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WEDDING
BUSINESS BOOMING FOR THE HITCHING POST
2004 is turning out to be a
memorable year for an innovative South Wales based
business, which has become an essential online guide
to happy couples planning a wedding.
Apart from enjoying a
successful business year, The Hitching Post will be
representing Wales in the UK E-Commerce Awards in
London on October 6 after winning the e-business
award for Wales sponsored by the Welsh Assembly
Government.
The company, launched by
61-year-old entrepreneur Ian Bond two years ago from
his base in Aberdare, has also just signed a deal to
develop its Internet service into a Sky television
programme.
He estimates that the
website has already helped around 20,000 couples
around the world with their wedding plans. Not bad
for a businessman, who came up with the idea of The
Hitching Post after being made redundant at 55.
The Hitching Post provides
an online noticeboard where couples can create a
40-page personal wedding website, which is available
to all who register. The service is free and has
been developed to help couples plan and co-ordinate
their weddings by taking all the stress and
confusion out of communicating arrangements and
details to the guests.
Providing a wealth of
information and advice on wedding related matters,
The Hitching Post generates income by advertising
the services of numerous wedding suppliers.
Once the website has been
successfully extended to television, Mr Bond plans
to sell the model to other countries around the
globe.
Explaining how the business
came about, he said “As the Internet was picking up
speed and becoming more user friendly, it just so
happened that my kids were getting married.
“I started looking at the
process of arranging a wedding in terms of
communication and discovered that by the time a
wedding is held, around 100,000 people
communications will have been made. The Internet is
brilliant for that process.
“Being made redundant made
me focus on this opportunity and what I have
produced is a website that enables couples and their
families to save a lot of time and communications.
“While the concept is mine,
it has been the bright young ones at Imaginet in
Cardiff that have done the design work and coding.”
The innovative business has
impressed what Mr Bond describes as “the opinion
formers” in the wedding industry and he has appeared
on the Richard and Judy Show four times.
"Within the wedding
community The Hitching Post has a very high profile
and therefore it makes perfect sense to launch a
television programme in January in a joint venture,”
he said.
“It’s a steep learning curve
for me because while I am at home with selling and
marketing, putting a TV show together calls for a
whole bunch of new skills. Up until now the site has
been supported by advertising, but the business
model is going to need major changes when the TV
show begins.
“Where we are going to be in
12 months time is playing on the international
scene. The potential is enormous because we can sell
the model around the world.”
The Hitching Post now
attracts visitors from around the globe, including a
Las Vegas cleric called the Rev Kev, who conducts
weddings 24 hours a day and has blessed the website.
The business employs a team
of around 20 people and Mr Bond, who has spent his
career in sales and marketing in the UK and
Australia, praised the support he is receiving
through the aspire business start-up programme.
Devised and managed by
Newport-based CODA Business Management Ltd with
Welsh Development Agency support, aspire offers
mentoring and specialist consultancy to ambitious
entrepreneurs in South East Wales whose business
ideas demonstrate strong growth potential.
CODA, a leading consultancy
with a proven track record in business creation and
development, has provided Mr Bond with a tailored
package of support through IT and e-commerce mentor
Stephen Allen to help establish and develop the
business.
“When we have run into an
issue, Stephen has been there with advice and
ideas,” said Mr Bond. “I need to be challenged when
I come up with an idea and Stephen is a good
sounding board. He’s worth his weight in gold.”
Mr Allen said he had
provided Mr Bond with general business support,
including advice about invoice factoring.
“It’s a very well organised
company and Ian is a dynamic entrepreneur who is
tenacious, resourceful and very creative with his
ideas but also recognises his shortcomings,” he
added. “He’s not afraid to call in extra help when
needed.
“He has impressed me with
the way he has stuck with the idea because setting
up the business hasn’t been easy for him.”
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