Page 25 - James Caan - The Real Deal

2 · Growing Up Fast

with stock he’d outsourced to other factories. This meant that the
pieces he worked on himself were all one-offs, and of course they
were finished to a very high standard. There were often several in
the house at once, and so I started wearing the jackets to school.
The other kids would ask me where I’d got them from, and so
I started telling them that they could have one made if they liked
them that much. I asked my dad how much he would make a
jacket for, and he said £20. Now, I knew that they retailed at £35,
so if I told the guys at school that they could have one for £30,
they would think they were getting a very good price.
My dad told me that he would need a deposit to cover the
materials, so I got £10 from one mate who wanted a jacket and
handed it over. Then, when my friend came over to collect it, he
handed me another £20, of which I gave a tenner to my dad. I
think Dad must have cottoned on to the fact that I was taking a
cut because he asked me what I’d sold it for. I was a bit nervous
that I’d done something wrong, so I just laughed.
‘Why are you laughing?’
‘No reason.’
‘Then why won’t you tell me what you sold it for?’
Eventually I cracked and told the truth. It was his turn to laugh.
‘So why didn’t you tell me? If you sold it for thirty quid you
should have given me the thirty quid.’
Now I thought that was unfair.
‘But you told me you would make one for £20 so you should be
happy with £20.’
He was still laughing, and I realise now that it was with pride.
He was absolutely delighted that I was showing a bit of initiative
and demonstrating some talent for business.
‘Right,’ he said, ‘I’m going to get you a price list!’
After that I probably sold one or two jackets a month, which
meant I was making a lot more than I had delivering papers, and
I didn’t have to get up at 5.30 every morning.

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