Free digital copy
Get Speciality Food magazine delivered to your inbox FREE
Get your free copy06 November 2015, 10:35 AM
- The key to success, according to Guy Tullberg of Tracklements? Determination, consistency and enthusiasm
An entrepreneurial spirit is required to be successful in our industry, but that will only take you so far. You then require professionalism and a business-like manner. You need to take it as read that your products are the best before you can start work. The rest is the real key; ‘passion’ is a terrible word that we’ve banned in our business – yes, there are a lot of people who are passionate about what they do, but I sometimes think you should pull that away and spend your energies on being focused and determined instead. For example, a while ago I decided that I needed to be formally trained, so I went off to business school for a year and fed the skills I learned there back into the company. It’s lovely to have the spirit of the entrepreneur but that’ll only get you so far – you need to surround yourself with good, professional people who can do the things you can’t do. Nobody can do it all! Determination, consistency and enthusiasm are integral to success.
I’ve never not wanted to jump out of bed, as I’ve always seen work as an unfinished adventure. I don’t want to do something that would make me want to pass the bucket, which means that in 30 years I’ve never got bored. We keep things moving which keeps things exciting. Really early on, when Tracklements only had three or four staff and I was working the filling machine, someone asked me how I could stand to do that all day. My response was, “50p, 50p, 50p…” and I still feel the same about it today. We have a joke down in the warehouse, when I stick my head through the door last thing at night and say, “good night, fellas” – the workers think I’m talking to them but, in fact, I’m talking to the jars because they go out and represent us. I find that enormously exciting.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be out of the fine food world, but I may be out of Tracklements at some point in the future – having said that, I’m in no rush. I’m relishing making great products, and making it enjoyable for as many people as possible”
