How have you / the business responded to winning the Director of the Year award at the EADT Business Awards?
After the initial thrill of receiving the award, it’s very much business as usual for me on a personal and professional level.
In terms of the business, the kudos of the title has already given us great exposure and has made for an interesting conversation starter! Undoubtably will also serve as a leverage for future relationships and partnerships. Our marketing team are particularly excited to continue with new angles and creative aspects of how we can integrate the award into our strategy and social campaigns.
Did you take time to celebrate the award after the ceremony? If so, how did you celebrate?
I did yes, I was very lucky to be surrounded by colleagues on the Friday, and family and friends at the weekend who were all so happy for me.
The fantastic team back at PSHQ on the morning after the awardsevening gave me a very warm and encouraging welcome. I then celebrated over the weekend with my close family and friends sharing dinner out with the people who have been with me throughout, especially my wife Gemma and my wonderful children Millie and Josh who were all very proud of me. I had lots of messages and calls from people congratulating me, even some old teachers, which was really touching.
Please provide a summary of your career to date, including your various roles at Portable Space.
My career to date has taken a somewhat unconventional path, academically I didn’t really deliver my full potential, and in truth wasn’t as motivated as I should have been. My parents are both very hard working and I’m fortunate that I inherited that gene. I guess the common theme throughout my career has been hard work, determination, and having the drive to succeed. When I left school at 16, I couldn’t swim, but the only job available in the careers centre at that time was for a lifeguard at a new leisure centre that was opening in my Town. So, I thought, why not, I need to earn some money, and how hard could it be! On my first day, it become obvious to my new employers that I wouldn’t pass the lifeguard exam as they had to rescue me from the pool, but they liked me, and gave me one month to learn how to swim and pass the exam. I spent the next month knowing what I had to do and made it my mission not to let them down. I was there for 3 years and met some wonderful people.
I’ve always been happy to take responsibility and put my head above the parapet. Having an innate desire to have a genuine and positive influence on wherever I have worked has enabled me to succeed. I have been very fortunate to work with some truly brilliant people, and then some not so, but all of them have helped shape my career and personality in some way, which I’ll always be grateful for.
I joined Portable Space at a time in 2014, when to be honest I was going through one of the toughest times inmy career to date, something unexpected had happened in my previous role and I didn’t really know where my career was heading until I met the owner of Portable Space Mark Black. At the time, Mark was also the Managing Director, and the role was for a Hire Manager, which I had little knowledge of, but was familiar with the company. We got on really well, Mark was very genuine and honest, and I really liked his plans for the business. I become the companies Hire Manager two weeks later. Since then, I’ve progressed through the positions of Commercial Manager and then Commercial Director before Mark gave me the opportunity to become Managing Director in 2019.
How would you describe your own approach to leadership?
It’s a simple one, I think people can over-complicate Leadership. We now live and work in a world of influencers and podcasts, and I think there’s huge pressure and opinions on business leaders in relation to how they should lead, or what they should do or say.
My approach could be deemed ‘old fashioned’, but I just treat everyone with the respect and care they deserve, regardless of who they are. It could be a colleague, a customer, a client, or supplier – I believe positive success and impact in any walk of life is about good relationships and open communication. Being inclusive is key and having an open mind. I try and put myself in other people’s shoes as much as possible to give me a different perspective when making decisions or suggesting ideas.
Other than that, be clear in what you are asking and be yourself, some people will like you, and undoubtably some people may not, but being authentic is important, and helps people to believe or trust in you, which is vital if you want them to share your vision. Equally, entrusting those around you to get the job done and deliver for the good of the business will also bring out the best in people and create winning teams.
Has this approach changed over time? If so, how and why?
My core values have remained the same throughout, but I guess it must have evolved over the years. With experience comes confidence and I would say I’m slightly less emotional than I was and more grounded. The bigger the business has grown, the more exposure I’ve had to challenging or emotional situations that have helped me develop a skill set to deal with them.
In my early career I was desperately trying to climb to the top of the mountain so many decisions back then were based on my personal development. But from the top of that mountain, your attention is then focused on enabling others to join you there, so a different approach and mindset is needed. It then becomes more about making sure the climb is safe and supported for others, everyone has the same opportunities to attempt the climb, and then there’s a huge sense of pride when others make it with you and under your leadership.
What problems does Portable Space solve for customers? How does it solve them?
One of the most interesting parts of our business is how our products and services help to overcome various challenges faced by our customers. We can offer short term hire solutions, or long term purchase options, and a multitude of options to suit a variety of budgets. We consider ourselves to be a market leader in the supply of Portable Accommodation and Storage. If you take just one small area of our business as an example which is the food or beverage retail sector, we can offer a solution to any situation… we can build a bespoke unit or modular system for a long term placement, we can convert a shipping container that can be moved around, or for someone on a smaller budget or with limited space or access, we can offer the flat pack kiosk as an option. So, when you enquire with us, you speak with talented, experienced people who have the knowledge and products to best advise and find a solution that fits. We think our versatility and genuineinterest in finding the right product for our customers approach sets us apart from our competition.
How do you think the business sets itself apart from competitors?
We genuinely feel that we are unique within our industry; we have lots of competition for all areas of our business, but there isn’t another that offers the complete suite of products that we do. We manage everything ourselves from our PSHQ in Suffolk, whereas most of our competition rely heavily on sub-contracting various parts of their business and working with third-parties.
We invest heavily in our team. We care passionately about the development of our people, and we know how important team development is to the future success of our business. We believe ideas can come from anywhere and encourage inclusivity and engagement. Listening and responding to feedback on products and services is also crucial to our continued development.
The fact we are still privately owned, means we can react to developing situations quickly, and we think give a much nicer, personal service which our customers really appreciate.
What key strategies have you implemented to drive business growth since becoming managing director?
I think it’s important to point out that I haven’t personally implemented key strategies. As Managing Director, I obviously play a pivotal role in decision making and development of strategies, but it really is a team effort. Our Chairman Mark Black has a proactive input into areas of further development, and we talk a lot about various ideas. Some good, some that need more research and discovery, and we are lucky to be supported by some excellent external local partners who have helped us to develop at board level. I am of course, also very fortunate to have a fantastic team around me day-to-day, who I can share ideas with, and who will present their own ideas, and more importantly not afraid to tell me if they think we are ever going off course.
Our colleagues are our real strength. By treating them in the right way and supporting and encouraging their development has proven to be a key strategic success. It’s not something you can do part-time, or overnight, our business culture has taken years to refine and evolve. What started as a relatively small team, has grown to what we are today, so maintaining a similar culture throughout growth periods, or during challenging events can not only prove difficult, but also unachievable if the business isn’t 100% aligned and committed to the outcome.
We’ve implemented some good manufacturing and procurement strategies that have really paid off in recent years and helped us to grow across many different sectors. Our decision to diversify our product range over the years has given us a solid platform for the next phase of our growth.
How do you motivate and engage your team on a daily basis?
I think you need a positivity that is unwavering, even in really challenging situations, our journey has had its periods in times when things were not always plain sailing. Covid being a good example of that, but if you look for the positives in everything, more often than not people respond in a really positive way. My drive and determination is even stronger now than it was when I started my career, and the team have told me how inspiring they find that.
I also believe that bringing your strategy to life, and having the ability to paint the picture and help people see what the future looks like really engages people, my colleagues respond well to knowing and seeing what their efforts might result in, and what that could look like for them.
How would you like your team to think of you as a leader?
I think trustworthy is a key one for me, I believe to get the very best out of anyone in any situation you need a strong element of trust and dependability. I rely heavily on the ability and delivery capabilities of the team, and in order for them to engage with the plan, they need to trust the process and the person presenting it.
I would hope they see me as a down to earth, normal guy who is with them at all times, someone they can feel confident enough to come and talk to about anything that’s important to them, and if my own personal journey inspires them to be the best version of themselves, then I can be proud of my work.
What are the future growth plans/objectives for the business?
We want to keep offering the same elevated levels of service as we always have done, which is a challenge for any growing business. We aspire to continue to develop local talent and help people achieve their own personal goals, and of course we have a shared passion and desire to continue our growth journey.
We think a growing business creates an exciting and challenging environment for people, and we want to work with new clients, and continue to develop our products to offer more sustainable solutions to help the many industry sectors we support.
Success is rewarding both personally and professionally and our aim is to have more market share and to be leader of our industry. For me personally it’s about legacy and building something that others can be part of and proud of many years to come.