You're in safe hands with Bond Security

Bond Security Services are experts in keeping businesses safe and secure. By providing security but with a friendly approach and a personal touch, Bond Security give companies and homeowners both assurance and protection.

Company Directors Jim Ferris, Terry Watts and Angie Doherty have built up an impressive list of qualifications and experience in the security industry, and are keen to use that knowledge to protect businesses and homes from thefts, vandalism or damage.

Visit Bond Security’s website www.bondsecurityservices.co.uk, or give them a ring on 0208 501 2615 and find out more about how they can help you keep your company secure.

What does your company do?
Security, manned guarding, mobile patrols and CCTV.

MD Jim Ferris was part of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland before setting up Bond Security.

What makes your business different?
We give the personal touch

What inspired you to start this business?
I have been in this line of business for a number of years.

Have you previously run any other businesses? Could you tell us a little bit about them?
I was Senior Operations Manager with a successful Security Company for the past nine years, prior to that I was a police officer for 20 years.

How are you funding your business?
Self-funding from the Directors.

Do you have any staff or partners in your business?
There are three Directors in the Company and other staff will be recruited as required.

Visit www.bondsecurityservices.co.uk to find out more about what Bond Security can do for you.

Where do you see your business in 3 years?
A small but successful Security Company with 24 hour control room, 24 hour mobile supervision and 2 Operations managers on the ground.

What characteristics do you have that will help you make your business a success?
Experience and good communication skills.

What are you most keen to learn that will help you grow your business?
Where the requirement is for Security.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing your company?
Getting the opportunity to quote for work.

Is being a business owner how you expected it to be, or have you had any surprises along the way?
As expected hard work but worth it.

Commercial Director Terry Watts - hard at work.

What is your main goal for your company?
To be successful

Do you have any advice for people thinking of starting their own business?
Be prepared to work hard in order to get the message out there about your new business.

Khary Cave at Studio 69

After training as a geologist, and 7 years working as an environmental consultant, Khary Cave saw friends around him taking the plunge and starting their own companies, and felt the drive to go into business for himself.

However, it was after a long stint working in France that gave him the inspiration to dramatically change his career. After visiting his friend (and future business partner) David’s studio in Paris, Khary knew he’d found the business for him – a tattoo and piercing studio.

At Studio 69, Khary aims to bring a personal and distinctive touch to the industry. They provide high quality tattoos and piercings in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere so that each and every customer feels comfortable.

Even after some unexpected setbacks – like a car crashing through the studio window – Khary’s calm composure and meticulous planning mean that he is ready for anything – even for the uncertainties of being a small business owner.

Khary Cave runs Studio 69, a tattoo and piercing studio in Walthamstow in London, you can get in touch on 0208 531 4947 or through their website www.studio69tattoo-piercing.co.uk

What does your company do?
We are a tattoo and body piercing studio and we also sell a range of body jewellery.

What makes your business different?
We are a fairly small and recently opened studio. The atmosphere in the studio is very friendly and relaxed and we always make the effort to remember every customer’s name. We’ve managed to keep our prices very low without compromising on the quality of the service offered. Our tattoo artists have distinct but complementary styles, so you can always get the perfect tattoo at Studio 69.

What inspired you to start this business?
I’ve wanted to start my own business for quite a long time, probably because so many friends around me are successful entrepreneurs. After seeing the success and professionalism of my business partner’s studio in France, I knew this was the business for me.

Have you previously run any other businesses? Could you tell us a little bit about them?
No, this is my first business venture. I am actually a trained geologist and worked as an environmental consultant in the north west for 7 years before opening Studio 69.

Studio 69's tattoo artists are highly skilled

How are you funding your business?
We managed to secure a business loan for 50% of our start-up costs.

Do you have any staff or partners in your business?
My business partner David is a piercer with 15 years’ experience and two successful, established studios called 2GY in Paris. We also employ two tattoo artists, Tommy and Desmond, and a piercer called Ruth. We all get along brilliantly, I feel very lucky that we’ve managed to assemble such a great team.

Where do you see your business in 3 years?
I would love to expand the range of products and services we offer, and would definitely not rule out having a second studio opening within 3 years.

What characteristics do you have that will help you make your business a success?
My passion for business is my main attribute. I also have a very friendly and outgoing personality, which helps with making all our customers feel welcome. I am very driven, and dedicated to making sure that every single one of our clients has an enjoyable visit – and I’m confident that to this date I have been able to deliver that.

What are you most keen to learn that will help you grow your business?
I would love to learn to pierce in the future, and although I have an accountant I think it’s probably a good idea to do a basic bookkeeping course.

Are there any brands, companies or personalities that you most admire or aspire to?
I really admire the Innocent Smoothie brand and its founders Richard Reed, Adam Bacon and Jon Wright. Innocent came from nowhere in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and now dominate the UK market.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing your company?
Although we have managed to break even in our first month after opening two and a half months ago, cash flow is a challenge that we try to mitigate by meticulous planning. Marketing and promotion – and just getting our name out there is also a challenge.

Is being a business owner how you expected it to be, or have you had any surprises along the way?
No matter how much planning and research you do prior to opening there will always be surprises. For example, after careful financial planning to ensure that I could pay my staff and bills, a car ran into the front of the studio, destroying the electric shutters and shattering the glass.

I am insured, but in order to secure the shop I had to pay for repairs myself whilst waiting on the insurer’s response. This happened only 2 months after opening, so it was a major shock – not to mention a drain on limited resources.

www.studio69tattoo-piercing.co.uk

What is your main goal for your company?
My main aim is to create a strong, instantly recognisable brand and to continue to provide tattoos and piercings of the highest quality.

Do you have any advice for people thinking of starting their own business?
My main piece of advice would be to do your research in the planning stages. A business plan is essential, not only to secure a loan or funding, but it also forces you to think about all the things you need to think about.

Finally, I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but location is very, very important. Get your business premises location wrong and it will be a lot harder to get your company off the ground in that crucial first 6 months.

www.dmsol.co.uk

Today’s profiled client is Liam Butchers from Display Media Solutions Ltd.

Display Media Solutions are a print and display company which specialises in products for retail, trade and exhibitions.

We asked Liam some questions about his company and experiences of being a business owner, and here’s what he had to say.

You can find Display Media Solutions at www.dmsol.co.uk, or call them on 0845 116 2700.

What does your company do?

Large format print, exhibition materials, display equipment, conference set up, trade shows, supplier of pop-ups and banners.

What makes your business different?

Display Media Solutions was formed because the market has become saturated with foreign ‘knock-offs’. I realised that quality at a good price is what the market doesn’t currently have. In layman’s terms, we offer the very best quality products and prints at the most competitive price in market.

What inspired you to start this business?

It may sound a little cheesy but I genuinely love the industry. When I randomly come across my prints being used it’s a great feeling. I get an amazing buzz out of that.

"My most important bit of advice: know your market"

Have you previously run any other businesses?

I have worked in the industry a long while now, but this is my first ever business venture.

Do you have any staff or partners in your business?

I currently work with a couple of graphic designers and I also work closely with some of the world’s leading manufacturers in display and exhibition products. All my prints are produced using the very best materials available.

What characteristics do you have that will help you make your business a success?

I am a very focused and hardworking individual and have a lot of contacts and experience in my industry. I am under no illusions, I know that it will be tough, but I honestly believe that in life you get out what you put into it.

What are you most keen to learn that will help you grow your business?

I now need a couple of key accounts that I will look after very carefully and nurture and then really build upon that.

Are there any brands, companies or personalities that you most admire or aspire to?

If I am honest I really like Richard Branson and his Virgin brand. I also admire Apple – they have it all, really. Also Alan Sugar is an absolutely fantastic business role model, what he has achieved in his working life is simply incredible.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing your company?

Securing that elusive big contract, that’s it really. I feel that I have everything else in place now, and am ready to win that important client.

Display Media Solutions

Is being a business owner how you expected it to be, or have you had any surprises along the way?

If I am honest it is a lot tougher than I could have ever imagined, the accounting side of things is just mind boggling. I am learning quickly though, it’s interesting how running your own business makes you discover skills you never knew you had.

What is your main goal for your company?

To achieve a million pound turnover within 5 years.

Do you have any advice for people thinking of starting their own business?

Lots of advice and I am more than willing to discuss it with anyone who wants to listen. My most important bit of advice: know your market. That really is the key.

Free with every Rottweiler

Sometimes people start a company knowing exactly what will make them great, sometimes your greatness evolves naturally out of the sort of business you build and the people you choose to work with it.

But in the end, this is the one question that every single one of your customers wants the answer to.

So think about it.

Is your product the best? Is your service the most reliable?  Are you local? Are you the cheapest? Do you provide the highest quality? The most in-depth-knowledge? Are you the friendliest? Do you offer free kittens?

There is something about your business that makes it different, makes it stand out, something it provides that no-one else can.

If you’re too modest to work it out yourself, ask your customers. They will have identified what your unique selling point is, because that’s going to be the reason they chose you.

And once you know, don’t be shy! Tell everyone exactly what makes your business great!

Is it about the moment you reach the summit?
Or is it about the moment you decide to do it, the planning, the fund raising, the packing to go, the arriving, the base camp, the first step up the slope, the first night in the tent, the half way point, the last few hours or the final step?

Of course it’s all of those things, but mostly I’d say it’s about all the stuff that precedes the moment when you are stood at the top.

There is a parallel consideration for business owners, and it’s this:

What is your business all about. Is it about the moment that you reach the summit, whether that summit be selling up, retiring or generating a sum of money for your charitable cause?

Or is it about all the other stuff before you get there. The risks, the milestones, the disasters and the breakthroughs.

The journey of growing a successful business is long and comes with no guarantees. If it’s all about that final moment of success, you might find yourself disappointed when you get there. Maybe you’ll discover it was more about the journey than you thought.