When I was about 11 years old, my best friend Robert and I created a comic book together. We were just two kids in middle England who loved to draw, tell stories and saw a gap in the market. What began as pencil sketches in notebooks quickly evolved into something beyond our bedrooms. We poured our little hearts into drafting characters, building plots, and figuring out something called a Xerox machine.
After being featured in a local newspaper, somehow one of the TV stations heard about it and came to our school to interview us. Suddenly, our little comic had an audience far beyond the classroom. We were thrust into the spotlight, explaining our creative process while holding up our homemade issues and squinting at the cameras through our 1970s haircuts.
Two questions from that interview stuck with me. The first was about our roles. I was the editor, Robert the cartoonist. The TV man lamented, “It must be hard, Paul, being the editor?”
I responded while head-nodding to Robert, “Yeah, especially when he doesn’t do what you tell him to do!” I still struggle with delegation.
The next question asked about the root of our comic’s success. Robert stared blankly but I didn’t — I jumped in to help him out: “Well, because we make great comics.” That simple answer still captures the heart of entrepreneurship to me and the way to carve out a great career as an employee. Do good work.
Success doesn’t come from clever marketing, the right networking event, or even lucky timing — though those things help. At its core, it comes from excellence in the product or service. If what you create genuinely resonates with your customers, momentum builds naturally.
The same principle applies as an employee. The surest pathway to promotion and job security isn’t politics or shortcuts; it’s being excellent at what you do. Just as great businesses are built on outstanding offerings, great careers are built on consistent excellence.
And resonate our comic did. Our classmates loved it! They swapped copies, pitched storylines to us in the cafeteria, and knocked on our doors for the next edition, much to the annoyance of our Mums and Dads during dinner time.
In business terms, our schoolfriends became our raving fans — delighted customers who championed the product far more effectively than we could on our own. Every entrepreneur needs this kind of customer base. Advertising may open doors, but enthusiastic word-of-mouth sustains growth.
Of course, producing our comic wasn’t all fun and games. It was hard work and we had to make sacrifices. It required discipline and industriousness. We spent many winter evenings and long sunny summer afternoons refining storylines, adjusting panels, and debating character arcs often while enjoying a homemade cake from my Mum and soda that gave us hiccups from Robert’s pantry.
Our comic wasn’t just ours; it belonged, in a way, to our schoolmates who anticipated each new edition. We felt an obligation to deliver on time, every time and earn their enthusiasm with stories worth reading and images that made them dream of places far, far away.
Looking back, I see how that childhood venture foreshadowed so much of what I’ve observed in business and about people at work.
Starting something new often begins with little more than an idea, some passion, and a willingness to work hard. Sustaining it requires discipline, responsiveness, and humility. Growing it demands vision, the ability to capture attention beyond your immediate circle, and a commitment to steward what you’ve been given.
Robert and I may not have built a publishing empire, but in those formative years, we lived through a miniature founder’s journey. We dreamed, we built, we shared, we adapted. And in doing so, we discovered truths that apply far beyond the schoolyard: Delight your customers, work hard, steward resources, and always pursue excellence as it’s a never-ending journey — oh, and learn to delegate!
A few years back I managed to source the footage from this short film from the archives of that local TV station. If you fancy a giggle at those haircuts and accents you can view it here: tinyurl.com/2n8jr5t7.