Staying humble has helped keep his business on track, says a recruitment firm owner planning to expand his brand nationwide.
Dennis Tennial, managing director of Tennial Personnel, praised Ipswich as a great place to start and grow a business.
He launched his Northgate Street business on January 12, 2015, and since then it has grown steadily to take on five people, including wife Jade.
MORE - County celebrates bumper rise in start-ups in 2019 - despite 'turbulent' yearNow the father-of-three, now aged 50, has ambitions to build on his success by steadily establishing Tennial Personnel as a national brand. Colchester would be an "ideal" place to open a second branch office, he said.
"When I started it was just me, an office and a phone," he recalled.
"I left a good job with a great salary, built on over 20 years' experience in recruitment, and I was starting from scratch again. But I had the support of my family in making that big decision and five years later it has really paid off.
"The key to any successful recruitment business I think is to stay humble, ensure your promises are deliverable, and realise you can lose loyal clients in a second if you fail to perform.
"It is also about putting good people around you. Reaching this milestone is a credit to my team's hard work and talent."
The firm's hard-earned reputation for first class service had kept the phone ringing, enabling the business to survive and thrive, he said.
"The past five years have flown by, but it has been an incredible journey. Ipswich's business community is buoyant and supportive and I've found it a great place to start and grow an enterprise."
The business supports a number of local causes and organisations, including local football clubs Trimley Red Devils and Coplestonians, Ipswich-based Futurestars UK - which offers schoolchildren in Ghana and Togo access to fully qualified sports coaching - and St Elizabeth's Hospice.
"I have lived in the area for 35 years, so the fact we have been able to support these local teams and charities is just another reason starting this business has been so rewarding," said Mr Tennial.
The recruitment business covers industrial, engineering, commercial and hospitality sectors, providing temporary and permanent staff.
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