We travelled around Europe after the [1972] Olympics in a kombi van, which everyone used to do in those days. I was near Leeds, we drove past this old airfield, and it had hundreds of old double-decker buses for sale. I’d seen a couple of buses in Europe, fitted out and travelling around, which I thought wasn’t a bad idea. By 81-82, we bought about another 65-70 buses, and we were running all over Europe.In the late 70s, 79-80, we had a serious cash flow issue.
I think we still enjoy each other’s company, we still enjoy work. And you know, not everyone stays. But I think the people who are left still have fire in their belly and still really want to make a big contribution.The main thing is to learn from mistakes and generally over the last 20-30 years, they are probably buying businesses without really understanding them well enough or trying to change businesses, to what you think is going to be better, and it doesn’t necessarily work.
And okay, some tech start-ups make it in five years. But normally, you need at least 10 or 12 or 15 years, or up to 20 years to really make them successful. And I think if you realise that, you’ve just got to be patient, and you’ve got to go down some dry gullies. In the end it is about persistence.I found I didn’t particularly like being on sabbatical [back in 2007]. When the slightest excuse came ... I went back pretty quickly.
'Cash is everything' certainly explains why the bastard was demanding lockdowns end at seemingly every stage last year. Thousands would have died. Skroo him and Flight Centre.
What about ‘set up an exploitative Ponzi scheme where staff fund the cash flow of the business through forced overtime and wage theft.’
Please …..Flight Centre and their dodgy sales practices 🙄