Last week, Rob and I delivered a (very lively and enjoyable) breakfast seminar at the East Lancs Chamber of Commerce.

We were pleasantly surprised at how many people turned up bright and early to hear our pearls of wisdom! So thanks to them and for the tremendous feedback we’ve received since.

The very next day, Rob and I flew out to Fuerteventura to do some filming and on the way out, Rob passed on to me the recent book by multi-millionaire Theo Paphitis of ‘Dragon’s Den’ fame.

Towards the end of the very readable book, Theo gave advice to entrepreneurs trying to get his backing on the show. And his words emphasised the message we were delivering the day before — that how you present yourself is crucial to success.

In giving advice as to how people could win his support, he said:”First, I’ve got to like the person or people making the pitch. If I don’t like them, I don’t want to be in business with them.

“They might have the best product or idea in the world, but if I don’t like the look of them, I’m not going to invest.”

That’s the message we try to get across to anyone in business: your product or your expertise must be first-rate; your pricing must be competitive…but it’s how you present yourself that counts in the end. It is exactly the sort of training we at Optu deliver to people running both small and large enterprises.

Theo Paphitis is spot on. But you’d expect that from a multi, multi-millionaire!

Steve Ireland