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Riding the Storm: My Journey to the Brink and Back
Can money buy you happiness? A few years ago, Duncan Bannatyne might have said so. He was happily married, and his businesses were thriving. Life was good. He couldn't have known that a storm was brewing on the horizon, and that he would soon face immense personal and professional struggles, including the strain of a divorce and the impact of the recession on his business empire. Riding the Storm is the inspirational account of how Duncan overcame these setbacks. It's a survival story, full of insights into how he adapted his businesses and his life to new financial realities. In it, Duncan explains exactly how a working-class boy from Clydebank built himself a multimillion-pound business empire, and talks with incredible frankness about the current strategies, goals, and finances of his companies. He reveals the true nature of his feuds and friendships with the other Dragons, and uses his experiences from Dragons' Den to offer advice to start-up entrepreneurs in today's market. He speaks openly about the terrible pain of his divorce, and how his children's love gave him the strength to get through it. He discusses the opportunities that success has given him, from learning to dance for Sport Relief to trekking up Kilimanjaro with his daughter. And finally he explains why, in spite of having just gone through the toughest years of his life, he feels positive about the future—and why you should, too.
270 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 27, 2015
Enjoyable read, not a page turner but some good insights into starting a business, and keeping it afloat. Like how much time and money he has committed to Charitable works. It's clearly important to him.
September 14, 2020
I enjoyed this insight into a very shrewd, intelligent and capable businessman. It is candid, fascinating and inspiring.
October 6, 2013
Having read "Anyone Can Do It" about Duncan Bannatyne's rise to success from humble beginnings as an ice cream vendor, I was curious to read about his more recent business and personal difficulties. I bought this on Kindle on the day it was published and set too to read it straight away.
It is an easy read and covers the huge challenges that he faced primarily as a consequence of the unpleasant break up of his second marriage. He is frank and open in describing the downward plunge on his personal roller coaster and his current personal and business situation, clearly a matter that is unresolved in outcome. The story is interspersed by the author's opinions on matters of business and politics / the economy.
I enjoyed the vaguely voyeuristic read but felt that inevitably, as this is a work in progress, that the end never really happened. I was very disappointed by the author's completely unnecessary use of the "f word" on a couple of occasions - he lowered himself in those moments.
This was not as satisfying as was "Anyone Can Do It", but perhaps that was an inevitability bearing in mind the situations described. Worth the time though!
It is an easy read and covers the huge challenges that he faced primarily as a consequence of the unpleasant break up of his second marriage. He is frank and open in describing the downward plunge on his personal roller coaster and his current personal and business situation, clearly a matter that is unresolved in outcome. The story is interspersed by the author's opinions on matters of business and politics / the economy.
I enjoyed the vaguely voyeuristic read but felt that inevitably, as this is a work in progress, that the end never really happened. I was very disappointed by the author's completely unnecessary use of the "f word" on a couple of occasions - he lowered himself in those moments.
This was not as satisfying as was "Anyone Can Do It", but perhaps that was an inevitability bearing in mind the situations described. Worth the time though!
February 8, 2023
It was ok but I enjoyed his last book more and I skipped over a lot of the business details. I also got the impression when he talked about his divorce that it was very much a one sided view of things. He seems quite an irascible man but with an admirable generosity to his charities and a completely doting father and grandfather.
April 30, 2015
A British business man describes some of his life / work.
Not a bad book but the entrepreneur didn't come as that likeable. The parts dealing with starting a business / keeping it afloat were interesting but some other sections were dull.
Not a bad book but the entrepreneur didn't come as that likeable. The parts dealing with starting a business / keeping it afloat were interesting but some other sections were dull.
April 9, 2014
A very easy read. Some of his points and tips are good. It didn't offer me any new insight as to what gets you through tough times other than a good team, which isn't a new or exciting theory.
November 30, 2015
More an update on what happened over all those years with him. No profound knowledge, but a nice read nevertheless
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews