TheBusinessDesk.com Interview with – David Marsden

Less tax will lead to more small business innovation. Or so says David Marsden, managing director of Leeds-based national telecommunications and IT specialist Applegarth, in this week’s TheBusinessDesk.com Interview.

What aspects of your job/profession do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy watching team members grow and develop.

What key challenges do you anticipate will affect your sector/profession over the next six months?

The application of new technology and how best to “stay ahead of the game”. Also how to find the sales opportunities in the “credit crunch” that’s now taking hold, and achieve greater results.

What key skills do you think every entrepreneur should have?

To listen, ask questions and not be afraid to make decisions, and most of all be persistent!

Why do you think Yorkshire is a good place to start up/operate a business?

Yorkshire is a great place to operate a business, people here are friendly and most people in business will always listen to what you have to say, you almost always get honest feedback. Where else in the country can you say that? However, it’s attitude and a desire to succeed not location that really counts.

If you could improve anything in the region what would it be?

The A1 & the M62. I am so sick of traffic jams…need I say anymore?

Do you think that red tape is hindering business growth in the UK?

Not so much the red tape, as the taxation of SMB’s. It’s time the government gave businesses an opportunity to use profits better to foster growth and employment, and not forever find more ways to tax us more.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

If you don’t try, you will never succeed (or fail).

And the worst?

In 1980, “no don’t buy that house, house prices are not going to go up much.”

What barriers have you had to overcome in growing your business/developing your career, and if any, can you explain how you overcame them.

Anybody starting a business quickly learns that they have to be “all things to all men” – sales/support/admin/caring employer/expert interviewer are just a few of the roles that come to mind. You have to overcome and learn new skills quickly, be able to do several things at once (always easier for women than men!) and never ever forget the cash flow is most important. I learned from my mistakes quickly, and always kept the objectives and targets in mind.

What was your first job and what did you spend your first wage packet on?

I was a shop assistant in a menswear shop. My first wage was £11. I had a great night out on £4, kept a £1 for my week’s bus fare, and gave £5 to my mother for board.

If you could choose to start your career over again would you do anything different and if so what?

Of course. The grass is always greener somewhere else. How do you get a job as a Travel TV presenter or better still, who goes and finds/tests all the wine in Tesco?!