Facing the Dragons with Confidence
Start-up support helped Naomi Timperley present a successful business case to the Dragons' Den. Naomi tells how Business Support Solutions provided a listening ear as she rehearsed her pitch.
‘As my company started to take off in the UK, I wondered if I could cope with the rapid growth. My Business Adviser assured me that I could, with the right support.
My American business partner and I were preparing a pitch for Dragons' Den. Business Support Solutions offered me one-to-one support with a Business Adviser to help us present the business plan and the figures.
I needed to understand how they do things in the Den, and work out how I was going to cope under pressure. It was good to have a listening ear to talk over my ideas with.
Dragon Deborah Meaden offered us £100,000 for a 40% share of the business and although we didn't take it, we got masses of publicity and interest. We don't do advertising and all our PR is at the grassroots, so it was a brilliant PR exercise. We are expanding in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Brighton, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and we have album and merchandising deals.
My advice to others is that if you are starting up, Business Support Solutions and the Chamber of Commerce are a great source of help, in many ways. They have told me about networking events, which have been a great way to make new contacts - some of them high-flying mums who are thinking about becoming ‘mumtrepreneurs'. I've met some really inspirational people."
Naomi Timperley
Baby Loves Disco, Manchester, dance activities for parents and children
http://www.babylovesdisco.co.uk