Meet Phil and Sue Tetley
OS Suffolk is run by husband and wife team, Phil and Sue Tetley, with some assistance from our little girl!
Phil had spent his career working for large PLC's in operations, engineering and senior management and site leader roles. He has always loved the idea of using his 25 plus years of expertise in the corporate world to run his own business. In June 2022, he took the plunge and Set up OS Suffolk.
Initially Phil was doing consultancy for work for Penguin Books. He then took the decision to set the fulfilment side of the the business and moved into a warehouse. As the business started to grow, Sue then came on board in partnership. Sue has spent most of her working career as a paediatric nurse and then a mindset coach helping people with their mental well-being. She is very much enjoying doing something completely different and recognising the many transferable skills she has.
'OS' stands for Odd Socks!
Did you know that ‘OS’ actually stands for odd socks as we are always wearing odd socks! However, the name means more than just the literal meaning of odd socks. We like to think outside the box, find ways to resolve issues creatively and do things in a way that fit with our values:
Innovative
Inspiring
Collaborative
We want to challenge the norm in a safe way. Just because something has always been done this way, it doesn’t mean that is the most effective way to do something. It’s ok to be different. It’s ok to wear odd socks or not to wear odd socks. Challenging the status quo is important at times.
When you have a small family business without layers of bureaucracy, you are able to do this. We have both worked for many large organisations where making changes to improve outcomes can be like turning an oil tanker round. You see things that could be made better but trying to get this actioned could be very difficult.
Something very important to us both, is running a business where we can be successful but where we treat people as we would want to be treated ourselves. We want to be great role models for our daughter and attempt to get that elusive work-life balance!
Good communication is key with our customers and this is achieved through individual WhatsApp groups. We also have a collective WhatsApp group for all our customers to share ideas and ask for help, using the collective knowledge of other business owners and leaders in the group.