Cannon’s all fired up

Last December I wrote an article, Introducing WeComm, which featured Terry Cannon and his new business venture operating out of his offices at The Brewery Yard Club off Landgate in Rye. My closing paragraph of that article read as follows:

“Rye News will follow the progress of WeComm and update our readers in due course but Terry Cannon is the real deal, he shoots from the hip, speaks as he finds and with his will, determination and business acumen should make his mark sooner rather than later. So, if you fancy a change of career and with the potential to earn what you’re worth, here’s your chance to make 2022 a year to remember, for all the right reasons.”

As promised, I arranged to meet Terry last week for a catch up, as when we last met he was working flat out on his own, in a very impressive but unoccupied office having moved from the comfort of a salaried position and now in the process of launching a new business in a very challenging market. It takes a certain type of individual to take this risk but Terry has one overriding quality and that is total and unflinching self-belief.

I had a feeling he would make it and, if I was a betting man, I would have placed a wager as I would have been well rewarded for having a flutter. Terry has more than made it. His goal was to set up a new team by the end of 2022 and he now already has in place a team of six. More interviews are planned with potential recruits and within the next two weeks the team is expected to have grown to eight which completes phase one of his business plan.

Some of his team have industry experience, others are new to the business. His highly efficient marketing manager, Maria Bayley, has experience specialising in graphic design and branding, with brand knowledge, values and vison needed in the eCommerce world and has brought the marketing ‘in house’. Millie Butler also knows the industry and, as an eCommerce delivery manager, she is able to identify the best talent across digital marketing, eCommerce, creative, data and insights, marketing and IT sectors from junior level to c-suite. She has helped to build Terry’s team which also includes Scott MacBean.

Scott is new to the business. Previously a hairstylist and online fitness coach, he joined WeComm as an eCommerce delivery consultant, looking for a new challenge and has quickly proved himself a valuable team member having made his first placement within his first two weeks of his appointment. He is joined by Shannon Press who, after a number of years working for the NHS, decided a new career was needed and is now an eCommerce delivery consultant where she utilises her experience dealing with people and her strong interpersonal skills, in her exciting new role.

The team work in an open plan office environment and constantly learn from each other.  They work hard but reap the rewards for all their hard work. A full expenses paid trip to Gaucho in London was their most recent ‘reward’ for their outstanding team effort by ‘crushing’ their set target for new business written. Having just secured a major client in Dubai, Terry is planning the trip of a lifetime there for his team if they can reach their next major milestone.

I met all his team and they were enthusiastic, professional, focused and above all shared a positive work ethic. Mindful of the targets they needed to achieve, there was no time for idle banter. They didn’t spend half their time on mobile phones talking to their friends. They had a job to do and collectively they had success in their sights, no doubt incentivised by the realistic possibility of a trip abroad if they managed to deliver what was required of them.

WeComm’s success has not gone unnoticed. Terry’s new Rye-based business has already been shortlisted in the last five from over 2,500 applications received in response to the StartUp Awards National Series. This was launched to recognise the booming start-up scene across the UK which has accelerated since the pandemic began. In 2020, when most of the world was shutting down, more than 400,000 start-ups were set up in Britain, with similar increases seen in other European countries.

Supported nationally by BT, EY, Dell and Intel, the programme will celebrate the achievements of the amazing individuals across the UK who have turned an idea into an opportunity and taken the risk to launch a new product or service (see StartUp Awards National Series).

The finals are in June when the winner will be announced and, needless to say, Terry is quietly confident and doesn’t intend returning home empty-handed.

So, yet another uplifting success story for another Rye-based business. Terry Cannon spent many happy times here as a child and vowed to return one day.

That day has now arrived and he has invested into the area by putting something back into the system. He is also providing jobs and a career for our young local people with the prospect of earning a decent salary in return for hard work and results. He has seen a gap in the market, put his money where his mouth is and has already built a successful business. What does the future hold for WeComm? Watch this space for further updates and in the interim we wish Terry and his young team of locals the very best for the future and look forward to following this young and thriving business as it continues to grow.

Image Credits: Terry Cannon , Nick Forman .