Risk, Illness, Betrayal and Growth

Since the immortal words from Boris Johnson, putting us in to lockdown, in early 2020 it’s fair to say not many things have been ‘normal’ for anyone!

Like many people, during that first lockdown my ability to provide for my family was all of a sudden snatched from my control.?So during April 2020 anycolourcar.com was born.?Working on low running costs and low overheads we built it up to a business that today has sold well over 1,500 cars and vans, has a showroom and stock level we are proud of and (hopefully not tempting fate), has been profitable each and every month.

2023 then should have been quite the year, we have a great team, great stock and some amazingly loyal customers (already).?Little did I know that towards the end of January my life would be on the line, and for 4.5 hours, in an operating theatre in Barnsley General Hospital my life was saved despite multiple organ failure.?What I also didn’t expect was betrayal from someone I truly trusted.?Especially during a time that was so difficult for both me and my family.

But despite this abnormal period of time, that has certainly been challenging, some things have completely stood out.?Me and my family are well and truly blessed, we have some amazing friends, family and colleagues.?These people have supported us overwhelmingly through this terribly difficult time.?We are lucky to have such an amazing NHS, our local doctors’ surgery has been amazing and Barnsley Hospital literally brought me back from the dead.?Finally, it’s amazing how resilient children can be and how they can cope in difficult and challenging times.

From a business perspective, I think it is important to highlight where we are and how we have got here.?We are a genuine team of like-minded people on a mission to provide outstanding customer care.?We want to be known as the friendly, helpful and honest car guys.?This approach is clearly having a positive effect on almost all of the people we interact with; customers, suppliers and peers all seem impressed, all seem to enjoy dealing with us and many have become brand ambassadors.?This immediate success has led, unfortunately, to imitation and betrayal but it isn’t going to stop us.?We are going to continue to trust, continue to help and continue to support others. anycolourcar.com is going to remain loyal to our roots, we won’t change our core beliefs, but we will continue to be agile and react to this ever-changing market.

Our industry is in a period of confusion and over-complication but the solution is really quite simple, and it is as basic as having the ability to literally listen and react to customers.?Having an easy journey whether that be digitally, physically, over the phone or a combination of them all is vital.

I would like to say thank you, to my amazing family (especially my wife), my work family (who by the way are awesome) and to friends, colleagues and customers.?Your belief and your support has not only helped us set up the business, it’s seen us through a difficult spell and your help means we continue to gain more and more traction.

In summary, Quarter 1 in 2023 has been a challenge to say the least but watch this space for an exciting addition to our team and for us to keep growing, keep expanding and most importantly keep buying and selling cars without the ‘faff’!?To finish off with another Boris phrase, personally and professionally I intended to ‘build back better’.?Fitter, stronger and more resilient. ?

Jonathan Seaman

Valetor, buyer, driver, salesman and customer champion.