Logged In With…Colin Lawson
Logged in with… Colin Lawson
Organisation: Equilibrium Asset Management Employees: 25
Job title: Managing partner
Career highlights: Being accepted as a YTS trainee at the Automobile Association on £27 per week after leaving school with one O level and believing I would be on the dole for years; Getting my first ‘proper job’ at Norwich Union and then progressing into sales. Finally establishing Applewood Financial at age 25 and never looking back.
Who has had the biggest influence on your career to date? Many individuals have shaped my career but the biggest in terms of impact has to be the American personal development guru Tony Robbins. I went on his Unleash The Power Within three-day course in 1995.
Within the first three hours you complete a 20ft fire walk over coals which are 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. It taught me the only limiting factor to your success is your own limiting beliefs. It taught me things I had previously thought were impossible were achievable if I could combine the right strategy with commitment and effort
What are your key responsibilities? Seeing into the future and setting strategies for the firm to stay ahead of the curve;, setting challenging goals and then leaving the team to work out how to achieve them; managing £160m of clients’ hard-earned cash
What do you enjoy most and least about your role? I love being creative, identifying what I call Equilibrium upgrades which will either enhance a client’s experience of dealing with us or help them make more intelligent choices with their money.
I love creating wealth as we have done with our ‘Pensions for Grandchildren’ campaign. We have clients aged five with more money in their pensions than some of our 30-year-old staff members. For the least it has to be the nitty gritty, admin tasks. Fortunately I am delegating more and more of this so I can concentrate on the above.
As a business leader, what’s the key to managing people? I wish I knew the secret. While I am currently able to lead the company and leave the management to others, I also realise as the company grows I will need to manage the management! I am therefore working on my skills so I listen more and rant less.
What are the biggest barriers to your organisation’s success? Our own limiting thoughts, recruiting quality staff – common sense and proactivity is rare to find and unfortunately there is no degree in it
What would make the North West an even better place to live and work? This is an easy one. Sunshine and the tax status of Monaco
How has technology changed your life in the last five years? It hasn’t had any impact on me personally but the business has been transformed. The mountains of paper are now reducing and reaction times increasing. In 2007, it took 2000 plus switch forms to get clients out of commercial property and almost a month’s work for the entire team. Now two people can press a few buttons and we are all done in a day. We are now looking at creating our own software system to deliver our investment process
If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what alternative career would you choose and why? I originally wanted to be a fighter pilot – Top Gun has a lot to answer for! I applied to the RAF who explained I couldn’t because they wanted slightly more than one O level for pilots. I signed up for an administrative role thinking I could get the qualifications later but was turned down due to asthma.
Which sectors do you think will thrive/ struggle in the coming years? Investment management. After decades of negative savings rates, individuals are waking up to the reality that the state and their house won’t fund their retirement. To retire on £20k per year, you are going to realistically need a £500k fund and that’s going to need professional management.
Also high-end retail. The emerging worlds’ upper class all want to wear Jimmy Choos and own Chanel handbags.
What do you feel are the key skills/qualities needed to run a successful business in the 21st Century? The pace of change is accelerating at an unbelievable rate. I think the ability to see round the corner coupled with the willingness and ability to change quickly are the keys. Past success is irrelevant and any business that stands still will die.
Which public figure do you admire most and why? Lord Sugar. He is a legend. And, of course, Warren Buffett. To start with nothing and turn it into $600 billion is not a bad achievement. Giving it all away as he is planning to is an even bigger one.
In five words, describe your character: I asked the team they said….driven, determined, infectious, charismatic and volatile. I like the first four, I will work on the last one.
Which actor/actress would you chose to play you in a film? Someone who could put across the above qualities. Probably Eric Cantona as I am told he looks like me and I think he has all those qualities
Where’s your favourite holiday destination and why? There is a small Island in the Caribbean called Canouan. It’s surrounded by an amazing reef and is heaven on earth.
