About me

I often describe myself as a business “jack of all trades” which (given that this line is generally followed by “master of none”) isn’t necessarily the description that an out-and-out sales person might pick when trying to market themselves!

But it turns out that it is precisely because I can turn my hand to so many aspects of business, and get my brain around the issues that business owners and managers face, that people come to me for help and advice.

I have over 35 years of experience as an entrepreneur, management consultant and university lecturer. I’ve weathered the ups and downs of running my own small businesses (with varying levels of success), working with clients ranging from solopreneurs to C-suite members, and teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students (of varying levels of aptitude and engagement).

I’m the first to admit that I’ve never found the secret sauce that would allow me to sell myself as having being rich and successful, and appear in one of those ‘shouty’ ads that get in the way of the YouTube video you want to watch.

But I’ve achieved whatever it is that I’ve achieved whilst somehow staying married to the same person for almost 30 years, being a very proud father to a brilliant son and a brilliant daughter, and wrestling with the feeling of almost total impotence whilst trying to support my mum, dad, and mum-in-law as they battled with the effects of dementia and stroke.

Consequently, I’m happy to market myself as someone who has faced most of the problems that you might be facing now. Someone who is happy to use their experience to try to help you.

Martin Durham signature

My experience

I have over 35 years’ experience in business and higher education as an entrepreneur, management consultant and university lecturer. That experience has been accumulated in five main phases:

Satellite Management International (Entrepreneur)

I was a co-founder of this business startup which produced business television programmes and pioneered live satellite transmission for clients including British Petrolum, SmithKline Beecham and numerous teaching hospitals. I was primarily responsible for development of all finance, administration, project management and information systems, and introduced one of the UK’s earliest PC-based computer networks.

Doctus Consulting Europe (Management consultant)

Doctus undertook business process re-engineering and change management programmes for clients. I developed and introduced new business processes, management information systems and staff development programmes for clients in the nuclear power and other sectors.

Leeds Metropolitan University (University lecturer)

I joined Leeds Metropolitan University as a part-time lecturer and progressed to become a Principal Lecturer in the School of Information Management teaching a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses including project management, data analysis, decision-making, management information and e-commerce. My senior management roles included oversight of all Masters level teaching provision for the school including the design and development of new courses to address the changing nature of the business of higher education, design and implementation of new structures and modes of delivery (including distance teaching and distance learning), development of relationship with commercial sponsors and partners, and development of staff development workshops.

Really Clever Homes (Entrepreneur)

I setup Really Clever Homes as an online retailer, before such things were the norm, partly to indulge my interest in home technology and partly to see if, after a decade of (largely theoretical) teaching, I could still “walk the talk”.

The present

I combine my experiences as a business owner, management consultant and educator to help business owners, managers and aspiring entrepreneurs to improve their performance and fulfil their potential.