John's Story

Sometimes, when you start your business as a one-man-band, it's hard to break free from the cycle of running the show alone. Your processes and plans all revolve around you, making it extremely difficult to step back from the business.

John Middleton, founder and former MD of JTM Service, describes it as "a bit like the Swiss clock, everything ticked along just fine until you took the battery (me) out."

JTM started life was a one-person engineering service, set up by John in 1983. It grew to 20-strong company, providing laundry facilities and services to the NHS, care homes, social housing and the hotel and leisure industry. 

When starting, John focused on doing a good job. But very quickly, he realised "being good at repairing washing machines has nothing to do with running a business."

He explains that "When we start a business with our initial investment, It's a bit like buying an open ticket and boarding a train on the London Underground. We are setting off on a journey but not quite sure where to. We know we want "MORE". More profit, more business, more staff, more of whatever it is we think we want, but if we are not careful, we go round and round on that perpetual Circle Line! At some point, we need to know what our end destination looks like so that we can recognise it when we arrive.'

"The only thing I knew was that I wanted to do a great job, make good profits and that quality mattered to me."

John didn't come from a family of business owners and, at the time, there weren't support groups around. As he puts it "I was flying by the seat of my pants. The only thing I knew was that I wanted to do a great job, make good profits and that quality mattered to me." 

He became chairman of the Domestic Appliance Service Association, a national body promoting best practice and quality for the independent service sector. This move helped to develop relationships with all the top manufacturers and led to him opening a retail store and start to train engineers. By 1990 he had a very successful business. 

But then disaster struck. The manufacturers decided every new washing machine would now sell with a five-year warranty. This development created a rapid decline in available work for the independent service sector, except for insurance work, where the insurance provider capped profitability. 

At this point, he decided to take the business into the B2B market, which turned out to be a good move. The margins were higher; there was plenty of work and fewer problems. The business continued to move forward, but still with little direction.

However, a chance meeting with a Vistage member gave him the introduction that would impact my future.

Vistage unlocked access to the neglected areas of the business.

Returning to the train analogy, John explains that "I got on the Vistage train and started to explore the benefits in each carriage. I found world-class speakers, high-quality peer groups, outstanding chairmen, mentors, new contacts and networking opportunities. It helped me to see the undeveloped areas of my business - and myself. As I learned more about myself and my business, then my ideal "end destination" started to grow in clarity and that knowledge is hard to put a value on. 

"My main problem was everything revolved around me. I had put lots of systems and processes in place, but it was a bit like the Swiss clock, everything ticked along just fine until you took the battery (me) out. I had never really considered that until I joined Vistage, and I began to wonder how I would ever sell the business if it needed me.

John began to put a management team in place, with the support of his Vistage peers and a fantastic chairman, who continuously questioned his views and perspectives. He placed some of his senior staff into Vistage Key member groups, so everyone had the same training. Consequently, there was a lot of learning and progress made within the business until its eventual sale in 2019.

But he also adds "Vistage isn't just about business success; it's about personal development and transformation. My group has supported me through everything from personal illness and tragedy to an unexpected mid-life meltdown. We've talked a lot together and sometimes cried together too. I distinctly remember one session when Tina, a relatively new lady member in our group, challenged me to get my "life-plan" in order, and so that's what I did! I thought about everything I wanted to achieve by the end of my life and then looked backwards, down my lifeline, where I could see my past, my present and my future plans in clear perspective. This gave me the self-understanding and clarity I needed to finally get off that circular line and start fast tracking to my chosen destination. I now always look backwards to plan my forward momentum and use that method for just about everything I do."