Success Stories
Carlton Seizes the chance of a lifetime
Thanks to the New Entrepreneur Scholarship Scheme, last year Carlton James seized the chance of a lifetime and opened his own clothing store. Now ICON is trading well at 93 Eastgate Street in Gloucester and Carlton, 43, is plotting steady business growth.
"I'm proud of ICON, but I couldn't have done it without support," he said. "I knew little about setting up and running a business properly, but thanks to the NES scheme I had access to experts who helped me develop my business knowledge. I was also granted financial help which helped fund the fitting out of the shop and the purchase of stock."
Carlton's NES training and support of a business mentor from Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services, helped him turn his ideas into reality, and gave him the confidence to plan ahead.
"Thanks to the NES, I learned that the more you know, the more you can do," he added.
Over the years Carlton had done a number of jobs, including three years in the Army when he first left Longlevens School, but he always dreamed of working for himself.
"The NES scheme was perfect for me," he said. "It's given me a valuable insight into running a business and shown me that good support can help you achieve things you never thought you were capable of."
"If you're given the chance of a NES Scholarship, and you've got the ideas and commitment, don't let it slip out of your hands."
For more information and to find out whether you are eligible, call 01242 864200 and speak to one of the team.
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Boo Flooring is Growing with Help from GEBS
From a standing start five years ago, Boo Flooring is now on the brink of expansion as it plans the opening of its latest outlet in Chepstow.
Set up in 2003 by Jonathan (Booey) and Emma Letheren who started trading from a small shop in Lydney in 2003, Boo Flooring has now established itself so well that last year it moved into premises twice the size in the town and is now about to open in Chepstow.
The business sells and fits a huge variety of floorings and Emma thinks the reason the business has been so successful is because of their wide range of stock, from carpets and laminate wooden flooring to stone and vinyl, and their high standard of service.
This Autumn, as business continued to blossom, Emma decided to call in Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services to take a look at how Boo Flooring was running.
"We knew that we wanted to grow, but we were also aware that if we didn't build the business properly, we would be setting ourselves up for a fall," said Emma.
Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services carried out a Micro Business Review, taking a ‘warts and all' look at the business. When the review had been completed, business adviser, Mally Findlater spent time with Jonathan and Emma talking them through how to develop the business properly and set it on a proper footing if they wanted to continue growing.
"We're delighted that the business has taken off, but at the same time it's quite scary to think that as we grow, we also develop certain responsibilities," said Emma.
"To sustain our growth we must establish more formal systems and procedures, both on the administration side and to make sure our staff are properly looked after, we are so pleased to be working with Mally that we have now asked her to attend some of our directors' meetings to help us maintain our business development."
Running the business as a husband and wife team has its complications, as Emma and Jonathan have discovered.
"We don't always agree on everything," said Emma. "So will be good to have Mally offering us not only her expertise but also an unbiased perspective."
Mally Findlater said: "Jonathan and Emma have done a first class job to build their business from scratch in a relatively short space of time. It's often at this stage of a company's development, when the obvious next step is expansion, that unbiased and informed assistance can make the difference in developing a robust business ready for growth."
For more information call 01242 864200 and speak to one of the team.
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Grasshoppers Earns its Stripes
"Which way do you want your stripes?" That's one of the questions asked by Grasshoppers, a garden maintenance and soft landscaping company based near Cirencester when visiting a new customer to discuss their garden requirements, including how they like their lawn mowed.
Set up more than two years ago Grasshoppers found a niche in the market between garden designers, landscape architects and regular self-employed gardeners to provide regular, reliable garden maintenance. The idea worked so well that they now employ 8 full time staff and part-timers.
Whilst many people think that gardening is seasonal, owners Jason Knight and Jacquie Stevens are changing this preconception.
"Despite people thinking there is little to do in the garden during winter, nature actually provides work for us to do all year round," says Jason. "What we're doing is educating our customers so that they see the job for what it is: A year-round project to keep their gardens in the best shape."
Whilst he admits that January and February are the quietest times of the year, winter tidy-ups are still important to clear leaves and plan for the year ahead.
Grasshoppers focuses on developing good working relationships with customers, including the prestigious Watermark Club at South Cerney, where they provide soft landscaping around the new developments and reinstating the lakes and banks to recreate wildlife habitats.
Other work comes from local homeowners where they provide regular garden maintenance.
With business expansion in mind, Grasshoppers is determined to develop its business into a year-round activity, and has been working with Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services to plan ahead.
"We know we're not a seasonal business," said Jacquie. "We just need to make sure our customers know that too."
Grasshoppers can be contacted on 01285 650007
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Toy Story
Selling a business can be as stressful as setting it up in the first place. You've spent decades building up the business, hot-housing it at the beginning when every small decision was fraught with issues.
Then come the years when you rediscover your home life, and the business can tick along happily without you there 24/7.
But nothing lasts for ever and more importantly, nor do most people want it to. If you've set up your business right and it can run without you at the helm, then you've got something of true value to sell and reap the rewards.
For many business owners, selling their business can be an emotional wrench, according to Philip Timson, director at Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services (GEBS) which provides a range of support services and programmes to help small businesses in the county.
One Gloucestershire business recently been put on the market is Cirencester-based Crocodile, one of the Cotswold's most well-known toyshops, owned by Peter and Celia Stringfellow.
This successful business, based in The Woolmarket just off the marketplace in the town, was started by the Stringfellows when they moved from Devon 22 years ago.
Peter says: "I was a surveyor by trade and Celia a school teacher. Neither of us knew anything about retailing - or much about toys for that matter. What we did know was that we wanted to run our own business, so we started looking for somewhere new to live and something fresh to do."
They settled on a toyshop for no reason other than everyone loves toys, and moved to Cirencester because it was, and remains, affluent and attractive.
"We wanted to sell quality toys to people who appreciated them, and we've stuck by that commitment for more than two decades," says Peter.
Quality doesn't necessarily mean expensive, and the shop sells goods from 99p to £999. "We have our much-loved ‘bad taste' department where children can buy power balls, or squidgy aliens who's eyes pop out when you squeeze them," adds Celia.
After years of building up the business, expanding and developing the stock, Peter and Celia are now planning to retire. "This was a huge decision for us to make," explains Peter. "In one way, Crocodile is as much our baby as our now grown-up son was."
According to Philip Timson at Gloucester Enterprise Business Services which has been helping The Stringfellows, they have chosen a sensible time to put their business on the market.
"The business is sound; retail space in The Woolmarket is growing and a number of national upmarket fashion brands have moved into the town over the last year," he said. "All this increases footfall and is likely to benefit all retailers in the town."
There is also significant investment happening in Cirencester as the town centre benefits from private redevelopment and St James Place, one of the UK's leading wealth management businesses, will move into stunning new headquarters in the town later this year.
According to research published in June this year by Verdict, a leading authority on UK and European Retail markets, the town centre remains the most important channel in the UK retail, worth £124.2bn in 2006, and accounts for nearly half of all UK retail expenditure.
"Some retailers have had a difficult time over the last few years," says Philip. "But niche retailing of quality products in established and affluent areas can still be successful, which is why businesses such as Crocodile continue to flourish."
"Peter and Celia Stringfellow have built up a recognisable brand and prepared their business properly for sale. Relinquishing their business will be difficult for them, but a great opportunity for the right buyer."
For more information on how Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services can help your business, call 01242 864200 and speak to one of the team.
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Not so Blind Ambition
Ten years ago Simon and Sue Ellis worked in the hospitality industry. Simon as general manager to a chain of cafes and coffee shops, Sue worked her way up from head receptionist to Sales and Marketing Manager at Hatton Court Hotel in Gloucester.
Then Simon was made redundant. "He looked at his skills and decided that as he'd trained staff in food and hygiene as part of his job, perhaps he could offer that service to other businesses," said Sue.
It helped that Simon had become an accredited trainer in his job so he had all the qualifications needed.
The couple set up Envesca, which now runs a wide range of food hygiene and health and safety courses.
It took a year for Simon to establish the business and Sue left her job in 1998 to help support him. For eight years they ran the business from home, not quite believing that they had identified a niche market in the area and were providing an essential service which their customers couldn't find easily elsewhere.
Turnover was increasing on an average of 10% per year, there were four people in their offices at home and it was all getting rather crowded, especially when they decided they needed to take on a part-timer. They knew they needed help and contacted Philip Timson at Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services for advice.
"We really valued his impartial advice," said Sue. "Working together as a married couple it can be difficult to keep a perspective on the business, so a trusted and qualified outside opinion was of great value to us."
Whilst Simon and Sue recognised the value of their business, they were also nervous about making radical changes.
"Philip encouraged us to look at the business afresh, and particularly our pricing strategy," said Sue. "We hadn't wanted to upset our clients by increasing our prices, but Philip explained to us that our services had grown which gave us the right and the opportunity to increase our fees. We did and were relieved and a little surprised to discover that our clients were happy to pay. We had also wanted to implement a customer support system and Philip helped us to do this too."
Now Simon and Sue invite Philip in once every month or so to help them plan and set targets, and last year they even moved into offices on Stroud Road in Gloucester.
"Thanks to Philip, we've been able to see for ourselves the opportunities in our business," said Sue. "We have ambitions for it and want it to stand on its own feet, and it couldn't really do that based from our house."
"Without Philip's help, we would probably still be talking about moving into new offices, setting up a customer support scheme and worrying about whether we could increase our prices, but not doing it."
"For the first time I now recognise and can say, that we have a successful business which could run independently without us."
http://www.envesca.co.uk/ 01452 502113.
For more information on this and related topics call 01242 864200 and speak to a member of the GEBS team.
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Rural Businesswoman's Business Blooms
Gloucestershire Enterprise Business Services runs special business start-up courses for women in rural areas. GEBS was chosen to deliver this project in the Cotswolds by Business Link, which co-funds the initiative with Rural Renaissance.
Over the last three years, the women-only business start-up courses in Gloucestershire have helped more than 50 women kick-start their businesses, of which more than 80% of the businesses are still trading, according to GEBS business adviser Lucy Taylor.
"We started running the Women in Business start-up courses in 2004," said Lucy. "It was an immediate success with every course over-subscribed."
The courses which run over 8 sessions during school hours and avoid school holidays were held at Chipping Campden School. Each offered eight women the opportunity to learn business skills, talk through their business ideas one-to-one with a business mentor and develop a network of contacts for future business work and support.
In September the Women in Business start-up courses will also be run on the other side of the Cotswolds - at Farmor's School in Fairford.
"The courses adopt a practical approach to starting up a business," explains Lucy. "One of the first sessions concentrates on whether each student really feels they have the commitment to launch and run a business. Whilst some people haven't thought through what it takes to run a business, others have so many ideas that they need help in sorting them into a logical framework from which a solid business can emerge."
Fiona Perry graduated from the Women in Business ‘class of 2005'. 18 months later her business has taken off in a way that she never thought possible.
Her floral design business, Fiona Perry Flowers, is based in Moreton in Marsh. Last year she was commissioned to provide flowers for three weddings - this year there are 11 weddings confirmed with more in the pipeline, as well as a host of other commissions for a variety of occasions and events.
"It's amazing how the business has grown," she said. "During the Women in Business course, I did some work experience at other florists around the area, but when I'd graduated from the course I couldn't wait to get started for myself."
Having completed a two-year part-time horticulture course at Pershore College before enrolling on the Women in Business start-up course, Fiona had the sector expertise but not the business know-how to start up for herself.
"I moved to Moreton in Marsh from London fifteen years ago, after a successful career in TV and film commercial production," she explains. "Whilst my children were small I did a variety of jobs that kept me close to home - such as childminding and as a classroom support worker. As the children grew up I was keen to do something I both enjoyed and fitted in with my life."
Whilst she had loved her previous career, returning to work in TV and film commercials wasn't an option: the commitment, long hours and travel involved don't fit well around running a family so she decided to put her first love of flowers and horticulture into a business.
"The business start-up course was fabulous," she says. "I'd always been confident, but after fifteen years of putting the family first, my professional confidence had eroded."
"It sounds a little corny, but when I sat in the room with the other women, I realised that I wasn't alone: everyone there wanted to do something new. Before I started the course, I had ambition but my business plan was a big jumble in my head. With the help of my mentor, I laid plans for setting up and developing the business properly."
"My business mentor taught me to have goals, but not to expect to achieve them immediately. This took much of the pressure to succeed off, so much so that I'm able to prioritise work more efficiently. As a result my business is growing steadily rather than in a rush, although I'm delighted at how quickly the order book has filled up this year."
Fiona still attends the graduation ceremonies of the new Women in Business start-up course students - she says it's a great way to extend her network of contacts.
Lucy Taylor at GEBS said: "With the right support, the right contacts and the right frame of mind, running a business in a rural area is no more difficult for a woman than in a large town or city."
Call 01242 864200 and speak to one of the team for more information on business start-up courses for women in rural areas.
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