Errands Etc

Client: Jennifer Nabwogi

Are you frantically running from place to place? Not enough hours in the day to think, let alone finish your errands? In the fast-paced world we live in, Jennifer Nabwogi saw this niche as a perfect business opportunity and sought to set up Errands Etc - a fantastic service created to run errands for busy individuals, such as grocery shopping, and delivering dry-cleaning, accessible through an online or dedicated telephone ordering system.

Motivated by her own busy schedule - having to look after four children under the age of five whilst maintaining a full time job as an accountant, Jennifer decided to take the plunge and start up her own business in 2007. From a business perspective, Jennifer sought to “be able to provide a range of personal support services that create more time for ‘time-starved’ individuals.” Upon researching her initial idea, Jennifer discovered that many concierge companies already existed and therefore decided to focus on running errands as her specific area of expertise.

However, starting up a business is never easy, and Jennifer soon realised the importance of gaining valuable business advice, guidance and support. Having unsuccessfully worked with a local enterprise agency, Jennifer found Centa Business Services (www.centa.co.uk) through the LDA’s Business London: Start Up and Micro Business Support programme. Jennifer made an appointment with Centa specifically regarding a marketing query and received an appointment that very same day – proving to be a crucial turning point for Errands Etc.

Through her relationship with Centa, Jennifer also obtained help in refining her business plan, and was offered the opportunity to participate in the National Entrepreneur Scholarship Programme (NES). Following Centa’s critical information to help Jennifer access the NES grant, the programme provided her with a variety of encouraging opportunities including the chance to receive business advice from KPMG and the opportunity to receive practical advice on branding. Jennifer was furthermore able to secure the first business contract to run errands through contacts made on the NES programme.

Going from strength to strength Jennifer has high ambitions for the future: “In 12 months time, I would like to have secured at least 10 contracts with different companies. The hard work goes on." Jennifer is very determined and has not let early obstacles stand in her path. She says: "Everything that can go wrong did go wrong - I was initially unable to open a bank account, my domain name was already taken… Every little plan took three times longer than originally planned."

Jennifer also passionately describes the importance of her business adviser explaining that “simply knowing there was someone I could ring and speak to without making an appointment made all the difference”. Jennifer also realised that starting up a business is not something that can be done on a part-time basis. Being fully committed and accepting that “things take much longer than planned” whilst staying focused on your idea are essential to ensure your business successfully grows and develops.

For more information about how you can develop your business idea and access free business advice, please visit www.enterprisecentral.co.uk

For more information about Errands Etc, please visit www.errandsetc.co.uk