We all start somewhere but often don’t look back at the lessons we have learned.
It takes small milestones for you to consider the valuable evaluation of “what prompted this journey?” Having been married to a business with the name of Need More Time 15 years on carries a sense of irony for me.
Having worked for myself in my teens and then into my early twenties, I reached the point that I wanted to expand the business but didn’t have the resources needed to do so. The strangle hold was not having the volume of work to employ office staff either; Catch 22, which is often a place small business owners find themselves in. In 2002 the world and technology were very different, as was the staffing landscape. Letters were still sent, yellow pages were your information resource and Google was less than 5 years old. As for Facebook…well, Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t even at University! Outsourcing to small businesses often felt a little frowned on. Fast forward to 2017 and its common practice.
In 2002 Need More Time was born. Andy and Mike brave and blinded with visions of grandeur and a small amount of money invested towards the idea they had conjured up, took the leap many entrepreneurs do. The first thing on the list was where to base the business. London or Kent. London seemed the natural location with its rich business spread but Kent was more cost-effective so Kent it was, or more specifically, Whitstable (before it became trendy).
Need More Time has always been focused towards small businesses and stayed true to its core belief that running a small business isn’t easy and often a juggling act. However, having a pool of people who know you, your customers and systems, that you can call upon at short notice to assist or simply fulfill regular daily duties, allows you as the business owner to remain focused on the core needs of the business or play to your own strengths.
We now have teams who specialise in different industries and tasks, from personalised Telephone Answering through to organising and supporting surgeons and their patients. We know more than most the similarities a small business has. The irony is that, even with 15 years behind us, we still have so much to do and so many businesses to work with.
Both Andy and I still have our businesses that prompted this journey and the creation of Need More Time. The more important aspect is the lessons we have learned and the people we have met along the way. Above all else, though we truly appreciate the commitment of the truly exceptional people we work with that make Need More Time.