Member Article

HGVtraining.co.uk Duo’s Strategy for Success

James Clifford and Gary Benardout, Co-founders of HGVtraining.co.uk

1. How did you meet?

James: We’re old friends from school and even ended up travelling around the world together on our gap year. We started HGVtraining.co.uk together in 2012.

2. Why did you decide to start the company? Where did the idea come from? Was there a eureka moment?

Gary: The idea for the business came from the most unlikely of places. A former colleague of mine worked in finance, and while he was overseeing the sale of a well-known poultry company he noticed a huge amount of wastage. Looking into this further he discovered that the wastage was due to a simple lack of drivers. After I talked to him about it I discovered just how big the haulage skills shortage is and saw the opportunity for a business that could meet that demand. Today, we’re the UK’s leading trainer of HGV drives.

3. What was your previous experience?

James: Gary ran a series of successful business including a web-tech firm that he sold to News International in 2001. I actually spent 15 years teaching maths in secondary schools which was incredibly rewarding. You’d be surprised at how well the challenge of getting 30 teenagers to enjoy maths translates into the business world.

4. Had you ever run your own company or always worked for someone else?

Gary: From a young age I always knew I wanted to run businesses, and the experience of doing so has proved to be invaluable over the years. James joined me full-time three years ago and brought a fresh perspective in the role of MD.

5. Where did the investment come from?

Gary: We both personally invested in the business to get it started and have never sought external funding. All the capital investment since then has been generated by the company itself.

6. Why has the company been successful?

James: The growth and success of the company can largely be attributed to how we have embraced modern business strategies and technology. In an industry that has been slow to modernise, we have invested a great deal of time and effort developing our website and online presence. By doing this we have become the most accessible route for prospective HGV drivers, and a leading name in HGV driver training.

7. What has been your best moment or biggest break?

Gary: From a personal point of view, the best moment was when, after investing a huge amount of time and effort into Search Engine Optimisation, our website began ranking above the official government training websites on Google. This cemented our place as the leading HGV training organisation and helps us maintain our place as the market leader.

8. What about the worst? The most difficult?

James: We haven’t had any really bad moments, but there was a fairly nervy 48 hour period after we radically redesigned our website. When we switched to the new site, nothing happened. No clicks, no enquiries. For a short time, we thought we’d made a terrible mistake, but as it turns out, it was just a momentary blip, and we were soon reaping the benefits of the improved website.

9. Where do you see the company going from here?

Gary: We are already the number one provider of HGV training in the UK, and our aim now is to become the number one corporate HGV trainer. HGVtraining.co.uk already works as the training arm of some of the largest logistics companies in the UK, but we are looking to broaden our portfolio even further. With the impending skills gap, we want to be there for the companies who need drivers. That’s why we’ve launched the industry’s first Driver Finder service that allows you to find drivers with the click of a button.

10 .Can you tell me more about the chronic driver skills gap? Why is this? What effect will it have?

James: Quite simply, the road haulage skills gap is one of the greatest threats to the economy. By 2020 it is predicted that the UK will have a shortage of 60,000 drivers, and with 85% of all goods consumed in the UK sent by road this poses a serious risk to the economy. The root cause of this is that drivers are retiring at a much faster rate than we are recruiting them. It’s been talked about for a while, but in our view, not enough is being done to attract new talent. We see ourselves as playing a vital role in training up the next generation of HGV drivers.

11. What advice would you give to other SME owners or those thinking of starting their own business?

Gary: Don’t be afraid to do things that others in your industry aren’t doing. Be the company that adopts technology first, implement modern business strategies, especially if your competitors aren’t already. However perhaps most importantly, do whatever it takes to own your digital space.

12. Do you have any funny or bizarre stories or experiences that you can share?

James: One story we’ll be dining off for years comes from the very early days of the business. We were settling into our new offices when we spotted one of our competitors, crouched behind a bin, spying on us. We left him for a while and then felt bad and took him a cup of tea to warm him up.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by HGVtraining.co.uk .