IN this week's SME Focus we hear from a born entrepreneur who is adapting to the challenges involved in working in a sector in which firms have to adapt to fast-developing technology and a shifting regulatory environment.

Name: Jim Kirkland.

Age: 45.

What is your business called?

Solar Electricity Systems.

Where is it based? Glasgow.

What does it produce, what services does it offer?

We sell and install photovoltaic solar panels on our customers' roofs. These generate energy not only from sunlight but also from daylight and allow people to reduce their dependency on the national grid.

To whom does it sell?

We sell mainly to consumers across Scotland though we expect to open a base in Lancashire later this year.

What is its turnover?

Turnover in the 17 months to March 31, 2011, was £711,500. Sales in the nine months to December 31 were £10.75 million with expected growth for the full year to be approximately £12.5m.

How many employees? 40.

When was it formed?

November 6, 2009.

Why did you take the plunge?

I had worked for a number of years with my brother in a roofing company which traded successfully. We were approached by homeowners who were early adopters of solar panels and who wanted to ensure that these were securely fastened to their roofs. Subsequently, when Government legislation was introduced offering consumers Feed-In Tariff funding to encourage them to install solar panels I realised that joining-up the solar panel technology with the financial incentive represented an attractive business opportunity.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

I've always had a strong desire to better myself. When I was 13 I didn't want a paper round like lots of the other kids because I thought the money was rubbish. I decided to approach a local bakery, McGhee's, and negotiated with them to bulk-buy their fresh morning rolls. Each morning, before I went to school, I picked up dozens of rolls, bagged them, then delivered them to all the customers I had recruited in my neighbourhood. So successful was this enterprise that I was earning between £50 and £70 a week. This was in 1979 when lots of adults working full-time were not quite earning as much. I then had a range of experiences both working for myself within the building industry and with my brother in the roofing company referred to earlier.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

I was fortunate enough to have a modest start-up fund of £20,000. Cashflow in the beginning was critical and my relationship with my bank manager at RBS was first class.

What was your biggest break?

It was being given the opportunity to move to new premises in a business park alongside the M8 which gave us greater capacity just as demand from customers was beginning to take-off. We grew from installing two or three systems a week just 18 months ago to now installing five systems a day.

What was your worst moment?

Possibly the Government's sudden announcement last year that it was going to halve the Feed-In Tariff paid to our customers. Sales fell from around £250,000 a week to £100,000 but have now recovered to around £180,000 a week and rising. Looking back, and despite the fact that a number of businesses in our industry went to the wall as a result, it was actually just a minor blip in what I believe will be this country's long-term move towards greater and greater dependence upon renewable sources of energy.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

Working with a happy workforce to build a business brand that operates in what I think is a socially important sector. I strive to lead from the front and to have my colleagues realise that there is no job I would ask to be done that I would not do myself.

What do you least enjoy?

I work from 7.30am to 8pm most days, plus most weekends, so I suppose not spending time with my family. Without their help and support my business would not have been able to grow at the rate it has achieved to date. Because of its importance to the green agenda, there will always be Government interference in the sector we are engaged in.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

To be recognised as the leading company in the industry for quality of workmanship and customer service. Our sector can sometimes appear to be a bit like the double-glazing industry 20 years ago.

What are your top priorities?

Ensuring our continuing expansion is firmly under control; maintaining the flexibility to respond to the ever-changing marketplace; keeping our eyes open for innovative green energy products we could offer our customers; opening our new Lancashire depot; making sure we continue to satisfy our customers.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would most help?

More help could be given to budding entrepreneurs at start-up by providing low-cost routes to finance/grants for well thought out business plans to get off the ground. I was lucky that my bank, RBS, was very supportive of my plan but I seem to be in the minority. This could be helped further by tax breaks and reduced rates, etc, while fledgling companies are finding their way in the first few months/year following start-up, which is the key period in any new business. I truly believe it will be the entrepreneurial start-ups that will lead this country out of recession, but help with start-up finance is key to turning ideas into a business.

The renewables sector has been through some turbulent times in the two-and-half years we have been trading and a lot of this has come from the UK Government making rash knee-jerk decisions with no consultation with the business owners of SMEs. Surely consultation with those at the sharp-end of business would benefit not only SMEs but also the whole economy.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

Research your business idea to death. The number of people I spoke to who laughed at the thought of solar panels in Scotland was uncountable. In my opinion you should consider others' views but ultimately you have to make a judgment call, believe in yourself and your business concept, then go for it 100%.

How do you relax?

I am a compulsive reader of self-improvement titles and business autobiographies ranging from The Snowball by Warren Buffet to Anthony Robbins's Unlimited Power, but with three children ranging in age from six months to 16, relaxation is not the first consideration that springs to mind.

I've been a side drummer in the Bothwell Castle Pipe Band since I was 12 – I was never intelligent enough to be a piper. We play once a week and I enjoy the competitions during the summer pipe band season throughout Scotland. We've played all over the world including in Australia and Canada. It's just as well that I enjoy travelling throughout the world since, due to the technology with which my company is now involved, it means extensive travelling in Europe and south-east Asia.