Enterprise Nation

Congratulations to John Randall who is winner of the title 2009 Young Home Business Owner of the Year. At the tender age of 19 he studies at Oxford Brookes during the week and returns home at weekends to run his thriving business, JV Bouncy Castle Hire. Here's the winning entry.

How are you promoting your business, being efficient and increasing your profitability?

My main promotion happens through the company website; this has been built carefully so that it is ranked #1 on Google search results (bouncy castle hire Basingstoke) when customers search for bouncy castle hire in the area that I serve. Word of mouth is also an effective method of promotion which seems to work extremely well for my business. Other methods include direct marketing via email to existing customers and also cold calling schools, events to see if they require any inflatable’s for any functions they are holding. I have posters on notice boards and most of the community centres in the area I cover and also give out flyers promoting my business. I often hand them out when schools are finishing for the day just outside the entrance where all the parents pass through. To substantially increase my profit margins I buy inflatable’s second hand and then get them re-furbished to an ‘as new’ condition. This saves me £1,000’s in equipment costs. I send out Christmas cards to previous customers containing a ‘£10 off’ voucher; this encourages repeat bookings and helps to create a better customer relationship.

How are you successfully combining your business with your domestic life and maintaining a healthy environment both in and out of your home office?

I am a university student and find it fairly simple to maintain a healthy environment between the two. During the week I am located in Oxford for my studies and then on a Friday night I commute back to Basingstoke ready for the weekend when my main set of business commences. This allows me to separate the two areas nicely and enables me to stay focused on my studies during the week and focussed on my business at the weekends. During weekdays I often get bookings so some administration work has to be done in the evenings however much of the booking system that I use is automated so it only takes around 15 minutes a day to complete.

How are you making the most of technology to improve your business and your lifestyle?

I currently have an online booking system which automatically translates all bookings to my email account and also send them as a sms message to my mobile phone. This enables me to promptly get back to customers when they have an enquiry which helps to provide exceptional customer service and also beats the competition, consequently maximising bookings. I also have a fully automated invoice software system which enables me to stay on top of my accounts. It also provides a professional invoice for my customers and keeps a copy on file. The software is great for analysing when I am busiest and which of my hire products’ are the most popular as it has report generation functionality.

Congratulations!

John wins a notebook from HP and Intel and on account of winning he’s already been asked to be a student ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship Week. Well done, John!

• JV Bouncy Castle Hire

John is pictured here with Scott Cain, Deputy Chief Executive of Enterprise UK.