Businessman hit rock bottom in hard times but refused to stay down

A RECESSION-HIT businessman’s speech to politicians and Irish company chiefs brought a conference room to tears last week.

It was not just about how a prosperous Tipperary company had hit rock bottom. Listeners were inspired by the courage of one man to lift his family company out of the dark debts of economic doom.

Motor dealer George Mordaunt described how he had argued with his bank that he did not want his wife and two kids following a hearse down the street.

At the height of the boom, his car dealership was selling over 40 vehicles a week with customers at garage launches being offered promotional free helicopter rides on the spot.

Three of four car depots have since closed and car sales in the remaining one garage were down to two a week last year.

In front of prominent CEOs, politicians and locals, the resolute managing director candidly told a business conference in his home town of Clonmel how bust businesses could lift themselves off the ground again.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner about his talk at the conference, Mr Mordaunt said: “It’s about coping with fear, what it does to you physically, financially, emotionally, what it does to your family, your kids, your marriage and, in some cases, your health. Particularly in Clonmel town where there’s been some very high-profile suicides.

“I wanted to stand up and say ‘I’ve been there and this is how I got around it’.”

“The reality is there is business being conducted in Ireland on a daily basis. We have to sort this out because the Celtic Tiger isn’t coming back in this generation.”

When the global financial crash came in 2008, Mr Mordaunt’s business, like many around the country, began to slide. Car sales plummeted and banks stopped lending.

Mr Mordaunt added: “What is it like to be self-employed in Ireland? Your turnover has been devastated, you’re in arrears with your creditors, you’re in arrears to your landlord or your mortgage, your bank balance has exceeded its overdraft limit and you’re fielding three to five phone calls a day from your bank wondering what you are going to lodge.

“More importantly, you’re in arrears from Revenue and the letters and intensity you’re receiving from them is ramping up on a daily basis. You lie in bed at 2.15 in the morning and you twist and turn, wondering what was today and what will be tomorrow.

“You wonder how you’ll find this week’s wages and how you’ll cope with whatever hostile creditor appears.

“You sit having Sunday roast with your family and your marriage has become that little bit distant. You’re distant from your kids, you’re looking at them but you’re thinking about next week.”

The Tipperary businessman spoke at a conference arranged by the local chamber of commerce last week.

Mr Mordaunt outlined his method of getting firms out of recession. This involved getting over the crisis, coping with the reality of losses, cutting business, controlling losses and creating new business — what he describes as the five Cs.

Now the company chief has moved his business into “calm waters” and is firmly taking control of business once again.

Politicians and college leaders have since contacted the organisers of the Clonmel conference seeking the motor company chief’s speaking skills at events to help beat the recession blues.