It’s time for another business 📚 review & to coincide with the return of Theo Paphitis to Dragons Den I’m reviewing his book ‘Enter the Dragon’.

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while, as Theo owns a business that operates in a similar area of the market as part of our business.

Not printing or photocopier solutions. Stationery.

Theo owns Rymans, who are a network of 200 plus retail shops selling stationery type products.

We also provide stationery & office supplies to our existing printer & photocopier technology customers. So we’re hoping for some golden nuggets from Theo to help us.

One thing’s for sure. Theo had it tough. Originally from Cyprus his family didn’t have much. Not long after moving to London his parents split & he lived with his mother & brother in a council flat.

Theo struggled academically due to dyslexia but quickly found that he was a natural salesperson, with a real passion for retail environments.

After starting out on his own working in commercial finance, Theo ending up joining forces with a larger practice, which led to Theo owning a PLC & nearly losing everything he had.

Sometime later. Theo spotted mobile phones where going to be the next big thing, he bought into NAG telecom & managed to do a deal with Rymans to put concessions in their stores.

When Rymans went bust. Theo bought them off the administrator, worked his magic & turned Rymans into a successful & very profitable business.

He did the same with ladies’ lingerie companies Contessa & La Senza. Creating a reputation for turning failing businesses around.

Whilst all this was going, he had married & has 5 children, had an 8-year stint as chairman of Millwall (including an FA Cup Final) & appeared as an investor on Dragons Den for 7 years.

It’s a hell of a story. But despite all his success Theo has remained (although straight talking) approachable & sincere. You can still see this on the latest Dragons Den.

The book finishes with his 12 rules for business success. Theo firmly believes if you want to play the game of business you have to learn the rules. So go get the book & learn them.

‘Enter the Dragon’ gets a 👍 & ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you’ve got any questions about the book, connect & message me or drop me an email to darren@mytotalofficesolutions.com

Watch all our business 📚 reviews at mytotalofficesolutions.co.uk/business-book-reviews

Thank you for watching & see you next week.