10 minute read
SBT Stories
from SBT issue 441
PEOPLE MANAGEMENT & RECRUITMENT COVER FEATURESBT STORIES
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WOMAN TURNS AUTHOR:
WE CHAT WITH CARALINE BROWN
HOVE FITNESS AND SQUASH
ALL INCLUSIVE FOR EVERYONE
#THATSTHERDSWAY
WITH DAVID DRAKE FROM RETAIL DISTRIBUTION SERVICES (RDS)
Successful business woman turns Author: We chat with Caraline Brown
Caraline, tell us a bit
SBT about you and your
Stories business career?
I am probably best known in Sussex as the woman who founded Midnight Communications with a £2k overdraft. I saw the potential of the internet and we became the very first PR agency in the country to specialise in this area. We were in the right place at the right time and I’m proud of the many ‘firsts’ we were able to promote – the first online divorce, the first online comedy club, the first online comparison service, the first online dvd and delivery service and many many more.
Along the way Midnight collected an array of industry awards, including PR Week’s national Consultancy of the Year, Best International PR Campaign and numerous silver and gold awards from CIPR PRIDE’s PR Agency of the Year.
I’m most proud of the face that so many of the individuals I have trained have gone on to hold leading roles in national PR agencies and for thirteen consecutive years a member of my team was named winner or finalist in the Young Communicator of the Year competition.
Prior to setting up Midnight I was part of the team that launched mobile phones to consumers. On my first day at work they gave me three or four sheets of A4 paper and said I should choose my own mobile number. I still have the same number.
I got to work with people such as Ruby
Wax, Joana Lumley, Noel Edmonds and Tony Blackburn. That was fun!
After leading such a successful business career was it always your plan to start writing?
My entire career has always been guided by a desire to write but I never really had the chance to write fiction whilst I was a busy Managing Director. Once I had sold the business to the management team I was free to indulge my passion. I feel blessed that I now get to spend my days writing.
When did your passion for writing start?
I won a couple of competitions for my short stories many years ago but my main ambition in life has been to write a novel.
I think I first got the idea when I was about seven or eight years old and I managed to fill an entire exercise book with a single story. I was also greatly encouraged by my next door neighbour (to whom I have dedicated my first book). She wrote novels such as The Dame Plays Rough, White Curves and Black Coffee and The Lady says When under the pseudonym Danny Spade.
Tell us about the new book?
Set in late eighteenth-century London, the story features Lillian, a freakishly tall woman who struggles to fit into society because of her size and desire to wear trousers. Each morning, she wakes in her tiny maid’s room in a too-small bed to the sound of a lion roaring nearby, on the Strand. One day she investigates the sound and discovers a candlelit exotic animal emporium. When she meets the lion, there is an instant bond.
At first, Lillian is repulsed by the stench and squalor, but there, in the menagerie, Lillian finds her natural home taking care of and befriending wild animals brought from around the world, stolen from their habitats, misfits like her. The menagerie, under Lillian’s management, becomes a successful attraction. It is her life’s mission. She even marries the veterinarian’s singleminded apprentice. But when her unborn baby dies in an accident, its replacement, upends the order of even Lillian’s unusual existence.
Where did the inspiration for the book come from?
By chance I came across a non-fiction
book called The Georgian Menagerie which coincided with an exhibition in the Brighton Pavilion. I wondered what it might have been like to work in such a place. I also thought it was quite an unusual setting for a novel.
What’s next for Caraline Brown?
I’ve almost finished my second book and have an idea for a third. All are set around the same time and reference characters from each other. Then I plan to write something that is more contemporary.
I would still like to be involved in the work of business and I’m keen to pass on my skills to new companies and individuals. I often take on writing or editing projects. I had to learn the hard way as my business grew so I’ve probably experienced most business issues in my thirty year career - from buying and selling companies to recruitment issues, hiring and firing and marketing.
So if anyone out there needs a nonexec… do think of me.
Caraline Brown
Gyms, swimming pools and other indoor sports facilities have been hit particularly hard during the coronavirus pandemic this year, having to close their doors for a number of months, so you may think it’s a surprising time to start out in the leisure sector at the moment. Luckily, three sports and fitness enthusiasts have been prepared to take on all the challenges and uncertainties coronavirus might throw at them in order to open a brand new club in the heart of Hove.
Hove Fitness & Squash is on the former site of Coral Health and Fitness and has retained several of Coral’s popular instructors and so far welcomed back many of its loyal customers. However, the new club is far more than just a change of name, with the addition of exciting new classes, a new café and coffee bar, new membership deals and easier booking, as well as a fresh new look. The club is also really keen to make sure both old and new customers feel really welcome, with something to offer for everybody, as the three club Directors, Ben Hutton, Lucy Egan and Matt Lambert, are keen to explain.
“While we’ve been extremely pleased to welcome back many of the club’s previous members,” says Matt, who has over 20 years’ experience as a personal trainer “our ambition with the brand new club is to create a truly community-focused and inclusive environment where absolutely everyone is welcome, not matter what your age or previous gym, fitness class or squash experience is.”
That community spirit was evident during this summer, as Ben, Lucy and Matt had help from many keen volunteers, who worked hard with them to renovate and launch the club in a relatively short amount of time. “It was amazing to see just how much support and enthusiasm there was from the local community,” Lucy, who manages the fitness class programme, says.
The team have listened to what prospective members said they wanted from a fitness club and introduced earlier opening hours, the opportunity to try out new classes as ‘pop-ups’ and great coffee, courtesy of Trading Post Coffee Roasters. And of course, they are making sure that the club is completely Covid-safe. “Our members’ safety is our top priority,” says Lucy. “We’ve introduced one-way systems, made sure there’s plenty of space in gyms and classes and everything is cleaned several times a day. We’re doing everything we can to make sure 52 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk everyone can exercise safely at Hove Fitness & Squash.” Covid-19 precautions, such as spaced-out court bookings and, again, lots of regular cleaning, are also keeping the squash and racketball players safe at the new club. Squash was a major part of the former Coral club, enjoyed by club players of all levels, while also establishing a nationally recognised centre of excellence for junior squash. Ben Hutton, who had been Head Coach at the old club since 2006, was really keen not to lose either the facilities or the successful squash programme that helped nurture fantastic young players such as his own daughter, Jazz Hutton (current PSA World ranked No.46), Franklyn Smith (ranked No.1 National U17) and Jonah Bryant (ranked No.1 National U15).
“When the old club closed earlier this year, it was a blow to hundreds of supportive members, as well as former staff like myself, Matt and Lucy. But it’s great that, with a dedicated and passionate new management and volunteer team, we’ve been able to establish an inclusive and community-based club for people of all ages, who want to come and enjoy sports and fitness together, as well as continuing to develop squash talent from a young age.”
Working hard together in challenging times, Ben, Lucy and Matt have created a thriving fitness hub, where everybody can enjoy the exercises they love in an inclusive gym and club environment, as well as being able to socialise – safely – in the well-stocked bar and café. There is ample free parking, plus classes and activities not offered elsewhere, such as Latin Funky Fitness, Kettlebells and Ripped HiiT.
There are a range of membership plans to suit everyone with Adult Gold Gym membership – including unlimited gym access plus unlimited free fitness classes – for only £42.50, and Adult Gold Squash membership – including free daily court bookings and unlimited gym access – for only £49.50.
You can find out more about joining Hove Fitness & Squash or sign up today at hovefitnessandsquash.com.
INTERESTED? WE ARE HERE TO HELP 01273 207447 membership@hovefitnessandsquash.com hovefitnessandsquash.com Orchard Road, Hove, East Sussex. BN3 7BG
ALL INCLUSIVE EVERYONE IS WELCOME
JOIN NOW WITH A RANGE OF ALL INCLUSIVE MEMBERSHIPS TO SUIT EVERYONE
hovefitnessandsquash.com
#thatstheRDSway
David Drake set up his own business two weeks before the first lockdown in March. Foolhardy? You’d think so. But against the odds, Retail Distribution Services (RDS) has thrived.
Why? Well it might
SBT have something
Stories to do with David’s wealth of experience, which includes heading up retail sales at one of the UK’s leading courier companies, where his happy clients included Adidas, ASOS, John Lewis and O2.
But if you were to ask one of David’s many customers now, it’s far more likely that the answer would have something to do with the huge amount of effort RDS puts in to helping small local businesses.
Or as he puts it: “SMEs, who are often independent retailers, have to compete in the same space as the retail giants. To level that playing field, we provide UK overnight and international courier services at a consolidated price, which you will never find by going directly to the couriers themselves. We’re proudly giving small businesses a fighting chance, which this year is more important than ever.”
Thanks to this ethos, (which has come to be known as ‘#thatstheRDSway’), and the boom in online sales brought about by the pandemic, the company has gone from strength to strength in its first six months of operations.
“But we are still very mindful of just how challenging times are, especially for the independent retailers,” says David.
With that in mind, RDS has extended its offering by launching the Brighton & Hove Same Day Delivery service, “to help smaller businesses and retailers continue to serve their local community and hopefully stay afloat, despite their shops being closed.”
Priced at a flat rate of just £4 (+VAT) per item, the pioneering new local delivery service is less expensive than a ‘next day’ parcel rate with any other carrier – and less than a Royal Mail small parcel.
“But more important than the very low price,” says David, “is the fact that this service is an opportunity for two local businesses to support one another.”
“That’s why we’ve chosen to offer this premium service at a significantly discounted rate, to help our fellow Brighton & Hove businesses in these extremely challenging times. Because that is The RDS Way.”
For more information on RDS or the Brighton & Hove Same Day Delivery service, search #thatstheRDSway or visit
