Meet the latest entry to the Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards...

The Creation Lab is a good example of how someone with creative talent can successfully start up with no business knowledge or experience and only £1,000 to make it work.

Three years later, the company employs six people, and offers innovative online creations with websites, videos including 360 degree tours featuring a real tour guide and digital publishing, having amassed a strong client portfolio.

Founder and director Matthew Soper, who had previously been made redundant three times, said: “After deciding not to start the company up from home as it might prove distracting, I rented a desk at The Nucleus business centre for just £200 a month.

"The first couple of months were a lonely period as there was no colleague interaction and I nearly gave up.

“I hired an accountant then suddenly work started to come in and I am still at The Nucleus, but firmly established in my own offices.”

The Creation Lab never outsources work, managing everything in-house. Each year the management ploughs some of the profits back into the business.

An important development has been the offer of free business consultations, with the company’s staff going into a business, looking at its website and offering advice such as maximising search listings.

Mr Soper continued: “Our business is unique in the sense we focus on an innovative approach to everything we do. Every client is an individual we focus on personally.

“Our level of expertise and professionalism has allowed us to become the preferred suppliers to big organisations such as Usborne Publishing and Global Radio, which owns Heart and Capital FM.”