A North Tyneside firm is planning a raft of investment to bolster its operations as Silent Disco 4U aims to capitalise on what will be the firm’s first full year of restriction-free trading to double staff numbers and increase equipment levels.
Launched in 2019, Silent Disco 4U was on track for a successful first full year before the Covid-pandemic halted operations almost overnight back in March 2020. Adapting through three different lockdown periods, the business has weathered the Covid storm exceptionally well, steadily growing in spite of the lack of large-scale events throughout the past two years.
Helped along the way by our business advisory team at the North Tyneside Business Factory, Silent Disco 4U hit a peak in the summer of 2021 with over 700 bookings for their silent disco packages in a month. Expectations are high for a successful 2022 leading to a new focus to increase staff numbers across the different business areas.
Will Lang, Director of Silent Disco 4U comments: “Initially we felt with so many cancelled events last year, our entertainment packages would struggle to find an audience. The opposite happened – we had a 200% increase in sales year on year. People were socialising on smaller scales but still wanted a party atmosphere so silent discos presented the ideal way to really bring that fun element. Weddings were very popular and for those choosing to socialise or celebrate key events at home, silent discos were an easy option to set up and even easier to enjoy.
“Given the success of our silent disco packages and the return of large-scale events, we’re boosting our equipment levels by 40% to have more hire availability. In 2021 we expanded into karaoke packages for more choice as well as strengthening availability across our existing outdoor inflatable cinema screens for domestic and event use.
“We moved into a new 6,000 sqft warehouse space in North Tyneside last year to accommodate growth in the business and have started recruiting to double our staff numbers to deal with what we anticipate will be a very busy 12 months.”
Silent Disco 4U was named as the winner of the Can Do Award in the 2021 North Tyneside Business Awards, organised by the North Tyneside Business Forum. The business has also received help and guidance from the North Tyneside Business Factory, supported by the European Development Fund, to assist in their business journey. Delivered by TEDCO Business Support in the Borough, the Business Factory and its team of experienced advisors bring one-to-one support in the form of business planning and financial guidance to guide start-ups to a successful launch.
Will continues: “The Business Factory have been such a great help to us but more than anything, they’ve really understood the type of support we needed. As well as day-to-day business advice through our advisor Jeff Thompson, they also have a team of professional consultants from a range of fields. So, if you need access to accountancy or HR advice, PR and marketing support or social media help there is someone available to answer your questions.
“2022 is very much a year for people to re-engage with social activities and that means a busy year indeed as current enquiries and advanced bookings are already looking very strong heading into Spring. This is what we planned for two years ago when first launching the business so to us, it feels like the culmination of lots of hard work waiting for people to really get the benefit of what we can offer across our silent disco, karaoke and outdoor cinema hire packages.”
For more information on the services available through the North Tyneside Business Factory, please contact (0191) 605 3110 or visit www.businessfactorynt.co.uk