Harry Dennis set up his own business in October 2005, when he was 51. Based in Stockport, Harry has worked in the chemical industry his entire career and has now built on his experience by setting up an environmental consultancy, Dennis Environmental Ltd, which specialises in waste management, in particular waste minimisation and hazardous waste for the chemical industry.
“I was working for a company in Manchester that was transferring a lot of production over to India and China,” explains Harry. “Eventually, the company announced that the site where I worked would close and I decided to leave almost immediately. I had no plans to take early retirement.”
Instead, Harry decided to capitalise on the skills he had learned most recently in employment.
“I had spent a lot of my career managing people, but I had ended up in a job I really enjoyed, in environmental management, where I generally worked alone where I had a lot of outside connections,” he says. “I was on a decent salary and could see myself doing that job until I was 60.” The change in circumstances meant Harry had to re-think. “I was already concerned that, being over 50, there was a possibility I might struggle to get another job with a chemical company,” he says. “But I realised there were things I could still do and since I was enjoying the type of work I was doing, I thought I would try to go out on my own.”
Financially, Harry was not too exposed. “I received a redundancy package and a pension from my previous company and my wife was very supportive of my plans,” he comments.
Initially, Harry spoke to those around him with experience of running their own businesses, including his brother-in-law. “I wanted to do things correctly and start as professionally as possible,” he comments. “So that involved things like spending quite a lot of time on getting the name of the company right. It sounds quite simple now, but we did consider quite a lot of alternatives. I also wanted to present myself professionally, rather than look like a one-man band, so although I work from home, I set up a PO Box in Stockport and set myself up as a limited company. I also used a local graphic designer to design the business cards, stationery and the website.”
Harry put his redundancy package into his new venture, as a director’s loan. “I knew I would probably have enough to cover two years’ running costs, providing the costs weren’t too high, so I put in enough to cover the costs and my salary,” he explains. The set-up costs totalled about £5,000, including all the office furniture and computer equipment that was needed. Harry finished full-time work in August 2005, but had already had three months’ gardening leave in which he had been able to work on the plans for his business, so launching the venture did not take long.
Harry also decided to make it a family business. “I decided to bring my daughter in as a commercial manager, to look after the administrative, financial and marketing side of the business,” he says. “She works part-time, which fits in well for her with family life.” Just as important a contribution, he adds, is made by his wife. “My wife looks after the grandchildren while my daughter works for the business, so she, too, has had an important role.”
Although Harry initially found working from home a daunting prospect, he has found the disadvantages have been far outweighed by the advantages. “I have been able to watch my grandchildren grow up from close quarters, have been able to spend a lot more time with my wife and have even managed to find time to enjoy running and golf during the week,” he comments.
Harry believes in taking a highly structured approach to the business, even though it is still relatively small. He has a formal business plan, which includes a marketing strategy, and once a month, he and his daughter have a formal meeting to discuss the business. “We have a fixed agenda and we minute all our action points,” he explains. “I believe it is very important to keep things as professional as possible and it enables us to tackle all the issues that have come up.”
Like many other people starting their own business, marketing was something of a challenge in the initial stages. “Early on, I did a lot of cold calling, which was tough,” Harry acknowledges. “It was a difficult few months, getting our first few leads, but I don’t think we could have done it differently – we had to do it that way to get to where we are now.”
One of the contracts that has sustained the business over its first year has been through a separate division of the company for which Harry used to work. “They asked me to go in and I worked there for two or three days a week for three months and that was perfect,” says Harry.
When he started the business, Harry was optimistic about its prospects, because of the new environmental legislation, coupled with increased awareness of environmental responsibility within the UK. There were also a high number of government grants available for environmental improvements in industry, but he has found it hard, as a small, independent consultant, to get into that market. “That money is going to other firms,” he says. “A lot of companies use the same consultants that they have always used and there are also a lot of big consultancies in this area.”
Despite these challenges, Harry remains optimistic about his prospects. There are several proposals with clients at the moment that he hopes will turn into major contracts and he has also set up a partnership with his former employers which has helped him travel overseas to pitch for business, including a trip to Saudi Arabia. “One of the main things I have learned over the past year is not to say no to anything, well almost anything,” he adds.
“I think my age and experience are a big selling point, no doubt about that,” says Harry. “But on the other side, it has been great to have someone a bit younger to help me design the website and work on the presentation side of the business.”
The biggest challenge, however, has been Harry’s enthusiasm for his subject. “I like helping people,” he comments. “So I end up giving them free advice. My daughter has to rein me in a bit. At the end of the day, I’m selling my experience and I have been caught out once or twice. I’ve been in and done work and given more than I needed to. So getting that balance right is my biggest challenge. In the past, my role has been to provide information, and I find it hard to suddenly say I’ve got to stop here and start charging for that advice.”
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