Why FunGrenade
How FunGrenade was born
I know what you are all thinking, why FunGrenade? I.T., Web Dev and Graphic Design is often a subject that businesses need, but doesn’t understand how to implement it in their business. It is for this reason that there is an open market out there for charging whatever the company can get away with… we call it ‘Ignorance Tax’. If a business owner doesn’t understand the concept and are told they need it they will pay for it.
Over the years we have seen lots of web design and development companies pop up. The prices have been astronomical in some cases. This is something that drives us crazy at FunGrenade hence why we set up to offer more manageable solutions for smaller businesses. You get exactly what you need to help your company develop and drive business awareness.
But why FunGrenade….. I KNOW I KNOW, I’m coming to that. Sitting in the lounge one evening we were chatting about the business idea when one of our cats was wanting to play. We have a toy that provides us (and the cats) with hours of entertainment, we call it the FunGrenade. We throw it for the cats and as it lands it laughs and they go crazy! Watch this space we will video it and share with you all soon!
Our History
Check out timeline to see our history and how we got to be who we are today.
2003
2005
2006
2014
2015
2016
2017
2017
October, 2003
The start of Trefforest Internet Media
Hi Im Nik, the original founder of the business. In October 2003, I started Trefforest Internet Media. Having spent several years working in various industries providing IT solutions, I really wanted to put my skills and knowledge to the test. I love to problem solve. Nothing give me more pleasure than the challenge of improving a process through technology.
At the time I was living in Treforest, so it felt right to name my business Trefforest. Note the spelling though, its the Welsh way!!
Main Clients
Interhigh has to be one of my longest clients. I was brought into Interhigh to develop their systems and processes. The school has gone from strength to strength over the years. In the early days we were a small team, me being the only IT expert, one designer and the owners. Now in 2017 there are several people that I have trained and continue to train. Together we strive to make the school the best not only in the UK but global.
Pearns Pharmacy have been a long standing client. I have helped them develop their website over the years. This is a bespoke project, to date we have a system that enables patients to order their prescriptions online. It has proved very popular and continues to grow.
Lextox are a business I was introduced to to help them with their lab processes. Together we have enable their systems to become more streamlined. We continue to work together on new projects bringing ideas to life.
Partnerships
Over the years I have partnered with numerous Graphic Designers. These companies do not do websites so sub contract out to people like me. These partnerships developed several opportunities. Business I was working with saw what I could do and would begin to ask for more than just their websites.
This was fantastic for me, I love processes more than websites. The opportunity to look at a businesses processes, identify their problems, then solve them really excites me.
I am still working with the clients today in 2017. We are constantly striving to improve their processes and grow their business.
Moving house
This year saw me move house to Pontyclun and start a new chapter in live and work. Working with my regular clients, I also saw an opportunity for supporting local businesses.
Pontyclun is a close community, there is a real drive for buying local in order to suport the community develop and grow. Facebook is a big driver for business in the area with the Pontyclun Hub. My partner, Emma is always on the hub keeping an eye out for opportunities for me to grow the business. I did a few small computer repair jobs for local people but always in the back of my mind the name of the business does not promote me as a local business.
First WordPress website
One of our clients, Panini’s Sandwiches, needed to refresh their current website and bring things more up to date. They wanted the ability to update the menus themselves. The original website was done as a bespoke site. With limited software at the business they would not be able to manage this themselves. I am also security conscious and do not let just anyone access my servers. This is where Emma suggested WordPress.
At this time I was not a fan of template style websites. All of my work has been bespoke with specialist code, but this takes time and costs. I took the plunge and looked into it. Bingo…..I could do something for businesses that they can learn and keep the costs low.
Panini’s website continues to drive lots of contact and inquiries enabling them to grow their business.
Business Development
Emma is always pushing me to grow and develop the business. There have been numerous occasions where a local business has been requested for web design. Now it was time to change. We needed to change the business, its aims and objectives, while still working with our current clients.
This doesn’t happen overnight. On our holidays we would talk about what we have to offer, what are our goals, who are the competition. How could we produce low cost websites to suit business needs. This is when we discussed WordPress. As I have already said, I wasnt a fan, however if we can do this then why not. We agreed that we would be clear up front with our potential clients and give them the option.
Take a look at our packages and you will see we state at the lower end they are all WordPress. We have seen several businesses believe they are getting a bespoke site, paying a fortune, then when looking into it deeper the site is just WordPress. This drives us crazy, so unfair.
We were given an opportunity to develop a website for a villa in Florida. This meant we had to go over, if we must! Hehe! We took loads of photos, designed a website, linked with management companies in the area and had lots of road trips. This gave us insight to the power of blogs. We wrote blogs all the way through our trip and our second trip. These were posted on the website. Since then we have received feedback how useful they were for others looking to visit the area.
At this point we started to use Facebook. We set up a business page for the villa and this is when we got enquiries. WOW, I always knew social media could support but the speed of the impact impressed me.
Now this has to be part of our business model.
Our first project to test the process we were planning was for a friend. The intention was to see if setting up a WordPress site, social media support and training would work. So we set to work with Kevin on Knotweedbusters. I set up the site, showed Kevin what to do and since then he has been updating his own site comfortably. He has also gained several contract through his Facebook business page.
It does work!!!
When FunGenade was born
Our ideas finally started to come to life. We set up the limited company and friends and family started to talk about our new venture.
You have already read about why FunGrenade so I wont bore you with that again. We hope that the fun we put into the business shows through our work. Our aim and focus has always been supporting businesses to grow within their budget. This will remain our goal and we hope you join us on our journey, pulling the pin at FunGrenade.
We start our first projects
From idea to actual business. This month saw us start our first projects.
Developing a website for a local Independent Financial Adviser.Dan has been using social media for several years and generated a lot of business through there. But he has never had that real verification of his business through a website. Dan is computer savvy and will be able, after a bit of training, to update his own content. Not only have we set up his website but he also took up one of our additional services, photography. Check out our clients page to see the finished product.Development of business model and online presence for rental accommodationDan…. yes another Dan….. is a keen mountain biker. He has a property in Merthyr close to Bike Park Wales. He contacted us via Facebook for a website. Having met with him and explored his business we have devised a plan for everything, logo design, print, photography, social media support and website. In order to ensure Dan get the most out of his budget we are carrying out the project in phases. Go to our clients to see the design work so far.Set up a WordPress site for the Herpetology Society at Bangor UniversityThe chair committee approached us to see if we could help. They have limited funding, yet need a website to support their group. We have set up the site and now they are going to complete the content themselves. This will be a bilingual site. They are delighted to be able to boast their website is designed and hosted in Wales!!Photography and Social Media for Steve Tottle Tae Kwon DoEmma has practiced Taekwondo for over 10 years. Her club need to increase their presence online. They have a website and a Facebook group, but this is a closed group. One of the instructors Liz, is a graphic designer (madappledesigns) and has managed their page and website over the years. Liz set up the business page and as a team they are all promoting the club. We have taken photos at training sessions, which have been a hit. Obviously being safety conscious we have made sure the club are getting authority from the parents. This has sparked an interest from parents to purchase the pictures. The next step is to set up a gallery to sell the photos.
First Page on Google
With our 17+ years of experience, our SEO services will get your site ranking.
First Page on Google
With our 17+ years of experience, our SEO services will get your site ranking.
First Page on Google
With our 17+ years of experience, our SEO services will get your site ranking.