KNOW Services Ltd. is Loraine Lewis’s newly launched
business – the KNOW stands for Knowledge, Intelligence (N), Organisation and
Wisdom which Loraine believes without these four aspects, you cannot make an
informed decision. With a business that sounds as intriguing as this, we were thrilled
to be able to sit down with Loraine and find out all about KNOW Services Ltd.
and how she got to where she is today…
‘KNOW Services Limited
provides organisations with the knowledge and understanding to make informed
decisions, achieved by working in partnership with our clients, providing
outstanding bespoke Intelligence and Analytical products and guidance – Putting
you in the KNOW to make informed decisions.’
With words like ‘Intelligence’ and ‘Analytical’, we’d be
forgiven for thinking that Loraine sounded quite like a Spy or a previous
employee of MI5, and frankly we weren’t too far off the mark! Loraine’s
previous experience comes largely from within the Law Enforcement sector
undertaking roles such as Senior Crime Analyst and as part of a Serious and
Organised Crime Team, but launching her new business, KNOW, she is taking the
skills and experience that she has garnered for the past 14 years and applying
it to businesses who are looking to make those important, informed decisions to
improve.
Throw in a 5 year stint on a paradise island; Turks and
Caicos, and Loraine begins to sound like an exciting character from a thriller
novel! When we got the chance to interview Loraine she had just moved back to
England and was relocating to Merseyside (Where her wife, Amanda is originally
from) after spending the last five years as a Senior Crime Analyst in The Royal
Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.
‘It’s a tiny little
island that if you look at a map, you can’t even see it! And it’s beautiful,
it’s only about 17 miles long and about 4 miles wide and has one of the best
beaches in the world; Grace Bay. Initially I was there for 2 years, but this
later was converted to a permanent post and I worked in many areas such as;
Tactical, Strategic, Policy and Processes.’ But in December 2015 Loraine
realised that it was time for a new challenge and returned to England.
 |
| Turks and Caicos |
‘I identified a gap in
the market for providing businesses access to Intelligence Analysts. KNOW
Services Ltd would become an extra pair of hands in times of higher demand, or
for those who did not need a full time Intelligence Analyst. I wanted to be
able to provide the skills and the services that I have to small or more niche
organisations. And within the first six months I successfully secured a contact
to provide consultancy services in the establishment of a specialised
Intelligence Unit for an International Organisation.’
Loraine’s business model works in three different
strands…Firstly there is Consultancy where Loraine can work with organisations
to implement specific procedures, ‘So a
business could come to me to setup their own Intelligence Analysis unit, but
they don’t know how to do it, and I would come in, establish the unit and show
them how to run and maintain it.’ Secondly, Loraine can also fill in the gaps in organisations
that already use analysis but don’t have the requirement for a full-time
Intelligence Analyst, and thirdly for organisations that do use Intelligence
Analysts and have a higher than normal demand that Loraine can assist with.
Specifically Loraine uses the National Intelligence Model
(NIM) which comprises of 4 intelligence products and 10 analytical techniques,
to problem solve for the organisations she will be working with. NIM was
created by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in 2000 and is now
widely used by organisations outside of Law Enforcement such as the NHS, BT and
Trading Standards and is a model that can be picked up and applied to almost
any business or situation, the way that Loraine is doing now.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Loraine must have
trained and been a part of this world for her entire career, but in reality
Loraine has been working in these sectors only for the past 14 years! ‘In 2001 I was made redundant from my
previous role as a Project Manager and I went to a Job Fair. Here I got
speaking to a woman who was explaining the role of an Intelligence Analyst.
Because I am nosy and inquisitive, I knew that this was the role for me!’
Loraine then got a role within the Warwickshire Police Force
working as a Communities Against Drugs Intelligence Analyst and from there she
progressed and worked with; the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit and Police
Force. After working from 2002 to 2010 in these two Law Enforcement Agencies,
Loraine says; ‘I needed a change. I
needed something different and I needed a challenge.’ And Turks and Caicos
was exactly the change that Loraine was after…
Now back in England, Loraine’s next mission was to get KNOW
Services Ltd. off the ground! So she began to look for support agencies to help
her with this. ‘The Women’s Organisation
was mentioned to me by Amanda’s cousin at first, but it wasn’t until I was
looking for a Virtual Office (which 54 St James Street supplies) that I put two
and two together. I walked into the building and just knew it was right for me!
I was introduced to my Business Adviser, John Jones and we started from there!’
‘I also had the
opportunity to attend the Planning for Success course with Bernie – who is
amazing! I loved it because she told us that we would have doubts and that the
doubts would come – and they did! However knowing that they are going to come
makes it just a little bit easier!’
So KNOW Services was officially launched in January 2016 and
Loraine is currently working on recruiting contracts and building her business
network! And of course, becoming The Women’s Organisation’s new best friend,
having attended lots of our courses as well as a few business lunches and
events! We are delighted to have met Loraine, helped her with specific areas of
her business start-up support and to have had an insight into such an
interesting and intriguing business model!
If you would like to find out more information about Loraine
and the services that she provides you can do so by getting in touch using the
details below! And if Loraine’s story has inspired you and you would like
support setting up your own business then email us on hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706
8111
Loraine Lewis – Director of KNOW Services Ltd.
Loraine.lewis@know-services.co.uk Twitter - @KnowServices
No comments:
Post a Comment