Monday, October 12, 2009

Young Man Starting Out.

The young man that I'm shaking the hand of is a man of courage. Today he is setting out on the tough all consuming road of setting up and running his own business. His name is Paul Hill, and his business, based in Newtown, Montgomeryshire will be to quick fit tyres, exhausts, batteries etc. This morning I joined him at his new currently empty unit. The tyres etc are arriving later this week.

Over my lifetime in public affairs, I must have attended hundreds of 'official' openings and launches of business expansions - probably about one per week during the five years I was Chairman of the Development Board for Rural Wales and quite a few during the seven years I chaired the Local Planning Authority in Montgomeryshire in the 1980's. Many of them were very big businesses. But I always took most pleasure when one or two young people were taking the inevitable risk associated with entering the world of self employment.

So its very best wishes to Paul.

2 comments:

Tcoah said...

Talking about news businesses in Wales ... have you read this article Glyn?

"Ieuan to launch a revolution in how we do business"

In the Western Mail - article written by Martin Shipton.

On and off I have been trying to get Martin Shipton et al at the Western Mail to write articles on the issues that Ieuan is now talking about.

It is vital that WAG finally 'gets it' that Wales needs to focus on building the economy based on promoting R&D ... but Ieuan Wyn Jones also needs to understand that the "D" in R&D only happens if there is a "P" in the works to protect investment in commercializing the idea/intellectual property - an idea is not IP unless a patent is in the works!

I spent a small fortune attending BioWales 2009 (I was the only Welsh PhD/lawyer attending the event who was/is authorized to practice patent law directly before the US Patent Office.

There was quite a crowd there from the Welsh universities, but it seemed to be a meeting where people 'met one another again'.

I also attended the BioWales 2009 dinner - and took along my mother and her best friend, who happens to be Rhodri Morgan's class mate (attended the same school). Her mother was 'a force' to be reckoned with in local Labour (Morganstown) near Cardiff - so much so that Rhodri Morgan, First Minister, spoke at her funeral.

I'm glad Rhodri Morgan is stepping down from the FM position - he was not imho open to new ideas about building the Welsh economy if they did not read directly off his own political agenda. He spoke like innovation happens if it is into renewables - whereas innovation happens everywhere!

I will now make an effort to speak to Ieuan Wyn Jones - perhaps his new thinking is not so much new thinking on his part, just that Rhodri Morgan is moving out of the picture.

If the Plaid leader in Wales is genuine about this "revolution in how we do business" - then I will back him to the hilt and will launch every barb at the Conservative Party ... well, I want go that far, but I could become a Plaid supporter, at least in this regard!

Tcoah said...

^I want go that far ...

I won't go that far ... sorry for the typos