However, his next sentence is rather eye-opening.
“But that’s not what I enjoyed most about being part of Ingenious Asset Management. What I really enjoyed was starting from nothing, rolling up my sleeves, and building a business.”
Bowles is a gentle man, completely confident in himself. Soft-spoken, he is confident, cautious, and self-assured.
He says he built his business in three ways. One is convincing more clients to join, convincing other investment managers to join (and bringing their business with them), and acquisitions.
“I think I can bring significant expertise and knowledge about how to approach and merge with competitors in the same space and how to integrate competitors into the business.”
This is the builder’s bowls. His latest growth project is Agent and Homes, a real estate brokerage service provider.
completely sense
When Mr. Bowles heard about the business over the phone from a friend, he decided to invest in the company.
“He asked if I would be interested in joining as an investor and I trust his judgment.
I looked at the business and immediately felt I understood what they were trying to do.
“They offer a different approach to the real estate market, which made perfect sense to me.”
This ‘different approach’ will work with self-employed agents to provide them with the administrative support, compliance advice and guidance they need to succeed as individual operators.
“Working for us, but not just for ourselves” is their descriptive tagline.
“The modern world is moving away from traditional offices,” says Bowles.
“People want flexibility in when, where and how they work.
“It’s also better for the customer, because with high street offices you often have to have multiple relationships within the company, depending on whether you want to sell or rent, etc.
“We provide a single point of contact that allows us to focus and address our clients’ needs. Once our clients get to know us and get used to the fact that we are not a big brand name, We hope you have a better experience as a result.”
And Bowles put more than his money where his mouth is. He also joined the Board of Agents and Homes as a non-executive director.
He said: “I have about 30 investments in early-stage companies and startups. I am directly involved in only five of them, and the rest are passive investments.
“The culture has to be right for the people I want to engage with.
professional freedom
“Of course it has to be profitable, but I don’t necessarily think it’s going to be a huge profit. It has to be something that I feel will have some effect. It’s about providing an alternative lifestyle to do.
“What we are talking about is work-life balance, geographic freedom (not being tied to a region even if a client moves), and professional freedom of not having to choose between selling and renting. You can also do it freely.”
Businessman Mr. Bowles is speaking. We ensure that companies clarify and explain what they consider to be their USP.
However, he keeps returning to corporate culture and cannot help himself.
“I come from a very tough world in the City, where some people are not very kind.
“Some stock companies want to maximize profits for their shareholders. How do they do that? Minimize costs and maximize profits. To do that they discourage employees from leaving. You’ve paid your employees as much as you can. You can also charge your clients as much as you can to the extent that they won’t go elsewhere. The shareholders are happy, but everyone else is unhappy. .
“But to build long-term success, we need happy staff, happy customers and happy shareholders.
“I think the warmer the culture within an organization, the more successful it will be. Stakeholders have to truly feel that they are part of a revolution and part of something new. I We’re kind of evangelical about that, and in that sense we’re eating our own food, and that creates a very strong culture.”
That’s board member Bowles.