The son of a charismatic and charming proprietor of the best hotel in Newark, I was never much of an academic. After leaving school and agricultural college with a clean record of no qualifications I built my first business cutting grass and demolishing old houses so that by 21 I had twenty blokes working for me.

But the real fun started when I discovered the merits of making artificial sports and play surfaces from recycled lorry tyres. Taking as my motto the words “someone said it couldn’t be done” I proved to everyone from bank managers to competitors that if you’ve got the heart and won’t give up you can do it.

Well I did and this book aims to tell you how and what I did and what you need to know if you’re going to follow my route and become a successful entrepreneur. 

One of my earliest ambitions was to have a Rolls Royce by the age of 30 - but if you want to find out whether or not I succeeded you’ll have to buy the book. Lesson one in business!