smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Richard Stobart founded web and software development consultancy Unboxed Consulting four years ago. The company now has a turnover of  £1.6 million.

Where did you get the idea?

When I was the customer of outside ‘consultants’, the experience made me frustrated and I thought I could offer a better service myself. So I set up Unboxed Consulting.

How did you get funding?

I started the business with next to nothing. I ploughed everything we made back into it and it very quickly became self-funding. Later when we started to expand I borrowed £50,000 – which we paid back within a year.

How have you marketed the company?

We do a lot of guerrilla marketing, sponsored events, and drinks evenings. We also get customers recommending us to people. Traditional marketing doesn’t work very well with the types of clients we look to attract.

What have you learned?

A huge amount about myself. I always thought I was an introvert and couldn’t sell things. Now I’m confident at leading presentations to clients –something I’ve become very good at with practice.

Where next?

We’re actually going for a staff weekend away to decide. We like to think of ourselves as a federation of intelligent people, rather than a top down structure. That way we can ensure we are always coming up with innovative new ideas,

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