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CASE STUDY: STRATEGIC SPUR
Strategic Spur
Marketing Constulancy
Melton Mowbray
01949 861724
Based in offices in converted stables on the family farm near Melton Mowbray, Strategic Spur was founded on her dining table in October 2004 by Tricia Pedlar after a 20 year career in senior marketing and management roles for FTSE 100 companies Smith and Nephew and Boots and provides Marketing Consultancy for a range of clients, specialising in working with equine, rural, creative, social enterprises, health & beauty and women entrepreneurs. 2 ½ years on, Tricia describes the role the Welland Enterprise Agency has played in the establishment and growth of her business.
Armed with a business degree and experience of running multi million £ global health & beauty brands, I was not short on specialist marketing expertise, but a complete newcomer at the practicalities of starting, running and managing the growth of a new business.
This is where the Welland Enterprise Agency really helped.
From an initial meeting with Mike Nix, one of the business advisers, helped to review my business plan and uttered the immortal words “I think it will take you twice as long and cost you double to start up than you are forecasting”… wise words indeed, which proved completely accurate.
But Mike went on to talk through how there were small grant funds available for start up marketing and IT projects, a few hundred pounds, which made a big difference to affording the professionalism of the website, the logo, stationery, business cards, leaflets and a distinctive ad on the back of my 4x4.
This support, and being made aware of useful local networks led to joining WiRE ( women in rural enterprise) where I discovered a graphic designer in the next village and several other suppliers and collaborators.
The Welland also helped make sense of the jigsaw puzzle of business support available and connections made via them also delivered the first few key projects. Leaflets co-funded by the Welland at the WiRE national conference delivered the opportunity to tender and win a European funded Leader+ project “Willows in Powys” in rural Mid Wales, helping Willow growers and basket makers identify and exploit profitable new markets, like willow coffins.
In July 2005, Welland Enterprise again helped the business. We entered and won the “Most Promising Business Start-Up” award, presented at the CLA Game Fair at Belvoir Castle, a great showcase for my business.
A Welland organised stand in the marquee at the Game Fair, where we displayed the award also led to another contact which delivered work as a registered expert support provider for the defra funded “Enterprise four Inclusion” programme, helping four East Midlands Social Enterprises from Spalding to Owston to Bakewell and ongoing links with the Plunkett Foundation, a leading rural development organisation.
As the business grew, Welland Enterprise Agency has continued to be a source of practical information and support, helping with a business forecasting and cash flow spreadsheet and advice, tailored to the needs of a knowledge based business.
A Welland Growth Grant also helped the business expand with support for additional market research, marketing materials, upgrading ICT provision, including a PDA to be able to send / receive email when out of the office.
Strategic Spur has now grown well outside the Welland boundaries, delivering business in Wales, East of England, Cornwall and the North West as well as being a finalist in the Leicestershire ukti Passport to Export awards, November 2006, for work researching the market for our consultancy in Shanghai, China and the newer member states of the EU.
Recently, I attended the Business Boot Camp, part of the Enterprising Welland Women Initiative, designed especially to help rural women grow successfully established business, this is paying big dividends, helping me to focus on clear growth strategies and contacts made within the course have resulted in me working with two other consultants to develop a distinctive business mentoring programme to roll out Nationally.
We’ve had two student placements from Leicester and Toulouse working in the business, and are now signposting our own local contacts and clients to the Welland service. The most recent of these is my own sister, swooping a career as a physio to build a business using posture development to enhance sporting performance; she starts her “starting in business” course this week!
Across the Welland, people face similar challenges, especially relating to access to services which the Welland Enterprise Agency understand and they design support that makes real sense and a real difference.
Leicester may be my County centre, but its 26 miles away and as it’s on track to become Europe’s first majority non-white City, the issues of businesses there are very different.
The support from the Welland Enterprise Agency has been the key to the success of Strategic Spur and remains a useful source of information, advice and support for us. I would really like to see them continuing to build and develop their service.”
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