Where did the idea for ekmPowershop.com come from and what does it involve?

ekmPowershop.com is a hosted ecommerce solution that allows anyone to build their own easy to use online shop. Potential customers visit www.ekmpowershop.com and pay us £19.99 per month, for that we effectively rent them an empty online shop which they can upload their own categories and products too. Its similar to renting a shop unit on the high street in that affect.

The shop owner has no contract which means that we need to ensure their online shop is a success if we are to continue to get the £19.99 per month rental fee. Because the system is online we are always upgrading and working on improvement for customers, so for example we can always ensure all online shops powered by ekmPowershop are using all the most recent search engine optimisation techniques.

Back in 2002 when I setup ekmPowershop.com their was only two choice for someone wanting to setup their own online shop. They could either pay a web designer several thousands of pounds to build them an ecommerce website and pay a monthly hosting fee. The other option was to buy some ecommerce software that enabled you to build your own online shop, this generally cost around a thousand pounds and you still needed to pay a monthly hosting fee and you needed alot of technical knowledge to setup and install the software on both your pc and your web server.

I thought there must be an easier way, surely people don't need a computer science degree to build an online shop?

So I set about creating ekmPowershop.com which would enable anyone to build an easy to use online shop no matter what their technical ability was. I also decided to build it to run over the internet, so the only thing you need to use ekmPowershop.com is a web browser. This was new back in 2002 but its all the rage now with companies like Google, Facebook and even Microsoft all offering Software as a Service (SaaS) business models just like we do.


After realising the amount of debt you were in did you ever get to a point where you felt like giving up and when did you see the signs that business was improving?

Once I started working on the company I had no job and no income so I had no choice but to live off credit cards and personal debt. You need money to get customers and you need customer to get money, I was in a vicious circle which carried on spirarling down moving me into over £25,000 worth of debt.

I often get asked if I was worried about having so much personal debt but to be honest I wasn't, in my head I couldn't fail and it was just a matter of time.

I tried to get various business support grants which were available at the time, including one called the Michelin Development fund in Burnley. They came to see my business along with a bank and looked through my business plan and told me that it would never work and to give up.

I didn't give up. I couldn't give up.

I carried on persevering for three long hard years until I had managed to get around 100 customers through cold calling myself. Once I had 100 customers each paying me £19.99 per month I had enough money to take on my first member of staff which enabled me to focus on growing the business even more.


How has your business expanded since its creation? What new clients do you have?

It took me three years to get 100 customers, we now get in excess of 500 new customers each month and the company had gone from strength to strength. We now employ over 35 people and ekmPowershop.com powers one out of every five online shops in the UK.

Over 17,000 online shops have been opened since ekmPowershop.com was launched and we have several well known clients such as Lotus Cars, ITV, PGA Golf, Madam Tussards, BBC and the O2.

Running ekmPowershop.com is great as you get to meet and talk to litterly thousands of people all setting up their first businesses, expanding their existing ones and of course the large multinationals trying to increase their online presence.

We have some great success stories of people who have setup their own businesses using ekmPowershop.com and have gone from a bedroom operation to a multi-million pound business. There is one customer who originally setup in his front room who turnsover in excess of £250,000 per month.


You have been named Enterprising Young Brit at an event in London - how does that make you feel?

I was very surprised to win the main award and feel very honoured. I got the award from Lord Mandleson who came in especially to present it to me.


What advice would you give to people who have put their all into a struggling business and feel like giving up?

Keep on persevering. I know far too many people who have given up too early on their own business. Its not easy, if it was everyone would be multi-millionaires and everyone would work for themselves.

Also dont be afriad to ask for help and advise, for example for all our customers we have a community forum called ekmCommunity.com where shop owners can log on and discuss various topics and concerns and get help from other shop owners. Its a great resource and it shows that the small business community will always work together to help each other.

Talented entrepreneur Antony Chesworth, 29 based in Darwen, celebrated national success this week at the Enterprising Young Brits awards for his business ekmPowershop.com.

Antony scooped the highly acclaimed award from Lord Peter Mandelson at the Institute of Directors, which was attended by some of the UK's top business people. The competition is open to entrepreneurs who have made their idea happen in a new, innovative or inspiring way.

The award was presented in style by Lord Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. It was Lord Mandelson’s first appearance since parliament dissolved for the run up to the General Election. 

Antony set up ekmPowershop.com in 2002 whilst unemployed. He ran up huge credit card debts to get his business going against all odds. His company which enables people to build their own online shop is now worth in excess of £20 million pounds. ekmPowershop.com is now the market leader in UK ecommerce, powering 1 in every 5 online shops in the UK.

Commenting on his achievement, Antony said: “The whole essence of ekmPowershop.com is to enable people to set up their own online business.  Winning the Enterprising Young Brit award is an honour and it shows that with drive, ambition and a bit of perseverance anyone can succeed.”

Lord Mandelson, Business Secretary of the State comments: “Despite the toughest economic conditions we have known for the past decades, this year’s competition has received a record number of entries. That says something about enterprise and about the young people who are committed to enterprise in this country.”

Antony will now become an Enterprise UK Ambassador. As an Ambassador for the organisation, Antony will network with some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs and help inspire the next generation of Peter Jones and Alan Sugars.

A talented young entrepreneur will be flying the flag for Lancashire after making it through the final of the national Enterprising Young Brits competition, and local people are being given the opportunity to back him in an online public vote.

Antony Chesworth has been named as a finalist for his Darwen-based Ekm Systems Ltd, an internet service provider whose main product ekmPowershop.com provides ecommerce facilities to one out of every five online shops in the UK. He will now pitch to a panel of judges at the final, due to be held at the prestigious Institute of Directors in London on 30 March 2010. In addition, the public can choose the winner of the coveted People’s Choice award in an online vote, open from Tuesday 23 March at www.enterpriseuk.org/youngbrits.

Commenting on his achievement, Mr. Chesworth said: “Reaching the final of such a prestigious enterprise competition is really encouraging. I know I’ll be up against some tough competition at the final, but I’ll certainly do my very best to bring an Enterprising Young Brit award back to Darwen”

Enterprising Young Brits shines the spotlight on talented young people who are bucking the recession by seizing opportunities to turn their ideas into successful businesses, generating jobs and wealth within their communities. Run by Enterprise UK and supported by the Institute of Directors, the Daily Mail, and the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, the competition highlights that age is no barrier to turning ideas into reality.

Scott Cain, Deputy Chief Executive of Enterprise UK, comments: “Enterprising Young Brits such as Antony have shown that age is no barrier to entrepreneurial success. I’d encourage people of any age to take inspiration from the finalists’ ideas and their can-do spirit. With so many talented young business brains competing this year, it’s sure to be an exciting final.”

This year’s 25 finalists are split over five categories:

·         New startup – For enterprising individuals who have started their own business, large or small, within the past three years.

·         Social, ethical or environmental – For ventures combining the principles of a successful business with an emphasis on the social, ethical or environmental benefits it can provide.

·         Teen – For anybody aged 13-19 who is making their enterprising idea happen.

·         Creative – Rewarding enterprising individuals in the creative industries such as fashion, music, design, or the arts.

·         Open category – Entrants who business did not immediately fit into one of the four categories above were welcome to enter the Open category.

The winner of each category will take home £1,000 and a trophy.

Photograph shows Antony Chesworth 
(Hi-Res Version at http://www.antonychesworth.co.uk/page/Photos.aspx)

For more information please contact Steven Hickey at Ekm Systems Ltd at stevenhickey@ekmsystems.co.uk or 0871 230 7116.

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