Last week, founder and CEO of The Ascot Group, Andrew Scott, talked to students from across Weston-super-Mare about his passion for business, career journey and advice for how to be successful.
A serial entrepreneur, Andrew was appointed Director of a PLC by the age of 25 and built his career buying and selling businesses up to £15m turnover. Now he is CEO of the Ascot Group, a multimillion pound business grown organically in Weston-super-Mare, employing 43 people across three companies.
Reaching these dizzying heights is not always that simple – it takes a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance to achieve success. In his speech, Andrew shares the life lessons he’s learned along the way that shaped and strengthened him.
Andrew’s career tips for young people
- Be a self-starter, nobody is going to tell you how to be a success
- Be resilient, learn how to handle criticism and rejection
- Throw yourself into whatever you’re doing and learn everything you can about the job
- Don’t wait to be told what to do – take action!
- Find ways to make your job interesting
- Learn how to communicate and present yourself well
- Be a value provider, find solutions instead of problems
- You don’t have to be an inventor, but an innovator
- Marketing, branding, media and sales are crucial to drive businesses forward
- Don’t be average, be outstanding!
About the event
Andrew was a keynote speaker at the Enterprise 4 U Schools Business Challenge 2015, held in March at Weston College, which was recently named College of the Year and Overall FE Provider of the Year at the 2015 TES Awards.
Seven teams of Year 9 and Year 10 students took part in the challenge from schools across Weston-super-Mare, including Broadoak Mathematics and Computing College, Hans Price Academy, Westhaven School and Worle Community School.
