Business Birthday Interview: David Jenkins, Artisanti

As Artisanti, the luxury interiors brand, celebrates its 5th birthday (and its millionth visitor), we catch up with David Jenkins, its founder, to talk about the business and his working life.

I'll be celebrating Artisanti's fifth birthday with… a long lunch with the team; somewhere swanky with a long waiting - and wine - list.

The best moment of last year was… launching our own radio station - elegantlounging.com. It indulges both my passions - interior design and good music - and because there's no talk or adverts, it fits right into the dinner party scene.

The worst moment of last year was… when my laptop went phut. I only lost one day of data, but it was enough to cause pure white panic followed by days of paranoia. I religiously back up my phone and laptop now - and write out shopping lists in triplicate.

I couldn't live without... internet access - of course it's the basis of my business, but it's also an endless source of knowledge, inspiration and fun for life in general. I‘ve always pondered at length and now I only need ponder a short while before finding out how to do something, what things mean, who is who etc. I love it: feed me facts.

Thanks to hitting the ground coffee at 8am… I usually hit the ground running at 9am. First stop is to go the through the previous night's orders, then I update the website. I remove the caffeine drip at 11am to take a late breakfast at my desk.

The day's events take me through... until 4.30pm when it's time for my head-clearing stroll to the post office. I usually work until 11pm, 1am if not nagged - I'm a real night owl and an advanced practitioner in the art of late night genius.

I subscribe to… lots of blogs about web marketing and the next big thing, be it in search engines or social media; the truth is nobody really has the holy grail, so I feel equal to the experts in that respect. I do a daily tour of Google Analytics to check visitor numbers and sources, check Google Alerts for mentions, and also keep a close eye on our customer reviews.

My advice to would-be entrepreneurs is… if you can cover the mortgage for three months, then don't hold back. Once you've set off down the self-propelled corridor, you'll see new doors that you never noticed, so be prepared to learn, adapt and follow the wind. Work hard for no initial reward and make it your waking obsession.

Whatever your business… being a good communicator is the virtue that will stand you in the best stead. With this one skill it's easy to shine in these days of appalling customer service all around.

If money were no object, I would buy… first class airline tickets - turning left off the gantry, compulsory time to do nothing but read or watch a film while being pampered, followed by a sleep and the anticipated thrill of a far flung destination. But only a few times a year, I wouldn't want to give up work - I need the daily strive to keep me mentally alive.

My most overused word is… "Wow!" - just 3 letters, but it's all in the intonation; sometimes it means ‘oh no', sometimes ‘oh yes', sometimes ‘I wasn't really listening.'

You might not know this but… I left school at 15, started my first business at 21 and have lived in blissful ignorance of real life ever since.

The best piece of business advice I've ever been given was... by an expert at a search engine conference, who said: "If you want to do well on the internet, forget about being a techie - just be a good writer. "A mastery of the English language will get you everywhere, especially in these txty days.

Another good piece of advice is.. "anyone can manage a business when everything's going according to plan, it's managing it when it isn't that will make you successful."

My pet hates are… bad spelling and poor grammar, both of which are indicators of my other grinds: lack of attention to detail and pride in one's work. There's only one version of ‘done' and that's not the ‘you know what I mean' or the ‘someone else can take it from here' versions. I'm famously pedantic when it comes to that.

I admire… the people who do the ‘I wish I'd thought of that ideas and who act fast and smart.
By best and worst business traits are… tenacity, perfectionism, tenacity and repetition.

25th October 2011