Vote for me! That’s the current mantra of DMI magazine’s ‘Talk Back’ debate master and columnist, Ian Hughes (pictured left).

No, he’s not standing for Parliament or setting up his own raving looney Governor of Bristol campaign – but he has been nominated as Entrepreneur of the Year in the annual O2 X Awards, which recognise and reward successful small businesses.

The national final of the sixth annual O2 X Awards event will be staged in London in October 2009 (in conjunction with ShortList and Grazia magazines).

Honoured and delighted to be on the regional short-list, Hughes – MD of research firm Consumer Intelligence – told DMI: “The only way to get through to the next round is to get lots of people to vote for me! So, please do so . . . here’s where: http://o2-business.com/Business/Vote.aspx (click on the South West and Wales regional tab).”

Launching the 2009 awards earlier this year, British telco 02 conducted research to determine whether entrepreneurialism is a matter of nature or nurture. Their survey of British business men and women showed five key personality traits forming the entrepreneur DNA:

1. ‘Obsessive optimism’: this approach to business creates a resilient attitude to failure and setbacks, an essential trait when starting out as your own boss.
2. Enjoyment of responsibility: a highly developed sense of responsibility enables successful business people to view responsibility as an attraction rather than a burden.
3. Desire to achieve: a major driver of entrepreneurial behaviour which enables successful business people to be single-minded about achieving their goals in spite of obstacles.
4. The reward of hard work: small business owners are driven by reward, both in the monetary sense, but also in the more emotional sense of reward and pride in driving their business forward.
5. The urge to be self-employed from childhood: This trait was present in nearly half (48%) of those questioned and also a common trait among celebrity entrepreneurs such as Sir Alan Sugar.

But what makes nominee Ian Hughes tick?

DMI asked which of the above attributes are most true of his own personality. He replied: “I used to be (1), but over time I have realised I was too optimistic and not realistic enough. The ‘University of Hard Knocks’ has taught me to go for (3) with a tinge of (4)!”

He recalled how he launched his business, back in 2003: “When I started Consumer Intelligence, pretty much everyone wrote us off; we had no capital, competitors with deep pockets, no customers and no brand. But I knew we could do better than our competitors and I knew they weren’t able to move and evolve fast enough. I knew if I could get a foothold I could out-serve, out-smart and out-perform my competitors. And, because of my history, I had a point to prove.

“I was terrible at school – right up to when I was told it wouldn’t be a good idea to finish my A-levels. So I left school and went to college to study for the exams. There, I discovered that life was not about being right or wrong (although that helps), but was about being well-informed, making a good judgement and being able to evolve it quickly. I went from being worst in my year to top of my year. I was told I wasn’t smart enough to do a degree, so I did an HND and came top of my first year. I was offered a degree transfer but was told I wouldn’t be able to get an honours degree: I got an upper second. Then I was student of the year on the IDM diploma.

“I just needed the right type of education.”

So it appears it was nurture rather than nature which gave Hughes the oomph to succeed . . .  along with a good team supporting him. He adds: “We rely heavily on our staff to out-think and out-evolve both our competitors and our customers. We need to be one step ahead of them at all times. I can’t do it all myself, so I have to be able to rely on my staff to do it. That’s the toughest part of my job – because I am, by nature, a control freak! So, I have employed a super-smart team of people who are better than me (. . . but don’t tell them, because they might start to slacken off!).

The ethos seems to work, because the company was recently nominated for an international business honour in New York (the Stevie Awards), cited as one of the top eight most innovative companies in Europe. Hughes commented: “We didn’t win, but it was nice to be nominated out of the 1,300 that entered. Earlier this month we also won a Best Business Award for Outstanding Innovation for our RealityCheck service – which helps call centres improve the service they give to customers, which means happier customers and healthier profits!”

As well as being justifiably proud of his professional achievements, Hughes is also a proud father-of-two. But are they a chip off the old block? He said: “Elleri, my eldest, is a singer and recently performed at the Prom on the Close, which was fairly huge event, and she is about to take her Musical Theatre professional certification (she’s 16 tomorrow, so not bad!). Interestingly, she wants to be an agent: she loves the theatrical world, but she wants to make money, so can’t see herself as a struggling actress! Madison is ten, so a little young, although I think she has more savings than me and recently won her school’s best all-round athlete award; so she’s pretty competitive.”

What’s his advice for would-be entrepreneurs?
“Firstly, be aware that it’s not easy; it is emotionally and financially draining. It requires absolute, total dedication and strength of personality and commitment. You also need to be able to face your greatest victories and worst failures with equal grace.

“Secondly, it’s all about the cash. If you run out of cash, no matter how many awards you win or how brilliant everyone tells you you are, you are dead in the water!

“And thirdly, when things are at their best, it’s time to start looking for the bump in the road. Nothing in life is smooth!”

Back to the O2 X Awards, Simon Devonshire, head of small business marketing at O2, commented: “Our research demonstrates that there are prevailing qualities common to successful entrepreneurs, whether they are just starting out, right through to some of the UK’s most celebrated entrepreneurs. The ‘obsessive optimism’ trait is arguably more important than ever in the current economic climate. With SMEs facing economic setbacks, an optimistic and resilient outlook is essential to maintain confidence in their business.

“O2 is passionate about small business and the O2 X Awards is a great platform to reward the UK’s best entrepreneurs. Previous winners of the O2 X Awards have gone on to achieve great things and have used their O2 X Award wins as a springboard to successfully grow their businesses.”

Vote for Hughes here: http://o2-business.com/Business/Vote.aspx  Meanwhile, you can ‘Talk Back’ to him in his DMI Master Debater role. Join his latest rant here: http://dmionline.net/blog/2009/07/14/talk-back/