Young wine expert’s first taste of success
A YOUNG sommelier is pursuing his dream after launching his own wine tasting business.
Philip Critchley, a 26-year-old Durham University graduate, decided to try and make his dream become a reality after falling in love with wine while working for a leading supermarket.
The young businessman, who lived in Macclesfield for eight years before recently moving to Hale and whose family still lives in the town, launched Proviamo Vino in October last year.
And despite only recently launching his burgeoning business, he has already been named as one of the nine people in Cheshire to look out for in 2015 by Cheshire Life magazine.
He said: “As part of working on the Co-operative Group’s Business Management Scheme I did a placement in the wine team.
“From that I became their Italian wine buyer, responsible for buying all Italian wines in more than 3,000 stores.
“I now work for a leading supermarket wine supplier.
“Naturally, my role involves skills such as negotiating, tasting and having an in-depth knowledge of the market.”
Philip is now using the skills he has learned to run wine tastings as Proviamo Vino.
The business provides wine tasting events for a range of clients.
Philip added: “These tasting sessions are completely varied – for instance I work with some leading solicitor and accountancy firms putting on formal client events, I run team building and networking sessions, as well as much smaller events such as informal home tastings and birthday parties.
“I tailor every tasting to the customer, so there is no set format, but they can be as formal or as informal as required.”
If you want to find out more about Philip’s business go to the website at www.proviamovino. co.uk. DESPITE positive signs of economic recovery, SMEs across the region require increased support and flexible investment in order to grow.
There are a growing number of products in the market place, so if you’re looking to raise money, there are currently more alternatives than ever before.
For a business owner this evolving market may prove daunting, therefore obtaining good advice to locate the right funder and ensure the business is investment ready is vital when funding the growth of your business.
This week David Wright, from Maven Capital Partners, gives his advice on funding business growth. ●● Create a solid set of forecasts
When pulling together your forecasts ensure the assumptions are realistic, make some provision for failure as well as success.
For example, if you’re recruiting sales staff not all your new recruits will be star performers.
Also, if your business is yet to invest in a full-time finance function, look to appoint an advisor who will help you become investment ready, ensuring your forecasts can stand up to a diligence process. ●● Banks
A call to your bank is normally the first port of call for many businesses seeking finance.
Despite everyone having an opinion as to whether banks are lending, it seems they are willing to support the ‘right’ opportunities, but what is now deemed ‘right’ has changed significantly as a result of the past seven to eight years.
So if the answer you receive from your bank is a ‘no’ don’t give up, there are more options