Entrepreneurs are travelling further, and for longer, to meet clients – the government estimates the average UK business car journey time has risen by nearly a third over the past 15 years.
But although cars provide a more convenient and comfortable experience than a packed train en route to a meeting, the question of which car to drive is more complex than simply selecting a mechnaism to take you from A to B.
An entrepreneur’s vehicle can be a significant personal status symbol – an immediate, gleaming sign of success that can be paraded to nods of appreciation from other drivers. What’s more, once you’ve pulled into a client’s car park, your vehicle’s role doesn’t end when you turn off the engine. Cars, just as much as clothes, hairstyles or accents, provoke a strong, if sometimes subconscious, judgement of the owner by others.
Making sure that your car provides an accurate snapshot of your business – preferably professional, reliable and of high quality – can be a challenge if your vehicle is overly ostentatious or, worse, looks like you should make an urgent telephone call to your local scrap heap. Throw in the additional need for travel outside working hours, and it’s apparent that your choice of car will be one of the most important decisions you make.
We asked nine entrepreneurs to talk about their cars. While we spoke to a couple of unashamed ‘petrol heads’, it became clear that even those who weren’t huge car fans cared about what they drove.
The client-facing vehicle
Name: Ben Allan
Company: TILT
Focus: Marketing
Car: Honda S2000
Ben Allan, founder of high-growth marketing agency TILT, feels his car, a Honda S2000, is an accurate reflection of his business.
“The image it gives off is understated, but it’s a class act,” he says of the two-seater. “That’s how we present ourselves as a business. We’re a professional company, but without being over-the-top and pretentious.”
The sleek design, not to mention the fact that the speed dial can leap from zero to 60mph in just six seconds, guarantees Allan’s car receives admiring glances from clients. But the Southampton-based entrepreneur is careful not to brazenly flaunt his success.
“It would be detrimental to turn up in a huge luxury car,” he insists. “Some clients might think we were making lots of money and try to beat us down on rates.
“At the same time, you don’t want to turn up in a clapped out old banger. We try to project an image that’s quite classy and sophisticated. It’s perfect for the stage we’re at. We’re a young business and the car is young and dynamic, too. And it reflects well on our growth cycle.”
Allan uses the car regularly to visit potential clients to aid the relentless battle for new business in a notoriously competitive industry. He confirms that he sees the car as a personal status symbol, but concedes that client-wowing style has come at the price of comfort.
The Honda is dispensed for lengthy journeys in favour of a company car that’s kinder on the driver’s body, while the fact that the S2000 has just two seats can throw up practicality issues when visiting clients.
However, Allan is unrepentant over his choice, claiming the car is an excellent vehicle in its own right.
“It’s underrated in a way I like,” he says. “It’s a superb performance car and is certainly much better than all the ‘hairdresser’ girls’ sports cars out there.”
The dream machine
Name: Mark Roy
Company: The ReAD Group
Focus: Marketing data
Car: Aston Martin DB9
Some entrepreneurs use their high-end cars as little more than mobile billboards of their company’s success. For Mark Roy, however, his Aston Martin DB9 is the fulfilment of a personal dream.
Despite his marketing data firm, The ReAD Group, being a mere three miles away from his Kent home, Roy relishes every corner and gear change the journey affords.
“I use the DB9 all the time,” explains Roy, who is chief executive officer of the group. “You can’t just wave goodbye to it each morning. The journey to work includes a 600-metre dual carriageway where I like to put the roof down and pretend I’m on the Autobahn.”
The DB9 is Roy’s fourth Aston Martin, the first being an “extravagant purchase” on his 40th birthday. But his love of the most quintessentially British of cars has deeper roots. “From the age of six, I played with James Bond dinky car toys,” he recalls.
“From that point, Aston Martin has been the pinnacle of cars for me.”
Having spent several years building the Group to a £13m turnover business, Roy found himself in a position to upgrade his car from a Renault Laguna to the Aston Martin. He feels that the tangible success of his entrepreneurialism has proved inspirational to his staff at the group. While impressed members often stand admiringly around the DB9 when Roy visits his local golf club, he’s keen to remind others of his Laguna-driving days, to highlight the toil of growing the business from a £25,000 start-up in 1991.
When asked what his dream car is, Roy’s answer is obvious. “I’m driving it,” he says. “Aston Martin is the archetypal car. Certain cars suit certain people. Porsches are for people with beer bellies and small penises, while Ferraris are for those with nothing better to do with their time.”
Roy’s glee with his car is evident when interacting with clients. He admits to happily removing the car’s roof to provide passengers with a journey sprinkled with glamour. “Success breeds success, and the car provides clients with the comfort that they are dealing with a solid company,” he adds.
The speed freak
Name: Ross Williams
Company: Rawnet
Focus: Design agency
Car: TVR Tuscan
Ross Williams has always had a soft spot for high-performance cars – especially if they happened to be travelling at face-stretchingly fast speeds.
As a boy, the managing director of leading design agency Rawnet adorned his bedroom walls with posters of the original TVR Tuscan, later having the sports car staring out at him from his computer’s screensaver.
So, having forged a successful business career – Williams is also chief executive of dating agency Global Personals – his wheels of choice came as no shock.
“I love the sheer, unadulterated styling of the car,” he enthuses. “I could drive around in a Ford Mondeo which would show that we’re sensible, but in our industry you can show off, without being too poncey. I take it to Brands Hatch in wet conditions when there’s no driver traction. On the track, you really see the raw, animal side of it – it’s got quite an aggressive personality.”
Williams’ love of speed – the £45,800 TVR Tuscan can notch up 180mph – isn’t restricted to cars. He was on a RAF bursary at university and admits to hankering after a private helicopter.
“I’ve back-seated with the RAF in a Tornado F3, but it doesn’t compare to getting the perfect line on a race track,” he says. “The sense of speed is much better, there’s no traction control or electrics, so if you balls it up, it’s your fault.”
Williams is keen to temper his affection for rapidly moving machinery with humility, stressing the work of others that has allowed him to enjoy the trappings of success.
Despite the growling pace of the TVR, Williams insists that he is a careful driver, pointing out that his ambassadorial role for his 30-employee strong business would be damaged by a glut of speeding tickets.
The car has proved a practical tool in luring clients, with Williams often taking existing and potential business partners to track-racing days. And with “five-figure” deals often following, Williams can justify the £200-a-head cost.
The entrepreneur has also met a number of business contacts through various TVR car clubs, with his vehicle providing a “great conversation starter”.
Although Williams’ dream garage would also include an Aston Martin DB9 and a Lamborghini Murcielago, the TVR Tuscan will always retain a certain allure. “I like the exclusivity of it,” he says. “When I see another one, I get a wave from the other driver. There isn’t the snobbery you get with other performance cars.”