12: Putting Family Before Work
Today’s Guest: Mark Mitchell
Mark is a local lad from the Wirral. He was born and bred in Birkenhead on Merseyside. Mark and his wife, Anita, started Mitchell Group in 1990, with a little bit of money on an overdraft from Barclays Bank. And the business has grown and now represents three automotive brands, Lexus, Mazda, and Skoda in Cheshire Oaks.
Mark is driven by his passionate Christian faith and has always been countercultural in terms of business leadership, putting colleagues before customers, and refusing to trade on Sundays. He was appointed the UK automotive business leader of the year 2020, and at the same time, served as the late magistrate’s High Sheriff of Cheshire.
He will serve as a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Cheshire until his 75th birthday. With boundless energy and a zest for life, Mark is just inspiring.
Here’s a summary of this week’s story:
Christian Journey: Mark was born and brought up in the Wirral. From his early childhood, he and his family attended St. Mary’s, a lively Church of England church that 50 plus years on, he’s still a part of. Through the amazing youth workers of the church who faithfully modelled Christ to him, he was drawn to the faith. He gave his life to Jesus on his 11th birthday at a 7-day residential camp where the Christian faith was presented clearly, passionately, and with excitement.
Marriage and business: Mark met his wife, Anita, after graduation while working in the automotive industry. After 5 years of courtship and a proposal atop Mount Vesuvius, they got married. Mark & Anita started Mitchell group in 1990. They worked hard for several years and won the coveted award of being the UK dealership of the year not once, but for two consecutive years.
Challenge at work: They had to face some serious consequences when they decided not to conduct business on Sundays because God mandates it and also because they felt responsible for their staff and their families getting to spend time together on a Sunday. Despite the circumstances, they stood their ground. And God came through for them in a miraculous way.
Unexpected Illness: Five years ago, Mark also had to deal with a surprise brain haemorrhage and he had to go through surgery that had significant risks and he had even lost his mother to brain haemorrhage. But in God’s goodness, he made it through. he had to be away from work for about a year and also had to deal with anxiety issues as a result of the illness, but with the prayers and support of family and friends, he was able to be well again.
Looking back on his journey, Mark says, “God’s timing is perfect and those who honor God, God will honor.”
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Matt Edmundson: Welcome to What's the story? My name is Matt Edmundson, and this is a podcast full of stories about faith and courage from everyday people. And today that is the amazing Mark Mitchell. We are gonna be chatting about his car dealership.
We're gonna be chatting about brain haemorrhages and what happened when he decided not to open up on a Sunday. Oh, yes. Now this episode is brought to you by Crowd Online Church. Mark, you know as well as I do, right? Not everybody wants to go to church and not everybody can actually get into a church building, and this is where Online Church works super well.
It is a safe space to explore the Christian faith. And the thing that I love about Crowd is that you get to join in and shape the conversation. So if you've never been to church before or you're looking for a new church, why not check it out? Crowd Church. The website is www.crowd.church. Or if you prefer, you can email me directly at matt@crowd.church. Any questions I'd love to hear from you.
So let me tell you about Mark. Mark is a local lad. Uh, he was born and bred in Birkenhead on Merseyside, uh, some of this, some. I don't know if that's local, but we'll get into that. Uh, apparently Wirral folk are plastic gases, uh, as I'm led to believe. Now, just if you are listening outside of Liverpool, uh, if you're listening outside of the UK, there is a, there is a small river between Liverpool and, uh, the Wirral, uh, which is where Mark is.
So, uh, Mark firmly believes that God gives each one of us gifts. And from a very early age, he realized that his gifting was in the world of commerce, setting up his own hamster retail business in the school playground. Oh, yes. Uh, this all started with a hamster. So Mark and his beautiful wife, Anita, started Mitchell Group in 1990, uh, with a little bit of money on an overdraft from Barclays Bank.
And the business has grown and now represents three automotive brands, Lexus, Mazda, and Skoda. I think I'm one of your best clients, Mark, obviously. Uh, and they're based over in Cheshire Oaks, uh, which is not far from Liverpool actually. So if you're around, check it out. Lexus, Chester, Lexus, Uh, Lexus Chester Mitchell Mazda as it and Mitchell Skoda get it right.
Uh, Mark is driven by his passionate Christian faith and has always been countercultural in terms of business leadership, putting colleagues before customers, and like I say, refusing to trade on Sundays. Uh, he was appointed the UK automotive business leader of the year 2020, and at the same time, served as the late magistrate’s high sheriff of Cheshire.
He served as a deputy lieutenant of Cheshire until his 75th birthday, and that's why it says DL after his surname. We're gonna get into that actually. Uh, wider involvements for Mark include food bank, youth work, and street pastors. He has had a rich and varied life, despite suffering from a surprise brain hemorrhage five years ago.
Has definitely got boundless energy and a zest for life is just such a top bloke. Uh, one of the best salespersons I've ever met in my whole life. And one of the most networked people I've ever come across. Uh, but his confidence and love for Christ is just inspiring. And so it's with real pleasure. Mark that we have you on the podcast.
Thank you for joining us. It's great to have you here. How are you doing?
Mark Mitchell: Matt, it's gonna be here too. Yeah. It's been a long day at work, but I'm really pleased to be talking to you for the next, uh, 45 minutes or so.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's funny, isn't it? And I mean, talking about work, you know, it's, uh, we've had this conversation quite a few times, but you always say it started with a hamster.
Your, your little car empire that you've got going on.
Mark Mitchell: Well, I, yeah, I think you're right, Matt. I, um, I think it's really important that each one of us understand what God's calling has in our lives and what gifts he's given. And, uh, I don't have many gifts at all, but I did realize in the, in the later years of primary school that had a gift of commerce and so, um, I put two hamsters in a cage together and turned the lights down low. Well, you know what's coming next, folks? But what's. I put some really early Graham Kendrick on in the back.
I'm rubbing my hands now, but just 16 days later, Matt, There were 10. Wow. 10 babies in the cage. And, uh, whilst I was no great animal lover, I knew I could turn these pesky rodents into hard cash in the school playground. So literally I took them to Birkenhead school in my blazer pocket and I sold the friends in the playground.
So that's my first business and I've, I've gotta come, come clean, really? Um, I did work this poor female hamster, um, so hard. I think she produced, um, five litters a year for me, for a couple, goodness me. So she was a star. Her name was snowy. Um, And naturally I'm very fond of it because she put these great foundations in place for me in my life.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That's really funny how it, uh, a lot of entrepreneurs have a very similar sort of story, don't they, in terms of stuff they would get up to at school. And I just find it all quite fascinating. I used to, when I was at school, I had, um, I had these asthma pills cuz I had asthma and the doctor prescribed these tablets that I had to take.
Um, but I, I realized quite quickly that these tablets, uh, caused, uh, you to, well they caused flatulence, they caused you to fart basically. And, um, Well, there's nothing more funny to a teenage boy, uh, than a boy who farts a lot. So I sold them for 20 p each uh, and this is back in the eighties. Um, in fact, the 20 P coin had just come out, which is why I sold them for 20 p each.
Uh, and the doctor couldn't quite understand why I kept going back for more and more of these tablets.
Mark Mitchell: Hey, well done. Brilliant Matt. Brilliant.
Matt Edmundson: So, so you did hamsters and I did drugs. I'm not quite sure what that says, Mark. To be fair,
Mark Mitchell: I think my, I think my route was more wholesome.
Matt Edmundson: I think you're probably right. I think you're probably right. So, um, so in terms of, I mean we, you know, for those that don't know you, you obviously are very successful commercially. Um, but sort of the, the man behind the legend, if you like, um, you are obviously a very well known person of faith. I mean, you do a lot of, I mean, you do an awful lot of stuff.
The Carol County stuff will get into, but, Where did that faith come from? Was that, how did you, how did you start your faith journey?
Mark Mitchell: Well, I wanted three boys, Matt, so I'm the eldest of three. Uh, we're all beautifully synchronized with two year gaps between the three of us. And, um, I think when we set up home on the Wirral, um, my mom and dad thought it'd be good to get involved with a, a church, a family.
So we went to a church called St. Mary's. In Upton, a Lively Church of England church. And, uh, they had amazing youth work and I, I started there when I was two or three and um, this might make some of you guys smile, but I'm still there 50 plus, 50 plus years on. So, you know, I probably wasn't the best Sunday school pupil.
I, um, you know, yeah, I took hamsters in obviously cuz it was a market of customers even on. Um, but you know, there were stink bombs and I perhaps wasn't the most attentive guy on a Sunday. And there were these gorgeous old dears who were probably about 20 or 22 at the time, but they were so faithful bringing, um, faith to life for me.
And they shared the Bible stories and they talked about their own Christian journeys and of course, as an eight, 10 year old, you're thinking they're older girls, but of course, you know, barely outta college these days. But they were great and they were faithful and there were a few good guys who were good role models for us as well.
And as a result of my time, uh, at St. Mary's, I went on a seven day residential camp in Heswall, 11. And, uh, remember very clearly, um, I was presented with the opportunity, the challenge of the Christian gospel. I didn't have a mortgage. I was 11. I didn't have girlfriend problems, I was 11. Um, I didn't really have an understanding of what lay ahead for me in life, but I made a very sincere and simple commitment to follow Jesus Christ.
And that was on my, around my 11th birthday. Uh, immensely special. Uh, and for all folk, they find faith in different ways or at different stages. But for me, that's the week I'd hang my hat on. That was greatly, powerfully, uh, presented to me. Faith was presented clearly, passionately, and with some excitement as well.
I knew instantly. I was, I was hands up. I was in.
Matt Edmundson: Fantastic. Fantastic. And have you ever looked back, or have you ever, have you sort of gone through the, the sort of questioning phase or any difficult phases with that? Or have you just kind of always had a Christian faith from your 11th birthday.
Mark Mitchell: Yeah, it matures, doesn't it?
You know, you understand a greater perspective of life and you put your faith into different situations as you grow up and you mature and your faith matures with that. So, um, I was fortunate to be in an amazing youth group, um, uh, uh, with 120 young people, 14- to 18-year-olds. And um, a lot of friends. I'm still very close to the last pal at school.
And at the youth group with me got married last month in Denmark the first time. Oh, wow. Yeah, so we all got across to Denmark from all over the world and saw this guy get married. So these are my friends from 40 plus years on and they're really foundational friends. So, um, have I had challenges? Yes. In terms of sometimes making sense of faith in, tricky situations in my adult life. But have I ever been seriously unsettled? No, Thank the Lord, because I've been encouraged and cheered on by so many friends.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. How important is that to you, to have good friends around you that sort of spur you on?
Mark Mitchell: Massively. I mean, and you can see the evidence that with 12 disciples, I mean, they're a rum bunch and they all had shortcomings and they're all very different personalities. Um, there was doctors and taxmen and fishermen and and so on. Um, but they, they muddled through life together and I'm still exposed to a good number of 12 mates out of my form of 26 Matt who all, uh, came to a Christian faith the year before we did GCSEs A-levels, so, um, yeah, massively important to me, my friends, massively, um, the kind of guys you can pick the phone up and speak to when life gets bumpy as it has done for me. Yeah, yeah. Topically with the black eye from a tumble on a bike crash in London three days ago. So, Hey, life still gets bumpy now.
Matt Edmundson: No. Were you riding the bike or did a cyclist just bang into you?
Mark Mitchell: No, I, I was on a brompton and riding through St. James in London the weekend and it was either wipe out some teenagers who crossed the road on their mobile phones without looking or head for a pothole and make a mess of yourself on the bike.
So, hey, I'm come. I'm coming through. Thank the Lord. It's healing, and my black eye a lot better today than it was on Saturday morning.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, well good. And I'm, I'm glad you're okay in there. Is the bike okay?
Mark Mitchell: It's, uh, it's a different shape, but we'll get there. I've got some very resourceful motor technicians who work with me, so they love a challenge.
Matt Edmundson: That's true, that's true. They, you as you know. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. They'll get it on the, you know, on the, on the ramps and have a look at that. That'd be great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. So about 11 then you obviously have this quite significant encounter with, um, Christ, with the gospel. You make a decision.
Uh, what was it like growing up as a, as a, a teenager being a Christian? Was that easy? Was that complex? I mean, if a lot of your friends are Christians, was it maybe easier for you than most? I don't know. I'm just kind of curious.
Mark Mitchell: I mean, we, we here, don't we? Becoming a teenager nowadays is little more challenging and, uh, and difficult, and I, I can empathize.
But I've gotta say, because the workers at St. Mary's were so, uh, impressive and so well resourced. That much of my friendship group, my teenage years, I found in a faith setting that's not a, My mates were Christians, um, but many of my mates were Christians. And so I wasn't really the odd man out at Birkenhead school.
I was one of a big number of folk who were muddling through secondary school life. Um, with faith and with Jesus alongside us. I'm honest with you. It wasn't tough. It was very slightly tough against university cause I stepped out from that umbrella, that Wirral umbrella. I went to Leeds and did Economics.
Um, but no, it was okay. I, uh, I really enjoyed growing up. Uh, started, started dating a ton of gorgeous girls from church, which was lovely. Not at the same time, and, uh, but not always at the same time. And, um, uh, no, life was really good. And I look back on my formative years with immense warmth and gratitude to God for how it went.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. So when did you meet Anita? Who's your now wife?
Mark Mitchell: Anita was sleeping rough in a park when I was working for the probation service, that's a joke. Um, I met her, uh, after I graduated. I joined the motor industry. Yeah, and I worked two fairly significant motor manufacturers, Rover, and then Ford, and I was on my first management assignment in my early twenties stuff in Yorkshire, in York, in fact.
And I met Anita, uh, up in York. She's a farmer's daughter. Mm-hmm. and, uh, family farms between York and Harrigan. And, um, yeah, I, uh, I, I admired her from far. For a good while. There's a queue of guys wanting to date her, but I was patient and faithful and I got to my place, the front of the queue, and, uh, the rest is history.
Five year courtship. Then we got married. Wow.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So how long have you been married now?
Mark Mitchell: A million years. Um, I, Anita wanted to be at work on Liverpool on Friday. She was working as a PA to one of the directors at Little Woods, and I rang up and said, Can she take a day off? And, uh, I took her to Mount Vesuvius, Italy, uh, in a day? In a day and proposed on the top of Vesuvius. She said, Yes. I got volcanic ash all over my 501 s. And, uh, that was, that was 31 years ago, Matt. So, um, fantastic. I wanted to marry a godly wife. And, uh, there's a lovely chapter at the back end of the book of Proverbs written by Solomon about how to find a Godly wife. So any single guys watching tonight, Pick your Bibles up and check out Proverbs 31.
Matt Edmundson: Yep. P 31. P 31. That was always the code, wasn't it? Is are you dating someone who's a P 31? Uh, that was, uh, it's definitely worth reading. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. So that was 31 years ago, man. That's some, that's a good innings.
So well done. That's, uh, congratulations.
Mark Mitchell: Yeah, I adore her, I adore her and, uh, and she me on a good dy, so that's wonderful. It's great. We've got two boys. Uh, James and Elliot. Um, yeah, and, uh, they're in their twenties now, James, Uh, in Liverpool, in Wavertree, uh, and, uh, Elliot's finding himself as he finishes university in Oxford. So he is the good board. Yeah, the guy. Yeah,
Matt Edmundson: Which is great. In fact, I see James on a fairly regular basis. He and I live on the same street. Uh,
Mark Mitchell: As does his wife, apparently Daisy
Matt Edmundson: Daisy's, uh, Daisy is a beautiful young lady. I saw her actually two days ago. Uh, so, uh, it was nice to see her Daisy. Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. Doing great. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, uh, so you are, you are sort of, you're working in the automotive industry. Um, Yeah. You, you are courting and marrying after proposing on the top of Mount Vesuvius because why would you not get in volcanic ash all over your 501 s. Um, what was the journey from sort of a quick sort of, you obviously at some point move from that and start your own car dealership.
How did, what was that journey?
Mark Mitchell: Well, it, it's quite a long journey Matt because if this is old money, really, but if you were to want to build a car dealership 30 years ago, you need a million pound for a piece of land and a key location. You'd need a million pound for the building, and you need a million pound for what's called working capital, which funds your stock and something called debtors, the people who owe you money.
So you need three, the numbers probably in near in 9 million now. Wow. So you have a corporate career for six years. You work for two manufacturers, you work for two retail dealership groups, you come back to your homeland on the Wirral and you think, Right, this is it. And of course, you haven't got 50% of the cost of building a dealership in ready cash.
So you start more modestly and uh, Anita and I started with a petrol station. A brand new was the UK flagship site for a French oil company called Elf and Totale. And um, boy, we put the hours in that. It was, um, rather strange when my fellow graduates were all racing up the career ladders at Ford, Organizing Formula One and, uh, the press fleets for the royal family and, uh, conventions across Europe.
And Anita and I were doing the evening shift, 11 o'clock, putting tens of beans out and bars of chocolate out the Petro Station because our cashier telephoned in at half an hour's notice and our Saturday night gone. Yeah. So we learned some really good lessons there. I mean, we. I don't think I had a, um, too cozy an upbringing, but I met people from all walks of life when we started recruiting that.
And um, yeah, we had a petrol station we built every year, so over four years we had four. We built some critical mass. We had a good history, it was six years that we have enough money on our, under our belts and the, uh, relationship with the bank to borrow the millions that it, it needed to build our first dealership, which was a Japanese brand called Mitsubishi.
Yeah. Wow. So it wasn't, it was 6, 7 years.
Matt Edmundson: Took six or seven years just working diligently and hard. You're building and it's, I mean, it sounds quite sensible in the fact that you're building organically, you're building, every year, you're building up this sort of critical mass. Was the plan to always go and do the car dealership?
Mark Mitchell: Yeah. Well, it's a closely kept secret, Matt. I'm sure you won't tell us all, but I'm not really into cars. Um, I got into cars as a on the milk brand and, um, uh, in retrospect, I love the industry. I love the people. Um, I love the numbers. I'm, I'm highly numerate. I'm good with my ratios and margins and what we, in the business world call KPIs, key performance indicators.
So I'm hot on numbers, but I love people. And I love the 106 people who work with me. I love most when I can remember the names of my 23,000 customers. So, um, it doesn't matter what it is, but I think in the automotive sector it's more exciting than washing machines and whatever else, the clothing brand or whatever.
For me, cars is, it's good. And like talking about the cars as well. So, um, it, it was a long journey.
Matt Edmundson: So six or seven years in, right? You've got your Mitsubishi dealership is that this must have been like, you know, all Christmases come at once, you know, you're kind of like happy as a pig and stink as they like to say. Uh, how did it go?
Mark Mitchell: Um, this was a dream come true for me in human terms, you know, to have my own business, uh, having, um, left my hamster trading behind 20 years earlier, um, 25 years probably.
Um, you know, it was a brand new build, four wheel drive business with what was then Mitsubishi show amazingly well, well respected Japanese cars. And, uh, we were one of 120 businesses in the uk and, um, we worked jolly hard. We didn't work on a Sunday, perhaps more of that later, but, but jolly hard. And we were taken to, uh, the final, the world final, uh, for the UK dealership of the year we were in Zimbabwe.
And then Mauritius. Incredibly, and we thank God for this. We won the coveted award of being their dealership of the year, not once, but for two consecutive years. Oh, wow. And that many cars you sold. It's based on more qualitative criteria about, uh, customer service levels, um, uh, staff development, marketing, um, how we positioned the brand.
It was a very sophisticated. Um, list of criteria and we won it not once, but twice. So that was a real treat and that was something very special. We, we really were surprised and pleased to win.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Yeah. I bet you were. I bet. Geez, I, we'll get into that maybe on the leadership podcast, but, um, just, just circling back, you didn't trade on Sundays and this is, this is when, um, actually, probably.
This is what I first heard about you. Uh, you know, and you sort of hear about people in different circles. It was the, the guy that didn't trade on Sundays, the car guy that didn't trade on Sundays, and everyone's like, Wow, this is incredible. What was that all about?
Mark Mitchell: Well, you realize, don't you, as, as being a business leader, even with then a small team of 20 people. Um, the, the decisions you make have a huge bearing on your colleagues' life. Yeah. And so, you know, like nearly every other car businesses is open on a Sunday. Um, if you expect your colleagues to work Sundays and you give them a Tuesday off, invariably their kids will be at school.
Uh, uh, uh, and your wife or husband will be at work. So the prospects for Family Roast on a Sunday, which many of us look forward to are a walk or if you're minded to, to get involved with a church family on a Sunday. That's a huge problem for people in retail and allocated at this very significant strategic location at Cheshire Oaks where there's over 300 shops open on a Sunday, early open late finishes.
Um, let's not forget that, um, uh, 25 years ago, Sunday trading was illegal in the uk. Yeah. You could go and you could view, but you couldn't buy. It was a bit of an nonsense to get around the law, but that's how things were. So, um, it was a real shock to me when, um, and I'm not gonna talk about Mitsubishi now, it was a real shock when our motor manufacturer, when rewriting the dealer agreements in 2004, uh, decided to mandate Sunday trading was a requirement for anyone holding this motor franchise in the UK and of 120 locations, I guess well over 110 trades on Sundays anyway, so it wasn't a big deal for them. Some didn't open for commercial reasons because there wasn't the footfall in their particular location. But for me it had always been a decision driven by faith. Mm-hmm.
And driven by a really clear biblical stance that said, let's, let's get back to those 10 commandments. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Even outside the context of a biblical decision, it makes sense for us to have a day of rest once a week, but we're not created to work seven days a week. That's right.
And back to Tuesday off thing, when your colleagues working on a Sunday. You know, you suddenly realize as a young business leader in your early thirties, that the decisions you're gonna make are gonna influence the strength of family life in 20 different homes. Mm-hmm. . So I was down to see the MD of, uh, this particular motor manufacturer.
Uh, he and I had worked at Ford Motor Company together as graduates, and I said, Look, I'm really unhappy about the Sunday thing. We are, of course, your dealership of the year, not once, but for two consecutive years. uh, and I was, the suggestion was, Look, Mark, you don't have to work on a Sunday. And I said, No, it's not about me, it's about my colleagues.
So, um, I had to leave the meeting eventually and said, Look, I'm, I'm really clear about this. At the end of my life, I'm more accountable to my ultimate manufacturer than my motor manufacturer. Yeah. And we had a difficult decision to make, but rather than giving people a Sunday off, we made 20 people redundant. Wow.
And on the, in June 04, everyone took their overalls off the last time, put them in the corporate laundry basket. Uh, we, we, we took the cars offsite. We locked the door for last time, and that's the last time we ever went into that building. And my 20 colleagues not just have a Sunday off, but they lost their jobs.
Uh, but the wonderful thing is God's timing is perfect. And, um, Uh, we had a year to prepare for this, and during that year I had a chance to make a clear agreement and a contractual with Mazda Cars. And the following Sunday after the Friday, all 20 staff walked into a, uh, where they transferred from one brand to another. It was a Japanese brand, similar market share. Uh, but of course we'd had that conversation about Sundays where we and Mazda are very happy about the arrangements and have been for the past 18 years. Wow. Great story about God's timing. God having things lined up.
Um, I wrote to all 2000 customers, Matt, explaining the decision I've made. Some of whom had just bought a car from us a month or so earlier, so it was a difficult day to write, but I, I put a scripture in that letter verse in the Old Testament from one Samuel two, chapter two verse 30. And, um, the, uh, the scripture is for those reminding of it, uh, those who honor God, God will honor.
And we really felt God on the Sunday thing.
Matt Edmundson: That must have been, um, I mean it's, you know, here we are, however many years later, sort of almost 30 years, uh, 20 years later, and you're, you're talking about it now. And it's like, yeah, you know, we decided not to carry on with that particular manufacturer cause they wanted Sunday trading.
We didn't wanna do Sunday trading because one, it was mandated by God. And two, we wanted to care for the families of the people that work for us. Um, yeah. And then, you know, the 20 guys lost their jobs, but then it wasn't too long after that and they walk into sort of these jobs with Mazda. It almost Mark sort of rolls off the tongue a little bit, but I.
That could not have been an easy decision to make, surely at that time.
Mark Mitchell: Well, it wasn't. We did have, we did have a new relationship we'd begun with, with Lexus. Um, so we, we did have a foot in another camp at that stage, Matt, so I won't say it was all or nothing, but we got a team in place at Lexus, so the 20 colleagues from the business we closed, um, had nowhere to go. So there was the whole reduction.
And in commercial terms, um, just to position these for you, our annual sales, our turnover was 10 million. Wow. And our profits were about 250,000. So we walked away from a business we've worked so hard at, uh, and we got some, a good profit stream going. You make losses in the early days. Start to make profits and that's what we walked away from.
Cause we thought we were doing the right thing.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, that's incredible. But like you say, I mean, you know, all these years later you now have, um, three dealerships, don't you? You've got Mazda, Lexus, and Skoda. Yeah. And do you, you still do that we're closed on Sunday thing?
Mark Mitchell: Well, we don't use the word closed Matt. On all our websites and our front doors.
Our trading hours are very clearly marked Monday to Friday. X till Y. Saturday, X till Y. Sunday. We don't put closed, we put at home with the family. Yeah, so little bit cheeky, uh, it's a little bit humorous, um, but it sends a really clear message out as to why we are closed.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, absolutely. And, and what's been the feedback on it?
Because it is still, I mean, like you say, 25 years ago it was illlegal to open on a Sunday. Today everybody expects to go to any shop on a Sunday and buy whatever they want, anytime they like. So what's the feedback from customers, uh, on this?
Mark Mitchell: Well, the decision I took, Matt was driven by my passion, as you said earlier, Christian faith.
But I can tell you people, whether they have little or no faith, love businesses, uh, that have strong cultures and very clear boundaries. And so many people who, uh, do business with us, who engage with me say, I, I don't see life as you do, Mark, maybe yet. Uh, but I do like the fact you put your colleagues first and you shut on a Sunday.
I like the fact value driven business with a value driven culture. Mm.
Matt Edmundson: I mean, and it must be working because obviously you get a lot of customers coming back time and time again. Right? And so, um, so that's really, that's really intriguing to me Mark that you made that decision and super inspiring and wonderful story.
Um, but if I can fast forward a few years from that point to what we said in the intro. So five years ago you had this surprise brain hemorrhage, right? Um, what happened?
Mark Mitchell: I was, went holiday in, uh, mid France with Anita and our two boys, James and Elliot is, and, uh, I was the holiday location, beautiful six star campsite run by an organization called Spring Harvest Holidays.
And, uh, last day there just this absolute thunder bolt of a headache. Um, never had any like it before. We were leaving, so we left thinking it was a headache. Got back across the channel. Uh, I was in no fit state, even to be in a car. When we got to the South coast, got back to northwest of England, rang my near neighbor who's a neurologist, and I got fast tracked into the neuro center in North Liverpool.
So three scans and I had a brain hemorrhage. Um, each of us have tens and tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of, uh, blood vessels in our, in our heads. And, uh, one in 30 of us have something called aneurysm. Mm-hmm. and others. One in 30, about one in 15,000 of those folk have a rupture or a hemorrhage or a bleed on the brain.
Um, and that's what I had. Uh, I didn't ask the question of God, why me? Um, I was taken into surgery. Uh, there were some biggest risks that there could have been problems so, You know, Anita and I prayed together. We asked for some time together, and we just trusted God that we were doing the right thing going ahead with the surgery.
If I hadn't, and I did ask the, I did ask the medics how about I come back in a month's time? They did say to me, You got a 50 50 chance of being alive. So, Oh, wow. Wow. Um, it, it, it had to happen the surgery, but there were some significant attendant risks that went with it. In God's goodness I came through it.
Matt. Not everyone does. My mother died of the brain hemorrhage, um, 30 years earlier. Wow. In the surgery. Sophisticated. I came through it. But one of the outcomes about having, uh, these little metal coils put in your system to deal with the hemorrhage is that a good number of folk experience serious anxiety in their lives the first time and that was the plight I had myself in, uh, when you and I met up again and as we have done over the years and you and I walked together, um, in the open countryside, uh, cause you need to have exercise, it's very important. Mm-hmm. . Uh, but also you need some people who can cheer you on and stand alongside you as you come to terms with this rather unusual emotion called anxiety.
Yeah. And it was tough. It was really tough. A lot of mates came and prayed with me. A lot of folk walked with me. Had some help medically. And I also relied on the Diocese of Chester, who ran an amazing, uh, counseling service. So to have counseling through, um, a secular route across a more formal route, the NHS would've been tremendous.
But it didn't have that lovely, gentle faith foundation to what was going on. So I was in a really good place and really well looked after and gradually the workplace. Yeah, I was really disappointed Matt about one thing. What was that? How well my colleagues held the business together. They, they did a really good job, and of course I was fairly, um, I had to be there every day, did night, and of course, you know, best 12 months away and they all did a brilliant job and I'm immensely proud of each one of them. Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: So does that mean you are less, have you got sort of back involved in the business on a day to day or where you just kind of going, Oh no, these guys do a good job so I can sort of step back a little bit?
Mark Mitchell: Yeah, but that's lazy, isn't it? You know, if you really, if you really feel called to lead and be with people and engage and challenge and encourage where I wanna be. Yeah, I dunno. Wet, soggy morning in February here on the Wirral. I wasn't in the thick of it, so I love what I do, but of course when I'm in the office, it does provide me with opportunity to get involved with other, other commitments as well.
We take the whole issue, um, biblical instruction of tithing really seriously. So I about that when I was 18 at university from the pulpit, another lively churchman in church, and it was a bit of a wake up call. Uh, cuz I probably wasn't the most cheerful of givers in my teens and told that God would like us to give 10% of our student grant.
Uh, the first university was a bit of a shock. Uh, and by nature I'm, I'm not awfully compliant, but I'm, I'm fairly obedient, biblically. So started giving, uh, it was equivalent to three Chinese takeaways a week, which was a real tough advice for a guy who loved his Chinese food, but I did it. And, uh, we continue to do that now.
So it does mean each December when we get to the end of the year and we work out how the, the year's gone or what our profits have been, you know, we put some money into, um, a, a, a trust and when we get involved with all kinds of projects locally, regionally, and overseas of course as well. So that takes time up during the working day when I'm in the office.
And that's why I like being at work. And there's also some county commitments, Matt as well, which we can perhaps talk about that, you know, really occupy time when you're behind your desk with your telephone. Yeah,
Matt Edmundson: yeah, absolutely. Well, this again, you know, Mark, and not to, um, uh, make you too big-headed. You are very known for your um, story about Sundays, but you're also very known for your generosity and you've, you know, and God just from someone on the outside, right? As a, as a friend and as a customer, you obviously have this insanely successful business, which is great, but you are insanely generous with it, and, and that's wonderful to see actually.
Um, so you do that, but you are, um, you do have these initials, DL you know, uh, Deputy lieutenant, uh, after your name for those maybe outside of the UK or maybe those who are in the uk that actually dunno what that means. What is that?
Mark Mitchell: Well, each, uh, each county has a Lieutenancy. And head of the Lieutenancy uh, there's a Lord lieutenant and when, uh, his majesty, uh, King Charles isn't in Cheshire, uh, the Lord lieutenant who happens to be a delightful adopted Scouser called Alexis Redmond, who's married to Phil Redmond of Okay. Brookside and Hollyoaks. And if you'd old enough and just blanked on this, the school program, help me, Matt.
Matt Edmundson: Range Hill.
Mark Mitchell: Range Hill, Well done fame. Um, Alexis Redmond. Uh, Lady Redmond is our Lord lieutenant and she has a number of Deputy lieutenants strategically placed across Cheshire who are the lieutenancy uh, it's a great privilege. Um, so we are serving his majesty the king. Uh, we will be looking for people doing outstanding stuff across the county.
Uh, we are fortunate to be able to give invitations out for garden parties at the buckingham palace. Uh, mbs, obs and CBEs and even knighthoods. So, um, that's part of our role as Dy. lieutenants. Uh uh, but essentially we're representing the Monarch, the sovereign. Mm-hmm. When King Charles isn't in Cheshire, which is much of the time.
Of course. So each county has a Lord lieutenant and each county has a number of DLS dep lieutenants.
Matt Edmundson: Wow. And so how did, how did this happen? Right? How did you, did you just stumble into this or did you, how did you just wake up one day and go, I'm gonna be the deputy lieutenant?
Mark Mitchell: No, I, You certainly don't volunteer to do it, Matt.
I would say, um, it was linked to, um, an approach I had to be, at the time her Majesty's high sheriff for Cheshire. And the high sheriff does a different job, That sounds, I won't make it too complicated, but I probably accepted the, the wrong lunch invitation at the wrong venue, on the wrong day. But over my, over my pudding, I was asked if I would give some serious thoughts of becoming her majesty's at the time, high sheriff for Cheshire.
And it was a great privilege. And you're asked five years before you serve your year in office. Uh, the high sheriffs, essentially the queens at the time, Chief executive, whereas the Lord lieutenants, the monarchs, uh, personal representative. So yeah, I was asked if I'd consider being, being, taking this role on. I was a bit shocked.
Uh, I came home and spoke to Anita. We prayed about it. We took one other couple into our confidence, and then I felt it's the right thing to do. It was a wonderful year, you know. There's a million people live in the county. Uh, there's 4,000 charities across Cheshire serving the people so well, I thought, Yeah.
Part of this, it was, uh, a tremendous year, an immense privilege for me and for Anita personally.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Oh, well done. That's fantastic. That's, I take it you met, uh, her majesty the queen.?
Mark Mitchell: Um, she was due to come and she had to cancel. Oh. But I met many members of the royal family as well, which was tremendous. The buckingham Palace garden parties are events you'll never ever forget.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, I'll let you know when I've been invited to one Mark. Yeah. I've yet to receive the invitation.
Mark Mitchell: It's only a matter of time. I'm sure.
Matt Edmundson: Absolutely, Absolutely. So Mark, all this, I mean, all this has happened, right? You've, you've got this amazing story. Sure it's had its ups and its downs, but here you are and here you, you, you sort of sit.
Um, if you could go back in time and just give yourself, you know, when your, the young sort of 20 year old sat there just about to finish university a, a piece of advice, what would it be?
Mark Mitchell: There's a lovely scripture. It says, Seek first the kingdom of God. And all these things, all these other things will be given to you.
And, um, I've gotta say, I perhaps in my teens and early twenties didn't have that very clear spiritual perspective and calling on what God was calling me to do. But God was good with me and he saw me through it and he opened doors for me. And he's blessed much, but not all of what we've done. So I'd be saying to young people in their early mid twenties, just seek God first.
Yeah. Uh, and, and be in the privacy of the time alone. You might spend with God each morning each evening. Or it might be being surrounded as I was fortunate to be surrounded by good guys and girls who would cheer me on, pray with me and challenge me on occasions about my perspective and understanding of things.
Mm-hmm. So that's probably where I'd sit on that one. Matt, yeah,
Matt Edmundson: Seek first the kingdom of God. It's, It's pretty sound advice, isn't it? It's not always easy to do, but it as advice, you can, you can go that. Well, that makes sense. I get that. Uh, brilliant.
Mark Mitchell: And, and, and how does that work out? Because, you know, clearly I'm not at the front line of our three businesses hour in hour out, so seeking first.
Seeking first. Um, as Paul often puts in his epistles to the new churches in the first century, seeking the mind of Christ in your decision and leading well. And when you have over a hundred people working with you, uh, I've always made a real priority of ensuring anyone who joins our business is interviewed by me.
The first interview will have a second interview with me, but we'll try if we can, to go and visit a candidate in their current place of work. Okay. It's not already an interview, It's always the real thing. Mm. So a lot of digging around and if we recruit well, we keep our people. Mm. But we only lose three or four colleagues a year in the industry that normally 30 or 40 a year.
Wow. That's pretty good, hasn't it? Yeah. I am HR manager. We don't have an HR manager. So we did, as we prepared for this, we did talk about how I engage with my colleagues and how we retain staff. Uh, and if you have people with you a long time and next month as we speak tonight, we will all have worked together for a thousand years.
Oh, wow.. But it means there's continuity when our customers come in and see the same people year in year out or with our complimentary Saturday morning car wash, we give our customers when they purchase the car. Week in, week out, when we see our customers, they see the same faces, they have a confidence, they have a warmth, they have a sense of being at ease in an environment that's often seen as being, um, fairly unsettling or, um, yeah, it can be quite unsettling places to walk through the door of a car showroom.. And so we try to take all that away in terms of how we engage with our customers. And that's only through our people, our strap line. Matt is, it's our people who make the difference. Mm. And if you don't make a difference, we're the same as the other four and a half thousand car businesses in the uk.
But I believe day in, day out, we do make a difference. Yeah. So it means taking care of people. We have, um, a wonderful holiday lodge in North Wales where everyone across the business gets a chance to have a complimentary holiday free holiday with their families. Here we have Saturday, we have summer halves and winter halves, where alongside your holiday allocation, you get a half day in summer.
So you never miss your son bringing, uh, the egg and the spoon race over the finishing line. Fantastic. You're not. And in the winter, you know, I want you to see flossy as the sheep and the school nativity play, and you have time away from the business to go and do that fact that are really, really important to me.
And if we look after our things, um, they're my flock, I'm probably the closest. Yeah. Nearly all colleagues will get to a church leader. So, um, that's a real priority for me and that's what gets me outta bed in the morning.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, that's interesting. And that's for you, that's what seeking the kingdom of God is like, uh, at work, right?
And it's, um, that's really awesome. Mark, listen, I'm aware of time, uh, I'm aware that your beautiful wife is gonna be coming home any second. Uh, so, um, how do people reach you if they want to connect with you?
Mark Mitchell: People tend to ring me up these days, but, um, I take emails and, uh, my email address is m.mitchell@mitchellgroup.co.uk.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. Uh, and if you have any questions, I'm sure Mark would love to answer them, uh, about faith or whatever, and just connect with him. Uh, Mark, listen, uh, as always, I always enjoy our conversation. I think I get inspired and I laugh, uh, and I just, I just enjoy being with you bud. And so I really appreciate you coming on.
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Uh, it's been an absolute treat.
Mark Mitchell: I've really enjoyed being with you again, Matt today. Thank you very much.
Matt Edmundson: Ah, you're a legend. We will, of course, link to Mark's info in the show notes, which you can get for free, along with the transcript, uh, and notes at the website, www.crowd.church.
Or if you signed up to the newsletter, it'll be winging its way to your inbox. No problem. Do check out, uh, Crowd Church, uh, even if you don't see the point of church. Just have a look, see what you think. We're all on a quest here at Crowd to, uh, discover how Jesus helps us live a more meaningful life, this life that Mark has been talking about.
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The team that makes this show possible is, Sadaf Beynon, George McCague, Josh Catchpole, Estella Robin and Tim Johnson. Our theme song is written by Josh Edmundson, and if you would like, as I say, to read the transcript and show notes, they'll be available on the website www.crowd.church. Well, like I say, if you're not signed up, sign up for the newsletter.
That's it from me. Uh, that's it from Mark. Thank you so much for joining us. Have a fantastic week wherever you are. I will see you next time. Bye for now.