Simon Woodroffe, the ‘founder of all things Yo!’. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0573493)
YO! SUSHI founder Simon Woodroffe had some advice for entrepreneurs in Guernsey last week. The multi-millionaire was in the island at the invitation of Fortis to speak at a client event.
He said anyone with a business idea should first of all not give up the day job. ‘Get rid of your TV set because that will create three or four hours extra in the day. You need a huge amount of self-belief, but not to the point of being delusional. A lot of people have done MBAs and can’t get simple things done.’
As well as creating the world-famous conveyor-belt sushi franchise, Mr Woodroffe starred in the hit show, Dragons’ Den.
He left school at the age of 16 and spent 30 years in the entertainment business, designing and staging concerts for big names in pop such as Rod Stewart, Madness and George Michael.
In the 1990s he moved into TV and spearheaded the development of deals to air huge international rock events worldwide, including Nelson Mandela concerts, shows for Amnesty International and the Prince’s Trust concerts.
In recognition of his contribution to hospitality, Mr Woodroffe received an OBE in June 2006 and has since expanded the Yo! brand to include hotels. The first two ‘Yotels’ are at Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
‘People are always coming up to me and pitching their business ideas, some of which are absolutely crazy,’ said Mr Woodroffe.
‘It is usually stuff like making tea the new coffee or something like that. The other day, someone tried to convince me that I should go into the funeral business and call it Yo! Below or Yo! You’re Dead.
‘It’s still interesting to hear peoples’ ideas, though, as you never know when you might come across the next big thing.
‘At the moment I’m keeping myself busy with more Yo! branded products like Yo! Zone, which is part spa, part cafe, part bar and part nightclub.
‘Another interesting one that relates to my purpose of being in Guernsey to talk about my life as an entrepreneur is Yo! How, which is an online support community for budding entrepreneurs.’
Fortis Guernsey marketing and business development director Rick Denton said Mr Woodroffe had worked incredibly hard and achieved great success.
‘His career path has been varied, to say the least, but this is what makes him such an inspirational speaker.
‘We were delighted to be able to introduce Simon to our Guernsey guests.
‘He generated much interest and plenty of questions from the audience.’
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