Sir Tom Farmer praises innovative businesses following live and interactive seminar with five locations around the county.

1st February 2012

One of the UK’s most successful businessmen enjoyed a career first when his talk on Tuesday 31st January from Gateshead was screened live across the UK.
 
Sir Tom Farmer, the founder of the global car repair chain Kwik-Fit, made a special visit to the region to give his address, which was then simultaneously streamed to four other cities and more than 200 attendees nationwide.

Sir Tom, who also took questions from attendees at Yours Business Networks sites at Kings Lynn and Nantwich as well as the University of East Anglia Norwich and London campuses, said: “I have done countless video conferences but this is the first time I’ve given an interactive presentation to a nationwide audience.

“This technology has enabled me to reach a large number of people without any of the accommodation or travel costs I would normally incur.

Business people throughout the regions attended the event at which Sir Tom – the self-styled ‘original Kwik-Fit fitter’ -  talked about his 45 years in business and gave some advice for those starting out.

“It’s all about people,” he said. “You need to ensure the people you work with have a ‘can do’ attitude.

“At Kwik-Fit our tyres weren’t any different to anyone else’s, our prices weren’t always the lowest but, out of our 12,000 staff, at least 80 per cent were better than our competitors’ and that is what made us the best.”

Sir Tom is the latest high-profile speaker to address audiences at the Yours Business Networks hub with previous guests including Jon Moulton, founder and managing partner of private equity firm Better Capital.

For more information about any of the Yours Business Networks facilities and up and coming events please contact Hayliegh Beckles on 01553 611120 or email kingslynn@yoursnetworks.co.uk