Close X

Leave a comment


Name:
Email:
Comment:
  I have read and understand the terms and conditions
 

Please click the post button only once - your comment will not be published immediately

Business Focus >>

The new manufacturers The new manufacturers

A great British renaissance has been taking place. From Aberdeen to the West Country, the zing is back in manufacturing. It’s about time this spectacular story was told.

  • hot
  • hot

Young entrepreneur starts 3rd business

by Catherine Woods - Wednesday, 6th August 2008 -

Young entrepreneur starts 3rd business

Simon Corbett may only be 29 years old but already he’s run a wildly successful company, a failed venture, and is now embarking on his third business.

All three of Corbett’s businesses have been very different: the first was a recruitment website for Milton Keynes; the second was a limousine hire and party company; and the third, which he launched with his own savings in July, is a public relations firm called Jargon PR.

Corbett sold his first business to one of his best clients after running the site for nine months. “Milton Keynes is a very fast-growing area. The recruitment pages were always filled with jobs. I thought someone could do better. Internet penetration was pretty high at the time; a jobs website seemed like a good idea and it took off.

"I had taken time out from doing my degree, but when I had to go back to university the following year I realised it was too difficult to do both things. I sold the business for a good price and it’s still going today.”

His second entrepreneurial outing was based on a good idea – organising nights out in London for Milton Keynes’s 20-somethings – but was ultimately much less successful.

Corbett would organise five limos to take 50 people to London’s best clubs, such as Ministry of Sound, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Punters would buy tickets for around £80, which would include things such as club entry. Corbett continues: “Unfortunately getting ten people together is quite difficult; people would commit to it and then one or two people wouldn’t turn up or you'd only get seven people per limo. I would made £200 to £300 per limo but it was on the eighth, ninth and tenth person. It went very well for the first few months, then I was barely breaking even.”

A few years later, Corbett felt it was time to start up again. “The opportunity came along to start Jargon, I wasn’t overly happy where I was working and everything just naturally came together,” he says.

Corbett has two freelancers to help him do the work but reckons he’ll hire some full-time employees in the next few months. The goal is to turn over £140,000 in the first year of trading.

Picture source

BUSINESS NEWS >>

What to do if an employee is a BNP member

By Catherine Woods - November 20, 2008 4:12pm GMT

If you've spotted the name of one of your employees on the BNP membership list that's been made public, the worst thing you can do is dismiss them on the spot.

Pimp your office

By Kate Pritchard - November 20, 2008 4:04pm GMT

There isn't much new business out there – so you'd better start wowing the customers you've got. The first step is to spruce up your office. Even if you’re based on Slough Trading Estate, create the illusion of a palace, says Joanna Miller of RingGo.

Staying buoyant: Sunseeker rides the economic storm

By Real Business - November 20, 2008 1:03pm GMT

Even though his customers are wealthy, David Lewis – managing director of Sunseeker London – is changing his sales technique to suit the current climate.

How to manage marketing in a downturn

By Damon Segal - November 20, 2008 12:46pm GMT

There are three schools of thought when it comes to deciding whether or not to keep marketing if no one is buying anything, especially in a recession.

"What's more tax efficient: salary or dividends?"

By Martin Dunne - November 20, 2008 12:36pm GMT

Real Business agony uncle Martin Dunne is the answer to all your accounting woes. Each week he will tackle another problem faced by entrepreneurs. This week: salary vs. dividends.


BUSINESS COMMENT >>

Mandelson backs the Dancing Pig

By Kate Pritchard - November 20, 2008 5:11pm GMT

At the National Business Awards on Tuesday, Peter Mandelson revealed where his real loyalties lie. And it’s not just with small businesses.

Global Entrepreneurship Week begins...

By Matthew Rock - November 17, 2008 9:50am GMT

And, boy, do we need it...

Hold onto your sides: it's the Friday funnies

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - November 14, 2008 3:44pm GMT

Take five and have a little chuckle at the best business humour around.

The entrepreneur's Shakespeare

By Kate Pritchard - November 14, 2008 3:09pm GMT

We're happy for you to vent your grumbles and groans about the economic downturn on our website. So when Nick Redford, managing director of recording studio Unit58, sent us a poem about the credit crunch, we couldn’t resist sharing it with the rest of you.

Can you bottle entrepreneurial spirit?

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - November 13, 2008 3:39pm GMT

The scientists say we can. But who wants to pop “risk pills”?


Click here to sign up for the Real Business newsletter
Real Business Front Cover