A company with family at its core
Custom Creations is a family-run bespoke furniture company designing, making and installing bespoke fitted furniture and storage solutions. The business has grown from a small family start-up to a thriving team with a reputation for craftsmanship, attention to detail and excellent customer service. They cover Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, providing custom solutions for every space.
A growing business
Custom Creations started as a small family business over a decade ago. From its early days when three family members would work round the clock, it grew rapidly, thanks to the family’s hard work and determination. Co-founder and director Jo Philips admits that “It was tough. When I look back now, I’m not quite sure how we did it actually, but we did.” After six months, they took on their first member of staff “and then within a year we’d taken on two fitters and two more staff because it just took off”.
As the company took on more work and staff, the admin grew too. Jo Philips explains, “We did a lot of things on paper, which we could in the beginning… suddenly, in quite a short space of time, we went from not needing really much on that side to needing quite a lot.”
With an increasing amount of paperwork and admin to deal with, Custom Creations needed to move from paper to PC, so that they could continue to deliver a great service to their customers and continue to grow.
Although their company focuses on physical products and services, IT is still essential to running the business, as Jo Philips explains “from an admin point of view, it’s integral to the job, but it’s not the job… and if something does go down or does go wrong, then you need to know that 1. you can get someone straight away and 2. it’s going to be fixed straight away”
An IT partner they can trust
The business was about a year old, with basic computers and some ad hoc IT support when Custom Creations decided they needed someone to bring their IT up to standard.
“My son said we need to get this a bit more professional. I was absolutely terrified because anything technical doesn’t really work for me. But John from HBTech came and the nice thing was he asked us what we wanted to do. Initially we didn’t want too much. They put together a package for us, based on what we needed.”
“John didn’t say it, but I could tell he was wondering how we were managing. The nice thing was he said start with this. This is where you need to start. These are the key things. And then build up on that as you go. Which we’ve done.”
This gave Custom Creations the bespoke infrastructure and support they needed. As the company has expanded and its needs have changed, HBTech has continued to support them.
“Since then we have grown more, we’ve developed more, and we’ve added various things as we’ve gone on through the years, and we’ve just gone over to HBTel for the telephones as well.”
“There’s no pushy sales. If we don’t really need something, they tell us that. But if there’s something that I do need, then they’ll say you really need to get this. And so I trust their judgment on that.”
With HBTech’s help, Custom Creations have been able to rely more on IT, whether it’s designing furniture on computer, keeping track of customer admin or calling up plans and specs of jobs completed years ago (e.g. when a new owner gets in touch having bought a house with Custom Creations fitted furniture). This has enabled them to serve their customers better, and to grow their business.
The comprehensive support they need
Managed IT support from HBTech means the team at Custom Creations don’t have to worry about IT “If we are having trouble with anything they’re always at the end of an email and they’ll come straight back. Whenever we have a new laptop or computer system, they come and set it all up for us. So it’s just peace of mind really. That’s the main thing.”
“They don’t expect everyone to be an IT expert, which is great. I say to them ‘treat me like I’m an idiot and tell me what I need to do and talk me through it’. And they do that. The patience they have is amazing.
For Custom Creations, it was also important to have an IT partner who could deal with issues proactively, leaving them free to concentrate on running their business.
Jo Philips appreciates that “I don’t have to think about it really because I’ll get an email from them saying we need to do something.” HBTech flag up in advance when any changes or upgrades will become necessary “It’s good for me because I can plan from a financial point of view when the best time is to get them in and get that done, which is really helpful.”
It feels like a true partnership, and both companies value the relationship and the way they have grown together. As Jo Philips puts it, “We’ve grown with them and they’ve grown with us as well.”
For Custom Creations, the arrangement “Works perfectly”.
Jo Philips explains that, “taking someone on in house wouldn’t be cost effective or necessary for us. So here we’ve got it at the click of a button or by picking up the phone and there’s nothing that we need that they can’t cover.”
She feels that HBTech “do everything we need. The relationship and trust is there, so I’ve never considered going anywhere else.”
“I would definitely recommend it to any small business like us, it’s just ideal.”
“The trust and the responsiveness, it just takes away the fear.”
Contact us for IT support you can trust, so you can get on with running your business
