SME Business Focus: A barrage of indicators ranging from house prices to surveys of purchasing managers� intentions have provided abundant evidence recently that Wall Street�s problems are hurting high streets across the UK.

A barrage of indicators ranging from house prices to surveys of purchasing managers' intentions have provided abundant evidence recently that Wall Street's problems are hurting high streets across the UK.

In Scotland, last week's news that the number of new firms opening bank accounts fell by 35% in the second quarter compared with the same time last year, provided a worrying sign that the upsurge in entrepreneurial activity seen in recent years may have run its course for the time being.

With credit becoming harder to come by each month, even those who still want to risk starting up firms are going to have a struggle getting banks to provide any credit.

Against that background, most people running small firms will probably shake their heads in disbelief if the Bank of England does not cut interest rates, from 5%, on Thursday.

However, in this week's SME Focus, a shopfitting entrepreneur shows that while getting started is tough in the best of times, tiny openings can lead on to great things.

Name: Kevin McCluskey.

Age: 40.

What is your business called? Pride Shopfitting.

Where is it based? Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.

What services does it offer? We provide a one-stop shop in the shopfitting, fit-out and internal refurbishment market.

To whom does it sell? Leading retailers in the UK and Ireland as well as independent retailers and small chains. Our clients include Dobbies Garden Centres, Heatons, William Hill Bookmakers and Lloyds Pharmacies.

What is its turnover? In 2007, it was £3.3m and we're well on course to achieving our projected turnover for this year, which is £6m.

How many employees? There are 25.

When was it formed? In 2003.

Why did you take the plunge? I had been working for a large shopfitting company which had sites throughout Europe, so it was a big player in the industry.

I had what I believed to be a secure job but then dis- covered that the firm was considering pulling out of Scotland. It wasn't a complete shock but it was still quite a worrying and stressful time and I was forced to re-examine my future plans.

Initially, I considered searching for a similar position and going straight back into employment, but the more I thought about it the more I was drawn to going it alone and becoming my own boss.

It was clear that the com-pany's departure would leave a huge void and there would be an opportunity for somebody who was familiar with the market to step in.

I'd no experience of running a business so I did have some doubts, but the awareness of the company's withdrawal really spurred me on, so I approached a number of people, including two of my now fellow directors, and we began working towards creating Pride.

What were you doing before you took the plunge? I've worked in the shopfitting industry for more than 20 years and started out as a trainee estimator with Havelock Europa. I spent 11 years there gaining experience in all aspects of the industry, including estimating, account management, project management and business development. The next four years were spent with my previous employer before forming Pride.

How did you raise the start-up funding? Through a mix of personal equity and investment funding, which to be honest wasn't easy to source.

We had quite a few doors slammed in our faces by various banks who were unwilling to support us, but we finally received support from the Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme through the Royal Bank of Scotland, and received a term loan from a private investor.

We also qualified for support from UK Steel Enterprise, which helps start-up businesses that are based in areas affected by changes in the steel industry. As we were going to locate our head-quarters in Lanarkshire, we fell into this category.

What was your biggest break? As a start-up firm with no credit history, we found that large companies were initially reluctant to award us work, but our biggest break came three weeks after our launch when we were given the opportunity to supply one plant stand to a customer, Heatons.

This came about through a previous contact, but our relationship with Heatons has flourished. It has become one of our anchor clients and contributed significantly to our increased turnover, and all of this came about after we installed a simple £300 plant stand. I suppose it just goes to highlight the importance of doing a good job no matter what size the contract is.

What was your worst moment? We incurred some bad debts as a result of a couple of our first clients going out of business. We had worked hard at securing business from large national companies and our reward was not to be paid. Luckily we hadn't relied too heavily on these clients and had spread the risk, but it did take us a while to recover.

What do you most enjoy about running the business? It's extremely satisfying running a business. It is particularly rewarding to look at the team that we have built, through hard work, and to see them enjoying their work by being challenged, motivated and rewarded.

What do you least enjoy? Although I enjoy running my own business, I do find it really difficult to switch off. It's something that I need to learn to do, as there's nothing worse than bringing your work home with you. I suppose it's something that comes with being an employer rather than an employee, but if I'm not thinking about the next contract, I'm thinking about clients, suppliers and/or issues relating to staff.

What is your biggest bugbear? Not getting paid and having to waste time chasing payment. Cashflow is extremely important to a company of our size and I'd rather be putting my efforts into securing new business as opposed to putting pressure on people to pay up.

What are your ambitions for the company? My main ambition is for Pride to be recognised as the most successful Scottish-based shopfitting company, and I believe we're well on our way to achieving this.

We're already working throughout the UK and Ireland but I'd like eventually to branch out and move into the European market. The opportunities are there - it's a case of deciding on the best strategy.

We're in a very strong position to do this, and it's because we have stuck rigidly to a controlled growth pattern which has allowed us to buck the current trend of the market.

The UK shopfitting market is currently valued at around £2.5bn, and our turnover is a very small percentage of this. We have spread our risk by not concentrating on one sector in particular, supplying department stores, garden centres, leisure, food and charity shops.

With consumers' disposable income shrinking, retailers within each of these sectors are having to work harder on their image in order to attract more custom.

Our model, whereby we do not manufacture in-house, is also a significant contributing factor to our success. While banks are getting nervous about their lendings and fuel bills are rocketing, we do not have huge debts to service or factory space to power and heat, which allows us to be competitive and flexible. We hope to benefit, as capacity is likely to be removed from the industry and that is why we are currently expanding and recruiting as others are shrinking and shedding staff.

At some stage I'd also like to look into the possibility of forming a partnership with a local training provider or college, and introduce our own apprenticeship programme. This would ensure that we have continued access to a skilled workforce and have more young blood coming up through the ranks.

What are your top priorities? Securing new premises is our number one priority at the minute. We've simply outgrown our existing HQ in Cumbernauld. In addition to maintaining growth and profit- ability I'd also like to expand into new but related sectors such as hotel and bar fit-outs.

What single thing would most help? More assistance from enterprise agencies in sourcing premises and recruiting staff. We've had no support whatsoever despite asking on numerous occasions.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would most help? If the government viewed SMEs as clients (our taxes are a major source of their income, after all) and provided account managers through a government body, it would be a great help. I realise that there are support structures in place but, for whatever reason, it is really difficult to attain.

As a start-up, I was extremely disappointed at the lack of support we were offered. In fact we weren't provided with any. I became so frustrated at being refused support that it's reached the stage where I simply no longer ask.

What was the most important lesson you learned? To have confidence in my own ability and judgment. Gut feeling and instinct isn't just something in your head. It emanates from years of experience, so follow it wherever possible.

I've also learnt not to be scared to identify a wrong decision or strategy and change it where necessary, and to take time to talk and listen to staff, as there is always a good idea just waiting for the opportunity to be aired.

How do you relax? I've two children so I like to spend as much time as possible with my family. I play golf and support Dunfermline FC, which I can't really classify as relaxation.