RB Electrical Services is looking forward to a bright future following a change of direction and help from Cumbria Business Growth Hub.
Ryan Bound set up the business, which he operates from Frizington.
He said: “I served my time as an electrician at Sellafield but left in 2012 to pursue different challenges.’’
He took the plunge into electrical consultancy, managing projects for clients and carrying out inspections, testing and commissioning work.
But by 2018 he realised that, if the business was to grow, it had to diversify.
“I started carrying out domestic and commercial installations,” he said, “in effect to be a lot more hands-on.”
Ryan had joined Cumbria Business Growth Hub’s Supply Chain Opportunity Club, which helps SMEs win work with large businesses and the public sector.
A chance conversation with the Club’s Supply Chain Development Manager alerted to him to the free support available through the Growth Hub.
He signed up and began working with Growth Hub adviser Adrian Luckham.
Ryan said: “Adrian gave a different perspective on things. He was asking simple but pertinent questions that made me think about potential opportunities that might exist.
“Sometimes when you’re doing everything yourself, you don’t have time to step back and look at things in a wider context.”
Adrian identified a potential new market for RB Electrical Services – the installation of electric vehicle charging points.
He also outlined opportunities for grant funding and pointed Ryan towards potential clients actively looking to use SMEs to fulfil their CSR remit.
“He talked about marketing and the importance of marketing properly,” Ryan said.
“I had Facebook and Instagram accounts but I was updating them infrequently as and when. Currently we have a website being built and try to be a lot more proactive with our other social media.”
As part of his package of free support from the Growth Hub, Ryan signed up for a one-day social media course delivered by DigiEnable.
He said: “The guy from DigiEnable was really good and provided lots of helpful tips, for example, which situations suit one form of social media compared with another, such as when you should use Facebook rather than Instagram and when is the best time of day to post and what you should be posting.”
Ryan feels his business is now on a sounder footing in terms of marketing and is looking to grow.
He said: “I have two or three trusted sub-contractors but ideally I would like to employ someone full time and maybe a couple of staff in the next 12 to 18 months.
To find out how Cumbria Business Growth Hub can help your business, call us on 0844 257 84 50.
The funding that supports the Growth Hub comes from a range of sources including Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, the European Regional Development Fund, Sellafield Ltd., Carlisle City Council, South Lakeland District Council, Penrith Industrial BID and Cumbria LEP. The Growth Hub is receiving up to £2,528,767 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information click here.