Case studies - business support
Company: Brand Xposure
Owners: Sarah Sayed &
Tessa Meade
Location: Brixton
Website: www.brandxposure.co.uk
Brand Xposure was the brainchild of Sarah Sayed and Tessa Meade, who wanted to set up a promotional merchandise company creating custom-made, unique promotional materials. The company opened in November 2001 in a unit in the Bon Marché centre in Brixton.
Despite having a novel idea, however, Sarah and Tessa struggled to find the finances to run the business. Various major banks turned them down on the basis that they didn’t have a credit history.
They turned to Business Link for London and its local provider in the area, GLE oneLondon, for assistance, who placed them on a one-day course on setting up a business. This introduced them to a business adviser, who gave them finance, business planning and marketing advice, as well as details of the GLE oneLondon loan fund. The loan fund panel were impressed with Brand Xposure’s suggestions, commitment and dedication to the business idea, and awarded them a loan of £3,000 in April 2002.
This was a big relief for Sarah and Tessa, who had so far struggled to convince every financial institution they had seen to take their business seriously. “One bank manager even asked us who had written the proposal, doubtful that we had written it ourselves,” says Sarah. “Although all of the bank adverts make it sound easy to get funds and open bank accounts, we did not find this the case. No one would give us an overdraft facility for a relatively small amount of money and to actually get our account up and running took three months.”
The company also found it hard to manage its cashflow in the beginning, even though there were orders in the pipeline. “On the advice of our business adviser we managed to get over this initial hurdle by watching our funds and pre-charging some clients in order to receive the cash up front,” says Sarah.
A year on, the business now nets an income of over £100,000 and Brand Xposure is already looking to expand to bigger premises. Both Sarah and Tessa love running their own business and are grateful to GLE oneLondon for helping them through the tough times. “The pride you get from developing a company and watching it grow into a thriving business cannot be equalled,” says Sarah.
For entrepreneurs eager to start their own business, Brand Xposure offers the following advice: “If you believe that you have an idea for a business that will work, be persistent and keep knocking on doors,” advises Sarah. “Don’t be put off by the negative advice and attitude that you sometimes receive from various financial institutions. Get as much advice and support as you can from organisations such as Business Link for London and GLE oneLondon, which can offer you a lot of help especially at the start when you yourself are a bit unsure of the best way to start the business.”