Identifying a niche market, building a business from scratch to serve it, and using emerging technology to do so, would be a daunting challenge for anyone.
Now throw in the fact your business partner is located over 5,000 miles away on the opposite side of the Atlantic and you have an idea of the challenges overcome by brothers Barry and Peter Cooper of Cooper Solutions.
Driving through the quaint village of Barford, in Warwickshire, you would be forgiven for failing to realise it is home to a business which enjoys a £2 million turnover every year and has achieved staggering success in the automotive industry in little over ten years.
Cooper Solutions is fronted by Essex-born brothers Barry and Peter Cooper, and while Peter stations himself in Long Beach, California, Barry is happy to settle for the more humble surroundings of Barford.
The firm provides web-based automotive software to over 1,200 car dealerships right across the UK. All of which is designed, installed, hosted and maintained by Cooper Solutions with the aim of making the day-to-day running of dealerships more efficient, saving them time and money in the process.
Timing, experience and happy coincidence proved to be crucial factors when it came to Cooper Solutions becoming the success it is today. Barry had 20 years of experience in the automotive dealer industry while Peter was a well established software programmer having worked for the likes of Apple and Canon in the USA.
It was an unlikely combination, but it proved to be a fruitful one.
“I joined the automotive industry straight out of Plymouth Polytechnic in 1982,” said Barry.
“I worked for Dana Automotive, BMW GB and Sytner Group running a BMW dealership in Warwick until 2001 when I set up Cooper Business Solutions as it was then.
“I was doing management development and consultancy work for dealerships when I had a phone conversation with Peter.
“We discussed the fact technology was coming into existence which meant a lot of the stuff I was doing had the potential to be web-based.
“So we talked some things through and the first product, FullControl, was launched in January 2003 – a product we still sell today.”
Peter said: “The timing was important as the technology was just coming along which allowed us to not only produce these products but to communicate effectively from opposite sides of the world.
“My technical knowledge and Barry’s experience of the automotive industry was an unrivalled combination and it allowed us to get a jump on any potential competitors or to develop products which were better than competitors’ because of our combined expertise.”
Peter had moved to the USA to undertake a master’s degree in Delaware having graduated in electronic engineering and management science from Sussex University.
And while the distance might seem like an obstacle from the outside, Peter believes the trans-Atlantic nature of Cooper Solutions has been good for both business and the relationship with his brother.
“There are some advantages,” said Peter.
“One of those is that when the office is closing in the UK, I’m just getting up, so we can use the eight-hour time difference to our advantage by extending the working day.
“It also means, if we need to update a product, by the time our clients arrive back in the office it will have been done overnight ready and waiting for them.
“In terms of the relationship between Barry and I, Cooper Solutions has been an important factor in keeping us close.
“I had been abroad for 20 years before we started Cooper Solutions and when you live so far apart you need something to talk about other than how Spurs got on over the weekend and how much our children have grown!”
Barry also echoed his brother’s sentiment.
“To actually start a business together has been great from a relationship point of view, we spend a lot more time talking and we have a lot more to talk about.
“To have built a business from scratch to one which now employs over 20 people and generates a turnover in excess of £2 million is great, but to have done it with my brother who has lived abroad for 20 years makes it all the more special.”
“We have grown every year and revenue has increased by at least 10 per cent every year. This year it will probably grow by more than 30 per cent, with scope to grow next year by more than 20 per cent.”
While there’s tongue-in-cheek jealousy that Peter bases himself in California as Barry settles for Barford, the firm itself has international ambitions. And it might not be too long before Barry is able to join his brother in more exotic surroundings.
“The goal is to keep growing the business healthily and in the most intelligent way possible.
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