Graham Kirkham: Backing the brave to do the business for Britain

They create the most jobs – perhaps half the new jobs in the economy. They regularly come up with the innovative ideas that change the way we see and do things, and often grow to be tomorrow's mega businesses. And they are built by a very special kind of person. People we already have a lot of in Britain, but people we definitely need more of. Entrepreneurs.

The amazing thing about being an entrepreneur is that with a bit of nous, a touch of boldness and a lot of hard work, the opportunities can be literally unlimited.

You can shoot the lights out, make a fortune, create jobs and feel unbelievably fulfilled. The kind of fulfilment that you just don't get anywhere else.

The other amazing thing about being an entrepreneur is that just about anyone can do it. Nationality, language, religion, background: all pretty much irrelevant.

So why doesn't everybody do it?

Well, the dictionary defines an entrepreneur as "a person that sets up a business or businesses taking financial risks in the hope of profit". And risks don't suit everybody. But if you have some support or a mentor, it can make a massive difference. Someone to share experiences and give you advice can help to minimise those risks.

I was fortunate in having someone to care for and advise me in my early life. I was adopted at six weeks old and brought up by my new mother and father in the pit village of Edlington, just outside Doncaster – in a rented terrace house, without hot water, bathroom or indoor lavatory.

That was actually my first stroke of luck, because it was those humble beginnings that helped to give me a burning desire to succeed, and the perspective necessary to keep my feet on the ground.

I was ignorant of the pitfalls of setting off in business when I started out on my own in 1969. With nothing – no family money, no mentor or professional support – just an idea. I never envisioned the Sir Graham, Lord Kirkham, billionaire thing. Not in my wildest dreams.

I went from micro-business, to small business, to FTSE 250 and back to private ownership not because this was how I planned it in advance, but because that was where each day and each new decision took us. In the early days, my wife and I did every job in the company – because we had to.

We grew our business trying to be innovative and creative. We listened to customers, suppliers, competitors. We were patient, kept things simple, developed and trained a team of people that loved our down-to-earth, honest, can-do, culture. But what I do wish I'd had in those early years was someone who could have helped me step back and ask: where are you going next? I was rich in ambition and energy, but, like most entrepreneurs, I was poor in time to think and plan.

That's why when Goldman Sachs asked me if I would get involved with their pilot Business Growth Programme in Yorkshire and the Humber,

I was both intrigued and up for it. I was proud to help launch the first class of 25 at the Shine Centre in Leeds last Wednesday. For the next four months, the 25 men and women on the programme will have an intensive business education, and lots of support with accountancy, legal and finance-raising issues, and, importantly, access to people who can advise and mentor them – all this at no cost to them.

Now, they will have to fit all this around running their businesses, but they will be working on their businesses, as well as in them.

The programme includes social enterprises as well as small businesses. And in a world where there is going to be less government money going around, this country needs social enterprises that can deliver social goods while still trading as commercially-minded businesses.

A fifth of the participants on the pilot class are social

entrepreneurs. When the pilot programme succeeds here in Yorkshire, and it will, Goldman Sachs will look to expand it into other places in the UK.

I was lucky enough to have a chance to meet the entrepreneurs taking part in the pilot programme. It was an inspiration for me and it made me recall my early roller-coaster entrepreneur years.

I took 41 years – a lifetime of learning from mistakes. I reckon I could have done it in half the time with the kind of support Goldman Sachs is offering to these younger versions of Graham Kirkham.

My advice to the class was: listen and learn. Take all the guidance you can get. Hook into their connections, their huge fund of expertise. Then trust your vision, work hard and aim high.

It's tremendous news that Goldman Sachs are here, that they chose Yorkshire and Leeds for this unique and innovative programme. But at the end of the day it's a compliment to the drive and ambition and inspirational vision of the entrepreneurs they found here. They are what have always made Yorkshire a great place to grow a business.

I hope this is just the start of a relationship with our region that will deepen and grow.

Lord Kirkham is the founder of Yorkshire furniture chain DFS, which he sold to a private equity firm earlier this year. He was a keynote speaker at the launch of Goldman Sachs' business growth programme in Leeds last week.