Brothers Tom and Michael Ashworth started
NuBlue in 2005 straight out of university. They wanted to improve their customers’ online presence through website design, development and web hosting. Starting in a small office in a business incubation unit with a £10,000 loan, NuBlue has grown to employ 25 full time staff. Customers include global brands such as Abbott, TEVA, Danone and Lowe Alpine. We caught up with Tom for his top tips for business success online…
PayPal: What have been your greatest successes?
Tom Ashworth: One of our founding principles was a desire to create high quality IT jobs in our area so taking on our first employee will always be something we are incredibly proud of. Creating quality jobs and providing real opportunities for people is a great feeling. We also won a Big Chip Award in 2007, which celebrates online excellence and is one of the most prestigious awards in our industry. It was an early reassurance that we were on the right track and capable of competing with the best in our field.
PP: What were some of the challenges you faced when you started out?
TA: Starting out in business is a challenge. We overcame this by listening, researching and learning as much as we could about the different elements that make up a successful business. For instance, a key challenge and priority for a new business is to find a communications mix that works. It can be confusing knowing what elements will put your message in front of potential customers; whether you need PR, advertising or marketing. We listened and experimented and were ruthless about cutting off the channels that did not work for us and investing in those that did.
PP: What advice would you give to other small businesses and those thinking of taking the plunge and creating a start-up?
TA: Go for it. If you believe you can offer a product or service that is new, or do it better then make it happen. We had no business experience when we started NuBlue, but we knew we could provide a better web hosting and web design service than the service providers already operating in our target markets. Everything else we picked up as we went. Finance, recruitment, tax, banking and insurance all need to be put in place but ideas and hard work are what make a business successful, and everyone is capable of that.
PP: Has PayPal helped your business?
TA: PayPal has helped our business from an early stage. When we first launched we struggled to get acceptable terms with banks as we had no trading history. PayPal made it very easy for us to start selling online; following some straight forward security checks we were up and running and taking online payments. The other important thing PayPal brings to our business is trust. Everyone knows PayPal and trusts it as a brand. By showing the PayPal payment option on our checkout, we are showing customers that we are a credible company. Together with PayPal’s ease of use and reliability, it really is one area of the business that we never need to worry about. It just works!