really great book, a best seller, was from my kitchen table to coffee republic.They took a concept from NY to UK.

Made a lot of money, a brother and sister, but mostly they have shut, been franchised, and moved away from the concept to selling food..

A  couple of people have made oodles at what you do kate.

[kate1]

ok

The woman created a brand, she was offering a service.  A day out, go and treat yourselves.  But the market moves on.  Youve got tons of companies now offering Ferrari tours, offering this and offering that.  Her idea is now outdated.  I work for a company also that does Ferrari tours around Italy. 

[Clive McDonald]

I think i was trying to say that you can learn off people who fail too.And some of her innovations struck a chord with me and i was able to make a practical application that put me in front of other window cleaners.

[kate1]

ok

[Clive McDonald]

I was agreeing, but commenting that this is an area of interest for me, where i have read most of the books by most of the characters.All businesses have an expansion phase and then in later maturity problems.

The ones that keep going- like coke- or like mcdonalds, are amazing.



Ref ewans comment, a few on here think they've done quite well.On re veiwing the uk wc pitch one sentence struck me;

" I started four years ago with £300.Last year we turned over i.5 million....

[kate1]

Phew Slump now taken a deep breath

Depends what your goals are? What you want to achieve?

[kate1]

Slump I couldnt read your replies too well with quotes and stuff, prob my eyesight,

[Clive McDonald]

well i wont hit the 1.5 million.

But would like to do my business in a more perfect way than anyone else.

I like the theorie's and the real life examples. I like business models.Let me give you an example.

Tobacco.
Grow it for a cent, sell it for a dollar.It's addictive.

Now that's a business plan.The body shop is pretty much this.