Have you ever wondered what the industry's influential figures have on their desk? From remote control race cars to British Gas service authorisation documents, you can tell a lot about a person by their desk. This is why Voltimum's roving reporter, Frankie Snobel, scoped out the desk of Mr. Electric Managing Director, Clive Houlston.
Born and raised in Birmingham, Clive began his career in the electrical industry straight from school. He accepted a five year apprenticeship with Midlands Electricity where he worked as a commercial technical trainee. From here he earned an HND from Wolverhampton Polytechnic and continued working up the career ladder at Midlands Electricity as an electrical engineer. When Midlands Electricity was acquired, Clive began to consider his options in the free market economy. “I wanted to see how I could get domestic installers across the country,” said Clive.
So in 1997, Clive jumped at the opportunity to acquire the Mr. Electric license (owned by a major utilities company), where he then became the Operations Manager. Clive’s business would then take a sharp turn in 2002 with the aftermath of the Enron scandal. With the value of utility shares dropping, Clive was given the task to break apart and sell Mr. Electric. It was upon attending a pension seminar during this period that Clive had a life-changing epiphany. “I wondered why I was selling Mr. Electric to someone else when I could buy it myself – so I did.” Clive then sold everything he owned to raise money and collected investments from colleagues to acquire the business in 2003.
Clive has since dramatically grown the business, from 18 UK franchises in 2003 to 50 at present. Mr. Electric also provides management support to the 20 franchises in Portugal. In 2005, Clive also acquired Aire Serve, 12 franchises of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration specialists in the UK.
When Clive has a chance to take a break from running these two successful companies, he finds pleasure in escaping to his boat in Southampton. Said Clive: “I like to get offshore, drop anchor and have some solitude to get my head around things.”
1. Global Builder of the Year 2006 Award: Mr. Electric won this award at the Dwyer Group conference, where Clive proudly accepted it. The Dwyer Group is the franchise management company that launched Mr. Electric back in 1994.
2. Photograph of Son: Clive displays the keepsake of his now 4 year-old son on his desk. He also has another son who is currently studying technical theatre in university.
3. Camera Lens: Clive is a man of many trades. Photography is a hobby of his and he even worked as a wedding photographer when he was younger.
4. British Gas Domestic Electrical Installation Services Information: Mr. Electric is an authorised service provider in the British Gas ‘Domestic Boiler Replacement Program’. They can do the wiring work needed for boiler replacement.
5. Cowboy Hat: Clive’s regular travels to Texas, USA (Dwyer Group HQ) has lead him to fully embrace Texan fashion – hence the cowboy hat. “When I go to Texas, I’m a Texan,” laughed Clive. He owns matching cowboy boots too.
6. The Best of Vanessa Mae CD: Clive is a fan of classical music and therefore keeps violinist Vanessa Mae’s CD at the office for some musical inspiration.
7. Master Licensee Meeting Agenda: Clive recently attended this prestigious meeting, which took place in the Algarve, Portugal.
8. ‘Mastering the Rockerfeller Habits’ Book: This book by Verne Harnish discusses management guidance and business development. Clive has seen Verne along with other impressive business speakers to learn and find inspiration to move forward professionally.
9. Mr. Electric Website: Found at www.mr-electric.co.uk, here you can find out about Mr. Electric’s commercial and domestic electrical services, along with company information and franchising opportunities.
10. ‘Star Trek…Starring You!’ Video: Clive is a big fan of Star Trek and even attended an exhibition in Las Vegas. And like any good fan of this space travelling series, Clive dressed up in Starfleet crew attire and played a part in a fan film. Clive insists it was just a one time decision, as his “cowboy outfits are enough these days.”
11. Remote Control Car: From a very early age, Clive discovered a love of motoracing. He is a huge Michael Schumacher fan, describing him as the “epitome of man and machine in harmony”. As for the remote control car, Clive takes it to the park when he has a chance to rattle it around. His dream is to one day replace it with a real Ferrari.
12. Mug of Coffee: Served in a Ferrari mug (refer to #11), Clive takes his coffee “white and continuously”. He also claims to be a sucker for Starbucks’ vanilla lattes…and blames his ties to America.
13. Proud to Franchise Brochure: This initiative is to raise awareness of franchised businesses and the benefits they offer to customers. There are over 30,000 franchises in the UK alone, and they provide a “unique combination of national best practice with local ownership”. Clive is the founder of this project.
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