Telecoms firm relocates to accommodate business growth

A growing telecoms provider has relocated to larger premises as part of its vision to grow its client base and create up to 20 jobs in the next five years, after receiving growth support from Boost, Lancashire’s business growth hub.

Claritel, based at Daisyfield Business Centre in Blackburn, was launched by businessman Jay Motorwala in 2011 and specialises in a range of telecoms services, including phone systems and broadband, to public sector organisations and businesses from a variety of sectors.

With more than 15 years’ experience in the sector and working self-employed for a number of years, Jay knows plenty about running a business but identified support was required to help his business grow. He was introduced to Boost’s Growth Support Programme by delivery partner Enterprise4all –one of his clients.

The programme helps entrepreneurs develop business plans and launch their new enterprises and is delivered by Winning Pitch and Enterprise4all.

Jay explained: “Most businesses have a business plan, however we wanted a road map of where we wanted the business to go in the next three years and the next five years.

“The Scaling for Growth workshop I attended allowed me to take my day-to-day hat off and look at our current position, where we are looking to go and how to achieve this whereas previously I could never find the time to do this.

“The workshop was very valuable and the knowledge I took away helped me create a blueprint for our future.

“As a result, we have moved offices to accommodate our planned growth over the next three years and have recognised we need to take on three new members of staff in the short term and eventually increase our headcount to at least 20 and increase our customer base.

“For the past five years, all our work has come through referrals and word of mouth, but learning more about marketing, we see an opportunity to increase that momentum. We’re now on the right path to increasing client numbers and the course has helped me quantify those growth ideas and understand how best to implement them.”

Rona McFall, head of entrepreneurial solutions at Winning Pitch, said: “We often use the phrase start your growth conversation today and Jay is an example of that in practice. By having a conversation with an experienced advisor he was able to make the most of potential opportunities to aid his business’s growth potential and we’re pleased that the tools and techniques he picked up have enabled him to fine-tune the vision of his business’s future and pin-point marketing opportunities to expand its reputation.” Boost Business Lancashire (Boost) is the name for the Lancashire Business Growth Hub. It is led by the Lancashire LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) and Lancashire County Council, and supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).