WE could all start a successful business up if only we had the cash, right? While that may not be a reality for most of us, it is for a select few.

From cleaning toilets and becoming a millionaire at age 23, to losing it all and nearly dying, Steve Haslam has had a rollercoaster of a journey.

While you might not recognise the name, you have probably heard of the brand, Grand Central – the American restaurant – which makes up just a small part of Mr Haslam’s empire.

Southend born Mr Haslam now lives in Chelmsford with his wife and children where he runs multiple pubs and restaurants.

Looking back, the 51-year-old said: “I left school at 15 with no qualifications, no hope and no chance but had the desire to change history. No one in my family had ever owned a house, never mind a car but I had the entrepreneurial spirit.

“I had my first business before I was 16-years-old – I was buying and selling fruit machines. Then I started a cleaning company at 16. I was cleaning bars and restaurants - by the time I was 23, I was a millionaire.

“It was great, I was living the dream but I was probably naïve because in the early 90s, the recession hit and cleaners are always the first thing to go.”

Mr Haslam went from boom to bust and lost everything – one of the most important moments of his life.

From there, he started to rebuild his cleaning business and started other ventures including a building business.

It took eight years but he rebuilt his businesses and met his wife – Jo – along the way, creating his family.

Having worked on a dilapidated pub, Mr Haslam met with someone from the brewery and the next day, he bought the pub in Cambridge, creating TLC Inns.

He said: “Jo always had a dream – she had worked in the industry – but she left it to support my business. I wanted to give her back her passion.”

Half a million pound of investment later, the pub took £1million its first trading year. In the next three years, the couple opened three more pubs and won multiple industry awards.

He didn’t stop there and when we saw an opportunity, he quickly went for it.

Mr Haslam said: “One day, I got a call from my mother-in-law who told me that the Outback restaurant in Basildon was closing down. We came and looked at the building and as the story goes, I bought it the next day.

“In 12 weeks we were moving into new territory and it was the birth of Grand Central. Basildon was a great location to start – it is a hive of industry, there are more multi-million pound businesses per capita than anywhere else in Essex.

“We created the concept, which is what it is today, invested £400,000 and took 12 months before we opened.

“The success followed. I have never done it for the money, I am a great believer that if you do things well, create success, money follows.”

Getting ready to open his sixth Grand Central, Mr Haslam said quality and care is what differentiates his brand to others.

He said: “We cook all our food fresh. It takes a little longer and more chef hours but it has its advantages. Because we cook our food fresh, it means we can cater to intolerances. We can modify things on our menu to make then gluten free or whatever the intolerance is.

“We have even taken it a step further and will be stocking gluten free Peroni. We are very conscious of every demographic and try to cater for all.

“We are feeding thousands of people every week and we want to give them an experience, not just a meal.

“Because we are an independent chain, we can be different and off the wall. We can listen to our customers – we don’t run by a manual.”

And for Mr Haslam, the most important thing is the people in his businesses.

He said: “People are what is important. My teams run the businesses, not me – they are my family.

“My employees are fantastic and it is them that deserve the credit. They do all the amazing work, I just manage them.”

Mr Haslam now has 300 employees but the road hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

He said: “It has been fantastic, phenomenal even but it is still difficult. Three and a half years ago I died for 37-minutes - I had a blocked aorta.

“Many told me to quit and I had to take a year off but since then, I have doubled my businesses.

“I have lived the dream. For 25-years I was out every day and night. Now I am in the position where I can decide when my alarm clock goes off – although I still work 70 or 80 hours a week.

“Life is full of choices – you only live once and my advice to anyone is to give it a go. You can create and live your dream.”

Mr Haslam has said his goal is to have 20 different venues and is looking at the possibility of fish restaurants as his next venture.