Star Business of the Month

Clarke Virtual Assistant – Star Business of the Month – September 2016

by digitalbeans

Clarke Virtual Assistant in Kent LogoHi I am Kascha Clarke, a Virtual Assistant and Founder of Clarke Virtual Assistant Business Services.  In a nutshell I provide administrative and creative support to busy business owners across the UK on a virtual basis. Some of you are probably thinking ‘virtual’? What do you mean ‘virtual’?….well first of all, I am a human being and not something out of cyberspace or an app you download to let you know when your next meeting is, last time I checked I was a 29 year old female! So I am human and I help busy people from my own, now fully equipped, office in Whitstable.

From audio typing to invoicing, the list in endless. With today’s technology and the ever so useful cloud storage, I am able to support individuals and businesses anywhere in the world and the best part about it is that I can be wherever I want to be too. For example whilst writing this, I was on a Virgin train to Edinburgh with my chromebook in front of me, and have already cleared a few client’s inboxes for them and booked a flight for another.

Clarke Virtual Assistant – How did it all start?

I have always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to start a business, but just never really knew what or how. I started my career as a Post Room Operative for Oxleas NHS Trust, organising, sorting and delivering post and medical records around their headquarters in Dartford. It was this job that made me realise I was an ‘organiser’.

Clarke Virtual Assistant in KentAfter Oxleas I worked in London as a Secretary for a large construction company, until I moved to the Kent coast and took on a position as Company Secretary and Finance Assistant for a farming day centre for adults with learning disabilities. As much as I loved my job and the environment I worked in, In May 2015 I was ready for a change and decided to look in to starting a business. Knowing that if I was going to do it, it needed to be something I was passionate about and good at, to make it a success.

I can’t quite remember how I came across the term ‘virtual assistant’ but the moment I read about them I instantly knew it was what I was going to do. I had 12 years’ experience, a supportive partner and family, so what was stopping me.  Why wouldn’t I want to do what I was good at, but for many businesses rather than just the one. After 3 months of spending my evenings and weekends researching online, I thought what the hell I am going to do it.

When I think back now, it seems so crazy to think that I built my business, Clarke Virtual Assistant from literally having a laptop whilst sitting on the sofa in our 1 bed flat. I wasn’t quite brave enough to hand in my notice straight away, so I spent endless evenings setting up a website myself, signing up to various forums and speaking to other already successful VA’s in order to get a feel for what I was letting myself in for. On August 15th 2015 I left my full time employment and started working for my first client on the following Monday….one year on and I now have 11 wonderful clients that I work with every month, an office, and another associate VA on board.

Business networking, it’s not that bad really…

Running a business is a rollercoaster of a ride, there are many lows but also lots of highs. I would say that I have learnt more about myself and my capabilities in the last year than I have in my whole career. The biggest hurdle for me was walking in to a networking breakfast meeting and standing up in front of lots of strangers, telling them who I was and what I did. So many people told me that in order to pick up clients I would need to network network network! Yes, I understand that you need to get yourself out there in order to let others know about your services, but when you aren’t the best at talking about yourself, it is seriously hard. I struggled to be myself and feel good enough, I was always conscious that someone may ask me something I didn’t have a clue about, although I am sure most people have had to overcome this to begin with. How did I overcome this barrier? I was myself, I relaxed and spoke with honesty.

I believe honesty is what has made the last year a success, if I don’t know something in particular or have never done it before, I am honest about it.   My clients need to trust me with their business and honesty is the best policy!! I am now lucky enough to say that the majority of my work comes from recommendation and word of mouth.  That is not to say that I shouldn’t still get myself out there, I just do it in other ways, like marketing, social media and attending business events, which are a lot more relaxed and less pressurised.

Clarke Virtual Assistant – Future Plans

Since recently hitting my 1 year milestone, I have been reviewing the past 12 months and planning for the next year. My Kent Foundation mentor, who, may I add, has been a huge help during this time, will tell you that my long term vision 6 months ago was completely different to what I envisage now. I remember saying to him that in 5 years’ time I want to have a commercial office with at least 3 full time employees, as well as managing and working for client’s full time as well. Now I realise that Clarke Virtual Assistant has been built in to a lifestyle business… no one wants to work 12 hours each day, 6 days a week and I have now realised that I don’t have to do this to run a business. I can have a family, become a mother and still run a business. The beauty of it is, that I can work from wherever I want, give other working mums an opportunity to work around family life and still do what I am passionate about – by supporting my clients with managing and growing their businesses.

My Regrets

That I didn’t do it sooner!!

My Business Tip

Work with people you like (wherever possible), if a business relationship doesn’t feel right then there is a good chance it isn’t. Go with your gut instinct. When one door closes, another opens with other, sometimes better, opportunities.

Star Business of the Month

Day One Wellness – Star Business of the Month – April 2016

by digitalbeans

Day One Wellness is a holistic personal training company. We create and deliver programmes that make it as easy as possible for busy people to restore their health and transform their bodies naturally.

Day One Wellness - Be More BootcampsI started the company in October 2014 because like everyone, I absolutely hate seeing people suffer, so I wanted to create something that provided a real solution to all the problems I was regularly getting asked about. It seemed like no matter who I spoke to, people were complaining of low energy, low self-esteem, health problems or battles with their weight that was making them unhappy.

At the time I was working on a public health contract helping obese children and their families embrace a healthy lifestyle. A large part of my role was collaborating with dietitians and psychologists where I was exposed to a variety of different nutrition principles and behavioural change theories, from there I emerged myself in anything I could get my hands on to do with these topics. I’ve never been to university (apart from a brief soccer scholarship in the states – but that’s another story) but I’ve probably paid Amazon a similar amount to tuition fees in the amount of audio-books and paperbacks I’ve purchased!

The ‘Ah-Ha’ Moment for Day One Wellness

Day One Wellness Personal Training & Nutrition CoachingLike most business ideas, my ‘ah-ha’ moment for Day One Wellness was less of a light bulb and more of a combination of life experiences. I think particularly in customer facing roles you have to serve your time in the trenches first to discover and develop your own unique style. For me it was the combination of personal training in both the public and private sectors as well as the numerous life lessons, cultures and environments I experienced whilst travelling through Asia, living in New Zealand and experiencing my most physically demanding job to date; being what my mum liked to call a ‘Chalet Bitch’ for 5 months in Austria.

I eventually decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge after about 6 months of living with a nagging feeling that I should be doing something more. The first goal I set myself was to be 100% self employed within a year of starting which I’m pleased to say, not only did I achieve but by the time the year was up I was paying myself more than my last job too!

Day One Wellness As I’m writing this the business is still in its infancy – just 19 months old, and I’d never of predicted where we are now from where I started. We’ve recently moved into a new base at Southcote Chiropractic Clinic, working alongside some exceptionally experienced and educated health professionals. Our team of trainers are growing by the month to keep up with client demands, both for our 1 to 1 coaching programme and group coaching services, plus I’m doing a lot more ’empower workshops’ in the corporate sector to meet the wellness demand on the County’s workforce.

The vision for Day One Wellness is to be Kent’s most influential well-being company by 2020, providing inspirational outdoor venues and exercise referral schemes that make ‘healthy’ affordable, accessible and most importantly enjoyable for as many people as possible. It may seem like a big goal but if there’s one thing I’ve learnt in the last 19 months, it’s to keep faith and focus on one step at a time!

Business Tip

“My advice to any young entrepreneur, as cliché as it is coming from me is to invest in yourself first, you are the driving force behind your business so reserve some of your energy for you! Provide your body with real foods that fuel you, move hourly to stimulate more blood to your brain, switch technology off when you are socialising with friends and family (trust me you’ll need them) and prioritise your sleep because you are much more productive at 5am if you’ve got to bed by 10pm rather than attempting to pull an all nighter!”

Star Business of the Month

Towers Design – Star Business of the Month – September 2015

by digitalbeans

Towers DesignBen Towers and Towers Design: What’s the Story?

I recently had my 17th Birthday and life is good.  It’s good because I’ve recently finished secondary school and received my GCSE results which I was really pleased with.  It’s also Kent Excellence in Business Awards KEiBAgood because I now get to spend all my time working on my two businesses, Towers Design and Social Marley, rather than juggling them with school work as I have been doing for the past 5 years!  Don’t get me wrong, I loved school but now I can focus 100% on what I’m truly passionate about – business.

I always enjoyed using computers and when I was 11 a family friend asked if I could build her a simple website.  So I learnt the basics of web design, mainly by watching YouTube videos, and did the job for the princely sum of £50.  I realised that I could do this over and over again, so I joined a freelancing website called People Per Hour.  Within a year, I had already secured 25 customers and so decided it was time to set up a business – Towers Design.

Social Marley - Social Media ManagementTowers Design continues to grow and I now have a great team of 15 people working for the business and hundreds of business clients on the books.  We have expanded our range of services to a full serviced digital agency offering design, printing, website development and hosting.  For the past year I have spent a lot of time on my latest venture, Social Marley, a new platform for businesses to manage their social media accounts.  We are currently seeking investment and looking to launch in 2016.

I am breaking down the barriers facing young entrepreneurs…

Ben Towers - Towers Design Social MarleyAlthough I enjoyed creating the websites for my clients, I found my young age created problems for the business.  For example accepting payments online was difficult, because you have to be 18 to have a merchant account. To get around this, I had to make an online merchant account in my dad’s name, even though he had nothing to do with the company.

Also because of my age, I was unable to get a business bank account which meant we couldn’t accept cheques.  Then one day when my bank found out that I was using a child account for business they froze the account.  I had to ask the Federation of Small Businesses to get involved and fortunately it was resolved.

Another issue with being a young business owner is credibility.  Some people just don’t believe that you can do a great job and deliver the goods.  Fortunately I met plenty of people who did believe in me enough to give me that chance and prove myself.

Last year I was really honoured to be awarded the ‘NatWest Young Entrepreneur Of The Year – Special Merit’ at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2014 and to be a finalist in the prestigious Startup Awards 2014.  This year I was awarded ‘Young Entrepreneur Of The Year In Kent 2015’ at the Kent Invicta Awards and was a Finalist at the Kent Excellence in Business Awards.

I’m now an ambassador for several organisations, including The Federation of Small Businesses, Young Start-Up Talent, The National Enterprise Challenge and Young Entrepreneur Networking Association.  Together we will hopefully tackle the unnecessary barriers and obstacles young business owners face.  I also talk at various business and youth events all around the world.  I’m happy to share my experiences and if it helps to inspire other teenagers to start their own businesses then that’s good too!

Business Tip

“Start now, do not wait for your business to start itself or for you to leave school. You will learn loads from running your own company so make sure that you actually take the leap and give it a go.”

Star Business of the Month

Reflect Digital – Star Business of the Month – August 2015

by digitalbeans

Becky CampbellReflect Digital Logo creative digital marketing agency

For as long as I can remember I was destined to do something in business. From an early age I used to copy my Kent Excellence in Business Award Winnerdad (a businessman) by using one of his old briefcases to carry my things around. As I grew older he used to refer to me as his personal assistant since I was always taking telephone messages for him from his colleagues when they called the house.

Despite having very good GCSEs and A level results, I knew university was not for me, to the consternation of my teachers although funnily enough not my parents! I was hungry to get out to work and start my “business apprenticeship”. Not a formal one but a succession of jobs that gave me the grounding in customer relations and management. The last of these positions provided me the inspiration to start my own business.

So what was this inspirational job?

Becky Campbell Reflect DigitalIt was an account manager for a digital agency that built and managed websites and the on-going digital marketing for these sites. I’d had account manager jobs before, but working exclusively in the digital world was like switching all the lights on. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised about this, my dad had worked in IT for 40 years! The more I researched and learnt about digital marketing the more excited I became by this vibrant and still emerging sector.

So in February 2011 at age 24 I took the plunge head-first into the unknown, handing in my notice and quitting a very well paid job. With just a £3k initial loan from my parents and working from the spare bedroom of my flat, Reflect Digital Limited was born.

Reflect Digital is the realisation of my dream to run a digital agency that cares passionately for its clients. We have “set our stall out” to play the long game; we want our clients to remain our clients this month, next month, next year and forever! We really want to be viewed as our client’s own digital marketing department showing them real ROI throughout the life of their website/marketing campaign. Understanding a client’s business is fundamental to getting results from their digital presence.

The one thing I believe you must have above everything else when starting a new business is passion! Bags of it! You are going to be living your work morning, noon and night, without that passion you will soon start to tire of the fight to get established. Also that passion is what is going to make you stand out and to be listened to by your new prospective clients.

How did I get my first clients for Reflect Digital?

My very first client was a City of London Law firm specialising in the technology sector, as I researched and learnt about this particular area of business I was able to appeal successfully to other law firms. This has led to us becoming quite a prominent name in offering digital marketing expertise to the legal profession in general. Technology companies were our second target sector and as the company grew and I had sales staff I encouraged them to pursue business sectors they were passionate about. This led us to winning Tottenham Hotspur Football Club as a client!

At first all of our development work, building websites, was contracted out to a third party company, which was the only option if I wanted to offer this service, since I can only dabble with a bit of HTML, I’m no expert! Bringing development in-house, which we started to do in 2013, has been a real challenge. In fact finding the right staff in general is one of the most difficult tasks you will face as you build your business.

Look after your employees…

Reflect Digital TeamYour employees will make the real difference with regard to how successful your business will be, running a business is a team event and you will need to know you have a solid core within that team. I have tried to make working for Reflect Digital special, I care about my staff and provide the best benefits that the company can offer whilst providing them the opportunity to develop their skill set and always encouraging further learning. We organise company days where we share thoughts about the direction of the company and have some downtime fun. My best recruit so far has been persuading my fiancé to join me as a director of the business. Paul’s skill set compliments mine and together we are the driving force.

Funding for a new business is never easy we found the traditional high street banks to be very unhelpful, fortunately for me my parents were able to extend a business loan when we needed to expand, this has helped tremendously with cash flow, something you will need to keep a very close eye on as your business moves forward. You can be amazingly successful but due to slow payment from your clients you can find yourself in difficulty when salaries need to be paid!

Having been a managing director of a successful technology company my dad has been a great source of advice and a sounding board for problems and ideas. I would encourage any new business owner to try to find a mentor that you can talk to. Having someone who has had experience of growing a small company to talk to is a real benefit in many ways.

Business Achievements, so far…

Reflect Digital Drum Search Winner2015 to date has been an amazing year for Reflect Digital, in March this year I was named as runner up for the Kent Women in Business Awards, Business Woman of the Year – which was a fantastic personal achievement, which I could not have done without the incredible team around me. Then in June we won a Drum Search Award for Best B2B SEO Campaign for our client Egress – which was amazing, as we were up against some of the biggest agencies in the country. June also ended on a high by being awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Kent Excellence in Business Awards – which was hugely unexpected against some really talented entrepreneurs.

It’s been four years since I started Reflect Digital and I’ve been amazed at the success we have had, we have literally gone from zero turnover to over half a million and from one person to a staff of 23. Now the fun really begins, we plan to organically grow the business to a turnover of £5 million in the next five years. This is going to be a very interesting journey.

Business Tip:

“Take time to ensure your recruitment process is designed to know as much about your new prospective employee before you extend the offer to join the team. You are going to need people who want the opportunity to do something more than just come to work. These people will be the building blocks of your company and together you will achieve great things.”

Star Business of the Month

Star Business of the Month – Teaching Support – July 2015

by digitalbeans

Teaching Support recruiting specialist support staff for schoolsTeaching Support are specialists in the recruitment of experienced teaching assistants. We are the only agency who specifically recruit teaching assistants rather than teachers and general education professionals.  I set up the business as I recognised there was a gap in the market for an agency who could supply quality support staff to special needs schools and to mainstream schools who have SEN (special educational needs) pupils that require specialist support.

At Teaching Support we all genuinely care about the schools that we work with and getting the right candidate to work with each child every time.  We build very strong relationships with the schools we work with. Unlike other agencies we will work in the schools every term so we can be sure that we are recruiting the right people for them.  This is really important as we work with the schools PRUs (Pupil Referral Units) catering for children with significant emotional and  behavioural difficulties.  The children have often been permanently excluded from one or more of their previous schools.  They are often very challenging, have huge barriers to learning and may also be both physically and verbally abusive.  It is vital we find the right staff especially when working with specialist support schools for children with profound and multiple disabilities including those who are physically disabled as well as often being non-verbal.  The type of person and the skill set that you are looking for when recruiting for these schools is very different. That is why it’s so fundamental that we work in the schools and have regular meetings to ensure we understand the school’s needs.

Sophie Timms on running Teaching Support…

I set up Teaching Support nearly 4 years ago after working for another company who also recruit for schools.  I was 26 at the time and I wanted to offer a really personal and caring service to schools, something that was people focused rather than target focused.

Teaching Support - Recruiting Specialist Staff for SchoolsThe area of development that I have had to work on the most is my ability as a manager.  I have 3 permanent members of staff and I recognised management does not come easily to me!  I initially found it very difficult to explain to people what I wanted from them and raising queries with them if I felt they were doing something wrong.  It’s obviously essential to the growth of any business that everyone is working towards a common goal. I realised that by shying away from telling people what I wanted was actually detrimental to the business.  You can’t expect people to understand what you want if you haven’t told them.  I have had situations (specifically the use of mobile phones) which I have found very difficult to tackle.  I used to worry that it would cause friction in the office – I think I wanted to be everyone’s friend rather than their manager.  As I have mentioned before I have a fantastic team and I learnt people would much rather that you tell them how you are feeling.  If you lay down ground rules and explain your reasons behind them, then people will respect you. As long as you are reasonable I have found it creates a better environment for people to work in.

The business has grown year on year.  I started working at home on my own and now having an office with a team of 4.  I was a runner up in The Kent Business Woman of the Year awards which was really exciting, especially as I was 9 months pregnant at the time.  That was a huge honour for me and the team – not to mention a particularly good send off for my maternity leave!  As a business Teaching Support has grown over 300% this year alone which is something that we are all very proud of.  We have maintained integrity and worked really hard as a team to build the business, it just shows all the hard work has paid off.

Business Tip:

“I think that one of the key things to building up any business is to accept help from others and to ask for help from those around you.  People on the whole are really keen to support young men and women in business so accept their advice and take help from wherever you can!”

Star Business of the Month

Star Business of the Month – Podplus – June 2015

by digitalbeans

Podplus - Specialist sports footwear, clothing and injury clinic including podiatry, chiropody and physiotherapy.We caught up with Kate Austen joint owner of Podplus with her brother Tom to find out just why they started a business:

What is Podplus?

Podplus is a Sports Shop & Injury Clinic based in Ashford. The business offers a shoe fitting service to all customers so that they can get appropriate advice on what will suit their foot position & activity to prevent injury keeping you comfortable whilst being active.

The business also offers clinics via appointment for Podiatry (lower limb and foot problems), Physiotherapy and Deep Tissue Massage to treat any injuries, or provide maintenance for sports and non sports people of all ages.

Why did you take on the entrepreneurial challenge?

I was 22 when I started Podplus, I felt I had nothing to lose by giving entrepreneurship a go – I needed a job that I enjoyed and was able to create one with this opportunity.

The initial idea wasn’t mine, I took the challenge on which was suggested by my brother Tom. He was practising as a Podiatrist for the NHS and felt there was a lack of advice and products to help people manage very common foot and lower limb problems. He was right! Podplus now provides specialist products and services that were not previously available across Kent and East Sussex. Our customers happily travel to our base in Ashford from a wide reaching radius to take advantage of our services.

Podplus - Specialist sports footwear, clothing and injury clinic including podiatry, chiropody and physiotherapy.What makes you different?

The products we stock are designed for activity and not found on the high street – they are unique and of high quality to ensure they look good and feel great. One of our strongest aspects is the consistency in our customer service. Before selecting a product every member of our team provides advice and guidance to the customer by listening to them and taking their best interests to heart. This ensures the right product is selected to meet the needs of the customer. A couple of our top selling items are:

Brooks Adrenaline Walker – A discrete everyday walking shoe designed to support and cushion your body from the impact of walking.

Vasyli Supportive Insole – One of the best insoles and only sold via health professionals, they can support your feet to help treat common arch & heel pain (Plantar Fasciitis)

Happy 10th Birthday! What continues to drive you after 10 years?

Pod Plus 10th birthdayPodplus is now a team, as an owner of the business I have a duty to every member of my team to give my best. The business still fills a void in the market, every customer deserves the best service too! Everyone should have the opportunity to be active and comfortable, we aim to provide this every step of the way.

Thanks to all those who joined us in celebrating and have made the business what it is today – We clinked glasses of Chapel Down bubbles (courtesy of former Institute of Directors Chairman Frazer Thompson) with Ashford Mayor John Link, Peter Davidson former chair of Julie Rose Stadium Trust, Paul Barron from the Kent Foundation who support young business, Joyce & Don Rose plus plenty of staff & customers past present and future for a fun day of celebration. THANK YOU!

What is your top business tip?

“Only recently I added a permanent bookkeeper/finance member to our team – it really helped to focus the ‘business’ needs rather than continuing to keep afloat and being bogged down in the daily needs, decisions can be made with an overarching goal in mind.”

Get in Touch with Podplus:

Podplus Company Website

 

Podplus Shopping Website

 

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