Star turns standing out from the crowd

IT is just two weeks until Randall & Payne, title sponsor of this year’s Gloucestershire Business Awards host a special winners’ dinner.

The invite-only event will be a chance for recipients of the 2018 titles to enjoy a spot of networking over some good food.

And in the run-up to the dinner on February 7, we are looking back on the stars of last year’s awards and revealing why they caught the attention of our judges.

This week we are shining the spotlight on individuals.

Recipients of the best employee and young business person of the year, Harriet Davey and Tom Parling wowed us with their hard work and successes. Park to improve the running of the new play area kiosk.

And in 2017 she aided the set-up of the new Cirencester site and training of staff in St Michael’s Park before returning to Cheltenham to take on the management of The Boathouse in Pittville Park.

Harriet is responsible for raising the profile, turnover and profitability of The Boathouse. This is largely due to the improvement in customer service, activities and events which have been developed and implemented by her and her team.

It is able to open all year following the refurbishment of the interior to provide an indoor seating area, overseen by Harriet. New activities and events target children with seasonal events as well as offering parties with boat rides, treasure hunts round the park, party games and a picnic lunch.

She has also hosted University of Gloucester students with the 2018 Bioblitz joining experts and novices together to record as many species as possible in 24 hours.

Harriet has raised the profile of the Boathouse on social media with regular posts and updates and has built up a following of 3,400 followers on Facebook alone.

In Harriet’s first year running the Boathouse the turnover increased by 37 per cent and profit has increased by an average of 31 per cent over the last two years. bedroom in 2009 with £100 and in 2018 posted sales of £1.2million with a growth of 63 per cent year on year.

This has been achieved without any external or family assistance, investment or borrowings.

Ten years on, having been profitable since day one, Tom remains the driving force behind the company’s expansion and financial performance.

Ocere has an international client base of more than 200 active clients ranging from £250m groups through to small professional practices.

The business actively pursues opportunities in Israel, Asia, USA, Australia and some European countries.

In an ever-changing industry it vital to be competitive and proactive.

Tom launched a new arm of the business a few years ago focusing on lead generation which brought in £25K a month after just four months and continued to grow.

After setting up the software systems, 20-plus websites, co-ordinating a team to qualify the leads, he set about acquiring customers.

Tom has committed to personal learning, he reads lots about both business and self-development and annually attends a world-class conference in North America.

This is also evident in his challenging sporting events, from a 174km bike ride over mountain passes to a full Ironman triathlon.