Meet some of our Chamber members

 

Earlier this year Elitemii won a local MyWorkSpot competition for new businesses and along with an office for a year they received an additional package of support from several other local businesses, The Maidenhead Advertiser and the Chamber. Since winning Guv & Sonika from Elitemii have experienced a real confidence boost. It has really spurred them onto grow their business to enable them to reach their full potential. 

 

Guv & Sonika launched their business last year during the first lockdown and have created their CBD brand, Elitemii, which has a line of natural products . Since launching, their achievements include customers recommending their products and providing a knowledge gap in the UK market. Guv & Sonika also told us that there is massive potential in this growing industry and is estimated to grow from millions to billions in the next four to five years. This really excites them to build on and grow their business. 

 

We also asked Guv & Sonika what advice would you give someone who’s interested in starting their own business? They responded with “Be prepared for the highs and lows, trust the process, give time to yourself & your business and final don’t give up!”. 

 

Finally, Guv & Sonika told us that leadership, organisation, being grounded and believing in yourself are all top qualities for a business owner. 

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elitemii 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elitemii/ 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elitemii 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/elitemii/_created/ 

Alison has recently joined the Chamber as one of our new members. Alison’s business as a coach is all about helping people maximise their communication skills so that they can connect and engage with people effectively – whether it’s via a presentation, a pitch for new business, a media interview or hosting a webinar. 

 

Alison spent twenty-years at the BBC making programmes for a variety of audiences before leaving to run her own coaching business, working across a wide range of industries. Prior to Covid, Alison worked with people face to face on site, but now also offers coaching using video conferencing programmes such as Zoom and Teams. 

 

While it is very exciting for Alison to win new clients, one of her biggest achievements is having a number of clients who have remained with Alison for a number of years. 

 

Alison also told us “I’m excited that technology offers people new ways of communicating and that the so-called “soft skills” of communication are becoming recognised as vital to creating and maintaining successful business relationships.” 

 

Alison’s advice for someone who is interested in starting their own business is “Be passionate about what you do because it can become all consuming!”. 

 

Finally, we asked Alison what top qualities you should have as a business owner and what her biggest inspiration is business is. Alison responded with 

“For me, it’s placing your clients’ needs and priorities at the heart of your business and making their success a journey you are both involved in. I’ve been influenced by a few people that I’ve worked with throughout my career – less by any specific skill they may have but more by the values, beliefs and integrity that shaped and underpinned the way they conducted their business.” 

 

Website: https://alisonrusted.com/ 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alisonrusted 

Finally, we interviewed Lisa from Oasis Graphic Co which is a large format printing and graphics production company specialising in Events, Exhibitions, Retail spaces and Workplaces. 

 

Lisa told us that her biggest achievement since launching was “Purchasing our first large format direct to media printer back in 2008. It was a nailbiting thing to do as the recession hit – but we haven’t looked back.” 

 

Lisa also told us that “The pace of our industry is exciting, especially with Exhibition and event with it’s very short deadlines. We also work in a very creative industry - one day we might be printing metres of wallpaper for HMRC offices, the next we’re cutting wooden Ercol logos for a major store roll out – theres so much variety in the projects we’re involved in – there’s never a dull day!” 

 

We asked Lisa what advice would she give someone who’s interested in starting their own business and she told us “Be prepared to diversify (especially considering the last 18 months) 

Also, forget hierarchy, don’t shy away from rolling your sleeves up to help out.” 

 

Finally, we asked Lisa what top qualities you should have as a business owner and what her biggest inspiration is business is. List responded with “Lots of resilience, Be open minded and Motivate your employees. 

In terms of business owners I would say Martin Lewis, I’m always using his website for tips and deals, he doesn’t want consumers to over-pay for anything – an approach we have adopted in our business - we always want our clients to get the best deal. 

My two girls who are 11 and 8 also inspire me – when the going gets tough they motivate me to keep going and not dwell on issues we encounter in business. They both hope to work for Oasis one day too!” 

 

Website: www.oasisgraphic.co.uk 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OasisGraphicCo-216856538401649 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oasis_graphic_ltd/?hl=en