SmartChartz
CASE STUDY 71
SmartChartz
Abiola also made use of training courses that Business Link London recommended. More recently, she has been on a course on public sector contracts.“ That’ s my target market now and it helps to understand how to fill in their proposals,” she says.“ It was excellent, as it has given me the confidence to talk to them now.”
Expanding into new areas
It was an innocuous conversation Abiola had with the head of music at a school in Barnet that initiated her business expansion into training and development courses.“ The teacher had heard about my product and said I must have developed some understanding of how to get children to behave on the back of developing my product,” she recalls. Abiola started by training specialist music teachers and has since trained other primary school teachers in classroom management from Barnet( where her home business is based), Lambeth, Harrow and Kingston. But it’ s not just the education sector that’ s interested in Abiola’ s techniques.“ I’ ve
also been asked to provide training to businesses on managing workplace dynamics,” she says.
This takes her classroom management skills into the boardroom and businesses around the country. Abiola is realistic about what this means for the future of her business.“ In order to roll out the training programme across the whole of the UK, I will have to recruit some staff to help me,” she says. At the same time, Abiola has received lots of feedback from parents wanting new designs of her SmartChartz, as well as teachers requesting a classroom product.
It’ s a far cry from 2004, when Abiola didn’ t know where to begin in setting up her business.“ I wouldn’ t be where I am today without Business Link London’ s support at the beginning,” she adds.“ My experience of working with them has been extremely positive.”
Abiola’ s top tips
Research your market – find out from people who aren’ t your family or friends whether they’ d buy what you’ re offering
Research your price point amongst a large cohort of respondents
Don’ t have tunnel vision; be flexible enough to change your business, as long as what you’ re doing is still related to your original product or concept
ISSUE FIVE 2007 engage | uk