Case Study - Profusion

Floristry is a very competitive business – and keeping an eye on the competition is all part of it! That was something that Ian Sharp learnt through the southlondon.biz, pre-start programme of seminars and one to one business advice sessions. Ian took advantage of the training seminars, workshops and one to one advice provided by the southlondon.biz team of Business Link accredited business advisers, and as a result he felt confident and supported when he finally launched Profusion, which sells floristry and gift ideas as well as catering for weddings, corporate events – and funerals.

Although he is aware that would-be competitors frequently come in to the shop pretending to be customers, he is not worried as he’s very sure about the recipe for success. “It’s all about the goodwill built from experience, location, matching your product and services to the market and expanding that market. Good networking and building relationships are also important, as it’s so much easier selling to an existing customer.”

Ian very much attributes his success to the southlondon.biz service that set him on his way – and the one-to-one mentoring help that is still on-going from business adviser Barbara Harding.

“There has been such a range of help”, he says. “The recruitment interview workshop was invaluable, I learnt how to recruit the best and most experienced candidates with more than 10 years experience in the business. I could also not have done without the help and advice regarding the financial and legal requirements of running a business,” he continues, “I know that there are still mistakes that can be made, that is a learning process that everyone must go through, but you can minimize them with as much preparation as possible by using advisers, courses and research.”

Profusion is based at
13 Church Street
Twickenham
Tel: 0845 408 4038

May 2005