The UnNoticed Entrepreneur.
The UnNoticed Entrepreneur.
Sitting in meetings and being paid a fixed salary no matter how much I achieved didn't work for me. The life of an entrepreneur was bound to be my path. My problem is that I love the world, and so I kept on using my ability to start a business as a way to live as an expatriate on my own terms. In my life I have lived in Europe, Africa, America and Asia. I've built companies in services and products. My life isn't a niche, I apologize but I'm not sorry.
Instead, I decided to just share my experiences, and who knows perhaps there may be something in them which helps you on your journey as an entrepreneur.
I was introduced to business in the local community, through school. As a young lad I had been a keen cub scout, but it seems that by the time I was 17 I had discovered a taste for business.

20th February 1986 My first media coverage. England.
Introduction: I secured coverage in the Kentish Gazette for earning a place on the coveted Operation Raleigh.
Opportunity: Short of cash for all my equipment, I approached the local outdoor clothing store and did a barter; cash for coverage.
Legal entity: I was 17 years old, and technically not allowed to have any legal entity.
Funding: I raised £2,000 by jumping out of an aeroplane and asking everyone in the toy shop where I worked to sponsor me. Luckily Siemens Nixdorf saw fit to sponsor me too.
Outcome: Spent three months in the outback of the Northern Territories in Australia.
Lessons learnt: Never be afraid to ask (in the article the journalist even remarks that he was surprised by the completely random appearance by a spotty teenager promising a story which would "touch the hearts of the people of Canterbury." I still remember the pitch!

Facing fear head on.
This is how I was raising the money go on Operation Raleigh. I was terrified.
First jump I landed in the field I was supposed to.
Second jump I had a long walk back to base.
Mission accomplished - I raised the £2,000 in form of sponsorship from people in the department store, my village and a corporate sponsor, Siemens Nixdorf.

1995 - 2022 My first company. EASTWEST Public Relations, Singapore.
Introduction: Arrive in Singapore 14.06.1995 with two suitcases, a borrowed Toshiba laptop and a Psion organiser. On a mission to build an agency in the far east.
Opportunity: Companies in the west needing access to the markets of the east.
Legal entity: Set up sole proprietorship until January 1997 when I incorporated a limited company.
Funding: I sold my 2 bed house in Manchester and took £10,000 with me.
Outcome: Sold the business in 2022!
Lessons learnt: Constancy of purpose (add value with every communication) allied to innovation in delivery.

1998 - 2001 Internet adventure. Go-events.com, Singapore.
Introduction: As a PR agency we were gathering lists of events and sending them by fax to clients as potential speaking events.
Opportunity: Too many events and no where to find them all. Remember this was was 3 years after Yahoo was founded and the Internet was in the early days; there wasn't a google, no eventbrite.... Set up offices in Singapore Hong Kong.
Raised $250,000 on a valuation of $8,000,000 using a powerpoint.
Outcome: Sold it to a competitor in 2001 after the dotcom crash and 911 crash meant we ran out of cash.
Lessons learnt: Don't expand based on market promise, only on the demand of customers.

2004 China Beckons. EASTWEST Public Relations, 意思文思公关共识 China.
Introduction: Since 2001 and China entering WTO, clients wanted China exposure, and China PR Agencies were taking all our margin.
Started: Arrive in Beijing on my birthday, 25.01.2006 with two suitcases, my own laptop and ambitions to build a brand.
Problem to solve: Clients wanting to access the emerging China market.
Funding: I took out a bank loan of S$50,000.
Outcome: The business was run by a small team, and I spent time on new ventures including the ones below.
Lessons learnt: It's better to have one business run well than two run badly.

2007 Entrepreneur Organization. EO Chapter, Beijing.
Introduction: There wasn't a group for expatriate entrepreneurs in Beijing, and we all needed one.
Legal entity: None - groups of foreigners aren't allowed to exist in China outside of a Chamber of Commerce.
Problem to solve: Entrepreneurs in Beijing wanting a peer group to build their businesses with.
Funding: This was a non-profit.
Outcome: I was co-founder and President from 2007-2009, seeding 5 forums, and ensured succession. EO Beijing Chapter is still alive and well.
Lessons learnt: Entrepreneurs are the best companions, examples are the best lessons.

2007 - 2010 Partnership. Metcalf & Q, Beijing.
Introduction: China law firms need to attract foreign talent from around the world, and as foreigners with Singapore links we thought we could take advantage of this.
Legal entity: A Singapore limited company.
Problem to solve: Legal recruitment in Beijing
Funding: We sold one contract and used that as the basis of the business.
Outcome: We didn't get traction and eventually my friend had to take a job again.
Lessons learnt: Partner with people who have a track record of success.

2008 First Awards. British Business Awards, China
Introduction: In Singapore EASTWEST PR had won SME of the Year (1997), and yet in China there were no business awards. So I thought it was time to start one. I built the BBA whilst playing the role of non-exec member of the Chamber of Commerce.
Legal entity: The British Chamber of Commerce in China.
Problem to solve: Platform to recognize British "Innovation, Enterprise and Endeavour."
Funding: Sponsorship from the British Council and a number of MNCs operating in China.
Outcome: The BBA is still successfully running to this day. Find out who the winners are here
Lesson learnt: Communities need leaders and projects to bind them together.

2007-2019 Investor. Eggplant Digital
Introduction: Alex Dodkin is a whiz with websites, and in 2007 he kindly agreed to build the website for the BBA, and subsequently I became an investor and Chairman.
Legal entity: Hong Kong limited company.
Opportunity: Giving international quality of digital services to western companies who want to market their goods and services in China.
Funding: From cash flow.
Outcome: The company is still operating today, and Alex and I enjoy to this day a good conversation on many subjects.
Lesson learnt: Invest in the person, and let them know that you are there for them regardless of the problems a business faces.
2011 - 2018 The car business. Morgan Motor Cars (Beijing) Ltd, Beijing.
Introduction: Since riding on the luggage rack of a Plus 4 driving through the Oxfordshire countryside, I had wanted a Morgan. So my wife and I imported the first Morgan to China, using my PR company as the legal entity,.
Legal entity: Opened a HK company, and over 12 months registered a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise (WOFE) in China.
Opportunity: Classic cars are not allowed to be sold in China. Morgan cars the only classic car which can be driven on the roads.
Funding: Self-funded by selling a property in Mongolia (not a yurt!)
Outcome: We imported and sold over seventy cars to China. I established a dealership network and the brand. The relationship ended in December 2018 and is the result of a case being heard at the London Court of International Arbitration.
Lesson learnt: Own the brand that you rely on.

2014 - 2015 Interim CEO. Lotus Cars, China.
Introduction: The Global CEO of Lotus visited our Morgan showroom and liked what he saw, and heard. [We were on holiday and he chatted to our staff.] They engaged me to help with marketing, then extended that to be Interim CEO until Jessie Chan (right) was appointed.
Legal entity: China WOFE.
Opportunity: Restore confidence to the team and dealership network for Lotus Nyo.
Funding: Not my problem this time.
Outcome: Uncovered some untoward practices, re-engaged with dealerships and renovated the showrooms and energized the team.
Lessons learnt: Internal politics are more of a killer than competition.

2016 - 2017 Drinks. Wake Energy Drinks, China
Introduction: As a result of the BMF I was approached by British founder of WAKE drinks to build the business in China.
Legal entity: Hong Kong limited company and then via a UK company which had a WOFE.
Opportunity: The largest energy drink market China also has the highest growth rate in the world. In 2015, sales amounted to over 1.3 billion litres. It's over $4 bn in value today. We only needed 1%...Today that market is worth $
Funding: Self-funded.
Outcome: Secured some outlets for the drink and interest from distributors; but shipping water across the planet is expensive.
Lessons learnt: Some businesses are not what they seem. This wasn't a brand business but a distribution business.
2016 / 2018 Big events. The British Motorsport Festival, Beijing.
Introduction: Whilst running Lotus and Morgan I found that getting a booth at trade shows was too expensive for niche brands, if indeed we cold get a space.
Opportunity: Chinese consumers loved the British car culture and yet there were not any events dedicated to the growing number of brands which wanted to engage these Anglophiles.
Funding: Self-funded for the first one, and a joint venture with Ace Cafe (Beijing) for the second event.
Outcome: Fabulous events which lost a lot of money because the Chinese local authorities set restrictions on attendance.
Lessons learnt: Check the external factors which may render a good business into a bad one.
Video links:

2019 -- EASTWEST Public Relations Ltd, and The UnNoticed Entrepreneur project.
Established EASTWEST Public Relations Ltd in the UK.
Introduction: During lockdown and after 25 years in Asia, I needed a way to build a network and find new ways to make income.
Opportunity: Podcasting is a low cost, quick to produce, and engaging format which can either be a funnel for new business or a business in its own right.
Funding: Self-funded the production of the show, but in fairness the investment has been modest.
Outcome: A podcast in the top 3% worldwide and a three book deal with Capstone, the Wiley brand after some twenty four months of production. I've secured a sponsor for the show too; and so it's starting to look like a business.
Lessons learnt: Do what you are best at, relentlessly, and eventually the ways to make money will appear.