Things were going great. I had a motor repair business, an accident repair business, a salvage business and a motor factor business. It was a great circle of businesses. People would come in to have their car repaired and we could 'sell them up' on car accessories. People would come in to buy a salvage car and we would sell them up on having the car straightened on a jig, supply the panels the car needed, and then paint the car for them, with the latest technology 'low-bake' and infra-red painting systems.

It seemed like life had finally acknowledged me and rewarded me. I had money coming out of my ears. Sue was working the administration in the company; so we spent a lot of time together. We had three or four holidays a year abroad; dined out with friends at least once a week and were sporting the latest fashions. It seemed like life was bliss.

Whenever you experience a bubble; you can be pretty sure it's got to burst sometime. A new law was brought into effect to eliminate the problem of people badly repairing salvage cars. This law recorded all written-off cars so that the public could identify any car which had been written-off by an insurance company. The effect of this had serious effects on the car sales industry. Any car which was registered as a 'total-loss' was immediately devalued by around 25%. As the months went by, the writing was on the wall. Less salvage sales, would mean less car alignment on our expensive 'jig'; less sales of parts; less paintwork and less money in Glenn's pocket. I had to find another stream of income.

A year earlier, Dave Clarke had stepped into my life. He'd been successful with GKN motor factors. When they were taken over by Autoparts, he found their management structure frustrating. He approached me with an offer. He wanted to partner me in the Motor Factor business, with a view to expanding the business into components for repair and servicing of cars. We did a deal and he bought into the business.

He worked damned hard. The business flourished, although I pushed for a rate of growth that he felt was too fast.

In that same year; into my life walked a man who was to cause me some of the biggest grief, ever, in my life. He was smooth talking. A salesperson's salesperson. We met to talk, to discuss a possible business venture. He promised to make me a millionaire in 5 years.

He'd been successful with a number of car dealerships and wanted to break out and do it with a dealership of his own. His enthusiasm was like no-one I've ever come across. Extreme in positivity; with a selling structure for car sales that I'd never set my eyes on before.

Little did I know at the time what trouble he was; how ignorant he was; how much pain he'd already caused so many people; and how he was going to cost me everything I'd built and acquired in my lifetime. I was greedy; couldn't see the wood for the trees; and he sucked me in.

He took over the car sales pitch I'd already established, and before long, we went from selling two cars a month, to an average of around 12. Before long we were looking at a Car Dealership to buy. As time went by, a number of people warned me about him; but all I saw was the income coming in. I'd no idea that this was his 'level' and that any level above this and he would be out of his depth.

Dave Clarke was getting anxious. I approached him one day and asked him if he wanted to buy me out of the Motor Factor business. We agreed a deal.

Big mistake! I didn't even get the company valued. I'd no idea 'how' to get it valued; let alone 'get' it valued. I just went with my gut feeling as to what it was worth.

The Motor Factor business was 'passive income'. Once you have a customer; provided you look after that customer; they'll invariably stay with you a long time.

Today (October 2005) Dave is very successful; and to some people would be considered financially free. Well done Dave. May your fortune keep growing, and your happiness too.

Did I f^ck up or what? I was too inexperienced to realise what a great business I'd built; knew nothing of consolidation and real business growth; and instead went for the quick fix.

By 1991 I had a Ford Dealership.

My relationship with the nameless one continued. As time went by I started to count the lies and deceit he was regularly delivering. He was involved with people who I'd only describe as crooks; and I was seen to be involved too, by association. More and more people would tell me stories about his past history; but I was in deep. There was no tangible proof I could place before him to confront him with.

When I went on holiday, the sales people would tell me of lots of cash that would change hands with traders who would buy the trade-ins. This man was very sly. He would cover his tracks well with paperwork. He kept his dealings close to his chest. Many a time I would confront him, and he'd talk his way out of it and walk away.

But I had an ace. Sue was in the business. She was a Director and she handled the accounts. Whilst ever she was in that position; we limited his fraud and embezzlement. Tax discs would disappear and they were cashed in. Cars would be sold too cheap. People told me a lot of cash was landing his way. I couldn't prove any of it; that is, until I finally got him out of my life. I found a trail of paperwork which would 'hang him up to dry', and confronted him with it. He told me that if I went public with it, that he'd tell anyone that I was involved too; since the paperwork had gone through my hands, and no-one would be any the wiser. In other words, if he was going down, I was going down with him. It was enough to get him out of my life. It cost me though. I've hung onto that paperwork; just in case.

He manipulated the staff when he was there. He'd 'work' them on 'hands free' on the internal phones. He'd get them talking about each other whilst they were unaware that people were listening at the other end of the phone in his office. No-one could be trusted.

I was in deep 'do-do'. "Meesa in deep do-do'", to quote Sha-Sha Binks in 'Star Wars 1'. This was to lead to my second business failure.