James Stone, director of selufen limited, explains why the business should win the Startup of the Year category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition:
With regret, selufen has not achieved the targets or aspirations that the business plan set out for the first 12 months. There has been no progress in relation to health and safety or environmental consultancy and the consultancy targets relating to quality have also not been met for the time being.
However, selufen has expanded the range of standards through training and development of its personnel to include the Security Industry Authority Approved Contractor Scheme, a number of British Standards focussing specifically the security industry. As a result, a lot more assessment and auditing work has been gained and most importantly, I feel that I have learnt a lot more regarding the requirements of running a company, being responsible for the delivery of one’s own dreams and ambitions and the satisfaction from creating a business entity from nothing more than an idea.
In addition to this, selufen has plans to build on the success it has experienced so far by continuing to network and expand upon the search engine optimisation efforts that it has already made. Additionally, what has already brought some success is through partnering with organisations that have given selufen the chance to support itself through its delicate beginnings.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the top three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
