Tom Lawes was been putting in so many hours at work, he didn't have the time to notice that his pet lobster was, in fact, dead.
The elderly crustacean hadn't moved for, at least, two weeks but any official pronouncement of death was, unfortunately, delayed by Mr Lawes' demanding schedule.
It is this type of unerring dedication that gained Mr Lawes a place in the national finals of the O2 Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Mr Lawes, who singlehandedly renovated and reopened Birmingham's Electric Cinema, was selected from six Birmingham finalists to represent the city at the London finals on June 8.
The award is part of the wider Arena O2 X-Club Awards, celebrating the contributions of young men in the fields of sport and comedy, design and technology, art and literature, entertainment and leisure, architecture and design and fashion & style.
"I am quite flattered by the nomination," said 33-year-old Mr Lawes, "Until I bought the Electric, I hadn't thought of myself as an entrepreneur."
Former Handsworth Grammar pupil Mr Lawes converted the Electric Cinema, on Station Street, into a mixed-used building with the cinema on the first floor and a state-of-the-art dubbing suite upstairs.
"By housing two businesses, we've made the building profitable," said Mr Lawes, "Often the work that goes on in the dubbing suite helps to subsidise quieter days in the cinema."
The Electric, which dates back to 1909, was the city's last independent cinema but was shut in 2003 with the previous owners displaying a sign saying 'closed due to market forces'.
However, Mr Lawes said that business at the refurbished venue is now brisk, with turnover exceeding original estimates.
"The audio suite is taking in a lot of work, particularly with dubbing programmes for the Teacher's TV cable channel. We also have a very big feature project in the pipeline that could involve some well known celebrities," he said.
Mr Lawes is also involved in recording work by local hip-hop artists and the cinema has been benefiting from the success of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and a visit from the film's executive producer, Robbie Stamp.
Mr Lawes said the business was primarily driven by his love for cinema and music, although it has only been by putting in the hours that has been the secret of success.
"On paper, buying the Electric was an incredibly stupid thing to do. I was putting everything I owned into it, but my sister said it would succeed because I work harder than anyone she knew.
"You really do need to be prepared to risk everything."
