61. The email that saved HomeServe and sparked a £4bn business | Sir Richard Harpin
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What were Richard Harpin's early struggles in building HomeServe?
Welcome to All About Business with me, James Reid, the podcast that covers everything about business, management, and leadership. Every episode, I sit down with different guests who have bootstrapped companies, masterminded investment models, or built a business empire. They're leaders in their field, and they're here to give you top insights and actionable advice so that you can apply their ideas to your own career or business venture.
What does it really take to build and scale a business worth a billion pounds? Today on All About Business, I'm joined by Richard Harpin, one of the UK's most successful business leaders and the founder of HomeServe, which he grew into a FTSE 100 company before selling it for £4.1 billion in 2022. We'll be exploring what it means to grow a company that lasts, from finding the right growth mindset to backing the next generation of entrepreneurs.
How did the plumbing insurance model lead to HomeServe's success?
And we'll be discussing his book, How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps. Today on All About Business, I'm really delighted to welcome Richard Harpin to the studio. Richard is the founder of HomeServe, a home emergency repairs and improvement company. HomeServe was founded in 1993 as a joint venture with South Staffordshire Water, and the company offered subscription-based home emergency repairs. Under Richard's leadership, HomeServe grew into a multinational business operating in the UK, Canada, France, the US and several other countries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and later became part of the FTSE 100. And in 2022, Richard agreed to sell HomeServe to Brookfield Asset Management for £4.1 billion.
So this is an amazing business journey. I'm looking forward to sort of asking about Richard. You eventually stepped down as chairman of HomeServe just earlier this year in January. Since then, you've found time to publish a best-selling book and take on several other jobs, which I'll also ask you about, Richard.
Why is copying successful business models important for entrepreneurs?
Firstly, welcome. I mean, this HomeServe journey, I mean, you are amongst a few British people who've actually started and built billion-pound businesses. And I want to ask you, how did that begin? And what were the sort of key moments in your view that made that happen? Yeah, I'd always wanted to be an entrepreneur and trying to find the big idea that could work. And I'd been working at Procter & Gamble in marketing, buying houses in Newcastle. And the biggest problem was Friday night, tenants would ring saying, water pouring out of a radiator or block drain in the backyard. And you could not get a plumber for love nor money in Newcastle on Friday night. They're all out drinking. So you're from Newcastle, that area, or Northumberland?
Originally a Yorkshireman, born in Huddersfield, but moved to Newcastle at age five.
What challenges do mid-size businesses face in today's economy?
Right, okay. And that's where Procter & Gamble have a big base. So you were working for them and you were doing a sort of side hustle doing rentals, is that what you were doing? So property management and letting and buying houses, that was the opportunity, a shortage of young professional shared accommodation in Newcastle at the time. Right. You reminded me of a sort of plumbing disaster that happened to us many years ago. We had to ring and it was someone called Emergency Man came and did not do a good job. And probably ripped you off with a big repair bill. Yeah, it wasn't a happy experience.
How did Richard Harpin create Growth Partner and what is its focus?
I still remember it. Go on. So you saw a space in this market. So got into it, called it A1 Fast Fix. We'll be at the front of Yellow Pages section for plumbing and heating. Put our life savings into the business, £50,000 at the time. And literally saw that money go down the drain in the space of six months. The issue is people only have a plumbing emergency every five years, so there's no repeat business. Cost of Yellow Pages was high, so the model didn't work. So Yellow Pages for younger listeners was like a great big thick book in which business listed itself. And that was where people turned to look for services of this sort.
What should entrepreneurs include in their not-to-do list?
It's been on the web in the old days.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were Richard Harpin's early struggles in building HomeServe?
0:00–0:55
2
How did the plumbing insurance model lead to HomeServe's success?
0:55–2:00
3
Why is copying successful business models important for entrepreneurs?
2:00–2:58
4
What challenges do mid-size businesses face in today's economy?
2:58–3:33
5
How did Richard Harpin create Growth Partner and what is its focus?
3:33–4:15
6
What should entrepreneurs include in their not-to-do list?
4:15–5:19
7
How can entrepreneurs effectively recruit and hire their replacements?
5:19–6:44
8
What lessons did Richard Harpin learn from his business journey?
6:44–1:10:20
Speakers
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