BE CLEAR AND READY FOR RISK

Setting up a business is filled with obstacles and there are many things to consider. We’ve teamed up with serial entrepreneur Steve Bennett, chairman of Gemporia, the UK’s largest TV jewellery shopping empire and who has launched 27 businesses in 38 years, for his lessons for business.

It doesn’t have to be innovative It can seem like innovation is a prerequisite for entrepreneurship, but if every new business had to be different you’d never have any competitors. Find something you believe you can do better, something that you’re passionate about and can do a better version of, and the customers will love it.

Choose partners wisely People often jump into business partnerships too early, that’s the mistake I made when I first launched Gemporia and merged with our biggest supplier in Thailand. Take time to get to know a potential partner.

Take a risk At times you need to have the confidence to make tough decisions and expose yourself to risk. One of our biggest risks was buying Gemporia back in 2010, having previously sold all of my shares. In June of that year my wife and I re-mortgaged our house and borrowed to raise the cash. We refocused the brand and returned it to its original values and formula: selling only genuine gemstones which the new owners had replaced with costume jewellery. It wasn’t all plain sailing, but the business was the fastest growing in the country by 2012, with a £67million turnover in 2017.

Learn from mistakes This might seem obvious, but you need to make mistakes along the way to learn – I have.

Clarity is everything I was offered a simple piece of advice that is invaluable. You need to have clarity in what you are trying to achieve as a business. Make sure you understand what it is then you can sell it to your team who can then sell it to the customers.