My name is Katy-Jane & I am a VA who works with Helena Parrott- Director of Virtually Smart Ltd. I am also a business owner with my partner in life/business & we run a Motorcycle Service & Repair Centre.
As an entrepreneur or business owner knows, running your own business can be challenging, but often times very rewarding.
However, one thing is for certain & that is regardless of your background, you won’t necessarily know everything. This is where your business connections really can help.
From the very beginning of our motorcycle business, my partner Daniel & I have been determined to ensure we align ourselves with established, well represented companies who provide excellent products & services.
When my partner & I left our established PAYE jobs in 2017 & 2018 respectively, we both agreed that Daniel’s auto electrical knowledge would be a great asset to push the business forward.
Therefore, one of the first companies we worked with was DATATOOL who supply motorcycle trackers & alarms. With motorcycle theft being rife, many riders wanted the additional protection & when we started the business we offered this as a mobile service.
Very quickly we built a great rapport with the Senior Sales Manager at DATATOOL who was happy to see us so actively promoting the DATATOOL product. The relationship with DATATOOL was such, that in 2018 Daniel was asked if he would like to be part of the promotional team at the NEC Motorcycle Show, the biggest motorcycle show in the motorcycling calendar.
Since this time, the DATATOOL Sales Manager has moved onto to Dunlop Tyres & not only are we now in discussion about accounts & benefitting from support with a wide range of tyre’s; through our long term B2B relationship, we now have sponsorship from Dunlop for a Custom & Classic Bike Show we are running in June.
This relationship is one of many we have established over the five years we have been running our business. One of the other ways in which we have strengthened our business development, is by creating working relationships with other local motorcycle dealers & service/repair establishments.
Since establishing ourselves at our workshop in Chichester, we have been lucky to create excellent relationships with the local Royal Enfield dealer & three of the leading independent sales establishments surrounding us.
Not only do we collaborate directly with a sales establishment directly next door to us, undertaking all of the pre-sales service needs, but we also are called upon for diagnostic work for other establishments in our area.
These B2B relationships not only give our business access to a wealth of support, information, products & services; but they help us learn how to develop business ideas & create a greater collaborative connection to other similar sector businesses in our local area.
Written by Katy-Jane Mason for & on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd
