An unusual line of business calls for an imaginative approach to management. Anyone trying to grow a small company that doesn’t fit the mould can take heart from the example of Craig Bragdy Design.
From its base in North Wales, the company creates and installs hand-crafted murals for swimming pools, walls and underpasses, as well as decorative items for mosques, supplying to customers all over the world. A couple of years ago it ran into what director Nick Powell calls “a difficult period”. The problems mainly stemmed not from inefficient running of the business but from delayed projects that led to cash-flow difficulties. Despite this, Mr Powell and his brother Shon were “invited” by their bank to employ consultants to look at ways of improving the operation.They duly obliged and the company emerged from its troubles only to be told that the bank no longer wanted it as a customer. “It was a bit frustrating,” says Mr Powell.However, he points out that the news didn’t come as a total surprise.

The relationship with the bank – one of the big high-street names – had been deteriorating for a while, largely because of changes in personnel. As a result, the Powell brothers had been in discussion with rival banks with a view to making a change.In the end, they switched to Bank of Scotland, which has been seeking to differentiate itself from other players at a time when small-business banking is under investigation by the competition authorities.Mr Powell is pleased with the service he has received so far. He and his brother are especially impressed by the international banking arrange- ments made for them by their local branch – a vital facility for a company that receives almost all its sales from overseas.The financial situation may now be under control but, says Mr Powell, this does not mean the business has no other problems: “There are always things to attend to.”The nature of Craig Bragdy’s operation gives rise to two particular issues. First, most of its jobs are one-off contracts, making it difficult to forecast sales and plan for the future.

Second, those contracts are almost all overseas – and generally in parts of the world that are culturally very different from the UK – which means that specialist knowledge of foreign markets is required. A great deal of effort has to go into understanding the customer and his or her needs, and getting to grips with the practical aspects of doing business.Mr Powell explains: “Over the last 20 years [for example] we have grown to have a fundamental understanding of the banking systems of the Middle East We’re always learning about things. We have a very practical understanding of doing business in different parts of the world. You can get it wrong and end up with upset over quite a small issue.”These are clearly challenges to which he and his brother have risen. Though there have been blips, Craig Bragdy has seen steady growth in recent years.

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