In a country where we struggle to get people out of bed, or off their sofa, to do a day’s work, it’s worth giving a shout out to the 3.1million sole traders in the UK who have the self-motivation and determination to carve out a living for themselves.
From men and women in vans, laptop consultants based out of coffee shops, and kitchen table business owners, these people put the hours in to give themselves and their families a good life without the safety net of a salary or any of the benefits that can come with employment. These guys put the Small into SME, but they are a vital part of the economy as they make up more than half of private sector firms in the country.
Some employ a few people and others just plough their own furrow. And I have massive appreciation and admiration for them. When I started my first business in 1979 with a second-hand van and an old bag of tools I never thought I’d build it into a multi-million pound enterprise that has given me a life I couldn’t have dreamed of as a council estate kid, and now the chance to do it all again, bigger and better with WeFix London.
What got me thinking about this guy called Paul Thompson, who’s a car salesman turned charity car washer, and my early 2025 nomination for my WeFix Team Man of the Year – and far more deserving than all those political con-artists! I first met him last year through friends in Marbella where I live these days. Talk about unstoppable; he’s fought off the big ‘C’ twice, but isn’t just happy with his own victory, so has worn out a dozen sponges cleaning cars for the two cancer charities that supported him when he was ill.
I know lots of people have a cancer story, and often they don’t end well, and it’s no surprise since the disease kills 460 Brits every single day. Originally Paul, who is still off work recovering from his second fight with the disease, set a target of raising £1,000 to help fellow sufferers, by cleaning a hundred cars in 100 days. But to his amazement he smashed his target in the first few days, and the money just kept coming.
And thanks to his tireless efforts his two charities – Cancer Focus and Friends of the Cancer Centre in Belfast – will split more than fifteen grand between them. All I can say is what an amazing bloke. He first got testicular cancer in 2007, followed by Metastatic Germ Cell tumours 14 years later during the Covid lockdown, but the setbacks haven’t dulled his enthusiasm for life.
One thing that really stuck in my mind about Paul was his never say die attitude. He once told me that the ‘chemo was no problem’ but what was really hard was getting his ‘head straight’ when receiving the bad news and during treatment. Apparently starting the car washing gig was part of his personal recovery plan, and the idea hit him after seeing a very sick looking patient outside the hospital he was visiting for a check-up.
The woman was in a wheelchair and attached to a drip and a cigarette. That was the moment Paul decided to try and help others with their health, both physical and mental. Of course, I got him to do my car out here in Spain, and then I had the idea that when he’d finished his hundred-car marathon he should auction off his bucket and sponge.
I said whatever the winning bid was I’d match it… Most expensive carwash I’ve ever had at 750 quid, just as well he did a great job!
It’s that type of determination, embodied by Paul, albeit motivated by a horrendous medical diagnosis, that I’m forever in awe of and see in so many of our sole traders and entrepreneurs, as well as fundraisers of course. And they should all be celebrated because the contribution they make to society, and the economy, should never be underestimated.
