Do be alarmed, says fast-growing Salts Security Systems
Without Kickstart, ATL and the Business Enterprise Fund we would not have made it
Do be alarmed, says fast-growing Salts Security Systems
“I almost called it a day. Had it not been for Kickstart and its partners I would have done,” says security systems expert Paschal Duran.
His growing business, Salts Security Systems, is now so busy that it has already created jobs for three installation engineers and is poised to become a major force in its sector.
A far cry from the situation Paschal, aged 47, of Edward Street, Saltaire, faced just a few months ago.
He recalls: “I left my job with a Bradford security alarm company last February, determined to launch my own business. With many good contacts I soon won numerous orders, which were confirmed in writing.
“But the first three months were really tough. I didn’t have enough cash to pay for all the technical equipment customers wanted installing so I went to several banks looking for a business loan. Every one of them turned me away, saying my proposal was too risky.
“I was on the point of calling it a day when a friend recommended me to contact Kickstart. They put me in touch with George Nash, a business adviser at ATL Enterprise, in Manningham.
“George and Matthew Foote, of the Business Enterprise Fund in Bradford, helped me put together a robust business plan and financial forecast.”
The Business Enterprise Fund provided a substantial loan to Paschal to enable him to pay his staff and buy vital stock for the business. This money came from Bradford Council’s Kickstart programme under the Access2Finance scheme.
Kickstart’s professional services scheme also enabled the business to develop a brand identity, with a brochure and business stationery.
And to top it all the Fund sourced a favourable invoice factoring deal for Salts Security to get the company’s cash flowing again.
Says Paschal: “In one recent bumper month we raised invoices valued at more than £30,000 and we will smash our first year target of £150,000.
“Without Kickstart, ATL and the Business Enterprise Fund we would not have made it.”
One of the company’s latest contracts, won from InCommunities, the leading social housing provider in the District, calls for security alarms to be fitted to around 450 homes in the Bracken Bank estate in Keighley.
Salts Security Systems, a business several banks rejected but Kickstart supported, is now poised to take full advantage of improving economic conditions.
