My Parents, an Example to Follow!
Bretons Abroad #1. Maxime Danibert, from Josselin, Entrepreneur in Switzerland.
At 32, Maxime Danibert, who grew up in Josselin, decided to pursue a career in Switzerland. As the head of multiple companies, he claims to follow the example of his parents, former restaurateurs in Josselin.
> Le Ploërmelais: After failing the baccalaureate, you decided to move to England in 2003. Why?
I didn’t know what to do, and since my English skills were lamentable, I decided to improve myself and travel. I quickly found a job at the Grand Brighton Hotel, a five-star establishment, as a conference porter. The job involved setting up tables and chairs for events. Then, 18 months later, I was promoted to the Concierge department and then became Deputy Head Concierge with a team under my jurisdiction. I left for a few months, and I stayed for seven years.
> It was there, while observing the life of a large hotel and its clientele, that the idea for Concierge Maps came to you in 2005.
In 2009, a guest at the hotel you were working at offered you the position of Senior Relationship Manager at a Swiss asset management company. The job offer seems to have been a turning point in your professional and personal life.
The proposition was definitely a decisive turning point, not to mention very positive professionally. Moving to Switzerland has allowed me to evolve by discovering a new country and the business world. What you can do and what you can’t do in this world.
But leaving England was still difficult. Everything was fine for me back there. I had integrated, I had a good job and I had a girlfriend whom I left after four years together.
> Three years later, you created two companies? In which fields? Why?
I stayed at the asset management company for nearly three years, but I wanted independence and freedom. I’ve since built 3 companies in the field of communication and advertising — the first one, alone, in April 2012, Lookmove SA; and the second one with a partner in July 2012, Debourg SA, which I sold in February 2015. I then launched Concierge Maps on my own in May 2015.
> How has business been going lately? It seems that Concierge Maps is in the midst of an expansion…
Concierge Maps SA publishes a high-end tourist guide, customised and sponsored by luxury brands, and targeting the guests of five-star hotels. The company is doing well thanks to the financial, operational and strategic support of five Swiss and Russian investors. We are already present in Geneva and Moscow, and we are launching in Paris, Milan, London and Saint Petersburg in early 2017. The circulation of our guides has reached half a million copies per year, with 50 partner five-star hotels.
We recently turned down an offer from one of our England-based competitors to buy Concierge Maps SA, as we believe we can further develop our concept and increase our current value, which is still modest, based on the work we’ve done so far.
> You’re succeeding. What is, in your opinion, the recipe for success?
‘Success’ is a big word, the way I see it. The goal is not to make money in wages, but to use the funds to grow our business.
The value of the shares of my two companies is growing, but not in terms of cash. Rather, it’s simply value on paper. The objective is to further increase the value of these stocks before maybe reselling them in a few years, or continue our expansion.
I do not know whether I have a recipe for success, but I have at least had an example to follow. The example of my parents, restauranteurs, is definitely at the source of my desire to undertake, to be independent and free. I have always seen them work between 90 and 110 hours per week, take risks, take out multiple bank loans to launch restaurants or buy real estate.
However, they were renting an apartment in an HLM (rent-controlled housing) in Rennes until I turned seven, before arriving in Josselin. At first, they worked hard as employees, and in 1992 they saved to buy a bar which had shut down three years prior. The rest was a great success, and for me, perhaps unconsciously, a good example to follow and a real source of motivation.
If there is no recipe for success other than hard work, here are a few characteristics one must have: to ‘succeed’, one must be curious, patient, driven and persevering. It’s important to look at existing companies, to see how they started and why they succeeded. Google, Apple, Microsoft — they started in garages without much financial support, just with good ideas and a desire to make them better. Xavier Niel, the owner of Free, also began very modestly before accumulating one of the biggest French fortunes.
> Do you think it would have been possible to build a career like this in France?
I think it’s possible, yes, even without a diploma, but I have never really worked in France and am not an expert in this field. I think that with the Internet, it is possible to learn what you need to get started, the basics of marketing, accounting, sales, law… It is not too complicated to develop your ideas on paper; to look things up on Google; to teach yourself; to ask for advice from the people around you, from associations, from banks; to refine and test your ideas. Of course, you have to work hard, save money (even if just a little) and launch to see your project through, so as not to have regrets later on.
> It looks like you’re focusing on a new professional project: Lookmove. Can we hear more about it?
Lookmove is the first company I launched in Switzerland in 2012. I set it aside for a while because I was too busy with Debourg SA and Concierge Maps SA. Now I’m starting to seriously concentrate on this project, which has evolved a great deal since its creation nearly five years ago. It’s a real estate website in Switzerland, not unlike www.seloger.com, but with different marketing and revenue concepts. I am currently raising funds to launch this concept in 2017. I won’t say anything else for the time being…
> Do you often feel the need to return to France? Why?
Yes, I return at least three or four times a year to see my family. I need to come back to reenergise at the source. I also like spending time at my grandparents’ place in Comblessac next to Guer, and indulge in the best chicken and chips on earth by the fire!
> A message for the young inhabitants of Ploërmel who wish to go abroad?
I’d like to tell them not to give up before they’ve started, not to be afraid of failure, not to question themselves and definitely not to listen to the jealous, negative, lazy and pessimistic people with no ambition who surround them; it’s best to prefer positive, healthy, driven people instead. They have no time to waste on unproductive discussions; they must progress, change and always learn and travel.
For those who are working, I want to say that not all bosses are thieves, and that in my opinion
“ There are more unmotivated employees than shameless employers.”
Do your best at work to advance and help your boss succeed; you have everything to gain. If things aren’t working, move on before it’s too late. Don’t waste your time finding reasons and absurd excuses to do nothing. We spend enough time at work, so you might as well find a job you enjoy. Invest in trainings, take evening classes, learn another trade or another language, write a CV, a cover letter, search and change!
And take care to perfect the presentation and spelling in your letters, as the first impression is often the most important.
I also have a hobby — health. You have to take care of yourself: eat well, exercise, sleep well; it’s simple advice to follow, but many people find it difficult to apply consistently. Yet these matters are full of common sense, and help us have clear ideas, energy and enough motivation to fulfill the dreams that may not be impossible after all!
I do not smoke and I am doing really well. Recently, I made a simple calculation to bother/motivate a friend who complained about the money he spent on cigarettes. One packet per day at seven euros, that’s 2,555 euros per year. But the worst is not the amount of money, but the time spent smoking. If you have an average of five minutes per cigarette, for someone who smokes a packet a day, that’s more than 25 days of non-stop smoking per year, almost a month… What a waste of time, of money, not to mention all the health problems linked to cigarettes. I think that money and time would be much better spent on pleasing our loved ones, going on holiday, having hobbies or starting a new activity. I’m not even talking about drugs and alcohol, since everyone knows about the damage they cause.
“Health and time are the most precious commodities in the world. Neither can be bought.”
Article by Maëva Dano, 01/12/2016.