TREATING employees well and having fun are two of the key ingredients to success in business.
That is according to a man who has spent many years starring alongside Alan Sugar on the BBC series The Apprentice.
Nick Hewer was Lord Sugar’s trusted sidekick who oversaw the performance of dozens of aspiring entrepreneurs on the show. And he gave an insight into his life in business during a networking session hosted at Vulcan Works by Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District.
During the talk, the experienced PR businessman revealed how he had worked with Lord Sugar as a PR consultant to his Amstrad empire and had enjoyed a long-standing relationship with other global clients including Securicor.
“My career was mainly about having a bit of fun really,” Mr Hewer recalled. “I was never in it for the money. That was Alan’s thing – he loved to make money. Perhaps I wish I had been a bit more commercial but I just wanted to make sure my team were well paid and enjoyed what they were doing. That was enough for me.”
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Main picture: Nick Hewer (right) with Mark Mullen, Northampton Town centre BID’s operations manager.
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Mr Hewer, who lives in Preston Deanery, treated his audience to a number of well-received anecdotes from his time on The Apprentice. Not every contestant could be classed as ‘Britain’s brightest business brains’, he admitted.
Mark Mullen, operations manager at Northampton Town Centre BID, said: “As the voice of town centre businesses, we wanted to provide a platform to allow businesses to get together, meet each other and establish closer working relationships that will ultimately benefit the whole town.
“Hearing direct from Nick, who has spent decades working with some of the country’s biggest brands, was inspiring and gives all those in attendance an opportunity to think more about their own business.”
The event was part of the BID’s regular Business Networking programme. Dozens of business owners attended the session, which ended with many posing for selfies with the former Countdown host.
James Tarry, vice chair of Cheyne Walk Club, said: “A very impressive start to the BID’s project to get the local businesses to get to know each other and what they do.”
Dean Jones, head of giving and development at the Northamptonshire Community Foundation, added: “A great venue and the talk from Nick was very entertaining, inspiring and engaging. Having experienced his support on previous occasions, I’m always taken by his generosity of spirit and time.”
More details about the next BID Business Networking session will be released soon at www.northamptonbid.co.uk, Mr Mullen said.
