Being successful in business is often about both seeing and seizing an opportunity. That was certainly true of Canterbury catering and cleaning supplies company, Curco – with the help of a loan from Small Business Boost.
Entrepreneurs Denise and Del Curtis already had two businesses on the go when they set up Curco, but strong demand for the new venture led to a switch of focus.
“We knew someone who ran a similar type of business and had the contacts for suppliers who said it would give us a lot more freedom,” Denise said. “It was quite a step because we were both in our 40s at the time and had two children at home.”
“At the start it was very much part-time because we were running three businesses at once, in effect. Within a relatively short time we stopped the other two because Curco was taking off.”
Denise and Del initially ran the business from a small office in the garden of their home at first but soon outgrew the outbuildings used to supply their growing client list of pubs, bars, and hotels.
“We could see the business growing rapidly and knew that we needed a warehouse and a proper office, not an outbuilding little bigger than a garden shed,” Denise said.
“We found out about Small Business Boost and put together a business plan. It was still a very small company, so it wasn’t a huge plan at the time, but we had huge plans for our company and the drive and energy to deliver it.”
That passion for what they wanted to achieve with the business proved important in securing the loan.
“We had to prove our passion for our company and wanting it to progress.” Denise said.
“We did what we said we were going to do in the application process – grow our company, employ more people, and move our business.
“We got the loan through in the September and the next month had moved into our new premises, immediately employing another member of staff. We’ve just grown from there.”
“We did what we said we were going to do in the application process – grow our company, employ more people and move our business.”