30 years of Cobus

With his company Cobus Communications having recently celebrated 30 years of being in business, Michael Smith spoke to Rick Lyon about the key to success, coping with the impact of Covid, and what the future holds

Talking with Michael Smith in the boardroom at Cobus Communications’ headquarters in Hull, it’s clear he has a lot of time for people.

As the owner of the telecoms firm, which recently celebrated 30 years of being in business, he’s obviously a very busy man, for whom time is precious.

But he’s in no rush because he believes giving people time is important, not just in business but in life.

“I like spending time with people and I like helping them, if I can,” he says. “I think it’s very important.

“In business, we always take the time to talk to our customers to find out if we’re meeting their expectations. 

“We’re constantly talking and listening to our customers and re-evaluating what we do based on what they tell us.

“Giving people your time in business is important but it goes beyond that. We all give our time to help a number of causes outside of work because that’s massive for me and for all of us.

“I want to help people and I want the rest of the team here to help people.”

Taking the time to really listen to people is one of the traits Michael and his 16-strong team share which he says is crucial to their ongoing success. 

Michael joined the company in 1991, the year of its inception. He brokered a management buyout from the original owner in 2007 and then, in 2013, bought the company outright.

As a fully independent business, with no shareholders or investors, Michael has overseen continued growth ever since.

Cobus Communications currently has a regular customer base of 500 businesses a month, along with approximately 200 more who contact the team for a specific job.

The key to this success, says Michael, is a simple concept but difficult to achieve. 

“One of the biggest challenges is to attract, recruit and retain quality staff. That’s what we’ve managed to do over the years,” he says.

“Everyone has a defined job and knows what that is, and we have very hard-working people here. I also think honesty is very important and we’re all honest people.”

That work ethic is an essential quality for anyone in the Cobus Communications team.

“The perception by many people is that we’re a much larger organisation than we actually are, and that’s because of what we deliver,” says Michael.

“We’ve built the business with blood, sweat and tears, graft and pain.”

That building of the business, which supplies, installs and maintains communications platforms and technology systems for businesses of all sizes and sectors, has seen it grow steadily over the last three decades.

Covid could have derailed that growth, as it has for so many businesses, but Cobus Communications has come through the other side stronger than before.

“There have been very, very difficult times over the years, including the last 18 months,” says Michael.

“It’s been tough but we haven’t had it as bad as some. We’ve traded all the way through and, although we’ve had people on part furlough, we haven’t laid anybody off. 

“During Covid we’ve actually had a six-fold increase in hosted services. It’s been a massive growth area for us. 

“We can offer a bespoke solution because we’re independent, which is a great strength we have. We’ve got the choice of providing whatever we want to deliver the best, most compatible, tailor-made solutions for our customers.”

Despite his and his business’s success to date, Michael is still highly ambitious and wants to achieve even greater things. 

It won’t involve him selling Cobus Communications though.

“I get letters every month asking me to sell, and I put them in the bin,” he says.

“I like being here and I want to be here. I like spending time with the people who work here. I enjoy work and I want other people to enjoy work. 

“We’re looking to expand and grow, and we could do that through acquisition.

“Currently, we are quite a lean team and we’re working on a three-year growth strategy alongside other businesses, which involves us coming together and sharing ideas and experiences.”

Key to that strategy and growth is Sales and Marketing Manager Emma Waudby. Michael is proud of his whole team, and is keen to stress the part they all play in the success of Cobus Communications, but he reserves special praise for Emma.

“Everybody along the way has played their part in shaping this business, in some way,” says Michael. “Emma really is my sidekick though. She’s definitely earned her stripes after being here for five years and she’s very, very important to what we do.”

As Michael says, the time he and his team devote to other people goes beyond the workplace and extends to helping a number of causes.

He set up the charitable arm of the company, the Cobus Foundation, in 2010 to ensure a greater focus on supporting local charities, community groups and amateur sports teams across Hull and the surrounding area.

Its current nominated charity is Hull4Heroes, which it has supported since 2018 with fundraising activities such as parachute jumps from aeroplanes and parasailing down the city’s K2 building.

Cobus Communications has also been a big supporter of Paul for Brain Injury, raising money and awareness through a range of events.

Michael, who is Chair of Governors at Francis Askew Primary School, says: “I’m very passionate about making a difference. I want us to be able to help people.

 “For the size we are, we probably do a disproportionate amount of charity and community work, compared to others. 

“But it’s a massive part of what we are about. We’ve built our company and are continuing to grow – if we can help others along the way, then that’s even better.”

‘We’ve built the business with blood, sweat and tears - now we’re helping others’ — The Hull Story