Business

Going into business

• Interviewer: When did you first go into business?
• Jeffries: I set up a small business selling office equipment in 2001. Then in 2003, I went into partnership with my old friend, Ethan Smith. We made a loss for the first two years, but then things got better and we’ve made a profit for most years ever since. But there have been bad times, too.
• Interviewer: In what way?
• Jeffries: Well, during the economic recession, a lot of small businesses were going under¹, and I thought our business would fold². All around us, small firms were going bankrupt³. But in 2010 we won a contract, despite stiff competition, to supply the local government offices. That was an important moment for us. We took on staff and expanded. We were proud that we had created jobs for local people at a time when unemployment was high. Our sales figures improved steadily and soon we had an annual turnover4 of more than eighteen million pounds.
• Interviewer: So what’s the secret of your success?
• Jeffries: Well, we’re quite cautious. For instance, we always carry out⁵ market research before launching a new product. But we also firmly believe in customer service, especially after-sales service. But at the end of the day, running a successful business is a combination of hard work, luck and intuition.
• Interviewer: Finally, there are rumours that you may float the company⁶ on the stock market.
• Jeffries: At the moment we have no intention of going public⁷. People shouldn’t believe everything they read online!

• ¹ failing financially
• ² close because of failure
• ³ unable to pay debts, so the company’s property is sold by order of a court of law
• ⁴ amount of business a company does in a year
• ⁵ the formal equivalent would be conduct market research
• ⁶ and ⁷ start selling shares in a business or company for the first time