Having spent thirty years in the motor trade starting as a boy, I worked my way up to the senior management level. I was made redundant in 1992 and thought it was time to work for myself. I found a small one-man workshop in Westcliff and made a start. After two years we moved to a larger workshop and took on two employees and by the end of the year we were employing five. Practically falling over each other, we decided to move to Ness Road, Shoeburyness.