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Glasgow Web Company Bucks the Recession

Award-winning NSDesign is celebrating 10 years in business

Award-winning NSDesign is celebrating 10 years in business with ambitious plans to see the company expand further over the next decade.

Managing Director Gary Ennis believes that surviving the original dot.com bust has stood him in good stead for facing the challenges of the year ahead.

Speaking at the company’s 10th birthday celebrations Gary paid tribute to the team at NSDesign and told why he believes the firm would continue with its success despite the current recession.

He said:
“For a small company like NSDesign, reaching a decade in business is a real milestone. I have no doubts whatsoever that our success is down to the dedication of the whole team involved in the business.

“When we started up back in 1999 the dot.com bubble was bursting and many companies didn’t survive. I think the reason we did is down to the quality of the service we provide. I think that in the current economic climate this focus on support and service will continue to be our strength. However, like any business we are nothing without our customers and I am delighted that our first ever customer – Simon Howarth of The Information Edge is still with us 10 years down the road. “

Simon said
“I started up my own business just around the same time NSDesign was created. I am based in Preston but had been looking around for a company to meet our design and e-commerce needs.

“I found NSDesign on the internet, liked the look of the company and began working with the guys. A decade later I can honestly say that they are second to none when it comes to service and have not taken their eye off the ball once in the 10 years.”

The Hillington based company was named Outstanding Business in Renfrewshire (under 25 people) in 2008 – an accolade of which Gary is rightly proud.

He said:
“To receive that recognition was a fantastic achievement for us and a real boost to the team. Along with many other small businesses, we are facing a challenging time ahead but I believe that not only can we survive this, we can continue to build the business and develop it further over the next ten years.

“We are not about to sit still and rest on our laurels. Our plans for the future are to continue to provide first class service to our current customers and to raise the profile of the company to attract new business and ensure that the wider business community is aware of us and the work we can do.”

A controversial “work for free” day was held by the company at the end of 2008 and this has already led to some new orders.

Gary said:
“The work for free day was an innovative idea one of our team suggested and it has paid dividends for us so far. We got some decent follow-on paid work from it but more importantly we got the name out there to other business and gave them a taster of the quality of our work. We will continue to look at other innovative opportunities like this in the months to come.”

For further information on NSDesign visit the website www.nsdesign.co.uk

More Stories By Gary Ennis

Gary Ennis graduated from the Department of Architecture and Building Science at the University of Strathclyde, where he specialised in graphic design, multimedia and 3D animation within the field of architectural representation. Following1 year as assistant manager in a busy bar/restaurant, and a further 6 months at Barclays Stockbrokers as a customer complaint specialist, Gary joined ABACUS (The Architecture and Building Aids Computer Unit Strathclyde) – a research group within the University of Strathclyde dedicated to developing and deploying information technologies, particularly Computer Aided Design, Computer Graphics, Multimedia and Virtual Reality for architectural and urban design practice and education. At Abacus, Gary led a wide range of projects, from commercial CD Rom development, to advanced research within the field of Internet-based Virtual Reality; a subject which he gained a solid reputation in, publishing many academic papers and speaking at international conferences. An experienced entrepreneur, Gary established NSDesign in 1998 at the peak of the “internet boom”. Today the company continues to provide internet services to over 5000 small and medium size businesses worldwide. A true people person, Gary’s other interests include Magic and Juggling, which he often uses to entertain the masses – from local playgroups to conference delegates! Three times short-listed for “Creative Entrepreneur of the Year”, Gary’s main ambition is to prove to the sceptics that “Geeks” are actually “cool” !

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