December 2003
As a businessman with a very public persona and a career in broadcasting do you find this a help or a hindrance?

I’ve become accustomed to it. I have actually been surprised how quickly the Crinkley Bottom days have disappeared and I’m grateful for that. Generally speaking it’s only lazy journalists who try to make some Mr. Blobby-related comment. I’m not bothered about it at all. I’m actually very pleased how people have taken note of what I’m saying and what I’m doing in this market. And I think that’s because I now have quite a lot of experience and a platform of knowledge. I put my money where my mouth is and I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve pumped millions into videoconferencing and, if I’m not successful, it’s going to be extremely painful. I’m a determined individual and people are taking me seriously. I was addressing the annual dinner of the IoD in Belfast and was really pleased to read a report saying it was very entertaining and very informative. I think sometimes people are interested to see there is another Noel Edmonds and there is another side to me. You wouldn’t want to spend your whole life being chased around by a pink and yellow latex monster.

But when people think of an entrepreneur or successful businessman, despite being a public figure, you’re not exactly the first name on their lips. Does that bother you?

I have no desire to be positioned as an entrepreneur or attempt to get into the company of people like Branson. I’m actually motivated by making my business successful. Tales of my wealth are hugely exaggerated and I need these businesses to succeed for my staff and shareholders and for our clients, so that’s my motivation. If someone came along to offer me money for my businesses now, if the price was right I’d be quite happy to sell and go and sit on a beach somewhere.

That’s interesting because, as someone who’s been in the limelight, the expectation would be you’d want to stay there even in a business context

There are more people who want to have a pop at me than will write a decent well-balanced article. It’s very easy to point out the things that haven’t worked out. But, as Mr. Branson says, if three out of 10 work you’re lucky. It’s a hard road we’re taking and involves a lot of my time because I am determined to be successful. I do think it can make a big difference to the environment and to society, particularly disabled groups and those who are housebound. But my bottom line is to have a successful business because we’re in business to make money.

You mentioned some of your ventures which haven’t worked as well. How do you cope with that, and with the criticism you yourself have had to endure as a result?

The only key is probably self-belief, but sometimes it’s extremely difficult to find if you’re reading nasty things about yourself and if the numbers don’t look good. If you haven’t had your back to the wall at least once you’re not really trying, and I think, regrettably, you do need to look at the numbers and be frightened. I do subscribe to the old hackneyed saying in life that if you don’t risk anything you actually risk everything. I had no idea when I got into radio that one day I would make the transition into TV. I took the risk, I have the rewards, but when people write nasty things about you as a person and they’ve never met you it’s hard. They judge you by something you did on TV which is not life and death stuff. I take the responsibility of employing people very seriously and I think they’re the things you’ve really got to focus on.

Where does that self-belief and determination come from?

I was very fortunate, I was brought up to focus on three things; love, security and opportunity. My parents always wanted me to have opportunity. They were hell bent on getting their only son to go to university and three weeks before I was due to go I turned round and said I was going to become a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg. They had every opportunity to say something against it, but they realised they had created a situation where that kind of thing might happen. I try to do that with my own children. In life in general you need to expose yourself to opportunity and then make the right decisions.

So is it nature or nurture which breeds success?

There are a lot of very glib phrases on the subject and I collect them. We’ve all listened to people explain how to make money and the secrets of their success but actually I don’t think there is a formula, just a lot of common sense. As with anything in life those people that learn quickly will always have an advantage, and the secret probably is not to make the same mistake twice.