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Getting to know... John Forth

We know you as co-founder of Is This You? and a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, but who is the person behind the title? Tell us a little about what makes you tick…

It’s all about people for me. Family, friends, my network. I’m definitely not one for spending too much time in my own company – I need someone to talk to 😊. I need people around me to give me energy and connection, and I love to help people succeed in both business and on a personal level.

It wasn’t always that way. I’m a working class lad from Sunderland and my whole upbringing was focussed around the pursuit of money, and how money equals success. My first two businesses made money, but didn’t make me happy or give me purpose.

Now I’ve found my purpose, my whole mission in business and life is about helping people succeed which in turn has helped me to build a business and life I love.

Did you always want to work in your industry?

No. Not at all. I’m a bit of a serial entrepreneur. I’ve built two seven figure businesses and have interests in numerous others, but I had a total rethink of business and life during Covid, and decided that I wanted to do something that would give me real purpose and to spend my days around like-minded, inspirational people.

I’d been heavily into personal development for 10+ years at that point, and decided that if I could blend my understanding of personal development with my knowledge from 30 years in business, I could add real value to people. That was the kernel of the idea for IS THIS YOU? but I realised that I didn’t want to build another business on my own.

Then a conversation with my old pal, Phil Gray, gave us the realisation that we had both come to the same conclusion, and together with Steve and Dave Beharall who we had known for years, we formed IS THIS YOU?.

What’s the best bit about your job? And the worst?

The best bit is being around people and  helping them succeed. I also love being an entrepreneur and building businesses, so everything I do is something I’m inspired and energised by. But I’ve built this by design, it’s taken 30 years of a rollercoaster journey to get here (which I write about in my Linkedin newsletter).

The worst bit is probably saying no to people (you can’t do everything!). I’m definitely a people pleaser but I’ve built a solid framework to assess my commitments, keep my life balanced, and know when to say ‘no’.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

My family, for sure. I think we have a great family unit. We have our ups and downs of course, but in all I think we’re pretty solid and we have a lot of fun.

I am very proud how I’ve used my coaching techniques with my kids to help them overcome their challenges, and our relationships have become deeper and our bond much stronger. Developing personal development coaching skills has really been life changing.

How do you relax outside of work?

Football is my main hobby. I’m a big Sunderland fan. I love that I get to experience a whole day of football with my 13 year old son. We don’t get to do that much together these days, so match-days are really special. We go to away games also, and having this extended time with him, travelling, sharing the ups and downs and the drama of the Premier league is priceless. It bonds us way beyond the actual football.

My other interest are attending events, music and comedy gigs, eating out and travelling.

What makes the North East such a great place to live and work?

Starting to sound repetitive, but it’s the people. There is such an incredible network of amazing, friendly people in the North East business community. We all collaborate and support each other wherever possible. There are so many opportunities in the North East and we truly are stronger together, and we can take advantage of these opportunities, working as  a collective.

Other than that, the beaches and coastline are fabulous and we’re not too far away from fantastic countryside.

And I love the football rivalry we have. In IS THIS YOU? there are three Newcastle fans and myself supporting Sunderland. I love the banter, although I’ve had to take a lot over the years, it could be my time now? 😊

Tell us something about you we didn’t know…

I’m a huge fan of Bob Mortimer the comedian, and I was honoured to have a night out with him in Manchester, wearing his actual wig from a TV show he was doing. He was the funniest person I’ve ever met, even funnier in real life than on TV. I’m definitely not shy about showing people my photos from that night!

I hope to have a drink with him again, and it’s very possible as one of my best friends is Andy Dawson, who is co-host with Bob of the incredibly popular podcast ‘Athletico Mince’.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Entrepreneurs' Forum .