Fill in the gaps with the most appropriate collocations.
- When did you first had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under ?
- I had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under selling office supplies in 1989, filing systems, office equipment, that sort of thing. In 1991 I had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under with my old friend, James Brown. We had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under for the first two years, but then things got better and we've had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under most years ever since. But there have been bad times too.
- In what way?
- Well, during the economic recession of the early 1990s, a lot of small businesses had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under , and I thought our business would fold, but we survived. All around us, small firms were had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under . But in 1994 we won a contract, took on staff and expanded. Our sales figures improved steadily, and soon we had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under of more than ten million pounds.
- So what's the secret of your success?
- Well, we're quite cautious. For instance, we always had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under before launching a new product. But also, we set a high value on customer service, especially after-sales service. After all, had an annual turnovermade a lossdo some market researchgo into businesswent into partnershipmade a profitrunning a successful businessset up a small businessgoing bankruptwere going under is a combination of hard work, luck and intuition!