A meeting with a Billionaire
Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on February 24th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.
This week has been another belter for me - I met a billionaire and had a thought.
Not just any thought, but another master theory in our quest to understand what it is that makes certain people more successful than most.
The thought, or theory, was so powerful that I want to dedicate this whole letter to it.
However, before I divulge further, it’s not every week I get cosy with a billionaire.
This week, I did; the titan of success in question was Richard Harpin.
Richard built a business called Homeserve, an international company that clocked up £4 billion in sales, which he sold to one of the world's biggest PE firms.
Following that firework display of success, Richard set up his own family office and investing firm, backing Checkatrade, Passenger Clothing, and Easy Bathrooms, to name a few.
Richard's penchant for sniffing out talent led him to back a young Sara Davies before Dragon's Den.
Richard invested in Sara's first business, ultimately owning a majority stake in Crafters Companion.
While that investment did not thrive, I’m led to believe that all the others have gone like gangbusters. Certainly, Checkatrade is a household name.
I liked Richard; he possesses the isms of success - insanely hungry to do more and create great companies.
Despite his many spoils, which I calculated after a brief Google search, this entrepreneur likely sits in the 1% of the 1%.
I estimated that Richard may have more than all the dragons combined.
Not bad after 30 years.
Richard was kind, inquisitive, a ferocious listener and note-taker, eager to grow British business and nurture mid-level businesses (those with £10 million-plus revenue and £1 million-plus profits) into large organisations (£1 billion-plus revenue).
Richard built an investment team to manage his 56 appointments on Companies House. (I thought I had a few!)
In Richard, I saw traits of the mega-successful.
Like so many I have encountered, these traits pulsate at me like newspaper headlines.
Now knowing what they are, after interviewing and knowing so many Captains of industry, it's glaringly obvious who has ‘it.’
Namely, the will and hunger to win, along with the eight traits I often discuss and have identified time and again.
All these mega-successful individuals possess them. It makes me wonder - are we made, or are we born?
I invited Richard to my big Business Masterclass in London this September for a fireside chat. (get your tickets here)
I cannot wait to delve into his brain and take questions from 400 entrepreneurs on how he did it.
My quick summary of this entrepreneur's success is as follows: Richard chose a great scalable model, understood cash flow and the importance of securing predictable payments, and recognised the essence of building top senior-level management teams - better than himself.
He is committed to constant self-development; Richard trained as a business coach and fills his office with books, like his own personal Waterstones.
Above all, Richard has the magic bullet - an insane level of hunger to win.
So, campers, enough about my love in for Richard Harpin.
What about my thought and theory of the week?
What drove my newest thesis on winning the day in entrepreneurship?
The answer is this: it's your ability to welcome awkward conversations.
For super-successful high achievers, awkward conversations are part of the day job.
They become so proficient at it that they often don’t even realise this is one of their superpowers.
Whether it's:
Not being able to pay a bill because cash flow is tight and you’re in a big hole
Letting people go
Cutting costs
Going back on a deal because you can’t get buy-in
Being honest about dire situations
Changing suppliers and letting the original one down
Telling people their work isn’t good enough
Losing money
Telling your bank manager you need help
Something you can’t deliver on
Asking for help
Admitting you are wrong and need help to repair
Not believing a particular person is capable of progression
Promoting someone above their ability and then telling them they can’t continue because they’re not good enough
Promoting one over another
Explaining why you can’t afford something
Telling someone they smell and need to wash if they want to keep working and not have people talk about them
Splitting up with someone you no longer want to be with
The above list includes just some of the many awkward conversations I’ve had to confront over the last two decades.
They are tougher than tough, but necessary if you want a taste of success.
Awkward conversations are part of the uniform we must wear if this is our chosen path.
I have awkward conversations every week - heck, every day!
I pull that plaster off and put dithering and delay to bed.
Although I sometimes want to procrastinate, the uncomfortable feeling shows you care, but you just have to do it.
Sure, we don’t like it, but it’s best to just get it done.
Eat the frog and make the call or arrange the meeting, never hiding behind digital communication.
A call or face-to-face meeting is very powerful, even if the minutes or seconds before they answer the door feel excruciating - akin to walking on stage as a first-time performer.
Every time I have had an awkward conversation, I always feel so much better afterwards.
Like hugging someone you love, the relief of having an awkward conversation and reaching a conclusion is the biggest stress reliever I know.
I’m sure many of you reading this are thinking of an awkward conversation you know you need to have.
The better you get at having these conversations, the more you grow. We all die one day, after all.
So, pull that plaster off and eat that frog. Make the call.
Speaking of feeling nervous about certain things in life, I remember feeling quite anxious about swimming with dolphins. Silly, really.
But once I got in the water with them, we just clicked.
To your continued success,
James
PS. Talking of buying businesses, I’m hosting a 1 day workshop in March sharing everything I know about merges and acquisitions so you’re prepared to do the same. Tickets are selling fast, very limited spaces. Find out more here.