An interview by Bev James with  Heath & Jackie Hampson of Anvil Hall Wedding Venue, Gretna Green.

• Tell me about your business

Our Business is Anvil Hall: a lovely, romantic wedding venue in the world famous Gretna Green. We work with 700 couples per year.

Couples book Anvil Hall via two wedding bureaus in the town who create wedding packages. They help the bride and groom with everything they need. We also have couples who visit our venue direct and we give them all the help they need to plan their wedding and special day. We keep things very simple to make sure everything is planned with no stress for the couple and that everything goes perfectly on the big day.

The two wedding bureau’s have 15 wedding co-coordinators between them who organise around 5,000 Gretna Green weddings every year!

• When did you set it up?

We have always wanted to have our own business. We had a window cleaning round and then went on to opening a fast food takeaway. We always knew that if we had the right product at the right time we would have a great opportunity to be successful in business for the longer term.

In May 1998,  I, (Heath) went to Edinburgh to meet a guy who introduced me to the Internet. I knew this was going to significantly change the way people would find information in the future. I also knew that the Internet would change the way people would plan their weddings in Gretna Green. It was obvious we needed a website and we needed to act quickly! We found a web designer who created www.gretnaweddings.com and within 2 weeks we were online!

At the time we lived in a two bedroom council house in Gretna with a 5ft x 2ft store cupboard at the top of the stairs which we made into an office with an old wardrobe on its side to use as a desk!

We were receiving many daily emails  from couples looking for help and information and we helped them book Gretna Hall Blacksmiths wedding venue which had three marriage rooms. We then went on to work with many many couples throughout the year and we had ten couples get married on Valentine’s Day 1999.  For that year (1999) our turnover was £300,000.

• How did you come up with your BIG business idea?

We realised we were sending thousands of pounds of business to Gretna Hall Blacksmiths and we knew now that it made sense to get our own venue.

We discovered that our local Catholic Church, built in 1917, only had a congregation of 14 people so we went to see Father Campbell who showed us around the church. We were visualising how we could change it – it had great potential! Father Campbell said we would need to contact Bishop Taylor in Ayr, which we did but he said it wasn’t for sale! We contacted him every week for six months until eventually we were told to ‘put an offer in writing!’ Our offer would then be passed to the Head Bishop based in Edinburgh who would then have to contact The Vatican in Rome!

Our first offer wasn’t accepted. But our second one was!

Heath went to the final mass at St. Ninians Church on 18th November 2003. The church was packed. Three former Priests were there with three Bishops plus a Bishop from Rome! It was amazing! It was such an emotional mass! The Priests, Bishops and the Congregation were all pleased that it was going to be used as a place of marriage. On the 9th June 2004 we had our first wedding at Anvil Hall.

We had the vision, persistence, passion and determination to get ourselves our own wedding venue. We could not be happier.

• What is your unique selling point (USP)?

Gretna Green is a unique wedding destination and Anvil Hall is a unique wedding venue.
We are the only venue in Gretna where all the weddings are by candlelight.
We are the only venue with an aisle for the brides to walk down.
Our webcam allows family and friends who can’t make it to the wedding to view the wedding from anywhere in the world.
Gretna Green is World Famous for weddings. We help couples plan their weddings easily. No stress and no hassle. Every day is Valentine’s Day in Gretna Green!

• What has been your biggest business challenge to date?

We’ve had more than our fair share of local issues and local ‘politics’! Anvil Hall is the premier venue in the town.

We were in the middle of some tricky goings on and it wasn’t a good time, but we had to be strong and keep the faith in our vision.

• What element of the business do you enjoy the most?

When a couple in love visit Anvil Hall for the first time we open the doors of the main entrance and the look on their faces when they view the hall, through the arches, with the candles, the flowers – it simply takes their breath away.. It’s magical.

Many people have burst out crying, including men! 99% of couples who visit Anvil Hall book Anvil Hall. We’re really proud of this. Each couple and their wedding dreams are important to us.

Couples book the venue and we supply them with a list of everything they need. Hotels for accommodation and reception, photographers, car hire, etc. They then contact us for help and advice if they need it. We are there for them if they have any worries or questions. We are as bespoke as we are required to be. It’s lovely being able to conduct Civil Partnerships also.

• What is your favourite motivational quote?

In 1998 we knew we had to get out of our comfort zone if we were going to change our lives. Our favourite quote, and we say it a lot, is:

“If it’s to be, it’s up to me!”

We have heard lots of excellent motivational quotes whilst at the EBA seminars and we really resonate with one Gill Fielding shared at the September seminar.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

• What personal attributes do you think contributes to success in business?

We wrote a list to this effect in 1998 and pinned it to our wall in our office/store cupboard! Here’s what it is now:

1. Attitude
2. Vision
3. Determination
4. Focused
5. Passion
6. Desire
7. Think Big
8. Positive Thinking
9. If it’s to be, it’s up to me!
10. Action. Action Gets Results. Do It Now!!!

Also, get the right advice and help from the right people (people with proven expertise), and don’t be scared to ask for help.

• How important is social media to your business?

Very important! We started our internet business many years ago with a website to help couples access information on Gretna Green. Now we have many brides talking to each other on our Facebook site, asking each other questions about hotels, photographers, hairdressers, dresses, loading photographs of their wedding day for family and friends to view. People receiving information from other people is very powerful. Could Facebook become bigger than Google?

We promote Anvil Hall and the weddings and people can view on the live webcam on Twitter and Facebook three times a day.

• What one piece of advice would you give someone thinking of starting a business for the first time?

Fully visualise what you want.
Commit to making it happen (even when the going gets tough).
Know that you are the difference – you make all the difference.
Get your attitude right.
Stay focused and refocus when you know in your heart that you should.
Be authentic and passionate about what you do.
And The Entrepreneurs Business Academy. We wish it was around 12 years ago but we have been on an amazing journey to get where we are now!

• On that note, why did you join the EBA?

We have a good business in Gretna Green with Anvil Hall. We have spoken to many couples over the years who have said it was a nightmare planning their wedding in their home town. They felt stressed, frustrated and lonely when planning their wedding.

We knew that the way couples plan their wedding has to be made easier. We had a simple idea we knew could really work but we were unsure where to go first for help and guidance.

We decided to attend the EBA TOTAL BUSINESS MASTERY SEMINAR after reading about it. We bought the VIP GOLD tickets and we took along our 18 year old Sam to share it with us.

What a day!

Prior to this, we had never been in a room with so much positive energy! We knew the EBA could take us on to the next level. We’re ready to move the bar! In some ways it feels like we are starting at the beginning again, but learning from the best and our foundations are strong now and we fully understand the connection between mindset and skillset. We understand how all the business methodology connects better now. The EBA definitely came along at the right time for us!

• Where did you hear about the EBA?

Jackie has an idea for a DIY aid she has been trying to get help with. She had a look on Google for James Caan and we found The EBA. We bought the tickets straight away because we knew what it offered in terms of business learning and development was what we needed. The DIY Aid idea is on the back-burner for the moment (and no, we haven’t pitched it to a Dragon!).

• What have been the core benefits so far?

There have been many benefits that have helped our business and helped us personally!
Fantastic talks which have helped include: YouTwitFace social media, analysing our website, editorials, ‘know me, like me, trust me’, tax advice, niche markets, usp, fixed costs variable costs, cash positive cash negative, to name a few and your (Bev James’) workshop on personality profiles was fascinating.

The monthly Business Growth Days are absolutely brilliant. The advice we receive, the enthusiasm, the content, and it’s such good fun! We’re really focused.

• What would be the main reason you could recommend the EBA to date?

The Millionaire Mentors.
For who they are, for what they have achieved and for what they are doing now,
We travel down from Scotland to be at the Business Growth Days in London. It’s a great feeling knowing we are going to be with positive, passionate entrepreneurs learning and growing together. We feel in experienced hands.

Jackie & Heath Hampson
Anvil Hall
Victory Avenue
Gretna
Dumfriesshire
Scotland, DG16 5AQ
Telephone 01461 337971
Web Address: www.anvilhall.com
Email: info@anvilhall.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gretnagreen
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gretnagreenwed

IN SUMMARY

Bev James says: “Health & Jackie have really found their BIG idea. They have been tested in the local community and come through that. They recognised when they needed to have their own venue and were absolutely sure they would find their ‘Anvil Hall’. As their business continues, it is clear that they have really made their mark and the business has all their personal and business brand hallmarks on it. The next stage, and the reasons why they have come to our ‘academy’, is to ensure all the business fundamentals for skillset and mindset are firmly in place. They’re doing really well and are a delightful asset to our business growth days.”

James Caan says: “I suppose for those of us who don’t know Gretna Green personally and can only imagine it to have a firm niche and foothold on weddings there, as it is so well known and indeed, world famous, the fact that Anvil Hall now very comfortably exists is a real credit to Heath and Jackie’s determination and differentiation! This is a terrific business case study of two people seizing their dream and making a difference within their communities and their lives. It all sounds charming! I am really looking forward to watching Anvil Hall’s progress.”