|
|
| Gordon James Flynn - left 1985 | |
|
What was happening for you as you left Cedars? I left in 1985, midway through the lower sixth. In hindsight I should have stayed on, but all I really wanted to do was get out into the 'real world' and get stuck into it. What was your plan then? I didn’t really have any concrete plans except wanting to get into either the wine or travel industry. What happened next? I spent a couple of years travelling in Spain and worked for a while for a wine broker, which put me off the British wine industry. What was your first real job? After having a few sales jobs and then travelling extensively in Europe, I set up a travel agency from home. Flinternational What did that lead to? We ran Flinternational for 2 years before selling it to a local chain, because of low profit returns. This was invaluable to me and acted as my ‘hands on business degree’. I learned how to manage people, staff and of course a business. I also honed my customer handling and negotiating skills, along with many other small yet essentials tasks that you need to run a small customer facing business. The most important thing I took from the experience was that if you work hard, are honest, and give the customer what they want, you can sell anything. |
 |
|
What are you doing now? I am living in Australia running two companies, one is a long term project that I setup with a business partner. The company is PlanetReunited.com Ltd (http://www.Planetreunited.com) and it was designed for anyone who has backpacked or is backpacking, to either get back in touch with lost friends or keep in touch with friends they meet while travelling. We have been live for over a year now and have over 10,000 members, many of whom use the website on a monthly basis. The company cost quite a lot to setup and develop, which we funded from the sale of another web based mail order company. It is now paying for itself via advertising and membership in its 2nd year which we are very proud of. We expect to be able to take a liveable wage from it in the 3rd year. I am also running my own computer repair company in the Gold Coast, Queensland. I set this up after divining the market and taking the plunge by saturating the market with advertising, both with leaflets and through the local papers. Within 6 months, due to hard work, honest evaluating of faults and a unique selling point of ‘No fix, no fee’ I have cut my advertising by 75% as word of mouth referrals have taken over the bulk of my orders. I now have a partner, and we are tackling the ever growing wireless network industry. We will be taking on further staff in the new year to train up as mobile computer repair technicians, specialising in wireless communications. What would you say to a Cedars student getting ready for the future? If you are going on to further education, take subjects that interest you and not ones that you think you should take. This will ensure that you finish your education and get the most out of it. Career wise; Train for a skill/career that will always be needed. You can always diversify and work in other industries, but you will always know that you have the original skill/career to fall back on if need be. If someone offers you free/discounted training in any subject that vaguely interests you, take it! You never know when you may need or want to use it. Employers look favourably at hands on experience, and that can help you leapfrog other candidates during job interviews. If there is something you really want, go for it. You are the only person stopping you doing what you want. There will be good and bad experiences, but the main thing is that you learn from them all. It’s a fascinating world out there. Go and enjoy it! Back to home |
|
|
|