Kathy Moores is Managing Director of Rugby-based Fosse Data Systems which specialises in fully online sign-up and management services for national dog shows.
She has been a member of one of the Peer Networks programme groups run by Burgis & Bullock since October 2020.
Fosse Data Systems was founded 1982 and Kathy has been owner of the company since 1994. It boasts Crufts among its list of prestigious clients and sees people from all over the world visiting its website.
In 2002, it was the first business in the UK to offer online entry systems and has grown to be the industry’s company of choice.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of all dog shows nationally and all 12 of the staff at the company have been on either furlough or flexi-furlough.
Following advice Kathy received as part of the Peer Networks initiative, she has been able to access £10,000 worth of fully-funded digital training for her staff, which will support the business in bouncing back from the impact of the pandemic.
Kathy said: “I felt the key benefit of the group sessions was the exchange of ideas with other businesses from diverse areas of the economy.
“My business faced a total shut down during the pandemic. You could see many of us were facing similar challenges, and even those who had flourished during the pandemic were still facing challenges.
“I took on board some of the problem-solving solutions offered freely by members of the group and the many good ideas which came up in the course of the sessions where everyone felt able to speak freely.
“I had three one-to-one sessions and that helped me to view my business in a different way. I expressed an interest in social media and digital training off the back of that and, following an introduction, we are now completing the training.
“Nine members of our team will be up-skilled and this will be important for the future development of the business as our new website is commissioned in the next few months. I hope it will also help with staff motivation, after being off work for more than a year in many cases.
“My key takeaway from being in the Peer Networks is a desire to increase and improve the business’ social media presence, and the means to do so.
“I have been able to re-evaluate the business model and discuss any problems with people in the group.
“As a business we came out of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001 and were able to grow significantly. We’re aiming to do that again and help the business to hit new heights as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Burgis & Bullock has delivered four cohorts of The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Peer Networks programme through the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub.
For more information about Peer Networks with Burgis & Bullock visit https://www.bb-bmg.uk/peer-networks.