Growing up as a Romany Gypsy<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Do you mind just telling us a bit about your early life and how those experiences have shaped you as an entrepreneur?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m a Romany Gypsy, and we were born in relatively very poor circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although, to be honest with you, and I say this to a lot of people, I didn\u2019t perceive ourselves as being poor. You know, my mother and father did a fantastic job, in bringing me up and giving me the best that they could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t actually realise we were financially poor until I was 12 or 13. I didn\u2019t particularly go without, but now I understand. Well, and I sort of got to understand why a car breaking down and living in a caravan wasn\u2019t perceived as being wealthy. But I actually genuinely thought it was at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, you know, I think it\u2019s how you look at the glass, half full or half empty. I\u2019ve been blessed with a mindset most of my life to look at things half full and never considering things as being half empty. Always looking at things as an opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And were your parents quite entrepreneurial?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you think that\u2019s where you got your get-up and go from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I think to be fair with you, all gypsies and travellers are entrepreneurial spirits because we are the original immigrants that came into different parts of the world with no education, no background, or historical movements to feed upon your family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was just about surviving in the best way that you could. So I think, my mother and father had an entrepreneurial spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I think actually, most immigrants, if I can use that phrase, across the world have. You know, I think that\u2019s why America has such an entrepreneurial spirit. Because it\u2019s actually made up of a world and a country of immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Find what you love and you\u2019ll never work a day in your life\u2014but you still have to work hard<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And that point about starting with nothing and no education, that\u2019s really poignant because I\u2019ve heard you say, you know, I\u2019m not the smartest guy, I\u2019m not the one with the best ideas, but I am the one that works the hardest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So tell me about that work ethic and how you maintain that level of performance throughout your life, giving it these 15-hour days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Well, I worked very, very hard, and then I won the lottery. I\u2019m only joking, I\u2019m only joking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Work ethic is a habit, nothing more. It\u2019s a good habit. And for instance, if you don\u2019t brush your teeth every day, that leads to problems. Bad breath, rotten teeth. Even to the point where people actually don\u2019t want you around them. Because your breath smells bad, just by not brushing your teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So creating good habits in your life actually create good outcomes. Bad habits will create bad outcomes. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So for me, when you use the phrase, and I think you just said, \u201cLong, gruelling 15-hour days\u201d, I\u2019m having a ball. I\u2019m having fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m a Premier League football player, a world champion boxer, going out there and actually winning a world title every day. I\u2019m having a ball at what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know, with the good grace of God, I can continue and work hard every day. But it\u2019s not hard work when you love it. You know, a lot of people use the conception that if find what you love, and you\u2019ll never work a day in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, that is true, but to get to do what you love, sometimes you have to do what you don\u2019t love to get to that point. So don\u2019t constantly look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I first started, everything within my life was about financial gain. It took me until I was 28 years old until I felt that I was financially comfortable, and I then found a role within an industry that I felt that I could leave a legacy, that I could change people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before that, it was about changing my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you\u2019re in an aircraft and the announcement comes on, they don\u2019t say, \u201cOh, we\u2019ve got a problem. Put the mask on everybody else first.\u201d They say, \u201cSave yourself first. Before you save anybody else. Put the mask on you. Put the air mask on yourself first.\u201d Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because you can help no one unless you save yourself first. So my whole goal was purely financial gain from the age of 10 right the way up until say I was 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when I was 28 I felt that I\u2019d earned enough money I\u2019d made, what I considered to be, all the money in the world, at the time, which was \u00a35m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that gave me enough money to give me choice of freedom. And I then entered into the industry that we\u2019re in now, which is retirement mobile home parks. And we\u2019re genuinely changing people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can sell somebody a new park home for 50% less than a like for like bricks and mortar bungalow. With no stamp duty, no land registry fee, Band-Aid council tax, 28% cheaper electricity and the home itself cost at least 50% less or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So are we changing people\u2019s lives?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You bet we are. Now, do we please everybody? No, I\u2019m looking to please the majority. Because if I\u2019m getting it right for the majority, then I\u2019m getting it right all the way through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I love what I do, and I\u2019m blessed enough to have found the industry. And why is that industry for me? Soul gratification, it\u2019s because I\u2019m a gypsy. I was born in a caravan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who better to buy a caravan from or a mobile home, than somebody that\u2019s lived it, breathed it, and loves it. That\u2019s how I look at it. Come to the expert, because when I buy something, I go to the expert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, you know, but to get to that point, came with challenges, came with problems, came with issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was 20 years old, and I had a van centre, lived in a half million-pound house. I\u2019d done really well and, you know, people were banding phrases around that I was a whizz kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, this non-educated, gypsy that could hardly read and write was being banded with the name whizz kid. I love these titles people give you. And they seem to stem from normally the media or something like that because they like to label everything from business to politics to wealth to anything at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, I had a rude awakening, and I had a murmur at 20. The 1990 recession really bit into me. Was it the recession\u2019s fault that I virtually lost everything? No, it was mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t see what was coming. I wasn\u2019t seasoned enough. And worst of all, I believed my own hype. I believe that I was gifted in what I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wasn\u2019t gifted. I was hard-working. Don\u2019t confuse the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gifted and talented people are fantastic, and it\u2019s unbelievable to be born with a gift. My gift was different. My gift was, luckily, I\u2019ve channelled my addiction into hard work. And that hard work has been channelled into habits. Creating good habits every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you can create one good habit a month, you\u2019re going to be successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From bankrupt in his 20s to \u00a35m by 30<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s great advice. And that point about not necessarily loving what you\u2019re doing now, but knowing that it\u2019s a stepping stone to being happier in the future, I think that resonates a lot. Especially with people listening, because you didn\u2019t always have a glamorous lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You used to work in drainage, is that right? You were literally unblocking drains for a part of your life. And from there, you now have this Incredible lifestyle, incredible business end, but how did you get from there to here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can you take us, like, on a summary of those jumps?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
To give you a skeleton summary of my life, at 12 I worked with my dad knocking on doors, selling Tarmac. I did that up until I was 15 or 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I then decided I wanted to go into buying and selling commercial vehicles and hiring them out. I did that, and I bought my first house and my van centre when I was 18. I was driving a brand new convertible Porsche. I bought a block of flats in Forest Gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then by 20, I was in a position called negative equity, where I owed more to the bank than the properties were worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So I had to make some harsh decisions. I moved out of the house, slept in the back of an Escort van, sold the Porsche, sold the vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I cleared the site out, broke it down into little, small sectional mechanical bays that I could rent out to car sprayers, mechanics, cups and saucer sales markets at the front of the showroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I was getting between \u00a350 to \u00a3150 a month, just about making the mortgage. I rented the house out and moved out of the house. So I did what it took.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t just think, \u201cOh my God, what am I going to do?\u201d Whereas a lot of people would have thought, \u201cWe can\u2019t move out of our house, we\u2019ll have nowhere to live.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, the choices were, I would have had nowhere to live if I\u2019d have stayed in the house because just a few months later, the bank would have repossessed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But by moving out, I managed to rent it. That made a big difference. I did the same with every other piece of property I had. But that meant I had nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I managed to work through that. That put me in good stead with the banks. Because they could see that I was somebody that then just didn\u2019t give up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I then went and got a job in a mobile phone shop, and I was getting paid \u00a370 a week. This is somebody that\u2019s gone from owning a business, living in a half a million-pound house, to now working for someone on \u00a370, where before I was earning \u00a3150,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s like night and day. I worked there for approximately eight to 12 weeks until I learned the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then within 18 months, I\u2019d opened 18 stores across the UK. Four years later, we sold that business out to a subsidiary company of Vodafone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I then went back into commercial property. I\u2019ve always had a love for property. And that business is still flowing and functioning today, and that business is potentially worth somewhere in the region of \u00a3150m today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After that, I then went into the retirement mobile home park, which was where I found my love. I would say I found my calling as a businessman, because I\u2019m from that industry, even though I didn\u2019t know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now we have 119 parks and 16, 000 residents throughout the UK. The company is worth well in excess of \u00a31.2bn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We own and operate several other businesses. We have the third largest motorhome hire company in the UK, which is called Vaaroom Motorhome Hire. We have another company, which is called Wyldecrest Events. And basically we look to our residents to service their needs of when they want to go to events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a small finance company that\u2019s called Best Park Home Finance, where we loan finance out. As banks don\u2019t support financing for park hubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there are a number of other small companies that we have. And we\u2019re very privileged, and I\u2019m very privileged to have great teams around me. That I learn from every day. I\u2019m just the one that people take a synergy from the story that\u2019s happened in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I say to everybody, \u201cLook, my story isn\u2019t that special. There are better people out there with much better stories than me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only difference is with me. I\u2019ve bucked the trump because in the UK, we don\u2019t celebrate wealth. We don\u2019t celebrate entrepreneurship. We don\u2019t support our entrepreneurs or businesspeople. We really don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whereas if you take America, they celebrate it. We have a glass ceiling here to hold people down and put them in their box and pay their tax and just work away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People like yourself that are doing these podcasts, that are putting it out there that you don\u2019t have to conform. Those are the boundaries they give us. It\u2019s up to us to push those boundaries. It\u2019s up to us to stretch that box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because the one thing that I can say to you, without business, there is no economy. Fact. Whether it\u2019s the UK, whether it\u2019s America, whether it\u2019s Barbados, whether it\u2019s Germany, it doesn\u2019t matter where it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the countries that push for more entrepreneurship and more businesses to survive and thrive, will be superior in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ve only got to look at Dubai and how it\u2019s pushed to drive business and support businesses. And within 35 years, they\u2019ve turned a sand spot into a Mecca of businesses. It\u2019s not tourism anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They\u2019ve got the Freeport there. They\u2019ve got businesses that are running there that are working remotely. And Singapore is now another country which is welcome there. A lot of the Western countries need to wake up to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UK needs to do more to support small businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So why run a business from here? Do you kind of love it despite the challenges or do you find it almost like a call to arms to be successful despite people holding you down?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or why not set up a headquarters yourself somewhere a bit more favourable to business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Because when you start business, if you\u2019re born in that country, you know that country. So that\u2019s where you\u2019ll tend to start your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t have the wealth or the expertise or the knowledge to look this out. All of our great entrepreneurs that are here have run for the hills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let\u2019s name a few of them. Richard Branson. Our greatest entrepreneur that has ever existed. Jim Radcliffe. Phenomenal. Gone. Took their businesses elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now the UK government need to wake up to this. Whereas let\u2019s go to America. You can\u2019t name me one single entrepreneur that\u2019s left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether it\u2019s Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk or anybody you like because America knows to support the businesses and those individuals in their country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We no longer have people come to the UK to start businesses. When was the last time you heard of an international businessman that\u2019s come here to start a business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What they do is they get investors to come here and park their money up in central London. But beyond that, our investment is going elsewhere. What a shame for such a great country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does it sound that I\u2019m being negative towards business in the UK? No, because the one thing that we do have in the UK is great people. The stiff upper lip does work. That good educational background that we support, but we need to fan the flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We need to fan the flames to know that we need to do more to support business, instead of looking to flounder it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mobile homes can free up more capital for customers to enjoy their lives<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It sounds like you might have a future in politics there, Alfie. You could reform it all from the inside. This might be your calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Look, I\u2019m not a politician. I\u2019m just a businessman, speaking from a businessman\u2019s point of view, who has a passion because he\u2019s British.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I love my country. It\u2019s done wonderful things for me, but it wouldn\u2019t have done those wonderful things without the hard work that I\u2019ve put into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me, the reason that I love the industry that I\u2019m in now, and why we\u2019ve never sold out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are a couple of fun facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wild Press Parks is the largest residential park home operator in the history of the UK. Not because it\u2019s privately owned, which is also an historic fact, because we\u2019ve never sold out to a fund, a pension fund, or taken investment from anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our total debt level on all of our assets is less than 10% of the value of the assets themselves. So we\u2019ve built something that we feel can go on for generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And we intend to make it a worldwide company because I love it. It\u2019s changing people\u2019s lives. It\u2019s allowing them to set up their home, which the government doesn\u2019t want people to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They want you, your mother and father to save up and work hard all of their life, pay off their mortgage and then retire and pass away, leaving their home to their kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what your mother and father didn\u2019t realise is they had an extra kid that takes the lion\u2019s share, called death duties at 40%. So the way the UK is geared up, I\u2019m modelling Park Homes, which frees that capital up for people to be able to go and live their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we\u2019ve built a model that really does work for people that are looking not to downsize because they\u2019re buying a home that\u2019s potentially bigger than the one they live in, but to free up capital and really live their life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And do you think there\u2019s going to be a massive boom because we\u2019re seeing a lot of people struggling, mortgage rates ridiculously high, repossessions around the corner?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you going to see a mass, sort of, stampede towards Wyldecrest and, and that particular solution?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Well look, our model is growing every week, every day, every year. We\u2019re a continuous company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And look, tall trees catch a lot of wind. So I put my head above the parapet to be counted. Why? Because I want to be asked the questions of, why is the government not supporting this type of housing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just with me, with many other people in this industry that have a solution that can free up people\u2019s capital, that can really enjoy their life moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, do I see our business growing? I don\u2019t like to use the word stampede because we couldn\u2019t cope with a stampede.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our model is based on systematic procedures and systems to follow through. What I mean is you choose your plot, you build your home, it gets delivered, and you can be moved in within eight weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Businesses are like relationships, you learn from both the good and the bad experiences<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s such a fast turnaround as well. I didn\u2019t realise it was that quick. And what I love about listening to you, Alfie, is it\u2019s quite clear that every time you\u2019ve come across a difficult point in your life or a challenging business, you\u2019ve really learned from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when you talked about being in negative equity in your twenties and now only having 10% debt against your assets you can see that you\u2019ve learned that lesson, and it\u2019s now this golden thread throughout your career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I\u2019ve also heard you say that you still work every day as though you are bankrupt. Do you think that sometimes the lessons we learn leave too big a mark?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because I just can\u2019t imagine if I was as successful as you that I\u2019d be getting up at like 5am in the morning to start work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Think of it this way. Business is like a relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you were in a bad relationship before, you learn from it. If you were in a great relationship before, you would learn from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And business is exactly the same, it\u2019s your relationship with your company. And it\u2019s the deepest cuts and the deepest scars that carve out the chunks of us as we\u2019re going through life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s those scars that can turn us into a masterpiece or a misshapen, bitter, twisted piece of wood. The choice is yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mine, I believe, I\u2019m still in the carving. Am I scarred by some of the things that have happened to me? Of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do they stop me from doing certain things? Of course, I\u2019m not a risk-taker. I take challenges, not risks. There\u2019s a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t go into the casino and throw it all on black or all on red. All of my decisions are calculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are they risky? I have too many residents to put the business at risk. I have a duty of care to those residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I love every single one of our residents that have chosen to live on a Wyldecrest Park. Do they all love me? No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then again, I don\u2019t love everybody either. I love most people all the time. What I can tell you is all of our residents we do love. Good, bad, and indifferent. It\u2019s my job, and it is now my legacy in life, to build housing that\u2019s affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a difference when you buy a park home. When you buy a park home, it\u2019s not like buying a house from an estate agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the estate agent has sold you a home, he waves goodbye into the sunset. Once you buy a park home from Wyldecrest, we\u2019re your partner. We own the park, you own the home, it\u2019s a joint enterprise working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Businesses should be succeeded by the best person for the job<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And you made this point about legacy, and I\u2019m fascinated to know how you feel this legacy will continue into the future and whether you have succession plans in place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether your kids are involved in the business, like what happens in 20, 30 years\u2019 time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
My son is his own man and runs his own business. He has two mobile home parks, and he also runs an international watch brokerage. So I\u2019m very proud of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My daughter, I\u2019m equally proud of. She works within the business, and she\u2019s worked in many different roles within the business from the bottom, and she\u2019s still not at the top seat. She\u2019s now an area sales manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And of course, I would love my family to be involved. But the structure that we have in place is not family orientated. It is succession orientated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the best person for the job will succeed. Will my family be the shareholders within it? A trust will be the shareholder of the business, and they will be the beneficiaries of that trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The better the business does, the more they\u2019ll be able to benefit from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why do I want to set it like that? It\u2019s because I also want my residents to be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knowing that they\u2019re not only with a park operator that does care but admits when they get it wrong. And that they know that they\u2019ve got the best person in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just a family member because they\u2019re blood related.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dealing with racism in business as a Romany Gypsy<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, that makes sense. And Alfie, you\u2019re known as the Gypsy Billionaire, which is sort of such a memorable label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know you said that the media is very keen on putting labels on people, but it is one of those names you hear, and it just conjures this amazing vision of an individual that\u2019s like, out of the ordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But you have been quoted saying that you didn\u2019t tell anyone that you were Romany for many, many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you faced much prejudice, and how do you deal with that now as this super successful businessman? Do you still have people like making judgments about you or looking down their noses, and how do you deal with it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
By accepting somebody\u2019s being racist to you, you\u2019re accepting that you\u2019re different. How I look at it, it\u2019s just being abusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And look, you\u2019re never going to stop it as much as people are going to try and stop it. We can subdue it. We can push it down, but behind people\u2019s backs, people are always going to say abusive natured things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No different than West Ham playing Millwall or Millwall playing West Ham. They\u2019re always going to hate each other because their team\u2019s not winning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if there\u2019s one thing that I notice in life, success bridges all gaps. People want to talk to successful people. People want to know what the magic is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I can tell you what that magic is. Hard work, that\u2019s all it is. It is consistency, persistency, hard work. You get momentum, and it will flow just like water in a river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you keep diverting the water every time it comes to a bend, you\u2019re never ever going to get any momentum, you\u2019re never going to push the boat down the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So have I suffered any racism or prejudice or whatever you want to call it? Of course, I have. But so have you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all have in one way or another. I just don\u2019t allow it to scar me. I\u2019ve had people to my face tell me about the lying, thieving gypsies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But you know, being a gypsy comes with a stereotype. It\u2019s not a very good stereotype. You know, liars, cheats, and thieves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cher has a beautiful song, which I actually quite love, \u201cGypsies, Tramps and Thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, that\u2019s perfectly fine to be played. And by the way, I\u2019m a fan of that. But \u2018Baa Baa Black Sheep\u2019, gets banned. Pfft. So, tell me what the difference is there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I guess it\u2019s all about the level of offence that\u2019s being experienced, I suppose. Because if it doesn\u2019t bother you, if it\u2019s water off a duck\u2019s back, then it can\u2019t be seen as being as offensive, perhaps, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What I would say to you is it can\u2019t be one rule for one and one rule for another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the moment, it is the last acceptable form of racism. And I don\u2019t like using the word racism because I go back to what I said. It\u2019s just a form of abuse. Nothing more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s the last acceptable bit. Did I tell anybody I was a gypsy? No, of course I didn\u2019t. Not until 15 years ago. I would never tell somebody I was a gypsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s going hurt me. That\u2019s going hold me back in business. So the bar is set much higher for me. Much higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I accept that challenge. I accept that the bar is higher for me. So because it\u2019s higher for me, that means I have to work harder. It means I have to raise the bar to be more honourable, to be more trustworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And look, you know, there\u2019s a lot of media stuff out there on me. Some of it good, some of it bad, some of it made up. That\u2019s the world we live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Running a business will result in personal sacrifices<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
And your point about hard work being the key to being successful, and you said that\u2019s the one thing you should do, which is hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you feel like you\u2019ve made lots of sacrifices, maybe personal sacrifices to achieve that level of persistence, determination, and put in those hours?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You feel like looking back on your life, you\u2019ve had to give anything up to do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I have sacrificed everything. I have sacrificed my family, my children. They came second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have I been a good father? No. Have I been a good partner, a good husband? No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I\u2019ve been is a good provider. And unfortunately, yes, it comes with sacrifices. Missing events that you would never miss. But yes, it comes with sacrifices. And that\u2019s the cross that I have to bear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And do I regret it? No. Why? They were my choices. They were my choices to make. I made the choices that I felt were right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if there\u2019s one thing that I am trying to do now, is I come from a poor family, I\u2019m hoping to leave a legacy where my children don\u2019t come from a poor family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And at least they can then go on with loaded guns to win the next battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s interesting. Do you think that, speaking for your kids, do you think they would rather have more money in the bank or more time with you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I think they\u2019d rather have more money in the bank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s fair, that\u2019s fair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
But the honest truth is, listen, and I\u2019m being very, very honest with you, I\u2019m very lucky because my children have made it on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That I\u2019m blessed with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, it must be amazing to have quite entrepreneurial kids because that\u2019s something you\u2019ve passed on, that work ethic and that desire to create something from nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it must be sort of amazing to see that play out again in another generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I think the amazing bit is children don\u2019t do as they\u2019re told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They do what they see. There\u2019s a factual, which I didn\u2019t know at the time, a factual act within bringing children up. And this has been shown out in tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you tell a child in a test, \u201cWell done, you\u2019re so smart, it\u2019s amazing.\u201d In the second test, they\u2019ll do worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you tell the child, \u201cWow, well done, you worked really hard to get those scores. God, your work ethic is a brilliant, really well done.\u201d Those children will score better in the second test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I was shocked at this, but please Google it and check it. And apparently, rewarding a child because they\u2019re smart makes them think they\u2019re smart and makes them think they can skip the queue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And by the way, I\u2019ve made that mistake. When I thought, you know, we all want to think that our children are clever and ultra intelligent. But hard work beats everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Documentaries can be a useful marketing tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, and I can see that you are living proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you have a documentary out, is that right? Can you tell us a bit about that, and what made you decide to kind of put your life, um, under the microscope?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t particularly want to do it. I\u2019ve done TV before, I did Undercover Big Boss, How The Other Half Live and about four or five other small documentaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be honest with you, the reason I did those documentaries, complete marketing tactic. You know, that\u2019s all it was for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t to let people into my life because I believe a private life is a happy life. But the reason I did them, it was free advertising. It was great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And look, a lot of businesspeople that are out there in front of the meter, stop because they want to be a celebrity or be famous or any type of notoriety. It\u2019s about directing the traffic. It\u2019s about people seeing you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please remember one thing. In life, it is not who you know. It\u2019s who knows you. And the people that know you, that respond to you, and if you can add a little bit of respect to that, a notoriety within your field of being an expert, more people will come to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because they know you. They know you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going back to the film documentary, which was launched at Cannes, it was very, very well received. It was a film made by Joel Van der Molen from Vandercom Films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t particularly want to do it because I didn\u2019t really see where the benefit was to me or to the business or anything else. But after watching it, I think people are going to like it because I think it will give them a little bit of insight into anything\u2019s achievable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not a smart man. I\u2019m really not. I\u2019m just common sense, or I believe I\u2019m common sense. And one of the hardest things to do, is as you climb the ladder of success, is to keep your feet firmly on the steps of that ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because if you step left or step right, you\u2019re going fall off, and you\u2019ll come down the ladder the same way that you went up it, only with a lot more splinters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, it\u2019s basically making sure that you stick to the runs of the ladder and continue up, one step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the film was very well received. Everybody that\u2019s spoken to me, that\u2019s watched it, have given me good reports. The launch in Cannes was documented by the Daily Mail. They voted it as one of the best documentary films of Cannes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s now being launched in several other festivals, and then hopefully it\u2019ll hit the screen sometime next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People buy from people<\/h2>\n\n\n\nBex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
So for our listeners, would you recommend being very open and speaking about their past, their personalities, their foibles?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because people buy from people, does that make their business grow? Will that make them more, I don\u2019t know, approachable? Is that a good route to grow a business? To be a very visible frontman or frontwoman?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alfie Best:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
People buy from people and if they feel that they know you and understand you. Now let me put it to you another way. Who would you rather you spend your money with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An ethical company with somebody that stands up and puts their head above the parapet. Or somebody that\u2019s hidden you never get to see? You never really know what\u2019s going on there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I actually genuinely believe the only two people that have done what I\u2019ve done is me and Richard Branson, who put his head above the parapet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when he first started, he wasn\u2019t the most eloquently spoken, he had a small stutter, but he didn\u2019t let that hold him back, and look at him now, you know, a British celebration. How good is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are three sides to all of us. There\u2019s one side that we show to the general people that we see every day. There\u2019s another side that we show to our family and friends. And there\u2019s a third side. And that is the side you show to nobody, and it\u2019s only ever seen by yourself, when you\u2019re in a closed room, and you\u2019re thinking away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are three sides to us. I don\u2019t agree in showing all sides to all people. Sometimes we need to keep a little bit back for ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I do believe in being with people. I do believe in taking onboard their views. It doesn\u2019t mean to say you\u2019ve got to make them right, but we were blessed with two ears and a mouth. We should try to use them in that order if we can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inspired by this small business story?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wherever you\u2019re listening or watching, subscribe to Sound Advice on Apple iTunes<\/a> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are also on Spotify<\/a> and anywhere else you get your podcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Join our community to share your insights and stories on X @SageIreland<\/a> using the hashtag #SoundAdvicePodcast, on Instagram @SageOfficial<\/a> or in the comments below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find out more about Alfie on his website<\/a> or Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more on Wyldecrest Parks, check out their website<\/a> or drop them a follow-on Instagram<\/a> or X<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n Get your free guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template to help you manage your business and achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Join 1.5 million subscribers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Learn how Alfie Best, known as the Gypsy Billionaire, went from selling cars and vans at 14 to running successful businesses across the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1161,"featured_media":14326,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"_sage_video":true,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[130,132,332,153],"business_type":[5],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[232],"imagine_tag":[230],"coauthors":[439],"class_list":["post-14999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-grow-business","tag-start-business","tag-sound-advice-podcast","tag-startup-stories","post_format-post-format-audio","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ie","author_name":"Bex Burn-Callander","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/Blog_S2_Ep36.jpg","imagine_tags":{"230":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Ireland","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/14326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=14999"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=14999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Want to know more about Alfie Best or Wyldecrest Parks?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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