THIS MONTH

IN MY LIFE SIR TOM FARMER CBE KCSG DL

ARGUABLY SCOTLAND’S BEST KNOWN ENTREPRENEUR, SIR TOM FARMER FOUNDED KWIK-FIT IN 1971 BEFORE SELLING IT TO THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY FOR £1.2 BILLION IN 1999. SIR TOM HAS RECEIVED AN OUTSTANDING LIST OF HONOURS AND AWARDS AND CURRENTLY HAS A RANGE OF BUSINESS INTERESTS, INCLUDING INVESTMENTS IN NEW BUSINESS START-UPS.

NS: What do you think of the support that’s available to entrepreneurs in the UK?

TF: There is some really good support at the present moment, probably higher than it has ever been.

When I started my businesses there was really nothing to help you, there wasn’t an organisation to help anybody starting a business. Most people would have regarded their bank manager as the one they went to discuss business with. The difference with today is quite immense. There is a lot of support now given, whether it’s the Entrepreneurial Exchange, Scottish Enterprise or other enterprise companies. There are a lot of groups that bring people looking to start a business together to have chats and that is very important. It can be quite lonely when you are on your own. When you do have the opportunity to talk to people, you feel that you’re not on your own.

NS: Is the Scottish Government doing enough to help SMEs through the downturn?

TF: SMEs could always do with more help. That’s high up in the Holyrood pecking order. The realisation is that the Scottish Government has got to do many things to help small businesses.

NS: Is Scotland a good place to start a business?

TF: From personal experience, Scotland is an excellent place to start a business. There are a lot of benefits of being part of a small community - when I say small, I mean the five million people that we have in Scotland, so it’s a relatively small country.

NS: Is there too much red tape in business?

TF: The one difficulty that all businesses face is red tape. If I had one criticism of the Scottish Executive, it is that they don’t seem to be doing enough to stand up for business and reduce the amount of red tape that’s going on - it’s immense. It’s a stranglehold on many businesses as it’s unbelievable the rules and regulations which comes through, not