Written by Rosie on March 16, 2009 – 9:49 am
Following on from my previous blog, I am asking for stories about business success in Dorset to counteract the doom and gloom merchants. We know there are successful businesses out there. A well publicised one is Well Worths in Dorchester, which made the National news. Even with the fantastic success on their opening day, the newsreader had to make some comment about how long it will last.
I visited Claire and her team on Saturday. The place was really busy. The store looks clean, modern, and there were lots of local products; even Dorset Chocolate Cow Poo!. Long may their success last, because they deserve it.
Dorset Cereals is another company which is doing well and growing. They now have products in 63 countries around the world. I can even buy it in North Cyprus, and don’t have to take their muesli with me any more. (There is no muesli like it)
If your business is doing well, please let me know and let’s spread the word. Using an old slogan – tell S.I.D! Pass it on.
I was made redundant four years ago at 46 years old, after many years commuting to a job I never really enjoyed. The redundancy gave me a chance to re-evaluate my life. With a large mortgage and three teenage girls, it was a difficult time. We made the move to Dorset, purchasing the lease on Studland Stores and Post Office. Neither Jackie or I had any experience of this and our first day coincided with the first days of the Summer Holidays. Talk about jump in at the deep end!
We have built up a loyal customer base, listening to their needs and provding ‘all that you need’, as our slogan puts it. After two years of waiting to hear whether we could keep the Post Office, we can. Sales have continued to grow. I was even nominated for Local Retailer of the Year. This January’s sales were up on last year. Although the job involves long hours and is seven days a week, I love it. Would I have risked the change without the redundancy? Sometimes, good comes out of the darkest hour.
TDSi has been manufacturing electronic security systems for 27 years. based in Poole, we embarked on a market and product diversification strategy 4 years ago and we are seeing the results. Sales growth in 2007/8 was 14% and we are on target for 50+% sales growth for 2008/09. The recession is having some effect on our business in that UK sales growth has slowed, but we’re growing well in markets such as China andf the Middle East. We’re having to be prudent and careful in the current times, but we are still looking to maintain growth albeit at a reduced rate.
In 2007 I started thinking about returning to work on a part-time basis. My eldest son had started school and my youngest son attended the local nursery and playgroup. By chance my husband’s company needed someone to update their pricing spreadsheets, the work could be done from home using an Internet connection. I setup Emerald http://www.emeraldcs.com offering Administration and Virtual Office Support working from home and also at my customer’s premises. I have an IT background with experience in technical support, presenting and training and these skills have proved invaluable. The work is incredibly varied, from updating / creating spreadsheets, secretarial work, updating websites, documentation, maintaining accounts, assisting with projects and computer training. The benefit for the customer is that they only pay for the hours worked and get access to a multi-skilled professional as and when needed. Most of my work comes through networking, referrals and local businesses. I enjoy working for myself and now work full time. Some of my customers are experiencing a reduction in sales, however, the admin side of the business still need completing and I’ve been busy since the New Year.
I am a practitioner and teacher and have been working in the field of Energy Medicine for 20 years. I specialise in Energy Psychology which help individuals, groups and organisations clear fears, anxieties, worries and blocks to success. During the latter part of 2008 I did experience a slow down in the number of clients and students but this has reversed sharply since late February. To me it has confirmed that we should not fall into the trap of living our lives and running our businesses through what is broadcast through the media. Instead I believe we should live our life based on our own personal experiences and not excepting what is on offer.
The shoots are defiantly flowering in my garden.
We have been trying to encourage clients to blog effectively using a method we call ‘Piggyback Blogging’ which basically means writing your blog about a story that has broken in the news that day – one of our clients, Commodore Yachting, did this very effectively recently with their ‘Lynx Effect’ blog.
It was a boat that had set on fire in the Solent close to their sailing area, they posted photographs up on their blog with a short report and then publicised the fact through social networking and pr – this resulted in almost 10 times their normal traffic over a sustained three day period – great result I would say.
So the lesson is why not feature a comment or information on regional, national or even international news – try to think what potential visitors might search for and include those words in your blog title – Good luck Roy
Last year in conjunction with our landlord my neice, sister in law and I renovated and extended a small cafe and shop in Kimmeridge. The response has been overwhelming. We have a farm shop and seating capacity for 35 inside and double that outside. With no experience of running a cafe apart from my neice who has run restaurants in London, it was an interesting 1st year to say the least, learning to operate the tills, credit card machines and cooking meals for 60 or more. Our turnover in the first year exceeded our budgets by 25% and the credit crunch appears to have had little impact down here. Already this year we are well ahead of budget. We believe that listening to what your customer wants is a key factor in todays market place.