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Graham sells his wares at many outdoor events

Graham Brown travels to events throughout the country – equestrian, hunting, shooting and fishing events, and all the big country fairs – “with a big marquee and a lorry full of wellies”.

Less than a year before, he and his partner had been working in the theatre.

Now they are about to cap off an amazing, life-changing year by getting married at the end of March.

The couple, who have been together 12 years, started their search for a business to buy in March 2005, having grown despondent about their previous careers.

Graham explains: “We worked in theatre all our lives. We weren’t acting, but working back stage – set building, lights, sound, etc.

“We felt like we had worked for a lot of people who didn’t really know what they were doing. A lot of the organisations were charities and we found this to be incredibly frustrating at times.

“We just thought: ‘This is mad, we can do this ourselves’.”

Once the couple had made the decision to go it alone, finding the right business was a slow process.

Addictive

“We were looking for 12 months trying to find something that would suit what we wanted. We really wanted to stay in Lincolnshire so we needed something that wasn’t focused on one place. Apart from that, we didn’t really have any parameters.

“We looked at all kinds of businesses: care homes, a shed building business and all kinds of internet businesses.

“One of the frustrations of searching for a business was that some publications come out weekly, but with BusinessesForSale.com you know new businesses are added daily. I was on the site every day looking for them – it got quite addictive.

Graham says they eventually found their future business almost by accident.

“We saw it was based in Herefordshire, and almost dismissed it out of hand. We just glanced over it and as soon as we noticed there were no physical premises we realised it could be based anywhere, and so it was perfect for us.

“We have spent our working lives in the dark, inside theatres. This business provides a great opportunity to work outdoors and travel around to some spectacular places.”

Although Graham admits he and his partner didn’t do a lot of research into buying a business before taking the plunge (“traditional advice avenues,” he feels, “weren’t necessarily geared towards our unique business”), the previous owners were an invaluable source of support.

“We met them many times and since we bought the business we have become great friends.

“They still run The Welly Shop, a mail order and online business. They were fed up with the marquee side of things – trudging round wet fields, etc – and so decided to sell up.

“We really fell on our feet – they have been fabulous.

“We now support each other: if we’re low on stock they help us out, that kind of thing. We speak almost weekly.”

In the theatre world, every production is like a mini business venture, so Graham and Leslie’s previous life prepared them for becoming business owners.

“Rigorous process”

“We worked with a lot of organisations during our time in theatre and gained a lot of hands-on experience this way.

“I have a fair knowledge of business accounts from running and working in various venues in the past. Tax returns are the only things I struggle with, but I am slowly getting my head round those.”

Paying over the odds for a business is often a mistake made by first-time buyers, but Graham says his finance provider – his high street bank – was supportive enough to ensure the price was right.

“The bank needed a lot of detailed financial information so it was a fairly rigorous process.

“They required us to employ some accountants, who tore the figures apart and put them back together again to make sure the business was what it said it was.”

But Graham admits that if they had enough money in the bank when they initially saw the business, they “may not have been so thorough”.

As it was, he found “the whole process very frustrating because it held everything up; there were times when it looked like we were never going to complete.

“But looking back now it was really useful, plus we know exactly how the business has been running for the last five years.”

The well-documented frustrations of buying a house were mirrored in many aspects of the business buying process, as Graham explains:

“You have to clamber over the same kinds of hurdles to get to the final purchase. And things that should take five minutes take five weeks.

“We kept setting dates to take over but things kept being put back. The previous owners ended up having to attend a lot of the events we thought we would be doing.

“I think one of the hardest things about the whole process was making the accountants understand that the process had to be speeded up.

Frustration at the torturous pace of the process was equalled only by their fear that it could “all fall through at any minute”.

“Without the support of the people who were selling the business I’m not sure we would have ever got there.

“The bank was also brilliant. There are so many different ways to raise funds these days, and I did shop around, but nobody did as good a deal or offered as much support.”

Need to be on the ball

Six months down the line, how’s it going?

“Running a business is all-consuming – but definitely in a positive way. It is great to have something to focus on.

“Our season ends in November, and we’re back on the circuit in March. Although it seems like we get a lot of time off, there hasn’t been a day go by where we haven’t done something for the business.

“During the season we spend a lot of time out on the road at the events, and we only have a couple of days at home to catch up with paperwork and other things before the next show.

“We really need to be on the ball.”

Although Graham says he and Leslie really enjoying working for themselves and “get excited about the most ridiculous things”, he admits “it is a bit scary”.

“We have a chunk of debt now which has to be supported by this business.

“But on the whole,” he says, “it’s been fine because of the support - not just from the previous owners but from the suppliers and customers.”

Being in control of their careers is ideal, says Graham.

“While we were working in theatre, we found we had a lot of staffing issues. But we don’t have to deal with that now because it’s just the two of us.”

Graham jokes that their plans for the future include world domination. Their more immediate, serious plans include the launch of a website, “not to do mail order and go into competition with the previous owners, but to give us an income during the winter.

“Also, in this day and age, you can’t really have a business without a website.”

Graham calls the project their “number one priority”, although they also intend to upgrade their transport and improve their sleeping arrangements.

“At the moment we sleep in a caravan at events, but we’d like a vehicle which doubles up as our living accommodation so we don’t have to. All this depends on how successful we are.”

Unencumbered with the high costs associated with leasing or buying premises, Graham’s experiences still lead him to advise budding entrepreneurs to be “wary of money”.

“Although you spend an endless amount of time working on your budgets, all kinds of things happen: hidden costs, extra costs etc. Make sure you have a decent amount of money to cope with this – a contingency if you like.

“Take your time, hang on to make sure you find the right business and once you have found it – really go for it.”