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Darren Clark, co-founder of the spotless Group, likes to keep busy.  From starting his first business, Spotless Cleaning – a company that grew from what he describes as a ‘giant cleaning round’ – he has gone on to become an international speaker, a serial entrepreneur, a mentor, and an ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association.

After leaving school (without any qualifications), he worked as a trolley collector with a major retailer, before steadily progressing from role to role, learning everything he could from each job, and keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the next step up the ladder.  His dyslexia (undiagnosed until he was in his mid-thirties) meant he had to discover his own unique coping strategies, relying on his creativity and resourcefulness to deal with the daily challenges of the workplace.

Darren’s talk at the Today’s PA Conference in August is entitled ‘A Story of Triumph through Adversity’.  We spoke to him about this, and about his background, his businesses, and how thinking outside the box has helped him achieve his goals. 

Your dyslexia wasn’t diagnosed until you were in your 30s, when you already had a successful career in the retail industry.  What coping mechanisms did you develop to cope with work day to day?

“Yes, it was diagnosed very late, when I was 36 or 37.  I was watching TV, an item on one of the news channels, and the reporter was talking to a lady who had opened a florist’s shop.  The reporter asked her why a florist’s, and she replied ‘well, I’m very visual because I suffer from dyslexia’.  She went on to say a couple of other things that really resonated with me.  I began to research it a little more and quickly realised this could be me!  Eventually, I went to see a specialist … and discovered that I was quite severely dyslexic. 

Looking back, working and suffering from dyslexia was incredibly stressful.  Whatever role I was in, I was always looking at the next step, looking for that promotion, and that element of achieving more.  I had that inner drive that seems to be ingrained in many people with dyslexia.  But there were so many times when I didn’t get the job, didn’t get the promotion I wanted.  And I was having to do so much work behind the scenes, too.  I would over-engineer everything.  For example, if I had a presentation to do, I’d rehearse five or six different presentations, just in case I was asked a certain question, so I wouldn’t have to write on the board.  I knew there was a block of some sort there, but I didn’t know what it was. 

School was difficult.  They didn’t really challenge me.  I was just put in a portacabin with some colouring books to keep me occupied.  In the workplace, it was more hands-on.  It wasn’t easy, and even now I struggle day-to-day with reading and writing.  But it’s amazing how you get by, and I’m surrounded by some wonderful people who have helped me so much.”

When you first started Spotless Cleaning, what were your biggest challenges?

“I decided to leave a well-respected and well-paid job because I couldn’t go any further without any qualifications or a degree.  And working at the next level up meant I would be dealing with lots of facts and figures. 

When I set up the cleaning business, I envisaged it going on to become big organisation, possibly UK-wide.  I had ambitions for the business right from the start!  But the reality was that for the first couple of years it was just a giant cleaning round.  I was cleaning day in, day out.  When my business partner came on board, we worked very hard to grow it into a company.  

The cleaning industry is extremely tough.  Having worked for a major retailer, I knew how to deliver excellent customer service.  I thought there would be a gap in the market if I could bring that level of service into the industry.  There were some significant challenges, particularly with staff retention.  If you take on two people and give each of them 16 hours of home cleaning – and then one or both of those people leave, you’re left with a lot of hours to cover yourself.  It’s notoriously difficult.  Staff just come and go – because it isn’t their main source of income.  Clients then complain that staff don’t turn up or they’re late or lazy.   

With Spotless Cleaning, I set out to counter-act that perception, and we took the decision to make all of our business, all of our marketing strategy about our staff, making sure they felt part of the team, and that they had a role in the success of the company.   

Whenever I start a business, I always try to find the flaws in the industry and turn these into positives.  It seems to have worked for us so far!” 

How did you branch out to form the ‘spotless Group?’

“It took us several years, but we eventually reached the point where we could recruit a manager to look after the day-to-day running of the cleaning business, and my business partner, Kelly, and I began thinking about the next challenge.  Having always done our marketing both offline and online very successfully on a tight budget, we were constantly being asked to show other businesses how to do it themselves.  So, we decided to form a training company which has grown rapidly and now encompasses not only social media marketing, and sales and marketing, but HR, customer services, administration, speaking successfully to sell your business, and business consultancy.  We travel both across the UK and internationally, training businesses and charities.   

The networking business grew out of our love for working with and connecting people, but we couldn’t find a group that seemed to encompass everyone’s needs.  So we launched spotless Networking, a new and dynamic networking group that is professional yet relaxed.  Events are held in wonderful, vibrant venues with great tasting refreshments and food.  If people feel comfortable and relaxed, then they’re more likely to make meaningful and honest connections, which are crucial to growing your business.  That’s the kind of value we as a business want to provide.   

But during the creation of these businesses, we realised that we needed a way of holding them together, a way of defining our overall values and mission.  And that’s how the spotless Group came into existence.” 

You mentor students just starting out in their careers.  Do you have any success stories you can share?

“I think I’ve spoken to something like 50,000 students – from youth projects to secondary schools, colleges, and universities.  Talking to schools can be tricky.  The teachers say to the students, ‘right, we’re doing a school assembly today, and someone is going to come in to talk to you’.  The students don’t really have a choice!  If anyone is thinking of going into public speaking, go and stand in front of an assembly full of students.  You’ll either learn very quickly and become an expert at it, or you’ll be a gibbering wreck!  

But it’s fantastic to talk to the students afterwards.  You think that maybe you can motivate one or two of them, but I’ve been very fortunate, receiving such great feedback from the teachers and the students.  A young lad who saw one of my talks – it was at my old school, in fact –contacted me to say that he wanted to be an electrician but didn’t have the confidence.  He came to join us as an apprentice, did some cleaning for us, and we taught him about marketing and social media.  After about a year, he finally got the apprenticeship he wanted as an electrician.  Because he hadn’t been in a very supportive environment, he needed that structure in his life to give him the confidence to take the next step.  I was unbelievably proud of him.”

Do you have any tips for anyone thinking of becoming a mentor?

“Mentoring is so rewarding.  Mentors nurture you, seeing something in you that you don’t see in yourself.  I had fantastic mentor who really helped me through my retail career.     

As a mentor, you need patience, you need to play the long game, and to realise that the skills you give this person may not be relevant straight away but could prove invaluable in two or three years’ time.  It’s about having that understanding and putting yourself in their shoes. 

You can have such an impact on someone if you allow them to open up a little bit.  When you give someone that confidence … the results can be amazing.  The lady who is now MD of our cleaning company originally came to work with us when she was only 23, just working two hours per day, Monday to Friday, answering our phones from late afternoon to early evening.  We coached and mentored her … and now she’s now running the company!” 

How did you become involved with the British Dyslexic Association (BDA)?

“I’d been lucky enough to be asked to spend a year speaking at all the various business expos, up and down the UK, and really enjoyed giving back to the business community.  This got me thinking about how else I could give back.  I have always been passionate about raising awareness of dyslexia and decided to take this to a new level.  I put together a short bio, outlining my career and my experience of public speaking, and emailed it to 76 registered dyslexia organisations across the world.  I was absolutely astounded by the level of response I had within just 72 hours, not only from our very own British Dyslexia Association, but also Kenya Dyslexia and the International Dyslexia Association, to name but a few.  That was the start of my journey.  With the BDA, I was invited to their neurodiversity conferences, attended their gala awards as a guest, and had the honour of being invited to attend the last two APPG’s at the Houses of Parliament.  I then had a meeting with Helen Boden, the CEO of the BDA, who asked – because of my experience and my work in raising dyslexia awareness – if I would become a BDA ambassador.  I’m now one of only a small number of people in the UK who have that great privilege.  I’m enjoying working with the BDA and currently am involved in a number of key projects with them. 

I also went out to visit the Rare Gem Talent School in Kenya, and subsequently became an International Ambassador for Kenya Dyslexia.  Because of the work I’m doing with them, I’ve joined their board of Directors.  I’m also on the partners committee of the International Dyslexia Association and will be attending their conference in Ohio later this year.  The Malawi Dyslexia Association is another organisation I’m involved with – I’ll be out there visiting them in August. 

And amongst all of this, I’m in the early stages of producing a children’s book about a girl who discovers she has dyslexia – which then becomes her superpower!  And I’ve recently been approached by a film company to produce a documentary about dyslexia in different cultures.  Yes, I like to keep busy!”

Finally, do you have a PA or someone you work with in a PA-type role?

“We have someone in the office who looks after our admin and PA-type work – but no, I’ve never worked with my own PA. 

I’m very fortunate that there are two of us running the business.  My business partner and I have never really spoken about our roles, we play to each other’s strengths and it works incredibly well for us.   

There are so many things on the go, so many different strands to my job, the group is growing, and I’m now doing more international work.  There’ll be a point in the future when I know that to move forward, I need a PA!” 

Darren, it’s been great to talk to you about your career, your work with the BDA, and your experiences as a mentor.  We look forward to seeing you at the Conference and hearing how a little ‘out-of-the box’ thinking can take us a very long way.

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Darren is one of our guest speakers at the Today’s PA Conference on Friday 16th August 2019 at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, London SW10.  He will also join our Expert PA Panel discussion, considering the question “What Do Leaders Look for in their PAs”?