Interview with Simon Dawes
We are now published the final part of our interview with Simon Dawes, the Founder and Managing Director of ODM Ltd.What did the bank manager have to say?
"I often reminisce about the early days with him over a beer and he is very proud to tell everyone in earshot that it was the quickest turnaround of a new company in NatWest’s history!
He often uses odm in his business presentations as a case study for new start ups. He even proposed us for Hertfordshire business of the year in 2000, where we where pipped at the post by a very large leisure group."
Were there any hard/harder years?
"Of course there have been hard years and even harder years!! and of course there will be more.
It is painful to watch hard earned retained profits disappear during the tough times but I look back on these periods as a big learning curve."
What have been your highlights?
"Winning a new key account is always very satisfying, especially if it has been a competitive bid!
But the most rewarding element is when we can get the whole team out on an away day. To see 30-40 colleagues smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves makes me feel pretty good."
Were there any hard/harder years?
"Of course there have been hard years and even harder years!! and of course there will be more.
It is painful to watch hard earned retained profits disappear during the tough times but I look back on these periods as a big learning curve."
What have been your highlights?
"Winning a new key account is always very satisfying, especially if it has been a competitive bid!
But the most rewarding element is when we can get the whole team out on an away day. To see 30-40 colleagues smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves makes me feel pretty good."
How did you go about recruiting such a successful team?
"This can be a tough business, lots of people have had poor experiences in the world of Field Marketing and Sales, myself included! At my previous employer I learnt how erosive and de-motivating it can be if you don’t care about your employees.
My primary objective with odm was to build a reputation as a caring, honest and trusted employer.
We are lucky to have a very loyal and committed team, who all share the same ethos of care for your employees and they will care for the company.
If it goes the other way you are building a house of cards! So get ready to sweep up the mess!"
Where will you be taking ODM over the next couple of years?
"The next year will have a heavy focus on developing the business to fit with the tighter regulatory pressures of the consumer finance industry.
New markets are opening up to us as we demonstrate our levels of compliance."
Are there any new avenues you wish to venture into with ODM?
"There are many Field Marketing disciplines that odm are more than capable of executing and we are talking to a number of potential clients to develop out tactical business.
Training and compliance assessment will also form part of the business development next year and with the advent of the digital wallet we are beginning to see a demand from our retail clients for our services to help with customer/staff education and functionality demonstration."
What advice would you offer any upcoming entrepreneurs out there?
"Scrutinise your business plan then get somebody else to scrutinise it then halve your sales budget and then scrutinise it again. If it still stacks up – Go for it!
Remember cash flow is king! Negotiate payment terms over profit levels.
And whatever your IFA tells you, don’t bleed the cash out of the business until you are 100% certain that you are stable and can fund the business in a crisis for an appropriate period of time!"
What has been your most successful 'main driver'?
"A unique client proposition, in that they only pay us if we deliver!
Not a wise model unless you know your market!"
We would like to thank Simon Dawes, for taking the time out of his schedule for this interview.
What are your thoughts?
Learn anything new about our Founder or ODM?
For more information about us please visit www.odmltd.com
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