Gerald Ratner will top the bill at the Ideal Business Show next month, a business to business event which replaces B2B Thames Valley after the original organiser – like Mr Ratner – went out of business.
When i talked to Ratner, he explained his darker moments and how he clawed his way back. Cycling, he said helped him stave off depression but eventually he decided that if he couldn’t beat ’em he would join ’em and now tells his story to business audiences.
It was in 1991 Mr Ratner told an IoD meeting his shops’ products were ‘total crap’. He was also on record as saying some Ratner earrings were “cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn’t last as long".
Year: 2008
In the firing line
Sir Alan Sugar has no problem doing it. In fact, he’s making a whole media career out of it and he’s even coined a catchphrase to go with the action. ‘You&’re fired’ he cries with sadistic glee at the end of every episode of BBC’s The Apprentice.
VoIP: 21st Century telephony
You have to admit it’s pretty tricky to keep up with developments in technology. Even if you love gadgets, the way in which they evolve is so rapid that just as you’re getting to grips with your shiny new PDA, something new is released that makes your tiny piece of wizardry look like a clunking museum piece.
Succeeding in the early years
Running a start up business can be challenging – around a quarter of new enterprises do not survive the first year. Having undergone these challenges when setting up his own company nine years ago, Bill Duncan, partner of Fifth Dimension, has advice for those who find themselves in a similar position.
