Pictured: Ben Tristem

EmbraceIT's founder Ben Tristem has a proven track record in the computer industry. Before he set up the company in 2008 he had been a self-employed computer consultant for over 17 years. 

The decision to develop the business was definitely the right one! In less than two years, EmbraceIT employs five people and has nearly 1,000 customers - growth that required a move into new premises at the start of 2010. The Nottinghamshire based company offers repairs, servicing and consultancy on Mac and PCs across the East Midlands area.

Enjoy IT

Ben explains how his enthusiasm for all things IT led him into business.  "Since the age of 15 I have been working with computers and in mid - 2008 I realised that I could reach many more people by turning my one man band into a 'proper' business. We get pleasure out of helping people to enjoy their computers - hence the name EmbraceIT."

Fuelled by referrals from happy customers, Ben and partner Lizzie soon needed help to run the business. Ben recruited Laura, who took care of the admin. As the business continued to grow, they needed to recruit another member of the team and turned to an old friend. "Michael had the right skills for the job and was very keen. He is now training as EmbraceIT's general manager in Nottingham."

The most recent recruit is Peter who is the company's leading field engineer. "We are a strong team," adds Ben. "We aim to provide a high quality, good old-fashioned service, at reasonable prices. This approach certainly seems to be working judging by customer feedback.

"It is great to share the load with people and their input has freed up time, enabling us to meet increasing customer demand." Ben says if he was starting a business now, he would employ people sooner, "They really are your greatest asset and the key to success." 

Help to grow

Speedy growth brought its own issues such as the additional overheads of the business premises and the increased workload. "We took the early decision to centralise our information and processes relating to accounts, work in progress and marketing and this was working well," adds Ben. "However, I felt it would be useful to get some impartial advice from the experts and so contacted EMB Ltd, the leading enterprise and development company responsible for delivering a range of business improvement services including Business Link, Investors in People and the Leadership and Management Advisory Service. "I wanted the company to benefit from the fantastic range of services that EMB delivers and we've not been disappointed."

Following an initial meeting with a Business Adviser, Ben is following up a number of areas. "EMB was able to provide information on many levels, pointing us towards marketing sources we hadn't considered and opening our eyes to funding we hadn't heard of. 

"We will continue to work closely with EMB and are aiming for ISO 9001, Investors in People and Buy With Confidence… all of which are raising our standards and challenging the team for the better."

Ben's Top tips

• When you're quiet, sales are your top priority. If the phone isn't ringing, make calls!

• Make a point of doing those little bits and pieces you've been meaning to get round to only when you're BUSY, or you may stay quiet!

• Store and manage information intelligently, it's incredibly powerful.