A New Generation for Roofing.
No-one wants to lose their job, but when the roofing company Mike Smith worked for went bankrupt and he was made redundant, it gave him the opportunity to start his own business.
Mike had worked as a roofer since leaving school and knew he wanted to continue in this sector. He had no business experience and so decided to attend The Planning Your Business Course run by Business Development Services. This was a 5 day course which taught Mike everything he needed to know about starting a business. Mike said “Before attending the business course I had never heard of a business plan or cash flow forecasts, but once I had completed the course, I had written my own business plan and knew all about the plans and records I needed to have.” Mike puts his success down to following the advice given in this course; he put the recommended systems in place and has kept tight, disciplined control. This, he believes is why they have not experienced a lot of the organisational problems faced by many small businesses.
Mike started Newgen Roofing Co in February 2005 using the spare bedroom in his house as an office and his garage as a store room. He initially sub contracted 2 workers alongside he and his business partner. As the business grew it soon became too large to be run from home and the company moved to new premises in 2006. As well as attending the Planning Your Business Course Mike received advice from BDS advisor David East. “I was quite daunted by the prospect of receiving advice because I had never been in a business environment before but the staff at BDS were extremely helpful and after a few minutes I soon relaxed.”
Newgen Roofing now employs 12 subcontractors and has taken on extra office staff. Mike still returns to BDS on a quarterly basis for free business advice. He receives continuous advice as his business grows and faces new challenges. The economic downturn has affected Newgen as it has all businesses; Mike has sought extra advice from David on how his business can survive these tough times and be in a position to benefit when the economy recovers. Mike now has a strong relationship with BDS and says “If I am unsure I can always ring BDS for advice or an objective opinion, they have great depth of experience to call upon and strong relationships with other organisations that they can refer me to should I require other advice”
Mike says that he would recommend that anyone thinking of or in the process of starting a new business should go to see one of the BDS advisors “they will make sure that you have covered all bases, there is so much to remember and there will be things you need to do that you haven’t even thought of.” Mike hopes to expand his business in the future but recognises that the quality of the service he offers is the most important thing to his company.
Newgen Roofing Co Ltd
newgenroofing@btconnect.com
Or contact them by phone on 01787 474007
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