Michael Carey is the Co-Founder of East Coast Bakehouse along with his wife Alison Cowzer, and is this week’s guest on The Architects of Business, in partnership with EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™.
Anyone can start a business, according to the man who used to own the iconic Jacob’s biscuit brand and has recently set up East Coast Bakehouse, Michael Carey.
Michael – the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Industry prize winner in 2005 and this week’s guest on The Architects of Business – tells host Tadhg Enright about his career in some of Europe’s biggest food companies, about the time he was fired as Managing Director at Kellogg’s, about taking over at Jacob’s in 2004 and ultimately setting up East Coast Bakehouse.
In Ireland, €5m worth of biscuits are imported and consumed every week, with East Coast Bakehouse owning the largest biscuit production line in Europe.
Michael and his wife Alison Cowzer have invested a staggering €20m in their new business, but he believes anyone looking to start their own enterprise will always source funding as long as the drive and the self-belief is there.
“I think somebody who wants to start a business can find a way through whatever the barriers are, if they have the energy, the will and the drive to make something happen,” he insists.
“People often say, ‘I’d start a business if only I had the funds.’ You can find the funds. You can get a group of people together and do crowdfunding or you can get some money from a bank or you can get some money from friends. You can find a way to get the funds to get something started.
“People say they might start a business if they had an idea – if we locked ourselves in this room for two hours you’d walk out with 100 ideas, good ideas, really good ideas for a business. So all the barriers people raise, saying, ‘I’d start a business if…’ are not real.
“The only thing that stops a business being created is the energy, the drive, the self-belief, the self-awareness of the individual or the teams that are starting the business. And I think if they have that, then a business can be successful, they can find their way over all the hurdles there.”
Listen to Michael’s advice for budding businessmen and women here…
During a comprehensive discussion about his career in business, Michael also talks about the time he was fired by Kellogg’s over different outlooks on how to run the massive cereal brand.
“I’d come from that position of being a managing director of a very large organisation and walking into the building with a certain status – and I had convinced myself that I had that status justifiably – to be suddenly told, ‘You don’t. You’re gone. Out you go,'” he reveals.
Watch the full show here…
The Architects of Business, brought to you in partnership with EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™, is available every Monday morning on iTunes, SoundCloud and YouTube.
