Name: Carousel Lights
Based: London
Website: www.CarouselLights.com
In 18 months we’ve become a successful startup with celebrity clients, ongoing mainstream media coverage and a healthy balance sheet.
When starting out, friends, family and suppliers all suggest things you could be doing but you only have time to do 10% of them. The key to our success has been deciding what not to do and being very single-minded about what we focus on, yet not being afraid to refocus, change and adapt.
Specifically, three key areas have enabled our success:
1. Suppliers are crucial. It’s easy to start a business, find the going tough and get your own back on your suppliers. Not us. We always pay immediately even if it means we don’t pay ourselves. We value their opinions and dedicate a lot of time to building these relationships.
2. Customer service. We’ve built a reputation for service. If something goes wrong it’s an absolute priority to fix, and more important than new business. We pull out all the stops as we think this is a vital foundation for a sustainable business.
3. Marketing. Our PR focus has secured coverage on ITV, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Livingetc and Elle to name a few. We’ve also built the brand through social media conversations with the founders. This has resulted in a broad client base that includes Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Soho House and the London Dungeon.
Ben Reynolds is the director of Carousel Lights
