WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR
WOW, what a crazy week. After winning a regional Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year award, I was delighted to be invited on to the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2 yesterday. To say that I was nervous about discussing what it takes to be an entrepreneur to an audience of millions would be an understatement.
The day before the show, I received a call from a lovely lady called Alison, the Assistant Producer, briefing me on what to expect. I had so many questions: what if I slip up and have to be cut off mid-flow? What if an irate listener calls in and says something horrible? And worse still, what if I get irate and offend a listener by saying something horrible? These were the anxieties running through my head as we arrived at the BBC headquarters in London.
As I got out of the car, I was delighted to see a whole bank of photographers on one side of the entrance. I suppose I should have expected the paparazzi to turn up with all the press our PR department had been doing in the background. The adrenalin was pumping. I knew that my photo was on the BBC website, but I wasn’t expecting to cause this much of a stir.
The photographers started clicking away so I put on a smile, raising my head slightly (to reduce the wrinkles in my neck) and turned around to face the snappers. There, standing just centimeters away, was a very tall, busty blonde with pouty lips carrying a gorgeous child with curly blond hair. I realized they weren’t there for me at all, the attention was all in aid of Katie Price a.k.a. Jordan – I should have guessed.
I crashed back to reality and composed myself before entering the room and I have to say, the show went brilliantly – Jeremy Vine was a true professional and guided me through everything, making the appropriate worried-looking faces when I started going off on a tangent. It was so encouraging to hear how many people were starting their own businesses, even in the tough economic climate that we hear so much about.
When I was asked what it takes to be an entrepreneur I emphasized the importance of imagination. As well as taking the initiative and being prepared to work hard, you need to have a dream and give everything to achieve it. This is something which is sadly lacking today, but a spirit that I see every day at thebigword.
Having said that, I would never had dared to dream that I would ever receive an honoury doctorate, but after 30 years of suffering the indignation of only being a ‘Mr’ my graduation day has finally arrived! Tomorrow I will be accepting my doctorate in Business Administration from Leeds Metropolitan University and am making a speech in front of more than 2,000 people - I’ll let you know how it goes next week.... gulp.
To listen to my slot on the Jeremy Vine show please click here. My part starts just after 31 minutes in.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
The day before the show, I received a call from a lovely lady called Alison, the Assistant Producer, briefing me on what to expect. I had so many questions: what if I slip up and have to be cut off mid-flow? What if an irate listener calls in and says something horrible? And worse still, what if I get irate and offend a listener by saying something horrible? These were the anxieties running through my head as we arrived at the BBC headquarters in London.
As I got out of the car, I was delighted to see a whole bank of photographers on one side of the entrance. I suppose I should have expected the paparazzi to turn up with all the press our PR department had been doing in the background. The adrenalin was pumping. I knew that my photo was on the BBC website, but I wasn’t expecting to cause this much of a stir.
The photographers started clicking away so I put on a smile, raising my head slightly (to reduce the wrinkles in my neck) and turned around to face the snappers. There, standing just centimeters away, was a very tall, busty blonde with pouty lips carrying a gorgeous child with curly blond hair. I realized they weren’t there for me at all, the attention was all in aid of Katie Price a.k.a. Jordan – I should have guessed.
I crashed back to reality and composed myself before entering the room and I have to say, the show went brilliantly – Jeremy Vine was a true professional and guided me through everything, making the appropriate worried-looking faces when I started going off on a tangent. It was so encouraging to hear how many people were starting their own businesses, even in the tough economic climate that we hear so much about.
When I was asked what it takes to be an entrepreneur I emphasized the importance of imagination. As well as taking the initiative and being prepared to work hard, you need to have a dream and give everything to achieve it. This is something which is sadly lacking today, but a spirit that I see every day at thebigword.
Having said that, I would never had dared to dream that I would ever receive an honoury doctorate, but after 30 years of suffering the indignation of only being a ‘Mr’ my graduation day has finally arrived! Tomorrow I will be accepting my doctorate in Business Administration from Leeds Metropolitan University and am making a speech in front of more than 2,000 people - I’ll let you know how it goes next week.... gulp.
To listen to my slot on the Jeremy Vine show please click here. My part starts just after 31 minutes in.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
