CEME is currently delivering a project for Barking & Dagenham Enterprise: a mentoring project, which involves getting clusters of businesses together with a facilitator to look at common issues facing their business and to share experiences.  Using our database of clients we canvassed businesses by email and Boleyn Transport Ltd, responded and joined the Automotive mentoring group in the autumn of 2008.

Boleyn Transport is a family owned business employing 37 staff – 14 drivers & 14 technicians.  Like most businesses, Boleyn are facing a difficult time and came to the mentoring group to specifically find solutions. Following one of the meetings, Steve Smith – Director and son of owner & founder Bill, realized he could re-package Boleyn’s offer to sell to European truckers.

In March 2009 we received this email from Steve:

“I have a lot of praise for the Mentoring Network programme as I have gained much from it.  Not just a good deal of knowledge on subjects we were eager to learn about such as marketing & public relations, but we have also met new business partners. Sometimes the answers in business are right inside your own firm, but you don’t even realize it.  We have now engaged on a new venture to a new audience of clients with the same resources we already had.  All this was borne out of an idea I had after one of our first meetings when Jim touched on marketing and advertising, (basically selling the same service to a different audience in a way that would appeal to them.) This venture is still in its early stages, but it’s very exciting and we are seeing some new business coming our way.  It hasn’t cost much to this point as I have done all the advertising literature myself, so it’s just my time that has been invested really.  We already had the resources.”

We remained in email contact with Steve, as the idea of mentoring is that we support and the companies do the work for themselves.  Steve then attended another meeting on the topic of Public relations and he talked about how his business was progressing with their new idea.  Steve realized that Boleyn Transport Ltd had a PR story to tell.

We too realized this was a good PR opportunity for us and Barking & Dagenham Enterprise – so in June 2009 a press article was featured in the Barking & Dagenham Post – “Family business celebrates 50th year in business”.

Following on from this the company entered the BDE Business Awards and at an award ceremony on 8th July – Boleyn Transport Ltd walked away with the Marketing Excellence award.

Steve Smith was extremely pleased with this amazing achievement:

“Previously our business was built up mostly by word of mouth, and it was successful, but the marketing adds a new dimension. Now we advertise the fact that our staff speak so many different languages – it’s a real plus point for us because many lorry drivers are eastern European and know little English, but our guys speak Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, German and Ukrainian.”

For CEME this is a fantastic story and one which proves how public funding can and is being used to achieve real business success in the local area. We will continue to track Steve’s progress with his venture – watch this space!

Posted by:

Chris Burr

LEGI Project Manager