A DURSLEY mentor has been named one of the top 50 business advisers in the country.

Rob Thomas, a digital marketing expert from Dursley who runs his business from an office in Charfield, was picked from hundreds of advisers from around the UK.

Mr Thomas offers advice to a range of local companies through his business WSI-eMarketing, ranging from Online Vintage Fair Marketplace, based in Tetbury, to a firm of financial planners.

With more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience, Mr Thomas is the ideal adviser to help a business achieve its goals.

He said: “It's all too easy for an early stage business to get distracted and lose sight of what's important to its founders and what they're trying to achieve - there's a strong risk that without good strategic sales & marketing advice you can wake up one day with a business that doesn't bring you pleasure or the income you’d hoped it would. “

“Good advice can help you put simple systems and practices in place to make sure that the business stays on track and does what you wanted it to, and hoped it would.”

The awards are run by small business network Enterprise Nation, which asked fledgling businesses to nominate an adviser that had helped them to build and grow a sustainable company.

Founder of Enterprise Nation Emma Jones said: “These business advisers are the unsung heroes behind Britain’s booming small business culture.

“The awards have uncovered some incredible work that has helped fledgling firms take steps towards sustainability and growth by taking a strategic look at their business.

“Research shows that those firms that take advice do better than those that don’t – and it stands to reason that good advice can help avoid some of the damaging, early mistakes entrepreneurs can make that can often force them to give up.”

To watch a video of Mr Thomas offering six essential elements for a successful digital marketing strategy visit hwww.youtube.com/watch?v=MlRtWpE-YWk&feature=youtu.be.