Journalist Jamie Oliver has written for a number of national newspapers in the United Kingdom, most notably the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph. He has written for business and consumer magazines in the United Kingdom and beyond, concentrating on entrepreneurship and business. He has interviewed a range of high-flying entrepreneurs over the past 15 years, including Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, Chinese tycoon David Tang and UK advertising guru Martin Sorrell. He’s written about everything from philanthropy to art dealers, blueberries to stuntmen. Researching and writing this book, though, has probably been the most illuminating of all his work to date, teaching him, and he hopes readers, much more about the reality behind business and entrepreneurship than any glossy magazine profile piece.
Tony Goodwin is a successful entrepreneur who has run his own recruitment business for 17 years in territories around the world, from Russia to China, the Middle East to Africa. He has suffered through three major recessions, one of which (between 2001 and 2003) brought his business close to collapse and forced him to seek creditor protection. Since then, Goodwin has ploughed back his life savings and all his worldly assets to save the company. Five years on, he sold his Russian business for many tens of millions of dollars.
He has set up a business, almost lost the lot but come out the other side. The business experiences gives him a particular insight and understanding of what it takes to build an entrepreneurial business – and how that business can come close to disaster.