The Accidental Entrepreneur. How We Turned €3,749 into a €100 Million Business in Three Years

206 Pages·2014·1.39 MB·English

by  Gerry Murphy

T A E
HE CCIDENTAL NTREPRENEUR
“This is an adventure book! And don’t believe Gerry’s claim that it was all an
accident. It’s a tale of effort, enthusiasm and enterprise. Enjoy it.”
Senator Feargal Quinn, founder of Superquinn
“Gerry Murphy’s book shows vividly a restless entrepreneurial spirit in action,
from the regeneration initiatives in his native Churchtown village in north Cork
to the audacious establishment of the GreatGas service stations.”
Senator Mary White, co-founder of Lir Chocolates
“Gerry is a fantastic businessperson. This book is both interesting and insightful,
a must-read for any business owner. Gerry’s passion, creativity and
determination are inspiring.”
Bobby Kerr, chairman of Insomnia, founding panelist on
Dragon’s Den and radio broadcaster
“Passion and integrity are two of Gerry’s greatest qualities, qualities very evident
throughout his life and this book. If you aspire to owning your own business,
The Accidental Entrepreneur will inspire and set you on course.”
John Lowe, the Money Doctor
T A E
HE CCIDENTAL NTREPRENEUR
How we turned €3,749 into a €100 million business in
three years
Gerry Murphy
Published by
Orpen Press
Lonsdale House Avoca Avenue
Blackrock
Co. Dublin
Ireland
email: [email protected] www.orpenpress.com © Gerry Murphy, 2014
Paperback ISBN 978-1-909895-59-1
ePub ISBN 978-1-909895-60-7
Kindle ISBN 978-1-909895-61-4
PDF ISBN 978-1-909895-62-1
Typeset in Minion Pro, 11 pts Cover design concept by Keaney Design and Hayes Design.
Please note, some identities have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals and organisations.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior, written permission of the
publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired
out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than
that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the
subsequent purchaser.
D
EDICATION
The Accidental Entrepreneur is dedicated to my wife, Dorothy; my daughters,
Niamh and Deirdre; and my late parents, Jack (1920–2000) and Nora Murphy
(1923–2013).
I also dedicate this book to Ailbhe O’Reilly, commissioning editor at Orpen
Press; Eileen O’Brien, my editor at Orpen Press; and most especially Jonathan
Self, a friend for 28 years since we first met at the International Direct
Marketing Conference in Montreaux, Switzerland in April 1986. Without Ailbhe
and Eileen’s interest and support and Jonathan’s input, help, advice, research
suggestions and encouragement, you simply would not be reading this book.
GM