“You’ve got to be out there growing a business, not operating the business,” says entrepreneur and business owner James Sinclair. This is just one of several key lessons that James shares in this instalment of our Business Class video series.
“It was a hard process, but it set me up to scale the business to where it is today.”
Having started out as a solopreneur – a gigging magician who performed at kid’s parties and corporate events – he explains how he raised the capital to open a family entertainment venue and achieve a £1m turnover.
Since then, he has grown his operation to include a chain of play centres and childcare facilities, in addition to operating a couple of outdoor visitor attractions, manufacturing ice cream and making children’s toys. Today, his various business ventures make millions of pounds in revenue each year and he employs more than a thousand staff members.
“Keeping the cash flowing, keeps the business going”
Talking about his success, he shares his motto – “keeping the cash flowing keeps the business going” – highlighting the importance of staying on top of cash flow.
He goes on to explain the importance of building a commercially profitable enterprise that someone would want to buy, even if you have no intention of selling it, because “the process of thinking bigger usually gives you bigger results”.
Keep watching as he explains the concept of “sweating the asset” to creating multiple revenue streams within a single business and introduces a magic word – leverage. As he says: “Whether you’re leveraging a database of customers, your team, a brand or assets, leverage is the magic word that successful entrepreneurs use to really grow their businesses.”
If you have a business that you are hoping to scale, it's vital to understand how you want to achieve growth and what steps you need to take in order to achieve it.
Find more of our Business Class with James Sinclair videos here.