Enterprise Nation

As soon as we spoke to Oliver Knight, we knew him and his two fellow recent graduates were on to something with their idea to offer London tourists a special experience; a tour of the city in a classic Mini. This home business has all the parts in place to become a racing success story.

How did you come up with the idea?

Rob, my business partner got the idea while driving around London in his Classic Mini. He noticed that as he zipped past the usual sights, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, more sightsee-ers were turning around to look at the Mini than the sights. At this point Rob recognised the extent to which the iconic Mini design was so synonymous to the way people think about London, the people and the Culture that surrounds the city. The sight of a Mini in London instantly conjures up thoughts of the swinging 60’s and the radical social changes that came with that era. The car therefore offers people a link to a city that has been at the centre of the world’s cultural evolution for hundreds of years.

Did you start the business straight after leaving Uni?

I met Rob at a graduate recruitment day in central London in August, amongst 50 other young hopefuls gunning for potential IT sales roles, in possibly the worst new job market in post war London. We happened to be sitting next to one another, and together, were dismissed at the first opportunity.

We got chatting and decided to have some lunch and a beer, and got talking about our mutual love for London, cemented by our time at different London Universities. Both of us owning Minis also came up in conversation. Rob then introduced me to his idea of somehow introducing Minis into the tourist industry in London after noticing such an interest while driving around town.

Rob compiled a business plan, and we established that there was a viable market for a potentially lucrative business, that we were both extremely passionate about.

We started to set the business up formerly around Christmas, and we both left our full time jobs in May to focus all of our attention to smallcarBIGCITY.

How many of you run the business? What are your roles in the company?

The company comprises of Robert, Alastair and myself. Alastair is a friend from school that I have known for ten years. In terms of roles within the company, we are all involved with every stage, with individuals focusing upon areas that we feel the most comfortable and confident in. The allocation of tasks has been something that has arisen organically, with the three of us working so well together.

I have personally found this triad one of the most rewarding parts of the business, the way in which we mould and work with each other just seems to work well at this stage of the business.

How are you promoting the business and your tours?

We are promoting our business by trying to generate press interest and working along side the London visitor and the London planner publications. Due to the size of the organisation, we do not have the budget for large-scale advertisement, nor the capacity to provide for it. We have therefore focused upon companies that feel strongly about the business and want to help support us by providing us with their contacts and expertise in the tourist industry. We are working to build relationships with certain hand picked hotels that share similarities in terms of iconic design, and the experience they offer.

In tandem to this strategy, we are also focused upon viral marketing. We actively use Twitter and facebook to promote our business and generate interest.

Being young and starting a new business, there are a whole host of government funded business courses such as business link, that provide expertise and advice, while also producing networking opportunities.

Do you plan to expand to other cities?

Ultimately we would love to see the business move to other areas of the country. MG B’s in Brighton, Morris Minors in the Cotswolds, the potential is huge. For the time being we will focus entirely on establishing the business in London, with the prospect to move the model around the country and perhaps the globe at some stage in the future.

What is the one thing you’re most enjoying about being your own boss?

The one thing that I enjoy the most about being my own boss is that everything that either goes well or badly is due directly to my decisions and actions. I have found starting up a company and running a new business has been a roller coaster so far, and you really live every aspect of the company.

The feeling of sitting down, planning and then executing our strategy correctly and successfully, is the most gratifying thing that I have ever accomplished. Knowing that through our own thoughts and ideas that we have the propensity to not only provide ourselves with an income, but also provide a valuable and cultural experience in a city that I feel passionate about, in cars that could not be more British is something that staggers me everyday I work on this project.

Oliver Knight talks to Enterprise Nation

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