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with Quality Training and
Business Support

Not so Blind Ambition

Ten years ago Simon and Sue Ellis worked in the hospitality industry. Simon as general manager to a chain of cafes and coffee shops, Sue worked her way up from head receptionist to Sales and Marketing Manager at Hatton Court Hotel in Gloucester.

Then Simon was made redundant. "He looked at his skills and decided that as he'd trained staff in food and hygiene as part of his job, perhaps he could offer that service to other businesses," said Sue.

It helped that Simon had become an accredited trainer in his job so he had all the qualifications needed. The couple set up Envesca, which now runs a wide range of food hygiene and health and safety courses.

It took a year for Simon to establish the business and Sue left her job in 1998 to help support him. For eight years they ran the business from home, not quite believing that they had identified a niche market in the area and were providing an essential service which their customers couldn't find easily elsewhere.

Turnover was increasing on an average of 10% per year, there were four people in their offices at home and it was all getting rather crowded, especially when they decided they needed to take on a part-timer. They knew they needed help and contacted Philip Timson at Gloucestershire Enterprise Limited for advice.

"We really valued his impartial advice," said Sue. "Working together as a married couple it can be difficult to keep a perspective on the business, so a trusted and qualified outside opinion was of great value to us."

Whilst Simon and Sue recognised the value of their business, they were also nervous about making radical changes.

"Philip encouraged us to look at the business afresh, and particularly our pricing strategy," said Sue. "We hadn't wanted to upset our clients by increasing our prices, but Philip explained to us that our services had grown which gave us the right and the opportunity to increase our fees. We did and were relieved and a little surprised to discover that our clients were happy to pay. We had also wanted to implement a customer support system and Philip helped us to do this too."

Now Simon and Sue invite Philip in once every month or so to help them plan and set targets, and last year they even moved into offices on Stroud Road in Gloucester.

"Thanks to Philip, we've been able to see for ourselves the opportunities in our business," said Sue. "We have ambitions for it and want it to stand on its own feet, and it couldn't really do that based from our house."

"Without Philip's help, we would probably still be talking about moving into new offices, setting up a customer support scheme and worrying about whether we could increase our prices, but not doing it." "For the first time I now recognise and can say, that we have a successful business which could run independently without us."

For information about Envesca call 01452 502113.

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