The previous two posts discussed entrepreneurship and Tom Flockhart’s success formula. This post will illustrate three examples of Scottish business entrepreneurial success stories.
You are probably familiar with Kwik-Fit and Farmer’s Autocare, two businesses started by Sir Tom Farmer. Sir Tom began by selling tyres of out an empty lot in Edinburgh. After spending some time in the USA, he recognised a gap in the Scottish marketplace for tyres and exhausts and decided to open his own business. In 1999, he ultimately sold Kwik-Fit for £1 billion to The Ford Motor Company.
“For me, an entrepreneur is somebody who sees an opportunity and is able to reach out and grasp it for their own benefit – the benefit of their family, their business – and very importantly, for the benefit of the community.” – Sir Tom Farmer
Farmer is deeply involved in his community, particularly that of Leith in Edinburgh. He promotes economic development in the area and frequently gives seminars on entrepreneurship and tips on how to start and grow a successful enterprise. He has donated large sums of money to selected charities as well.
After recognising a need for improved public transport in Scotland, the co-founders of Stagecoach Group, Sir Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag purchased two buses and began running a regular service between Dundee and London. Their business began in Perth in 1980 and has since grown into an international success story. Sir Brian received membership into the British Travel and Hospitality Industry Hall of Fame. He is the first public transport entrepreneur to receive this honour.
Our Managing Director Tom Flockhart recognised a gap in the marketplace with regards to customer service in the photocopier industry. Believing he could look after customers much better than the manufacturers, Flockhart started Capital Copiers in 1979. As with any business spanning over 30 years, Capital Copiers experienced significant growth and change in response to new demands from the marketplace. Flockhart recognised that copiers and printers were not the complete answer to the market demand and began providing complete document solutions to help clients run their document process more efficiently with fewer devices and with greatly reduced costs. As a result in March 2012 Capital Copiers became Capital Document Solutions.
Entrepreneurs need to have an open mind, and know their industry; they must know what their customers require and anticipate the next industry movements and developments. One such movement is the increasing demand for fully integrated document solutions within the public and voluntary sectors. In 2009 Capital Document Solutions became an Approved Supplier for these sectors under the Scottish Government’s Procurement Framework. The purpose of the agreement is to “drive up procurement standards ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.” Capital Document Solutions was awarded the GO Award for Best Service in this sector for 2012-2013.
Capital Document Solutions has expanded to service all of Scotland, from the Borders to Shetland with office equipment and software.
Posted in Entrepreneurship, Special Interest
