Anyone Can Do It by Duncan Bannatyne

Loving Dragons’ Den’s Duncan Bannatyne, I felt compelled to get this book; it didn’t disappoint.

What follows are some parts of the book I highlighted which you may find of interest:

I learned early on that you do better deals when both parties get something out of it, and it helps when both partners are motivated by more than money.

I couldn’t pay her more than her last employer, but I could give her job satisfaction. I quickly learned that it’s a bloody cheap way of incentivising staff.

Most deals I do are with fixed-rate loans: I see them as an insurance plan.

My ability to delegate is a major reason why I made it where others didn’t.

The art of delegation is about setting targets and boundaries for your managers, and as long as they meet their targets and operate within their boundaries then you trust them to get on with the job.

I never did believe is spending money on unnecessary overheads!

Don’t spend money unnecessarily. For every pound you overspend, you have to work harder to turn a pound profit.

I’ve often found that specialist expertise can be worth the relatively small investment it requires.

As soon as a bank knows it’s got a rival, it makes you better offers.

“So-and so at such-and-such a firm recommended you to me”, and this made a better introduction than a simple hello.

Normally, non-execs represent the interests of the shareholders, and so investors like non-execs to be professionals with good track records.

Gearing – that’s the relationship of assets to debt.

If you build your business around the legislation red tape can actually help you structure your company more effectively.

I negotiated to buy the premises subject to planning permission, which is a very smart way to buy land as you can tie up the deal without committing any money until you know you can do what you want with the plot.

Serving the public need, so neither business has to spend very much on advertising and marketing as customers will come looking for us.

The secret to rapid expansion is to have good systems.

The other key to rapid expansion is having the necessary funds available.

A motivated seller, like a motivated buyer, is an opportunity not to be missed in business.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to agree fixed prices when agreeing deals with suppliers and contractors: I firmly believe it’s one of the secrets of my success.

I had even begun to insert penalty clauses into contracts to give contractors an added incentive to stick to the contract. I adopted a similar approach with all my contractors, and lawyers are no different. Why should a professional get paid more for being inefficient?

Be very wary of going into a venture with partners who don’t share your ambition.

Every industry has its own trade magazine.

“Cost save sharing” which incentivised contractors to be even more efficient. It worked like this: a builder would look at the architect’s spec, and if he could suggest a way of doing something in a more cost-effective way – perhaps he knew about a new glazing system or concreting technique – then we would split the saving with him 50:50. So not only did we save on the build cost and develop a good relationship with our builders, who were in a no-lose situation, we were also able to roll the saving forward to our next health club.

I discovered with the first club how useful a club’s joining fee could be, both from my point of view and from the members’. Firstly, it’s a huge motivator for someone if they’ve paid £200 or so up front, on top of their monthly payments, to stick with their membership. Joining fees also tend to put off the kinds of members who would abuse the facilities, so by joining with an up-front fee, members can be sure they’re joining a quality establishment, and we rarely have to deal with difficult customers who have no respect for the equipment or other members. Aside from the injection of cash at the beginning of trading, the joining fee also has another benefit: it acts as a regulator of member numbers. If we’ve lost a few members – we have a turnover rate of about 30 per cent each year – we can reduce the joining fee for a limited time and use that as a marketing tool to encourage new members.

I made a decision very early on that our membership fees should reflect the fact that we offer a quality club with the best facilities and staff. I never – not for one second – thought we should compete on price.

I never set out to be the cheapest, only the best.

We started a comprehensive in-house training scheme, which invited every employee, no matter what his or her position was, to apply for training that would lead to promotion. It’s a cheap and effective way of retaining and motivating staff, and it saves on recruitment costs.

“Only pay the screamers.”

Calculate the percentage of the building that was dead space, financially speaking.

The key thing is, no matter how good the clubs are, the best club is always the one that responds to, and fulfils, its members’ needs.

Sign their membership documents five times beside a warning in block capitals that they’re signing up for a minimum of a year.

Employ people whose full-time job it is to chase and prosecute non-payers.

We employ mystery shoppers who wear hidden cameras while pretending to be potential members.

I ask employees to bring me in their phone bill with their business calls highlighted, and we then reimburse them for legitimate expenses.

My staff are all rewarded with generous bonuses if their clubs hit their targets. I don’t do this just to motivate them; I do it so they can share in the company’s success, as I think that’s only right.

For a large organisation, we have quite modest overheads, with only a handful of admin and executive staff overseeing the whole company.

I don’t see the point in paying for a fancy office when you can have fancier profits if you base yourself somewhere modest.

One of the reasons I run such effective companies is that I strip out any unnecessary layers of management.

There’s also no duplication of responsibilities of work, and it’s always clear who’s expected to do what.

Be absolutely confident about your business model.

A deadline is a great motivator.

Intrigued by my card, which just had my name and number on it.

The longer a pitcher talks about the problem their device solves, the less attractive the investment.

The thing I really want from an investment is a return on my capital. My target is 20-25 per cent per annum.

Every investor wants to know what you’ll do with their money, and the smart answers involve starting production, increasing output or a marketing push.

1. Give me a pitch I understand.

2. Be honest and open.

3. Know your numbers.

4. Tell me the exit strategy.

Have to admit that I picked up quite a few hints and tips which are worth far more than the cost of the book.

It was also interesting to discover Duncan’s background and roots, which were very modest. Anyone can really do it.

Regards,

Sam

P.S. The straight-talking Scot’s second book didn’t deliver the same quality as this one, hence I won’t be typing up the notes from it.