Enterprise Nation

Nakia and Kenesha are sisters. They are also two halves that make up the whole of Ackces, a home based business that provides a platform for other businesses to network online. They take some time out from their home office to answer some questions.

When did you start Ackces?

My sister and I have been working from home for the past 18 months but just started trading officially two months ago. We spent 18 months planning and researching and building the website, before launching live.

What does the business do?

Ackces.com is one of the UK's newest online business networking and social media sites. We launched it as a way to help entrepreneurs and freelance consultants market and grow their business. Members have the option to offer small amounts of free time, free advice and tips, and simple 'how to' mini guides to each other in an effort to boost their business and attract new contracts. Over the next few months we hope to focus more on getting media exposure for our members - amongst their peers and within the press.

How did you come up with the idea?

We came up with the idea after helping a friend with her company ‘women mentoring women’. At the time I was organising events and trying to get exposure. My friend and I found it a struggle to market our companies and to attract the type of clients we wanted.  We wanted ackces to be about giving members the opportunities they need to push their business forward.

Did you need to raise funding to get started or is the business self-funded?

My sister and I both completed The New Entrepreneur Scholar Programme run by the East London business centre and Princes Trust and were awarded a grant to help with the start up of the company. We have a strong support system of people who believe in us and we work sometimes two or even three jobs to raise the funding we need. We believe in hard work and have worked hard all our lives so we’re used to it.

Are any of your family involved in the business?

We are sisters and both want the same things in life. Luckily we are about the same age and have always been best friends. This business is a wonderful opportunity to work together, doing something we thoroughly love and enjoy.

How are you promoting yourself?

We are serial networkers, because we love meeting new people and are really into the networking scene. As creative individuals we both have strong urges to write and are focusing on writing articles, aimed at helping entrepreneurs market their business and network more effectively. We are also bloggers and have a strong network of followers on Msn, MySpace, Bebo and many more platforms.

Do you work from a dedicated room in the house? If so, can you tell us a bit about it?

We are based in London and our environment is very organised. We have a special corner of the room dedicated as our office. We have to be organised and disciplined. This motivates you and gives you a clear indication of where you are and where you are going. We work irregular hours, on top of the typical nine to five hours we do in the office, not to mention weekends. I think we definitely put in more hours working from home. You are always tempted to put in more hours and often feel slightly guilty if you don't! Having your work station in such close proximity tempts you to always feel it’s necessary to be working but to be quite honest we love every minute of it!

What is your one favourite piece of technology (software, hardware or gadget?)

We cannot do without our Blackberries and our laptops! Our Blackberries are essential for helping us to keep up to date with our messages, and our laptops act as our portable office. These two devices are always by our sides.

Nakia Kia Garriques talks to Emma Jones

• Ackces.com