Vision for success during a recession, part 1

By Shawn Khorassani, Business Development and Strategy Director of family business language services company Prestige Network.

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Newbury MP Richard Benyon said: “Many businesses have been suffering because of the recession and are continuing to suffer. I recently sponsored a recession-busting networking event at Newbury College, with the intention of providing really practical support for businesses at a difficult time for all businesses. At this event, what I tried to do was provide some free support to small and medium-sized businesses’ managers to understand how to constructively cost-cut and how to manage the difficult time during a recession.

“It’s equally important to remember that a positive mental attitude and a passion and vision for what you do are important – that’s why I support something like these articles. Anything which provides help for businesses who are trying to look to the future is to be welcomed.”

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Keeping a positive attitude may seem difficult to do during a recession, but it’s something which is essential for success. I believe that a significant part of Prestige Network’s success has been down to positive mental attitude.

Earlier this year, we celebrated financial success with the announcement that our turnover had soared 65% in the previous 12 months to a phenomenal £3 million. This spurred us on to think hard about the reasons for our success.

I run the company with my sister Shohreh Fleming (we are the company’s joint founders), along with Shohreh’s husband Anthony. We now employ 25 staff and 5,000 specialist language freelancers based all over the UK, who speak and translate more than 200 languages.  Our company - specialists in translation services - caters for language and communications needs in the private and public sector (including the NHS, local government departments, charities, the police and other public organisations).

I attribute Prestige Network’s success to a number of key factors.

Our solid family values of respect, dependability, commitment and support form the bedrock of everything Prestige Network stands for. I believe our ‘familyness’ gives us a competitive advantage.

As a business, you’ve got to keep your eye on the ball and not be afraid to try new things. I am always looking out for new ideas and directions to take the company – little is ruled out.

As far as a positive mental attitude is concerned, I believe that it’s an essential ingredient for success. It’s a prerequisite for thinking to the future - I’m always thinking ahead to the next thing.

In the past few months, I’ve been asked several times if I have any words of advice for companies which are struggling and I would say this: 

• ‘Your mentality is important – you must always have a positive attitude. Even in a recession, nothing should affect your ability to achieve what you want to achieve.
• ‘All companies - successful ones and struggling ones – really need to listen to their client’s needs. Just because something has always worked in the past doesn’t mean it always will in the future. You have to listen to what your customers want today and adjust your service offering in this recessionary climate – this will be what shape’s your company’s growth.’

Yes, we do a whole range of language services (including face-to-face interpreting, telephone interpreting, British Sign Language/English interpreting, through to translation services and website localisation) and we do them well – that’s why people keep coming back to us. But what makes us different?

Earlier this year (summer 2009), we conducted an internal exercise, asking our staff what they thought were the company’s USPs. Amongst the top responses were:

• “We Care” and “We Listen” to our customer’s requirements
• Providing exactly what the customer wants i.e. fulfilling the exact requirement
• We are a family business – small enough to care, big enough to deliver!
• We have the determination to succeed.

All of these things are important to us!

In part two of ‘Vision during a recession’ I will look at some of our recent successes and new services. Watch out for part two – in December 2009.

Prestige Network can be contacted on 01635 866888.