Painter cleans up in new career

After a long career as a painter and decorator, Andy Martin (46) from Kirkcaldy decided it was time for a change, and to make sure there was no turning back, he literally made a bonfire with the tools of his trade, burning his paint brushes, rollers and overalls. However, he was unable to find another job, and with boredom setting in, one day while watching a television programme about recycling, he realised the potential to get involved in this ‘big’ issue. Andy explained “Having been unemployed for eighteen months, my only prospect for employment was to join a back to work programme. As a family man, and with children and bills to pay, I joined the New Deal Self Employment programme run by Carnegie College, where I met Business Advisor John Soep, who is based at Thomson House in Methil. This programme allowed me to keep my benefit from the jobcentre and start my business.” John picks up the story “Andy’s idea for a business start-up was recycling domestic waste, which I knew had great potential as a viable business. The first thing I advised him to do was to get himself and his new business, Clean It Up (Recycle Waste) known, so with his wife Angie working with him, he produced 5,000 leaflets and distributed them locally, in shopping centres, on car windscreens in car parks and through the doors in housing schemes. I also advised him of the licences he would need to apply for, such as waste disposal and dumping, and the organisations he would need to register with, for example Scotland Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and Fife Council.” Andy continues “Within days of putting out the flyers, I began to receive phone calls from potential customers regarding uplifting and recycling items such as household and garden waste or shed clearance, which we lifted for a small cost. “During this period, John was helping me with things like putting together a business plan, record keeping, and understanding sales and marketing of my business. After a couple months of this type of work, I was approached by Ewan McLean, the director of McLean Plumbing & Solutions Ltd, who was fitting kitchens and bathrooms for B&Q, and he offered me the opportunity to uplift the old units he had taken out. This part of the job was quite time consuming for fitters, and word soon got about that it was to their benefit to have me working with them, until eventually around 60% of B&Q fitters began to use our service. At this point I had to buy another van and take on more staff.” It wasn’t long before B&Q managers were dealing direct with Andy and today he has 8 full-time employees and 4 vans, covering most of Scotland from Wick and Inverness down to Galashiels, and with a contract for the new B&Q store in Kirkcaldy to recycle all old bathrooms, kitchens and bedroom units, potentially 25-30 uplifts per week, it looks like he might have to take on even more staff. Andy acknowledges his Business Advisor’s support in helping him achieve so much in such a short space of time, “The advice and guidance I received from John was first class. He put me in touch with the right people and made sure I followed the correct procedures when it came to starting my business and that I applied for all the necessary licences and documentation. Even now, John still provides me with ongoing support and advice, his expertise and knowledge about starting up your own business inspired me when I needed it most. Notes: Carnegie College’s New Deal Self Employment programme provides participants with the knowledge to enable them to start and run their own business and is run in 3 stages. Firstly, a meeting with a Business Advisor discusses the viability of ideas and gives general information about the implications of being self employed. This is followed by a 4 week programme of 1 or 2 hours a week, where advice is given on subjects like developing a business plan, market research, understanding basic financial record keeping and the final stage lasts for 6 months during which time participants will meet with their designated Business Advisor periodically, crucially putting ideas into practice by ‘test trading’. Eligibility for taking part is determined by Jobcentre Plus, and anyone interested should contact their local Jobcentre. Published: 09/07/09