A day in the life of a millionaire: Jonathan Hick

Tuesday, September 07, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Day in the life | Tags: entrepreneur, HNWI, Directorbank, diary, Jonathan Hick, millionaire, secret, day in the life

A serial entrepreneur, Jonathan Hick has set up 10 companies in the past 23 years, including The Directorbank Group, CallUma and The Brand Cellar. A proud Yorkshireman, he featured in Channel 4’s award-winning series, The Secret Millionaire.

Whether I am in London, Leeds, abroad or at home in Yorkshire I have a habit of waking up at two or three in the morning and going on my BlackBerry for a couple of hours, sending emails and texts to people in different time zones. I often have my most creative thoughts then. I tend to fall asleep at about five and get up again at seven, to the horrible sound of the BlackBerry alarm.

I listen to Radio 2 because I think of this as a nice gentle soundtrack to this harsh time of day and my main morning ritual (I don’t have breakfast) is to iron my shirts. I don’t trust anyone else to do it properly. I have a range of navy blue and dinner suits and blue or white shirts in varying sizes depending on my weight, which I’m ashamed to say is 20 stones at the moment.

Most of my best business ideas and connections have come from meeting over lunch or dinner. In Leeds, I love La Grillade, which is owned by a stern Frenchman who oversees this fantastic place, with an amazing atmosphere and really good classic French food. In London, I try to go to Le Gavroche or Claridges and always fight to pay the bill. Sometimes, though rarely, I lose.

Appearing on The Secret Millionaire was a very positive experience. I was sent to Sunderland and I return every couple of weeks to see the people I met, and find out how their projects are going and how I can help out. I am particularly involved with Headlight, a mental health drop-in centre, because I found that I had a real connection with everyone there. I suffered a nervous breakdown six years ago and find that mental health problems are still such a taboo.

I really enjoy my evenings when I can relax, perhaps meet friends at the pub or, if I am abroad in somewhere like Hong Kong I’ll be high up in a bar overlooking the China Sea and thinking to myself that this is a pretty fantastic life. My best time of day is when my 13-year-old daughter texts me to say goodnight and always sends me 16 kisses.

This article first appeared in Bespoke magazine for private clients.

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