CASE STUDY
Business : Johnstone Landscapes Location : Chippenham Founded : 1990 No of employees : 10
There is a greater spirit of intrapreneurship amongst the team and
I am excited about the next 12 months
Established over 30 years ago Johnstone Landscapes designs and builds gardens across the south west and south of England .
Our team regularly works with Chelsea Best in Show and Gold winner designers , offering commercial landscaping , maintenance and planting plans as well as finding innovative solutions to add water and lighting to projects . Commercial clients include care homes and supermarket grounds as well as looking after many green infrastructure projects .
When the pandemic began our biggest challenge was finding new ways of working to keep the business moving and the team safe . The whole team agreed to work in two ‘ bubbles ’ which would ensure we could keep going if someone fell ill in one of the teams . However , this did come with its challenges and costs in order to adhere to the Government guidelines - separate travel , increased PPE , hygiene facilities and people taking days off when self isolation was necessary in order to keep everyone safe and avoid closing down .
We also had to navigate logistical issues in terms of a consistent supply of materials . Supply chain problems really do impact our business and we had to work hard to manage clients ’ expectations .
From challenge to opportunity
We secured a Bounce Back Loan which allowed us to keep moving in the right direction . Once we knew we could keep the doors open and avoid redundancies , we worked hard to win our largest projects yet – two domestic gardens , each project breaking a £ 1m glass ceiling . COVID-19 has allowed us to become more focused on the jobs we really want and what we need to do to win them , and in winning them we thankfully haven ’ t needed to use the loan .
We successfully applied for a COVID recovery grant and were awarded £ 1,600 to purchase a new A1 printer . This has changed the type of tenders we are able to successfully and efficiently participate in , saving us time as we can immediately see the drawings in the scale we need without involving an external printer .
Connecting with the Growth Hub
I found the Growth Hub whilst searching for support online . The team has helped me with questions around Brexit and trade changes , and I have also taken part in one of the Peer Network cohorts which ran for around eight weeks . I found the process highly engaging . The mentoring support ( 3.5hrs ) included in this programme was provided by Alison Edgar MBE , my cohort facilitator , and we have remained in contact . Alison was invaluable and incredibly supportive to me , introducing me to some key business changes I would never have achieved on my own . It is thanks to the Growth Hub that this introduction happened .
We are now looking at investing in augmented reality in order to meet the expectations of our clients and enable greater engagement in the design process . I also feel that we are in a stronger place and the team has a greater vested interest .