We meet Peter Hill, a local entrepreneur who talks about inspirations, tips and cats!
Peter came to Business & Learning to get advice on registering his trademark and has since gone on to work with us on various seminars and projects including The Business Game.
1. How did you get started in business?
At school, I would buy and sell second-hand books and videos from other students, travelling to books shops and markets, in the area, to trade. My parents ran a jewellery stall on the local market where I would help serve the customers. During my time at university, I earned money writing plays, producing videos about university life and even from Tarot Card reading.
2. What was your motivation for starting?
As a child and teenager, I was trying to earn money, at a time when getting a real job was not an option. All my early businesses were connected to things I enjoyed. I probably could have made more money cleaning cars, but I suspect I’d have quickly become bored by this!
3. What is your current venture?
Having designed and launched a range of new pet products and won investment from Dragon’s Den, I’ve spent the last year developing a range of workshops and team building games to teach people the core skills and lessons of business.
4. What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
Have a plan B.
5. What is the best way to promote a business?
Building trust and credibility are the two key essentials to promoting anything. If someone tells you something, the power of their message will be so much greater if you trust them.
6. Are business people made or born?
In order to achieve anything in life you need skills, knowledge and resources. All of them can be acquired via hard work and time. But, being born into a family where business is part of your environment can help motivate and inspire you.
7. How are you coping with lockdown?
Having not been able to put creative efforts into expanding my latest business, I’ve been catching up with domestic projects, re-landscaping my garden and accessorising my car to become a one-man mobile campervan, and experimenting with outdoor cooking. Looking at what people living alone in bedsit flats have had to cope with, I know how fortunate I am.
8. What do you do to relax?
I love heading into rural Shropshire and North Wales, kayaking, walking, camping; sitting by a fire on the beach, as the sun sets; or by the edge of a river, miles from the nearest road; or just sitting outside a coffee shop, watching people walk by. I’m generally quite relaxed and can happily fall asleep in a few minutes, much to the annoyance of my insomniac partner!
9. What is your philosophy on life?
When it rains, some people will already have an umbrella.
10. What is your most prized possession?
My two cats. Although, to be precise, they own me.