FRANK McKENNA is the founder and chairman of political lobbying company and business club Downtown Liverpool In Business (DLIB). This was his day.
8.30am: I know there is a competition going on to see who starts their day earliest, but I’ve no chance of winning that one. The nature of my business is that I attend evening events three or four nights a week, so my working day kicks off later than most. I leave my house in Up Holland, using the half-hour journey to speak on the phone to a couple of clients, listen to my mate Seedy on the radio and catch up with the news on Merseyside.
9.10am: Meeting with some of the city’s key players to discuss the follow up to a very successful conference we recently organised, Liverpool Means Business. Among the participants are Dave Anastasiou (Iliad), Gary Millar (Parr Street Studios) and Mark Connor (Vermont). Dougal Paver acts as the perfect host in his fabulous new offices at The Plaza, and being the good Bluenose that he is, he presents me with a bottle of his finest red on my departure.
11am: Back into DLIB HQ at New Zealand House. A quick catch-up with our events co-ordinator Hazel Walker, who updates me on the forthcoming ”sexy networking” event in Preston, and the Liverpool Business Oscars gala dinner, which is a sell-out.
11.30am: Emails. As per usual, over 100 to open, not including those offering me Viagra. Read Business Week and, as per usual, happy with quotes attributed to me in story regarding Gordon Brown’s Premiership, but not impressed with my photo that dates back at least four years.
12noon: I have recklessly agreed to do a stand-up comedy act for charity but I haven’t had time to raise any sponsorship. I do a round-robin text message appeal to the city’s great and good. Within minutes, I have raised over a grand. This is just one reason why this is the best city in the world.
12.30pm: Briefing with New Dimensions and Flanagan’s about the next steps in their attempts to develop the Wellington Rooms, on Mount Pleasant. Despite years of negotiations, we are no nearer a solution to resolving a problem of a stunning listed building going to rack and ruin over a 10-year period.
1pm: Over lunch have a discussion with Chris Wilcox, our website co-ordinator, about updating our site which, even if I say so myself, is one of the best around, and was designed by a Liverpool company.
1.30pm: Phone call from regeneration magazine New Start, asking my opinion on the recent controversies surrounding the Culture Company. I suggest that we are still confident of delivering a successful 08, but have to concede some concerns, and frustration at the current state of affairs.
2pm: I feel like a political schizophrenic at times. I talk to the local Conservative Party about getting some DLIB members along to an event with David Cameron tomorrow, and then contact the regional Labour Party to sort out a ministerial visit to a regeneration project.
3.30pm: Talk to a leading Merseyside manufacturer, Tony Caldeira, who produces soft furnishings. Tony has built up major business connections in China and the US and he is a shining example of the entrepreneurial spirit that has helped regenerate the city.
5pm: Brief team on final arrangements for networking event in Preston tomorrow. Over 100 delegates have registered to attend, and Downtown has really caught the imagination of the Lancashire business community.
6pm: Briefing with John Quinn, of Dolphin Construction, over his development plans for a site over on the Wirral.
7pm: Home early for a change, so take the opportunity to do an hour in the gym.
8.30pm: Do a final email trawl, while watching a replay of today’s PMQs, before putting my feet up for the evening. Now where did I put that bottle of red?
