Partner Article

Leading UK Business Entrepreneurs

Have you ever dreamt about how to go about setting up a company in order to make your first million? Take a look at some of the top business leaders and how they went about doing just that! Hopefully it might give you some inspiration to do the same.

Sir Richard Branson (net worth £2.7 billion) – Branson’s entrepreneurial spirit has constantly reached to infinity and beyond. At school, he wasn’t an academic achiever, but didn’t let that stand in his way of success. In the late 60’s, Branson took his virgin steps into business and started his record business running ‘The Student Magazine’ from a church crypt, where he advertised popular records for considerably less than the high street stores. He started off with a simple idea and ran with it with determination. It became hugely popular overnight turning his first vision into a reality. It was actually a member of Branson’s employees suggested the name ‘Virgin’ as they were all relatively new at business; the Virgin brand was conceived and has since become iconic. Branson, not resting on his laurels then moved on to grow his business by building a record shop in Oxford Street in the 70’s and then later went on to launch other hugely profitable ventures including the Virgin Record label, Virgin Atlantic Airways and his latest venture to excite the world - Virgin Galactic.

David and Simon Reuben (net worth £3.32 billion) – The brothers came from an unprivileged background; born in India into a Jewish-Iraqi family they started their lives in extreme poverty. Wishing for a better life, the family emigrated to Britain in the 1950s and settled down in London where both brothers attended UK secondary schools. It was after school that the determined brothers began to build their empire - David started his career in the scrap metal business, while Simon bought out England’s oldest carpet company having working in the carpet industry. Inspired by their success so far, the brothers sought further investments; in the early 1990s, they invested in the Russian metals market, financing significantly the production and distribution of metals. This was the stepping-stone that saw the Reubens become the world’s third-biggest producer of aluminium.

The brothers more recently have taken another direction into the world of property. They sold their Russian assets in 2000 and focused their business activities mainly in the UK property market. Just within the last 14 years they now own Millbank Tower, John Lewis Partnership HQ, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts and Hampton House, to name but a few!

Phillip Green (net worth £3 billion) – Phillip Green is a born and bred Londoner, who demonstrated great ambition and an ability to turn a situation into an opportunity from a young age. At 15, Green left school to work for a shoe importer before he travelled the Far East, Europe and the US. Having spent a while travelling and increasing his knowledge of supply chains, on Green’s return he began his first business importing low-cost jeans and selling them to London retailers.

Always looking for further success and driven by ambition, Green with Tom Hunter, Green bought sports retailer Olympus for £1 (the company were £30 million in debt) which they later sold to JJB Sports for a reported £550 million. Green then went on to help his wife purchase BHS for £200 million and has reportedly turned the chain around which is now thought to be worth over £1.2 billion. Green then purchased Arcadia Group which comprises of Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Outfit, Topshop/Topman and Wallis which he sold to his wife within a day.

James Dyson (net worth £2.7 billion) – James Dyson is best known as a UK British inventor, inventing the now well-known bag less Dyson vacuum cleaner. James was brought up in Norfolk and after school spent one year in art, studying furniture and interior design before moving onto engineering.

Dyson first found a need for an alternative vacuum after becoming frustrated with the diminishing performance of the Hoover. 5 years later, supported by his wife’s salary, Dyson launched the ‘G-Force’ vacuum in 1983 but nobody in the UK would agree to distribute it due to the fact it had no bag. Not undeterred by this, Dyson launched it in Japan where it was hugely successful. James Dyson, although having received many a knock-back was utterly determined to succeed, so after manufacturers in the UK refused to sell his product, Dyson set up his own company Dyson Ltd in 1993.

Dyson’s determination eventually paid off some 10 years later after a successful advertising campaign included the slogan ‘say goodbye to the bag’. The Dyson Dual Cyclone became the fastest-selling vacuum cleaner ever made in the UK, which outsold those of some of the companies that rejected his idea and has become one of the most popular brands in the UK.

Alan Sugar (net worth £68 million) – The seeds of Alan Sugar’s success were sown at a very early age. The famous businessman had an entrepreneurial spirit even whilst at school and was already selling photographic film to friends; boiling beetroot for the greengrocer and doing a paper round. Alan Sugar left school at 16 and after a couple of jobs he started selling car aerials and electrical goods out of a van, which he’d saved up £50 for.

Driven by his small amount of success, Alan Sugar went on to found Amstrad in 1968 and started off business as a general importer/exporter and after just a short while, started specialising in consumer electronics. Sugar was determined to successfully grow the business and managed to double its profit every year. At its peak, Amstrad achieved a stock market value of £1.2 billion, but the 1990s proved a difficult time for the company and on 31st July 2007 it was announced that broadcaster BSkyB had agreed to buy Amstrad for roughly £125 million.

Simon Cowell (net worth £240 million) – Simon Cowell is arguably the most well-known entrepreneur on our list, rising to public prominence for his appearance and creation of the well-known TV series, X Factor.

Simon Cowell was raised in Hertfordshire and attended college but dropped out at 16. Simon then flitted in and out of various jobs until Simon Cowell’s father, an executive at recording company EMI, landed Simon a job aged 17 in the mail room.

Simon, still hungry to succeed in the music industry, eventually managed to get re-hired in 1979 as an assistant to A&R executive which then led to him being promoted to talent scout and then record producer. With a huge determination to make a name for himself, Cowell left EMI during the early 1980s to setup E&S Music with his boss at EMI. The company had limited success and folded in 1989 when he was forced to move back in with his family.

With continued ambition and a want to better his lifestyle, Cowell later that year signed on as a consultant with BMG Records. He moved back into his own place, and gradually climbed the ladder at BMG where he managed to sign numerous successful artists to the label.

Nimlok Portables have a proven track record of helping UK entrepreneurs and businesses promote themselves through event marketing. Visit Nimlok Portables today (http://www.nimlok.co.uk/portable-displays/) to find out how they can help market your business with a great range of pop up stands, portable banner stands, display boards, display stands and, outdoor banners.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kelly Edwards .