IN this week's SME Focus we hear from an entrepreneur who reflects on the highs and lows he experienced after taking the risk of leaving a big firm to chart his own course.

Name:

Steve McCutcheon.

Age:

46.

What is your business called?

PRG Recruitment.

Where is it based?

Glasgow and Edinburgh.

What services does it offer?

We provide senior professional and technical staff to Scottish and UK businesses. We are often called in when a company is seeking to engage a professional with a highly specialised skill-set, perhaps in marine and oil technology.

Who does it sell to?

Blue Chip, corporate and global professional firms. The Big Four accountancy firms are on our client list and also Scotland's top 20 law firms. We also sell to many SMEs, especially in the IT and digital communications sectors. We sell to many financial services firms.

What is its turnover?

£10 million in 2014.

How many employees?

65.

When was it formed?

2002.

Why did you take the plunge?

I began to want the informality, speed and flexibility of a smaller business and to escape the politics and bureaucracy of a multi-national. I wanted to take the professional standards of a big firm and merge them with the values of a small firm. In the early days I was conscious of the complete lack of security: the previous Friday I was a highly-paid executive in a NYSE-listed company and three days later I was self-employed. This focuses the mind. There was no PA and few of the support functions I'd enjoyed, so I quickly re-acquainted myself with things like property management, document production, scheduling meetings, reviewing contracts, hiring staff. But in terms of the "mechanics" and various legal and regulatory requirements, it's actually very straightforward: it's not difficult to set up a business in the UK. The emotional experience though, is very different. I experienced some lows in initially not having peers with whom to share ideas and also some loneliness when you become aware that other people's futures and careers may be dependent on you. Balancing that though was when new customers come on board and then express gratitude for going above and beyond. Even now I get a buzz out of telling my staff when a client has taken the time to praise their work. Not for a minute have I missed life in a big firm.

What were you doing before you took the plunge?

I was a senior sales director of a big US firm based in Manchester. I had studied law at Strathclyde University and took a traineeship with a small Glasgow firm. I didn't take to the legal profession though, and so went into manufacturing as a Business Analyst. I was soon asked to join a specialist management consultancy before taking an MBA which led to an offer from a large multinational recruiter. It was a people business, offered high quality work, intellectual challenge and strong satisfaction. That was 17 years ago and my one regret is that I didn't get into the industry earlier.

How did you raise the start-up funding?

I re-mortgaged my house and raised the same amount in bank borrowings.

What was your biggest break?

I was lucky enough to attract some really talented people from day one who bought into me and my business plan and vision. Within months we secured a very large contract.

What was your worst moment?

On four separate occasions over the years, PRG has had our number one producer choose to re-locate outside Scotland. On those occasions my immediate reaction was to worry about lost revenues and margins. Quickly though, I realised that we could keep the business. We had worked hard to embed systems and standards and processes and, with a little tweaking, we could maintain and grow those relationships. In every instance we retained the business.

What do you most enjoy about running the business?

I love the fact that no two days are the same: there can be new employees to help; new clients to work with and fresh ideas from members of staff. I like to keep my office door open all the time so that people can pop in and out for a chinwag. Most of all I like encouraging people and passing on praise when it's due. Managing a team that is happy at their work gives me an enormous sense of pride but also humility.

What do you least enjoy?

Administration and bureaucracy and those occasions when rules are allowed to replace reason. In my experience the bigger a company becomes the more bureaucratic it becomes and then risks losing what made it special in the first place. I am always striving to ensure that we never lose the essence of what made us no matter how big and successful we become.

What are your ambitions for the firm?

All across Glasgow and Edinburgh we are leaders in certain specialist recruitment sectors but not in others. I won't rest until we are the recognised industry leaders in, for instance, executive search in Edinburgh and IT in Glasgow. I want to become the 'go-to' firm in all of the markets that we serve.

What are your top priorities?

To make all my teams productive and to add more people to them. It's vital for the success of this business that we keep our staff motivated; that we retain them and that we constantly develop their skill-set; to launch some new teams in new markets; to launch new locations for our business, including some overseas, which I'm hoping to achieve in the course of the next five years; to have some company acquisitions.

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

I think both the Scottish and Westminster governments could make it easier for indigenous firms to do business with them. Contracts amounting to billions of pounds are constantly being given to overseas owned firms with little or no commitment to Scotland and the UK.

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?

That there is a stark contrast between theory and practice. Although an MBA is valuable I've found that practice is just as important. And also that anyone can sell tenners for fivers.

How do you relax?

I enjoy music and the theatre and I am also an advanced Open Water scuba diver; oh, and I'm a qualified instructor in Thai massage.