Clearspring's Christopher Dawson says it's imperative for entrepreneurs to trust the people they employ

After working for 18 years in the Japanese food industry, Christopher Dawson developed a taste for sustainable production and became concerned about the distribution of good food. In 1993, he set up Clearspring to market and distribute organic and authentic foods produced by Japanese farmers and small manufacturers.

"A lot of producers are nervous about the way they're treated by big companies," explains Dawson. "I wanted to build a brand with integrity all the way through. It's about putting people first rather than the product. Quality food that's healthy will always find a consumer," he says.

The biggest challenge Dawson has faced so far came when one of the brands he distributed sold out to another company—he lost 45 per cent of the business in one go. "We survived—but you should never let any supplier, customer or product become more than 20 per cent of your business. If you lose 20 per cent then you still have 80 per cent," he points out.

He describes his greatest milestone as the time when Waitrose approached him in 2007 to stock his products and then Sainsbury's followed suit. But if he's learned one thing more than anything else, it's to have faith and trust in your people and give them enough leeway to get on with the job.

"You have to put your staff first, no matter how good the product," insists Dawson. "And you won't make it if you don't delegate. Whenever I start to meddle, people say to me, 'wait a minute, you hired me to do this'."