Last Thursday, on behalf of the Seventy Ninth Group, it was a great honour to sponsor and announce the winner of the Young Business Person of the Year at the Echo Regional Business Awards. A great opportunity to not only support local business, and to spend some time outside the office with some of the team, but mostly because this award category really resonated with me.
I remember watching my dad build his property business while I was growing up. Watching his successes and risks, and ups and downs, everything being at incredible pace, experimenting with different business strategies, achieving so much so young, learning from setbacks, and celebrating every milestone with a “what’s next” outlook. Hearing all the stories of how he used to work 12-plus hour shifts on the market stalls as a kid, never really knowing what a ‘quiet day’ felt like. Turning that dedication and tenacity into success. I’ve been around that energy my whole life. Coming into the Seventy Ninth Group in a position of responsibility at a young age, there’s no way I would be able to take it easy. I was going to have to prove myself, and prove myself quickly.
Being an entrepreneur is not a 9 till 5 job and I’m sure many people will agree that it takes a specific philosophy to make their business a success. Being an entrepreneur requires:
- Commitment
- Dedication
- Resilience
- Persistence
- Self-awareness
- The ability to make sacrifices when necessary.
At a young age you can be easily distracted, and you can spend a lot of time wondering what every other 24-year-old is up to while I’m busy answering emails in the early hours, and booking work trips to support the other directors in vital business meetings abroad. But I have no regrets. I recognise the opportunities that our business gives me and I’ll never forget how lucky I am. And that’s why I am so passionate about supporting other young people who are making sacrifices to achieve their goals – it takes a lot of courage. For many young people, the thought of failure when starting a business can be enough to discourage them from ever trying, but in my experience, there is no success without failure. It is the way in which you learn from this failure that counts.
I am fortunate enough to work alongside my family each day, whether it’s in meetings in our head office, attending work events around the country and abroad, or putting in those hours in West Africa to build our concessions business out there. It’s been ten years’ worth of effort but I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be doing it with. For many entrepreneurs, it can often be lonely due to working tirelessly in the pursuit of success. It is for this reason that I am so passionate about young entrepreneurs – I believe they should be recognised for taking a step into the unknown and entering the world of business at such a critical time in their lives.
It was great to be involved with such a well-known event within the Merseyside region and to be supporting an award like this. It was a thrill to see so many local companies come together to celebrate their businesses and the people behind them… businesses that are working so hard to be successful.
