I’m often asked, ‘James, how on earth did you go from running a manufacturing firm to a services business?’, but any business revolves largely around caring for its customers and team. It doesn’t matter whether you run a manufacturing company, an estate agent, or a restaurant, investing in people will always reap the greatest returns. In my 25+ years as a business leader, I’ve never lost sight of the importance of people. As business magnate Warren Buffet said: ‘you should focus on your customers and lead people as though their lives depend on your success.’ This mindset helped me develop my first up start-up to a multi-million-pound business. I later helped take it through its sale, proudly protecting our employees’ jobs and rights.