E103:Zero to £35 million: A Story of Honesty, Integrity & Pure Determination with John Bosco O’Hagan

John Bosco O'Hagan is the Founder and Group Chairman of the award-winning, bespoke joinery and fit-out business, Specialist Group based in Maghera, Co Derry. They are a family business dedicated to manufacturing, project planning and installation excellence. Specialist Joinery’s first major export was a pub fit-out in Denmark. They were employed as a sub-contractor to the Irish Pub Company to manufacture and fit out a bar in Copenhagen. Learnings from jobs for the Irish Pub Company led to them becoming the preferred supplier of pub & hotel fit out for Murphy Heineken worldwide. Over the past thirty-five years, they have served customers and delivered major projects in many countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, USA, Japan and even to diverse places such as Almaty in Kazakhstan. Their largest project to date was £15 million with Citigroup. John Bosco started Specialist Group thirty six years ago in 1988 at the mature age of 41. He made the bold decision to give up his employment of 15 years and start his own business. Having worked his way up with his former employer as a shop floor operative and progressing through the business to the level of General Manager, there was nothing more left for John Bosco to achieve. So, he wanted to serve the industry in a better way and start up a business of his own. In this episode, John Bosco imparts a wealth of advice and wisdom drawn from his extensive experience in building a business from the ground up. In his own words, "My life is full of hard stories in business.” Discover the significance of cultivating robust networks, fostering relationships, building formidable teams, and ultimately, how to carve a distinctive niche in a bustling marketplace. An episode not to miss! Links form Episode: Specialist Group - https://www.specialist-group.co.uk/ Brought to you in Partnership with Meagher’s Pharmacy - https://www.meagherspharmacy.ie/