Overcoming Turbulence: An MD’s Tale

Is resilience an essential prerequisite for anyone looking to go into business? This is the basis of the conversation between Safaraz and his guest, aviation professional Vince Essex. They talk about the many challenges that they have faced and how they have come through.

The importance of resilience and being able to cope with adversity is at the heart of a conversation that is in places highly emotional and thought provoking.

Vince talks openly about the challenges that he has faced in an sector that has always been highly volatile. He tells Saf about how his business fell off a cliff with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic that led to widespread lay-offs in the aviation and travel sectors.

Safaraz shares some of his story about adversity in business and both men talk about the loneliness that can come with being an entrepreneur and how they cope with those dark moments, in the early hours of the morning, when they can wake wracked with worry.

The message that comes over is that the thing that drives them through the dark times is a passion for what they do and an optimistic outlook.

Almost inevitably the conversation deals with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the adequacy or otherwise of the Government support measures.

Vince tells his own story of the collapse of air travel that for him was compounded by the need to shield because he is a kidney transplant recipient. At one stage early in the pandemic he felt forced to come out of isolation for a meeting despite being highly vulnerable and having a young family.

Safaraz, unlike Vince, had a significant career in the corporate world before striking out on his own. He talks about what brought him to that decision and how it has worked out.

Both admit to the attraction of a secure job with decent pay, holiday and sick pay and a good pension at the end of it. But they come to the conclusion that for all its problems being entrepreneurs has brought them a ‘freedom’ and feeling of achievement that they do not think more ‘conventional employment’ would have provided.