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Did you know Alan Sugar started his own business when he was 17? |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 289
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Did you know Alan Sugar started his own business when he was 17?
I'm sure he only said that a few times in Episode 1. And every previous series...
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 5,964
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I was getting annoyed at his attempts to be 'down wiv da kidz!' - followed by suck up laughter...
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#3 |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 289
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Quote:
I was getting annoyed at his attempts to be 'down wiv da kidz!' - followed by suck up laughter...
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#4 |
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,231
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Quote:
Blame his scriptwriter for those cringe moments.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 25,455
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Since most of them are 17, I thought it was relevant.
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#6 |
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Scotland
Posts: 2,194
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I'd love to see 17 y'o Alan Sugar try to start a business in 2012...
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,288
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Quote:
I'd love to see 17 y'o Alan Sugar try to start a business in 2012...
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#8 |
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 21,530
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Well, he's no Ella Henderson. In case you didn't know (because they never mention it), she starred in The X Factor at SIXTEEN!!!
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#9 |
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,314
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Quote:
He has said before, that if he was starting out now he would gointo apps - find a million people to buy one fr £1 each.
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#10 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 22,733
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Surely it's reasonable for him to say to 17 year olds on his his show which has as it's central theme: business that he started his business at this early age. He didn't come from a wealthy background and in some ways I'd have thought that in the sixties it would have been more difficult than nowadays for a working class person to start a successful business.
To say that he's ignorant of struggles in business is clearly silly and to imply he had it easy somehow is quite frankly ignorant. Not sure why deriding Sugar's success is de rigeur in some circles nowadays but I find it distasteful. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 289
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Quote:
Surely it's reasonable for him to say to 17 year olds on his his show which has as it's central theme: business that he started his business at this early age. He didn't come from a wealthy background and in some ways I'd have thought that in the sixties it would have been more difficult than nowadays for a working class person to start a successful business.
To say that he's ignorant of struggles in business is clearly silly and to imply he had it easy somehow is quite frankly ignorant. Not sure why deriding Sugar's success is de rigeur in some circles nowadays but I find it distasteful. |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 10,516
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What niggles at me is when he uses this line as some kind of justification as to why others should be successful in their tasks. Like, 'well I started my business when I was 17 so you've got no excuse for failure'. However he's misssing one huge point with that statement. At 17 was he an immediate success in everything he tried to sell and was he given a deadline of 48 hours in which to turn a profit and see a return on his investment in an economy suffering a double dip recession where selling in the highstreet is up against online retailers. I think not. They are not even allowed to use the internet so how is that putting them on an even playing field with other retailers? If your a market trader in the 1980's perhaps but has nobody told Lord Sugar that markets and the highstreet is dying out because people just aren't spending their money on the street anymore.
It's a bit like Tom Jones sitting there expecting a group of young singers to go out and sing 'What's New Pussycat' and expect to get a multi million pound recording contract for it. |
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#13 |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 7,587
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Quote:
What niggles at me is when he uses this line as some kind of justification as to why others should be successful in their tasks. Like, 'well I started my business when I was 17 so you've got no excuse for failure'. However he's misssing one huge point with that statement. At 17 was he an immediate success in everything he tried to sell and was he given a deadline of 48 hours in which to turn a profit and see a return on his investment in an economy suffering a double dip recession where selling in the highstreet is up against online retailers. I think not. They are not even allowed to use the internet so how is that putting them on an even playing field with other retailers? If your a market trader in the 1980's perhaps but has nobody told Lord Sugar that markets and the highstreet is dying out because people just aren't spending their money on the street anymore.
It's a bit like Tom Jones sitting there expecting a group of young singers to go out and sing 'What's New Pussycat' and expect to get a multi million pound recording contract for it. ![]() In all seriousness, I don't think he expects them to be quite as successful as he became, not least because he did it all over an extended period of time and they have about two days. What he's looking for is the potential, so that when he does ultimately invest in someone, he knows that they will put the investment to good use, and one day could become as successful as him. |
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#14 |
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 543
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Quote:
I'm sure he only said that a few times in Episode 1. And every previous series...
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#15 |
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Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,288
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...because that is going to guarantee a million people... if this was the case everybody would be doing it. Its fair game, could Sugar really with no money set up a successful business in this market? Its questionable and really the point of 'when I was 17 etc' is plain annoying and shows a lack of knowledge about small businesses struggling hard at the moment.
I do agree with you that it is a very tough time for small businesses, mine has been fairly disasterous over the last couple of years. However, I'm not a born salesperson like Alan Sugar is. It's something I know I have to work on. I do believe that some people just have the business 'X Factor' and will do well whatever they sell. |
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#16 |
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,055
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His tax accounts would make interesting reading,
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