30 Years in business - what’s all the fuss about?
Date: 9th Sunday, May, 2021
2021 is a milestone for The Best Connection as it marks 30 years in the temporary employment industry. OK you might think, but why is this such a big deal?
Setting up and launching a business is an exciting venture. Where will it take you? How successful will it become? What will it be worth? Sadly, for many people, aspirations of world domination do not come to fruition. In the UK, around 60% of new businesses fail in their first three years. When you consider approaching 400K businesses are established every year, that’s a lot of heartache and disappointment. In this context, surviving and thriving for 30 years is no small achievement.
During the past 30 years The Best Connection has:
supplied 580,000 industrial temporary workers
supplied 95,000 drivers
serviced over 70,000 clients
Employed 5,100 permanent members of staff
So, what has TBC done to be successful when others have fallen by the wayside? In general, as well as having a sound business plan and a good understanding of finance, it is prudent to understand your market if you are considering investing your money and time in a business. For The Best Connection, having two qualified accountants at the helm, in the shape of Andy Sweeney and Neil Yorke, ensured these pre-requisite skills, experience and knowledge were available to be utilised.
The company started small with an office in Birmingham’s industrial heartland. Where better to tout for business when you are supplying temporary workers to the industrial and driving sectors? With the acceleration of business growth through the 1990’s and onwards, the use of temporary workers to meet business levels became more popular and mainstream leading to greater demand. With this upward trend, the business was able to grow and expand – currently The Best Connection has 90 branches in the UK and North America. Unlike many of its competitors, the company continues to be independent and privately owned. Destiny has remained in the hands of its directors – and of course the market.
Over the course of 30 years, there have been challenging times and curveballs that have tested the mettle of the business. Economic downturns and a pandemic are some of the significant events that have been navigated. However, the benefit of longevity also allows a stable and strong brand to be built, market share to be increased and relationships to blossom. These factors give customers the confidence to continue to work with TBC.
Unless you are a modern software unicorn in the making, getting to the top of your industry takes time. For The Best Connection the past 30 years have seen the realisation of an idea and the evolution of a business that has grown, diversified and contributed to the employment needs of thousands of individuals and businesses.
Sometimes it is important to stop and reflect on just how far you have come. For The Best Connection now seems a good time to do that!
