The Interview – Resort owner Mark Alston on the importance of resilience
BLUE Sky Resorts was co-launched by Mark Alston in 2004 with the acquisition of Nostell Priory Holiday Park, near Wakefield and now has four sites across Yorkshire. In this week’s The Interview read why he thinks resilience is essential.
What aspects of your job/profession do you enjoy the most?
Our philosophy at Blue Sky Resorts is very much about innovation and having a go. So, from a business perspective, bringing developments and projects to fruition gives me the most satisfaction. I also really enjoy visiting our parks and talking to customers during the summer months. We British have a strong affinity with holiday parks, probably because of happy family memories and I like to think we contribute to that.
What key challenges do you anticipate will affect your sector/profession over the next six months?
The largest issue is a shortage of liquidity in the economy for acquisition or development. At an operational level, the loss of caravan manufacturing capacity and the fact that dealers will no longer provide pay-when-sold demonstration stock, mean we have to manage our stocks more skilfully. Before 2007, customers would downsize their main homes to invest in premium caravan holiday homes as a life-style choice. This now happens less frequently because of falling house prices. The challenge is to find new ways to grow our business and help customers to enjoy their leisure time on UK holiday parks.
What key skills do you think every entrepreneur should have?
Resilience, Resilience Resilience!
Why do you think Yorkshire is a good place to start up/operate a business?
I don’t think we’ve gained any substantive benefits from being based in Yorkshire. But we’ve never actively sought any! However, having said that, the work ethic is very strong in Yorkshire and we have attracted team members who are prepared to go the extra mile for our customers. We seldom encounter ‘clock watchers’.
If you could improve anything in the region what would it be?
I’d like to have a candid off-the-record chat with council planners! And I’d improve the A64 to Scarborough.
Your views on the recession……
It started six months before the press reported it; we’d seen a corresponding downturn in sales from late 2007 onward. The effect of the credit crunch being widely reported was to suppress spending further. However, the holiday and touring side of our business has definitely benefited from customers deciding to stay in the UK. Despite this, caravan sales remain sluggish and sales values are depressed. On a positive note, there is evidence the downturn has flattened out and some tentative growth is returning. We now need greater access to liquidity and some good news stories to boost confidence. In the meantime, we will continue to manage our business carefully.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, work with whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along”- Napoleon Hill.
And the worst?
The career advisor at school suggested I should take a job at the local soap factory. Luckily I ignored him and ran off to France to be a holiday rep. But that’s another story!
What barriers have you had to overcome in growing your business/developing your career, and can you explain how you overcame them?
We launched Blue Sky Resorts on a shoestring budget. I raised my share by selling my house and living in a caravan, so the lack of development and operating capital was a big challenge in the early days. We compensated by doing much of the work ourselves and by creating innovative income streams outside our core business. These extra income streams, born from necessity, are now fundamental to our business model and are driving us forward. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention.
What was your first job and what did you spend your first wage packet on?
I had a Saturday job in a butcher’s shop, which was fairly gruesome. I saved up and bought a CB radio.
If you could choose to start your career over again would you do anything different and, if so, what?
I’d have taken my education a lot more seriously! I never doubted that I would launch my own business, but I do think that better qualifications and a wider perspective would have made the route to success a lot easier.
Name one item/hobby/gadget you couldn’t give up
I don’t readily switch off – at the first opportunity I’m back in the office, or sending emails from wherever I find myself. I like to practice Wing Chun, Tai Chi and Yoga and it’s here that I manage to empty my mind and forget about the business. These disciplines serve to balance my life and ensure that I’m ‘fit for purpose’ as a husband, father and director.
