'The Unsinkable Entrepreneur' - Excerpts from the book

From the Preface

If I had logically analysed in advance the risks and the rewards of everything I have done - whether it amounted to a failure or a success - little would have happened. Attempting to understand the unknowns would have paralysed me, an impossible task because, until such time as a thing is encountered, an unknown remains exactly that - unknown. Most of the time I just did things because I wanted to and they felt right.

In this regard being an entrepreneur is more akin to being an artist than being an engineer, doctor or scientist... Depending on your belief system you may ascribe it to divine inspiration or a chemical imbalance in the brain. Wherever the feeling comes from, it urges us to create. To do.

From 'Across the Atlantic...'

We had four refuelling depots around the coast, including the Aran Islands, organised by the secretary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and the plan was to spend only fifteen minutes at each one.

VROOOOMMMMMSSSSHHHH! Engines revving we raced into Kilronan, adrenaline pumping, crash helmets on and under extreme pressure to fill this sexy mother of a boat and get her going around Ireland again.

Then in true Father Ted style, the quite life of the island began to take over. Our diesel tanker was there but it was 10 yards away, so we had to start the tractor to drag it down.

From 'My First Business'

In the end, my work rate and low cost base was so well worked out that it became impossible for Irish Boats and Yachting and Sail and Power to compete - so they dropped out of the marketplace leaving it entirely to Afloat. I will say that it was useful to learn from the mistakes of others, but beyond that it was a total disadvantage for me to come late to the market. What made it work was the fact that I was prepared to work inhumane hours, and no ordinary Irish business could compete with that. You can't succeed against someone who's producing a better product and is doing it at a lower cost.

From 'Setbacks'

Between the Czech Business Journal and my failure to get moving in Poland, I had to learn how to quit. It was a hard thing to do when you are not a natural quitter, but as an entrepreneur it's something you have to learn. You live, you try, you fail, - and you move on.

From 'Globix Telecom and eTel'

We were right in the middle of the heady days of dotcom, telecoms boom. Stratospheric valuations were being made for the most insubstantial companies. Even our own sales tag could have been examined more closely - here was a company being valued at over Euros 100 million which had begun from an investment of Euros 180,000.

At the pinnacle of the technology trading, a dose of reality began to creep back in. The huge sums placed on the companies were questioned, confidence started to slip and the markets began to get shaky.

From 'Finally, and in conclusion...'

Right now, we are in a change period. In the twentieth century, capital and labour were split into two groups that viewed each other with mutual distrust and indeed, polarised themselves into totally opposing political schools of thought. One believed that labour was like all other commodities and could be bought and sold, making capital primarily important. Labour believed it could withhold itself and bargain, or if organised properly could even function without capital.

Thankfully, we have moved beyond that adversarial relationship. There's a heap of money available for the right person with the right idea. Capital and labour can be bridged by the entrepreneur and, in fact, both capital and labour need to be bridged by the entrepreneur. Sure, money can make money, but only in the hands of good entrepreneurs.