My name is Tim Fenton from Brookfield in Renfrewshire. In 2008 my business crashed and I lost everything. I had already sold my house to keep the business afloat. When I handed over the keys, both my wife and I became unemployed. Savings were all but gone. We got short term jobs that kept us going for a while, but eventually we were jobless, almost penniless, on the verge of being homeless, but never without hope.
I am not a religious man by any stretch of the imagination, but I found solace in going to my local church a couple of times. This was when my wife Janette, realised that I was in a very dark place and sliding towards depression if I was seeking help in church!
I was attending services there as I knew it was the only place I knew I could get peace of mind and be safe from creditors and all my related issues for an hour or two.
I first heard about Stevie Kidd at the Job Centre. The lady I was registering with asked me if I would consider retraining to find a new job. She never got to finish the question; such was my desire to get out of the unemployment rut and into work. I was given Stevie’s details and I said I would contact him asap.
Having never “signed on” in my life before, I found the whole experience to be humiliating and it dented my already fragile self confidence and pride.
Afterwards, as I was walking through the Mall adjacent to the Job Centre, I stopped at a “pop up” shop that had been set up to help people get training in the local area. I noticed a course advertised offering self development courses, on the job training and guaranteed interviews. I applied immediately and it turned out to be one of Stevie’s “KDS” Academy courses. I had a really good interview next day and wasn’t bothered that I was a lot older than most people applying. It’s only a number!
I passed the initial interview and was asked to attend a meeting where the course details would be explained further. It was there I met Stevie for the first time and was immediately impressed by how he just oozed positivity and how he described how this course would, not could, help everyone to raise their goals higher and how to achieve targetsand move on even higher.
He shared his own life story with everyone, warts and all. There was a real similarity in my own story. I trusted him from the start. I believed in him. I knew this meeting would be the start of a whole new chapter in my life and I was going to grab it with both hands and drag myself out of the rut that I had been sliding into.
The next month was great for me. I got on really well with the others in the Academy and soaked up every bit of positive energy like a sponge. Stevie and his team made everyone feel valued and encouraged us all to set goals for every aspect of our lives. The knock on effect for me was that I took everything home with me and my family life improved dramatically. We all had a renewed sense of direction and we vowed to make the changes in attitude and outlook to make things work.
I gained a number of work related qualifications on the course and my confidence was sky high by the time it came around to the interview process. So much so, that one particular Manager who interviewed me said I could have his job if it became available any time soon!
Such was the level of self belief and confidence I portrayed.
As much as I was grateful for the interviews offered, I decided to seek vacancies beyond the Academy and the particular range of jobs we had trained for.
I managed to convince the MD of Phoenix Car co. to give a 50 year old sales novice the chance to be a Graduate TraineeSales Executive with his top franchise. No pressure there!
Being the oldest trainee made me even more determined to excel, not just succeed. I was eager to prove myself to my showroom boss who was half my age. My 3 month non commission trial period lasted 3 days. I told them I could sell cars immediately and would prove it. I did.
As a bankrupt, I couldn’t afford to hang about and with my new found lease of life, armed with the techniques and principles I had learned at the academy, I took to it all like the proverbial duck. I quickly established myself as the top selling salesman in the showroom, overtaking seasoned pros.
Further down the line, as I gained experience, I was promoted to Senior Sales Executive.
I applied for and won a place on a training trip to Florida, which I attended for 4 days with only £100 in my wallet, such had my desire to win overtaken my income at that point!
I won a Sales incentive and received a £400 Citizen Pilot watch. I won a Sales incentive cruise. I was earning more than the Managers in the showroom I worked in, purely as a result of being ultra positive and setting my own targets.
I attended and completed a Management Training course. I am currently a Sales Manager in my own showroom. I have just won a National Sales Incentive trip for 2 to India this yearin my first 6 months.
Everyday is a new challenge and I try to help all my team to believe that they can achieve anything they set their mind on. I am enjoying seeing how I can help others to fulfil their potential. It’s great to give something back. This is a vitally important part of the whole process.
If we help others, we help ourselves.
I will always be eternally grateful to Stevie Kidd and his team for helping me through a very difficult time in my life. I thank them for reassuring me that I was worthy of another chance in life. I am indebted to them for instilling in me a desire to learn how to adopt a positive attitude no matter how bad the situation and to plan everyday, week, month etc. helping me to set targets and goals.
My life and the lives of my family have changed enormously…. and we still see this as just the beginning.
Tim Fenton
