Bath Lives - Richard Longhurst

TGtB spoke business with Richard Longhurst, co-founder of multimillion pound Bath based online retailer, Love Honey. Get an insight into Richard's background and find out why he loves living and working in Bath in our exclusive interview below:

Where is home and why?

Cheltenham is where I grew up, but Bath is home. I came in 1987 to go to university so have lived here longer than anywhere else. I haven't picked up the accent yet though.

What inspired you to set up your business here?

A marriage of convenience with my business partner Neal Slateford. We were both working and living in Bath when we decided to set up Lovehoney in 2001. Our first delivery of stock went under my bed and it all grew from there. For a Brief History of Lovehoney, have a watch of the Channel 4 documentary "More Sex Please, We're British" - available on 40D. It's a right laugh and no mistake.

Describe Bath in 3 words…

Small, perfectly formed

Did anyone try to discourage you from setting up your own business?

No, wouldn't have mattered if they did. We clearly had a brilliant idea, even though we knew nothing about sex toys.

What advice would you give anyone looking to do the same?

Don't be afraid to have a go, but do your research. Friends and family will tell you that your idea is brilliant to avoid upsetting you. It's your job to try to prove yourself wrong and if you can't, get on with it!

What do you think attracts business people to Bath?

The climate.

If you could do it all again, would you do anything differently?

We would employ more people more quickly. We didn't for the right reasons - we were fiscally cautious  - but we could have grown faster if we employed more people sooner, especially ones that were better than us at different aspects of the business.

How do you like to spend your time off?

Playing golf and planning my next trip to see Morrissey in concert.

Your phone book must be full of business contacts, but who is the most famous person in there?

E L James. Actually she's in Neal's phone book, but we share. Sometimes.

What has been your biggest achievement to date?

Creating a £20m turnover business is a great achievement in its own right - we have to pinch ourselves sometimes (with our Fifty Shades of Grey "The Pinch" nipple clamps) to remind ourselves how we got here. But I think the bigger achievement is doing that in the way that we've done it  - creating an environment where people are happy and can do their best work, enabling everyone here to give our customers absolutely the best experience.