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IS DECORATOR PROFILE www.images-magazine.com 46 images MARCH 2020 Business Awards (BIBAs) in 2016 and finalist for the national young ‘micro entrepreneur’ award from Business Finance’s Citi Foundation. “It has been an experience so far, with no regrets,” Jake adds. “Every day is a learning day.“ To help The Mina Group punch above its weight, it achieved ISO 9001 certification for its management systems in 2018. “That was to show our customers and our competition that we are a small company but we are still committed to quality and can still produce the same quality as you would get if you went to a larger company than us,” Jake explains. ‘It was a challenging process in that it made us think about what we are doing. There was nothing we weren’t doing already, but it made us look at how we can improve and make it a more streamlined approach and deliver across all aspects of our business.” Northern Powerhouse Another boost for the business has come from it becoming a partner in the government-backed Northern Powerhouse initiative which is driving economic growth across the north. As well as plugging The Mina Group into a network of over 300 partners, including some of the region’s biggest companies, it also ensures that the importance of small and medium- sized ventures is recognised. “It was a partnership I wanted to be part of for a long time,” Jake explains. “As a small company, we can benefit the Northern Powerhouse by being a young company with a young outlook on things. You hear a lot about big companies and you don’t really hear of smaller companies like ourselves. It also helps us as a business as we are a small company in terms of manpower but we can say we have a large footprint and a large customer base. We started in the north. It’s all about creating a workforce for the next generation.” It also links into The Mina Group’s emphasis on supporting local communities, with Jake still offering services for payment in kind or at a subsidised rate to third-sector organisations. Alongside continued investment, The Mina Group is already set to recruit at least two or three more people in 2020. Embroidery currently makes up about 50% of decorating work and Jake says this is increasingly rapidly. As he has developed his businesses, he has always looked to the future. “I’m in it for the long term,” he says. “We are laying the foundations so that, as the company expands, we are able to already have the housekeeping and structure in place to facilitate that. Everything we do now, we are planning on how that will form part of our journey in the future.” www.minagroup.co.uk Every day is a learning experience, says Jake The company also offers vinyl printing Embroidery makes up 50% of Mina’s garment decoration work Mina is set to recruit more staff in 2020