by Toma HabashiWe’re celebrating our 8th year of trading since launch and what a fantastic journey it’s been so far!
Silvertoad was launched just 1 week after the credit crunch officially hit us all back in 2008. Many shouted ‘You’re crazy’ and ‘why would you set up a new company now’ and ‘now is not a good time’ and other such encouraging support.
The banks we’re not interested in loaning us money. Investors weren’t interested. Competitors tried all they could to halt the growth of our little seedling Silvertoad and we’ve had to suffer many set-backs and pitfalls along the way. But that just made us stronger and more determined to bring a fresh, innovative and cost effective solution to the market. And now, 8 years on, it’s us telling the banks and the investors that we’re not interested in their money that they are ever so keen to offer us!
But here we are, 8 years old. 11 members of the team, with a very wide and continuously growing customer base covering almost every conceivable market and work with the most varied types and size of company you can imagine. We’re very proud to have achieved everything we have and come as far as we have and against all odds.
In amongst all the nostalgia and emotion of reaching 8 years of trading, we are very acutely aware that none of this would have been possible without our customers and we hope to be able to look after and work with everyone that has supported us through our journey and offer an ever-improved service to all.
We were curious about other businesses in the UK and wanted to see how we shaped up. So we went hunting for some facts and figures and compiled a list of stats that we thought we’re really interesting!*
If the UK we’re a 100 businesses…
- 18 would be owned by women and 82 owned by men.
- There would be 86 in England, 7 in Scotland, 4 in Wales and 3 in Northern Ireland.
- 17 are less than 2 years old, 13 between 2-3 years old, 26 that are 4-9 years old and 44 that are 10 years or more older.
- There would be 42 that turn over less than £100k, 49 that turn over £100k – £1m, 7 that turn over £1m- £5m and 2 that turn over £5m or more.
- 76 employ fewer than 5 employees, 13 with 5-9 employees, 9 with 10-49 employees and 2 with 50 or more.
And to reinforce how important small business is to the UK economy in general…
- Small businesses make up 6% of business in the UK.
- Contribute 8% of the UK’s GDP and employ 60% of the UK workforce.
Silvertoad work with, support and promote many small businesses and have a wealth of knowledge to help new companies launch, existing companies improve and adapt and larger organisations become agile once again, by relying on us as their trusted partner to deliver quickly and effectively.
We love what we do even more now than ever before and we enjoy seeing the success our customers achieve with our help and support. Which in turn has helped us grow and flourish.
But this is still just the beginning. We have a lot left to do and a lot more to come! Watch this space for some exciting upcoming news! We don’t rest on our laurels or stand around waiting, we make things happen. For you, our customers, our supply chain, and of course, for ourselves and we thank you all for being part of our growth and success.
Here’s to the next 8 years!
Now wait! It wouldn’t be Silvertoad unless we had some fun and giggles as we go…and here it is… the Silvertoad team at age 8! Can you guess who’s who?
*Source, www.simplybusiness.co.uk