Small businesses are saving Britain’s economy. It’s only with the huge effort of the 4.8m of them, keeping 23.9m people employed, that we’re recovering. That’s why we’re celebrating them. We teamed up with Smarta.com to give small businesses the recognition they deserve for achieving great things. #O2SmartaBiz is our weekly search for the smartest, most innovative businesses in the UK.
Fancy getting your business featured? Follow @O2BusinessUK and @SmartaHQ and tweet with #O2SmartaBiz to get involved http://www.smarta.com/blog/2013/4/are-you-the-smarta-and-o2-business-of-the-week
Here’s our round up of the businesses that were named an #O2SmartaBiz in July.
Wow Internet – For a lot of small businesses, growth is achieved through hundreds of great decisions but, for Wow Internet, one brilliant moment doubled its staff in Birmingham and sent the business global. A new contract secured in the Middle East will see Wow Internet open an office in Dubai. With that kind of impressive growth, we couldn’t wait to make Wow Internet our latest #O2Smartabiz.
What’s your smartest tip for entrepreneurs?
“Have the client central to everything you do, that way you will build a business that has longevity. Focus on the culture of your business and employ people that will fit into it. Employ the best people you can afford.”
Gamar – Whether you do it for branding or a love of your industry, getting your business noticed at events is crucial to succeeding as an entrepreneur. Gamar didn’t just set up a stall at the Digital Summer Camp, they got thousands of students involved in game design, and inspired them to discover their artistic talents. If bringing your industry to a new generation doesn’t deserve being named #O2SmartaBiz, we don’t know what does.
What’s your smartest tip for other entrepreneurs?
“Go out and talk to your audience to validate your business idea/ product early on, and take time to choose the right team whose personal goals are aligned with your business goals.”
Zeamu Music – Every small business knows what great PR can do for their fan base and sales, but how many manage to break onto the pages of national newspapers? That’s exactly what Zeamu Music did when The Independent reviewed the children’s record label. The paper praised Zeamu Music’s innovative idea of producing music sung by primary school children, for the same audience, and we did the same with an #O2SmartaBiz award.
What’s your smartest tip for other entrepreneurs?
“The key is to truly believe in what you are doing and understand that success rarely happens overnight… everything takes time, a huge amount of hard graft and a certain amount of luck!
Also, trust your instincts! We have made many mistakes along the way but if we look back, where we have made a mistake, we all felt that it was perhaps the wrong way to go at the outset and we should have trusted our gut. The smartest things seemed to happen from what at the time seemed to be the biggest challenges!
Being an entrepreneur will take you on an incredible journey of intense emotions, highs and lows and ups and downs – just be prepared to ride the wave!”
SolderSplash Labs Ltd – The latest technology holds huge potential for small businesses, especially if you’re the ones making it! SolderSplash built its first prototype Wi-Fi Development board. The new tech unlocks a massive range of potential for SolderSplash, and we were thrilled to give them an #O2SmartaBiz award to top off their brilliant week.
What’s your smartest tip for entrepreneurs?
“Have a dream and don’t give up. Review your goals regularly so that you can get closer to that dream. Tell everyone what you do, even if they might not be your target audience, you never know who’s listening!”
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