UKs leading entrepreneurs talk to Business Matters magazine

Companies like Amazon and Sony are hiring students in droves – Meet the UK tech entrepreneurs supplying them

Business Matters — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 12:40:49 +0000

Joseph Black and Oliver Jacobs are the founders of tech firm UniTaskr which helps struggling students find flexible work and real-life experiences with some of the world’s leading companies including Amazon, Sony, Spotify, and Red Bull.

The company’s success has been built upon its technology platform and user app, which regularly tops the “Lifestyle & Business” category on Apple’s App Store, thanks to a workforce of over 300,000 verified students, offering services such as blogging, digital marketing, photography to over 20,000 client businesses.

Earlier this year, UniTaskr entered the US market where it has added thousands of members to its network, with anywhere up to 1,000 students joining every day. Such figures have enabled UniTaskr to surpass its projected targets for 2023, with an 80% increase in revenue and 30% expansion in its total user base, solidifying its reputation as the “go-to” provider of skilled freelance services.

Why are multinational companies like Amazon and Spotify so keen to utilise a student workforce?

JB – Multinational corporations like Amazon and Spotify value the student workforce for its inherent agility, fresh perspectives, and tech-savvy nature. Students bring a dynamic blend of innovative ideas, adaptability, and a pulse on evolving trends, making them an invaluable asset in industries seeking modern insights and nimble approaches. Their diverse skill and cutting-edge tech familiarity, align perfectly with the fast-paced, innovation-driven environments these companies operate within. Hiring students not only infuses new energy but also introduces a wealth of contemporary thinking and digital fluency, essential for driving forward-thinking strategies within these global entities.

Since founding UniTaskr how has your market changed and how have you adapted to it?

OJ – The market landscape has evolved drastically, witnessing a global surge in demand for youth based freelance talent. To adapt, UniTaskr focused on enhancing its technological platform, introducing innovative new tools like the ‘UGC Studio,’ and strategically targeting industry leaders. This journey involved continuous feedback-driven enhancements, scaling operations, and catering to the diverse needs of an expanding user base. By embracing these changes, UniTaskr positioned itself as a responsive and agile platform, effectively meeting the evolving demands and expectations of both freelancers and clients within the dynamic freelance ecosystem.

What factors influenced your decision to expand your business into the USA and what challenges did you have to overcome in the process?

OJ – The decision to expand into the USA was influenced by the country’s tech-friendly ecosystem, vast market potential, and innovative landscape. Challenges included navigating different regulatory frameworks, understanding diverse consumer behaviours, and establishing a brand foothold in an evolving market. Adapting our strategies to resonate with American audiences and comprehensively understanding regional nuances were crucial. Overcoming these obstacles involved meticulous market research, agile adaptation of our business model, and forming strategic partnerships to effectively establish UniTaskr’s presence within the US market.

How does the business environment in the USA align with your overall business strategy and goals?

JB – The business environment in the USA remarkably aligns with our overarching strategy at UniTaskr. The US offers an exciting opportunity due to its emphasis on innovation and robust entrepreneurial spirit. This alignment perfectly complements our global ambition of revolutionising youth based freelance work. The market’s receptiveness to innovative solutions and disruptive technologies resonates with our aim to continuously evolve and offer cutting-edge solutions. UniTaskr’s strategic goals of expansion and innovation align seamlessly with the USA’s business landscape, fostering an environment conducive to achieving our long-term objectives.

UniTaskr recently secured a million-pound investment. How will the business utilise it?

OJ – Our recent million-pound investment will be pivotal in steering our growth trajectory. The funds will primarily fuel several key areas within our business. We aim to allocate a significant portion to scaling our operations, expanding our user base, and enhancing our technological infrastructure. Additionally, we’ll invest in further research and development efforts to introduce new features, ensuring an enriched user experience. Strategic market penetration, particularly in vital regions like the US and UK, forms a crucial part of our investment strategy. Overall, these funds will be instrumental in driving UniTaskr’s innovation, market expansion, and sustained growth as a leading freelance platform.

What is the key in your mind to attracting and securing investment?

JB – In my view, the key to attracting and securing investment lies in several fundamental aspects. Firstly, having a compelling and clear vision for the business is paramount. Investors are drawn to innovative ideas with a strong value proposition and a well-defined market need. Additionally, demonstrating a robust and scalable business model, backed by concrete data and market validation, is crucial. Building and showcasing a passionate, skilled team capable of executing the vision effectively significantly boosts investor confidence. Furthermore, fostering transparent and open communication, coupled with a track record of consistent progress and adaptability to market dynamics, forms the bedrock of attracting and securing valuable investments.

What challenges did you and your partner have to overcome to secure funding?

JB – Securing funding presented several challenges. One major hurdle was proving our platform’s scalability and market viability, especially as a relatively young company. Convincing investors of UniTaskr’s potential amidst market uncertainties was challenging. Additionally, differentiating ourselves in a competitive landscape required showcasing our unique value proposition effectively. Overcoming these obstacles involved persistent efforts in presenting data-backed evidence, a compelling narrative of our growth trajectory, and demonstrating the platform’s value proposition clearly. Building trust and credibility with potential investors was an ongoing process that required consistent dedication and resilience from both myself and my partner.

How important is relationship building when it comes to securing funding? What advice can you give to our readers who are starting their fundraising journey?

OJ – Relationship building is integral to securing funding. Establishing genuine connections and fostering trust with potential investors is crucial. Building strong relationships requires open, transparent communication, showcasing progress, and aligning goals and values. Advice for those starting their fundraising journey: Focus on building long-term relationships. Clearly articulate your vision and demonstrate how investor support aligns with their interests. Leverage networking opportunities, attend industry events, and seek mentorship. Remember, it’s not just about securing funds; it’s about building partnerships that support your business’s growth and success.

Getting to Know You Profile: Andrew McNeill

Business Matters — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:00:20 +0000

Business Matters spoke with Andrew McNeill, co-founder of LX Leaders, a training and coaching consultancy helping leaders and teams to thrive in high pressure environments. We find out more about the business, what they do and what inspired him and his co-founder, Anika Wagner to set it up.

What do you do at LX Leaders?

We help leaders develop foundational skills to improve their capacity to lead and enable them to thrive under pressure. These skills sit beneath the core capabilities that leaders may have already established. The techniques we share improve leaders’ ability to self-regulate, to respond rather than to react, to communicate and make decisions. We offer one to one sessions, team programmes, keynote speaking and facilitation. We work with clients to establish the programme or one off activity that will meet their needs.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

Having experienced high pressure environments and led large complex programmes and teams we had to find techniques to be able to survive and lead effectively. I have also witnessed leaders sink under pressure or lead ineffectively. I have a passion for sharing the techniques and skills we have developed that can help people thrive under pressure and support their teams by leading in ways that we know work.

Who do you admire?

I admire every client I meet! I am constantly amazed by what people manage to achieve despite the pressure they are under. Many organisations have fantastic aspirations for wellbeing and yet the corporate, public and third sector environments we come across seem to be universally tough. The leaders and teams we support work incredibly hard and achieve so much that it would be hard not to admire them.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

I wish I had discovered the techniques and tools that I now use and share with others earlier in my career. I look back and can’t quite believe that I survived for as long as I did without them. But eventually the pressure did catch up with me and I found the techniques out of necessity when I was quite far into my leadership journey. That’s why at LXLeaders we are keen to work with people early in their careers as well as with more established leaders.

What defines your way of doing business?

Honest, accessible and data driven.

Honest: We are straightforward with our clients and speak from experience. The techniques we teach are ones we use ourselves and are proven to be effective when working in high pressure environments.

Accessible: We offer a range of price points to make our services as accessible as possible.

Data driven: We use feedback questionnaires to test what works and continuously look to improve our programmes.

What advice would you give someone starting out?

Take care of yourself. You are the best asset you have and your career is a marathon not a sprint. Also listen to others who have gone before you. Reach out to leaders in the organisation you have joined and ask them about their leadership experience and approach. Most will be flattered to have been asked and these conversations can give you some insights that can help inform your own leadership style

Secrets of Success: Simon Biltcliffe – Executive Chairman, Webmart Agency

Cherry Martin — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 09:20:14 +0000

Could you change your articles of association to ensure the ESG impact of every decision is considered?

Set on becoming the world’s most sustainable marketing agency, Webmart have. So this means that when they take an integrated approach to each client’s marketing campaigns, they’re also building in their solid values of people, planet and profit. Yes, this agency is BCorp, and they’re bossing it. Aside from designing strategic creatives, they have actively developed their own print carbon calculators to PAS2060 standards and are working with the Scottish government to rewild 164 acres of woodland.

They live and breathe their values, which in turn gives their clients the much needed transparency over their impact to be able to reach their marketing and their ESG goals and an opportunity to offset the emissions through an approved scheme. As consumers are demanding more conscious options of product lines, it’s only a matter of time until they start demanding that those products are marketed to them in a conscious way.

Simon takes the time to share his news and views with Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

We look at the strategy as a whole and work out which existing areas can be improved, optimising their existing budget rather than increasing it. For example, we recently worked with Pavers, the footwear retailer, and saved over £170,000 by re-engineering their mailing format to qualify for more efficient postage rates. Through this process, we also reduced their CO2e output by 30 tonnes. We aim to make small, logical improvements, rather than overhaul an entire strategy simply because one or two areas aren’t performing as well as expected.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, or fill a gap in the marketplace?

Rock the status quo! I built Webmart on Marxist-capitalist principles, which sound contradictory but work together symbiotically. I aimed to build a profitable business where the team could work hard and be rewarded for those efforts, which is where the capitalist principles are important. Where the Marxist-capitalism difference comes into play is what we do with the profits we generate.

Webmart has been built to benefit the stakeholders and not the shareholders. We use our profits to reward our staff, invest in sustainability initiatives, support our local communities and charitable causes. The result is a profitable, sustainable business of 27 years which has created industry-leading sustainable marketing solutions and has donated hundreds of thousands to good causes.

What are your brand values?

We focus our efforts on balancing People, Planet and Profit.

We support our people (our Webmarteers) by including long-standers in our annual profit-share scheme and new starters in the Bonus for Outstanding Achievement (BFOA) scheme to ensure no one is left out. We offer additional family days off per year and free mental health support through The Printing Charity.

Our green efforts are listed below in response to the eco-strategy question.

As well as supporting our Webmarteers with any annual profits, we also ensure that we are consistent with our charitable giving. Charities can apply throughout the year for a one-off £150 grant and just before Christmas we did a £10,000 giveaway to charities close to our Bicester and Barnsley offices. To date, we have given away over £700,000 in charitable donations.

What is Webmart’s eco strategy?

In 2021 we became a certified B Corp, an award that we are incredibly proud of, and the result of several months of hard work. Before we joined the prestigious few UK B Corps that existed, we had already implemented several eco-initiatives to support the environment including:

Our Oxygen Farm, which is based in Coldingham, Scotland and home to 164 acres of woodland and a solar-powered log cabin. In partnership with the Scottish government, we are working to rewild the entire area over the next 20 years and create a wealth of ponds and nature trails for future generations to enjoy
We aim to be as green as possible in both our north and south offices. We have added a fleet of electric vehicles at both sites and also installed solar panels at our Bicester office
We are a carbon-neutral certified company
We are FSC and PEFC accredited
In July 2021 we launched our postage solution, Enviromail. We calculate the carbon emissions from our client’s postage to PAS2060 standards and offset twice that amount through accredited carbon offsetting schemes, making their postage climate positive.

Do your values define your decision making process?

Our values influence us throughout the business, and whenever making any key decisions we consider the implication for any stakeholders. That could be our team, our suppliers or our customers. And we assess the impact of that decision on our ability to carry on the good we can do as a result of our operations.

Value-driven decision making has always been important to the business, and as part of our B Corp certification in 2021, we further changed our articles of association to legally bind us to consider the impact of every decision that we make.

Is team culture integral to Webmart?

A core part of team culture is collaboration, and this is something that happens day in, day out at Webmart. In all of our client projects, there are several Webmarteers across the different teams who come together to work on that project and deliver results for our customers. Collaboration and sharing knowledge are at the core of the business.

What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

We offer a range of things to support our employees, including £500 for them or someone close to them to receive counselling and free mental health support through The Printing Charity. A popular one includes free visits to stay at our Oxygen Farm up in Scotland. In terms of the way the business runs, we keep the team small so that everybody knows each other. Senior management have developed a support system, through which they are aware of family commitments and childcare/elderly care so that we can try and accommodate the needs of every Webmarteer and provide a more flexible work/life balance.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

The term ‘integrated marketing’ can often cause confusion. There’s a lot of similar names that essentially mean the same thing; multi-channel marketing, full service, omni-channel etc. We aim to take the mystery out of this when talking to consumers by being clear about the benefits in a simple yet helpful way. Everything we do, from social posts, to collateral, to webinars, aims to explain clearly and concisely how to improve your marketing campaigns, whether that’s by working with us or not, though of course, we hope people do!

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Every business will approach this differently. At Webmart, we’ve worked closely with our supplier partners to mitigate these rising costs so that we minimise the impact that these have for our customers. However, it’s impossible to avoid increased costs overall, so our unique approach to marketing is how we can best support our customers’ budget during times like these. When we assess the full marketing mix, we uncover opportunities to improve and refine their approach and find cost savings via this route.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

I think this depends on the KPI, however one of the things we do is run client surveys twice annually to see how we are performing for our clients, with our last survey results giving us 96% for both customer service and quality satisfaction.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of Webmart?

Tech has played a huge role at Webmart for many years. We created TradePrintManagement.com or TPM, which as the first of its kind, allows suppliers to log on and generate instant prices for print across millions of specifications. Since then, we’ve brought on numerous platforms and technologies to better measure our customers’ marketing strategy and support across the full marketing mix.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

I don’t believe we have any true ‘competitors’, we can all work together one way or another. It’s a collaborative approach that we work with; we want to understand them, we want to help if we can, and then in return they will help us when we need it. We feel there are always ways we can collaborate.

A lot of our suppliers are our customers as well, because if you treat people with respect and decency, and listen to them, then opportunities come from all places.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

A business’ success is down to its people, so invest in your people and get the best people you can afford. And that includes considering if they will not just be an experienced fit, but also align with your ethics and morals. If you get a great bunch of people, and you train them, nurture them, care about them and align them with honesty and a sense of purpose, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve. A business is successful because of the quality of people that you have, and the respect that you give them drives the quality of the business you have.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

One of the things I’ve done over the years is taking part in extreme events. I’ve done this for a few reasons; one is that the training creates a good level of discipline. Often you get wound up in work and never get a chance to prioritise exercise, but if you have a big event, you have to make the time. It’s also so important to exercise more than just your brain – you have a body to look after too.

However, the main reason for putting myself through extreme activities is that it puts everything into perspective. Every other issue you face in everyday life is nowhere near the physical demands of these gruelling challenges, so you can deal with them better – it makes everything else seem relatively easier.

Lastly, make sure you keep your outside interests. Don’t be that person who only has friends within their industry, it’s important to have friends and spend time with others from other walks of life.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

We believe in much longer planning strategies, we have a three year plan. But we also work in 90-day ‘bursts’ to evaluate and assess the businesses’ performance. So it’s both long and short term.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

A new government, Barnsley being promoted to the championship and our sustainable, integrated approach to marketing being recognised as the future of sustainable business growth.

Secrets of Success: Dr Ebraham Afshar, MD of Ahmad Tea

Cherry Martin — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 16:54:37 +0000

There’s more to providing the nation’s finest brew than you think …

A reminder that we should never take high quality tea for granted. This Southampton based company has been inspiring the love and appreciation of high quality tea since 1986. Determined never to compromise on quality, no matter what economic situation the country is facing, has been no mean feat to uphold. Dr Ebraham took some time out of his day to speak to Business Matters

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Our main day-to-day business is with our global network of distributors who sell our tea to shops, cafes, restaurants and workplaces in their countries. For these long-standing partners we solve various problems, such as, helping them when they are faced with economic turmoil in their country, or a lack of inventory or facing unforeseen circumstances. We like to think of our relationship with our distributors as a partnership and we work hard to help them grow their businesses as we are growing ours. It’s not a traditional buyer/seller relationship.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

In 1986 we spotted a gap in the market for the availability of high-quality teas. Once we entered the market, like lots of businesses, we realised that it was much more complicated than we first thought. After four years of hard work we finally turned a corner into profitability and our business has been growing every year since.

What are your brand values?

Wisdom, creativity (with our blends and our packaging) and humanity. Ahmad Tea was founded on a vision that business is an opportunity to give back and we have built a network of local charity partners all over the world who are able to take action where it is needed most. Sharing the fruits of our success with those in need is a big driver for us as a business.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Yes, they have to. Our values are our blueprint for our business. Our charity work, wisdom and creativity are integrated into the very way we do business.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Yes, absolutely. Creating a team culture means that people work by the same values and also start to make similar decisions on company strategy. It’s more efficient for a business if many peoples’ decisions align.

So what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

I always make a conscious effort to thank people for their work. However, as a leader, I’m always thinking about other genuine and sincere ways I can show my appreciation to staff.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

We always try to minimise any price increases to the end consumer, even when we’re faced with higher costs. Two years ago, when transport costs started rising we decided to take a hit on the margin, hoping that the price rises would slow down. Last year when wages, raw materials and transport costs started rising by double digits, we had to pass on some of the costs. Double digit inflation isn’t great for anyone and we always try to act fairly.

What is your attitude to your fellow tea industry competitors?

Many years ago, I used to be quite conscious of our competitors. However, as I and the business have matured, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better to spend my time on what we do, and how to do it better, rather than the other way round.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

Don’t put all your money into it. Be patient, pour your heart and time into it. Understand that it’s more than a 9-5 job. Surround yourself with good advisors and listen to their advice.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

My religion is very important to me and I pray regularly. This helps me not feel lonely and helps me to remain calm. I also meditate which helps.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

As we’re a tea business, we need to take into account the seasonality of tea and therefore we plan in 6–8-week cycles to take into account the latest harvest information. For HR and machinery decisions, we plan in 9–12-month cycles.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

Sustainability is now at the core of our business. We have recently received a gold accreditation from EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. We’re continually investing in every area of production to improve our sustainability credentials and are looking to make small improvements that can make a monumental difference over time.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

Firstly, I would like to feel on top of my work, I hope 2024 brings us a sense of calmness. Secondly, I would like our management team to have finished their management training programme. I’ve witnessed the positive impact that personal development and management training can have on businesses and at Ahmad Tea we’re committed to help our employees maximise their potential. Thirdly, I would like to have improved our IT capability for the business, to help us keep innovating, increase our performance and efficiency, and finally to improve the speed of business processes and operations.

Secrets of Success: Mark Sinjakli, Founder and MD of My Baker

Cherry Martin — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 19:23:50 +0000

This lockdown concept has since grown their nationwide success

When Mark Sinjakli, took over My Baker it was a platform of 80 bakers, mostly London and Birmingham. Today is has over 200 bakers, based in the majority of UK cities, providing artisanal cakes for customers, made by talented independent bakers, often at short notice.

Mark takes some time out of his day to speak to Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Providing a quality, reliable, cake delivery service at short notice. By carefully vetting bakers and only accepting those that meet our high standards, the customer is assured of a lovely cake, without the potentially “hit and miss” approach of contacting local bakers directly.

As independent bakers are frequently run by a single individual, they may lack the bandwidth to respond promptly to a customer enquiry, not have the capacity for a certain order, not be able to make a certain style of cake, or be able to adhere to a certain dietary requirement.

By aggregating the services of over 200 talented bakers, we can get the customer the right baker for their specific needs, and at short notice.

It is also great for the bakers – they take the orders they can do, when they need them most, with no obligation if they are too busy.

We opened our first physical bakery in Hendon, North West London, in November 2022, which gives our offering even greater brand presence.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

We acquired the business in June 2020, when the country was in lockdown, it was already established but needed some TLC. The business exists because it fulfils the needs of both of its key sets of stakeholders – customers and bakers. There was a real gap in the market for a cake provider that offered cakes nationwide, guaranteed quality, and speed of service.

As our reputation has grown, we now receive applications from several bakers a week looking to join our books.

What are My Baker’s brand values?

A commitment to high quality and excellent service: My Baker is synonymous with convenience and quality;
Our bakers work with us, not for us: each one is a valued partner, and many have become friends. We pay them well, and we have on occasion paid out early to help them through financial hardship. We get them a range of supplier discounts, and we offer them orders at no cost to them and with flexibility to choose. Being small and without layers of hierarchy to wade through, we can make these decisions quickly and considerately. We are a family-owned and run business.
Honesty. This is absolutely critical. To give an example, on the rare occasions we have a complaint, we assess it carefully and absolutely on its merits. We hear from the customer, and the baker, and take all the facts into consideration before deciding on the appropriate approach. At my former firm, AlixPartners, one of the core values is “candour with compassion”, and I think that’s a very good approach.

Do your values define your decision making process?

Absolutely. All of our bakers have to meet the required standards and be fully complaint with food hygiene legislation before they work with us – no exceptions. At the same time, we have been a supportive ear to many of them.

One incident I am particularly proud of is when one of our bakers faced a tough (and in many ways unreasonable) complaint. It wasn’t even on one of our cakes, it was one they had made directly to a customer. But I was able to talk them through how we deal with complaints, help them process the emotion, take everything into account, and reach a fair settlement with the customer. Some months later they said to me that just talking to me had helped them “step back from the edge”, and must admit I felt very emotional when I heard that.

Is team culture integral to My Baker?

It is vital. We are a small team and work closely together. By necessity everyone in the team has to perform to a high standard if we are to thrive.

At the same time, we are humans, not robots, and there needs to be an acceptance of mistakes, of “off-days”, of life outside of work, and of people’s genuine limits in terms of skill sets and working hours.

I think we all give our best because we all believe in this project and like each other.

How do you go the extra mile to to show your team you appreciate them?

Some very tangible things in terms of paying well and for exceptional employees there is a share scheme, so they get to participate financially in the success of the company.

But based on my experience as a junior employee and then coming through the ranks, it can be small things, like acknowledging when great work has been done publicly, and never taking credit for what someone else has done.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

We like to think so. We are available on the phone and live chat seven days a week, and having recently overhauled the website one of the big focal points was improving the customer journey.

However, there is always room for improvement. Automated order confirmation emails, for example, have sometimes confused customers and we’re striving to get that right.

Our strapline which is repeated across all our branding, and on our signage at the bakery, is “My Baker – Cake to your Door”. We wanted something that explained what we did succinctly and we think we’ve found it!

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

I think inevitably it’s a bit of a compromise. The price of butter, flour, and sugar have all gone up substantially, plus fuel for deliveries. Our two key stakeholder groups are our customers and our bakers, and we have to do right by both groups.

What we didn’t want to do was to keep nudging prices up. Therefore we made substantial price increases over the summer, but now we don’t plan any more for the foreseeable future. The attitude was, “do it once, do it properly, give customers and bakers certainty”.

We recognise that things are hard financially for our customers, and have a range of discounts and offers, our semi-naked classic and classic ranges, and free delivery on larger orders, to ensure our offer remains reasonably priced and to offer something for most budgets.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

Some weekly and some fortnightly. We have a very scaleable platform here, and the aim on one level is quite simple: growth, through more sales and more talented bakers.

Data such as website traffic, search engine rankings, CTR and ROAS on paid ads, and press coverage is therefore critical and monitored weekly.

We have a great digital marketing partner (Lead Genera) and terrific PR Agency (Rochester PR) and we discuss these metrics with them frequently.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

My Baker has always been a tech business, from its inception. The initial investment was used to build a tech platform capable of accepting orders, locating the nearest bakers, filtering them for relevant skill sets, and assigning the orders. There was nothing off the shelf that could do this, so a custom-built system was required.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We’re conscious that we didn’t invent cake! There are some longstanding companies, some exciting new kids on the block, and some great offerings out there. We respect and learn from what others do.

However, we don’t fall into the trap of becoming obsessed by our competitors. It is more important and a better use of head space to have a clear vision and implement it, than to seek to mimic the approach of others.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

Get some experience working for someone else before going out on your own.

Many people see starting their own business as a route to freedom, but It’s not for everyone so think carefully as to whether you are wired for it. As far as is possible, make sure you have a financial cushion in place, and try to obtain third party funding as well as putting your own money in.

My own journey has been to get experience in my 20s and 30s, where I trained as a chartered accountant and had a career in corporate restructuring, before becoming an entrepreneur in my 40s. I don’t think I would have been a very good entrepreneur in my 20s, I learnt so much from others (including their mistakes) in my first career.

This is probably the number one point though: figure out what it is that you are really good at and enjoy doing. Do that, well. And then surround yourself with people who are good at the stuff you aren’t good at / don’t want to do. I am incredibly lucky that in our small, nimble team, we all bring something entirely different to the table. You wouldn’t want me baking and decorating cakes (Mel) or crafting our brand identity (Shane)!

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I’d love to say that I’m in training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity and doing an Iron Man, but that’s just not me! I obsess about the business and it leads little headspace for other pursuits.

I think the things that keep me grounded are the fact that I have a great team, the bakers (many of whom have become close friends), a superb set of friends and family, and some fantastic advisers – so I am never short of a sounding board.

One recent addition to our lives has been our cute Pomeranian, Marley, who needs regular walking and gives us a lot of affection. He does allow me to genuinely switch off!

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

I don’t think there is a “one-size-fits-all” answer to this question. From my years in the City, I came to realise that you need a combination of approaches.

On the one hand, you need long-term planning. You need to define your goals and strategy, and implement processes and best practice to achieve that.

At the same time, you never know when and where your next big opportunity is going to arise, or what macro-economic factors might be at play. For example, when we bought the business, everyone bar essential workers was working from home, so there was little point in courting the corporate office market. But now, we do really well there, with WeWork in particular a fantastic client for us.

So you need to be reactive and nimble. One of the great advantages of being a small company is that we have very simple, flat and non-hierarchical decision-making processes.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

Our model is intrinsically eco-friendly, since we are a national network of local independent bakers. This means that our cakes are delivered to the customer’s door over short delivery distances, normally about one – three miles.

Coupled with this, we insist that our bakers only use recyclable packaging and free range eggs.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

We are launching our “5 by 77” programme in January – we aim to have 5 talented bakers in each of the 77 cities of the UK by December 2023;
Our new bakery is a fantastic space – as well as serving the public with cakes to take away and cake consultations for future events, we plan to make it a place for content generation and baker collaboration;
Last but not least – we’re looking to bring our incredible service to even more customers, which may require an injection of capital, and potentially the support of a strategic investor and / or a crowdfunding campaign– so watch this space!

Secrets of Success: Branwell Moffat, Founder and Director CX Consulting

Cherry Martin — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 07:52:24 +0000

Finding the right systems and processes can propel your digital business to growth

Branwell Moffat is the Director of CX Consulting at KPS Digital in the UK; an award-winning SAP partner and SAP CX SI in London. With over 20 years experience helping companies grow their digital businesses to levels of individual revenues in excess of $500 million per year, he works on a consultative approach with customers, layering a mixture of CX, business and technical consultancy that ensures that the solutions that they design, fit the strategic, business and technical objectives of each company. He takes some time out of his day to share his thought processes and Secrets of Success with Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Many of our customers come to us with a general idea of what they want to achieve but without the knowledge of how to do so. We work with them to uncover the key business and technical objectives and design pragmatic and achievable solutions that achieve those objectives and allow them to better engage with their customers. Our engagements are never just about us asking what the customer wants and then going away and building it. They are about us collaborating with them to design and build a solution that aligns with what they are trying to achieve.

Approximately 50% of our customers come to us because they are unhappy with the service and advice they are getting from their incumbent Systems Integrator (SI). This is sometimes where an implementation has stalled or failed or where they are looking for a better service.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, or was it a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

We started the business straight from university back when the internet was relatively new. We certainly saw a gap in the market for a company that could provide a mix of business and technical consultancy backed up with quality delivery (all of the founders were business graduates). We were excited by and believed in the internet and saw its potential.

Back then, many websites were static and hard-coded and it was about a year before we built our first e-commerce website – completely hand-coded.

If I’m perfectly honest we didn’t have much of a long-term plan and didn’t envisage being the company we are today but it seemed like the right thing to do and, as we were fresh graduates, we had very little to lose. We started with three of us in a tiny spare room sharing a desk, a phone, and one computer.

What are your brand values?

Our values are probably the most important thing we have and, I believe, the main reason for our success. The leadership team has spent a long time trying to distill and define our values but they really boil down to giving a damn. Giving a damn about your colleagues, your customers and your work. I firmly believe that living by these values is the key reason for our success. It helps us attract and retain staff and ensures that we deliver quality and service to our customers.

Personally, I despise the ruthless ‘it’s just business’ stereotype as I think that we have proven that you can be successful while maintaining your integrity.

Do your values define your decision making process?

I believe that our values define almost all of our decisions. We have a leadership team where every member is passionate about our values. The values define how we treat our staff, whether as a collective, or on an individual basis and also how we work with our customers. We will never be the kind of company that lowballs a deal to then hammer the customer with change requests. We are much more interested in building a long-term partnership so it makes both commercial and ethical sense to be fair and do the right thing.

We have turned down business multiple times where the client does not align with our values, whether that is down to the products they sell, the way they treat people or even who is associated with that company.

We are not a charity and are part of a larger listed company so we have a responsibility to shareholders to drive growth in revenue and profitability, but we believe that we can do this while still living true to our values.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Team culture is absolutely integral to our business in a number of ways. Most importantly, it helps us attract and retain talent. Skilled people in our industry are highly in demand so creating a great working environment is critical to us. It’s not just about having a nice office and lots of perks, it’s also about mutual respect, work-life balance and working on good projects. The culture also helps ensure that the work we deliver and the way we treat our customers is aligned to our values. It’s important that all of our staff embody our values.

What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

For us it is about providing a genuinely good work-life balance, flexible working, listening and communicating. Of course, we have to be competitive in our salaries and package (last year we doubled our pension contributions and rolled out private medical insurance) but, for our leadership team, it is about respecting and looking after our staff. Everyone is an individual and has their own challenges whether it is health issues or monumental issues such as living in Ukraine. We ensure that that we treat everyone with fairness and compassion and help out where we can.

Every year we carry out an employee engagement survey which staff answer anonymously. It asks questions ranging from how they feel about our work-life balance to whether they are rewarded fairly. This is taken very seriously and real change is actioned from it.

We also communicate as much as we can. We have quarterly company updates where the leadership team presents everything from the last quarter’s performance to any changes to the strategic direction of the company.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

One of the challenges we face is that it can be quite hard to communicate what we do. There is a fine balance between talking about outcomes such as better customer engagement and talking about technology solutions. I find it frustrating when I go to a website and spend a few minutes on the home page and still have absolutely no idea what the company does as it is just full of buzz words.

I think that we probably have more work to do to improve our message. When we are face to face, it is very easy to clearly communicate what we do but it is much harder otherwise.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Inflation is a challenge for our staff and our customers and we need find a good balance. In reality, we expect to share the burden with our customers. It is not feasible for us to absorb the entire burden ourselves but we also do not expect our customers to do this either. Over the last year, we have been carrying out a process of rate reviews with our customers and this is still on-going. It’s all about having an open and honest conversation and being fair.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

We are probably better at doing this with our staff than our customers, at least in an organised and formal way. We have quite a small number of large customers and are very close to all of them, so we generally know what is going on at any point.

We do measure the CSAT score for each customer on an annual basis but this rarely results in a surprise but is a good way to measure the level of service we are providing.

Like any business, we have commercial KPIs such as our margins that we measure on a monthly basis.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

As an SI, tech has always played a fairly big part in running our company. However, as we have grown a lot in the last five years, we have had to automate more processes as they can no longer be done manually – everything from HR to finance. The biggest change is probably in our increased use of Microsoft Teams. While we have been providing hybrid working for decades, since the pandemic, we have a more geographically diverse workforce and even those in commuting distance to the office work at home for the majority of the time so the majority of meetings, internal and external, are now done over Teams.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

It’s always important to respect your competitors and avoid thinking that you are better than them. Competition is always healthy and good for our customers as it pushes suppliers to deliver a better service at a better value.

In our industry, we tend to come up against the same companies when pitching for business. I would place us into a middle tier where we rarely find ourselves in competition with small or very large consultancies. We sit in a space where there are relatively few competitors. I’m certainly happy that we win a lot more pitches than we lose.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

The main advice I would have is that I believe that acting with integrity is surprisingly rare and it can become one of your biggest strengths and make you stand out from the rest. Look at how busy a tradesperson becomes once they get a reputation for being honest and doing a good job. A long-term partnership is worth so much more than getting a quick buck from a customer. It is much harder win business from new customers than it is from happy existing customers. It also helps you sleep better at night.

If you are in a service industry, like KPS, look after your staff as they are the most important things your business has. You are only as good as they are.

I’ve often thought about what I would go back and tell myself when I founded the company and I one of the things I would say is that everything will cost twice as much as you think you’ll make half as much as think you will. I remember building a theoretical business plan as part my university degree course and, looking back at it, I was very naive about revenue and costs. It’s very easy to have a ‘build it and they will come’ view but that is rarely correct.

I think the final bit of advice would be to never be afraid to hire people who are better than you. Early on, we decided that e-commerce was going to be our focus so, instead of trying to do it ourselves, we hired some talented people who would be much better. This goes for almost all parts of the business. As a business leader, you tend to be a generalist so most people you hire will be better than you are at the thing you hire them for. This should be embraced.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

Personally, I like to get out on my mountain bike and go on long cross-country rides, either on my own or with friends. I’m lucky enough to live in a relatively rural area where I can ride for many miles without barely going on a road. I also like to spend time with family and friends. It can be very hard to switch off when you are a business leader so it’s important to try to do that when you can. It took me many years to be able to do that. When you go on holiday, I actually delete my email account from my phone so I don’t see the unread messages start to stack up.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

We do a bit of both. Our business can be quite dynamic and we know, for sure, that we always end a year very differently than we planned to 12 months ago. We certainly do plan on a quarterly basis and even on a monthly basis in some areas. However, we also have long term strategies such as diversifying into other technologies and services; something that can take some time.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

Corporate Social Responsibility is one of our core values and is, therefore, very important to us. We have a CSR group within the business who run various initiatives ranging from small (removing waste bins throughout the office) to larger ones like energy usage. We also have a focus on sustainable software development where processing and energy usage is considered when developing and running code.

As well as looking at eco issues, the CSR team also looks at other areas of social responsibility such as charity work. One of the schemes we have in place encourages staff to volunteer time with local charity shops during working hours.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

Our biggest focus for the next 12 months is to expand our technology and service offering to allow us to provide a more rounded service to our customers. We have been very successful in implementing SAP CX platforms but are in the process of building new practices to widen our offering. This includes leveraging the huge amount of experience and skill in the SAP ERP area that KPS has a group so that we can offer this within the UK.

Last year we rolled out mandatory diversity and inclusivity training to all staff which was really successful, and something that I passionately believe in. This year, we are looking to roll out more soft-skills training on subjects like time management and line management.

I would like to see a good balance of office and remote working in the next 12 months. I don’t think that we will ever return to a point where we make it mandatory to come into the office, and it is up to us as leaders to give staff a good reason to do so, but I still believe that meeting colleagues face to face occasionally is beneficial for individuals and the company. We have had a few days last year where the office has been reasonably full and there is an energy and buzz that we have all forgotten.

We are still working on understanding what is the right balance but I would, ideally, like to see most of our staff who live close enough coming into the office once or twice a week within the next 12 months.

Secrets of Success: Dr Ed Gladman, CEO Adlington Retirement Living

Cherry Martin — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 17:00:53 +0000

Future proofing people’s retirements and high quality way of life is paramount

More than a retirement property, Dr Ed Gladman ensures that Adlington Retirement Living builds communities that centre around happiness, safety and physical wellbeing. He shares the journey of the family owned and run company with Business Matters …

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Our retirement communities are designed to empower the older generation to live a long, happy and healthy life in a safe and secure environment with activities, communal facilities and beautiful private gardens. They’re about much more than the bricks and mortar of our apartments.

Although we focus on the quality of our facilities, we know that the most important things that make our customers really feel at home, are having a good circle of friends, connections with like-minded neighbours and a sense of belonging.

As we all get older, many people start to struggle with aspects of their family home such as managing the stairs, organising repairs and maintenance, or staying on top of garden maintenance. I think a lot of people also want to future-proof their retirement. Many of our homeowners are fit and healthy but feel reassured knowing that help is on hand if they ever need it, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It also gives peace of mind to their families.

When required, we can put in place optional personal care packages for everything from short-term support after an operation, to more regular, long-term tailored personal care. Our on-site teams work with a local care partner to find the best solution to suit each individual.

What made you move into the business?

Prior to joining Adlington Retirement Living in 2017, I worked in the NHS as a hospital doctor specialising in anaesthetics. I’d never planned to join the family business and wanted to do something different, unrelated to property, which is why I went into medicine.

Working as a doctor was in many ways a wonderful career. When it goes well you can have such a profoundly positive impact upon someone’s life. I was however beginning to find the NHS a dehumanising environment in which to work and decided that a change was needed.

Joining the family business was too good an opportunity to overlook. It afforded me the chance to work with my dad with whom I have a great relationship. It also gives me a high degree of autonomy and the ability to change things where I see improvements can be made.

Fundamentally though, the main reason for joining Adlington was that I see the development of Integrated Retirement Communities as a life-changing product for our customers. The huge difference it can make to a homeowner’s life is a great reason to go to work in the morning.

What are your brand values?

Our core brand values are to be:

COLLABORATIVE: Collaboration is at the heart of our organisation. For our customers and for their families. With our business partners and for all our employees.

EMPATHETIC: We care deeply about the challenges associated with growing old and strive to provide a safe, secure and happy environment for all our homeowners.

PROGRESSIVE: We constantly refine, adapt and invest in our build and interior design solutions to deliver high quality homes and create welcoming retirement communities.

OPEN: Building on the family values of our founding partners, we promote a culture of openness and a considerate work ethic, through transparent communication at every level.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Organisational culture is integral to the success of any business. We have always been a family business and at the heart of our culture is trying to be fair and decent to our customers and team. We have incredibly low staff turnover because we pay well and give our staff a high degree of autonomy and ownership of their work.

The challenge we face is that we are now approaching a headcount of 300 and this makes keeping the feel of a small family business a huge challenge, particularly with many of the sales, operational and construction teams working nationwide.

Having the senior management team fully bought into the core values that define our business helps us to continue to provide an interesting and worthwhile place to work for our team.

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to to show your team you appreciate them?

Fundamentally we do our utmost to treat everyone fairly and as we would wish to be treated. I think one of the key factors is that we do not have an HR department. HR decisions are made by the board directors and often by me, to ensure that all situations are looked at fairly and holistically not simply by following a policy.

We have an incredibly flexible working policy for our office-based staff and do our utmost to be flexible in allowing people to work in a manner that fits their lives. We also pay the team well.

An often-overlooked element of culture is paying suppliers and subcontractors on time. Some in the construction industry have a poor reputation for not paying suppliers on time. We pay on time and don’t use retentions with our subcontractors. This means we have decent relationships with our supply chain, and we can ask them for a favour when required, as they can of us.

We have a well defined wellbeing program that ensures a happy and healthy team. As part of that, we have several fully trained Mental Health First Aiders and a qualified in-house trainer delivering regular Mental Health Awareness courses.

Regular funded social events are arranged together with the promotion of healthy living activities such as a cycle to work initiative, charity fun runs, healthy eating club and walking competitions.

Our in-house Management Company Adlington Management Services (AMS) has a very comprehensive and in-depth training programme and each of our retirement community’s links with local authorities to provide mental capacity and safeguarding training for the benefit of our homeowners.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Education on Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs) is at the forefront of our media interviews and marketing campaigns so that older people understand the choice of housing available to them. We regularly interview homeowners and share their stories through our own channels and the wider media.

IRCs are a relatively new concept in the UK, unlike the US, Canada and New Zealand, where they are well established. In the UK, there’s confusion around the difference between an IRC and a care home. Sadly, people often think of an ‘old people’s home’ when they imagine a retirement community.

Many people live in accommodation which becomes increasingly less appropriate for them in later life, as their health and social needs change. This often leads to a crisis point where they are forced to move because home is no longer safe, following a fall or illness.

IRCs offer people a way to retain their independence for as long as possible, choosing where they want to live with the safety net of care options being readily available if they are needed in the future. They also keep older people engaged with wider society which is key to tackling loneliness and isolation in later years.

Our advertising campaigns are clear and concise, with full transparency of information on our website. As members of the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO), which is a body representing operators of IRCs, we undertake a thorough annual review of all our marketing communications, as well as the service levels at each of our communities.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

The current economic conditions are very challenging for the real estate sector. Our costs to build and borrow money have both risen steeply and we are currently in a tricky sales environment. Thankfully our product is close to unique in the UK and genuinely life changing for our homeowners and as such demand remains strong.

We have very much shared the pain with our potential customers. We have increased prices and accepted a lower margin on the development. However, as a business our focus is very much on the long income generated so this hasn’t hugely impacted our business plan.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

Our design and development team use the leading software in the industry with all projects designed in REVIT. It’s fantastic and makes it much easier for the Senior Management team to review each new development.

However, on the operational side we are relatively low tech. We believe in first class hospitality and customer service. I am approached by tech companies constantly however what they are offering is usually expensive and not of huge value and would ultimately drive-up costs too much.

Our customers are tech savvy and all own smartphones, iPads etc. so the last thing they want is us providing an added layer of complexity with inferior tech. As a community develops, WhatsApp groups, Facebook communities etc. naturally develop as they do in any new group. The tech available to the general public has never been better and our communities benefit hugely from this.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

Interestingly, we rarely encounter significant competition. There are several really high-quality IRC developers in the UK. However, there are far more towns to go at than there are developers. On the odd occasion where we have local competition it can actually be beneficial. When a strong competitor enters the market, they often educate the local population about retirement communities, making our sales process easier. We at Adlington embrace healthy competition as it contributes to market awareness and ultimately facilitates sales.

The growth potential in this sector is immense. We are driven by the positive impact we can create. Moreover, the sector offers significant financial opportunities, making it a lucrative venture. With such a combination of social importance, profitability, and tremendous growth potential, we are excited about the future possibilities.

As members of ARCO, I maintain good relationships with the leaders of our competitors as we are of the view a collegiate sector is far preferable to an adversarial operating environment as experienced in so many sectors.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

I never set out to be a businessperson and indeed by becoming a doctor took active steps against it. However, circumstances change, and I have found myself in a wonderful role as CEO of Adlington.

In my view the most important thing is to find something that is personally fulfilling to you. We are all motivated by hugely different things, so the key is to find an industry that ticks the boxes you need it to tick to have a happy and worthwhile career.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I have three small children who keep me busy. Whether they relax, recharge and hone my focus is debatable.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

The UK has a huge shortfall of housing and as such new homes need to be built. However, construction as an industry is inherently poor from an environmental perspective. This is a dichotomy with which I am constantly wrestling.

The positive environmental impact of our communities is that our homeowners almost all move from a home with at least two, often three or four unused bedrooms. They then move into a much smaller home which is well built, well insulated and much more efficient to run. This process frees up a large property for a family to move into and provides our homeowners with a beautiful home and community.

We also do an excellent job of looking after our homeowners and as such their hospital visits, GP appointments etc., decrease. Healthcare has an enormous carbon footprint so by decreasing its use we also help.

Finally living as part of a community is much more efficient. For example, there is a chef who cooks in the restaurant, shared trips into town, carers don’t have to drive between jobs. These benefits also drastically decrease the carbon footprint generated by our homeowners.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

The three things I hope to have place in the next 12 months are land, land and land. The land and planning environment is incredibly challenging, and we are on the lookout for more sites.

We will look anywhere in England and need to be able to build retirement communities with 60 plus apartments on the site so if you’ve got good quality land to sell in affluent market towns or areas of cities please get in touch.

Getting To Know You: Paul Eatock, MD, Eatock Design & Build

Business Matters — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 12:33:49 +0000

We talk to Paul Eatock, the managing director of Eatock Design & Build about how he and his partner Jeni specialise in designing and project management in the construction sector.

With over a decade of experience in construction and project management, I thrive on finding innovative solutions to create the ideal workspace for our clients. I take clients through a four step process; consult, translate, design and build, to deliver projects which are perfectly tailored to our clients. Taking a collaborative approach, I make sure that clients are heavily involved throughout the process, as communication is key to achieving the best possible results with fit-outs. Together with my partner Jeni who specialises in design, we oversee every aspect of our projects to produce detailed fitouts and seamless delivery.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

My journey in the fit-out industry has been quite a ride, filled with challenges and a lot of determination. The dynamics of the industry underwent significant transformations amid the pandemic, discouraging many from embarking on entrepreneurial journeys. Armed with a decade of expertise in design, construction, and fit-out, I embraced the opportunity to launch Eatock Design & Build (EDB). The pandemic was far from the ideal time to launch a new business, especially as the dramatically changed business landscape saw many well established businesses struggle. I’ve never been someone who shies away from a challenge.

In fact, I saw it as a unique opportunity. With many workspaces emptying out, we made the pandemic a great time to start a business, recording an exponential turnover in our first year. Despite the homeworking boom, we’ve only accelerated since celebrating over 200 project appointments in just three years across a range of sectors.

I want to develop EDB into the number one, multi-award winning, ‘go to’ fitout name. We don’t create workspaces for the recognition, we do so for the legacy of our clients and the betterment of the people that work within them. But at the same time, we’re immensely proud of our portfolio of work.

Who do you admire?

I truly admire my team as they are the heart of EDB. With an amalgamation of diverse talents and skillsets, collectively they bring to life into any vision we put forward to our clients.

As a business owner, seeing the collective efforts of the team manifest into tangible successes gives me a deep sense of pride and fuels the drive to overcome challenges. My team is a source of inspiration, propelling me to face the future with confidence and optimism for the business.

I may not always have the answer myself, but I can maintain confidence that someone within my team will do or be there to offer a helping hand. Real, long term success is born from team collaboration.

What defines your way of doing business?

I always want to learn and no one can ever learn or know everything. I’m a doer – I am always wanting to learn more from practical experience and if we hit a challenge in a project, I thrive on coming up with a solution. I like to soak things up as I learn and put these new ideas into practice in creative projects.

It’s not about what I wish I knew in the past; it’s about how embracing a fresh perspective which can drive my skills forward. I believe that by consistently adopting a fresh approach to work, you can discover new opportunities you might have otherwise missed. Working across a vast array of sector fitouts, all the way from labs to restaurants, helps me consistently bring a fresh perspective to our fitouts.

We don’t follow a set template at Eatock Design & Build, the way we work and what we do is powered by the want to do what’s best for the client, and by doing that, we create schemes which, while personalised to the client, have our own individual stamp on them too.

We will continue to take on challenging projects, because it’s in those moments that you learn the most. If that means taking on a client in an alien sector or working to strict limitations, we’re confident enough in our own abilities to know that we can deliver workspaces that are perfectly tailored for longevity, productivity and staff wellbeing. When we handover a project and the client is taken aback by how far we’ve exceeded expectations, it’s an incredible feeling. You don’t get tired of that.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Approaching every project with an open mind and staying positive. I know it can sound a little clichéd, but when I think back to that period, just before I started EDB in the depths of the pandemic, I wouldn’t have arrived where I am today without a positive mindset.

Having a skilled and reliable team is instrumental, allowing you to leverage each other’s strengths. When confronted with challenges, being open to letting any team member take the lead in that moment can be immensely beneficial. If that team member is the one best equipped to solve that particular problem, they should lead. It isn’t about positions and titles – leadership isn’t about ego. The best leaders know when to lead and when to let other’s drive a project for the benefit of the project.

Getting To Know You: Susannah Davda, Founder, The Shoe Consultant

Business Matters — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 18:34:59 +0000

We got to sit down with Susannah Davda, Founder of The Shoe Consultant about why she is so passionate about the shoe sector.

What do you do at The Shoe Consultant?

I help people to start successful shoe brands. I launched The Shoe Consultant in 2015, offering one-to-one consultancy. I then created my How to Start a Shoe Brand online course, and added The Shoe Community: a membership group for people starting shoe brands.

This year I released a new course How to Photograph Shoes to Sell which is for anyone who wants to take better photos of shoes or sneakers. Whether they are listing them on eBay or other marketplaces, they’re an influencer photographing shoes for social media, or they are starting a shoe brand. Shoes are difficult to photograph well, and good photography can make your footwear stand out from your competitors’.

I am passionate about making the shoe business more accessible to people who want to make a change in the industry.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

I had worked in the shoe industry since the late 90s, and after many years of working for brands and retailers, I wanted to start my own business. When I resigned my role as Global Product Manager for a large shoe brand, I created a website listing several services I knew I could do well.

The only service with strong uptake was consultancy for start-up shoe brands. I had no idea up until that point how many people around the world dream of starting a shoe brand but don’t know where to start. The entrepreneurs I work with inspire me every day with their drive, passion and determination.

Who do you admire?

I admire anyone who has started a truly unique business. It takes such bravery! I include my clients and members of The Shoe Community in this group, as well as anyone creating a product or service that is outside the norm. Weird is good when it comes to business, as long as you can gather an audience of fellow weirdos eager to purchase.

Looking back is there anything you would have done differently?

I would have skipped the stage where I charged clients an hourly rate for my consultancy services. I recognise now that I was drastically undercharging for my experience and expertise at that point.

In hindsight I could say that I should have initially focused on just helping startups rather than offering an array of other services for different customer groups. Only when I niched down was I able to focus my marketing efforts on one customer group and scale The Shoe Consultant.

What defines your way of doing business?

I have enjoyed building my company culture to reflect my personal values and ethics. These are: honesty, humanity and practicality. I help my clients create shoe brands which reflect their own values, and develop a meaningful human connection with their potential customers.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

You need to have a concept and vision to start a business, but you also need to be open to the market telling you what it wants. I don’t necessarily mean collecting customer feedback – although that is also beneficial – but watching the sales and being prepared to discontinue unpopular products or services even if they’re your personal favourites.

Secrets of Success: Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO, Walfinch

Cherry Martin — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:24:40 +0000

Fresh thinking from the man aiming to start a care revolution

Amrit Dhaliwal is the Chief Executive of young and growing homecare provider Walfinch, which today has 26 franchisee managing directors delivering care to hundreds of clients across the country. He’s known for his creative thinking and new approaches, often addressed in leadership columns in the care and franchise press and at conferences. He takes time to share his Secrets of Success with Business Matters …

What is your USP?

The most fundamental is the Mum Test. When deciding what care is best, we always ask ourselves: ‘Would I like this for my own mum?’” We also use it when making many other decisions, and in recruiting franchisees and carers. It’s easy to remember, and it keeps the focus always on the people receiving care – the most important people in the care sector.

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

We provide peace of mind for people receiving care and their loved ones. Simply said – but it takes huge commitment, teamwork and dedication to achieve.

What made you start your business?

After owning two successful hospitality businesses in my 20s, I became a franchisee of another homecare brand. It taught me a lot – not least that franchising for homecare in the UK was broken. I needed to fix that problem, so I went on to create the Walfinch homecare franchise. In homecare you can literally combine doing good with building a thriving business – but the sector needs a thorough overhaul, and I want Walfinch to be instrumental in that.

What are your brand values?

We believe in integrity, excellence and teamwork. But we have a fourth, equally important value: fun. I have always felt that I want my workplace to be a fun place to work – and I firmly believe that fun is for carers too! Making work fun makes clients lives more fun, and it aids carer retention.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Our values inform everything we do, including client care, and how we treat our carers. They help us make better decisions and take better actions daily. In the care sector values must be more than aspirations.

Is team culture integral to your business and how do you show your team you appreciate them?

Team culture is vital in care. We do surveys, like WorkBuzz, of our franchisees and then act on the findings. We do the same in each of our branches with carers and clients. We also offer our franchisees meetings and conferences so we all contribute views to improve the business. Our franchisees consult their care teams, so their views are always taken into account.

Do you talk directly to your consumers clearly?

Yes! Our pricing is clear and transparent. It’s all wrapped in an hourly rate – there’s no booking fees to add on, for instance. With Walfinch there’s no small print – something we see a lot of in the care industry.

Many care companies also use care sector jargon that the general public don’t understand, but Walfinch avoids that. We also don’t patronise people or reduce them to stereotypes in our communications. Too often people are referred to as ‘the elderly’ or ‘the vulnerable’ as if they were all the same. We talk to and about them as individuals. Everyone is different.

What about inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass rises on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty?

We don’t set hourly care rates centrally –they are set by individual franchisees. Clearly inflation and interest rates put pressure on them to put their rates up.

In the care sector that’s not easy, because we deal with people, not commodities, but you can vary rates, so for instance, rates for new clients are higher than for long-standing ones. Our franchisees balance this for themselves very well.

Rates for private care are far more realistic than (often uneconomic) rates offered by local authorities, so franchisees can vary the mix of private and local authority care to balance their income – but they shouldn’t have to! Local authorities should be funded by the Government to allow them to pay fair rates.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

At Walfinch we use ‘The Metrics Method’. It tells each person in Walfinch if they have had a successful day. It’s broken down to every role – even quality and compliance is measurable.

We collect statistics so we can see which activities most increase revenues, making it easier for franchisees to set priorities and all of us to monitor our KPIs. For instance, we can tell our franchisees the average number of candidates they have to interview before a carer is taken on.

As the franchisor, we can see the average number of prospective franchisee leads required to recruit a franchisee. We can also monitor the performance of individual franchisees and step in with help to prevent small issues growing – a win for everyone. We use customised software for this and it’s available to our franchisees, which makes the Walfinch franchise more attractive.

Is tech playing a larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

We use technology to keep in touch with our carers, clients and their families. Carers record details of their visits, including any client physical or mental health concerns, medications given, and other relevant details on an app, so we can monitor each client’s wellbeing, and nominated family members can access the records, which gives them peace of mind and alerts them immediately to any issues.

We also offer the Care Friends app to all our franchisees. This allows staff to suggest friends as possible candidates for carer jobs, with rewards if the candidate is employed. Personal recommendations result in more and high-quality appointments, and boost recruitment and retention.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

At present demand for care is vast so there is enough business to go round. However, there is competition recruit carers. At Walfinch our franchisees strive to offer carers ever-better working conditions, not just to beat the competition but because carers who feel valued deliver better client care.

But we aim higher too. We believe that care providers must work together to rescue the reputation of the care sector as an industry that doesn’t value its workforce, to become one that provides the working conditions and career paths that professionals enjoy.

Care providers must be willing to share ideas. I share the methods we use, and I hope our competitors are willing to share theirs too.

What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I’m an exercise nut. I’ve been weight training for years, though it’s not so easy to keep daily gym times now I’m a dad of two. Dadding takes up a lot of time! I also like to do serious walking, which means I can also catch up on phone calls. My wife and I like to try out new restaurants and foods, and we’ll travel across the country for something special.

Do you believe in the 12-week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

My thoughts are always focussed on the BHAG – big hairy audacious goal. I have a ten-year plan, which I break down into three-year, one-year and 12-week plans – so I plan for the long term.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

In the next 12 months, we plan to:

Introduce a carer support program. At present this is a statutory requirement for carers doing end-of-life care, but we think it should be available to all carers.
Set up a franchise advisory council, involving all Walfinch franchisees.
Focus our internal compliance, so a strong majority of franchisees meet CQC outstanding standards

Secrets of Success: David Davies, Founder and MD of Sovereign Beverage Company

Cherry Martin — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 11:13:34 +0000

The reason why you can sip on your favourite drink anywhere in the world is right here ….

Exporting anything, especially alcohol, can be bureaucratic and logistically complicated. With over 20 years of experience in the beverage and logistics industries, Sovereign Beverage Company is able to export their suppliers’ premium products to customers around the world, safely, efficiently, and profitably. David spends some time with Business Matters and explains his secrets of success and how he ensures that their client’s products are in safe hands.

What is your USP?

We are the UK’s premium drinks exporting company and have access to markets in every corner of the globe, supported with full service technology which makes the ordering process as simple as possible.

This means we are able to assist companies that are looking to export from anywhere in the world. Our customer-centric philosophy means that we are ready and able to oversee the transport of our customers’ products every step of the way and reduce the complexity and mitigate the risks associated with importing and exporting beverages.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

My real ‘aha’ moment came in 2006 when I was working as an account director and I was meeting with a brewery representative. An offhand conversation led to the birth of Sovereign Beverage Company. It was thanks to this conversation that I realised that the brewery in question had an untapped route for sales in the form of global export, but they had no infrastructure and the risk was too high for them to do it for themselves. So after talking to many breweries and importers, I saw that there was a huge gap between product availability and global demand, as the breweries lacked the supply chain knowledge, time and other resources to manage their exports.

Two years later in 2008 – during a recession no less – we launched Sovereign Beverage Company and we’ve never looked back!

What are your brand values?

We believe the customer comes first. We pride ourselves on offering our clients and partners a premium quality service at a competitive price. In addition, we are always looking to evolve and innovate our product offering and service provision.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Of course. At SBC, we are dedicated to making importing-exporting effortless and building a strong rapport with our customers and suppliers alike so that we can put their needs front and centre. Our mission is simple, we are here to help all of our clients maximise sales growth and help reduce as much of the complexity and risk as possible.

Is team culture integral to your business?

From the get-go, we’ve always taken team spirit and culture seriously at SBC, but over the past two years, we’ve had to examine what we mean by ‘culture’ as we’ve shifted our workforce to fully remote working. Our bricks and mortar offices are in Blackburn, Lancashire, but our team works remotely and so we’ve had to work hard during the transition to remote working on fostering that team spirit that you have with physical interactions. This has meant we have been committed to creating ways of replicating that camaraderie you can miss when you no longer have physical interactions among people.

We have regular video meetings, so everyone involved with the business has a clear focus and access to support channels should they need help and assistance. We’ve also conducted several remote social events – quizzes, get-togethers and drinks events. It’s safe to say those water cooler moments haven’t been lacking even though we work remotely!

As team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

We find as many ways as possible to do this – we regularly review pay and incentives and whenever we can we promote from within. We also put the team through training and CPD where possible, encouraging suggestions from each team member as to what would be the most beneficial. For example, our leadership team has all recently been offered business mentoring, and when we brought on a new cider supplier, the sales team were all put through cider product training.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Looking ahead, we think higher interest rates are unfortunately here to stay. We are seeing increases coming through from our suppliers, and while we don’t benefit from those price increases, we are having to pass them on to our customers. It’s a global situation and our customers are understanding. As the products we export are premium, we do anticipate that the end customer might look to budget by downgrading the brands they choose, however we haven’t yet seen that happen in practice. Where we see price drops (which do happen with changes in export logistics and packaging), we also pass these directly on to our customers. We also seek to support our customers in other ways, for instance with point-of-sale assets such as barware, glassware, and signage.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

We review our data weekly, quarterly, bi-annually and annually.

The sales team meets for weekly video calls so they all have a clear focus and we can ensure they both understand their KPIs and are on target to meet them, plus offering the support they need to do so.

We have quarterly reviews with each member of the business, from operations to admin to sales, so they are always aware of their performance, areas of success and opportunities for improvement. The leadership team also meets monthly to sense-check the current business objectives and achievements against the wider company vision and goals.

As a strategy we try not to have too many KPIs. There are five key areas which we really monitor and review constantly, and if they need to be altered we can do so in good time.

Is tech playing a much larger part in the day-to-day running of your company?

Tech touches every part of our day to day business, as a UK exporter dealing with customers in over 60 countries we’ve managed to leverage the current technology stack to help streamline and improve efficiency in every facet of our business. After our current system was implemented, we managed to reduce the manpower on order processing by 66% and back office functions by 33% due to a slicker end to end order process utilising a single system.

The introduction of video conferencing tools has reduced our commuting, global travel and subsequent carbon footprint. These tools have improved the customer service and account management we can offer whilst keeping a lid on potentially expensive communication bills to all four corners of the globe. The reduction in international travel and day to day commuting cannot be underestimated.

Reporting and Business Intelligence reporting now form the kernel of our day to functions and all business activities feed from this information. It better powers our decision making processes ensuring we do the right things to keep us heading towards our goals.

All in all, this has resulted in a streamlined, agile workforce and business that can work from anywhere in the world. This opens up the job market to a broader set of candidates thus allowing us to recruit better on top of the benefits already highlighted.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We welcome competition. Competition keeps us on our toes and ensures we are offering our customers the premium service they deserve. We also know that we are the best out there!

Do you believe in the 12-week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

We all start with a vision, and it’s key to break that down into bite-size chunks. Two years ago I announced that it was a goal of SBC to export 100,000 hectolitres a year – and I think the team initially thought I was going batty! However, when we set a five year target on that goal, and then broke it down into an annual budget and then quarterly KPIs, it became much more realistic and achievable, and we are already more than halfway to achieving that goal.

For me as a business owner it’s key to have that long term vision and strategy, but for the team and review purposes, the 12-week work method is ideal – short sprints rather than long marathons.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision-maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I like to focus on my physical health, travel, and humanitarian work, combining all three where possible!

I’ve recently returned from South America where I joined a four-day charity cycle ride with The Truants Foundation, part of raising a targeted £300,000.

I ensure I take time to relax, usually with some form of exercise! The area I live in is stunning, and so I get out for a walk or a cycle daily, which allows me to focus on my mindset and positivity, as well as giving me a clear head and keeping me fit! I spend a lot of time in the Lake District for the same reason, trying to see more of the UK while indulging in my hobby.

In terms of honing my focus, I make sure I have consistent time to work on the business, as I’ve built a supportive team which has freed me up to do so. I also work regularly with a business mentor, zooming out of the day-to-day and focusing on the overall vision.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

Firstly, we are always focusing on strengthening our team, as people are key to the success of our business. We look at a combination of self development, personal development, and business development, and my personal ethos is that every single person in the company, myself included, should be able to take two steps forward within their role. I intend to support the entire company with that through upskilling, additional training, and expansion. Though we have just grown the sales and operations teams, we want to further expand the sales team and also start building a product and marketing team.

Secondly, our year-on-year export operations have recently grown by over 20%. Over the next 1-2 years we hope to build on that growth. We currently sell 55,000 hectolitres of product annually, and our goal is to increase that to 100,000HL by 2025. We plan to drive that through our existing suppliers and bring on some new suppliers in key categories. We know that 80% of our customers can take on additional lines, so we will focus on increasing their listings over the next couple of years.

Thirdly, we are currently focused on beer and cider, but in response to demand, we are considering adding health drinks and non-alcoholic beverages to our product portfolio over the next year. For instance, we are now looking to expand our product range to include alcohol-free beer and cider to meet the demands of our customers in the Middle East region. The growth of low/no products is huge and we intend to support our customers with the development of this category.

Secrets of Success: Cyril Samovskiy, CEO of Mobilunity

Cherry Martin — Sat, 21 Oct 2023 16:59:04 +0000

Providing dedicated tech talent and instant solutions to businesses

As a global provider of remote, dedicated development teams and R&D centres to clients across various industries, Mobilunity bridges the gap between ideas and making concepts happen.

CEO, Cyril Samovskiy shares his Secrets of Success with Business Matters.

What service does Mobilunity provide and how does it work?

We offer a nearshoring service that provides dedicated development teams to clients across various industries and technology stacks, including Insurtech, Fintech, IoT, Embedded software, and more. With access to a talent pool of over 200,000 Ukrainian software engineers – not counting our capacities in other Eastern European countries – each team member we provide is exclusively dedicated to our clients’ projects and has no other commitments to other projects, ensuring full focus. Our clients benefit from outstanding development capabilities, team size and structure flexibility, lower costs, and complete control over their development teams.

What problems does your company solve?

We address a critical challenge that businesses face regarding their tech talent needs, both in the long-term and short-term, whether in a specific technological stack or a specialised business domain. The core problem we solve for our clients revolves around their inability, and at times, their intentional choice not to solve these challenges internally.

The root of this challenge often stems from limitations within the local labour market. These constraints could manifest as extended recruitment agency timelines to find and place the right candidate or the necessity of engaging particular talents for a very brief duration.

To tackle this, our solutions are designed to be adaptable. We provide options for establishing technology teams in nearshore locations or within the UK, working collaboratively as part of a client’s in-house team, or maintaining an outsourced relationship with us as the vendor. This flexibility ensures that our clients can tailor our services precisely to their unique needs, whether they require long-term support or short-term specialised expertise.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Fortunately, we have a very diverse list of clients – from early stage startups that have just a few co-founders on board, to well-established corporations operating globally, with a 10,000+ headcount. However, we find it is the startups that have some form of advanced technology supporting their business concept that align most closely with our own mindset. Typically such clients are fast decision makers, they aim to leverage the most contemporary technology, and they have a big idea behind their plans. Our capacity to empower such businesses and show an immediate impact stands slightly above other types of client organisations.

What is your USP?

We work in a very competitive industry, so standing out requires clear differentiation. With our primary focus being on remote technology team services, we like referring to the ‘3Rs’ of successful remote team setup: Recruiting, Retention and Relationships. These three priorities, or USPs, guide our operations and streamline our proposals, ensuring our proposal is short, sharp, clear and well differentiated.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so, how have you dealt with it?

As we have grown and developed, our values have evolved. We tend not to focus on our past achievements because both the business environment and our clients are evolving rapidly. Therefore, we must also evolve to meet these changing demands.

After Covid, we continued growing fast, introducing new and more diverse business models into our offering. Right now we work to the following company values. These define what we are, what you may expect from us, and what we will be once and if you work with us:

Transparency. Having 40+ clients from 10+ countries, we basically operate with a set of 40+ processes. We pride ourselves in the ability to effectively manage that, and without transparency being a first requirement to how we operate (with the client, with our tech teams, with our employees and partners) we would not be capable of being where we are now. As such, transparency lies in every significant process we have in place.
Growth. Related to both our clients, and to our own staff, we basically exist to make everything that we touch grow. This defines the types of clients that mostly come to us – the main driving factor they have in mind is their intent to grow (whether that’s to grow fast, grow stable, or grow to where the company would not have been without us).
Flexibility. While this was always a focus for us, recent years in business have highlighted the importance of flexibility. Financial crises, growth and drop in demand, new regulations in the digital world, pandemia with its “all remote” setups, and war in Ukraine – these all prove this value is a fundamental essence for our business and our models to be sustainable and have a future.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Given that recruiting is one of our core offerings, we naturally place a special emphasis on how we recruit for our own company. Our 13 years of experience have taught us valuable lessons, and we’ve identified rules and practices that have proven effective during this time. They are:

A big chunk of our best people grew up in our company, from the very entry level roles to the highest existent positions where they are now.
A mix of “self-grown” and “external” key people ensures our Company grows in a way we expect.
In the long run, soft skills take precedence over hard skills. While hard skills alone may suffice for short-term engagements, it’s the soft skills that enable individuals to manage and leverage those hard skills effectively over time.

While you may not see our values in these three basic tips, if we overlay our business values onto these guidelines, they align more harmoniously. As we continue to grow, we must balance our immediate need for top-notch professionals and our strategic goal of cultivating a talent pool for the future. Our company-wide recruiting strategy essentially outlines how we intend to achieve this alignment and ensure the successful ‘3+3’ match between skills and values.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home / office post covid?

A big part of our service offering is tech talent from all over the world remotely. Thus, we would not be honest with ourselves and our clients if we were not big fans of this model. Only 10% of our own staff show up to the office on a periodical basis. We do not demand it, for most roles, and we do not expect it, anymore. Instead, we learned how to remain effective; we traded some of the meetings to asynchronous channels of communication; and we invested heavily into the skill of proper goal setting, performance management and professional development. Why on Earth would we confine ourselves to the traditional office-only model when we’ve gained a competitive edge in the labour market? We possess skills that are in high demand, and we offer these skills as a service to our many clients who are eager to gain a similar advantage.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

I won’t be too unique in these – a successful business starts with sufficient funding, a plan to generate revenue and hope that things will go more or less as they were planned. I myself dislike the idea of bringing in someone else’s money into something you yourself can build and/or fund, though I know many businesses (our clients inclusive) who were capable of building something great and huge purely because they were smart enough to attract the right external investment. I’ve also witnessed instances where entrepreneurs, in their pursuit of rapid growth and the necessary funding to achieve it, ended up losing sight of their original dream company and their personal motivation to work within it.

That said, my advice would be to carefully weigh up the necessity of external investments when starting your business. While external funding can make some aspects easier, it often comes with its own set of challenges that you might not have encountered if you were self-funding your startup.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses, what would it be?

If I could request one change from the government to benefit businesses, it would be to facilitate the seamless integration of global talent into local businesses. I understand that not every business needs this, but I’m specifically referring to those enterprises designed to grow on a global scale and compete with international players. The current limitations on working with a global talent pool put local businesses, especially startups, at a significant disadvantage. As long as a candidate’s location remains a major factor in shaping HR strategies for businesses, this constraint will continue to hinder the potential for innovation, efficiency, and the globalisation of these companies.

It’s important to note though that there are other aspects to these constraints, and while I acknowledge one here, I recognise that there may be additional dimensions to consider.

What’s your attitude towards your competitors?

We respect and learn from each other, I know for a fact they look at us and do the same. I am good friends with slightly smaller and slightly bigger companies in our domain, and we meet 2-3 times a year to exchange news and observations, while understanding the information we share might empower our counterpart.

There are 3-5 quite big players and there are 2-3 very dynamically growing companies that permanently stay on our radar. I would not be able to name any that I think beats us in our niche markets, but of course every company has their own strengths and weaknesses, and knowing them helps us become a better vendor to our clients, and win the battles for the client on the presale stage.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers or customers effectively?

As a service provider, we could write a book on what to do and what not to do with suppliers. In our industry specifically, we recommend following a few principles that make the supplier choice easier and more streamlined:

Size does matter. Your vendor’s size should be a match to your project size or else too many risks arise.
Transparency ensures delivery. The more your supplier and vendor knows in terms of what you expect, how you need it, and why – the higher the chances of you getting what you’re seeking. You do not want your vendor to be guessing what’s on your mind.
While building relationships requires resources, if you aim to establish enduring partnerships with your vendors, there’s no alternative but to invest in building and nurturing these relationships.

In terms of our customers, things are simpler, as our business grows when they grow. Not a tip, rather a fact. Meaning that we are so lucky to be in a business whereby we do not need to choose whose side to play.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

During our 13 year business journey, we’ve encountered various shifts in direction and have contemplated where our path may lead in the future. This experience reinforces our belief in maintaining our core competencies- HR and technology – as the foundation for our future endeavours as a company.

I am confident we will be able to open the world of remote talent to more and more global and local businesses, offering wider and deeper expertise within the fields of tech teams foundation, management and performance.

My dreams for the business’ future are closely linked to global economic growth and prosperity. I firmly believe that as technology takes on more fundamental tasks trusted by humanity, the role of technology should be to assist humans rather than exert undue control. This shift will create a growing demand for the services we provide to our clients, as we genuinely believe our offerings contribute to making the world a better place.

Getting to Know You: Gareth Lloyd, Co-Founder, White Lion Foods & Truly Nuts

Business Matters — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 13:20:12 +0000

We spoke to Gareth Lloyd, who explains how, along with his business partner Greg, they started White Lion Foods

What do you do at White Lion Foods and Truly Nuts?

I’m the Co-Founder and CEO of Truly Nuts and the Co-Founder and Chairman of White Lion Foods.

What was the inspiration behind the business?

The inspiration behind Truly Nuts can be traced back to our experiences during our frequent visits to Latin America. It was during these trips that my business partner, Greg, and I developed a profound interest in food exports. In 2012, we decided to embark on a new venture and founded White Lion Foods, a journey that began five years after the inception of Amoria, another successful business I had started.

Our fascination with Latin American cuisine, particularly in Peru, played a pivotal role in shaping our path. Peru boasts an incredible array of food products, with remarkable offerings like being the largest exporter of blueberries globally and the second-largest exporter of avocados. The diversity and quality of their food were truly eye-opening. While a typical UK supermarket might offer just a few varieties of potatoes, Peru boasts a staggering four thousand native potato types. The country’s chefs have earned international acclaim, and Peruvian-inspired restaurants have sprouted up in cities worldwide, with dishes like ceviche gaining well-deserved recognition.

Our journey into food exports began with Peruvian garlic from our Andean farms. This unique garlic, resembling small onions in size, thrives in volcanic soil and is nourished by glacial meltwaters, resulting in an exceptional product. Our travels in Peru opened our eyes to the rich food culture of the region, inspiring us to explore further.

As we ventured into the nut industry, we witnessed a surge in demand that led to the establishment of White Lion’s first brazil nut facility in the Amazon jungle. Initially geared towards the wholesale market, we soon diversified, creating Truly Nuts, the first consumer brand to own the entire journey of a Brazil nut, from the floor of the Amazon rainforest to the hands of the consumer.

Not only did we introduce delicious milk and dark chocolate varieties, we did what the experts said couldn’t be done and developed savoury flavors, a groundbreaking move in an industry that had never seen such innovation with brazil nuts. This innovation has become a unique selling point for our new Truly Nuts brand.

Looking ahead, our vision for Truly Nuts encompasses cereals, granolas, snack bars, and more. We aspire to build a US$100 million revenue business solely from nuts, with plans to expand to North America, Singapore, South Korea, and across the UK and Europe.

However, it’s not just about business for us. We are deeply committed to giving back to the communities we love. Our charitable foundation has undertaken projects like building houses in Lima’s shanty towns, providing over 100 homes to re-house 500 locals over seven years. We ensure fair wages, with factory workers receiving at least 50% above the minimum salary, and prioritize women’s empowerment, with seventy percent of our workforce being women. We offer workshops, training, access to healthcare, and opportunities for career advancement. By working collaboratively, we aim to disrupt the norm in a positive way while giving back to the Amazon region through our NGOs.

Who do you admire?

I admire Richard Branson for his unwavering dedication to helping the environment and his remarkable charitable giving. Richard’s commitment to sustainable business practices and his initiatives to address pressing environmental issues have been truly inspiring. He doesn’t just talk the talk; he walks the walk.

Richard’s philanthropic work and generosity in supporting various charitable causes showcase his genuine concern for people and communities in need. He understands the power of business to effect positive change and consistently demonstrates it through his actions.

In many ways, Richard Branson serves as a role model for our approach to business – one that prioritizes not only profitability but also the well-being of our planet and the communities we serve. His legacy of environmental stewardship and philanthropy is something we deeply admire and aspire to emulate in our own journey.

Looking back, is there anything you would do differently?

When reflecting on our journey with Truly Nuts, I can’t help but acknowledge that, like any business, we’ve encountered our fair share of challenges along the way. However, what sets us apart is our unwavering commitment to turning those challenges into opportunities. It’s this approach that has defined our path and made us who we are today.

Let’s rewind to our early days, particularly when we were working with garlic. We realized that the quality of garlic available in the market in Peru didn’t always meet the high standards we wanted to deliver to our customers. This realization prompted us to take matters into our own hands. We decided to lease land and cultivate our own garlic, eventually discovering the perfect conditions high in the Andes for producing exceptional purple garlic—a variety that wasn’t widely known at the time. This bold move not only addressed the initial challenge but also allowed us to command premium prices, creating a blue ocean market. To this day, we proudly stand as the leading international supplier of large, premium purple garlic.

A similar challenge arose when we ventured into Brazil nuts. Initially, we partnered with another producer, outsourcing the production of containers. However, this partnership came with its own set of problems, including theft and delays, ultimately affecting our clients and presenting us with a formidable challenge. In response, my partner Greg and I decided that the only way to regain control and ensure the highest quality was to build our Brazil nut facility—an endeavor we approached with the ambition to create the world’s best facility, equipped with cutting-edge technology.

Our vision has always been to bring our products directly to consumers. Recent market turbulence, driven by the pandemic and geopolitical events, caused a significant downturn in the wholesale market, reducing the number of buyers by approximately 9%. Faced with this volatility, we saw an opportunity to pivot and minimize risk. Selling our products directly to consumers became the solution, enabling us to bypass the unpredictability of the wholesale market.

We also recognized a gap in the industry. While many producers focused solely on wholesale distribution, our mission has consistently been to disrupt the market positively. Becoming producers of consumer products was yet another way to revolutionise the industry and challenge the status quo. It’s worth noting that this shift isn’t common among major players. Large conglomerates dominate the market, often leaving smaller producers with core brands but no direct supply control. This observation further fueled our determination to get our products directly into the hands of consumers, leveraging our unique story and exceptional products.

In essence, we’ve transformed challenges into opportunities throughout our journey with Truly Nuts. From our pioneering efforts with garlic and Brazil nuts to our bold move into the consumer product realm, each challenge has only propelled us forward. We believe that our story, marked by resilience and innovation, sets us apart and offers us a remarkable opportunity to expand our brand by connecting directly with consumers. Our commitment to disrupting the market while maintaining unwavering quality and ethics continues to drive us forward, making every challenge we’ve faced a stepping stone toward our success.

What defines your way of doing business?

Our way of doing business is defined by a deep commitment to health, the planet, and giving back to local communities. It all started when I first visited Peru in 2005. While the world often focused on regions like Africa in need of support, I couldn’t ignore the poverty I witnessed in Peru and Bolivia. Over the years, we’ve dedicated ourselves to making a positive impact in this often-forgotten part of the world.

For 13 years, we’ve supported a shanty town in Lima, and Greg has been based there for a decade, forging strong connections with the country and the region. Our mission is not just about giving money to people; it’s about creating sustainable enterprises that empower communities to generate their income. By doing so, we’re providing an alternative to deforestation, which is often the result of economic desperation.

Our ultimate goal is to build an infrastructure that allows these communities to harvest Brazil nuts without harming the rainforest. This is a unique opportunity that hasn’t been explored before. And we don’t want to stop there; we aim to replicate this model with other products that are not only healthy for consumers but also environmentally responsible.

In a world where big food companies are criticized for compromising quality and sustainability, we see an opportunity to disrupt the industry by ensuring our practices benefit everyone along the supply chain, from the local communities to the consumers. Our way of doing business is driven by a vision of a healthier planet and thriving communities, and we’re committed to making that vision a reality.

What advice would you give someone first starting out?

To those who are just embarking on their entrepreneurial journey, I would say that: Challenges are an inherent part of the business landscape. However, it’s not the challenges themselves that define your journey; it’s how you choose to respond to them.

Our story is a testament to the power of turning obstacles into opportunities. When we started, we faced hurdles that could have deterred us.

For instance, in our early days working with garlic, we encountered quality issues in the market that didn’t align with our vision of excellence. Rather than accepting the status quo, we chose to take control of the situation. We leased land, cultivated our own garlic, and ventured into uncharted territory, ultimately discovering a unique and valuable product—the exquisite purple garlic. This transformation from challenge to opportunity not only set us apart but also laid the foundation for our success.

Similarly, our foray into Brazil nuts came with its own set of challenges, including a problematic partnership. Instead of succumbing to setbacks, we saw the potential for growth. We built the world’s premier Brazil nut facility, prioritizing quality and innovation, and effectively turned adversity into an advantage.

As entrepreneurs, it’s crucial to understand that challenges are part of the journey. They test your resolve, creativity, and determination. The secret lies in viewing each obstacle as an opportunity for growth. It’s about finding that silver lining, that innovative solution, and forging a path forward.

Moreover, the passion that drives your business is the engine that propels you through these challenges. Our journey began with a genuine love for Latin American products and a desire to share their goodness with the world. When you’re passionate about your vision, you’ll find the strength to overcome obstacles, adapt, and thrive.

So, my advice to budding entrepreneurs is this: Embrace challenges as stepping stones to success. Recognise that they’re an integral part of the journey and that your response to them will shape your story. Be unwavering in your pursuit of what you’re passionate about, and don’t be afraid to take bold steps to make it happen. Every challenge you encounter is an opportunity waiting to be seized, and it’s those opportunities that will lead you to your own remarkable journey of entrepreneurship.

James Dyson paid £1.2bn dividend in 2022 by technology group

Business Matters — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 09:09:46 +0000

The technology group Dyson has paid a £1.2bn dividend to the Singapore-based family holding company of its founder.

The pro-Brexit entrepreneur Sir James Dyson moved the group’s corporate headquarters to the city state in 2019, attributing the decision to the growing importance of supply chains and customers in Asia.

Filings published in Singapore’s corporate registry reveal details of the subsequent performance of the business, which was founded in Wiltshire in 1991 and famed for its vacuum cleaners, hand-dryers and fans. The accounts showed Dyson Holdings revenues increased from £6bn to £6.5bn between 2021 and 2022 but pre-tax profit fell from £1.2bn to £1bn, chiefly because of an increase of almost £600m in costs.

The accounts also showed a £1.2bn dividend was paid in 2022 to the parent company, Weybourne Holdings, which also owns the multibillionaire’s family office, Weybourne Group, and UK investments in land and insurance.

The dividend was up from £1bn in 2021 and took the total extracted by Dyson from his technology company to £4bn over the past five years, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the payout.

Together with his family, Dyson is listed as having a net worth of £23bn, according to the latest Sunday Times rich list, making him Britain’s fifth richest man.

Payouts to Weybourne Holdings have increased in recent years alongside a broader diversification of his business interests, including growing investments in agricultural land through his Dyson Farming venture.

Analysis last year, based on data from the UK’s new register of properties owned offshore, also revealed that Weybourne Holdings owned at least 31 UK properties, which Land Registry records indicated were worth at least £287m. The portfolio included London office blocks in Mayfair and Camden, a £43m strip of land on the Greenwich peninsula, and sites in York and Oxfordshire.

Dyson Farming, the Dyson Group and an insurance business called Alpinia are all housed within Weybourne Group, which also manages the billionaire’s philanthropic organisation, the James Dyson Foundation.

Dyson moved the headquarters of his home appliances business to Singapore in 2019, shortly afterwards spending £43m on a triplex penthouse in the city’s tallest building.

Although the company’s research and development operations remained in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, the overseas shift drew criticism, given that Dyson had previously touted Brexit as a great opportunity for UK entrepreneurs. His justified the decision by highlighting the need to access Asian markets close to Singapore. He backed up the rhetoric by opening a new headquarters there last year and pledging to invest more than £1bn.

The company has also revealed plans to build a new battery factory in Singapore, alongside investments in technology centres in the UK and the Philippines.

Secrets of Success: Fergus Bailie CEO of Bailie Group

Cherry Martin — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 09:13:21 +0000

Connecting people to their audiences is no mean feat …

Founded by his father in the 1970s, Bailie Group has grown from being a group of printing and publishing companies, into a group of agencies and consultancies providing a range of communications-related services including digital, insight, training, cyber security and PR.

They work on projects which enable people to report crime online, help the UK transport system to operate more effectively, connect people with social services, develop coaching and mentoring skills within the armed forces, and provide content channels for industries, including the automotive sector.

While each of the businesses operates independently, they are all united by a collective mission to make a positive difference in society. Fergus takes time out of his busy schedule to share his Secrets of Success and his overarching aim to improve people’s lives by sharing knowledge.

What type of businesses do you work with?

Each of the six operating companies within Bailie Group has its own unique proposition, so the kinds of organisations we work with are really varied.

Making up the commercial fabric of the Group, there’s a strategic change enablement agency, behavioural research organisation, automotive PR and communications agency, media website for the automotive sector, defence and cyber security consultancy, and telecommunications-industry training specialist.

As such, we work with a breadth of clients, including the NHS, Bank of England, Ministry of Defence, British Army, Cabinet Office, Transport for London, global car manufacturers, and every police force in England and Wales.

What problem does your company solve?

We help customers create, gather, distribute, and maximise the value of content and data.
To achieve that, our purpose is to invest in the people and ideas that make a positive difference, to our teams, our communities, and our clients.

We work on projects which keep people safer, help the UK transport system move effectively, connect citizens with social services in their local area, provide content channels for core industries, and get equipment to the front line so it’s safe to use.

Our Group mission is to create an entrepreneurial organisation of collaborative specialists. The companies are empowered to utilise technology and expert knowledge to create solutions which enable our customers to maximise their potential through intelligent use of information, content, and data.

What is your USP?

We are an independent family-run organisation that can deliver — in an agile way — services that are traditionally offered by big corporate organisations. And as a Group, we take a long-term view and put our clients first.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

At Bailie Group, we don’t have a single set of values — as each of the six operating companies have their own — but we have a philosophy. ‘Doing the right thing’ is our overriding message — if you act in a way that customers and staff would deem fair, that decision can’t be criticised.

Additionally, we have a guiding principle that helps us with decision-making — what’s best for the boat? We take out personalities, ego, and emotions, and say what the best thing for the boat is, as it exists today.

Each of the businesses within the Group has its own culture and value set but is consistent with this Group philosophy — and this hasn’t been challenged.

Also, while many investment companies in private equity have a need for short-term growth, we’ve been around since 1970 and take a long-term view — doing what’s best, and fair, in the long run.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

Ensuring the right cultural fit is important for us, as we’re very much a people-oriented company. And while I get involved in the recruitment of executive hires across the Group, for technical roles, it’s my philosophy that the senior teams within each of the operating companies are experts in what they do and are best placed to understand and identify the skill sets and personalities that will work within their existing teams. Skills are important, but attitude and personality are critical, and we need people who will integrate and share the company values. It’s then a case of introducing them to the role and wider Group strategy.

It’s very much a company-led approach with support at Group level. As such, we have a centralised people team that helps to ensure we have a consistent approach to recruitment as well as a diverse range of talent across the organisation.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

Yes. I mentioned in an earlier question that it’s Bailie Group’s collective mission to make a positive difference in society, and this also applies to our staff and the culture of our organisation. As such, we believe it’s important to empower colleagues to have the flexibility to choose where and when they work.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

Relationships that are contractually dominated are problematic from day one. The best ones are where you and your suppliers are working towards a shared strategic role. It’s also key that there is transparency of what your organisation is trying to achieve and that you’re not prescriptive of how to get there — the spirit of openness and honesty will generate the best ideas.

It’s also crucial to realise, and accept, that no relationship is problem free. You have a shared responsibility for problem solving and there should be no apportioning of blame — appreciating everyone is doing a good job and working together is the bedrock of any successful business relationship.

Any finance or cash-flow tips for new businesses starting out?

Most new businesses don’t fail because the idea isn’t good or its people aren’t talented and committed, but because they run out of money. Therefore, my number one tip is to guard money carefully. The more capital you get in at the start, the more you can protect and help your business to grow. Following that, be cautious with how you use it, too.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?
To provide businesses with the long-term clarity they need on corporate infrastructure. The current electoral cycle rewards short-term decision making, and this is a personal bug-bear of mine as politicians are incentivised with the wrong type of behaviour.

The Government and UK’s companies need to sit down together and have conversations about what organisations need for long-term investment and planning, and this needs to become a cross-party agreement.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?
No matter the industry you’re in, it’s important to view competition as a good thing. It is often the thing that drives everyone to improve and creates choices for consumers. It’s also a cornerstone of learning — I welcome conversations with other business leaders, as this offers the chance to share ideas and inspire one another.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?
For me, I’d love to continue the family dynamic well into the future — seeing the firm as part of the Bailie family for generations to come. And I feel privileged to have the role of shepherding the company through to the next generation.

Also, my thoughts and dreams are that the Group should continue to leave a legacy. One that shows how we’ve made a positive difference to the communities in which we work — whether that’s revolutionising the way policing is delivered, keeping the UK safer by working with the armed forces, or social work. If we continue to add value to the communities we serve, then we’re doing something right.

Stacey Solomon to become official Business Partner and Investor of British haircare brand, REHAB

Business Matters — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:17:52 +0000

Rehab. the innovative haircare brand which has been making waves in the industry since its launch last year has announced that TV personality Stacey Solomon has joined the company as a partner and Investor.

The female-founded company aims to transform tired hair to its full healthy, glossy potential with their effective, eco-friendly products. Key best-sellers include their hair oil, heatless curler and shampoo sheets.

REHAB. founders, best friends and mothers Vicky Ellis & Anastasia Tozer are absolutely thrilled to be the first brand Stacey has personally invested in.

Talking about the new role, Stacey Solomon said: “A long while ago, I used a small business’s haircare product and absolutely loved everything about it. I met up with the women who started it and fell in love with their collection, work ethic, company values & morals and their ideas for the future.

Supporting small businesses is so important to me. I’ve seen how hard people work to get their products out there and be seen, and often there’s so only far you can go without the right financial support and audience reach.

For the first time in my career, I have decided to invest my own money into a small business that I believe in so much. I can’t put into words how incredible it feels to say that I am going to start a whole new chapter in my life, championing incredible women in business.

I’m so excited to say that as of today, I am officially a co-owner of Rehab.”

Vicky Ellis & Anastasia Tozer, Rehab. Founders comment: “As two best friends who had a vision to create an eco-conscious haircare brand, we’ve been incredibly proud of REHAB’s rapid growth since we launched in 2022.

From multiple sell-out products to working with content creators across the globe, we want to thank all of our customers for believing in and supporting our small business.

Having sent Stacey some of our products to try last year, we were thrilled to hear how much she loved them. On top of this, she engaged entirely with our company ethos and everything we stand for as female business owners. Therefore, it’s no surprise we felt Stacey’s greater involvement was the perfect alignment for the brand’s future success.

To be the first brand Stacey has personally invested in is an absolute honour.

We’ve been working on a number of new product launches behind the scenes and cannot wait to reveal all later this year!”.

Want to know how to change an entire industry? Ask Guy Fennell, Founder and CEO of Pura

Cherry Martin — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 09:26:53 +0000

Changing an industry to be a force for good comes from knowing that something is inherently broken and needs fixing.

It wasn’t until Guy and Abi Fennell were thinking of starting a family that they became aware of the damage that the baby industry creates – they were appalled at the amount of nappies that ended up in landfill and wipes from leading brands, that still to this day, contain plastic.

After running a wholesale business, buying branded FMCG products and supplying them all over the world, Guy felt certain that they had the right knowledge, contacts and drive to challenge the industry.

Just three years old, Pura is now knocking household names off the shop shelves and gaining much deserved respect. The brand has carried on in the face of much adversity – it launched during the global pandemic in June 2020 – innovating and paving its own path, driven by its belief that baby care should not harm the planet.

Guy takes the time to share Pura’s journey with us …

In terms of timing the market, how did you know it was the right time?

We started research about five years ago now and there was a lot of change happening at that time. Greta Thunberg had come on the scene and David Attenborough and the BBC were making some fabulous documentaries, such as War On Plastic alerting us to the devastating impact of plastic pollution. I just felt that there should be a real change. 90% of wipes in the UK contain plastic, and 3 billion nappies go into landfill annually. Looking around at other emerging brands and current brands that were adopting new methods, I just felt in my bones that this was the right time to drive change in the baby industry.

How long was the process from idea to launch?

It felt like ages! But in fact, it was just over two years. Designing a wipe for UK families that contained zero plastic and that wasn’t imported with a huge footprint from China was a huge challenge. We also needed to ensure it was high quality and good for babies’ skin. Our research went on and on – getting the formulation right, getting the wetness right, the size of the wipe, how the wipe comes out, the packet …

You brought Amanda Richards in as CMO from day one, what was behind your decision there?

Alongside R&D, getting our brand proposition right was crucial. Amanda is our CMO and a highly skilled marketing leader with 26 years of global brand marketing, media and innovation experience in FMCG and Health Tech for Unilever and Philips. And, after meeting her, I didn’t think that there was anyone better suited for the role and to bring Pura to life. How we talk to parents is so important. Instead of Abi and I on a soap box with a megaphone, calling out the issue of plastic pollution, Amanda helped us connect with the right creative agencies who could help us navigate the marketplace and create a tone of voice to get our message across without being preachy or patronising.

What is the attitude of your customers towards sustainability?

Research shows that families genuinely want to make the eco-friendly choice, yet when they hear eco-friendly, they assume it’s 25 to 45% more expensive than mainstream brands. So for us to succeed, we have to ‘democratise eco’ and make these products affordable for everybody.

Disrupting a marketplace is no mean feat, how is business going?

We’ve got tremendous listings here in the UK with the likes of Asda, Tesco, Boots to name only a few. And we’ve just recently launched in Walmart and Amazon across the US – so we’re doing something right! We will continue disrupting the market with baby products that are high quality, eco-friendly and affordable.

What keeps you striving forwards?

Our desire to really make a genuine change. Each time we get a new wipe listing, for example, we see it as a major success in providing parents with an affordable alternative to plastic wipes. This just pushes us forward to do more. So, you know, we’ve just got to stay nimble and make decisions fast. More and more retailers in the UK are banning plastic wipes. Tesco’s have banned plastic wipes on the shelves, Boots have banned them too, and more and more retailers will follow.

How do you rally your team?

I keep saying to the team in the office, it’s as if we’re a little electric speed boat and these big brand owners are in massive tankers. So they just take a very long time to make decisions or bring new products to market, while we are fast and agile and can speed ahead. This can mean life at Pura is very fast paced. When it comes to month end, quarter end, or year end, and we need to put in extra hours everyone is willing. But then, on the flip side, if the weather’s nice on a Friday and we’ve done well that week, we might take the afternoon off. It’s all about give and take. Everybody in the business has share options too, which was important to us.

Have you noticed a change in your business since becoming a B Corp?

Sustainability is at the core of every decision we make as a business and being a certified B Corporation means we’ve been officially acknowledged for meeting the highest standards of social and environmental impact. In simple terms, we’ve been recognised for putting people and the planet first!

The global B Corp certification scheme was created to people give transparency on the ethical, social and environmental performance of brands.

During the assessment, companies are scored on the positive impact they have on the planet, their staff and the communities they operate in. Based on the B Impact assessment, Pura earned an overall score of 82.1! The average score for businesses who complete the assessment is currently just 50.9.

As a B Corp we’ll be held accountable as we continually push ourselves to improve our impact, measured through our B Impact Assessment score every three years.

How do you stay on top of who your customer is?

Ongoing market research confirms that our core customer group is young parents who genuinely care about the planet and want to leave it in a better place than it is today. But they are super busy and face time and money constraints. That’s where we come in to provide an affordable alternative that suits their busy lifestyle and helps them take care of their families and their planet at the same time.

Outside of physical sales, how are you actively promoting change in the industry?

Our whole team is invested in achieving great things – we convinced Mumsnet to stop advertising brands who have plastic in their wipes, which is a mega step forward.

We’re also educating people on the benefits of nappy recycling through our Pura NappiCycle partnership. Nappy recycling is already happening in Wales and, last year, we held a trial in Bristol. We saved an impressive 6.3 tonnes of nappy waste from landfill – that’s the equivalent of more than 31,000 nappies – it was insane! The used nappies were given a second life and repurposed as engineered fibre for road surfaces, notice boards, panelling, insulation under laminate flooring. It was the first trial of its kind in England, and it was supported in an awareness drive by ASDA. We will conduct another, larger trial, next year. The success of this phase of the trial is just the start – we want to bring a nappy recycling service to households throughout the UK. This requires investment and government backing which, as a business, we will continue to lobby for, for the sake of our children’s futures.

Is more of your marketing budget spent on educating your customers as opposed to actually talking about the products themselves?

Yes – definitely. A lot of our social media and our paid digital is pushing the educational aspects, but we’re trying to be different and clever about how we do it as well. For example, we’ve also got a children’s book, Lily and The Wipe Monster where the lead character, Lily, is taking on fatbergs – masses of congealed grease and non-biodegradable matter including plastic wipes found blocking in sewers and drains. We gift our children’s book to nurseries across the UK and when anyone takes out a nappy or wipes subscription on mypura.com, they also get a copy as well.

What elements have been crucial to you in starting up with a mission as big as yours to disrupt an industry?

Firstly, ensuring we’ve had the funds to grow. We’ve got a fabulous CFO, Andy Johnson, he’s the former FD of AO.com. His job is to make sure that we’ve always got the right level of cash and that funding is there to enable us to grow and develop new categories. In February 2022, we received £4.25m through a funding round led by Maven Capital Partners. We’re raising funds again now, and we’ll be completing this raise very soon.

Secondly, making sure that the team members around me aren’t burning out, because taking on the big boys can be relentless! I’m constantly making sure that the team is on board and that we’re recruiting the right people at the right time. On that note, another sign of growth is that we’re attracting the best people within the business, which is then helping us grow further and that’s what makes me very proud.

Any other brands out there at the moment that you’re loving seeing come to life in the sustainability space?

Yes – a brand called Wild. They’re in the refill deodorant business and they’re doing what Pura is doing in the baby sector and taking on the big boys. They’re doing really well, their ethos and sustainability mission is pretty much mirrored to ours, we’re two brands aligned but in two different categories.

Secrets of Success: Kubair Shirazee, Agilitea

Cherry Martin — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 09:51:55 +0000

Kubair believes in helping teams to unlearn old, and develop new, behaviours to inspire new capabilities

As a coach and mentor, Kubair enables this and nurtures a customer-centric, creative team mindset and culture through his company: Agilitea. And with that, entire teams are better placed to reach their true potential.

Hearing Kubair’s story is inspirational and beautiful in its honesty. He says ‘To go the extra mile for others we must first walk the hardest mile ourselves first.’ Anyone who is in business knows this to be true. I really hope you enjoy his story as he shares with you his Secrets of Success …

What is your USP

My journey and experiences gained along the way, and how I bring them to my coaching, training and mentoring engagements to better facilitate my client’s in their journey. From tech-startups, those that worked and those that didn’t, from my time as an intrapreneur in a fast growing scale up, to my socio-political activism. I bring all of that to being a people centric agile coach, trainer and mentor.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

From the age of 20 I have been leading or co-creating businesses, from importing and wholesale of garments to market traders in London to my tech-startups. I have been able to identify gaps in the market and co-create opportunities to address them from a young age. On occasions successfully on some it’s been costly lessons learned.

In 2010, following the murder of my brother by extremists in Pakistan, I decided to take a break from all my ventures to focus on a very different journey.

I sold a very successful business I had built from scratch in the UK, and I turned my off-shore development centre into an employee owned cooperative, completely divested of all commercial responsibilities. I set about co-founding a not-for-profit project – Peace Through Prosperity – with my wife, with the aim of using education to empower people from marginalised communities who were vulnerable to radicalisation in countries such as Pakistan.

At that time building digital products and chasing EBITDA targets seemed like a futile exercise in the face of a real existential threat.

In 2014 my exit money ran out but I had the good fortune of being headhunted to help establish high performance teams in Acquia’s professional services practise in EMEA. Having been an agile practitioner since the late 1990s, which direction to take it in was a no-brainer!

By 2018 I had achieved the targets and outcomes I’d agreed with the VP of professional services so I decided to move on and develop a consultancy based on what I had learned and taught over the years. Thus Agilitea was born.

I set up Agilitea as a vehicle for me to contract, and within a couple of years my customers convinced me to scale the business and build a team of trusted agile change makers to help them scale impact in their teams and culture. Having said that, we intend to remain a small and nimble boutique consultancy by design.

What are your brand values?

Being human.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

They are inseparable. Our decisions impact ourselves and others, I do my best to ensure my decisions have a positive outcome and a lasting impact on and for myself and all others it’s ripples may reach.

Is team culture integral to your business?

Absolutely. Change is a tribe sport! And as agents of change our own team culture matters most! A culture where concepts can be freely aired, challenged, cooked and validated or invalidated enables innovation and creativity. Without which the best one could produce is commodity!

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

To go the extra mile for others we must first walk the hardest mile ourselves first. That’s to be a good human being, to first get oneself in a place where one has the courage to have open conversations, whilst being respectful of others, with focus on one’s own commitment to everyone’s collective continuous improvement. Once you get close to that, the extra mile becomes part of the journey, not extra.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Personally I strive to be authentic, for those who know me, know I call it as I see it, respectfully, and make time and focus on listening. For me that is clear communication, as for messaging about our services, approach and vision, we could always improve!

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Inflation and interest rates. Between Putin’s war, Kwasi Kwarteng’s libertarian experimentation, China’s flexing, Greenbacks’ bizarre comeback, BRICS expansion with their own reserve currency, the global economy is a disaster at the moment. It would make for incredible theatre if people weren’t the extras suffering in the background!

My Customers are B2B, mostly large enterprises. I ascribe a value for my time, capabilities, experiences and potential to catalyse desired impact, as do my clients, and if prevailing conditions mean our service rates need to be adjusted to afford ourselves and our team members the standard of living we’re are accustomed to, then yes, we would pass it on transparently to our customers.

Do the BCG, Delloittes, and McKinseys of the world offer discounts during cyclical downturns? Boutique consultancies are no different, and should not think or be treated differently.

Having said all of that, my clients know a sizable chunk of Agilitea’s income gets invested in Peace Through Prosperity’s projects in marginalised and conflict affected communities in Yemen, Pakistan and Egypt. In these countries we run mini-MBA programmes to enable marginalised communities to work their way out of poverty and become better microentrepreneurs. In 2023 we plan to expand to a new region that will need its own investment.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

As often as is value-adding to do so and no more.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

It’s all tech! We mostly interact from behind a screen post March 2020, from contracting to collaboration, it’s all tech enabled working.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We live in a connected and interdependent world, my competition is part of my world and at best it enables me to scale rapidly through partnerships, at worst it makes me look even better! Our competition and peers keep us sharp and creative, we learn from each other and drive disruption and innovation in industries and if we’re lucky they or we might inspire them to drive innovation and disruption in society too.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

When launching any enterprise, commercial or social, the key question to ask is why? Why am I creating this business? Who is it for? Do they need it? Does it help people get a job done in a better, more effective way? You need to know a product will be economically sustainable.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge, and hone your focus?

My passion is social transformation, and cross pollinating what I continue to learn about enterprise transformation to enable people to transform their lives, their business, their family and communities. I focus very much on my charitable work at Peace Through Prosperity. I also have a passion for politics, and no weekend is complete without coaching my son and his team’ Titans’ in their little league soccer club!

Do you believe in the 12-week work method, or do you make much longer planning strategies?

It’s a method based on Lean Thinking that calls for focus and creates outcomes in shorter time frames. It’s an agile approach! I am a framework agnostic agile practitioner. I believe in principles, values and experimentation with frameworks and practices.

What is essential is to develop, nurture and evolve capabilities, behaviours and ways of working that enable individuals, teams and businesses to achieve their purpose, regardless of what the future brings.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

We are a remote-first company, however we do recognise and value the need to have face to face interactions, good old styled hand shakes, high fives and hugs! We take a value-based approach to travel, be it for clients on sites or our all-hands, and limit our footprint as much as possible.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

If ‘hope’ is what we’re going for then three things we all would greatly benefit from in the next 12 months are negotiated peace in Ukraine, Energy stability in Europe and UK rejoining the EU.

Secrets of Success: RapidSpike CEO, Gav Winter

Cherry Martin — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 16:41:49 +0000

Ensuring websites create conversion rich opportunities is just one of RapidSpike’s three core offerings

A tech entrepreneur for more than 20 years, Gav Winter has previously founded two major technology consultancies, Gav is an award-winning entrepreneur and leader, and an expert in high-growth strategy. Today he is CEO of next-generation website monitoring company, RapidSpike.

RapidSpike is a next-generation website monitoring platform revolutionising website reliability, performance, and security. As the only solution to capture these three critical aspects of website health, the result is continually optimised customer journeys, greater website resilience, and more conversions – crucial for high-volume businesses transacting online.

Gav takes time out of his busy schedule to share his secrets of success with Business Matters …

What type of businesses do you work with?

The nature of what we do means we can work with pretty much any brand that has online-critical processes – from retail, travel, and gaming to healthcare, policing, and government.

What problem does your company solve?

The web is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year and organisations need to maximise performance, reliability, accessibility, and security if they’re going to lead from the front, enhance the customer experience, and develop genuine brand loyalty.

As such, more than simply website uptime needs to be monitored for businesses to be successful online and create conversion-rich opportunities in today’s digital-first world. Customers now expect websites to perform at a more sophisticated level than ever before.

If you fail, customers will find somewhere else to fulfil what they’re looking for. In today’s world, even marginal gains of 0.1% faster speeds can represent millions of pounds of extra revenue for the UK’s largest brands.

What is your USP?

It must be the depth of data and insight we can provide. RapidSpike knows what it’s good at – and we start in our lane, but it do it really, really well. Let’s face it, websites are rich with just about every statistic under the sun, but we extract the relevant information and understand how to convert it into tangible areas for improvement.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

Underpinning the company is a sense of responsiveness. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, how big or small the client, or the relative size of the problem, we must be responsive as people, colleagues, partners, and a platform – it’s fundamental to the success of our business.

I wouldn’t say I’ve had them challenged as such, because people join RapidSpike to help our customers do business better. It’s something we’re all incredibly passionate about, and we were all a part of outlining what it is RapidSpike stands for – which I think is important to the long-term future of our organisation.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

For me, it’s about having a willingness to learn, a ‘can-do’ work ethic and a positive mindset. We’re incredibly honest from the very first interaction with a colleague – as we believe alignment works both ways.

An initial telephone interview acts as more of a temperature check, before we conduct the ’16 personalities test’ to see if the candidate’s personality and skills fit the role we’re looking for – as we’re keen to find differences within the team.

Only once we’re sure of a personality and skillset match would we move to an interview. Even then, we start the conversation by encouraging candidates to forget the nerves and not try to answer a question if they don’t know it – as they can learn. Instead, we’d rather spend the time figuring out if we’d both like to work alongside each other.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

We’re completely flexible. Arguably, I’d say we were ‘digital first’ with the only stipulation being that we meet, face-to-face, for collaborative sessions when needed. While there are no rules on the time spent in the office, as a team, there’s an appetite to introduce two set ‘people work’ days per week, whereby we meet somewhere as a team – be it HQ, a coffee shop, or even in a park.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

I think it boils down to three simple but fundamental things, communication, responsiveness, and continuous improvement. Caring what other people think makes a big difference.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

Create a ThinkTank which brings together actual business leaders from across the UK at varying stages of their careers. Personally, I believe it would be helpful if MPs had experience in the areas they are given to manage too – it shouldn’t simply be the ‘old boys’ club’.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

They’re a source of inspiration. You can pick up a lot from competitors, and we shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that. Not only can they feed you with ideas, but you can learn from their mistakes too.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We’re very much focused on growth. Of course, we have many of the same worries as other organisations across the country, with the rising cost of doing business – but it creates an opportunity too, because people want to future-proof their digital real estate. We’re working hard to raise further investment, but for now at least, we’re sustainable as we are.

Secrets of Success: Antony Vallee, Co-Founder and CEO – Teamed

Cherry Martin — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 12:14:56 +0000

Employing staff in other countries is incredibly challenging, enter Teamed …

Antony Vallee founded Teamed to simplify the process of building teams – no matter where they are based in the world. Through their own legal entities and global infrastructure, they manage all HR, Compliance, Payroll, and Tax matters for remote talent anywhere in the world. Today their fully distributed team is helping businesses hire top talent across 75+ countries, empowering companies and employees to embrace the benefits and opportunities that come with global employment.

Combining automation and human expertise, they aim to provide both employees and employers with the best experience. No mean feat! Antony takes some time to share his story with Business Matters …

What type of businesses do you work with?

Businesses that put the employee at the forefront of their hiring processes choose to work with Teamed.

Imagine this: you are being relocated from the United States to Spain. You would have plenty of questions about changes in holiday allowances, sick pay, and tax. Your new contract could also mean there are alterations in your salary, notice period, and benefits — and not having someone to talk through what these changes mean for you could be incredibly frustrating and cause a damaging relationship with your employer.

At Teamed, we ensure both employees and employers are aligned, have all the information they need, and most importantly have a point of contact they can go to with any queries they may have. We onboard all new employees virtually over a conference call and will provide ongoing support throughout their employment.

By combining this service-led approach with best-of-breed technology to automate processes, we are able to provide the best experiences for employees and employers across the globe.

What is your USP?

Teamed is democratising global employment opportunities by making it easier than ever to hire, pay and fully support a global workforce. We’re building a market-leading experience for employers and employees by combining our unique technology with human expertise.

100% compliant. Hire talent anywhere in the world with full compliance guaranteed.
Speed: Hire and onboard talent within hours, not weeks.
100% customer retention. We’re a service-led solution you can count on.

What are your company values? Have you ever had them challenged and if so how have you dealt with it?

We’ve stayed true to our values since Teamed was founded in 2020. We have a remote, globally distributed team that works together to achieve our joint mission to enable anyone, anywhere, to access exciting career opportunities, addressing the growing demand for remote working.

Break down barriers: We act to make opportunities equally accessible, so that those with skills and ambition are not held back. Merit should be rewarded equally across boundaries.

Do what’s right: No shortcuts. No short wins. Just a solid commitment to do right by each other, and by each and every customer we serve. Because the best reputations are those that precede you.

Here today, here tomorrow: Being an owner-managed business means we’re in it for the long term. We know our success depends on being accountable, responsible and performance-obsessed.

Show backbone: We choose the courageous route to success. Sometimes that means saying no and stepping away, while staying true to our pursuit of socially responsible success. When it’s right to, we step up.

Good can always be better: Creativity is in our genes. So is the quest for constant innovation and improvement. Every day is another chance for us to be the best at what we do.

How do you ensure that you recruit a team that reflects your company values?

We hire global teams that are empowered to work when, where, and how they want. We currently employ people across 8 countries and we plan to expand our global footprint as we continue to increase our headcount in 2023.

Our values are clearly communicated to all employees and candidates and equity, diversity, and inclusion is embedded into our recruitment process.

I firmly believe that building a team that reflects the values of the company is the foundation for success, as it ensures that everyone is working towards a common goal and operating with a shared set of principles.

Are you happy to offer a hybrid working model of home/office post-covid?

One of my top priorities is empowering our employees to work in the way that best enables them to achieve optimal outcomes. I believe that when people are given the freedom and support to do their best work, amazing things can happen.

Teamed has a remote-first environment. In today’s world, more and more people are looking for flexible work arrangements that allow them to balance their professional and personal lives. By embracing a remote-first approach, we are able to attract top talent from all over the world and create a more diverse and inclusive workforce. It also allows our team members to work from wherever they feel most comfortable and productive, which can help them achieve better work-life balance and overall well-being.

Of course, we also recognise that remote work isn’t for everyone, and we have co-working resources in place to ensure that everyone has the support and environment they need to be successful, no matter where they are located. But overall, I believe that a remote-first environment is essential for building a strong, innovative, and resilient team that can adapt to change and succeed in today’s fast-paced business world.

Do you have any tips for managing suppliers and customers effectively?

A service-led approach that is complemented by technology is at the core of everything we do. By putting the needs of our end users at the centre, we are able to create a more personalised and seamless experience that meets their unique needs and preferences.

This approach not only helps us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, but it also leads to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, when we combine this service-led approach with the right technology, we are able to create even greater efficiencies and value for our customers. For example, by using automation and data analytics, we can better understand our customers’ needs and tailor our services to meet those needs in real time.

Overall, I believe that a service-led approach that is complemented by technology is essential for building strong, long-term relationships with our end users and driving the success of our company.

If you could ask one thing of the government to change for businesses what would it be?

As we transition from remote working to work-from-anywhere, we would like governments around the world to embrace the new world of working by easing the regulations around working visas and tax rules.

It is positive to see some countries with a lack of work opportunities facilitating regulations around remote working. This can bring an enormous amount of value so all their regions remain populated with employed people paying their taxes and spending locally.

What is your attitude towards your competitors?

While some of our competitors have prioritised rapid growth over everything else, we at Teamed know that this approach can come at the cost of customer satisfaction. That’s why we currently boast 100% customer retention and, as we scale, we remain laser-focused on keeping the needs and preferences of our customers front and centre.

Dealing with global payroll can be complex and it is essential that any concerns or questions are promptly and effectively addressed. Paying multiple employees in multiple currencies with different exchange rates, personalised bonuses, annual leave, and commission structures can be challenging— and are not always easily modified with the self-service model some competitors offer. By providing a service-led approach that is complemented by technology, Teamed puts the customer at the centre, so employees and employers receive the highest quality support and guidance.

By doing so, we are able to create a better, more personalised experience for our employees and employers and build strong, long-term relationships. This customer-centric approach sets us apart in the market and positions us for sustainable, long-term success.

Any thoughts on the future of your company and your dreams?

We’re changing the world of work. We believe that everyone should have access to equal career opportunities, no matter where they live. That’s why Teamed’s mission is to enable anyone, anywhere, to access the best career opportunities, addressing the growing demand for remote working.

Our recent £2.5M seed round investment will empower Teamed to accelerate the development of global operations, advance its unique technology, and fund a recruitment drive for senior roles. In addition, it will allow Teamed to continue to deliver a market-leading customer experience and keep the company on track to achieve a predicted five-fold growth in 2023.

We look forward to pushing ahead with our plans to accelerate our growth and begin executing our ambitious product roadmap to build a new, more democratic, world of work.

Getting to Know You: Ozgecan Üstgül, Founder, Myth-Ai

Business Matters — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 12:16:20 +0000

Business Matters spoke to Ozgecan Üstgül, the Founder of fashion and textiles AI platform Ai Myth-Ai to find out how the co pay was founded and who Ozgecan admires.

What do you do at Myth?

I am the founder and CEO of Myth-ai, a generative AI solution that helps streamline the design of new and unique patterns, taking the length of the process down from days – and sometimes weeks – to seconds. The idea for Myth-ai was born out of the need for a better solution for designing patterns in fashion and textiles and was developed to primarily help me with my womenswear brand, Women&Women.

I head up business development, product development, investment relationships and marketing. Pretty much everything apart from the software development!

What was the inspiration behind Myth?

The inspiration behind Myth.AI sprouted from a profound journey of self-discovery and a desire to solve the challenges faced in the pattern design process.

After nearly a decade in the corporate world, a question lingered in my mind: “Could I start my own fashion business?” I realised I could – but with my mother and sister by my side. By fusing the expertise in textiles and patterns of my mother, my sisters’ proficiency in 3D design and fashion, and my skills in business development we launched Women&Women.

In 2018 I began thinking ‘why couldn’t technology be harnessed to revolutionise design production?’

For all design processes, my goal was to expedite Women&Women’s growth by employing holistic techniques that involve research, drawing inspiration, and seeking reflections of that inspiration in nature. These are always important to the design process of starting anything new.

Designing patterns and keeping up with fashion trends, colours, and themes for every collection is not sustainable for designers. They also need to create these patterns quickly and turn them into fabrics for industry events. Having a wide variety of designs is crucial for textile companies to make more money. To achieve this, designers need to speed up their creative process and use new technology to come up with fresh ideas.

Furthermore, designers often need to update old patterns to match the latest trends and offer them to customers as options. Unfortunately, there aren’t many technologies that can scan past designs and generate similar ones using artificial intelligence. So, designers still rely heavily on manual work without the help of technology.

And so Myth.AI was born, and now it is possible to create hundreds of amazing and totally unique patterns for fashion, ceramics and interior design purposes in minutes.

Who do you admire?

I drew inspiration from my sister Gökçe Dinçer who is an advanced user of the 3D design program Browzwear. She took creativity to its fullest extent when we were creating Myth technology.

Another person who I admire greatly is Refik Anadol. When embarking on this journey, I was deeply inspired by his work, which transforms millions of data points into artistic technological marvels through deep learning algorithms, showing me that technology can also be applied in the realm of art. He is undoubtedly the most inspiring figure in this field.

– Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Reflecting on the past, I’ve noticed that when I made choices in tough situations, it was because I thought I had no other options, these decisions didn’t work out well in the long term. In fact, the opposite often happened. When I collaborated with certain individuals, without clear and specific goals (SMART goals), those collaborations ended in failure and disappointment. I know for the future that, even if things feel tough or time pressured, it is valuable to take a step back and take time to consider all options.

What defines your way of doing business?

I believe in questioning and critical thinking. Hard work is essential, but to make a real impact, we must also ask questions and think critically. Without these skills, we risk repeating the same mistakes and failing in our professional lives.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Before embarking on the entrepreneurial journey, make sure you have worked elsewhere first. Working with other people and observing how more experienced colleagues think and what they respect, gives you great on-the-ground insight. Even better if you can learn these insights at a young age, as all experiences you can carry with you into establishing your own business later on. I also would advise any new entrepreneur to be a keen observer; if you wish to change the system, you first need to identify its weaknesses and work in that area.

Also, as a female entrepreneur I have noticed how male-dominated the world of business is, but being an entrepreneur and finding ways to excel and stand out in your own field, you create a world where these things don’t matter. If you’re doing something good and different, all doors open whatever your gender.

I started my professional journey at the age of 12 which is young but I wish I had started even earlier. Life is yours. If you know you want to be an entrepreneur, be in control of your own destiny, or make a name for yourself, the price of waiting and potentially missing out, is a lot more than taking that jump.

Rupert Murdoch: A Titan of UK Media and Politics Bows Out

Business Matters — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 18:42:13 +0000

Rupert Murdoch, the Australian-born media mogul known for his towering influence over British media and politics, has announced his retirement, marking an end to a career that has shaped the UK’s media landscape for more than half a century.

Murdoch first ventured onto UK shores in 1969, acquiring the struggling tabloid News of the World. His purchase of The Sun the following year set a precedent for his business strategy—buy a struggling outlet, cut costs, and turn it into a profitable enterprise. With a keen instinct for the public’s desires, he transformed The Sun into the most widely read daily newspaper in the UK.

Taking on the Unions: The Wapping Dispute

One of Murdoch’s most significant achievements came in 1986 during the Wapping dispute. At the time, the print unions held a stranglehold on Fleet Street, demanding high wages and impeding technological advances. Murdoch’s decision to relocate his newspapers to a new, high-tech plant in Wapping, east London, triggered a bitter year-long confrontation with the unions. The outcome was a victory for Murdoch. His decisive action broke the power of the print unions, paving the way for a more technologically advanced and cost-effective UK newspaper industry.

A Player in Politics

His influence wasn’t just confined to the media. Murdoch’s relationships with successive UK Prime Ministers, from Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron, have been scrutinised and debated. His support for them via his newspapers, particularly The Sun, is often credited with swaying public opinion and election outcomes.

Murdoch’s close relationship with Thatcher was mutually beneficial. His newspapers supported her through her election campaigns, while she reportedly helped him expand his media empire, notably by not referring his bid for The Times and The Sunday Times to the Monopolies Commission.

Shaping the Media Landscape

Murdoch’s influence on the UK’s media industry extended beyond print media. In 1989, he launched Sky Television, an ambitious project that initially struggled but eventually revolutionised the UK’s television industry. By offering a broader range of channels and introducing pay-per-view services, Sky became a dominant player in the UK broadcasting sector.

Controversies and Legacy

Murdoch’s career has not been without controversy. The phone-hacking scandal at News of the World in 2011 led to the closure of the newspaper and a parliamentary inquiry into media ethics.

However, despite these controversies, Murdoch’s impact on the UK’s media landscape is undeniable. His bold business decisions, his technological innovations, and his political influence have indelibly shaped the industry. As he steps down, he leaves behind a media empire that has transformed the way Britons consume news, and a political legacy that has influenced the course of UK politics.

Rupert Murdoch’s retirement marks the end of an era. His influence, both lauded and criticised, has left an indelible mark on UK business and politics. As we turn the page, we can only wonder what the next chapter of UK media and politics will look like without him.

Young entrepreneur, George Jones, transforms £11m Manchester office block into thriving business hub

Business Matters — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 08:35:09 +0000

A multi-million-pound Manchester office building which was recently bought by a young entrepreneur, has been transformed into a business hub providing office space to start-ups while nurturing their growth.

George Jones, founder of Sensible Properties, has breathed new life into the heart of Manchester’s business district with the establishment of ‘Sensible Space’ at Cardinal House, a visionary project aimed at helping businesses in need of a supportive environment.

The renovation followed the company’s acquisition of the 55,739 sq. ft office building for £11m in August.

The eight-story structure which was previously owned by Derwent Group, is now bustling with new activity as businesses make Cardinal House their new home.

Among these include financial tech firm, Monefi, Manchester recruitment business, The City Recruiter, tech-based hair grooming company, Barberoo and breakthrough mobile network provider, Boshhh.

27-year-old, George, who once walked the path of entrepreneurship himself, envisioned a space that would give back to aspiring entrepreneurs of all ages, providing them with the same mentoring he received during his early days in business.

He said: “Sensible Space is more than just bricks and mortar; it’s about fostering a community of business leaders who support each other’s growth.

“My own journey into business was filled with challenges, and I want Sensible Space to be the launchpad that others need to overcome those hurdles.”

On offer to tenants, whether they’re an established company or start-up, is the chance to rent office space and be part of a thriving community.

Also available is an opportunity to join the start-up scheme where tenants can benefit from a business mentoring programme and tap into an array of support services including marketing, compliance, recruitment, and even financial aid to assist their growth plans.

The meticulously designed office spaces offer full-service amenities and unique flexibility, accommodating anywhere from 2 to 120 individuals. Tenants also have the option to rent single desks as needed, enhancing convenience and adaptability.

The new hub currently resides on the first floor of Cardinal House, with plans in motion to replicate the model across two more floors within the building and even bring the project to other UK cities.

One of the standout features of Sensible Space is its commitment to removing traditional barriers to entry for firms, which is why instead of relying on credit checks, there is more focus on evaluating the potential of tenants, their innovative ideas, and passion for growth.

“One of our core principles for Sensible Space is inclusivity,” added George.

“Sensible Space is more than just office space; it’s a nurturing ground for dreams and innovation.

“I know how difficult it can be for entrepreneurs starting out especially with the lack of guidance readily available. We’re here to support the next generation of business leaders and I believe that by providing both physical space and comprehensive support, we can help people grow.

“We’ve ushered in a new era of business support and innovation in Manchester, providing a nurturing environment where firms can flourish and thrive. Sensible Space stands as a testament to our commitment in fostering entrepreneurship in the community.

“Success isn’t just about what you achieve, it’s about how you help others succeed. Sensible Space embodies that philosophy.”

Cardinal House also offers the convenience of secure on-site parking, making it easily accessible for tenants.

Several businesses have already seized the opportunity to establish their presence within Sensible Space, and the facility is now open to prospective tenants seeking an inspiring and supportive environment for their ventures.

Sweatband.com founder Maz Darvish exits to launch AI-technology company, CognitionHub

Business Matters — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 11:57:44 +0000

Maz Darvish has announced he has left his role as Chief Transformation Officer at Sweatband.com, the company he co-founded in 2000, and has launched an e-commerce focussed AI-Technology business named CognitionHub.com

With a track record of founding, scaling, and successfully exiting multiple e-commerce and digital marketing businesses, Darvish will serve as the Chief Executive Officer of CognitionHub.com

CognitionHub.com assembles a seasoned team of experts in e-commerce, data science, creative design, and software development. They will be creating a range of AI-native SaaS products that will transform the operations of e-commerce companies to help them gain a competitive advantage.

The new business will be launching its first products in Q4 2023.

Speaking about the launch of CognitionHub.com Darvish said: “I am really excited not just to be returning to my digital roots but also at a time when AI represents a fantastic opportunity for e-commerce brands gain a structural advantage over their competitors, gain market share and ultimately increase profitability.

“Our first-hand knowledge of the e-commerce ecosystem gives us a unique insight into the challenges faced by mid to large-scale operators and this gives us a fantastic unique selling point. We have really been there, done that, and want to pass on our knowledge.”

The business has already secured agreements with multiple, well-known e-commerce brands such as Sweatband.com, CardioFitness.de and JustMustard.com and has been beta testing AI SaaS offerings for several months.

Barbara Corcoran’s Triumph Over Dyslexia: A Powerful Business Success Story

Business Matters — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 12:33:36 +0000

In the realm of successful entrepreneurs, one name that unmistakably stands out is Barbara Corcoran. This multi-millionaire real estate tycoon, renowned for her role in the hit TV show Shark Tank, recently revealed a less-known fact about her.

She candidly spoke about her dyslexia, a learning disorder she has battled since her childhood, on a podcast called Lessons In Dyslexic Thinking. This revelation not only provides insight into her perseverance but also elucidates how dyslexia fuelled her drive to succeed.Corcoran shared that her dyslexia was the pivotal factor behind her success. While speaking about her journey, she emphasised how the condition allowed her to carve out a world according to her own terms. She affirmed, “It’s the whole reason I succeeded.”

Being dyslexic gave her the freedom to make her own decisions, from choosing her business to picking the colours for her brand. This liberty to dictate her own path came from her dyslexic condition, which inadvertently propelled her to author her own success story.

Corcoran also recounted the insecurities she developed due to her struggles in school. She spoke about the stigma of being different and how it fundamentally shaped her mindset. However, she views this difference as a strength, asserting that it prepares dyslexic individuals to handle rejection and motivates them for life.

Despite the inherent challenges, she believes it is essential to embrace failure. She explained, “When you fail early at something – and something so important as school, which is how children define themselves … failing is like second nature, you almost build up a hard crust [so] that it just doesn’t bother you.”

Barbara Corcoran’s tenacity is evident in her analogy of being a “Jack in the Box”. She described herself as someone who, despite being hit repeatedly, always bounces back. This resilience, she claims, is a gift that has allowed her to repeatedly face adversity and still come out victorious.

She emphasised the importance of understanding failure as an integral part of life. She said, “Failure, if you want to get ahead in life, is half of what life is. If you don’t know how to fail and get back up, you don’t move ahead in anything. So it’s the greatest attribute to have.”

Interestingly, dyslexia seems to be a common trait among entrepreneurs. As pointed out by Kate Griggs, the podcast host and founder of the charity Made By Dyslexia, Barbara Corcoran isn’t the only Shark Tank judge with dyslexia. Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary have also been diagnosed with the condition.

Corcoran’s story is a testament to the fact that dyslexia, while a challenge, can also serve as a catalyst for success. Her determination and resilience to overcome her learning disorder and become a successful entrepreneur provide an inspiring narrative for all dyslexic individuals.

Corcoran’s journey of self-discovery began when her son, Tom, was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade. This diagnosis sparked a realisation that she had been living with dyslexia all her life. This revelation helped her understand her past struggles and fuelled her determination to succeed.

Corcoran, the second eldest of 10 children from New Jersey, held over twenty jobs before turning 23. Yet, she built a successful career in the real estate business in the 1970s, eventually selling her firm, The Corcoran Group, for a staggering $66 million in 2001.

The Lessons In Dyslexic Thinking podcast has previously featured other prominent figures like Richard Branson and NYC mayor Eric Adams. The podcast aims to shed light on the experiences of dyslexic individuals and highlight how dyslexia can shape one’s perspective and contribute to their success.

Ryan Reynolds’ Business Prowess: From Hollywood to the Liquor Industry

Business Matters — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 08:37:49 +0000

Well-known for his roles in Hollywood blockbusters, actor Ryan Reynolds has managed to extend his success from the film industry to the business world. His ventures and investments, particularly in the spirits industry, have demonstrated his entrepreneurial acumen.

Reynolds has a history of investments and endorsements. Recognising the influence he carries as a celebrity, he looked beyond the film industry for opportunities. His first significant business venture was his involvement with Aviation American Gin.

Reynolds became a co-owner of Aviation American Gin in 2018, purchasing a significant share of the company. Aviation Gin, owned by Davos Brands, became a popular choice among gin enthusiasts under Reynolds’ ownership. The actor’s involvement brought increased visibility and popularity to the brand.

In 2020, Diageo, the world’s largest spirits manufacturer, acquired Aviation American Gin, along with its majority shareholder Davos Brands, in a deal worth up to $610 million. This acquisition included three other spirits brands – Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal, and Tyku Sake. The initial payment stood at $335 million, making it a lucrative sale for Reynolds and his partners.

Following his success with Aviation Gin, Reynolds has now set his sights on the beer industry. Reportedly, he is planning to launch his own range of football-inspired lager, capitalising on the success of Wrexham football team, which he co-owns with actor Rob McElhenney.

He has already begun work on the new brand, securing several names as trademarks in both the UK and the US, including ‘It’s Always Sunny in Wrexham’, a reference to McElhenney’s TV series, ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’. Another proposed name is ‘R&R Lager’, representing the owners’ initials, while ‘Max Effort Lager’ pays homage to Reynolds’ film production company.

Reynolds’ success in his business ventures can be attributed, in part, to his innovative marketing strategies. By leveraging his own marketing agency, Maximum Effort, Reynolds creates timely, culturally relevant ads. This approach, termed “fast-vertising”, has proven to be effective, leading to substantial growth in revenue for his businesses.

Reynolds’ knack for business extends beyond the beverage industry. He co-owns Mint Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator. Despite the telecoms industry being far removed from his Hollywood background, the company has thrived under Reynolds’ ownership, with its revenue growing 500x in just three years.

While the impact of celebrity endorsements on a product’s success can be significant, it often doesn’t bring “much value other than the initial press wave,” as observed by TechCrunch. Many celebrity-backed ventures, such as Alicia Keys’ collaboration with Blackberry or Lady Gaga’s partnership with Polaroid, have failed to revive the brands. However, Reynolds appears to be an exception to this rule, with his investments and endorsements leading to significant returns.

From Aviation Gin to Mint Mobile, Ryan Reynolds has proven his business acumen. His success in the business world demonstrates that celebrity endorsements can yield substantial returns when approached with entrepreneurial savvy and creative marketing strategies. As he ventures into the beer industry, it will be interesting to see how his new brand fares in the market.

Serial entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter calls for 15% corporation tax rate

Business Matters — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 08:17:18 +0000

Serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, Sir Tom Hunter, is calling for a corporation tax rate of 15 per cent for life sciences and medical technologies and software, big data and AI.

Hunter, who sold first business, Sports Division, for £290m, was speaking following the publication of a new report entitled ‘Lessons from Ireland for Scotland’s economy’.

The document has been produced by Oxford Economics on behalf of the Hunter Foundation to see what lessons Scotland can learn from Ireland.

Hunter makes a series of suggestions in his forward but the most eye-catching one is calling for a 15 per cent corporation tax.

The corporation tax across the UK, including Scotland, was recently increased from 19 per cent to 25 per cent.

Hunter said: “Here’s my suggestion to Holyrood and Westminster – make all of Scotland a 15 per cent corporate tax zone for three key global growth sectors: renewables and low carbon manufacture and services; life sciences and medical technologies and software, big data and AI.

“The Irish experience tells us we will net more tax, more jobs and more value from this highly focussed approach with one agency delivering that approach than we will with our current strategy. And that one agency should deliver domestically and for inward investment.

“And as the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund starts to deploy their sovereign wealth fund to support economic growth we need to compete and, in time, grow our own fund.

“The Innovation Fund of circa £100m over 10 years launched a couple of months back is frankly not enough – R&D funding in Scotland is circa £4.5 billion per annum; £100m will transform very little indeed.

“But we also have a competitive advantage in our universities, something we should double down on aligned to these three key growth sectors.”

Hunter said lower corporation tax drives investment.

“Ireland drives foreign direct investment (FDI) with multiple incentives, not least a 12.5 per cent corporation tax rate moving to 15 per cent in 2025,” he said.

“In 2021 this drove 249 such investments compared to Scotland’s 122. The other key component – aligning education to economic development; per 1000 of population 39.9 were STEM graduates compared to Scotland’s 20.9.

“From 2012-2022 Ireland’s GDP grew on average 8.9 per cent per annum compared to Scotland’s rather anaemic 0.9 per cent.

“They are home to nine out of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world and 14 of the 15 top MedTech companies.

“And recently the Irish government forecast a staggering Euro 65 Billion surplus over the next three years.

Hunter said the announcement on two new investment zones for Scotland was welcome but ‘hardly jaw dropping’.

“Moreover all of Scotland should be a competitive location not just the Glasgow City Region and the North East of Scotland,” he said.

“It’s time for a grown-up debate and action over how we make Scotland an economic powerhouse. We need to stop doing those things that don’t add any value and focus on what delivers otherwise, with a ticking demographic time bomb, we will leave an unbelievably appalling legacy for the next generation of Scots to contend with.

“We at the Hunter Foundation do not claim to have all the answers but we do believe through constructive debate we will get better answers and outcomes for Scotland.”

Getting To Know You: Jordan Fantaay, Founder, Pumpt

Business Matters — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 12:29:08 +0000

Pumpt is an electric vehicle (EV) charging startup founded by Jordan Fantaay, a serial technology entrepreneur. Jordan started his first company some 25 years ago while at university, developing a multi-room hi-fi and one of the world’s first DAB radios.

Early in his career, he worked with the likes of Sennheiser and Reebok on product development, before joining Dell as a startup advisor to the board. In 2016, Jordan presented to President Obama as part of Dell’s global entrepreneur summit.

What do you do at Pumpt?

Pumpt is an EV charging company committed to helping the UK’s transition to electric mobility and achieving its carbon emissions targets. We offer a range of electric vehicle chargers tailored for both residential and commercial use. Our platform aims to serve the needs of business and residential consumers alike. Residential owners can effortlessly procure fully installed individual chargers, while our corporate collaborations entail personalized packages aligned with specific business objectives.

Central to our ethos of making EV chargers accessible, empowering customers and taking care of the environment, all our chargers are intelligently designed, OZEV-approved, and affordably priced. Our all-in-one approach encompasses charger manufacturing, inclusive installation costs, and pioneering services such as financing, insurance coverage, maintenance services and cloud-based account management to ensure that you will be well taken care of for years to come, not just for now.

Who do you admire?

I admire my parents first, they gave me the space to be ambitious and strive to achieve whatever I wanted, it was the spark of my entrepreneurial journey. I admire Barack Obama! (Who doesn’t), a few and far between leader.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

I would have liked to have spent more time in my preparedness in bringing new products to market, I would have liked to have had more senior advisors involved in my business from the outset. Cant beat experience and even better having it on your side as you take a new venture to market in an industry you may not be familiar with.

What defines your way of doing business?

A good way to sum up my way of doing business would be: challenging the status quo and empowering consumers. When we started Pumpt, it was mainly to address issues faced by the average consumer in transitioning to EV. There was a lot of information out there, we’re so used to a system that relies on petrol, and the process to get a home EV charger was expensive and tedious. It was overwhelming. We wanted to undo all that, do right by the environment and our customers so we designed a process that was easy, convenient, and educational. We leveraged current technology so anyone looking to buy an EV can read all about it, buy it, have it installed and manage everything from a phone or computer. It was so important to make everything from information, installation, assistance and pricing accessible— which is why it was important that our entire process and platform is an all-in-one, multifunctional source so that our customers feel at ease and that we’re with them every step of the way.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

There will always be basic, timeless pieces of advice so let’s get those out of the way! Don’t be afraid to take risks. Always be open to everything new or try to look at things from a different perspective. Once you are able to find something you are passionate about, take any opportunity to see where it goes. Make sure you also fine-tune your business philosophy and are doing things for the right reasons.

I’m sure people always say some version of that but you’re also going to need the support of a good team with you. You’ll always have some form of self-confidence if you believe in what you do and no business is without risks but with good people in your corner, you’ll always be set-up for success.

Getting to Know You: Ian Kinnery, founder of coaching firm Kinnery

Business Matters — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 15:15:25 +0000

Ian Kinnery, founder of coaching firm Kinnery, tells Business Matters about the inspiration behind his business and how he uses his own business experiences, including dealing with mental health problems, to help entrepreneurs.

What do you currently do at Kinnery?

My mission is to help people grow so that they can handle life as a business owner better and more successfully and with ease, without compromising important values. I have been working with leadership teams across a variety of sectors since 2005 and have over three decades of experience starting and scaling businesses.

While every business owner’s journey is a story, with them as the hero, I see my job as making sure it has a happy ending. I’ve been there, done that and have the battle scars to prove it, meaning I come from a place of honesty, empathy and experience.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

My father. Although he passed away when I was just 14, trying to follow in his footsteps nearly cost me everything – including my own life. Now I’ve learned from his mistakes, and mine too, I’m passionate about ensuring other business owners avoid the pitfalls that too often accompany success.

I am and always was unbelievably ambitious, but, while I knew how to manage a business, I had never learned how to manage myself. In the 1990s, while business was booming, I was not.

The stress of battling and pushing and striving since 14 led to severe mental health problems. I was obsessed with work and couldn’t let go, thinking I had to – and could – do everything myself. It came to the point where I could only see one way out.

My success came at the cost of my health, my house, my marriage, my self-esteem – and nearly my life. I don’t want anyone else to end up in the situation I’ve been in, which is what led me to coaching.

Who do you admire?

In part, there are many people I admire, however, there are very few in entirety. When I think about what they all have in common, they are the people that can ride the paradoxes that often come with life and successes. Kevin Sinfield and Martin Johnson have demonstrated both toughness and compassion throughout their careers, which I find admirable.

Similarly, Bill Scott, Alastair Waite and Irene Hays are successful and thoroughly nice people, who have achieved great things while maintaining their humility and kindness. Moreover, I admire parents like Charlotte Nichols, Sam Spoors and Mo Brown who have successfully grown businesses while raising a family.

Their ability to balance professional success and personal commitments is truly commendable. As I reflect on these individuals, the words of the poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling come to mind: “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same.” These individuals embody the essence of these lines, demonstrating their ability to navigate life’s ups and downs with grace and resilience.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

While I have experienced testing situations, including mental health problems, there is nothing I would do differently in my life. After all, without going through those experiences, I wouldn’t be where I am today, helping entrepreneurs lead their businesses to growth and success. I’m proof that you can overcome stressful times and come out the other side.

What defines your way of doing business?

As a business coach, honesty is at the core of my way of doing business. Honesty serves as the foundation for building trust and fostering a genuine and meaningful coaching relationship. I prioritise open and transparent communication with my clients. I believe in providing honest feedback, even if it may be difficult to hear at times. I strive to create a safe and supportive environment where my clients can explore their strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement without judgment.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Get a coach. Having someone in your corner to build your leadership skills and develop your business is, I believe, so valuable – it’s something I wished I had when I first started in business many years ago. Also, listen to your body and your mind, and don’t exhaust yourself. Being a successful business leader shouldn’t come at a cost to your personal life. It is possible to run a thriving company and have a personal life with family and friends.

Getting To Know You: Johann van Zyl, CEO, Cornerstone Healthcare

Business Matters — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 13:58:15 +0000

Johann van Zyl, CEO of Cornerstone Healthcare and one of health and social care’s ‘Power 50’, shares his journey from mining exploration to the specialist care sector and discusses the inspiration, challenges, and strategies behind the company’s exceptional growth.

What do you do at Cornerstone?

As the CEO, I oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, so my role is balancing sustainable growth with the incredible care we provide for our residents. We run specialist nursing homes for people with challenging behaviours associated with complex neurodegenerative and mental health needs. It’s a demanding but fulfilling sector to work in.

From the beginning we identified this type of specialist care as a growth area. There are currently only 5,000 beds in England with an estimated need of three times that number. I think the growth we’ve seen is, in a large part, down to our ability to attract and keep high-calibre staff at a time when much of the care sector has been crippled by an unprecedented recruitment crisis.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

During the 80s in a turbulent South Africa the winds of change were blowing, and I found myself involved in the transition of the informal business sector into the mainstream economy. Those experiences built my knowledge across various sectors and gave me a deep understanding of business dynamics. But it was during my time working with a neurological care provider in the UK that I truly found my calling. The work we did for vulnerable individuals with progressive neurological conditions was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was profoundly rewarding and inspired me to think about starting my own care company.

Who do you admire?

It would have to be Warren Buffett. The man has been a leader in his field for decades but what I love about him is how he never deviates away from his plan. He stands strong and maintains his morals and ethics even in adversity. This emphasis on long-term thinking and resisting short-term market fluctuations is a wise and disciplined approach.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

The beauty of hindsight! There are always lessons to be learned and decisions that, in retrospect, could have been made differently. But you know what they say, every experience shapes us and helps us grow. The challenges we faced, the mistakes we made—they have all contributed to our journey and brought us to where we are today. So, I choose to embrace those experiences and use them to guide me as we continue to make a positive impact in the care sector.

The important thing is that when there was the need to change the direction of our strategies, we did it quickly and effectively. If you see a strategy failing, make sure it fails fast, change tack and move forward. We have also found powerful partners in our equity fund, Ignite Growth Investment, that never stopped supporting us, which makes it easier to make those decisions.

Also, I wish I’d joined healthcare sooner as it is the most rewarding sector I’ve ever worked in.

What defines your way of doing business?

Doing things differently, that’s what defines my way of doing business. We strive for excellence in everything we do, but we also embrace compassion and empathy. We’re not just a care provider; we’re a team of people, supporting each other and working together to create a nurturing environment for our residents. It’s about going above and beyond, not because it’s expected, but because it’s the right thing to do.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

My advice would be to follow your passion and believe in yourself. Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to think outside the box. The path to success is rarely a straight line, so embrace the twists and turns, and be open to learning from every experience. Surround yourself with a strong team who share your vision and values. And above all, never forget the reason why you started in the first place. Let that passion fuel your drive and keep pushing forward.

As Cornerstone continues to grow and make a positive impact in the lives of their residents, one thing is clear—Johann’s commitment to his vision remain unwavering.

Meet the student entrepreneur revolutionising the creative content space

Business Matters — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 07:56:48 +0000

Sam Wood, a final year student studying Film Production at the University of Salford and entrepreneur, has launched Salford Media Works, an all-inclusive creative content agency expected to disrupt the media and marketing sector, thanks to the support of Launch@ Salford.

Launch, Salford Business School’s purpose-built incubation space, is designed to support Salford students and graduates through the start-up phase of their business journeys. Since its inception in 2018, it has successfully provided in-depth support to 200 students to help them start a business.

Sam embarked on his entrepreneurial journey after eight years as a freelance content creator, something he started when he was just 14 years old. As a photographer and graphic designer supporting brands looking to standout in crowded marketplaces, Sam has gained valuable experience and developed a passion for delivering high-quality visual content over the years. So, when he spotted a gap in the market with clients continuously requesting recommendations for other services in the content space including video, as well as strategy and creative ideation, he spotted the opportunity for him to plug that gap.

Reflecting on the early success of Salford Media Works, Sam, said: “Thanks to the support of Launch@ Salford, establishing Salford Media Works has been an incredible experience. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to grow my business and acquire the skills necessary for long-term success. The support I’ve received through the programme and having access to the mentors, plus other students on the cohort to bounce ideas off has been invaluable.”

Sam’s all-inclusive creative content agency is already making waves in the media and marketing world by providing comprehensive 360 visual content solutions. Salford Media Work’s commitment to covering the visual content landscape sets it apart as a one-stop-shop for clients’ creative content needs, including videography, photography, graphic design, social media management, strategy and creative ideation.

Recognising the demand for all-inclusive content solutions and campaigns, Sam is now successfully plugging what was a previously burgeoning gap in the market. He’s providing clients with a wide range of creative content options, from social media content and product demo videos to podcasts and headshots.

The agency has already achieved significant success, delivering content and campaigns for clients such as BEAR Coffee and Winncare Group.

The incubator has equipped Sam with the confidence and knowledge to navigate the challenges of growing a business, while the supportive community has provided inspiration and valuable networking opportunities.

Paul Little, Incubation Manager at Launch@ Salford, said: “We are incredibly proud of Sam. He is a shining example of the entrepreneurial spirit and creative talent we nurture here at Salford Business School. Empowering and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs as they embark on their own start-up journeys through programmes like Launch will continue to be a focus for us.

“It’s driven, innovative and creative entrepreneurs like Sam who are instrumental to the region’s economy, so to play even a small part in their journeys is incredibly rewarding. Sam’s achievements demonstrate Salford Media Works’ dedication and expertise, securing prestigious clients shortly after starting his trading journey, so we can’t wait to see his business continue on this exciting upwards trajectory.”

Launch offers a wealth of resources and guidance from Salford Business School academics and Industry Fellows to help entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into reality. From support shaping their business idea and launching to market, to providing guidance on securing investment, generating sales/revenue and marketing, the programme helps nurture future business leaders.

Sam concluded: “I have some ambitious growth plans for the next few years which I now have the confidence to pursue, thanks to Launch.”

Starling Bank chief Anne Boden to step down after announcing six-fold profits increase

Business Matters — Thu, 25 May 2023 12:35:13 +0000

Anne Boden is stepping down as chief executive of Starling Bank, nine years after founding the company.

The Welsh businesswoman said it was the right time to step aside as it reported a record pre-tax profit of £195m, a six-fold increase on the previous year.

She will step down on 30 June, but will stay on the board and still part-own the company.

Starling was one of a few so-called challenger banks which promised to revolutionise the UK sector.

With no branches, it prides itself on its app and customer service.

Ms Boden announced her departure as the bank published its latest profits for 2022-23.

Revealing her intention to leave Ms Boden said: “It’s thrilling. When I look back at how I started Starling, I never thought we would get to this stage.

“Starling is bigger than just one person, it is bigger than a founder-led organisation. It is a piece of infrastructure that is important to the UK. We provide a real role in society.”

Ms Boden, 63, said it was “not really appropriate” for Starling to continue to have a shareholder as its chief executive. She still owns 4.9% of the company and keeps a seat on the board as a non-executive director.

Starling Bank said it has begun a global search for a new chief executive, with chief operating officer John Mountain becoming interim chief executive.

Starling has grown steadily from its initial base of personal customers, adding business accounts and acquiring a mortgage book, partly due to its purchase of Fleet Mortgages.

Ms Boden, decided to pursue her dream of launching a bank after becoming disenchanted with the banking world.

“People never believed that a 5ft tall Welsh woman in her mid-50s could do something that had never been done before,” she said.

“I had become ashamed to be a banker, I was ashamed to be part of that whole regime that had let the country down.

“I wanted to do something different, I wanted to found a bank that was really good for customers, that was fair. And people never believed I could do it and be profitable.

“So here we are, we have done it, proof positive.”

Ms Boden said Starling Bank would continue to grow and believes it can take more customers from the older, more established banks.

Starling will eventually list itself on the stock exchange, she said.

Listing a firm on a stock exchange takes it from being a private to a public company, with investors able to buy and sell shares on specific exchanges. Companies usually list on stock exchanges to gain access to a wider range of investors.

“It’s not going to be this year, but eventually Starling will list,” she said.

“It will be at the right time.”

As a result of her success with Starling, she has become a role model for women in finance. She chairs a UK government task force that aims to boost the number of women launching fast-growing businesses.

“When women get the investment, when women get the chance, they can lead great companies and lead those companies to success,” she said.

Asked for her advice for a woman from her home town of Neath who may want to start a business, she said perseverance was required.

“However, unless you start, you never know.”

Belfast young person Jemma Simpson meets His Majesty The King after winning national Princes Trust award

Business Matters — Mon, 22 May 2023 10:26:46 +0000

Jemma Simpson, 32 from Belfast, has won a prestigious national Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx and Homesense Award, after previously winning the Ulster Bank Enterprise Award in the country final.

Winner of the national NatWest Enterprise Award attended a reception yesterday at Buckingham Palace to meet His Majesty The King, Founder and President of The Prince’s Trust, who congratulated the award winners on their achievements.

Jemma was honoured at this week’s star-studded award ceremony, hosted by Ant and Dec, and attended by many celebrity supporters and Ambassadors of the youth charity. Jemma was presented her award by former professional boxer, Nicola Adams, and England Manager and former international footballer, Gareth Southgate.

The Prince’s Trust and TK Maxx & Homesense Awards recognise young people who have succeeded against the odds, improved their chances in life and had a positive impact on their local community. The NatWest Enterprise Award honours young people who have taken part in The Trust’s Enterprise course and then developed a successful business.

Despite a rocky start in life, Jemma, 32 from Belfast, realised her own potential after being made redundant during the pandemic and is now running a successful, inclusive recruitment company, Diverse Talent.

“I faced many challenges growing up. We moved house a lot and, before I was 16 years old, I’d lived in multiple places including a women’s aid refuge. As the eldest child, I felt a lot of responsibility to look after my Mum and siblings. School wasn’t a priority of mine and when I left at 16 I didn’t have much to show for it. From a very young age, my ambition was to create a better life for myself and my family.

“I got my first job at 17 years old but it required a huge change to my lifestyle. I ended up leaving the family home and living on my own. Looking back, I probably wasn’t mentally ready for it, but I had no other option. However, I pushed myself to shake off my past and focus on my career and what makes me happy. It wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I began to accept my sexuality. It was a process that took time, but I’m so proud of where I am now in my life.

“I put a lot of time and work into focusing on myself and healing from past experiences, and working in (what I thought was) my dream job. But then Covid hit, and everything changed when I was made redundant. This was a difficult time and I started to plan what to do next.

“I wanted to complete a CIPD course to become a certified HR professional and The Prince’s Trust offered me financial support with the course fee. They also provided insight into the other ways they could help, including the Enterprise programme.

“Having worked in the Recruitment industry for over 10 years, I’ve dreamt of starting a recruitment company specialising in hiring candidates into STEM jobs and matching them with companies that prioritised equity, diversity and inclusion. However, I had never acted on the idea because I was nervous when it came to understanding both the legality and HMRC-related responsibilities.

“The Prince’s Trust helped me to understand business operations, which included writing a business plan, creating a cashflow and product marketing.”

Jemma has now moved the business into premises in Belfast City Centre and employs a team to cope with demand. She is passionate about helping people find roles with ethical employers that are good places to work. Diverse Talent also sponsors a local football team called Belfast Blaze FC – Northern Ireland’s only LGBTQIA+ football team. Her company regularly hosts networking events, raises awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is a respected recruitment group within the industry.

“I have so much more self-confidence than I used to and want to make a positive change in the recruitment industry. I’m excited about what the future holds and we’re now in motion to expand Diverse Talent across the UK. I am more satisfied with life than I dreamed I could be.”

On winning the NatWest Enterprise Award, Jemma said: “I feel so fortunate to have come across The Prince’s Trust. They’ve helped me create my dream business and, in doing so, have allowed me to give back to the community too. It’s been an absolute surreal experience winning the NatWest Enterprise Award.”

Samuel Okafor Affluent Head of Client Growth, NatWest said: “As the proud sponsor of the Enterprise Award, we are delighted to name Jemma as this year’s winner. She is a very deserving winner and a true inspiration to so many young and aspiring entrepreneurs across the UK.”

Commenting on Jemma’s win, Gareth Southgate said: “Jemma is an inspiration to all young people out there. With her entrepreneurial spirit, she is a stellar example of how, with the right support, young people can achieve their dreams. I’m very excited to see what the future holds for Diverse Talent!”

Nicola Adams, presented Jemma to His Majesty yesterday. She said: “Huge congratulations to Jemma who has dedicated her career to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. She is not only making her friends and family proud with her achievements but is also making a positive change in the recruitment industry.”

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust gives young people the skills and confidence to get their lives on track. Three in four young people helped by The Prince’s Trust around the world move into work, training or education.

Secrets of Success: Verity Batchelder, co-founder, Good Life Sorted

Cherry Martin — Mon, 22 May 2023 09:18:23 +0000

Alleviating loneliness and connecting the elderly to carers quickly in their area is now possible

Lots of us live further away from our elderly parents and are not able to ‘pop in’ as often. Looking to fill that gap and prvent loneliness and worry on eithr side, Verity Batchelor has filled the gap with her platform: Good Life Sorted.

What is your USP?

We have used tech to create a unique platform that connects elderly, vulnerable people with Helpers in their area. We vet and train those Helpers, who then provide company and support to the customer. It’s not medical care or personal care, it’s helping with household tasks like shopping and light chores – providing companionship and support.

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

We alleviate loneliness, helping older or vulnerable people stay in their own homes longer.

What made you start your business – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

My co-founder Constantine’s grandmother was able to live independently, in her own home in a small Greek village, well into her late 90’s – thanks to neighbours popping in on a daily basis. We recognised that this is not always the case for people in the UK and that there was a genuine need to provide support that was not personal care but more about mental health: simply chatting, providing support, taking someone out for a walk, helping with things around the house.

What are Good Life Sorted’s brand values?

Empowerment, Reassurance, Respect, A bespoke approach, Positive energy.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Yes, absolutely. At every stage of the business, we come back to these values to ensure that the people we hire, the training we provide, the tech we develop, delivers on them.

Is team culture integral to Good Life Sorted?

Yes, especially as our ‘team’ is dotted all over the place: we operate in several regions and the Helpers, once set up with their own profiles on the site, are self-employed – they set up their own hours and pay. They do still need support and to embody the Good Life Sorted values and standards.

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

It’s mostly that support – both online and in person. The Helpers have chosen to do this role because they want to make a positive difference in their community, as well as earning an income and working with flexibility. However they still need support, so we provide a very thorough onboarding process, regular training opportunities and face to face get togethers so that they can provide support to one another. This is an emotive business, the Helpers are naturally caring people (that’s why they do it), and they do get close to their customers.

In terms of your messaging, do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Yes. This is vital – we are a tech business but our customers are not always tech-savvy, so we keep the platform simple, easy to use and focused, being clear on our offering without being patronising. The Helpers all use an app which again is very clear and has been designed as simple to use – mostly because we don’t want this to take up too much time, it’s all about efficiency and enabling the Helpers to spend more time with their customers.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

The Helpers set their own hourly rates, so they are in charge of their income. Many of them have maintained the same rates, but some have increased them a little to cover rising travel costs.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

All the time – we’re a data driven business. The data is assessed weekly and if needed, our tactics are adapted to maximise every opportunity.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

It’s always been the largest part of it! Constantine and I met at Amazon, we both come from tech backgrounds and our goal has always been to use tech to solve a human problem.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

We don’t really have any direct competitors as we’re inventing a new category. Our model is quite unique in that we are not providing medical or personal care, but instead companionship and support provided by local Helpers. Of course, anyone else working in the care industry is given our full respect. It’s an emotive and important area.

Do you have any advice for anyone starting out in business?

Don’t be afraid. Not everyone will love your idea, but if you feel it’s a good one, go for it and don’t be put off by the people who cannot see your vision. Go for it!

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I’m not the lead decision maker, I share that pleasure with my co-founder Constantine – I’d recommend that approach to anyone, as if you find the right person to set up with, it is a joy: you bring together your different skills, outlooks and provide each other with support from the get-go. But of course, I still need to recharge and refocus! I spend time with my family, I love travel and I’ve just started Yoga which I love.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

We use strategies of varying length – cycles vary according to what you are planning. We have a long-term plan, a three-year vision, then monthly and weekly planners. As a nimble digital business, we need to flex a lot. Individuals in the team are responsible for their own planning and we encourage that autonomy.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

We don’t come into the office unless needed for meetings and the tech has been created to connect our Helpers to customers near them, in order to reduce travel as much as possible. The very nature of our business is all about being local.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

We want to grow into other regions – we are mostly in the Southeast at the moment, so we want to expand rapidly across the UK as there is a real need for our provision and we are being approached by families and social workers all the time. We’re going to invest in new tech, develop the platform further and use the data even more effectively. Finally, we’d like to raise awareness of our customers’ needs more. Loneliness is a huge issue in our country and our elderly deserve a bit better. There are more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 living alone, according to Age UK – and having someone local who can be relied upon is vital.

Israeli actress Roni Nadler to invest £7M in British film industry through UK production company

Business Matters — Thu, 18 May 2023 09:40:47 +0000

Israeli actress Roni Nadler has launched a new production company in London, aiming to invest £7 million in the British film industry this year.

The newly established company, Nadleroni Inc., will open its doors this week in the vibrant neighborhood of Soho, at the heart of London, operating under the umbrella of the Roni Nadler Inc. group.

Nadler’s vision is to create fresh and impactful content through collaborations with Israeli and international organisations, with a particular focus on addressing controversial topics through documentaries and feature films.

The production company’s expansion plans include the recruitment of at least 15 professionals by year-end, encompassing scriptwriters, directors, casting managers, content experts, and film executives. Working in partnership with various stakeholders, the company aims to produce content that delves into pressing social, political, and cultural issues of our time. Roni Nadler UK aspires to invest over £120 million in productions over the next decade.

Commenting on the venture, Roni Nadlersaid, “The Israeli film industry is renowned for its development of unconventional and distinctive content. By establishing a dedicated presence in London, we are well-positioned to spearhead exciting collaborations with the British film industry.”

Nadleroni Inc. will specialise in the development and production of a diverse range of content, including feature films, documentaries, reality shows, and docu-reality shows. The team’s inaugural project, a docu-reality series, will commence filming in the near future, with further details to be announced in due course.

Secrets of Success: Naomi Bacon, Founder of Tandem Collective

Cherry Martin — Wed, 03 May 2023 14:39:39 +0000

Everyone is paid the same amount at Tandem and it works. Intrigued?

Tandem Collective is a community-led marketing agency, specialising in campaigns for the book publishing and film industries. They work closely with book, film and TV lovers on Instagram and TikTok to create immersive, unique content which is delivered directly into the communities that others are trying to reach.

Founder, Naomi Bacon takes some time from her busy schedule to share her journey in the hope that will inspire Business Matters’ readers …

What are Tandem’s USPs?

Most marketing agencies talk about being experts in community growth but they don’t have their own community around them, which feels disingenuous. We have built our entire offering around putting the community first, delivering what they want and need.

Our flat structure has made the headlines; we are all paid the same, including me. For me, the true meaning of inclusivity is that everyone is valued equally; we all have different skill sets and we are all of value. This promotes loyalty and roots out people that are self-serving or competitive in the wrong ways – that’s not what Tandem is. We are all ambitious and driven, but that’s channeled into our work rather than individual status or comparison within the company.

I recruit people without specific marketing experience; I don’t want them bringing learned behaviours from the industry, good or bad, because my team – who come from a huge variety of different professional and life backgrounds – have such a sense of multiperspectivity. They all love books, that’s how we found each other, and we operate as a hive mind – nobody owns an idea, we form them together, and that collective of different perspectives is what produces our creative and fresh ideas.

What is the main problem Tandem solves for your customers?

Resource – There simply wasn’t an agency serving the publishing industry.

Having been in-house, I was trying to work with mismatched budgets and agencies delivering proposals which weren’t relevant or right for the publishing industry. We are the only company offering this kind of service to the publishing industry, which is why we are growing so quickly globally, and we pride ourselves on offering an affordable option which understands the resource restrictions and the community to which we are marketing. Clients often comment on the creativity and enthusiasm of our team- they almost seem surprised!

What made you start Tandem? – did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

I found 9-5 corporate structure difficult in so many ways – I’m up at 5am, I like to be active and get going in the mornings, not wait until 9am. I found the rigidity very claustrophobic, and that impacted negatively upon my creativity. I also had serious family issues which needed my attention and energy, and it was not possible to juggle and progress within a corporate job while giving those issues the attention they needed. When I set up on my own, I didn’t have to go anywhere, I could still do the work I love to a high standard but I could also be present with the people I love and be there for them.

That filters down now to the whole team- life happens and we all have the space, flexibility and support to navigate that while still doing our best work. Of course we are all going to be more creative and do better work if we can go for walks, hike up mountains, hang out on the beach, spend time with our families. I don’t have to answer to anyone’s stuctures of what a work day should look like; we enjoy an incredible balance.

What are your brand values?

Courage, compassion and connection.

Courage is not about not having fear, it’s about how you deal with that fear. Starting the business was a courageous act – the most terrifying and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done – and it’s the same with every new campaign. We take leaps and we trust ourselves to do so.

Compassion – understanding that everyone is an individual, work is not a be all and end all, but that it can bring so much joy. Our team is diverse – people from all walks of life, with neurodiversity, health conditions, disabilities, differing family situations, our own challenges. And that leads me to our final value; connection.

Our connection with clients, community and team members is everything; it has to be meaningful and genuine. I wanted to create a team that would feel like a found family, and I have. We genuinely love each other and don’t have to perform or wear professional masks around each other. We treat our clients like human beings – we don’t do ‘super corporate’ – we want them to enjoy and have fun working with us, and that builds respect too; we don’t mistreat each other.

Do your values define your decision-making process?

Absolutely. They’re in everything I do.

Is team culture integral to your business?

It’s everything. We run a yearly retreat in Italy, we get together for Christmas, we travel to co-work with each other – as a fully remote team it’s crucial to have meaningful, in-person connection whenever we can. There’s no forced fun, just genuine downtime together – relaxing on the beach, eating gelato, reading together, having a laugh. We have a zero-alcohol policy at all our gatherings. We have people in recovery on the team and we’ve all seen what happens when too much alcohol is involved in work situations in our prior jobs; we have an amazing time without it and taking booze off the table – literally – makes everyone feel much more comfortable. If a boss or company feels that free booze or the occasional free pizza on a Friday is the way to their employees’ hearts, they’re missing the point and misunderstanding those individuals.

What do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

Along with the retreats and residential gatherings I run for the team, which are bigger gestures of appreciation, we have daily shows of gratitude and friendship. We each send out a ‘Thursday thank you’ to someone we’re feeling grateful for – privately rather than publicly. We have regular ‘friend chats’ where we carve out time to talk out what’s going on in our lives outside of Tandem, and we have such close friendships within the company which makes the culture quite effortless; we all enjoy being there, and it shows.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Yes, but also in an affectionate, familial way – we don’t do corporate chat. We voicenote, we have a laugh, we remove the jargon and pomp, and we don’t ‘gatekeep’; I was voicenoting a long-standing member of our community last night, just to check in, no agenda. I am very transparent with the community about the running of the company, which I think people appreciate.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

We increased 10% across all services, year on year, but remain very affordable. This price increase was necessary as we have had a substantial decrease in our profit margins due to the effects of inflation on our costs. The majority of our profits are reinvested in the company to finance current and future campaigns. We are highly dependent on this capital as we have no debt and have no plans to acquire any.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

On a monthly basis I sit with the data, but in saying that, I have never had a rigid business plan; which contributes to the success of Tandem. I look at the data but I just do the job as it presents itself. I hate the terms ‘targets’ and ‘KPI’s – sometimes you feel pressured to pull a target out of a hat, then if you don’t meet it, you feel like it’s a measure of your capability when it isn’t.

The KPIs that matter to me are values-based; do I have a happy, healthy team? Are we enjoying what we do? Do our clients keep coming back to us? Because when those things are in place, the numbers are great. If not, I go back to Connection; how can we better connect to improve things?

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of Tandem?

Our company is totally online, so we are very reliant on social media platforms, but we keep things quite simple. We are using platforms like Discord, but we try to limit the number of apps and platforms that our community need in order to engage with us; we want to encourage a balance our quality online offering with encouraging meaningful offline time.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

Competitor analysis is a huge thing for some but it’s not something I think about – firstly we don’t really have any competitors, as nobody else does what we do, and secondly I try very hard not to compare myself or this company to any other individuals or companies. I focus on our objectives, goals and successes – my brain switches off when I hear someone gloating about turnover, because it’s just not my focus. Profit doesn’t tell the full story of that company and the humans within it. It all comes back to our values; they are what matter to me.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

Nearly all decisions are made as a collective, so it’s either the entire team or the project managers and I making a final call on something together. I relax and recharge by climbing – I often work from a climbing wall – doing yoga, cycling, hiking, sitting on the beach. I start my day very early with an hour of meditation, reading, some Duolingo; anything peaceful that sets me up for the day. That sacred hour is very important. My lifestyle and environment encourages that way of recharging – I chase the sun, and right now I’m in Cape Town. I don’t work Fridays, none of the team do – we read, get inspired and recharge ourselves.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

We do have longer term goals but we work primarily in quarters, so shorter sprints – it helps us to focus on the here and now, which is why our business plan is so flexible.

What is your company’s eco strategy?

We all work remotely online, so our footprint is very small, but we used to print resources for our community and clients – now we provide all of those resources digitally to minimise our impact further. We also work with local businesses and small businesses for send-out items to minimise postage impact.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

I want to set up local pods in territories where affordable solutions haven’t – until now – been available, including India, South Africa, and smaller territories across Europe. We already have a strong presence in Italy and Spain, but I’d like to see definite expansion into Germany and France, I want to invest in individuals within those communities. I also want to develop our film and theatre offering, and we are making exciting plans in that area. Apart from that, I want things to continue as they are – a strong, happy team; creative projects rolling in; enthusiastic clients – a lifestyle business that I’m proud to be a part of.

Secrets of Success: John Cheney, CEO of Workbooks

Cherry Martin — Tue, 02 May 2023 12:31:47 +0000

Disrupting a marketplace and becoming an enabler for SME growth – hats off to John Cheney …

Workbooks is a cloud-based SaaS CRM platform that helps growing companies run their business and engage more effectively with customers. They offer affordable solutions for SMEs. They have a price point that is typically 50-70% lower than other CRM providers like Salesforce or Microsoft, so they’re enabling businesses to scale in a realistic and manageable way.

John Cheney, CEO, talks to Business Matters and shares his story …

What made you start Workbooks? Did you want to rock the status quo, was it a challenge or a gap in the marketplace that you could fill?

Before Workbooks, I founded a cloud-based email security business. As we grew, like many SMEs, we invested in various IT systems: we used Salesforce as our platform for sales, but then a separate platform for marketing automation, finance, customer services, and so on. Running a business using many different systems adds unnecessary complexity and is expensive. So, I saw an opportunity to develop a CRM and business applications platform primarily for mid-sized companies like ours.

The aim was to allow companies to build better businesses and remove the burden of managing multiple, siloed solutions. Along with traditional CRM, I wanted Workbooks to provide tools such as order processing and customer support that could join up the customer-facing side of the business and easily integrate with accounting systems.

So that was the vision: to create a business application platform for growing companies that couldn’t necessarily afford enterprise applications but needed more capability than simple and disjointed accounting, marketing, or sales tools.

What is Workbooks’ USP?

Aside from the CRM service, we also offer a Shared Success approach to new projects, which is a selling point unique to Workbooks. Many companies take a technology-first approach to choosing the right CRM, but that can be a fast track to failure. Instead, companies should start by identifying the business outcomes they want to achieve in order to identify functional goals.

Our Shared Success approach helps businesses define and prioritise their business outcomes, understand their requirements for CRM, and set clear expectations for implementing it. We invest in the success of our customers’ CRM projects in three ways:

We help customers to understand what they need from CRM software to achieve their business goals with a co-funded workshop.
We co-fund implementation to give customers a made-to-measure CRM for an off-the-shelf price.
We offer a co-funded customer success programme so customers can future-proof their business processes with a CRM that grows with them.

What is the main problem you solve for your customers?

Our CRM platform helps SMEs grow revenue, enhance customer experience, reduce operational costs, and improve decision-making by joining up the entire business. Our core CRM services extend beyond sales, marketing, and customer services to include marketing automation, event management, order management and fulfilment, invoicing, and supplier management functionalities for SMEs. We work consultatively with businesses to deliver a CRM and workflow that addresses their unique challenges. In doing so, we’re proud to say we have been rated number one for customer satisfaction by G2 for the past six years.

What are your brand values?

Our customers’ success is our success – which starts with our customers as individuals. Our overarching approach is to focus on the people we work with, and how we can help them be better at what they do. Business success will follow.

Do your values define your decision making process?

When helping a customer with their CRM implementation, it’s very important to us that the individuals we’re working with understand it. We’re willing to invest the time into ensuring they are using the tools successfully, because we know, long term, if they’re successful, they’ll continue to invest in the Workbooks platform.

Is team culture integral to your business?

I think team culture needs to be integral to any business. We have our five company values on the wall at Workbooks HQ. The most important is ‘customer first’, which is about how we, as a business, make sure we deliver the outcomes our customers are expecting. The others are: ‘committed’, ‘creative’, ‘identify opportunities and problems’, and ‘competitive’ – we like to win! But all of these company values rely on us working well as a team.

If team culture is integral to your business, what do you do to go the extra mile to show your team you appreciate them?

We have a sixth unofficial company value, which is cake. It’s important to celebrate milestones together, whether that’s winning a big deal or a birthday. We also have quarterly ‘town halls’, where I’ll provide a business update to the entire company, and as part of that process, we recognise the achievements of key individuals. We call them our Workbooks heroes.

In terms of your messaging do you think you talk directly to your consumers in a clear fashion?

Being honest, talking directly to our prospects in a clear fashion isn’t always easy. We have a diverse customer base, and we need to communicate clearly to everyone, from manufacturing to professional services firms. We are working on it, but even then, each business will have slightly different needs. What’s most important is that we understand them.

What’s your take on inflation and interest rates – are you going to pass that on to your customers or let your margins take a hit and reward customer loyalty in these tougher times?

Many of our customers are already protected because they have signed a multi-year contract with us. The price of the product remains the same during that contract period, regardless of what goes on with our public list price.

More than 75% of our customers are on multi-year contracts, so there hasn’t been any price inflation in their Workbooks licenses. However, costs are always reassessed at renewal time, and pricing may need to be adapted to inflation.

How often do you assess the data you pull in and address your KPIs and why?

I have a set of dashboards displaying data from across the business that I look at every day. We use the data to continually review and assess our performance against KPIs. We look at top-line revenue, sales performance, customer satisfaction, customer health, customer retention rates, and then key financial metrics, like billings and cash flow.

We use this data to measure our budget performance. How are we doing against where we thought we were going to be? Do we have any customer-related issues that need resolving? This last one is a particularly important part of what we do with the data daily – we want to identify potential issues for customers as early as possible and understand the reasons for them.

Is tech playing a much larger part in your day-to-day running of your company?

We make incremental and continual improvements to our technology stack, and, like many businesses, we use some technologies like video conferencing tools far more than we used to. On the whole though, technology has always played an important part in the day-to-day running of our business.

What is your attitude to your competitors?

I am grateful to our competitors. I think they add real value to us. Our largest competitors, like Salesforce, have helped create the market we operate in, and it’s against them that we can differentiate our services.

It can be a lonely and pressured place to be as the lead decision maker of the business. What do you do to relax, recharge and hone your focus?

I like cooking, and I enjoy a glass of wine. Sometimes at the same time. Preferably at the same time, actually.

Do you believe in the 12 week work method or do you make much longer planning strategies?

The short answer is yes, I believe in the 12 week work method. However, this is actually one of three things we do at Workbooks. At a high level, we have a three year business plan, which is more strategic; a 12 month financial plan, which is much more detailed and includes budgets and KPIs; and then a three month plan, which focuses on our more immediate objectives and what we are trying to deliver.

What is Workbooks’ eco strategy?

We are taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint where we can. For example, we partake in the Cycle to Work Scheme and are just about to introduce an electric car scheme. The electric car points are being installed at our offices as we speak. We are also looking at ways to run our business in a more environmentally friendly manner. For example, we are working with our suppliers to reduce the power consumption of our hardware.

What three things do you hope to have in place within the next 12 months?

International expansion is a key focus for us moving forward. In 2018, we opened an office in Connecticut to support our growth in North America, where we recently won our biggest contract to date. Within the next 12 months, we hope to grow our team in America by another five people.

We also have plans to open a third office, which will be in Europe, and we are looking to launch a new product to help our customers manage projects more effectively.

Elon Musk admits that owning Twitter has been painful

Business Matters — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 08:23:00 +0000

Elon Musk said he bought Twitter because it was the “right thing to do” but admitted that it has been “painful” and “stressful”.

The billionaire also said that the social media company is “roughly breaking even” as advertisers have started to come back.

He made the comments in an interview with the BBC which was broadcast live on Twitter Spaces and attracted more than three million listeners.

When asked if he had any regrets about buying Twitter, Musk said the “pain level has been extremely high, this hasn’t been some kind of party”.

“Were there many mistakes made a long the way? Of course,” he said. “But all’s well that ends well, I feel like we’re headed to a good place.”

Twitter has been hit by a huge decline in advertising since Musk acquired the company for $44 billion in October. Musk had said that was due to the cyclical nature of spending on advertising and some of which was “political” but most of its advertisers have returned.

He said firing thousands of staff was “not fun at all”. There are now 1,500 Twitter staff compared with nearly 8,000 when he bought it.

Concerns over Twitter’s stability have been widespread since the Musk deal.

Musk, 51, also runs Tesla, the electric carmaker, and SpaceX, the rockets and satellites group. He is the world’s second richest person, according to Bloomberg, with a $181 billion fortune largely derived from stakes in the two companies.

When asked if he would sell Twitter if he was offered the price he paid for it, he said no. He then clarified that saying he would but only if he could be sure that the buyer was as committed to telling the truth.

On tweets, he said: “Have I shot myself in the foot with tweets multiple times? Yes. I think I should not tweet after 3am.”

At one stage in the interview, Musk stopped the BBC correspondent James Clayton to remind him that he’s “no longer the CEO of Twitter”. When asked who was, Musk named his pet dog Floki, a Shiba Inu.

He added that Twitter would update the BBC’s “government-funded media” tag after the broadcaster objected to the label attached to the main @BBC account.

Musk said he has the “utmost respect” for the organisation. “We want [the tag] as truthful and accurate as possible — we’re adjusting the label to [the BBC being] publicly funded — we’ll try to be accurate,” he said.

He previously described the BBC as “among the least biased” news organisations.

The broadcaster said in a statement after the label was released: “The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee.”

On the issue of legacy verified blue ticks on Twitter, Musk said they would be all be removed from accounts by next week.

He admitted he had an “odd” relationship with the media, describing it as “love-hate, perhaps more hate”.

“The media is able to trash me on a regular basis in the US and the UK,” he said, adding that in some countries “the media can’t say mean things about powerful people”. Although he feels that it is good to have a free press, in which he and other “powerful people” can be criticised.

Lord Sugar enjoys payout after selling stake in The Apprentice star’s business

Business Matters — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 08:52:53 +0000

Lord Sugar has enjoyed a multi-million pound pay-out after selling his stake in a skincare business run by a former contestant on The Apprentice.

The business magnate and TV personality cashed in after a £200,000 investment in 2011 in Tropic Skincare, founded by entrepreneur Susie Ma.

He also acquired a 50% share in the retailer, which sells freshly made skincare and cosmetics products and is thought to have been one of Lord Sugar’s most successful investments from the BBC One business show.

The buyout of Tropic means Ms Ma will regain full ownership of the brand which she founded in 2004 at the age of 15.

Lord Sugar said the fast-growing business has been “nothing short of remarkable” since his investment, having recorded a turnover of more than £90 million in 2021 and a pre-tax profit of £10.5 million.
The value of the sale has not been disclosed but Lord Sugar is set to make a multimillion-pound profit as a result, the PA news agency understands.

Ms Ma said it has always been her “ambition” to regain ownership of the company that now sells more than 400 products and has more than 300 staff.

She added: “I will always be so grateful for the investment Lord Sugar made, and the potential he saw in Tropic Skincare with me at the helm.”

The 34-year-old, born in Shanghai in China, was a contestant on The Apprentice in 2011, coming third but still managing to secure investment after the series ended.

Lord Sugar said: “Susie is a shining example of what it is to be a business owner today. When I first met Susie in 2010, I saw a unique grit and determination and it’s a drive she has maintained over the years.

“Following the company’s fantastic trajectory over the last few years, it’s now the right time to part ways and allow Susie the space to take the company to new heights.”

Ms Ma, who is also the chief executive of Tropic, said she plans to launch a new website, refresh the branding and roll out new products.

Series 17 of The Apprentice ended last month with winner Marnie Swindells receiving a £250,000 investment to develop her boxing gym concept.

Getting To Know You: Melissa Snover, Founder & CEO, Nourished

Business Matters — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 15:57:29 +0000

Melissa Snover, talks about the inspiration that led her to creating the world’s first truly personalised nutrient gummy which has seen them become a finalist in the growth business of the year category of the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do at ‘Nourished’

I am the Founder & CEO of the business. Here at Nourished, we pride ourselves on being the world’s first truly personalised nutrient gummy. It’s unique in the market because it rejects the one size fits all approach to vitamin supplementation and puts the needs of the customer at the centre.

Consumers can complete a short lifestyle quiz on our website, where upon completion, a science-backed algorithm makes a recommendation of seven vitamins, superfoods and nutrients best suited to the user’s lifestyle, body and goals.

Nourished delivers bespoke customer orders on demand in 100% plastic-free packaging, with less waste, hassle and cost than purchasing all of the vitamins separately. We are able to take this approach thanks to our unique, patented 3D printing technology, which allows the seven-layered gummy stacks to be manufactured bespoke on demand.

Now is a really exciting time for the business as we explore new markets and continue to expand upon our initial success. We have recently partnered with huge brands such as Neutrogena and Colgate and continue to seek out opportunities to further our offering.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

It was actually a rather amusing story that kickstarted the idea for Nourished. As an avid consumer of vitamins for over a decade, I used to take a large bag on my business trips of different pills, tablets, and supplements. A full cocktail of supplementation!

This was always a nightmare at airport security, having to remove the bag for the scanner. On one such occasion, I accidentally dropped the bag and sent pills sprawling across the floor! I had to crawl around in my suit and heels, picking them up – quite the ordeal! I knew there had to be a more convenient way to take vitamins, and the idea for Nourished was born.

Our personalised vitamin stacks solve that issue, amongst others, by providing convenient, easy-to-take chewable gummies, allowing travellers to pack just one gummy for each day of their trip – rather than a cocktail of different pills.

Who do you admire?

I admire my CTO, Martyn Catchpole, who is an incredible 3D printing expert in the industry. He has demonstrated remarkable technical skills and leadership qualities, developing the prototype for Nourished in just 18 months and continuously optimising the technology, enabling the company to respond to customer demands, improve, and grow rapidly. Working with him since 2015, I have seen firsthand his passion, dedication, and drive, which has been an inspiration to me.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

Yes, there are definitely some things I would have done differently. I have learned that confidence and self-belief are crucial to success in business, and I regret not realising that earlier in my entrepreneurial career. I made mistakes along the way, including not trusting my instincts, which led to set-backs. I also realised that it’s important to surround yourself with a passionate and dedicated team who you can rely on. In my first venture, I tried to handle everything myself, but it wasn’t sustainable or scalable. However, at Nourished, I have a fantastic team who provides support and allows me to focus on top-line strategies, raising investment, and expanding into new markets. Delegating responsibilities has been key to ensuring the longevity of the business.

What defines your way of doing business?

My approach to doing business is centred around teamwork and trust. I am fortunate to have a highly talented and dedicated team, including my CTO Martyn Catchpole and COS Caitlin Stanley, who have been working with me since 2015 and who have both been instrumental to our success. I believe that working together with a positive and fun attitude is crucial to achieving great results.

Through experience, I have learned that you can’t control everything and that having the right team in place is essential to success. I focus on finding experts in their respective fields and ensuring they are committed to our vision.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

As an entrepreneur, there will always be factors you cannot control when starting your business. Resilience to these is such an important aspect of running a business. Ensuring you have a trusted and passionate team around you, who share your vision, will allow you to overcome challenges and find solutions that lead to success.

Commit your time and efforts into establishing your brand and compile data, so you know exactly what your customers want. It is important to create a business that delivers a clear benefit to the end consumer, rather than just developing a product which you think is cool.

I also think networking is hugely important for advancing your career in business. I find it incredibly interesting speaking to other people in my field at events across the country and abroad, to learn how they face challenges and grow their businesses.

Nourished are a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the Growth Business of the Year

Getting To Know You: Charlie Betty, founder, Charlie Betty Beauty

Business Matters — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 16:21:55 +0000

Charlie Betty, the founder of her own beauty brand tells Business Matters about the background to her company born from a facebook group in lockdown 2020

What do you currently do?

I am the owner of Charlie Betty Beauty, a cosmetics brand based in South Yorkshire.

I’m pretty much a one woman band here so I’m in charge of the social media, marketing, customer service, picking and packing, blog writing and development of our products, thankfully my husband is a photographer and graphic designer so he’s always on hand to help me out with the product photography and lends his expertise for the designing of the products and website!

What was the inspiration behind your business?

Charlie Betty Beauty was actually formed from a facebook group in lockdown 2020, I was in the deepest pit with my depression, with nowhere to go and missing communication, I didn’t want anyone else to suﬀer the way I was, so I decided to start a Facebook group for people who were in the same boat, women who struggled with mental health issues, who were lonely, who just needed a little normality in these awful times, with a theme of beauty, skincare and fashion, the group was just a lovely space to make friends and connections and just talk.

I’d worked in the beauty industry for about 12 years at that point and it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to express and create my own version of beauty.

I’d experienced a lot of stigma in beauty salons and similar places I’d worked, I felt like I wasn’t ‘normal’ enough, with the way I looked, my interests, I was always the odd one out, I wasn’t stereo-typically beautiful, I didn’t ﬁt in with the cliques.

So through my past experiences and the support of the girls and accidental market research in the group, I took the leap and I bootstrapped my ﬁrst makeup product, I wanted to create something ‘for the underdogs’, something to prove you didn’t have to look a certain way, or be a certain way, to really solidify what we had learnt and spoke about in the group, a representation of the community we had built.

I based my ﬁrst product on my own journey of self-discovery which I gained through the group, and around spiritualism and nature which really helped me through my hardest times.

Who do you admire?

In general, I have always surrounded myself with people who inspire me to be a better person, people who have built empires from the ground up and stayed humble. I think someone who wills to empower others so selﬂessly is the most inspirational quality they could have.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done diﬀerently?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, however I’m a ﬁrm believer in learning from your mistakes, in the ﬁrst year of the business, I deﬁnitely lacked planning and structure, I didn’t really look very far into the future when I started this business, I didn’t actually expect it to grow so quickly, and as much as I wish I’d had the structure in place back then, it really did teach me to think on my feet and I kind of appreciate that!

What deﬁnes your way of doing business?

Our business was built on being open and honest with our community and that’s something that we will always be, we started this by getting down to the nitty and gritty details of real life, and by being personable, humble and true to ourselves, in turn we hope that by doing this, we will empower our community to do the same.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

You’re always going to make mistakes in business, learn from them and always strive to be better, don’t be disheartened by setbacks and criticism, use them to your advantage!

Listen to your body and your mind, take your time with the process, and don’t exhaust yourself.

I think the most important thing is to not lose your focus, always remember your ‘why’ and everything will be worthwhile in the long run.

Charlie Betty Beauty are a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the Community Business of the Year

Getting To Know You: Dr. Vidal J Bharath, Chief Commercial Officer, Bramble Energy

Business Matters — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 04:11:09 +0000

Dr. Vidal J Bharath, talks about the inspiration behind his fuel cell technology company which has seen them become a finalist in the scale-up and market disruptor category of the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do at ‘Bramble Energy’

Having started at Bramble Energy as its Chief Operations Officer, I oversaw its growth from just three employees to its current 75. I have now moved into the Chief Commercial Officer role as we rapidly scale and commercialise our technology with go-to-market partners to decarbonise a wide range of applications and industries.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

Starting out as just an idea in the labs, our company was founded as a spin-out of UCL and Imperial College London by our CEO, Dr Tom Mason, with an overriding ambition to help the world transition to net zero. Solving the climate crisis is the biggest challenge humanity will face and we desperately need solutions that are viable, scalable and low-cost. Our printed circuit board fuel cell (PCBFC) technology answers many of the issues that has stopped fuel cell technology becoming a go-to decarbonisation solution.

Who do you admire?

Ryan Reynolds. He has an understanding of brand and commercialisation like no one else. Not only has he successfully established himself as a versatile and popular actor, and has also made smart investments in various companies such as Wrexham Association Football Club, a small team from the north of Wales. Reynolds has a unique ability to identify opportunities and turn them into profitable ventures, as evidenced by the success of the team under his ownership. He’s also shown a keen sense of humour and marketing savvy, using social media to engage with fans and promote his projects in a way that sets him apart from his peers. With his combination of talent, intelligence, and marketing skills I truly believe he could ‘sell ice to the Eskimos’ – it’s a truly inspirational gold touch that I and many other aspiring entrepreneurs and business people admire.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it can also be a hindrance to your journey. I certainly don’t have any regrets as to where we are today as a business: the opportunities we currently have to make a real impact are a direct result of where we have been and the decisions we have made.

What defines your way of doing business?

Speed and adaptability. Our journey has been as fast-paced as our technology is. With any new innovation you have to be agile in your approach and this goes across all areas of the business. What you may have thought was your bestroute because it seemed to make the most sense, may actually turn out to be wrong. Being prepared to pivot and adapt to new circumstances is vital.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Never. Give. Up.

Everyday there will be challenges to face and some may even make you feel like you are heading back to square one. But try to embrace failure – it’s a natural part of the learning process. Rather than being discouraged by setbacks, face them head-on with persistence and determination, using them as opportunities to learn and grow. There are lessons you can only learn from failing that will make you better, faster and stronger in the future.

Bramble Energy are a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the Scale Up and Make Disruptor category.

Getting To Know You: Ava Whetstone-Magee: founder, Avalanche Equestrian

Business Matters — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 11:05:17 +0000

Ava Whetstone-Magee, the founder of Avalanche Equestrian talks about the lightbulb moment which led her to start her business at the age of 13, which has seen her become a finalist in the young entrepreneur of the year category of the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do at Avalanche Equestrian?

As Founder of Avalanche Equestrian I look after every aspect of my business. We have a small team of staff so my role consists of managing them and their time as well as designing new products and bringing them to market.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

I remember clearly when the idea for Avalanche first came to me. It was winter. I was standing in a field up to my knees in mud with the sun setting.

I soon realised I couldn’t see my horse and no one could see me, being able to see and be seen is where is all began.

This was the moment I developed the SeeMe range of clothing and from this point onwards Avalanches ethos has always been to design clothing that has a practical and stylish but designed for a purpose .

Who do you admire?

That is a very good question, however difficult to answer. There are so many people that have influenced my success but no one singular person I can honestly say that I admire totally because there are so many.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

When I started Avalanche Equestrian I was only 13 years old. I received a lot of negative comments and criticism at school in the attempt to belittle me.

The honest truth is, it set me back, I started to wish I’d never started Avalanche and should just keep my head down. It then occurred to me the reason why this was happening and I used that frustration and drive to prove a point.

Looking back now I would really wish I didn’t care as much as much at the time about the negative comments however the irony is, it drove my ambitions further.

This is one of the reasons why I want to launch a Young Entrepreneur Academy for children who have drive and ambition. Just because we are young, our ideas and plans for our future should be nurtured and guided not overlooked.

What defines your way of doing business?

Customer focused, listen to our customers, give them what they want. It’s a simple ethos but it works.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Plan your business, look at the market and find your niche, do the ground work and put the effort in. You have to resign yourself to the fact it won’t make money overnight and whatever money you do make has to go straight back into the business. In essence, prepare yourself for alot of hard work with little financial reward to start with. If you can reconcile this and still believe in your business then do it and don’t look back.

Ava Whetstone-Magee is a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category.

Getting To Know You: Will Polston, founder, Will Polston Coaching & Training

Business Matters — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 13:51:06 +0000

Will Polston, talks to Business Matters about how helping ambitious owners to maximise their potential has resulted in him becoming a finalist in the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do at Will Polston Coaching and Training

I develop ambitious business owners to live a life they love by mastering their mindset, productivity, and efficiently. We do this by running a range of coaching services including an online academy, online accelerator, in person mastermind, and 1:1 coaching.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

I grew up with a belief that money equals happiness, back in 2013 I had an eye and heart opening moment that lead me to realise that my belief that money equaled happiness was not the case and that the real driver was to do with my dad and how I perceived him not achieving his full potential which had an impact on him, my mum, me and all the family.

In that moment, I vowed, I did not want anyone else to go through the suffering of not achieving their full potential and set out on my quest to learn anything to do with human awareness, human potential, and human behaviour to enable people to transform excuses into results and live a life that they love.

Who do you admire?

Throughout my life I have had many mentors and people that influence me that I admire and trust, some of the most notable for me are my Uncle Mark, Tony Robbins, and Dr John Demartini.

I am also a huge fan of the NLP tool, modeling. There are dozens of traits or actions that individuals have or do that I aspire to model from people’s kindness to their communication, from their fashion style to their leadership qualities.

Looking up to others and incorporating these qualities is a blueprint that I have used for many years, and I will continue to do so.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

Whilst I am very aware that everything happens for a reason and every challenge that I have ever faced whilst not necessarily loving them at the time I am grateful for them as they have shaped me to become the person that I am today, however, if there was one thing that I would go back and do or tell my younger self it would be to save 10% of everything I ever earnt and never spend that money only ever reinvest it as this not only gives a safety blanket it can create an ever growing resource that can be leveraged upon to do bigger and greater things with more ease.

What defines your way of doing business?

My mission in life is something I refer to as the “ripple effect” which is about me achieving my full potential not only benefitting myself but my family, my friends, my community, society, and humanity. I like to think that the way I do business is mirrored to this which creates win, win, win results for me, my team, and our clients. Additionally, I think all my business activities are aligned to that mission and getting people to live a life that they love.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Surround yourself with people that are further ahead on the journey to you to speed up the learning process, get really clear on what you want in the short, medium, and long term. Be willing to adapt and innervate and understand that there is no such thing as failure only feedback.

Ensure you have a good understanding of business financials this does not mean that you need to do a MBA but simply get a good accountant or financial professional to explain the differences between profit and loss, cashflow forecasts, and balance sheets. Ensure that you’re using and implementing profit and loss, and cashflow forecasts early on as they will help you sleep better at night and give you a stronger basis to grow from.

Will Polston is a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the Business Enabler category.

Getting To Know You: Wayne Janse Van Rensburg, Chief Executive, Learndirect

Business Matters — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 11:24:42 +0000

Wayne Janse Van Rensburg, Chief Executive of education company Learndirect talks to Business Matters about the inspiration behind their business, which has seen them become a finalist in the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do at learndirect?

I am the CEO of learndirect. It is my responsibility to manage all of the operations of the company and ensure that we, as a business, continue to uphold our vision, mission and values.

This is especially important give the fact that we are a provider of adult education where tens of thousands of learners come to us each year to take that next step in changing their lives, something I am very proud of.

As CEO I aim to inject a natural fast pace approach, passion and enthusiasm to the business that creates a level of excitement and inspires my fantastic team to think big and bold.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

learndirect is all about social mobility. It is about preparing and enabling people to take the next step in their education to allow them to make a positive impact in their lives.

The inspiration behind the business is to be the catalyst for change and allow our learners to make that change at a time and place that they can fit around their own lives. This is why people chose learndirect as we offer online learning opportunities that people can fit around their own lives.

Who do you admire?

My grandfather was actually one of the early ‘pioneers’ of home learning. He set up and ran a very successful correspondence college (where course materials were posted out and the answers posted back to the college). I began working in his business at the age of 13. He taught me a lot about business, resilience and the value of money, so I appreciate the early impact he made on my professional life.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

I am a great believer in no regrets. For me, the most important thing in life is to learn from your mistakes. I have no doubt I could have made different decisions/done things differently, however I believe that had I, I would be in a different position than the one we are in as a business today. Given I am extremely proud of where we are as a business and the trajectory we are on, I am ultimately proud of the decisions made to date.

What defines your way of doing business?

Innovation, passion and leading a team to deliver a fast paced, forward-thinking business. Being astute at spotting opportunities, taking calculated risks when assessing them and quickly taking innovations to market. We are nothing without our team, so keeping them motivated, passionate and proud to work for the business is key to success.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Business is not easy. You can never underestimate the importance of resilience. Don’t waste time dwelling on mistakes, but rather learn from them and move forwards. Business is not part-time, it requires total focus.

Learndirect are a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the Business Growth Category

Getting To Know You: Andy Watson, founder, Aberdeen Diving Services

Business Matters — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 13:47:13 +0000

Andy Watson, founder, Aberdeen Diving Services, talks to Business Matters about how his passion for diving has led his company to become a finalist in the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do?

As the founder of Aberdeen Diving Services, I am responsible for equipment servicing and Padi Specialist instructor within the business. ADS is still very much a growing business and we are always growing our team and I will hopefully be able to share some of my responsibilities to the fantastic team we have.

I am a Padi diver through and through and have been over the moon to be able to bring a Padi diver centre back to the NE Scotland. I have a strong passion and belief that diving can be for anyone from any walk of life. Through dedication, passion and my absolute love of diving have made this become a reality.

I have had a varied working background from events management to off shore survival training, with all the varied skills I have managed to collate over my working life have now been able to push ADS to what it has become today and will be the driving factor for where it will go in the future.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

Aberdeen Diving Services was officially born as a ltd company on 7^th October 2020. After being a Padi diver for nearly a decade and Safety diving in oil and gas as well as diving equipment servicing.

I wanted to get back into my passion of diving and teaching diving since there hadn’t been a Padi dive centre in the NE for several years.

After gaining extensive press and award coverage we ADS had gone from a small relatively unknown company to the go to company for anything diving! This has included being the first to call for all diving enquires from not only recreational diver but also large scale diving companies for oil and gas both on and off shore.

We have recently been able to say we can teach anyone to dive we have had divers with both physical and learning difficulties who we have been able to assist with adaptive techniques on the required skills to being there to assist with reading and scribing for exams.

Keeping training fun is our aim and what we do best. No one wants to have to do exams outside work of education but we make this fun and have had rave reviews from all of our students who always come back to us for there continued education in diving.

Who do you admire?

I look up to business owners who keep work fun and build a family rather than a team of staff. Im a huge believer of if you do what you love you will never work a day in your life!

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

Since starting ADS I do look back at what I have done and if I would change anything. I believe there is no such thing as a mistake but just another way you have found that is didnt work. Im very grateful for all of our customers and clients who have used a small business rather than a large scale company.

ADS has been completely self funded and feel this has kept the business even closer to my heart, I am extremely grateful in what ADS has become and cant wait to see where it will go next!

What defines your way of doing business?

I think that I treat all team as an extension of my family and they know they can speak there opinions without the thought they will be lost. All of our customers are treated how I would treat anyone im open and honest with them all and wouldn’t say ADS can do something if they cant. When a customer comes to me for advise they know they get the same advice I would give any of my team if they asked the same questions.

Im quite open to the fact I don’t know everything and if I don’t know the answer I will come back to them with the answer and reach out to my network.

Every day is a School day!

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Do it! It’s a scary process and you never know the future but just keep on pushing and you will get there! If you want something enough you will achieve it. You will have many day you feel down but its how quickly you brush it off and get back up that makes the difference

Aberdeen Diving Services are a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the ScoreApp SME Business of the Year category.

Getting To Know You: Ronan Finnegan, co-founder, Spacebands

Business Matters — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 08:31:15 +0000

Ronan Finnegan, co-founder of safer workplace company Spacebands talks to Business Matters about the inspiration behind their business, which has seen them become a finalist in the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do at Spacebands?

As one of the co-founders at Spacebands I am responsible for product Development, Web Development, Business Development, Finance, Marketing and HR within the business.

We are building the team at the moment and hopefully many of these responsibilities will be issued to great team members very soon!

I am an Entrepreneur with a varied business background. I have a strong belief that anything is possible with enough time, dedication, persistence and optimism.

I have had a range of previous businesses: a social distancing tech company, a mobile app development firm (orDonate), a marketing agency (Search and Social), a hardware repair eBay business (buying and selling damaged phones and laptops), an attempt on creating a vegan protein snack brand (Tempe), an affiliate sim card channel, an arbitrage betting company, a waterproof wallet lifestyle brand…

What was the inspiration behind your business?

Spacebands started in March 2020. After gaining extensive press coverage and 1000+ customers globally with our social distancing device (including the NHS, MoD, Panasonic, Sony & Amazon), we are now pivoting to create a new multi-feature hazard alert system that will aim to change the future of workplace safety, well-being and insurance.

The brand-new wearable and SaaS platform (app and web-app) will alert for a multitude of hazards that aims to protect businesses by preventing workplace injuries, reducing staff sickness, enabling workplace wellness whilst collating a paper trail of live safety data points. Employers will be able to make informed decisions about their workplace safety and will be able to monitor workplace stressors whilst prompting employees to action wellness at work.

Privacy is at the forefront of development, all data will be anonymous unless the wearable user (employee) decides to attribute it to themselves manually. Effectively, an employee can decide if they want to track their safety and stress at work and if not, their company can still benefit from the company-wide dataset.

Who do you admire?

I look up to business owners who are able to build cultures that don’t ‘feel like work’. I read Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard and it was a real inspiration for me.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

For the first two years of the business, Harry and I were self-funded, in hindsight, seeking investment previously would have sped up our growth, but nevertheless we are very grateful for our what we have achieved.

What defines your way of doing business?

I believe that I treat all interpersonal relationships in the same way. I am open and honest with all partners, employees and investors (I don’t put on a front), by which I believe that respect is mutually shared and this helps everyone. I often tell people that I don’t know the answer and am often told how to improve as a result. Life is for learning!

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

The only thing stopping you from starting is yourself. Put one foot forward and the next one will eventually follow. Learning can always be done if there is perseverance following it!

Spacebands are a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the Business Innovation Category

Getting To Know You: Jonny Duggan, Chief Executive Officer, AnnexusPartners

Business Matters — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 10:49:12 +0000

Jonny Duggan, Chief Executive Officer, AnnexusPartners talks to Business Matters about the inspiration behind their business, which has seen them become a finalist in the 2023 Business Champion Awards

What do you currently do at ‘AnnexusPartners’?

I am Co-Founder of AnnexusPartners, incorporating AnnexusEV. I also hold the role of Chief Executive Officer, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day running and the growth of the business. Ultimately as CEO of a start-up, my role is to make sure the business doesn’t run out of money. It’s as simple as that.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

During one of the numerous lockdowns the UK faced in the pandemic, I watched a Sir David Attenborough documentary which inspired me. Both businesses were founded out of a passion for making a difference. AnnexusEV came first. I had spent some time working in the energy sector, both on a city trading floor and in a commercial brokerage.

Between the automotive sector and the energy sector, both our Co-Founder Gerard and I felt that electric vehicle drivers were not getting the support they needed when it came to charging their vehicle.

We felt that drivers needed advice, guidance and ultimately a simplified approach to the confusing world of EV charging. AnnexusEV was set up with this in mind, to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ to drivers who needed a home EV charge point installing. We set the business up to be fully independent, partnering with the best brands in the EV charging world and offering nationwide installation.

From there, our business grew into the fleet sector when AnnexusEV became part of the IFC Group in October 2021. The business now services a growing number of fleet clients, offering selection and installation of EV charge points residentially and commercially.

In 2023, AnnexusPartners launched. A consultancy that incorporates AnnexusEV and is focused on making UK businesses more sustainable. AnnexusPartners is working with organisations to reduce their carbon intensity through three key headings: Charging Infrastructure, Sustainability and Data. More information can be found on the AnnexusPartners website.

Who do you admire?

The main influence on me from a business perspective is my Dad. He inspired me to want to start my own business and he is someone I admire greatly for what he has achieved. It’s great to be in business with him and my brother at AnnexusPartners.

I have taken inspiration from many leaders over the years. If I was to pick someone in the sustainability and EV world that I admire, it would be Jordan Brompton of myenergi. What she has achieved alongside Co-Founder Lee Sutton is nothing short of remarkable.

Outside of the sustainability space, I am a big fan of various sports. Businesspeople in sport such as Eddie Hearn and Sir Clive Woodward are both men that I look up to. What Eddie has achieve with Matchroom globally is very impressive, and his ability to promote and sell an event is second to none. What Sir Clive Woodward has achieved in business and in rugby, as well as his leadership style, is inspiration to many including me.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

I don’t see the benefit in looking back negatively or in regretting any decisions, each decision teaches us something. In terms of doing something differently, I would’ve had the confidence to start a business earlier. I waited until I was 29 to co-launch my first business and I would be further along if I had started earlier. That being said, I have learnt an awful lot from working in other people’s businesses over the years. This has stood me in good stead to run my own business.

What defines your way of doing business?

My way of doing business is influenced by honesty, trust and high performance. We measure our business on the triple bottom line; Planet, People and Profit. The environment has a big impact on how we conduct ourselves as a business.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Just start. That’s it. Don’t worry about having millions of pounds or lots of clients. Start with a strong plan and have the flexibility to be able to pivot quickly. As a start-up, flexibility is key to winning business off more established businesses with a higher headcount and higher overheads. Surround yourself with people better than you and most of all, enjoy the journey!

AnnexusPartners are a finalist in this years Business Champion Awards in the New Business Category

Getting To Know You: Shiraz Master, Managing Director, Simply Doughnuts

Business Matters — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 11:37:00 +0000

As part of our series profiling the finalists of the Business Champion Awards 2023 we spoke to Shiraz Master, the founder of Simply Doughnuts, who are a double finalist in this years awards.

What do you currently do at Simply Doughnuts?

As managing director, I’m naturally involved in all aspects of the business.

In any given week, I spend a lot of time on client liaison – gathering feedback from supermarkets and other retail customers and making sure that we’re responding to their needs and priorities. Over the last year, for example, there has been a big swing towards net zero agendas, so we’re doing a lot more to measure carbon impacts and to adopt the carbon auditing systems that some of the major multiples demand.

That also touches on another important aspect of my work, which is about investment in plant, premises and training: putting everything in place to increase production capacity, reduce process waste, boost efficiency and to do all that while maintaining our AA+ quality rating from the BRCGS.

In the last year, we’ve increased our output capacity by around half a million doughnuts per week, and that has coincided with significant energy efficiency improvements and a new waste management policy that has diverted 100% of our waste from landfill.

We’ve also greatly reduced food miles within the supply chain by extending our ‘buy local’ policy to include packaging and other non-food elements.

I’m also closely involved in new product development, which has been the backbone of the company since its formation. We have developed a range of doughnuts that stay fresh in ambient conditions for 34 days and this helps retailers to minimise their risks of waste-related losses; product having to be discarded because it passes its use-by date.

This has become an ever more important selling point for our products and we continue to make huge R&D efforts to extend those shelf-lives even further.

More recently, I have been spending more and more time on export sales and marketing. We’re making great progress in the Gulf States now, having agreed deals with hypermarkets in countries such as Qatar and UAE. We’ve had help from the Department for International Trade and we’ve taken part on several trade missions.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

It started when I was still working in the forecourt retail sector. I kept seeing customers coming in and looking for sweet, fresh, ‘on the go’ snacks that they could take with them in their cars, into work and so on. Doughnuts would have been great for that but, in a small retail environment, we didn’t have the freezer space to store large stocks of product. And even if we had, we didn’t usually have the time free to spend freezing and thawing it for display.

That got me thinking how popular doughnuts would be if we could only find some that could be stored at ambient temperatures, and which would last more than just two days, which is still typical of conventional doughnuts.

But such a product didn’t exist. It was either a question of buying fresh and having to face 2-day shelf-lives and expensive losses due to waste, or buying frozen and somehow finding the room and the staff time to handle all the freezing and thawing requirements. It wasn’t commercially viable to risk either, so I started to wonder what would be involved in making a long-lasting doughnut myself.

In 2011, I began looking around for food scientists and labs in Britain and Europe and began to get a sense that with the right processes and conditions, we really could create something that would last well, taste great and sell well in forecourts, supermarkets and other outlets. In 2012, I launched the business, and we’ve been growing ever since.

Whom do you admire?

I really admire my parents, who instilled values in me that are still incredibly important to the business. My father was a natural and dedicated entrepreneur. He showed me the value of determination and hard work, and of always being calm, fair and honest.

My late mother was an inspiration; an example of the importance of ‘soft’ interpersonal skills. She always made time to provide lots of support and affection.

She was very compassionate and had a real philosophy of ‘giving.’ For any employer who values his or her workforce, these are important values to remember.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

There are always small things, especially when it comes to new product development and trying out something that is genuinely completely new. We went down plenty of blind alleys in our R&D work, but that’s the nature of the work: we’re pioneering new process technologies and there’s always an element of trial and error in that. If I’d had a magic wand, then of course we’d have skipped the errors, but that’s all an inevitable part of it.

To be realistic, I don’t think there is much that I would do differently if I were doing it all again. I think we took the right approach. We identified the best possible partners for the job, we took advantage of their immense scientific expertise, and we had enough faith in their advice to invest the time and money to make things happen.

Yes, there have been products that we trialled and subsequently withdrew but, in general, the long shelf-life technology has been a huge success and a growing number of retailers are now stocking our products both in the UK and overseas.

What defines your way of doing business?

It’s very customer-led. Everything we do is the result of looking outward and trying to gauge what retailers and consumers are looking for. In the last few months, for example, we’ve been busy meeting supermarket category buyers, wholesalers and consumers in the Gulf States.

We’ve been gathering feedback on what flavours people prefer, how and when they buy, and whether there is anything else we need to understand. On the back of that, we have developed some new vanilla-based flavour variants and we’ve introduced some new pack sizes and packaging options.

But the same principle applies to everything. In the UK, for example, we’re constantly looking for new ways to reduce waste and, most recently, trying to find anything at all that we can do to insulate ourselves against rising cost pressures.

That all helps us to keep our wholesale prices down, which is obviously a real priority for supermarkets who are trying to support their shoppers.

We’ve also recently introduced a new vegan product, which responds to a growing market, and developed a long-lasting sugar glaze. The list really does go on, but it’s always about meeting underlying customer demand.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

In our case, I think that one of the things that really helped us was our decision to begin by seeking out the best advice that we could. It’s really important to set out in the right direction, and for a new entrepreneur, that direction isn’t always clear.

But there are experienced people out there who can provide technical input, market intelligence, real-world commercial feedback and so on. It might feel daunting to invest in securing that input, but as an investment, it’s well worthwhile.

Simply Doughnuts is a finalist in the Business Innovation and Diversity & Inclusion Categories in the Business Champion Awards 2023

Getting To Know You: Philip Atkinson, Managing Director, BTS Facades & Fabrications

Business Matters — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 05:35:37 +0000

Philip Atkinson, managing director of North East-based manufacturing firm, BTS Facades and Fabrications tells Business Matters more about the direction of his carbon neutral business

What do you currently do at BTS Facades and Fabrications?

I’m the managing director at BTS Facades & Fabrications. I lead a forward-thinking manufacturing business which employs a team of 50.
We specialise in facades and fabrications and strive for precision manufacturing, which is much how I see my role. I drive the business forward, ensuring we’re an attractive company to work both with and for.

The project I’m currently working on entails making BTS a sustainable company, and over the past year I have been exploring and learning about the options we have.

Since I started exploring environmentally-friendly alternatives, we’ve made a number of steps into becoming more sustainable, and have even achieved a carbon neutral status, with aims of achieving NetZero by 2030.

Additionally, I am also committed to ensuring BTS becomes a B Corp organisation with a stakeholder business model.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

It’s all I’ve ever known; my father brought me into his roofing and cladding business in 1985, and 36 years later I’m still in the cladding game.

However, I have spent the last 13 years as the managing director of a new entity, BTS, which has been going strong since 2009.
My inspiration was to do it better than I knew; I learned so much in my previous tenure, but it also taught me to do things better and engage better and lead with passion and vigour.

Who do you admire?

I admire strong leaders such as Alan Sugar. I’ve read his book and take empowerment from his humble start to where he is now. I spent my first 12 years in business on a factory floor, so feel I share a similar journey.

The modest start to my career enabled me to learn every aspect of my trade, but also gave me the drive to do more, even if it did mean taking a pay cut – I knew it would be worth it in the end.

I also admire my two former bosses. One taught me to have a strong work ethic, and the other boss encouraged me to enjoy every working day – both lessons are still true to this day.

I also admire my father, a self-made man who, at 82, still comes into the business and offers advice at board meetings and can often be seen on the other end of a machine late on a night to help hit customer delivery dates.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

I took the step to go on my own at 39. In hindsight, I wish I had done it 10 years earlier. However, after speaking with my former boss, we both agreed I probably wasn’t ready. I suppose you have to trust the process sometimes.

If there is one thing I could change it would to have seen more of my kids growing up, but the sacrifice has paid dividends as I’m now an 8-hour-a-day man and have lots of holidays and spend every minute I can with my wife and family.

I’ve really enjoyed every minute of it though; it’s been a dream come true.

What defines your way of doing business?

I’m a ‘doer’. If I’m asked to do something, I ensure it’s completed with passion and integrity. I lead with a love for what I do and pride of the business’s accomplishments. I take sales personally and strive to have brilliant relationships with our tier one customers and suppliers.

I aim to have an engaged workforce who share my vision, I do this through taking a hands-on approach with my team, I love to work closely with them to encourage them to grow within the business and come through the ranks.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Honestly, just work hard. It’s really tough at times, but if you love what you do it’s rewarding. My door is always open if anyone is in need of any advice.

During my time as an MD, I have learned it can be a little lonely, my advice is to mould a team that shares your vision and supports you.
Additionally, I have found that engagement and strategy is key.

Engage closely with every member of staff and be transparent. Have a plan, and stick to it, but ensure your team are involved in the decision-making process.

BTS Fabrications are a finalist in the Sustainable Business of the year category of the Business Champion Awards