Ben Pinniger - 'Young Entrepreneur of The Year' 2024 Wiltshire Life Awards

March 18, 2024 0 Comments

What a way to mark 10 years of BP Milling!

Starting the business at 20 years of age, Ben won this award after the first year of trading. Fast forward 10 years to the final year that Ben's considered 'Young' enough to be eligible for this category, and his name is on the top prize again!

The past 10 years BP Milling has helped a huge number of fisheries across the country, many of which have been loyal customers from the first year of trading. In this time there have some steep learning curves in production, supply and understanding the economic landscape of materials which are priced as a global commodity and directly impacted by events around the world. Keeping the ship steady in these choppy seas has shaped Ben into the resilient young businessman that he's become, well worthy of this recognition.

Ben posted to his social media channels about receiving this award:

"When I saw the award advertised, I realised it was my last year to be classed as ‘Young’. Never in my life will I EVER be labelled this again! The ‘Young’ part meant more to me than the ‘E’ word!

I HATE the word ‘Entrepreneur’! It truly makes my skin crawl! I consider it as a massive compliment, but I’d absolutely NEVER label myself as one of these! The word Entrepreneur used in third person is a huge compliment, but when it's used in first person it’s incredibly arrogant in my opinion.

In that case, why did I go for the award? These awards have an intangible lifetime value, it will forever exist on the internet with my name tied to it. I’m always coming up with awful ideas, but one day I might come up with a belter and I might need the backing of investors. In which case i’ll show up in a google search and awards like this give credit to my name which shows that i’m not just a business owner!"

See post here

We asked Ben for his further comment on winning the award...

"I feel like the business hasn't changed much at all over the past 10 years, it's become much bigger and more efficient of course, but the purpose is exactly the same now as it was on day 1.

As the business has matured and grown, the brand has become quite controversial amongst industry professionals for being unapologetically off piste with the way that I market my products. The results that my clients are achieving, and what we're achieving here with our own fish, it's silencing the narrative that you need premium fish feeds with excessive protein and fat for optimum fish performance.

If it wasn't for these results, I wouldn't have a business. Being good at marketing will get you off the starting line, bit it's not enough. I've learnt that the business has become successful because the results align with my promise. The longevity of the business is secured in the enjoyment I get from seeing my customers fishery businesses thrive.

YouTube has been pivotal in growing the business. In recent years I've been learning the algorithm and investing time in creating content for the YouTube channel. It's exposed BP Milling to new audiences and installed deeper confidence in my current audience. It feels like a thankless task at times, but it's a valuable tool in my skillset that competitors would require a team to execute this content to the same standard.

Aside from BP Milling, my creative mind has put me in the pursuit of various projects which I'm incredibly excited to announce in the future. All of these commercial activities have contributed to winning this award and i'm hugely proud to have this work recognised by Wiltshire Life."