Martin Port, Author at Port Growth Partners

CEO’s Blog – Entrepreneurs bring such energy to a business. Have you felt it?

Posted on 24 September 2019 by Martin Port

What is it about entrepreneurs? There is a feeling that hangs in the air when you visit a business where the founder is present. It’s hard to put into words, but it’s a charge, a sense of urgency.

The closest thing I’ve seen to this effect is in football. Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary football manager, created that same sense of urgency. Players called him ‘boss’ and he presided over Manchester United’s most triumphant period, winning 38 trophies. Fergie may have been a divisive character but there is no doubting his ability. He is still the most successful manager in the history of football. But what about the succession?

I recently conducted an employee survey at BigChange. The results were overwhelmingly positive. People love working here, they respect me as a leader, and they are happy with the training and opportunities available to them. But there was a red flag: some of my colleagues think that I am too involved in the day to day running of the business. I attend every meeting that I can, and maintain a presence across every department. I make no apologies for this approach. This is how I keep my feet on the ground and stay aware of the needs of the customer.

Colleagues also commended on how visible I am as a founder. When people talk about BigChange, my name always comes up. But isn’t that the way it should be? I started this business seven years ago: we are still young, we are still growing. I feel that it’s too soon for me to disappear into the background. There is still so much I want to achieve.

I don’t know whether to take these comments as a compliment or a criticism. But I do know that I want to listen and take action if there is any way I can improve as a leader.

With that in mind, maybe it’s time to appoint a Chief Operating Officer. That would give other leaders in the business room to spread their wings, take more risks, and have more agency at BigChange.

This survey has also helped me realise that having me as the main man is a risk. If I were hit by a bus, it would be hard to replace me. As we scale, I need to let specialists take on more responsibility.

Don’t get me wrong. I want to remain the driving force behind this business. I’ll be here for the next 10 years, at least. And that decision is not about ego, it’s practical. Our backers funded me, as an entrepreneur. That’s what investment is all about: belief in an individual’s ability to execute a vision. But it makes sense to bring in another leader to complement me, and bring more diversity to the leadership team.

I want people to feel the same charge, when they come and see us at BigChange, as I experience when I visit founder-led companies. I believe I can still create that feeling here, while handing over some of the day-to-day duties to brilliant, capable people – or a person – who will do the job even better than me. It’s time to be brave, and let go.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – Brexit is nothing; Corbyn is the real threat to the UK

Posted on 12 September 2019 by Martin Port

Brexit has dominated the news agenda for the past few years but it is now the least of my worries. Jeremy Corbyn’s radical economic agenda is the biggest threat to this country, and to entrepreneurs like me.

What has happened to our political system? The country voted to leave Europe. Whether you support that decision or not, the people have spoken. The duty of Parliament is to carry out that vote. Yet politicians are doing all they can to stall the process. Jeremy Corbyn is using the unrest as a way of bringing about a general election. This is worrying.

If he gets into power, we are in trouble.

Why do entrepreneurs create businesses? Yes, they want to disrupt industries, create new technologies or bring brilliant ideas to life but they also want decent remuneration in exchange for working day and night – and taking the risk of building a company and creating jobs. Corbyn plans to axe Entrepreneurs’ Relief if he gets in. This would mean that entrepreneurs in this country will no longer pay 10pc tax when they sell their company; the figure will rise to as much as 50pc.

Just the idea of this tax hike is enough to stifle ambition. I’ve heard of entrepreneurs trying to sell their businesses now, before a Labour government has the chance to decimate any chance of a financial reward. That means business owners’ expansion plans are being cut short – who knows what impact that could have on the UK’s economic growth over the next few years? How many new jobs will no longer be created?

Corbyn also plans to nationalise some firms and force entrepreneurs to give out shares to workers. Don’t get me wrong – I am all for employee ownership and share options – but we should not be forced to give away our companies. It should be down to the owner of the business. Can you imagine the impact on the stock market if Corbyn seizes power?

This idea of a new ministry for workers rights, which would have powers to imprison company bosses at will, is just going to heap more regulation on UK businesses. The CBI has said that Corbyn’s proposals will “turn the UK back decades”. The CBI’s deputy director-general, Josh Hardie, says: “The vast majority of firms thrive on strong employee engagement, invest in training and prioritise wellbeing. They support jobs, sustainable wage rises and enforcement of employment law. A fundamental re-write of regulation is the last thing the economy needs right now.” I couldn’t agree more.

Corbyn is an anti-Semitic Marxist and the last person that should be running the country, Give me a “no deal” any day. We survived World War II. Food and medicines still made it onto our island when we were at war. We can survive crashing out on October 31st. I know we would not survive a Corbyn-led government.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – Cutting carbon for all the right reasons

Posted on 1 September 2019 by Martin Port

For a while, in the early 2000s, it seemed like every company was planting trees or offsetting its carbon. It was all a ploy to convince consumers they were environmentally conscious when, frankly, they weren’t.

The consumers have wised up. Between the Volkswagen emissions scandal and the backlash against bottled water companies claiming to be ‘environmentally responsible’, there is now a lot of scepticism out there about companies’ green credentials.

I don’t believe in greenwashing. I believe in doing your absolute best to consider the environment when making business decisions. More often than not, the greener choice is the best option for your bottom line.

Here at BigChange, we have gone paperless. Come to our office here in Leeds and you won’t see a single desk printer or filing trays full of paper. Everyone works off their laptop or tablet. That’s better for the environment because we’re not cutting down trees for paper but it is also great for keeping overheads down; no paper means no stationery.

We are also helping our customers to go paperless. We estimate that the 1,000 plus clients on our JobWatch system have saved 13,000 trees from the paper mill. Working with BigChange also helps these companies to cut down their emissions because our job scheduling and tracking technology reduces the miles travelled and saves on fuel. That has the potential to have a big impact on the environment.

I don’t believe we have gone far enough to reduce our carbon footprint. We already recycle and collect food waste separately. Staff are encouraged to take public transport instead of driving to work and to meetings. We are switching our lightbulbs to LEDs, and looking into green energy options for the office. We try to procure sustainably and don’t provide unnecessary plastics like cutlery or cups. But I want to go further.

I’m not kidding myself. BigChange is not going to be carbon neutral. Not unless we employ a consultant to do all the offsetting and tree planting. We are expanding internationally and that means I need to get on planes – hardly the most ecological way to travel. Being paperless means more devices, which also consume electricity – it’s not a perfect solution.

I don’t want to be a hypocrite on this issue but I believe it’s important to stick your head above the parapet on issues you care about. I want to encourage other bosses to do what they can to reduce their environmental impact. It’s not about being perfect, or greenwashing your image. It’s about doing your absolute best to minimise the negative impact your business has on the planet.

Let’s all support each other to make the right decisions for this world and the next generation. If anyone has some suggestions on how I can make BigChange a greener business, I’d love to hear them.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – The tech CEO gives up tech (for a week)

Posted on 18 August 2019 by Martin Port

I’m not surprised that so many Silicon Valley technologists have become advocates of the digital detox. The developers behind the likes of Facebook and Google have seen the impact that gamifying apps has had on the average phone user.

We are all addicted to our phones and we use them for everything, from email to photos to social media.

There’s even a new organisation, which was founded by ex-techies, called the Centre for Humane Technology, which is calling for the software giants to stop competing for our attention, and instead devote themselves to helping consumers achieve “Time Well Spent”.

I’m not going to wait for the tech giants to design an app to help me enjoy life. I’ve decided to take control.

I recently went on holiday to Cyprus. As readers of this blog will know, I usually struggle to switch off – even when I’m away with the family. So this time I started locking my phone away in the hotel safe. At 10am, it was gone, and I wouldn’t allow myself another look until 6pm. It stays in the room when we have dinner too.

As digital detoxes go, this was pretty ‘lite’ but I noticed it had a profound impact. I have been fully focused on my family. The conversation has been flowing. My wife and I have had a chance to properly unwind (although she’s still been using her phone, despite my best efforts).

When we went out for dinner in the evening, I noticed just how many people were absorbed in their phones. They would sit in silence, or speak in short sentences. That could have been us this holiday.

I realise it’s not easy to attempt a digital detox, especially as a entrepreneur with a growing company. But there are a few things you can do to make the process easier.

1.) Do it during the summer holidays

Have you noticed the volume of email dropping right down? That’s because a lot of people are taking time off to be with their children. Take advantage of a quieter August and plan your detox to coincide with school holidays.

2.) Get a PA

There is no way I would be able to detox without my PA. She handles everything urgent on my behalf. You need to be able to put down your phone, knowing that someone you trust can field emails and calls.

3.) Build digital detoxing into your company culture

You need to show your team that they are not expected to check their emails on holiday. Start by cutting communications in the evenings and on weekends. Lead by example, and don’t send emails out of hours. If you can delegate, other people will too. When someone goes on holiday, make sure there are processes in place that mean they don’t need to check in. When anyone is out of the office, there should be another person who can pick up the slack.

4.) Enjoy the detox

There’s no point locking away your phone if you’re going to hate every minute. Prepare yourself for the experience, and enjoy unplugging from technology. Take the time to have conversations with real people, and to notice the world around you.

I’ve become a digital detox evangelist on this holiday. When I see people round the pool on their phones, I’ve been telling them to put them down. They have had their revenge: when someone saw me writing this blog on my phone, they told me off.

Steve Jobs famously wouldn’t let his kids near the iPad. Bill Gates says his family has strict rules on screen time. If the world’s most famous technologists feared the impact of too much screen time, we should too.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – Am I the only one who has a problem with vaping?

Posted on 12 August 2019 by Martin Port

I really want my colleagues to live happy, healthy lives, and will do anything I can to help them on that journey.

At Masternaut the business I founded previously, I ran an initiative called Cash for Quitters. I offered my colleagues a cash bonus of £1,250 (and gave £1,250 to Cancer Research UK) in exchange for going smoke-free. I successfully helped 12 people give up smoking for good, which was a great achievement.

One of my Masternaut team now works with me at BigChange. He still doesn’t smoke cigarettes but he has taken up vaping. I felt this was a backwards move so I started doing some research.

Vapes have only been around for a short time. The first electronic cigarette was created by Hon Lik in Beijing in 2003. Yet, less than two decades later, the health warnings are starting to build up.

The Food and Drug Administration in the US has stated that vapes and e-cigarette are “not safe and effective in helping smokers quit”, while the Surgeon General has warned that the liquid and smoke can contain a number of toxic chemicals, including acrolein – a weed killer[1].

I worry about the members of my team that vape, and it bothers me that so many young people, who would never have started smoking, are choosing to vape because it’s seen as cool. Even children are being lured in by all the sweet flavours – some are even based on confectionery.

Beyond the health risks, vapes are really bad for productivity. It’s bad enough that smokers take regular breaks to light up, people who vape feel they can do it all the time because it’s “not as bad as smoking”, which means even more time outside, distracted from their jobs.

Some people even feel it’s acceptable to vape from their desks. The warnings about second-hand vaping emissions aren’t well publicised but studies have shown they can cause breathing and lung problems. This is absolutely not something we would tolerate at BigChange.

The NHS has recommended that smokers move over to vape, claiming that e-cigarettes are 95pc less toxic than the alternative but I worry that this will become the next big health scare of the decade.

So, at BigChange, I’m bringing back Cash for Quitters. We are ironing out the details but I’m hoping to launch in September. It’s possible to test for nicotine quite easily, so we’ll be able to check if anyone cheats. You can even buy testing kits on Amazon now… I thought I’d been successful with my mission and yet here am I, 10 years later, with a new problem to deal with.

I think it’s important that us bosses highlight this issue, and work together to keep employees smoke – and vape – free. Who’s with me?

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – I was 57 last week. Am I past it now?

Posted on 4 August 2019 by Martin Port

I am not often plagued with self-doubt but turning 57 has thrown me. It’s too far the wrong side of 50. I’ll be 60 in three years and that’s a really scary age.

I work with colleagues two generations younger than me now. It’s made me wonder whether I still have what it takes to build BigChange. Am I older and wiser? Or running out of steam?

In fact, right now, I feel younger than I have in a long time. I’ve lost a lot of weight over the past year (many thanks to all those who sponsored me https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/martin-port). I also feel lighter in spirit. I lost my dad two years ago. In my faith, you say prayers for your loved ones for 11 months after you bury them. Sadly, 11 months later, I buried my mother, so I have been saying those prayers for 22 months. When you experience tragedy, it takes time to grieve and get back on an even keel, but I feel I’m there now.

Older entrepreneurs aren’t as rare as you might think. A recent study by MIT found that the average age of a start-up founder is 42. The people who create high-growth companies are 45, on average[1]. The idea that all founders are pimply 18-year-olds is a myth. In the UK, the average business owner is 51. Ray Kroc didn’t open his first McDonald’s until he was 52. Maybe I’m not so old after all. As long as I’m the right person to be leading this business, I’ll work till I drop.

If BigChange does outgrow me, I would happily see out my days doing charity work. I would be proud of my legacy, either way. But I feel like I’m still the best person for this job. Yes, I’m older. I’m also calmer, more rational. I’m better with people. When you’re young, you want everything to happen yesterday. I’ve learned to bide my time and be patient. You can’t build a global success overnight.

I used to enjoy material things. These days, I’m content with my lot. I don’t need to buy anything. My focus instead is on creating wealth with the business, and helping our customers to grow.

People ask me if I’d consider selling the business, now that I’m getting on a bit. I reply that I’m a buyer, not a seller. I’m pushing on. I may have reached my scary age but I still feel like I can conquer the world. I’m seven years into my journey with BigChange and I feel more ambitious than ever. I want to turn this into a billion-pound business.

I believe I have another 20 years in me. You’ll have to carry me out the door.

https://www.businessinsider.com/young-startup-founder-myth-average-age-of-entrepreneurs-42-mit-study-2018-4?r=US&IR=T

https://www.finder.com/uk/business-owners-uk

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – A true entrepreneur is always selling

Posted on 30 July 2019 by Martin Port

Fans of this blog will know: I never switch off. My every waking moment is spent thinking about how to grow BigChange and make the service we provide even better – much to the frustration of my family.

Part of being ‘always on’ means that I’m looking for leads all the time. It’s the entrepreneurs’ way: every interaction is a potential networking opportunity. If you are growing a business, you need to view every single person you meet as a potential advocate or customer for your company. This is a lesson I learned from my father, who was always talking to people. It’s also a skill I’ve passed on to my son’s, Joseph my 22 year old once found a brilliant partner for BigChange just by chatting to the people at the next table in a restaurant while we were out for dinner. I was so proud!

Here are some of the ways I turn any situation into a sales opportunity:

Trains, planes and automobiles

Whenever I’m travelling, I talk to people, and I travel a lot. I like to make eye contact with whoever is sitting opposite me and ask, “How was your day?” or “How’s business?” Or an old faithful is: “Do you know what time this train arrives in London?” That’s a reliable conversation starter, as it usually leads to us both moaning about delays, expensive fares and poor service. You never know who you’ll meet if you talk to strangers and, at the very least, you might make an interesting new friend.

One tip I would add is to have a sticker with your company logo on your laptop when you’re working on the train. People are often curious. The other week, the guy sitting next to me on the train looked me up on LinkedIn and told me, “Your CIO used to work for my company!”

LinkedIn Find Nearby

The LinkedIn app has a feature that allows you to see connections around you. If you activate the ‘Find Nearby’ option, you can see if any professional contacts are on your train or at your event so you can say hello in person. I love it when technology actually makes a face-to-face connection easier instead of harder. You can find out more about Find Nearby here: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/75689/using-the-find-nearby-feature?lang=en

Networking events

I used to be really sceptical about organised networking. I thought it was a rip off, full of people who were unlikely to generate sales for my business. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m a big supporter of the BNI movement, which hosts breakfasts for professionals. It’s amazing! You have to provide testimonials before you can attend, so everyone there – whether they are a plumber or a software developer – comes highly recommended by people they have worked with. Even if you don’t generate sales from these events, it’s a really useful way to practice your pitch and grow in confidence. A lot of people who run businesses aren’t the best at promoting themselves or their businesses, and even serial entrepreneurs like me benefit from a bit of practice now and then.

Exhibitions

I attend a lot of trade fairs with BigChange and I have several tried-and-tested ways of getting people to stop and talk to me. I’m going to let you in on a couple of my secrets (no charge!). The first is to try and shake someone’s hand as they approach. Most people can’t help it, and you both end up laughing and having a chat. The other is to say, “I’m sure I know you”. When they say they can’t remember you, look at their name badge and say, “Michael! It’s you!” Even when you confess that you’re complete strangers, it’s a conversation starter!

What’s the strangest place you’ve made a contact or sale? Share your tips in the comments!

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – Help! Should I take a sabbatical?

Posted on 25 July 2019 by Martin Port

I have been building BigChange for the last seven years. During that time, I suppose I have technically taken the occasional holiday but never more than a fortnight and I’ve always been on email the whole time, so it wasn’t a total break.

I recently received an email from a business associate who wants to take a sabbatical from work. He had been with the business five years and wanted to recharge his batteries. This got me thinking: how do we avoid burn out as entrepreneurs? And when is a good time for a sabbatical from your business?

I have lived and breathed BigChange since we launched but there are times when I feel tired and in need of motivation. I have found that four things can help get me out of an energy rut.

Have a huddle

For me, there is nothing more energising than getting the whole company together to talk about our plans for the future, and our latest achievements. Mondays are the toughest day of the week for me. Unless I have worked Sunday, I come in to a mountain of emails and I find it difficult to get excited about the day. This is why I schedule a 9am huddle to kick-start my week. It takes just 10 minutes but we get the team together and talk about how we are going to increase sales, the latest improvements to customer service, new hires, and ways to drive the business forward. These huddles give me a real boost. Even colleagues who work remotely dial in, and we record the whole thing to send to people who can’t be there. Listening to those recordings is motivation in itself.

Treat the team

I feel that we spend too much time emailing one another and not enough time having face-to-face interactions. This is why I like to have events booked in where I can spend time with my team. These people remind me why I love building this business: they are loyal, driven, and creative. My colleague Geoff is about to celebrate his 65th birthday, so I am taking the whole team out to bingo in his honour. It’ll be a great night out and give me the valuable time with team members that I need to stay motivated.

Get a PA

One of the best ways to avoid burn out is to have a brilliant executive assistant who can take care of all the admin and diary commitments. I finally appointed a new PA and she is helping me manage my time much better. I am spending less time trying to correct my spelling and grammar in emails and more time with customers, or focusing on strategy. That has been hugely motivating for me.

Good coffee

Someone asked me what I do when I’ve had a hard day and building a business is an uphill struggle. I make myself a coffee. But not just any coffee. I have my own machine that makes my coffee just the way I like it. My Jura machine doesn’t make an ordinary cup of Joe – mine’s an illy full strength bean to cup – it’s a real treat, and picks me up whenever I am low.

Even though these four strategies have been fundamental to avoiding burn out, I am still toying with the idea of a sabbatical. I’d love to give my team the chance to thrive without me. It would also prove that I have the right processes in place, which mean I don’t need to be around all the time. But how long should I take? Is four weeks enough time to recharge? And what should I do? Go to a mindfulness retreat or some kind of entrepreneur camp? All ideas and recommendations gratefully received. And if you have other smart ways you avoid burn out, please share those too.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – Local government needs to make a big change

Posted on 11 July 2019 by Martin Port

The UK public sector employs more than 27m people – nearly 20pc of Britain’s population. This enormous patchwork of institutions, from local councils to central government departments, has a total spend of around £800bn.

When you are dealing with organisations of this size, it is natural that there will be inefficiencies. A single local council needs to cover hundreds of different disciplines, from pruning trees to special needs education, gritting roads to pest control. Each of these individual disciplines is likely to have its own IT system and operational platform. This means that a single council can run more than 70 different systems, none of which talk to one another, each linked to a separate budget.

As an entrepreneur, this model frustrates me. Silos are counterproductive: you can’t pass on best practice, share resource, or collectively problem-solve when you operate in a bubble.

There is another issue: the way that government budgets are allocated completely destroys any incentive for councils to unify operations or work with other departments. When the government slashed local council budgets a few years ago, the austerity measures meant that salary increases were stopped and any budget left over at the end of the year was reclaimed. Local councils now rush to spend their entire budget or risk losing it. Different departments are in competition with each other, which prevents them from working for the greater good. It’s quite perverse and the opposite of a pro-efficiency mindset.

At BigChange, we work with several local councils. Unlike many of their peers, these councils are battling these pressures and are trying to change. They have brought in the digital transformation specialists and business improvement executives and are actively looking to modernise.

Our platform typically takes out up to five legacy systems in one go, replacing them with a seamless, cross-discipline platform that unites the tree surgeons, special needs teachers and gritters alike. It’s incredibly exciting to see the savings that we can generate. And these councils shouldn’t have to lose their budgets; they should be able to funnel the savings into other under-funded projects, such as help for the disabled.

This would be a revolutionary change to the outmoded model but one that is sorely needed. There is huge potential for us, and others like us, to help councils and other government departments but progress is slow. It’s not down to the people – most councils employ brilliant and committed staff. It’s the system that is flawed.

One of the main reasons that there has been a huge push for government to do more business with small firms like ours is so that the public sector can benefit from our innovation and speed of delivery. But the government must do more: it must take the bold step of incentivising the public sector to make the big changes.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO

CEO’s Blog – No, I’m not crazy. I’ve got superpowers

Posted on 3 July 2019 by Martin Port

If you spot me out and about, whether walking down the street or on the train, chances are you might think I’m crazy.

I’ll be talking away to myself – or at least, that’s how it will seem. “He’s off his head”, you’ll think.

I have posted about my hearing impairment before https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lend-me-your-ears-how-i-made-business-despite-losing-my-martin-port/ but what most people don’t know is that my hearing aids have built-in Bluetooth technology. I also have a small microphone pinned to the inside of my shirt. Both are practically invisible, so when I get a call, answer and start chatting away, passers-by are understandably confused.

It’s been a real eye-opener, seeing the different reactions. Some are bad, but I have also been overwhelmed by the kindness of many people, who come over to check if I’m okay or need help.

The experience has reminded me of an important tenet in business (and in life): to never judge people, or make presumptions about them.

It was a lesson I learned early on, when I ran a bakery business. I would go out with a basket and encourage people to sample my freshly-baked bread. Some people would decide to buy, and some wouldn’t. But it was never obvious who would turn out to be a good prospect: you needed to give everyone a taste.

Last year, BigChange was exhibiting at a trade show. All our salespeople are friendly and engaging with everyone, regardless of whether they seem like a potential client or not. One guy came over. He was in casual dress, wearing a plain rucksack. No Rolex. Yet it turned out that he was the manager of a very successful business. He got chatting to my sales director and, recently, that chance meeting has resulted in a £500,000 order.

Appearances can be deceptive. I’m not doolally, I’m an entrepreneur and technophile with cutting edge hearing aids. When people take the time to ask, I always explain the situation. It would be a mistake to judge me, and I make it my policy – and BigChange’s – to treat others the same way. And it’s proved to be good for business too.

Martin Port
Founder & CEO