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| Friday, 16 April 2004 |
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From 'Mad Cow' ravages to hoteliering riches by Chandani Jayatilleke Life is not a dream. For a moment, life could be seen as rosy. But the next moment it could turn into a pathetic, forlorn experience too. For anybody who has lost all the wealth in life overnight, it is not an easy task to turn a new leaf and restart life. But this man has done it very successfully. His story is an example of bravery and courage. Meet Malcom Haigh, an entrepreneur from England. Malcom Haigh used to be a cattle farmer. Hailing from the County of Essex in England, Haigh successfully ran the family business of exporting cattle (for meat) to Europe and made huge profits. He was immensely supported by his wife and children in this venture. His life was easy and rosy, until one fateful day, when he found that his business had to come to an end, following the mad cow disease fear in Europe. Haigh's business was highly dependent on cattle exports to Europe. As the mad cow fear increased and his European customers declined to import cattle for meat, Haigh was lost without any choice. As a businessman who was engaged in a successful business, making good profits, it was more than a collapse for him. Having spent all his life rearing cattle, Haigh hardly knew the existence of any other business. It was also too late in life for him to start a fresh career in any other profession. He was depressed and disgusted. He felt he had no life to think beyond. Without any income, his own life became a burden to Haigh. "It was a pathetic situation, which you cannot express in words. Losing your job or business or the main source of income is like losing your own life. I suffered a lot due to loss of my business," says Haigh. But he continued to live with some hope, thanks to the 'mental support' offered to him by some of the friends. Haigh was not all that unfortunate. Fortunately for him, he had a fairly large house in a beautiful setting in the countryside of Essex - in Langdon Hills. Its condition somehow was not all that good. Yet a dear friend of his convinced him that it can be turned into a business house. "Not only he encouraged me to start-up a business, but also offered me the financial support to do so," a grateful Haigh says. However, to start a new business was a challenge for Haigh. "I spent all my life rearing cattle and I knew no other business at this point. I was feeling forlorn and lost and couldn't think about any other business. Yet, I discussed the matter with my wife who is a gourmet cook and we decided to start a business where we can put our talents and wealth together. It was something in the hospitality industry," Haigh says. Going by the competition and the increasing number of hotels, Haigh had to think about something unique. They finalised it to be a guest house for high-spenders which provides visitors comfy accommodation plus good food. With some money offered by a friend, he gave a new look to his house, got extra carpets, pillows, cushions, cutlery, table clothes and mats and some kitchen utensils. It was like a hurdles race for Haigh. He managed to cross the first hurdle. Next was to get the right clientele. Haigh visited a few manufacturing plants and offices located at the Industrial Park in Basildon which is closer to his house. Haigh knew that foreign businessmen and consultants often visited Basildon for various business activities and sometimes they had to stay in town for weeks and months. It was a good opportunity for Haigh. Some of the companies agreed to send their visitors to Haigh's exclusive guest house. That's how he began his second life. From then onwards, Haigh got involved in many activities in the process of running the guest house. It was not an easy job to handle by the two of them alone. But, they couldn't afford to employ another immediately till they settled down with a decent income level. Haigh and his wife Jean made it through all the difficulties and gradually turned their business into a success; increased the number of rooms and got some people to work for them too. But the quality of service remained unchanged or rather grew further. The setting up of the business and running it successfully was a tiresome and painful experience. "This business needs lot of commitment and dedication. It demands lot of our time too. And we have given everything to it, to bring it to this level of success." Haigh's guest house has now become a 'sought-after' accommodation spot and his clientele is growing every single day. "We only got one segment of guests to stay in our guest house and it was a 'niche' market. That was the secret of our success, apart from our caring personalised service for them. Now we have professionals from Japan, the US and all parts of Europe coming to stay with us. Some of them are repeated clients and some of them have been staying for weeks and months," Haigh says. Talking about his achievement, Haigh said it was his innovative thinking and 'niche market' concept which paved the way for his success. "Now, I realise that success lies upon one's own hands. It is up to an individual to take the opportunity and work towards achieving the success," he says. Today, Haigh is a cheerful man, though he finds less time for pleasure activities. The Haigh family is totally committed to the growth of their business. To add spice to their business life, Malcom invites and entertains his friends and relatives coming to England from all quarters. "We entertain them at our home though we can't go out often. "Jean and I enjoy time with our friends and relatives by inviting them for meals and so on. We also get engaged in many social activities, so that we can maintain a balance between the work and personal life," he says. For Haigh, life is now more than a dream. "Life is real and you have to take it as a challenge every time you fail," Haigh says with much confidence. |
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