The young founder of a growing Derbyshire brickwork, scaffolding and drywall business has spoken about how long hours and years of hard work were paying off.
Christian Watson launched Phoenix Brickwork a decade ago, putting in 20-hour days to get the business off the ground.
Since then it has grown to win major building and scaffolding contracts across the Midlands.
Now he plans to set up a Phoenix Apprenticeship Academy to help young people start their careers in the building industry.
The 35-year-old dad-of-two from Belper said: “Phoenix Brickwork was a dream and I turned it into a reality, but I’ve learned that there’s no point earning all the money if you don’t give yourself time to enjoy it.
“When I was a kid, I was obsessed with making money. I used to go out and pick up aluminium cans and take them to the recycling centre to cash in. I remember the buzz of putting that money in my pocket.
“As I grew up, the need to be successful was at the heart of everything I did and that’s why launching Phoenix Brickwork has been so rewarding.”
Mr Watson said he struggled to read and write in school but was good with numbers which helped him to get his first job as a trainee quantity surveyor with Bowmer and Kirkland.
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He was nearly 17 and fresh out of Belper School, when he was offered an apprenticeship and went on to get a 2:1 at university.
He said: “My dad was proud, but I remember feeling terrified when my boss said that I’d have to go to university. I hated school, but when it came to numbers, I was like Rain Man.”
He launched Phoenix Brickwork in 2010, working from his family home in Belper, with the support of his parents.
He said: “I didn’t even pay myself at the beginning, but my first profit was when I did some work for Rolls-Royce. The biggest thrill of my career was banking that £300.”
The business has worked on prestigious jobs such as St George’s Park - the English Football Association’s national football centre in Burton - and now employs 75 people.
It has around 300 loyal clients and turns over £25 million a year, and along with its head office in Pinxton, it also has offices in Northampton.
Mr Watson said the happiest day of his career was telling his mum Elaine, who worked as a dinner lady and his dad Peter, who worked 12 hours shifts in a factory, that they didn’t have to go out to work anymore.
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He said: “I took my parents to Mercedes when I was collecting a new car – but I didn’t tell them it was for them.
“My parents cried when the dealer handed them the keys! It meant the absolute world to me.
“I can’t even tell you all the things these two people have done for me. My dad worked so hard so we could have a house in Belper, and it wasn’t easy for them – but I never saw us struggle.
“They looked after me and now I’ve set them up in retirement.”
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