In 2005 I got together with a few friends and founded an internet company (www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk). We started with very little and we did not borrow any money. Initially the objective was to help homebuyers find surveyors. We wanted to provide a nationwide directory and price comparison service that would put homebuyers in direct contact with surveyors. Communications would be quick, prices would be competitive. This worked well and over time we added other property professionals, architects, structural engineers, energy assessors, electricians etc. The company has been successful and our system now processes 250,000 enquiries each year. To make this happen we have a network of approx 7,000 members and we have a team of 20 people most of whom work from home. Nothing was plain sailing and lots of things went wrong along the way. This talk should be of interest to anyone who is thinking of starting their own business. It will also be of interest to people who just have a general interest.
Views: 436 | Enquiries: 3I was born and brought up in New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s. After studying physics at University I left on a working holiday and came to the UK where I took up a job as an electronics engineer with Marconi Radar Systems Ltd. The company was based in Chelmsford but I was in the Field Services Dept and my work took me to Portsmouth for a few years and then Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman.
I continued to work in the British electronics industry throughout the 1980s and 1990s after which I changed careers and became an internet entrepreneur founding the company Local Surveyors Direct which is a family of price comparison websites for Building Surveys and other property services (www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk).
I have always been interested in family history and history generally and have written a book History of the World. I have also written a book about the 1960s & 1970s and a book about the 1980s. More info can be found on my website www.jjhc.info .
My other regular activity is as a member of Winchester Rotary Club where I am one of the organisers of the Clarendon Marathon (www.clarendon-marathon.co.uk).
I prefer giving talks in person. Happy to travel to most places in the South of England. I will also give talks online.
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