BEST NEW ENTREPRENEUR
AWARDS 2022
SPONSORED BY ENTERPRISE MADE SIMPLE
FINALIST
Gemma West ( First Living )
Presentation – Enterprise Made Simple managing director Andy Fay presents the Best New Entrepreneur award to Phoenix 2 Retail CEO Chris Kelly .
WINNER
CHRIS KELLY ( Phoenix 2 Retail )
Some may have questioned the wisdom of starting a business at the height of the Covid pandemic – but it has paid off handsomely for Hartlepool entrepreneur Chris Kelly .
For Chris – whose specialist marketing agency Phoenix 2 Retail has turned over £ 15m in the past year – says it gave him time to properly consider where he wanted the business to go .
The Hartlepool-based firm is run by a team of retail professionals with a combined experience of more than 75 years .
Chris started his career in the finance and insurance industry with Drive Vauxhall . But his latest venture is really motoring thanks to his knowledge of the vaping sector , its consumers and the retail industry in general .
He said : “ We went from a two-year-old business turning over half a million pounds a month to turning over £ 15m a month in the last 12 months . The work the guys have done behind the scenes , hopefully that made us stand out .
“ We started the business in the very early part of Covid , which gave us the time to think about what we wanted to do and how we wanted to get there .
“ By the time we hit October 2021 , we really started to feel we ’ d found a niche in the market . We ’ re probably the only company in our industry who don ’ t own a brand , so we ’ re always putting the customer , the category , first – I think that ’ s set us apart from what has been an industry controlled by big tobacco companies and huge businesses who all have a brand .”
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Andy Fay , managing director of Enterprise Made Simple , said : “ It was a privilege to be able to present the award for the Best New Entrepreneur . This award is central to EMS ’ s core values , as entrepreneurship is something we are so passionate about and at the centre of everything we do . Congratulations to Chris Kelly ( Phoenix 2 Retail ) as category winner , a well-deserved acknowledgement for an outstanding year . Also , big congratulations to the two nominees , Gemma West ( First Living ) and Melissa Mullen ( Melissa Jane Floral ), who have both excelled and built fantastic businesses .”
An air hostess for 18 years , the Covid pandemic saw Gemma made redundant from her British Airways cabin crew role . But rather than stay grounded for long , her new business is taking off – and it ’ s fulfilling a passion to care for people .
Middlesbrough-based First Living was created to help the elderly live independently in their own homes , but with a helping hand – and that ’ s where Gemma comes in . Reliable , trustworthy and with a natural ability to communicate effectively , she already cares for 10 clients and plans to take on an employee .
She admits : “ It took bravery , creativity and work ethic to take a leap , but working with people and caring for the community is why First Living was created .”
FINALIST
Melissa Mullen ( Melissa Jane Floral )
Over the past two years , Melissa , of Stocktonbased Melissa Jane Floral , has grown into a confident and capable florist with exceptional people skills .
Whatever the order , each customer gets 100 per cent attention , with Melissa intuitively understanding individual requests and needs . From her eco-friendly craft packaging to every petal being carefully selected for bouquets and arrangements , her work and attention to detail has seen her business blossom .
Since taking an initial floristry course in Durham , her skills have seen her business – and home workshop – expand to meet a growing demand for everything from small bouquets to wedding and funeral displays .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 111