George Heaton (Represent Founder): From My Garden Shed To $100m Business Empire! "Work Life Balance Is Bullshit!", "That Letter Was The End Of Represent!"

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

From starting in a shed to aiming to be a billion dollar company, the road to success is a 24/7 mission.

George Heaton is the owner and creative director of the British luxury streetwear brand, Represent.

In this conversation George and Steven discuss topics such as, why a work-life balance is bullshit, changing his life and writing his rules for success, how Represent was almost destroyed, and why he doesn’t believe in motivation.

• (02:04) What is the mission you're on?
• (02:14) What made you obsessed with winning?
• (02:14) What influence did your father have on you?
• (04:01) What was your brother Mike like?
• (04:28) What did your parents do for a living?
• (04:52) Did you always grow up wanting to be in fashion?
• (05:36) The influence your older brother had on you
• (06:33) When was the idea of Represent born?
• (09:02) Where did that chip on your shoulder come from?
• (09:35) What was his shedding phase like?
• (11:31) Starting Represent in 2012
• (14:01) Why don't people start?
• (16:28) How do you feel now about the old products you used to make in the shed?
• (17:13) What do you say to people who want to start their business?
• (17:59) Trying to scale the business
• (19:12) Hiring people
• (25:15) How do people get the answers they need to take them to the next level?
• (26:08) What made you step out of the CEO position and hire a CEO?
• (28:29) A phase where you didn't like yourself
• (30:17) How did you know you wanted to change?
• (33:20) Creating those next steps for the business?
• (39:53) Creating a solid company culture
• (40:48) Self-awareness
• (42:06) Staying in touch with the business side of things as a creative
• (45:47) The letter that nearly ended Represent
• (50:02) Company lawsuit
• (53:03) What his experience of it was at that time
• (55:19) What makes Represent special?
• (57:33) What is it about Represent that we don't see?
• (00:59:32) People stealing Represent's designs
• (01:02:02) How do you view money now?
• (01:03:47) What it's been like trying to create a life outside of the business
• (01:05:03) The brand being linked to your self-esteem and identity
• (01:08:58) How important is it that you surround yourself with the right people?
• (01:10:25) Romantic Relationships?
• (01:15:04) Opinions on work-life balance?
• (01:19:51) Advice on how to run a clothing line
• (01:23:37) How to get the motivation to go do the thing
• (01:24:38) What have you learned from hiring?
• (01:26:07) What if Michael decided he wanted to stop?
• (01:29:29) What is next for George?
• (01:31:01) What is the next goal?
• (01:32:21) What are you good at?
• (01:35:30) The next guest's question

You can purchase all Represent products, here: https://bit.ly/3PyaKoX

Follow George:

Twitter - https://bit.ly/4cosMDP

Instagram - https://bit.ly/3xh1crW

Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/3kxINCANKsb

My new book! 'The 33 Laws Of Business & Life' is out now - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook

Follow me:

https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo

Sponsors:

Shopify: http://shopify.com/bartlett

Uber: https://p.uber.com/creditsterms

Vodafone V-Hub: https://www.vodafone.co.uk/business/sme-business/Steven-Bartlett-Digital-SOS?cid=psoc-ent_li_ebu_/brnd/Stevenbartlett01/aws/11.23/SB

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