After a varied career as a Civil Engineer - highlights including building a motorway service station on a rubbish tip (yes, it did smell), designing a camel bridge (no, that's not a joke) and tunnelling on the London Underground, I turned to the dark side and became a Barrister.

After a short spell working at a City law firm, I headed back to the business of building, spending time in the thick of it with architects, insurance companies and consultants. I finally ended up spending 10-years at Laing O'Rourke, the large international construction company, dealing with their contracts and construction disputes.

I now work as an Adjudicator and Arbitrator (a bit like Judge Rinder, but I can't dance).

I set up The Business of Building as I want to help:

• builders to solve their day-to-day struggles, such as getting paid;
• home-owners to resolve their frustrations when their building projects go wrong and they don't get the Grand Designs they had hoped for.

Understanding is the key. Life is too short to waste time on unnecessary disputes and arguments. You could be doing something better......whether it's riding a motorcycle, walking the dogs or catching up with friends!