John Caudwell
John Caudwell
John David Caudwellis an English businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of mobile phone retailer Phones 4u. He also invests in fashion, real estate and other industries, and chairs Caudwell Children, a charity which benefits ill or disabled children and their families. He is also known for being the UK's biggest taxpayer...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth7 October 1952
business came early feeling impact last mobile phone quite took
When I came into the mobile phone business, I was really the upstart who pretty much took the business, not quite by storm, but really made an impact on it quite early on. But it was from a position, really, of feeling that I was a last mover.
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E-mails are the cancer of modern business.
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In any business opportunity, you'd be looking, probably, primarily at the risk and return. Some business can be very risky with a low return; what you want is the lowest risk with the biggest return.
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If I died tomorrow, I would regret growing so wealthy and still running the business when there are so many more people I could have helped.
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My second business would have succeeded but for competitors' jealousy. I was selling motorbike gear cheap, but the people I was undercutting complained to the manufacturer and cut off my supply. It showed me how corrupt business can be. When I sold phones, the same thing happened, but this time I was ready.
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Business is about being the best that you can be, and there are always glowing examples of people that we can all learn from.
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Business gives you a massive high. Doing a great deal, coming up with an inspirational solution... It's very addictive. But it doesn't last long. In isolation, it's a bit sterile. It doesn't reward the soul.
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I have a helicopter that I use for U.K. business trips, and I fly myself. I have a yacht in Antibes in the south of France, which is a sort of indulgence, as we only use it for about four weeks a year. The rest of the time, it is chartered out to people as a business.
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I always switch off from the business when I go across the threshold. Home is home, and I try to keep it that way.
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Knowing that my ancestry had all been quite wealthy and owned their own businesses probably left me with the ambition to replicate what they'd done.
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I was bullied at school for my red hair; today I still come out fighting hard. I give as good as I get. In business, it's about finding solutions, not being rolled over.
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I suppose I have very undesirable traits. I am very critical, which is very undesirable. But it is good from a business point of view.