Several years later, and in the present day, their business has just had to upgrade its premises to a bigger site in Lancashire.
“We both worked for the same print company and it closed down, leaving me and Cath out of work. Its services were mainly machine-based but it also offered small-scale handwork, which Cath and I were both involved in,” says managing director Lynn Russell.
“We had to make a decision: do we go out and find new jobs or do we try and go it alone.”
The challenge
Maybin and Russell decided to tackle the industry themselves. They knew there was a gap in the market for a company that specialises in handwork, so they founded The Finishing Touch Contract Packers in July 2010.
The company prides itself on the motto ‘What a machine can’t do, we can do’. It offers bespoke services for complex finishing jobs such as greetings card assembly, poster rolling and contract packing.
To finance the venture they created a business plan and approached a bank for a business start-up loan.
Russell says: “Our biggest challenge was in the first three months. We didn’t want to borrow too much money from the bank so we kept the loan to a minimum. In those three months we had to pay bills, suppliers and staff, while waiting to start making money from the business.”
Finishing Touch started off in a single unit in Clayton-le-Moors, Lancashire. Ironically, the business started in one of the same units that Russell and Maybin had worked in previously, before their employer had closed the company down.
Prior to making the decision to go it alone, Maybin and Russell spoke to clients that they had worked with in their previous job, in order to gauge the market and tailor the new firm’s services accordingly.
Over time, the company built up a local customer base through advertising and word of mouth, attracting printers and marketing companies throughout the UK.
“Before we opened we also did a lot of research on our competitors. There were a few firms that offered similar services, but they were mainly machine-based and only did handwork on the side,” reports Russell.
This meant that Finishing Touch could establish itself as a specialist in handwork and enter a niche market. Although they quickly realised that they needed some kit, and purchased secondhand essentials such as a guillotine and a shrink wrapper.
The next stage of the business plan was to source suppliers.
“We were starting up and needed to get the best quality supplies at the best rates. We chose UK suppliers because our business relies on materials arriving instantly,” says Russell.
At first Russell and Maybin juggled starting up the business while doing the handwork on their own. However, after a few months demand grew and they could not meet capacity. They started hiring staff from a local agency, training them from scratch.
“After that, the rest is history. We weren’t sure how the business would take off but we’ve just gone from strength to strength,” Russell adds.
The method
To grow the business, the firm decided to embark on an expansion plan to increase capacity. In 2011 it extended its premises to include two adjacent units – providing the firm with a combined space of just over 1,100sqm. It won a contract from a major greetings card company and expanded its services, winning work from Germany and Switzerland as a result.
Despite the additional units, the company quickly found it was pushed for space once again. Russell says: “The number of staff increased each year, we have eight on the books and regularly use agency staff. We often have 35 staff here in total and the premises became quite crowded.”
An additional shortage of space occurred when the owner of the premises sold one of the units that Finishing Touch had been renting.
“When we lost a unit we had to condense everything down and use containers to temporarily house products and stock. It was not ideal, as we needed to protect our customers’ products – especially if the weather was bad. So we decided that if the company was to continue to grow then we would need more space,” says Russell.
Maybin and Russell viewed several options, but struggled to find a site that had the right specifications.
“Many of the properties that we viewed looked good on paper and were right on the inside, but when we checked the back of the buildings the access wasn’t acceptable,” says Russell.
After spending almost a year researching and viewing sites, they settled on a 1,815m2 premises in Blackburn, which they moved into in December.
They took a risk and chose a site that is almost double the size of the previous holdings. Russell says: “We missed a rung on the ladder and upgraded to a much larger building.”
The firm decided to stay near its previous location, opting to move just three miles down the road.
Russell explains: “We wanted to make sure there wasn’t too much disruption for our customers and staff. All the staff have moved with us to the new premises and a few of the them live in Blackburn anyway, so it has worked out really well.”
The result
The company has reported a 20% increase in sales over the past two years and, after nearly five years of success, it plans to continue expanding and adding more services to its offering.
Russell says: “We’ve got a lot more space now for the scope of the business. The extra room means we can take on even more work, increase capacity and offer new services.”
Furthermore, the business has already seen a reduction in its overall running costs.
“In the previous premises we had to pay for two sets of each of the utilities – two sets of gas, two sets of electric and two sets of water. In our new site the bills are combined and the insurance is just for one large building, meaning we will be much more cost effective in the long run,” reports Russell.
Its specialism in handwork has given the company the flexibility to respond to growing demand.
“The joy of our business is that we don’t have to rely on buying new machines. If we are not meeting targets we can just call up the agency and bring in more staff – and more hands,” explains Russell.
The business is also planning to take on new staff to continue with its ongoing expansion.
“We have increased staff every year and hope to take on more soon. It’s likely we’ll continue taking staff on from the agency we currently use,” says Russell.
The company has seen new business wins and has recently taken on several new customers. Production has been streamlined and the new space has made the company more efficient.
Russell says: “The move has been good for us all – not just management but for the employees as well. It’s a better working environment because of the space and the facilities.”
Although moving can be stressful for many people, Maybin and Russell are happy to move again – for them it’s a good indication of growth.
“It would be great to realise we haven’t got enough room again and need to move – it means we are doing something right,” concludes Russell.
VITAL STATISTICS
The Finishing Touch Contract Packers
Location Blackburn, Lancashire
Inspection host Managing director Lynn Russell
Size Turnover: £600,000; staff: Up to 35, including contractors
Established 2010
Services Handwork including packing, gluing, folding and collating
Kit Perfecta 115 TVC guillotine, Adpak LS400 shrinkwrapper, Adpak AD450T shrinkwrap tunnel, Citoborma 180 single-headed drill, Vickers treadle stitchers, Rapid A106 electric desktop loop stitcher
Inspection focus Starting and growing a business
TOP TIPS
“Starting up a company is a lot of hard work and you have to believe in yourself,” says The Finishing Touch Contract Packers managing director Lynn Russell.
Make a business plan and research the industry. Think carefully about gaps in the market and plan the services your company can offer accordingly. Research competitors and think about how you can market your business differently. Explore niche markets and establish yourself as a specialist.
Prepare yourself for the challenge of the initial stages of running a business – it often takes several months to start making a profit.
Take time assessing the different suppliers available – go to exhibitions and trade fairs to meet suppliers face-to-face. Consider looking overseas to see if you can get a better deal.
Focus on customers to ensure you get repeat business and so the firm’s name spreads by word of mouth. Russell says: “Always do what the customer wants and be honest with them about what you can and can’t do.”
Invest in training staff and ensure there is a good working environment for employees. Russell says: “Our staff have been tremendous and we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Self-employment can be rewarding but equally challenging. Russell says: “You have to be prepared for long hours and very late nights.”
Don’t rush into choosing a premises – take time to ensure the new site has all the right facilities for your business. Russell says: “The building has got to be right because you might be there for a considerable amount of time.”
Plan ahead – think about future growth and whether you will need to upgrade your premises. Consider the size of the site and think about whether you are willing to move if the business grows quickly. Take into account the possibility of disruption to customers and staff.
