International growth is on the cards for Devon reading scheme inventor

Trugs wins business in Singapore, Thailand and Dubai.

When Joanna Jeffery came up with an idea for fun card games to teach children to read she never dreamed that she would be selling them to schools all over the world.

But in less than a year that’s exactly what she has gone on to do – thanks to a helping hand from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

Joanna, of Stonehouse, Plymouth, invented trugs – ‘teach reading using games’ - as a system for teaching children how to read to help her in her work as a specialist dyslexia teacher. She has structured the English language phonetically and then, at each of the phonic reading stages, she has designed four different card games that can be played over and over again so that there is plenty of reading practice as they progress through the stages.  Everything is designed to make learning to read a fun activity rather than a chore. The games proved such a success with other teachers and schools that she went on to establish a full-time business, Read Successfully Ltd, to sell her products across the UK.

Her overseas trade took off after she met with UKTI’s International Trade Adviser, Mike Puzey, in March 2009, who signed Joanna on to UKTI’s Passport to Export programme, which is specifically aimed at new or fledgling exporters.

Since then Joanna has gone on to sell her products in Dubai, Singapore and Thailand and she is currently developing new leads in Spain and Portugal.

“I still cannot believe that I am an international business woman,” says Joanna. “Mike Puzey and UKTI have been absolutely incredible and opened my eyes to the potential of the games, not just for the UK market but also for any country where the English language is being taught. This has given me the opportunity to expand my business and reach new markets in a way that I could never have imagined.  They have really helped me get the best out of doing business overseas and are still helping me to grow now.”

Joanna was given match funding through Passport to attend a trade show in Dubai.  The extra funding allowed her to visit schools directly, where she sold £7,000 of her reading games.

Further support from UKTI allowed Joanna to visit Dubai again during the summer, where she sold a further £13,000 worth of trugs and then undertook visits to Thailand and Singapore which led to £5,000 of sales.  On a subsequent visit she arranged the appointment of distributors, which has brought in a further £9,000 worth of sales.In addition to the funding for market visits, Joanna undertook a two-day training course that kicked off her Passport to Export programme, which she says gave her the confidence to believe she could trade abroad.

“I really didn’t consider myself to be a proper business person, but the confidence I had by the end of the two-day course was unbelievable.  I found it particularly helpful to talk with other business people, albeit in different fields, and to learn from their experiences.  I had a real belief in myself and my ability to trade and I knew that Passport to Export would be able to help me.”

As well as the two-day course, Joanna had and still has ongoing support and mentoring from Mike Puzey, which she says has been invaluable.

“Mike has kept in constant contact with me and he has helped me keep my plans on track and made sure that I don’t lose focus on what I’m doing. I am still learning and having Mike to advise and bounce ideas off has been a huge support.”

“Although the funding provided through Passport is fantastic, this mentoring support is equally valuable.  Mike and his team have been able to signpost me to other sources of help and let me know about events such as the export clinics in Exeter in January where I’ll have the opportunity to meet UKTI representatives from posts in Thailand and Malaysia, as well as highlighting the BETT Show in London where I can meet specific visitors from overseas in the UKTI lounge – I would never have known about these things without Mike pointing them out to me. He has made me much more aware of these business opportunities.”

More recently Joanna has visited trade shows in Spain and Portugal and is now beginning to have talks with people about the possibility of translating trugs into other languages to develop business in those markets.

Joanna’s export success has led to an increase in turnover of 25% and she has recruited an extra part-time member of staff to help with increased demand.

Joanna said: “This is really just the beginning. I am now looking ahead at several more countries abroad, but also maintaining sales in the UK too.”

Mike Puzey, International Trade Adviser, said: “Joanna has identified her market well and most importantly the route to market that works for her, taking on the advice and knowledge from our Passport to Export programme.  Joanna’s success proves the importance of getting the product in front of the customer. Although a lot can be achieved through the internet, I believe nothing beats getting the company and product directly in front of the potential customer. At UKTI many of our schemes are aimed at doing just that - Trade Show Access Programme, Market Visit Support, Export Market Research Scheme - and Joanna has made good use of these services.  Joanna has now progressed onto our Gateway to Global Growth programme where we will be supporting her to further develop her overseas sales.”

Contacts

If you are based in the South West region and are interested in developing your business overseas please contact:

South West International Trade Team

Tel: +44 (0)845 60 60 969

Email: enquiries@uktisouthwest.org