The nuts and bolts of online business

When a client came to Kam Kothia with an idea for an internet business selling architectural ironmongery to building contractors, Kam was more than interested.

As a web site and ecommerce specialist, Kam, the managing director of ebusinessuk.biz, was obviously in a position to help. His client suggested a joint venture and the team began checking out the possibilities in earnest.

That was four years ago and the online company – Biglink.biz Ltd  – which began trading properly around a year ago, is doing very nicely thank you from its home on Junction 7 Business Park at Clayton-le-Moors.

In fact, it is now the largest wholesale marketplace of its kind in the UK. www.biglink.biz is a kind of Amazon for small to medium sized building contractors and self build professionals, biglink.biz boasts a 60,000-plus product line and 18 different shops under one roof – or website – from plumbing to lighting, health and safety to hardware. And it won’t stop there because new ranges are being added as we speak.

"Our gut feeling was that this could work," comments Kam. "Then, we started doing serious research, we realised there was nobody else out there doing exactly the same thing."

Two years of digging and delving was followed by the development of a fully blown business plan, building relations with suppliers and plenty of fine tuning – to the business and the website.

“What gave us real confidence was that Screwfix – our nearest competitor – had started as a catalogue operation and was now doing £100 million of business on the internet. Then we knew we could do it,
but we also knew that we would need extra help with some aspects of the business and we weren’t afraid to ask for it.

"We found the office and warehousing premises at Junction 7 and had brilliant back up from Hyndburn's Economic Development Unit with that. The service and rates are ideal for a business of our kind and obviously the position for motorway access is perfect.

"On top of that Business Link gave us a great deal of support early on, subsidising the market research and marketing plan which were done by an external firm of consultants," adds Kam. "That was the beginning of a relationship which really has been invaluable."

In fact Kam was so impressed that Biglink has an 'Intensive Support Agreement' with Business Link and a personal business adviser – Tim Bullough – who he meets regularly and can call on for help and advice whenever he needs it.