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Our Sponsorship
At 21c Telecom we believe in giving back to the community through our sponsorship of local clubs and events. Here is selection of our local sponsorships:

  • Stanton Elks Cricket Club
  • West Hallam Cricket Club
  • Ilkeston Rugby Club
  • South Notts Cricket League
  • Ten Pin Bowling League (main sponsor)
  • Phones Direct Partnership (horse racing)
  • Eastwood Town FC
  • Ilkeston Town FC
  • Priory Celtic FC (main sponsor)
Awards, Licences and Sponsorship

At 21c Telecom we play an active part in local business life.

We are members of Derbyshire Chamber and have been members of Erewash Business Partnership for over 10 years.

We hold a number of specialist licences and are accredited with Siptrix.

This page is to help you learn more about the people behind the business and will be updated with the latest news from 21c Telecom so you can keep up-to-date with happenings here.

Lifting Entrepreneurial Spirits
(From an article in Business East Midlands Magazine March/April 2009)

Ex-Nottingham Rugby Club player, Richard Hunt, is the founder and managing director of 21c Telecom, a business to business company providing telecommunications products and services from mobiles and landlines to vehicle tracking and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).

Established in 1996 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, 21c Telecom is on track to double its turnover to £2m. In the last 12 months the business has doubled its office space and increased its headcount from four to twelve, as well as acquiring a Derby-based landline business, which is a far cry from when Hunt started with only £300.

"I had spotted an opportunity, a gap in the marketplace, and I was sure that I could translate my ideas into a viable business. Starting with only a few hundred pounds wasn't a plan it was a necessity. I'd spent years partying, was already £30,000 in debt and I could no longer play for Nottingham Rugby Club following a cracked knee bone. These factors, combined with meeting the woman who is now my wife, meant that I realised it was time to get serious. It was more a case of my business had to work, so there wasn't really any doubt in my mind that the venture would be a success. Three clear options kept me focused and drove the business forward: turnover is for vanity, cash flow is for sanity and profit is reality."

Commenting on some of the challenges that small businesses face Hunt added: "Small businesses face a huge number of challenges in todays regulation-burdened society. I think the main challenges are poor cash flow, cost awareness, legislative requirement, and turnover of staff. Our real challenge is that we are in a fast moving and evolving industry and the networks can change our commercial arrangements overnight, without notice or warning. Dealing with some of the largest corporations in the world as our main source of income leaves us vulnerable, especially as constant policy and management changes at these companies can have serious impact on our business income and strategies."

"The main growth area for 21C is the provision of VOIP phone systems and solutions. By 2010 it is our aim to have the internal infrastructure and knowledge base to totally manage a company's telecoms serices and IT requirements, the final piece of this plan will be to employ our own IT engineers and programmers."

"I will consider acquisition opportunities to help increase our volume of connections/customers, however more importantly, I am determined to increase the skillset within my business."

"An entrepreneur sounds a very grand name for anyone that sees an opportunity, has the courage to act on it and make it work."

"Everyone has the ability to see a business opportunity. Often you will listen in the pub as people discuss what they would do with a business, what great ideas they have, how this would work and why they don't do this. The difference between most people and an entrepreneur is that he/she will see the opportunity, take the risk and invest time and money to make it happen, and they won't always get it right" he concluded.

Dealer proves a Direct hit
(From a spotlight on Phones Direct in Fone Magazine 2007)

Richard Hunt started Phones Direct in 1996 with two friends, who he bought out within the first few years. His brother, James, came on board in 1997 and now works as sales director with a stake in the business. Together the brothers have grown the enterprise to the formidable creature it is today.

Phones Direct focused on B2B from the start and Hunt realised in order to make the customer feel cared for he needed to have a policy of visiting them wherever they were based. "The difference between other B2B dealers and ours is we go and see our customers at their premises, regardless of whether they have one or 200 phones from us," Hunt explains.

Hunt is always looking at ways to grow the business and over the years Phones Direct's portfolio has expanded to include data solutions, hands-free kit, fleet tracking, satnav and landline systems and equipment.

Phones Direct has made many links with the local community and Hunt is passionate about both sponsorship and building bridges with other businesses in the area.

Rather than forming links with one particular network Hunt thinks it serves his business best to remain on equal footing with them all. "To give good, sound advice to our clients we have to find the most competitive package for them rather than going with a particular network," he says.

Although profit is important, for Hunt it's all about providing the best customer service possible, thus winning customer loyalty. "We don't look at the short term gain for ourselves, we look at building an excellent working relationship over a period of time".

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