Onesie Warehouse- Star Business of the Month – May 2015

The Story

Onesie WarehouseHi 🙂 I’m Georgina and Onesie Warehouse started after selling hundreds of the all in one piece suits from my dining room table via Facebay (Groups on facebook selling locally to one another). Whilst this was happening my Sister, Lucy Hall who runs Kent Social Media was building the Onesie Warehouse website. This was all happening when onesies just emerged as a super comfy fashion item worn by many celebrities including One Direction and Brad Pitt. Once the website was launched and passed on to me the competition was rife – however sales were still pouring in. Therefore I made the decision to transform my garage into a Warehouse and continue to increase stock levels in order to market a wider range of designs and styles.

I knew for the business to keep going amongst big competitors such as New Look, boohoo.com, Marks & Spencers, Next and many more I needed to create partnerships. I have always liked the idea of doing business and giving back. I read Richard Branson’s ‘Screw Business as Usual’ and this inspired me to start partnering with charities.

Onesie WarehouseMy first charity partnership was JDRF a large Type 1 Diabetes Charity which offers support and research to cure those diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I provided their official Onesie and gave £5 from each sale to the charity as well as going the extra mile to improve awareness of the charity. I helped with their competitions providing a onesie as a prize and held a large campaign around World Diabetes day when JDRF put on a huge walk which they do every year. I also gained my first celebrity endorser, Simon King of The Hairy Bikers. Over 150 sales of the onesie came just from the charity and raised over £750 in a few months.

I am now partnered with Anthony Nolan, the blood cancer charity, The Children’s Air Ambulance and will soon be partnering with a cause for animals, to utilise this we will make use of our fleece animal onesies. I believe Onesie Warehouse growth will be centred around developing strong partnerships and giving back to great charities.

Why start a business?

I have always wanted to run my own successful business; after university studying Media, Communication and Cultural studies I travelled to South America and returned becoming part owner of a woman’s clothing boutique. It was great fun and such a learning curve but I wanted something more and went on to travel again for a year to Asia and Australasia.

Team OnesieOn return I started managing music artists. This combined my two passions, the first being music and the second, selling, which was brought on by years as a market trader for my family’s business. I became part of a new digital music start up company which allowed me to be involved in music projects and come up with creative ideas on a daily basis. Two years on and I am now COO for the company and have since started a new music business alongside this with a great passionate team.

Onesie Warehouse and the music management both came to fruition at the same time. I really do consider myself lucky that I have a business with low costs that is growing and at the same time building a successful career in the music industry – two completely different businesses that provides an equal amount of passion. I will continue to grow Onesie Warehouse and hopefully pass the business to either family or other passionate people who believe in the brand and its partnerships. I would love to continue to run both businesses, however managing my time between the two can prove difficult at times.

Finally, I feel I must use my selling skills to plug the Business Mentoring on offer from Kent Foundation. My Mentor Jo, has not only been a great guide but she has offered fantastic support, which when times have got stressful has made me feel at ease to create strategies and take a new approach to combating problems that have arisen in the business.

Business Tip:

Its hard for me to give just one business tip so here is a few for those early on in their business.

“Keep moving forward, think of new ways to grow everyday and start that plan as soon as possible. Don’t sit on things or procrastinate.”

“Partnering with those more experienced or those that can help you grow is important.”

“Finally give back where you can because you can.”

Get In Touch with Onesie Warehouse:

Website          Facebook        Twitter

Kent Social Media – Star Business of the Month – April 2015

Kent Social Media – What’s it all about?Kent Social Media

Kent Social Media is the small and local business set up to help to grow other small and local businesses. Kent Social Media is a full service strategic marketing agency with one clear aim:

“To deliver targeted results across several key areas; web design, app creation, social media marketing, SEO, email marketing, content marketing, digital marketing and publishing niche content.”

This combination has helped many of our clients to interact and engage with their customers on a much higher level.

We offer a personal, passionate & tailored service to each and every one of our clients, large or small.

Our team aim to define a digital strategy focusing on driving your businesses key commercial goals. Raising your profile, increasing efficiency, boosting revenue, reducing cost, training your staff or communicating better with your customers are only few business priorities that are important for all companies.

We provide local businesses with the support and expertise they need to avoid over spending with little return.

Meet Lucy Hall: The Brains Behind The Business

Lucy Hall Kent Social MediaHelping Small businesses is my passion! I come from a family of small businesses from Market Traders, antique dealers, to shop owners. I feel very lucky that I have always been brought up to know the value of business and running your own show! I’ve always been intrigued with entrepreneurs and the way they work and the reasons they do what they do. It’s not easy to run your own business and it’s very, very brave. Which is one of the reasons why I like to offer as much advice and encouragement as possible. It is one of the reasons why I started my business and the reason my own business has evolved just as the Internet has over the past few years.Lucy Hall Kent Social Media Theo Paphitis

By also running online projects – Such as – Pixiebo (online fashion boutique, Onesie Warehouse, Vintage and Upcycled which won the Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday Award last November, Inside Maidstone etc – it has helped me to understand my own customers better and what they are looking to achieve. I have learnt so much over the last 12 years about sales and marketing – what to do, what not to do, who to listen to and not too. I want to teach start-ups and business owners everything I have learned so they can use these skills to rock their business online and be in control of their own customer’s online experience! Next I will be starting DIY Digital which is an online course website to help and teach small businesses to use the various digital mediums available to them.

Business Tip:

“Remember to be brave and don’t hold back. Strategy is important but so is impulse…If you see a Bandwagon it’s too late!”

Get in Touch with Lucy Hall – Kent Social Media

@LucysHall     @KentSocialMedia   Website    Facebook    LinkedIn

This Art of Mine – Star Business of the Month – February 2015

This Art of Mine, arts and crafts studio Maidstone KentAt This Art of Mine we help people to enjoy their leisure time through our program of art workshops and short courses. We deliver high quality courses that encourage people to try things they may never have tried before such as glass fusing, ceramic painting, jewellery making and painting.

We also run art workshops as corporate team building events and host several birthday or hen parties each weekend at our creative studio near Maidstone. Our studio is based in a converted barn on a flower farm and seats up to 60 people.

This Art of Mine Gemma BlackerMeet Gemma:

I started This Art of Mines in 2010 when I was 24 and it has grown steadily over the last five years. Last year we launched our own range of craft kits that are sold in independent retailers and online.

I started the business because after I left university I went down the traditional route of getting a graduate job in a corporate world and after a while I realized this was not for me. I really wanted to work for myself and my hobby was art so I thought I would take the plunge and set up my own company teaching art workshops.

This Art of Mine, arts and craft studio, Maidstone KentThe biggest achievements we have had as a company has been to turn a profit. I know it sounds silly but after paying off our set up costs we turned a profit in our fourth year of trading which was a great achievement.

Being featured in the Guardian was an exciting time plus we have had the opportunity to work alongside big corporations such as the BBC, Kimberley Clark and Mylan Pharmaceuticals which have made the job really fun.

The aim over the next five years is to become the best art course provider in Kent. To do this we will need to hire more staff and tutors and possibly relocate our offices. Currently one of our biggest challenges is running a business in a rural location. The scenery is beautiful and it’s a lovely place to work but the poor internet connection and phone signal are very difficult to deal with, making progress slow and frustrating.

Business Tip:

“My advice would be that you can work for yourself and earn a decent living as long as you are doing something you are really passionate about. If the product does not get you excited then it is not going to work, find something you really love and get behind it.”

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

Ten and Bourne Digital Creative Agency“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.

anthony-blissAfter 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.

chris-meadWe 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.

Brave Little Tank digital strategy and marketing

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:

Website     Facebook     Twitter    LinkedIn

Runway Training – Star Business of the Month – November 2014

About Runway Training Runway Training and Apprenticeships

Founded in 2008, Runway Training was born out of a need for a more flexible and accessible way for adult learners to gain level 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

Oliver Trailor - Runway Training and Apprenticeships

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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VooServers – Kent Star Business of the Month – September 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.

Matt Parkinson - Voo Servers KEiBA Finalist

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!”

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KEiBA 2014 Finalist Logo