Profile pic of Nik

brand executive

Sales trainer

Software Developer

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About

Me diving

Here's a little background about me...

Firstly, thanks for stopping by!

My professional career up to now has predominantly been in the technology space within a sales and managerial/client-relations capacity, where I've had the pleasure of working with some amazing companies across a diverse collection of industries. I've been lucky enough to work and learn from some of the best in the business, and I've been able to take away some invaluable experiences and knowledge from each of these roles.

I've always had a passion for creativity from a very young age, which stems from a fascination of the way things work. Beyond the typical childhood antics, I would often spend my time doodling, painting, playing instruments, building model planes, cooking, baking, or just trying to be the next Paul Daniels - I had the set. Ultimately, whatever it was that I was doing, it fundamentaly involved making something. As such I've always been drawn to the idea of creating something from nothing, and I've always been interested by the idea of building something that can be used by others.

In late 2023 I was extremely fortunate to had been selected from over 3000 applicants to The School of Code alongside 89 other successful candidates. This was a 16-week ridiculously intensive yet life-changing and rewarding bootcamp in Full-Stack Software and Web Development, where I was able to learn and develop my skills and work on some brilliant projects alongside a very talented and diverse mix of people.

Since graduating and being released back into the world now armed with a whole new skillset, the aim is to build some cool, useful and hopefully lucrative stuff whilst also growing my skills with the right people - focusing on the AI, Bitcoin or wider crypto space. I'm also working on a few personal projects which I'm hoping to share with you soon!

Outside of all this, you'll often find me in the kitchen, settling in to a good book or a good movie, trading, weightlifting, playing basketball and tennis or generally dominating the pool table. As for music, I like all genres and especially live, though I do have a penchant for old-school Hip Hop.
Most of all, I LOVE travelling the world 🌍

I'll wrap it up here and leave you with my website, where roughly 7 months prior to its completion, I had never written a single line of code in my life...

If you'd like to chat, feel free to drop me a message or give me a shout through the contact page below. I'd love to hear from you!

(Feedback will also be greatly appreciated!)

Experience

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Software Developer

School of Code

School Of Code's 15th Cohort. This 16-week intensive bootcamp in Full-Stack Software Development enables career-ready proficiency in the fundamentals of the Web and building a strong foundation in web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and introductory through to advanced JavaScript - acquiring advanced programming skills through practical problem-solving. On the Back End - gaining proficiency in using Node.js to grasp back-end development concepts, from server fundamentals to utilizing ExpressJS for production-ready services, as well as mastering the essential role of APIs in modern web development and gaining proficiency in database communication using SQL and PostgreSQL. This was coupled with advanced Front End with React and Nextjs, acquiring in-depth knowledge of widely-used front-end JavaScript libraries for building impressive user interfaces. For Cloud Hosting, I learned to leverage cloud infrastructure for hosting applications and services. Beyond this, I successfully completed real-world projects (below) as well as creating and presenting weekly hackathons by working collaboratively in teams. From implementing Agile methodologies, adhering to a solid Manifesto, frequent sprints, daily retros, extensive user and competitor research - to ideation, persona and user story creation, Figma low and high-fidelity wireframing, and finally building, testing and deploying fully functional MVP's

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Channel Brand Executive

HP / Poly

Directly supporting Sales Account Managers, Inside Sales Managers and Sales Directors in SMB, Public Sector, Corporate and Global accounts across multiple Sales floors within the IT reseller and distributor, communication service and communication software channel, consisting of Computacenter, Insight, Misco, Softcat, BT, SCC, Bechtle, PCM, Unify, Westcon, Exertis, Nuvias and Ingram Micro. Managing the complete Video Conferencing, Contact Centre and Unified Communications headset portfolio and Poly's cloud based asset management software, by working closely with internal Inside Sales and Marketing teams and Corporate Account Managers to seek and develop opportunities within the Corporate, Public Sector and Enterprise arenas. This was achieved through the continuous training of smarter-working enablers, new and frequent business price support, sales incentive schemes, sales floor call-out activity and technical support to Account Managers as well as direct customer engagement. I represented the brand in partner networking events and industry exhibitions alongside Microsoft, Cisco, HP, Dell, Lenovo and vendors collaboratively working within the UC ecosystem.

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Revenue & Performance Manager

Sixt Rent a Car

Regional Sales Performance responsibility for 10 car rental locations in the London area including flagship branches at London Airports. Stansted Airport, a major UK branch, exceeded branch target for the first time in 13 months through my consistent and progressive objective to support the sales agents and Branch Manager in increasing additional product revenue. I drove sales by motivating and inspiring teams to improve daily performance with regular updates, incentives, individual tailored coaching (soft skills, approach and rapport building, identifying, recommending and closing) and company-wide recognition. I communicated daily incremental revenue in a top ranking format for my region, promoting transparency and encouraging Agents to make an active effort to be visible to the region, with praise being expressed to Agents from the Regional Manager. On a monthly basis, the RSPM team incentivised UK with prize draws on top sales. Notably a prepaid fuel incentive that I led and generated huge interest in via build up communication/posters/mail shots etc, UK saw a 300% increase in prepaid fuel revenue during the incentive period. I developed and implemented the Performance Management process to the South, working with teams to identify performance issues and skill-gaps, and to coach and train as appropriate - seeing significant improvement in underachievers to perform above target consistently thereafter. I delivered the induction of all new colleagues to the company Induction and Sales Training courses to all new Sales Agents and Branch Managers. I also trained new trainers as delegates in the company induction who will go on to deliver the course in their respective regions. In November 2014, UK was awarded World number 1 for Incremental Revenue, received by myself and the RSPM team at the Sixt Annual World Conference in Davos, Switzerland.

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Regional Sales Manager

Netgear

Managing the Netgear Brand covering 120 accounts across the South East, consisting of Dixons Store Group (DSG), Maplin and Staples, increasing sales in my region by 40%. I solely developed the Netgear training content for DSG nationally, as well as conducting seasonal training workshops and road shows across the country. Typical account visits included training and technical support, sales skill-development and merchandising/stock negotiation. This included extensive use of the Team Haven reporting platform.

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Pro Series Imaging Specialist

Canon

In-house professional service support arm for Canon UK in the Jessops flagship. Managed the on-going development of staff training on all Canon solutions and services in digital print and photo-optic solutions up to Professional DSLR, and supported as a direct B2C information base for frequent and varied client consultations. I managed POS and Merchandising orders and negotiated store positioning, undergoing complete stock audits weekly. Responsible for the sales output of 30 accounts on a rotational basis consisting of Dixons Store Group, Jessops, Jacobs, John Lewis, Comet, Boots, London Camera Exchange and Photo Optix. I supported frequent high-profile promotional events, showcasing the Canon brand from implementation to execution.

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Store Manager

Jessops

Ensuring smooth and efficient running of the store, and providing direction and leadership for all store colleagues to maximize sales and profit, whilst delivering exceptional customer service within an agreed business plan. Achieving company targets by generating sales so that the store achieves profitable growth. Managing all Key Performance Indicators to minimum company expectations. Delivering high levels of customer service and ensure that all transactions were completed courteously and that any customer enquiries or issues were resolved swiftly. Managing colleague performance to ensure all colleagues have clear targets and are motivated to achieve them.

Skills

HOVER OVER EACH SKILL TO SEE PROFICIENCY (IN DEVELOPMENT)

 Bubble

Project 1 of 4: Bubble

A School of Code project, and as part of a team of 5 with 3.5 weeks to produce from concept to deployment. Bubble is a tablet app designed to aid children's wellbeing by helping them reflect and understand their thoughts and feelings. Both adults and children can use Bubble! Children are encouraged to log their emotions and optionally engage in a breathing exercise whilst adults have access to view their little one's logs in both graphical and written format. Together with using our newly-acquired knowlege from the Bootcamp, this was acheived through adhering to a solid Agile Manifesto, extensive planning and research through to wireframing and prototyping, and continuous collaboration. Click on the YouTube icon above to view an in-depth breakdown on how my team approached this project!

 Bottled Courage

Project 2 of 4: Bottled Courage

A School of Code project, and as part of a team of 6 with 1 week to produce from concept to deployment. My team believed there are many mental issues that stem from a lack of confidence during the course of our bootcamp. This can be a lack of self-esteem, morale, isolation and imposter syndrome. We designed an app that helps educate, raise awareness and combat the prevalance of this on the bootcamp. The idea was simple - users can send an anonymous message of the challenges they are facing and release it out into the sea of other messages. Users can also comment on other messages which would be randomly generated and offer encouragement. The ultimate aim was to create a safe space for users to share their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgement and to help build a sense of community and support.

 Portfolio Website

Project 3 of 4: Portfolio Website

The website you're on right now! I built this website using Next.js, Tailwind CSS and Framer Motion, as well as as some design ideas from Canva and various packages and colour palettes. I wanted to create a website that was both visually appealing and interactive, whilst showcasing my skills and projects in a unique way. I've learned a great deal from this project by utilising the knowledge gained from the School of Code bootcamp as well as using the 'just in time' approach to learning. I'm really happy with the results so far but there are many areas that require tweaking. I'm excited to see how this website evolves over time.

 Fitness App

Project 4 of 4: Fitness App

I wanted to create something that closely alignes with my interests and hobbies. I'm a big fan of weightlifting and I wanted to create an app that would help people track their workouts and progress. I also wanted to include a feature that would generate a workout plan based on the user's goals and preferences. I'm still in the early stages of this project but I'm excited to see where it goes. I'm also open to collaborating with other developers on this project. If you're interested, feel free to reach out to me!

projects

Contact

I'd love to hear from you.
Lets Talk!

+447931147153

niklikescode@gmail.com

London, United Kingdom

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