Kent Excellence in Business Awards 2015 – Now Open For Entries!

January 12, 2015

Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2015…Is this you?

Awards are one of the most powerful and cost-effective marketing tools and winning a prestigious KEiBA will help your organisation to stand out from the crowd, send a positive message to your existing customers, attract new business and investors.

Entering KEiBA will help you raise the profile of your organisation and enhance its reputation by promoting the great work you have been doing over the last twelve months, whilst at the same time providing you with a platform to celebrate your success. The KEiBAs are free to enter and open to any business or organisation based and operating in the Kent and Medway area, excluding London Borough postcodes e.g Bromley, Bexley and Orpington.

There are 15 categories to choose from in the awards so it’s well worth having a look to see which ones are best suited to your business. You can enter a maximum of 4 categories.

“The best thing I would say about winning a KEiBA is the credibility it gives your company. It’s helped us through making connections with a wide range of people. So if we’ve approached a bank looking for growth finance or anything like that, it’s just made us a lot more respectable in that sense, showing that we can win an award like this and run a successful business. People seem to respect a company a bit more having gone through this process and actually come out winning.”

Ben Bartlett – Director of Bush Grub Ltd: Start-Up Business of the Year 2014

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Need a bit of advice on the application process?

Give us a call on 01622 694 341

Star Business of the Month

Ten & Bourne – Star Business of the Month – January 2015

December 31, 2014

“We’re a small digital creative agency who use creative and strategic thinking to help our clients create engaging experiences throughout their online marketing and web platforms.”

Ten & Bourne was founded in 2013 with a vision of a highly flexible agency that creates teams around clients in order to deliver the best possible web solutions.

Chris Mead & Anthony Bliss, both from Sittingbourne have been working together on various projects together for the last 5 years after meeting whilst working at a fast growing web agency in Maidstone and were both educated at the former Maidstone, Kent Institute of Art & Design or UCA in specialisms across Interactive Design. Each wanted to create a business for themselves since leaving full time education but knew that to maximise their chances they would benefit from real industry experience.

After leaving our full time positions we managed to secure investment for our first company together and take part in a 13 week intensive business accelerator program. The idea for the business was not strong enough to survive but still gave us an important experience and insight into the work and effort involved in starting something for ourselves. We knew from that point to play to our strengths in creative design, digital marketing and digital products as a core part of our company DNA. We have big plans to grow from being a service company to developing our own web products that will see us grow significantly as a company.

The last year has seen us provide web based solutions for some really successful UK and Global brands as more businesses begin to understand how important the internet is to their survival.

We have been busy enough to establish an office in Sweden with a team that reflects our values and supported us by creating new opportunities with a range of Swedish clients. As far as trade routes go, as a business we live online, we can operate from anywhere and work with clients around the world, we have clients in America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Our biggest barrier we have faced is being able to keep moving forward fast enough to serve our clients whilst dealing with a huge surge in new business, being able to stay in contact with existing clients and keep projects on track. We have grown increasingly towards full capacity which has been a struggle but fortunately we have been able to meet the demand and keep our customers happy.

We have just celebrated our first year in business and this coming year we are looking to expand our team in the UK, move to a new office and launch our new web services division, Brave Little Tank™. This will form the new brand of our agency as we begin to invest in developing our own web platforms.

We are planning to launch a crowdfunding project in the new year to help us fund the first year of a creative office space in a local town that will allow us to bring in young people for work experience and provide a placement for internships to the local area.

We’ve Re-Branded – Brave Little Tank

Ten & Bourne have rebranded to Brave Little Tank. A digital marketing agency specialising in marking digital efforts more effective. Identifying & reducing the obstacles in design and user experience often overlooked by others, improving online sales and conversions.

Our top tip is:

“Remember to stay as best informed as possible, but trust your instincts. This isn’t us saying make rash decisions, simply don’t compromise your own judgement without having a good reason, and learn to tell the difference between feeling out of your comfort zone and having a bad feeling about a decision.”

“You are the ones in control of your business and that is double edged sword at best.”

Get In Touch With Ten and Bourne:

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Star Business of the Month

Corralex Media – Star Business of the Month – December 2014

November 26, 2014

Introducing…

Our awesome and energetic film making office films real people and their stories – we produce community and human centred documentaries.

Corralex Media launched in 2012 as an agency producing small corporate videos. Although corporate videos are still an important aspect of our work we have a tremendous interest in people. To reflect this we specialise in building relationships with both individuals and communities.

Corralex Media has really enjoyed working with one individual with Asperger’s (a form of Autism) who agreed to take part in a documentary series titled ‘See What I See’. On the community side we produced a really cool show ‘Brilliant Britain – Kent’ which aired for 30 minutes on Sky and SkyHD breaking viewing records for the series.

YouTube is one of our favourite places to hang out. Our channel features our portfolio and a range of video-blogs. They are well received by our audience which is quickly growing in views and subscriptions.

The History of Corralex Media

Hey, I’m Bogdan and I run Corralex Media. I’ve always loved making films, when I turned 16 it hit me that I could turn my hobby into a career. This realisation was somewhat a coincidence after spending time working in the world of advertising and freelancing as a PA within various agencies as well as on set as part of the cast in the production of a sitcom. It was here my appetite for business started to grow.

I decided to do something about it so I moved to Kent to study Film, Radio and Television production. During my studies was where I fell in love with producing documentaries, the investigative nature and the fact that they tell real stories was of particular interest to me.

Corralex Media was launched straight after university and this lead to my first piece of work producing a corporate video for sports recruiting company Get Pro. Like every other just-starting artist I’ve secured part time jobs, which fortunately are all film and media related: video content producer for University of Kent and A-Level Media Studies teacher in a boarding school. I use all of my free time to focus on Corralex Media building a sustainable future for the business.

Where Next…

At the start of 2013 the lovely Kent Foundation for young Entrepreneurs, accepted me into their Business Mentoring programme and I was introduced to my Mentor, the MD of Kempt. For the following year I experimented with film and media related platforms: social media, short films and most importantly YouTube.

I started to see how YouTube generates income, and now the Corralex Media channel is a big asset – it features all of our productions and our clients find it an extremely useful tool when they need to look at our work. Our series of video blogs on Autism called ‘See What I See’ has gathered an audience already just through social media promotion.

By late 2013, I partnered with fellow film fanatic and University friend, Lydia Maddix, co-producing & co-presenting the season 3 episode for Brilliant Britain – Kent. This was a promised TV credit for Corralex Media. It was a learning curve: We encountered issues we never thought we would; we made so many phone calls that Vodafone called us to offer an unlimited plan and we did a major amount of research. It wasn’t until the very last week the Brilliant Britain crew was really tested. We were facing a fairly big re-edit and additional content be shot. The hard work paid off and after some patience, I received an email from the series producer letting me know that the final edit will be airing in two weeks’ time…win!

The episode was a complete success and set a record of over 100,000 views. This lead to the channel commending our episode and producing a case study on it. Once the word had spread about this major win for Corralex Media, I found myself on air on a local radio show to tell the story.

Since the success of these projects I have started to be taken more seriously at networking events and have been short listed for a number of projects. These projects include Margate’s Dreamland Heritage film and direct commissions for TED Talks events in London.

Generating Leads

Corralex Media is pushing for factual TV commissions. With still a long way to go, I asked for a little more guidance from Kent Foundation and my Business Mentor on networking. I have since made headway and met with BAFTA winning producers, studio chairmen and talent agencies all of whom have offered me an amazing insight into the world of TV productions. I’m focusing most of my time in building my networks, making contact with producers from London and learning how to pitch, package and develop interesting ideas to suit online and TV slots.

We’re hopeful that if things go well, in a couple of years’ time Corralex Media will be able to expand towards journalistic research and Social Media services.

Reflecting on my experiences so far I can give myself and you this advice:

“Be patient, offer every lead an equal importance and never trash an idea

– sooner or later it will have a use.”

Get In Touch With Corralex Media:

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Star Business of the Month

Runway Training – Star Business of the Month – November 2014

October 29, 2014

About Runway Training

Founded in 2008, Runway Training was born out of a need for a more flexible and accessible way for adult learners to gain level 2 English and maths qualifications. Today the Tonbridge based company employs 15 people and offers blended and online learning solutions, as well as a range of professional development courses and high quality apprenticeships to employers including AXA PPP Healthcare, Hospice in The Weald and DFDS Seaways.

About Oliver

Having completed a History degree at the University of Kent, Managing Director Oliver Trailor spent six months at a local Further Education College. Working within the Student Services team, Oliver spoke with individuals on a daily basis wanting to complete English and Maths qualifications to support their personal and professional development. For many the provision on offer was not accessible, busy home lives and work commitments meant travelling to college or attending evening classes was not possible. Having discussed a potential solution with a local Headmaster, who was becoming frustrated at constantly releasing staff for a whole day, the concept of offering an online course was developed.

“During the early days I used to just work on a laptop and had no fixed office. A day’s work consisted of travelling around various employers to visit learners and then making use of free wifi at local cafes to complete admin and check e-mails”.

A finalist for the 2012 West Kent Young Entrepreneur of the year award, Oliver has significantly grown the business and in 2013, launched the Runway Apprenticeships brand which delivers high quality apprenticeships across the Hospitality & Catering, Accountancy, Business and Health & Social Care sectors.

“We are very proud of our apprenticeship division and the high success rates of those apprentices gaining long term employment following completion of their programme. Our aim is to listen to employers and provide the very best service that meets the needs of their business, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach”.

Having helped over 7,000 learners achieve nationally recognised qualifications, Runway Training have learners all over the country and even some overseas. Away from work Oliver has a keen interest in Rugby and enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children.

Oliver’s plans for the future are to continue to grow Runway’s range of apprenticeship programmes and to develop an online English and maths GCSE course. He is also developing a shadowing programme with aspiring principal Nikki Gilbey to ensure that future FE leaders are able to learn from those currently in leadership roles.

Oliver’s Business Tip:

“Don’t be afraid to try new things and learn from your mistakes. Not everything will work, but it’s about how you learn from those experiences and move forward. I also try and look to those with more knowledge for advice and to discuss business ideas. If you constantly find yourself in a room full of people who know less than you, then you’re in the wrong room!”

Get in touch with Runway Training:

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Star Business of the Month

Better Body Group – Star Business of the Month – October 2014

September 30, 2014

About the Better Body Group

The Better Body Group was set up to solve a problem. People looking to lose weight or improve fitness were not getting the results they desired. This was down to two reasons; firstly their environment. All of the big gyms seemed to lack the right atmosphere. These chains were set up for profit only, the floor space was packed full of useless yet complex machines, the sales team seemed to be the only members of staff that cared (and that was only until you signed a 12 month contract!) and there was no extra care provided for those with special requirements.

Secondly the trainers were simply not qualified or experienced enough. There was (and still is) no governing body for personal trainers. That meant that anyone could become a personal trainer or therapist in a matter of weeks. Suddenly every man and his dog were becoming ‘fitness experts’ or ‘weight loss gurus’. This led to a huge rise in misinformation. Instead of trainers keeping their training methods based around science they simply started training their clients in the same way they would train themselves.

The combination of the two made it near on impossible for clients to achieve their goals quickly or safely. Cue the Better Body Group!

The Better Body Group Team has improved the lives of over 10,000 people in the south east. Our team of 30+ personal trainers and physiotherapists provide professionally guided exercise and nutrition solutions whatever your age, weight or goal.

About Director Chris Wharton

After graduating in 2007 with an exercise science degree, Chris knew he wanted to run his own business. He first met his business partner Jason Crow by chance stumbling across his personal training company in Sevenoaks. It was just 12 months later that Jason and Chris decided on a partnership to open a bigger and better facility. Over the next 4 years they built the biggest and most qualified team of personal trainers and physiotherapists in the country in one of Europe’s biggest personal training facilities based in Sevenoaks. A second site has recently opened in Blackheath with a third due to open in Wimbledon village at the end of the month. The team are always looking for ways to better other people so they launched ‘Better Body Institute’. An education company working in conjunction with universities across the UK.

In his spare time Chris is keen to help other young entrepreneurs achieve their potential. He recently became a Volunteer Business Mentor for Kent Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs and is a supporting entrepreneur for 7billionideas.com. The recent 2014 Kent Excellence In Business Awards brought success as a Finalist in two categories the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’, and ‘Customer Service and Commitment’.

Chris’ Business Tip

‘Surround yourself with the right people. I am lucky enough to have an amazing team of staff and clients to work with every day. What’s more I have been lucky enough to have a great business partner in Jason Crow who has helped support me through some tough times. Finding yourself a mentor or someone that has already made the journey you are taking can save you a lot of time…and money!’

Connect with the Better Body Group:

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Star Business of the Month

VooServers – Kent Star Business of the Month – September 2014

August 28, 2014

About VooServers®

VooServers was founded in March 2005 by its current technical director Matt Parkinson who had a keen interest in I.T. and the way it could influence and aid businesses and day to day life. The company has been built around its key principal of customer service always putting the customers’ welfare first in any key decisions. Since 2005 our product portfolio has grown significantly to include almost all aspects of hosted and managed I.T. services as well as complete data centre solutions such as entire hosted offices including e-mails, phone systems, electronic resource planning, document collaboration etc. With our 10 year anniversary approaching we now have 3 different global points of presence serving a wide range of clients from small businesses up to multi-national PLC’s whilst still maintaining our original business ethics in everything we do.

About Me

I started the company when I was 16 and just about to start sixth form at the Howard School in Rainham. I had always been interested in the ability to make your own way in life and combined with a strong passion for I.T. the two naturally came together to form what was originally a hobby intended to make a little bit of money to see me through school.

Having started the company when I was still at school this often became a barrier to the development in the early years not only due to time constraints but the perception of me by potential customers. In the first few years I tried to steer clear of making my age known to anyone and most business was performed purely by phone or e-mail but even now having just turned 25 customers are often surprised at how long I have been running VooServers.

Over the years the hobby grew and grew and whilst I was still living at my parents and operating out of my brothers old bedroom I realised there was no better time for me to give my own company a go as a full time operation. Later in life there were going to be mortgages, bills and other commitments I would have to keep to and not having these at the time meant I was able to grow the business at a steady rate and handle all areas of the business in an efficient and controlled manner.

The Past and the Future of VooServers

The past 18 months has seen substantial growth going from having 2 members of staff to 7 and opening 2 new locations in New York and Frankfurt alongside expanding our primary location in Maidstone, Kent. We currently serve customers in more than 70 countries around the world so setting up new locations in key markets is essential to serving those customers efficiently.

The 2 new locations have also been fundamental in us launching our new highly resilient services in the past year which use all 3 of our locations to provide an always on and always available service which is key to our success as more businesses are turning to 24/7 operations and requiring access to data whenever and wherever they want it.

The vision for VooServers in the future is to continue developing new services as new technology is released alongside starting to innovate our own products and services based on in house research and technology which is not yet available on the market.

The launch of new locations in the past 18 months has also allowed us to see the potential for VooServers to become a globally recognised brand and we are already seeing a significant growth as a result of launching these new locations. Our sights are currently set on the possibility of opening additional locations in Moscow and Singapore in the near future to further enhance our offerings and growth.

My Business Tip

My business tip actually comes from Sir Richard Branson but it is the one thing that is always in my head and I think is key to the success of a young entrepreneur.

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes –

then learn how to do it later!”

Category: The Blog

Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2015…Is this you?

Need a bit of advice on the application process?

Give us a call on 01622 694 341

We’ve Re-Branded – Brave Little Tank

Our top tip is:

Get In Touch With Ten and Bourne:

Introducing…

The History of Corralex Media

Where Next…

Generating Leads

Get In Touch With Corralex Media:

About Runway Training

About Oliver

Oliver’s Business Tip:

Get in touch with Runway Training:

About the Better Body Group

About Director Chris Wharton

Chris’ Business Tip

Connect with the Better Body Group:

About VooServers®

About Me

The Past and the Future of VooServers

My Business Tip