digitalbeans, Author at The Kent Foundation

Monks & Co Clothing: Star Business of the Month January 2014

December 23, 2013

Client: Amy Barker and Michael McMillain

Business: Monks Clothing

Description: Monks & Co Clothing is an online menswear clothing store with a shop on Swan Street in West Malling, Kent offering premium, personalised customer service.

Telephone: 01732 841900

How to keep in touch with Monks Clothing:

www.monksclothing.co.uk

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“Run by humans not computers” is our motto behind everything we do over here at Monks Clothing.

With the internet being riddled with shops I (Amy) along with my business partner Michael decided it was time to get our customers to say ‘hello’ to a new way of shopping. Struggling to find an online store with a personalised experience was difficult so we decided to do it our own way and introduce a new way of shopping.

We encourage our customers to get in touch or visit our store in West Malling and truly believe that offering a premium, personalised service is key to our operations. Whether you get in touch by email, social media or phone there will always be a real person there to respond.

The recent launch of our store received a fantastic response and since opening, we have been extremely busy. We have beaten our predicted sales targets, introduced 2 new suppliers plus a range of footwear. Providing a personal service means we can really engage with our customers to find out what’s selling to bring them the products they truly want.

The special thing about our store is the personalised service we provide. The same personalised touch is implemented in every element of our business. The store was completely decorated and created by us. From welding a table base, sanding scaffolding boards and constructing a changing room. Every single element was created by us and we are so pleased with the outcome.

There have been some challenges along the way and by far my biggest challenge in starting a business has been my own mind and having the confidence to do it, everything else has actually been really easy and straight forward. We are looking forward to the future to expand, grow and create even more business opportunities.

Thanks for reading our story and we look forward to seeing you in our store soon.

Best Wishes,
Amy and Michael

Business Tip

“Seek every piece of help or guidance out there and do your market research! We spent 2 months doing our market research which has proven to be the most important part of our whole planning and we still think things would have been better if we had done even more!”

Star Business of the Month

Bush Grub: Star Business of the Month – December 2013

November 22, 2013

Client: Ben Bartlett

Business: Bush Grub/Claws and Jaws

Description: Edible Bugs, Animal Education and parties.

Telephone: 07946034660

How to keep in touch with Bush Grub:

www.bush-grub.co.uk
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The idea for Bush Grub came about so I could offer a ‘unique treat’ of tasty edible insects to children at my animal experience parties run through Claws and Jaws.

In the first year I only had a limited range of stock and was only selling around 10 items per month. But after the first years trading, I found opportunities started knocking on Bush Grub’s door. But without time and money it was difficult to make the most of them. Cue…Gary Bartlett (my Dad) who could not see these opportunities wasted so joined me full time to provide Bush Grub with the investment and time it deserved.

One opportunity not to be missed was visiting the Brand Licensing Director at ITV who was thinking about how our products could work with the famous TV show – I’M A CELEBRITY…get me out of here! This really was the boost the business needed and that summer’s afternoon talking to ITV, was unforgettable and really did change everything.

2012 saw a big leap in sales and with our newly licensed, branded and designed products (by Clockwork Moggy) in hand we were set on selling in as many shops as possible. This was a real learning curve and talk about jumping in at the deep end I found myself learning all about meeting deadlines, packaging requirements, distribution, cash flow and that’s just the start.

This year left us a little bemused after last year’s success. So it was time to plan, plan and plan some more ready for the I’m A Celebrity and Christmas season 2013 – an extremely busy period for us. Along with this we had some more great news from ITV with four products listed in the hugely successful Text Santa charity event which aims to raise thousands by the end of the year.

So where are we today? Tens of thousands of packets of bugs have been sold, we are in huge retailers such as Menkind, Hawkins Bazaar, Littlewoods, Woolworths plus many more independent sweet shops and this has got us some fantastic national press coverage!

So whats the plan for the future? Well we would like insects to not only be a novelty food item, we would like them to be a part of the sustainable staple diet. So we are working hard alongside my scientific university dissertation to see insects introduced as a future food in the western world. Of course we also plan to continue sales of our great flavoured bugs and lolly pops!

If you dare – try them for yourself!

Business Tip:

“Be dedicated and persevere, nothing happens overnight unless YOU make it happen! Remember you are the boss, if you do nothing, then you get nothing from the business.”

Kent Foundation News

KAYE announce two new committee members!

October 29, 2013

Kent Association of Young Entrepreneurs (KAYE) welcomes two young entrepreneurs to their committee. This is great news as their relationship, enthusiasm, engagement and real life experiences of being an entrepreneur will prove to be invaluable as they bring a fresh new insight to business support across Kent. They have chosen to take the route of enterprise as their career option and chosen arguably the best county (Kent of course) to start up in. This move will encourage a more tailored set of business support events and initiatives to engage and encourage enterprise amongst more of Kent’s young people.

The first candidate Ben Bartlett describes himself as an accidental entrepreneur. He has a real passion for exotic pets but their expensive upkeep was something he was not so keen on. This sparked an idea – and Claws and Jaws was born. Using his weird and wonderful creatures as a business, sharing his expertise and knowledge to his advantage by hosting a range of interactive parties and animal experiences. Plus after spotting a rather gruesome gap in the market he launched Bush Grub selling some rather interesting snacks…

The second candidate Gemma Blacker owner of This Art of Mine loves all things creative. Based in the beautiful Kent countryside it really is a one stop shop for all your creative workshops. There is something for everyone, and if there isn’t they are always happy to listen to new ideas. A fantastic way to learn a new skill or just to try your hand at something a little bit different.

Kent Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs have a fantastic relationship with KAYE and are pleased to say we have successfully worked together on numerous occasions to bring business support projects and events to young people across the County of Kent. Working in collaboration provides a unique platform to outreach and promote more young entrepreneurs. To find out more about KAYE click here…

Kent Foundation News

Monks & Co Clothing set to open in West Malling

October 22, 2013

“Monks Clothing…run by humans not computers” this is their motto and they literally are sticking to it. Struggling to find an online store with a personalised experience they decided to do it their own way and introduce a new way of shopping.

With the internet being riddled with shops they have opened up a whole new approach putting their foot down by saying a firm “NO” to automated services and saying ‘hello’ to a new way of shopping. They are making it easy to get in touch and there will always be a way of contacting them so you can make an informed decision about your purchase.

This is not just another online store though, Monks and Co are opening up shop in West Malling, Kent to bring their products to the people. The chance to browse in a chilled out environment and none of the stress of large shopping centres. West Malling is a popular destination, a small village with plenty of appeal for shopping, trendy wine bars and pubs.

Kent Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs met Amy and were immediately impressed with her initial ideas and enthusiasm for the business. We are pleased to be supporting Amy and the business through our increasingly popular Business Mentoring service. Monks and Co is shooting forward in the right direction and we can certainly see there will be many more success stories to come. Watch this space for the Monks Clothing store opening soon…in the mean time, catch up with them on:

Store opening Saturday 2nd November!

Join them at their launch event and keep up to date on:

Website Facebook Twitter

Kent Foundation News

KEiBA 2013 Young Entrepreneur of the Year

October 22, 2013

KEiBA 2013 Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Owen Hunnam of Vine Digital

Owen Hunnam, Founder and Publishing Director at Vine Publishing. Owen founded Vine magazine, a community lifestyle brand for Sevenoaks from his bedroom 6 years after dropping out of university to pursue his dream of launching his own business. Since then the business has expanded into a full-service communications agency working with a diverse range of clients across a broad spectrum of industries. Employing 17 staff, Owen and his business partner Charlie de Rusett, are shifting their wider strategic focus into developing cloud-based web applications.

“I am ambitious, driven, and determined to succeed in everything I do”

How to connect with Vine:

Website Facebook Twitter

We wish Owen and everyone at Vine Digital every future success with his future business developments and will definitely be on the look out for his latest business news!

The Finalists:

It was a close call for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award so meet the other two extremely hard working finalists.

Piperis Filippaios – DigitalBeans: Specialising in Digital Marketing with a strong focus on Search Engine Optimisation. The business was founded when he was just 22 and has been working hard at it ever since. Certainly not a contender to stand still, with many ideas in the pipeline for the future.

How to connect with DigitalBeans:

Website Facebook Twitter

Anthonky Klokkou – Sleeping Giant Media: Client Services Director at Sleeping Giant Media, the search and social agency. They aim to get more relevant traffic to your website so that your customers can find you online. Using the latest techniques in digital and social marketing Anthony strives for success, ensuring his growing team are well equipped to deliver results for clients both effectively and efficiently

How to connect with Sleeping Giant Media:

Website Twitter

KEiBA – Kent Excellence in Business Awards is an awards scheme staged and produced by Kent County Council and the KM Group to recognise and reward excellence in Kent’s businesses.

Kent Foundation News

SLA Partnership chooses Kent Foundation for it’s Corporate Support

October 22, 2013

A boost for young entrepreneurs!

Two of the County’s leading charities helping young people reach their business and employment aspirations are to benefit from a major new sponsorship deal.

Recruitment specialists SLA Partnership are to give £6,000 a year (£3000 to each charity) to support the Kent Foundation and the Medway Youth Trust. The Maidstone-based company is also looking to back the organisation of a sponsored golf fund-raising event for the charities later in the year.

Welcoming the deal, Paul Barron, Director of Kent Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs said:

“This is a significant commitment by SLA to support our work and we are grateful to them for their commitment and generosity. As well as the money, their expertise in the job market will be invaluable in transforming ideas and initiatives into reality for those people that we engage with. Like all charities, we have to work really hard to find financial backing and I am delighted that they have chosen to back us at this challenging time.”

Medway Youth Trust’s Chief Executive, Graham Clewes, said:

“SLA’s support through their money, time and expertise is a tremendous boost for Medway Youth Trust and for our careers and employability work with young people in Kent and Medway. I am particularly struck by SLA’s desire for a long term partnership to help us in our work and I hope their lead will be an encouragement to other companies”.

Sarah Landry managing partner of SLA Partnership LTD had this to say:

“We pride ourselves on taking a thoroughly professional approach to our business, using our industry expertise and experience to provide candidates and clients alike with a service that is efficient and user-friendly. This is an ideal fit with the work of these two charities who, like us, look to encourage ways of achieving aspirations and ambitions. We focus on providing a quality of service to find a perfect match and I believe we have now achieved this with our sponsorship deal for Kent Foundation and Medway Youth Trust.”

Promote your business whilst supporting others!

To find out more about becoming a sponsor:

Call: 01622 694 341

Email: kent.foundation@kent.gov.uk

Author: digitalbeans