Lisa sets the bar high at Centenary Business Centre
The first objective of Lisa Smullen, manager of Warwickshire County Council-owned Centenary Business Centre in Nuneaton, is to ensure the centre's tenants have everything they need to enable their businesses to prosper.
For Lisa, who has run the 63-unit centre on Attleborough Fields Industrial Estate since 2008, that is a very busy job. And it can be a challenging job.
So it helps that she loves her job.
"I was told at my interview that 'you'll never know what any day brings from one to the next,'" said Lisa. "And that's true."
"I love working here. The tenants are great. We have such a wide range of businesses here that something is always happening and something different is always required. Everyone looks out for each other and it is never, ever dull. On one occasion I was left literally holding the baby!"
With a background in retail, Lisa is well-equipped to understand the pressures and needs of people running small and medium-sized businesses. She does it well.
It is testament to the centre's current success that, of its more than 60 units, 91 per cent are currently occupied. In recent years, that figure has always hovered around 90 per cent, comfortably above the national benchmark of 85 per cent occupation-levels at business centres of similar size.
Built in 1989 with funding from Warwickshire County Council and the Coal Enterprise Board, Centenary Business Centre has twice been expanded and now includes longer-lease units. Its facilities now include a conference room, photography studio and cafe - excellent facilities underpinned by a great sense of community (there are regular tenants' meetings) and, above all, the support and expertise of Lisa and her staff.
No-one knows the centre's merits better than Stephen Harban-Bullock and Neal Evans, co-owners of graphic design and print company Nine Point High (www.nine-point-high.co.uk).
They are its longest-serving tenants, having arrived in July 1990 and ticked over very nicely ever since with a diverse and loyal client-base including SMEs, local authorities, education providers and museums including the fascinating Panacea Museum in Bedford.
"Starting from scratch here all those years ago was a very big decision for us," said Stephen. "But we are very pleased we did.
"It is a great base. When you start a business you can feel very isolated but here at Centenary there are a lot of other business people close by and the sense of community is great. In business you will always suffer highs and lows so it is really valuable to have people nearby who have experienced the same.
"The central location is terrific and being right among other business people brings so many connections. It is a great professional environment.
"We have always felt very happy working here but since Lisa arrived she has taken it to a different level. She really takes people's concerns on board and makes things happen."
* For more information about Centenary Business Centre and all of Warwickshire County Council's business centres please visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/businesscentres.