The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 46: Dec/Jan 2019 | Page 47
TRAINING COMPANY KEEPS IT IN THE
FAMILY WITH NEW ASSOCIATE COACH
Presentation and public speaking training company, Open Dawes Training, is not only growing the
training team, but is delighted with who it has managed to tempt out of retirement.
Chris Dawes, Founder and Managing
Director, was looking for an experienced
public speaker and trainer, with a long track-
record in business, and managed to attract
the perfect new recruit – his father.
David Dawes has now joined the team
at Open Dawes Training – which is a nice
turn of events, as earlier in his career it
was Chris who worked for David.
“All our courses are CPD accredited
and I was looking for someone I could
trust and who I knew would deliver our
training to our very high standards,” said
Chris. “David was the obvious choice. I
just wasn’t sure if I could tempt him out
of the ‘good life’ now he has retired, even
though he is only 64, so it is a huge vote
of confidence that he believes in what we
have created here. It feels like a huge coup
to get him on board!”
Chris’s background is in sales, and
for 13 years he worked for Dad David’s
company. It was here he honed his skills
in sales, business, and public speaking
and presenting. This eventually led him to
set up Chris Dawes Comms for his media
work, and later Open Dawes Training
Ltd to help others open doors by gaining
confidence and improving their skills in
public speaking and presenting.
Chris added, “David’s appointment
means we have done more than just added
extra resources to cope with the increased
commitments, but truly added value to the
organisation and its offerings.”
David said, “I’ve always been a
performer and I love to stand up in front
of a room full of people and help them to
understand how to be successful in sales
and in presenting. Throughout my career
I have been delivering sales presentations
and seminars, and providing training for
salespeople, many times alongside Chris,
in my previous business until I sold it.”
David hails from the Midlands and
his first career was in acting. He then
went into catering before deciding on a
new challenge and joining the RAF. After
leaving the Air Force, David went into IT
sales and had a very successful career,
during which he set up his own software
and IT businesses, based in the Swindon
and Bristol areas.
David’s appointment as an associate is
another stage in Open Dawes Training’s
expansion plans. The company recently
relocated to new Swindon offices. Plans
are also in hand to add further training,
such as in sales, to complement the public
speaking and presentation training.
Chris is also a sought-after
motorsports commentator, business and
live event host, voiceover artist, and runs
Chris Dawes Comms as a division of Open
Dawes Training.
Open Dawes Training runs CPD
accredited public speaking and
presentation training in groups and for
individuals, either inhouse or at Open
Dawes’s head office training centre in
Swindon.
It is one of an elite group of small
businesses in the Small Business Sunday
network run by former BBC’s Dragons’
Den dragon, Theo Paphitis.
For more information visit:
www.opendawestraining.co.uk,
call 01793 238259 or email:
[email protected].
It looks like a Virtual Assistant
should be on the PCH Christmas list
By Paul Holmes, PCH Business Support
2019 has been a big step forward for PCH
and I’ve loved it! Over the year I’ve developed
clearer messaging, narrowed focus and
the introduction of a subscription support
service for smaller businesses. This has
brought about dramatic change as well as
building upon relationships already in place.
This year I’ve been strategically working
with a range of business organisations,
especially Gloucestershire Growth Hubs,
and this has proven to be a great way to
showcase how I work and support clients
for growth.
As a result, my client base has been
building steadily, I’ve been helping
organisations grow and getting fantastic
feedback and there are new exciting projects
in the offing.
With the holiday season approaching, I
am becoming conscious of capacity – As
an associate director for Inspire, working
closely with four Growth Hub locations
across Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire
and a range of clients across the furthest
edges of Wiltshire, Somerset, Oxford and
Gloucestershire, time, geography and
resource limitations means one of my plans
for 2020 is to work smarter.
I remember an old mentor saying “Often
in life you won’t get the luxury of being
completely ready for the next step before you
decide to embrace it – it will embrace you
and you simply have to cope.”
This is a great thing and a mark of how far
PCH has matured in the last 12 months and
it is not lost on me that it is something I help
clients plan for all the time.
Bringing others into the business means
having to write down and share what and
how you do things.
Recently I was working with the MD of
a client company, to create a growth and
development plan as we had identified
that 2/3rd of their day job should really
be delegated. I have introduced them to a
Virtual Assistant, to add some initial support,
processes documented and take some of
the burden – especially as they have new
premises and a big launch in early 2020 to
get excited about. It can be a big step to take
this leap, however it’s necessary to move
forward.
Not surprisingly the VA turned the tables
on me and asked if I might consider some
similar help? Initially I declined, however as
my workload has increased, it’s now on my
to-do list for 2020.
If you are overwhelmed with work in your
business and need some help to define a
development plan so you can focus on the
value added and strategic activities – then
give me a call – I’ll work with you and your
team.
To find out more about my monthly
support packages and other services visit:
www.pchbusinesssupport.co.uk
email:
[email protected]
or call:
07715008521
Thank you to everyone
who has supported me
in 2019! Here’s to 2020.
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019
47