Tony Slimmings, of WR Financial Management, reveals secrets behind his success

ARMED with a briefcase and a pocket full of business buzzwords, Tony Slimmings was ready for anything.

Or so he thought.

Fresh from a whirlwind two-week course on banking sales, the fresh-faced 26-year-old was dispatched from Kent to Bishop Auckland, to work for Lloyds.

But for a man who once worked as a trainee manager in a biscuit factory in Greatham, near Hartlepool, it quickly became too much to stomach.

He said: “I was a 26-year-old lad, I was confident, perhaps a little cocky, and wanted to widen my wings and go off and make my own mark somewhere.

“I'd had enough of working at RHM Foods and KP and it was a time when the banks were just getting involved in pensions.

“There was a lot of opportunities for people to be trained up to be banks salespeople.

“I was sent on a two-week training course and came back fully armed as a salesman.

“But it was terrifying, I came back knowing how to carry a briefcase and laden with targets that I had to hit, which were all under the auspices of a respectable organisation.

“It wasn't for me, and I quickly learned that I liked the technical side of things and moved on.”

If that time had been somewhat chastening, it only served to galvanise Tony's future and pushed him on to the road to success.

The 49-year-old is now a director at WR Financial Management, based in Stockton, which provides firms and individuals with pensions and insurance, as well as advice and support on the new auto-enrolment pension plan.

After his Lloyds experience, Tony transferred to Halifax and subsequently switched to PriceWaterhouseCooper's financial planning team, in Newcastle.

But he wasn't finished there and after taking the brave decision to branch out alone, setting up his own business in 2005, he met his current business partner, Graham Laverick.

The company now looks after about 50 North-East businesses, including TAG Energy Solutions, in Haverton Hill, near Billingham, which recently won a major contract to make 16 monopiles and transition pieces for EON's Humber Gateway offshore wind farm, creating 60 jobs.

Tony, who is studying a master degree in human resources at Northumbria University, said WR offers very traditional financial services, but revealed it was now working hard on the new auto-enrolment pension scheme to further help clients.

He said: “We are in a world where we all seem to want to have our cake and eat right now.

“The principle of the auto-enrolment scheme means people don't have a choice.

“We have a voluntary system which relies on people joining a pension scheme and something has to be done.

“It comes down to this; we accept we will have to pay more taxes or accept that we pay a tax and put aside for the well-being of our future.

“I know some people would rather spend their money now, but we have got to have a system in place for people to retire.”

Favourite North-East building and why? The ICI tower in Stockton, because when I see it when I’m driving north up the A19 after being away on business, know I am nearly home.

What was your first job and how much did you get paid? Trainee production assistant (production managers assistant), at RHM Foods – I started on £8,000 a year.

What is the worst job you've had? I left RHM for a new challenge and became production supervisor at a food factory. I spent 12 months of hell in one of the worst organisational cultures I’ve ever had the misfortune to experience.

What would you cook for me if I came around for dinner? Spaghetti Bolognese.

What would your superpower be? I’d love to have the ability to get others to understand points of view which are different from their own.

Name four people, dead or alive, who would be at your perfect dinner party. Civil rights leader Mahatma Ghandi; political economist John Maynard Keynes; Greek philosopher Aristotle; and comedian Ricky Gervais.

Most expensive thing you've bought - other than car or house - and how much? A caravan on site near Leyburn, North Yorkshire, for £22,000.

Who is the best person to follow on Twitter and why? Me, because I have no followers or tweets, so I can focus on my own life.

Favourite book? Creating the Good Life: It's Not Just About the Money - How to Apply the Wisdom of Aristotle to the Pursuit of Happiness, by James O'Toole.

When did you last cry? During a recent episode of ITV drama Monroe, when the storyline was very close to personal loss.

What is your greatest achievement? In my personal life, has to be my children or managing to stay married for 25 years. In business, having the nerve to start back up in business 12 months after taking a business into voluntary insolvency.

What's the best piece of advice in business you've ever been given? You can change tomorrow, but not yesterday.

Favourite animal and why? Dogs, particularly Labradors, because they give the same unrestrained love and attention every time they see you, without any of the attitude games you sometimes get from people.

Most famous person on your mobile phone? I don’t really have any famous contacts – and if I did, I couldn’t possibly reveal them.

What was the last band you saw live? Lionel Ritchie was last live music act – the last band I saw that was The Stranglers, more than 20 years ago.

Describe your perfect night in. Plenty of wine, plenty of food and plenty of friends.

In another life I would be... A university lecturer teaching the benefit of people management skills to current UK business owners and managers.

Who would play you in a film of your life? Ricky Gervais, because it would need somebody as funny as him to find anything to make anything out of it.

What irritates you? People who criticise other people without accepting their own personal shortfalls.

What's your secret talent? Tenacity