Happy 5th Anniversary
Posted on 30th July 2024 at 09:43
Where has the time gone??
Where do I start?

Back in June 2019, I took the bold step to leave corporate life. A regular and significant pay cheque was not easy to walk away from but I was (and to this day I still am) convinced that it was the right thing to do. I had spent the previous ten years building a career that I’d become extremely proud of, but it was time to do something different with my life.
I spent the next few weeks looking at the jobs market but was uninspired by what I found - the only logical solution was to ’go it alone’ and ‘do it for myself’ and hence Haynes Oliver Limited was born.
The early months were spent securing work to keep the ‘wolf from the door’. I was fortunate that over the previous 20
years I had built some good relationships and proved my value to a business. This led to various pieces of work that helped to get things moving and start to build the Haynes Oliver brand.
Bumps in the road
Who knew what was just around the corner, not just for me and for Haynes Oliver but for the entire world! Early in 2020, it started to become apparent that there was a global pandemic unfolding. No one really understood what the subsequent impact was going to be, and I have to admit that I had no clue just how difficult things were going to become.
In many ways, I was one of the fortunate ones. Whilst one contract stopped due to it being face to face, I managed to persuade the other client that the activity could be moved online to keep their project on track. This was to become the saviour of Haynes Oliver Ltd and without this, there is no doubt in my mind that we would not have been able to continue trading. In many ways, it now feels like such a

long time ago, but I clearly remember just how worrying it was at the time, as it was for so many other people too!
The next 12 months continued in a similar vein: in and out of lockdown, trying to secure more work to replace projects as they completed, all the time trying to not lose sight of why I set the business up in the first place….to make a difference!
While cash flow is never far from your mind when running your own business, it was critical to keep a clear view of what I had set out to achieve. When starting the business, I had committed to myself that I needed to build a business not just to be self-employed - I needed to create something with intrinsic value while working towards a reduction in working hours within a 5-year timescale, challenging? Hell yes!
Like most businesses, there have been some knockbacks. Some of these more significant than others - some you brush off and some make you wonder why you are bothering! Relying on your own personal resilience (or some might say stubbornness) becomes crucial to the future success of your business as well as preserving your own sanity! But these are life lessons as well as business lessons, and for sure they shape your thinking when entering into new working relationships.
A further and significant set back was a personal one. Breaking my leg in three places, resulting in plates and pins being inserted, was never conducive to winning at business. Being unable to work for the best part of three months drained all of my financial reserves which felt like a significant setback but hey ho, when life gives you limes, make margaritas!
Go big or go home!
One major decision I made was to ‘put my money where my mouth is’ by developing a SaaS product that supports businesses by linking their training to their commercial performance. As a result of a holiday in Greece and a conversation with my wife, I named this product Titan Learning due to it being the first of its kind! The development of Titan Learning proved to be a bigger challenge than I could ever have predicted but it has also taught me lessons that I would never have otherwise been exposed to. Now that the product is live and the first

customer is currently being on-boarded, I’m extremely excited for the future of Titan Learning!
From third party to partnership

One of the things that has given me the most satisfaction over the last five years has been when the work that I do started to move away from being a third party contractor to building and delivering solutions for Haynes Oliver Ltd. This forms part of the intrinsic value objective I set myself and I’m very proud of where the business is going.
Many people who work for themselves will confirm that it’s a difficult balance between ‘working in your business’ and ‘working on your business’. It’s easy to get caught out - you’re so focused on delivering the client projects you’re working on that you neglect to look at what’s coming next for your own business. For me it’s the worry that it could all end tomorrow that keeps me looking at the horizon for the next opportunity.
Pride isn’t something that I would normally openly admit to, I just find it all a little to self-indulgent. However, I will admit that when I have developed a relationship with a client and
the work I’ve completed leads to more work with them, I’m quietly very proud. This is a clear indication that what I have created and delivered has had the right impact and the value that I’m adding to my client’s business is tangible. This is something that I’m fortunate to have experienced several times over and long may it continue!
So where next for Haynes Oliver?
Naturally my standard response is more of the same, with a sprinkling of new customers and new opportunities. At a slightly deeper level, I look forward to continuing to grow the Haynes Oliver brand, building leadership content that can be offered to non-corporate leaders and managers and most of all, to grow Titan Learning to prove that there is a different way of doing things!
Here’s to the next five….

Dave Bownes
Director,
Haynes Oliver Limited
Share this post: