Rather than using the current economic downturn as an excuse to cut jobs and shelve new business ideas, Paphitis believes such conditions offer huge opportunities, "I don't subscribe to the view that recessions mean doom and gloom. I'm starting the biggest venture of my life at the moment. I'm launching a new online retail concept called Boux Avenue. It's in lingerie, it's in retail, its in the high street, its physical as well as online. But I'm not in it just for the next 6 months, year or two years; I'm in it for the long haul"
Theo is unwavering in his support of SME's and believes that if you have a sound business model then you shouldn't fear starting up a new venture. "Now is a great time to start a business, because tough times build tough businesses," he says. "If you can make it now, you will thrive when things get better. And, despite what some say, Britain is a great place to be. We're a nation of entrepreneurs and it makes me proud to be among their ranks. There are an incredible 10,000 businesses starting up in Britain every single week. It shows what an excellent pool of entrepreneurial talent we have in this country."
For Paphitis, himself business has not always been smooth sailing and he talks candidly about early set backs and financial difficulties. His honest approach to failure is aimed at removing the stigma that still lingers around business culture in Britain. Since those early
"Britain is a great place to be. We're a nation of entrepreneurs and it makes me proud to be among their ranks."
set backs Theo has built a reputation for no nonsense, common sense driven business building. He has been responsible for reviving the fortunes of flagging high street retail brands such as La Senza Lingerie (UK), Contessa Lingerie, Ryman, Partners the Stationers and Stationery Box.
For many would-be entrepreneurs the major obstacle to getting their business off the ground is access to finance. Whilst Theo is sympathetic of the need for capital he doesn't subscribe to the media's assertion that banks aren't lending, "There is money out there- all the banks I talk to keep saying to me 'we have loads of money and we are desperate to lend it but what we're not seeing is people asking us for it. And the ones asking for it are not being realistic'."
Whilst the banks may get off relatively lightly, government doesn't, "there's no point the government sitting there and saying 'the whole economy downturn is the fault of the banks, nothing to do with us politicians... we didn't put the regulations in place that allowed all of this to happen, we accept no responsibility whatsoever and the banks are doing it to us all over again by not lending'."
Theo is adamant that tackling the current economic woes and stimulating economic growth requires politicians to rise above party politics. In pointed comments at both the current coalition and previous Labour governments he adds, "when they appoint business guru's or business tsar's they have got to choose people who are not following party political agenda's. There's a lot to do out there, there's a lot of businesses which do need help, there are a lot of constraints on small business from regulations which do need to be resolved and there does need to be a little more liquidity in the markets. But above all else employment is the key. If people are confident about their jobs they will spend money, buy things and it creates further jobs. In turn they spend money, buy things and do things and it snowballs from there. If people are not confident about their jobs they tighten up and save money. Saving money is bad at the moment, we need people to have the confidence to spend it."
So, what does a TV Dragon and one of the UK's most prolific entrepreneurs think is the secret behind his success. His answer, unsurprisingly is straightforward, "keep it simple. I've always maintained the basic business principle of keeping it simple, doing your homework, hard work and common sense. What makes business exciting is that you don't need a fancy degree. Anyone can do it. Common sense is critical because its not so common. It's a rare commodity and I seem to have a little bit of it and I am also able to work things out logically."
One of Theo's recent successes has been in using social media to promote his profile, business ventures but also the many charitable causes which he champions. He currently has nearly 100,000 followers on Twitter and posts several times a day, many of which are in support of SME's. He is adamant of the massive role that social media will continue to play in connecting business to customers and describes how moments before our interview he bumped into a young entrepreneur whose product he had recently re-tweeted. Off the back of one 140 character Tweet the entrepreneurs followers went up, hits on the website went up and as a result he quadrupled his orders for that week- that's the power of social media.
For Theo, events like the Entrepreneur Country Forum are much like social media and critical to business. In his own words, 'it's all about networking and that's why events like the Entrepreneur Country Forum are so important for the business world. It allows you to network, meet other people, not just get ideas from them but actually hopefully do business as well, because doing business is not a dirty word."
So, how critical then are SME's in getting the UK economy growing? Well again unsurprisingly Paphitis thinks it's the single most important tool for creating employment and thus generating growth, "there are almost five million SMEs here and they represent a whacking 58 per cent of the private-sector workforce," he says. "Without small businesses, Britain's economy would go down the pan. They are pulling this country out of recession by providing jobs. By giving people work, they put money into households. That money goes into the wider economy and retailers like me are incredibly grateful to the small businesses up and down the nation. They are the engine room of the British economy."
Theo is never short on comment or advice. He's relaxed and candid in his views and there's no doubt that his no frills approach to business resonates with the public and has contributed to his phenomenal success and popularity. He closes our interview in typical Paphitis style, "whatever you do as a start-up entrepreneur you're in it for the long haul. It's not about getting rich quick, if you want to do that then try your luck at the casino or on the horses because in business it is very rare."
