Lost my job and looking for a helping hand

Reading Addick

I know many of us have suffered over the last months losing our jobs.  It has been very hard and at the moment I am finding things very difficult.  I am trying to set up a new business to get myself out of this mess and looking to my fellow lifers for any direction/support/contacts etc.  I am setting up to run a UK division of a UKAS accredited certification body offering certification to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 22301 and ISO 27001.  My business is all live apart from my website is being developed still https://qecuk.com/ but I am yet to get my first customer.  I know timing is not great with summer holidays and some annoying pandemic but with all the calls and emails I have made in the last 2 weeks since I started I had hoped for a bite.  It would be useful if any fellow lifers need any certification quotes that I can provide for them or any of their customers.  Even if you can link in with me on LinkedIn and push my story when I manage to start producing some messaging it would help.  My LinkedIn profile  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gavin-warran-8b4a06a/ still says I am looking for work as I have some challenges with my previous employer that will cause issues if I change my role before September.  Any support would be really appreciated and sorry if I have typos or grammatical mistakes (I normally do)!  thanks Gav

seth plum

You might be well served to explain what accredited certification actually is to the layman, both on here and on the website.
My first thought is that it is a document printing business!

soapy_jones

Good luck.  Not sure of your age, but if I was 20 years younger, that's what I would be doing in this climate, starting my own business.

I was recently made redundant and worked my notice to last week. I luckily found a role to start on September 1st.  I wish I wasn't so old and knackered, as i would love to give it a good go again, I was self employed for 30 years in IT.

Reading Addick

ISO certification is a seal of approval from a third party body that a company runs to one of the international standards developed and published by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).

The ISO are an independent, non-governmental international organisation who brings together experts to share knowledge and develop international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges

 

ISO certification shows your key stakeholders that you have a well-run business that has structure, is stable and ready for growth.

Each ISO standard has its own benefits, for example:

• ISO 9001 helps put your customers first
• ISO 27001 protects your systems, data and reputation
• ISO 14001 reduces your environmental impact
• ISO 45001 helps you protect your people
• ISO 22301 protects your business from disruption
•  

Common benefits across all ISO standards include:

• Increased efficiency
• Reduced costs
• Improved customer satisfaction
• More engaged employees
• Reduced risks
• Reduced insurance premiums
• Helps with tendering

By maintaining an ISO certification, you are proving your organisations commitment to achieving your objectives and increasing the credibility and customer confidence in your product or service.

UKAS is the United Kingdom Accreditation Service.  They are the ones that make sure my company does things correctly.  If it is a non UKAS Certification, then it holds little value.  I would say they are like the EFL for football but that would be a rubbish analogy!!!!

Brendan_O_Connell

It's a great idea ReadingAddick.  I'm sure it will take off and be a roaring success.   Have you started advertising anywhere just yet? 

DoctorCharlton

I can't offer you much other than wishing you the best of luck mate, and hope that things work out the way you want it to.

Reading Addick

Brendan_O_Connell said:

It's a great idea ReadingAddick.  I'm sure it will take off and be a roaring success.   Have you started advertising anywhere just yet? 

Hi Brendan, no not yet but I will be through Twitter and Facebook as well.  I just need to wait until September 1st to advertise as do not want to have any conflict issues with previous employer!!

Reading Addick

DoctorCharlton said:

I can't offer you much other than wishing you the best of luck mate, and hope that things work out the way you want it to.

thanks

Reading Addick

soapy_jones said:

Good luck.  Not sure of your age, but if I was 20 years younger, that's what I would be doing in this climate, starting my own business.

I was recently made redundant and worked my notice to last week. I luckily found a role to start on September 1st.  I wish I wasn't so old and knackered, as i would love to give it a good go again, I was self employed for 30 years in IT.

Still got about 20 years of work left in me!

Reading Addick

Thank you to everyone that has linked with me - means a lot

Henry Irving

Hi Gavin,

Sorry to hear that you lost your job.  Welcome to the wonderful world of self-employment.

Reading Addick

 Henry Irving said:

Hi Gavin,

Sorry to hear that you lost your job.  Welcome to the wonderful world of self-employment.

I'm looking forward to not having some idiot telling me what to do to make them more money!

Athletico Charlton

Reading Addick said:

 Henry Irving said:

Hi Gavin,

Sorry to hear that you lost your job.  Welcome to the wonderful world of self-employment.

I'm looking forward to not having some idiot telling me what to do to make them more money!

You're not married then?  😉

CharltonKerry

When you got some sales information perhaps you could forward to me, this is something we discuss as a company often, but as yet we haven’t done anything about it. It’s something my health and safety manager in particularly keeps chirping on about. Think you got a great advantage being new in that you should be very competitive, but more importantly keen and willing to help. When your ready send a personal message and I will forward you my details. Not promising anything as this is not my responsibility but I might be able to make certain it gets to the right person within my organisation.

Reading Addick

Athletico Charlton said:

Reading Addick said:

 Henry Irving said:

Hi Gavin,

Sorry to hear that you lost your job.  Welcome to the wonderful world of self-employment.

I'm looking forward to not having some idiot telling me what to do to make them more money!

You're not married then?  😉

I was expecting that 

Reading Addick

CharltonKerry said:

When you got some sales information perhaps you could forward to me, this is something we discuss as a company often, but as yet we haven’t done anything about it. It’s something my health and safety manager in particularly keeps chirping on about. Think you got a great advantage being new in that you should be very competitive, but more importantly keen and willing to help. When your ready send a personal message and I will forward you my details. Not promising anything as this is not my responsibility but I might be able to make certain it gets to the right person within my organisation.

Perfect - I will be in touch in the next couple of weeks - thank you

masicat

Can I assume you live in Reading ?

guinnessaddick

masicat said:

Can I assume you live in Reading ?

I took it, he liked books.

masicat

I know someone in Sidcup looking for help in this area. So asking “ I assume you live in Reading?” doesn’t seem unreasonable. 

Reading Addick

masicat said:

I know someone in Sidcup looking for help in this area. So asking “ I assume you live in Reading?” doesn’t seem unreasonable. 

Hi , live in Wokingham near Reading, but will have associates who work for me that are more local.  Is he looking for help to put systems in or have the assessed ready for certification.  My email is gavin@qecuk.com if you are able to message me here.  Thanks so much 

Gasman

Reading addick
Have you thought about offering a service to help SME,s to gain CHAS and Construction line accrediation ? 
Not far off what you doing now but could open options for work and attract smaller firms. 

masicat

Reading Addick said:

masicat said:

I know someone in Sidcup looking for help in this area. So asking “ I assume you live in Reading?” doesn’t seem unreasonable. 

Hi , live in Wokingham near Reading, but will have associates who work for me that are more local.  Is he looking for help to put systems in or have the assessed ready for certification.  My email is gavin@qecuk.com if you are able to message me here.  Thanks so much 

Emailed you this morning Gavin. 

SporadicAddick

Reading Addick said:

 Henry Irving said:

Hi Gavin,

Sorry to hear that you lost your job.  Welcome to the wonderful world of self-employment.

I'm looking forward to not having some idiot telling me what to do to make them more money!

Employee; "That's a lovely car boss"
Employer; "Thanks - If you keep working hard and carry on delivering the results you have been, there's a good chance that one day I'll have an even nicer one".

SporadicAddick

CharltonKerry said:

When you got some sales information perhaps you could forward to me, this is something we discuss as a company often, but as yet we haven’t done anything about it. It’s something my health and safety manager in particularly keeps chirping on about. Think you got a great advantage being new in that you should be very competitive, but more importantly keen and willing to help. When your ready send a personal message and I will forward you my details. Not promising anything as this is not my responsibility but I might be able to make certain it gets to the right person within my organisation.

That's a hot lead for you @Reading Addick , and great subtle positioning on price @CharltonKerry
  

CharltonKerry

SporadicAddick said:

CharltonKerry said:

When you got some sales information perhaps you could forward to me, this is something we discuss as a company often, but as yet we haven’t done anything about it. It’s something my health and safety manager in particularly keeps chirping on about. Think you got a great advantage being new in that you should be very competitive, but more importantly keen and willing to help. When your ready send a personal message and I will forward you my details. Not promising anything as this is not my responsibility but I might be able to make certain it gets to the right person within my organisation.

That's a hot lead for you @Reading Addick , and great subtle positioning on price @CharltonKerry
  

Thought someone would have called me a tight git a long while ago 😀. 

In my companies defence, and in a all seriousness it goes both ways as they will not have a track record so we cannot see any work they have previously undertaken, and we will be taking a risk that they can provide what we require. But I’m a believer that we all got to start somewhere, therefore trust is required from both parties. We started our company with a £1500 order and now we turn over anywhere up £15 million a year, and yet we still remember if we weren’t given that first order (and the associated trust that we could do it) then my company wouldn’t be here.

Reading Addick

masicat said:

Reading Addick said:

masicat said:

I know someone in Sidcup looking for help in this area. So asking “ I assume you live in Reading?” doesn’t seem unreasonable. 

Hi , live in Wokingham near Reading, but will have associates who work for me that are more local.  Is he looking for help to put systems in or have the assessed ready for certification.  My email is gavin@qecuk.com if you are able to message me here.  Thanks so much 

Emailed you this morning Gavin. 

Thanks Maiscat,  I’ll have a look and come back to you ASAP. Really appreciate all the responses 

Reading Addick

SporadicAddick said:

Reading Addick said:

 Henry Irving said:

Hi Gavin,

Sorry to hear that you lost your job.  Welcome to the wonderful world of self-employment.

I'm looking forward to not having some idiot telling me what to do to make them more money!

Employee; "That's a lovely car boss"
Employer; "Thanks - If you keep working hard and carry on delivering the results you have been, there's a good chance that one day I'll have an even nicer one".

That is so true!!

Reading Addick

Gasman said:

Reading addick
Have you thought about offering a service to help SME,s to gain CHAS and Construction line accrediation ? 
Not far off what you doing now but could open options for work and attract smaller firms. 

Thanks, I have considered that but I am going to initially focus on where I have good assessor that want to work with me and I have good experience within iso industry 

housty

Good luck with the new venture!! Have sent you a connect request in LI so I can like/share your stuff once you're up and running after Sept 1st