Dawn Gibbins - Founder of Flowcrete

Dawn Gibbins MBE – daughter of Peter Gibbins inventor – who in the early 80’s developed a range of seamless flooring for industrial and commercial applications.  She and her father founded the world leading seamless flooring company Flowcrete Group Ltd in 1982 along with a group of fantastic, inspirational people they have developed Flowcrete to where it is today with 30  offices and 12 manufacturing plants around the world.  Having sold Flowcrete this year Dawn is just in the process of setting up a new business Barefoot Floors Ltd. 

Q: What gave you the idea for Flowcrete?

Dawn: “ Well it was actually a MAN FROM MARS – actually an engineer from Mars Confectionary factory in Slough, Berkshire – he needed a sugar resistant floor for his mars bar manufacturing plant, so – Dad said – no problem and formulated a system and was about to sell the formula to them for £2000 -  my mother on hearing this went crazy and instructed my father to set up in business with me – which was a brilliant idea and so we did on 1st Oct 1982 and the rest is history.”

Q: Was it hard to get started?

Dawn: “Oh yes – wow you had so much to learn – so much to do – to absorb – techniques in Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Manufacturing etc… oh la la. And getting finance from the banks was a nightmare… especially when you had some big projects coming through… I remember I taught myself to use spread sheets to do cash flow forecasts so I could present more feasible scenarios to the banks – and it worked.”

Q: Have you had any difficult times?

Dawn: “Oh Yes  - 3 to be precise ..the 1st – was in 1989 when we lost a lot of money in one month and had to completely re-organize our business from being a contracting company to a pure material manufacturer and supplier.. the 2nd was the Death of my father , my best friend and business partner – wow that hurt so much and third one was in 2004 we had grown and grown and become so complex that we were confusing our team and our customers with the amount of products and brands we had – we were losing money .. aaaaaghhhhhh we needed to do something fast .  So we did – we clutter cleared – we had a Corporate Detox… that’s my name for it … We clutter cleared the Brands, the company names , the IT network , the product range, the stock , the suppliers , etc. etc. We rebranded to make our brand more modern and inspirational.”

Q: What was your biggest break?

Dawn: “In 1995 a potential acquisition of a competitor became available – the owners wanted to retire and wanted to pass their company in to caring hands – to people to would continue to grow and grow their brand etc.. – Yeap we bought it and wow what a difference it made . This company was called Isocrete and they sold by getting their products specified by architects .- which we had never done… This was a big big break for us as – we got our floors specified on some of the worlds most prestigious projects… Hong Kong , Kuala Lumpur, Dubai Airports,  Telstra Stadium  etc..” 
 
Q: What do you wished you’d known when you started your business?

Dawn: “How to effectively manage people – I learned so so much over the past 25 years… and the reason whey we were so successful as we developed an amazing culture – in which our people felt Proud – so proud of our brand..”

Q: Did you ever need to raise finance if you did was this hard to do?

Dawn: “Yes many times we needed to raise finance and needed to negotiate with the banks to give us a good deal.  The key was proving  your track record and doing a clear deal.”

Q: Are there any gems you could pass on to other women who are starting their own business?  

Dawn: Yes - my philosophy on business success is covered in my 5 D’s  - these are: Dream – Visualize your dreams , see them , feel them – and you will live your dreams – you will make your dreams in to a reality – ( I did ). Dare – oh now this takes some courage and guts – I challenge you to be. Different – DARE TO BE DIFFERENT.  You must stand out from the crowd – get noticed.. shout about why are you so unique… go for it girls. Discover  - who are you ,? What are your strengths and weaknesses – play to them – ensure you know and your team know too.. Do what you are good at.  Develop – please please please keep on developing you and your team – they are the most important asset you have so look after them. Do – us girls are good at Talking – so please stop talking about it – just do it .. go for it.  And Enjoy it too…. Good Luck Girls.”

Q: What advice can they give to other women who want to create their own business?

Dawn: “Really take a good look at your Market – clearly identify who your customers will be, get to know them – get in to their heads – what do they want, why do they want what you’ve got. Develop a way to service and satisfy your customers, and most importantly ensure you speak their language and I do not mean French .. what words to they use etc.  Even – try and dress like them, talk like them, mirror them – make them feel at ease.”

Q: What’s the best bit about being your own boss?

Dawn: “I can only think of one work – FREEDOM.”

Q: Do you believe they are lucky or is it down to just hard work?

Dawn: “All I can say is buy a copy of ‘ The Secret ‘ book or buy a copy of the DVD and then answer this one. As I said earlier – you need to dream – you need to visualize what you want .. and if you do this right – just wait for all the connections start to arise. At the moment I am setting up a new business called Barefoot Floors Ltd – my ambition is to make seamless flooring the vogue in homes…. I have clear vision on this and as I need things – strange things start to happen i.e. I have recruited 4 members of staff without advertising – through connections – really strange.  So I think it is a mixture between luck and hard work – if you can focus and train your brain and believe (ok this is hard work) your luck will start to flow your way…. Spooky but true.. Try it – go on – buy a copy of the Secret today and practice what it teaches you."

Q: Who are their role models? Do you have one?

Dawn: “My inspiration – was my dad – his get up and go for it attitude was to be admired.  My role models now would have to be Anita Roddick, Richard Branson, Rene Carayol, Sir Kevin Smith ( GKN CEO).” 

Q:  Do you have a family – has that been hard to fit in?

Dawn: “Yes and Yes.. I have two beautiful daughters – Michelle 20 and April 18 – yes it has been hard – especially when they were little and I heard on of them say .. ‘ We are so lucky we have two mums ‘  Well I suppose this was positive as their other mum was also called Dawn and she was amazing… so loving, caring and sharing…”.

Q: If married or have a partner do they support them in their business and do they see this as part of the success?

Dawn: “Yes my partner has been fantastic,  at first he was my advisor i.e. he was at Manchester Business School doing an MBA – so I was picking his brains to help me develop my business. He then joined Shell after business school – and after two years Shell wanted him to move to Thailand… This is when I put my foot down…. and said now I am not going to Thailand .. why don’t you join me .. at Flowcrete – so he did.”

Q: Juggling – we always ask this of successful women but not of men – what do you think?

Dawn: “Women are the best jugglers on this planet – women are just natural multi- taskers.  Women just love variety and being involved in so many aspects of life… Woman are born Mothers. But wow do they need men to keep them balanced and keep them on track , Men are so goal orientated that they provide great clarity to ladies.. i.e. Focus on Goals, Focus focus focus… woman are easily seduced and distracted.  So ladies – let us keep your mind on the job and build sensationally successful businesses that our children, husbands, friends, lovers etc.. will be proud of.”

For more information on Dawn and her businesses go to