It was watching how his father’s engineering company was run that gave Bristol entrepreneur Steve King the idea for his first business.
The company had a perfectly able book-keeper and an accountancy firm helping with the annual accounts and tax returns.
But what it lacked was a finance director to drive the business forward and manage and devise its financial strategy.
Steve saw a gap in the market and promptly set up his first business, The Partnership in 1998.
This was a consultancy offering part-time finance director services to SMEs, who lacked the resources and the requirement for a full-time finance director.
With an economics degree from the University of Nottingham, an MBA from Warwick Business School and experience as a chartered accountant at KPMG, a financial director at Dairy Crest and financial planning manager at retail giant WHSmith, Steve was well placed to provide sound financial advice.
He continued to refine his offering to the needs of small businesses and in 2001 founded FDUK, which he developed into a £1m turnover business before selling to a rival.
In 2006 Steve condensed his extensive knowledge into a book, Finance on a Beermat, providing financial advice for small businesses and translating accountancy-speak into plain English.
Now in its second edition, the book has sold thousands of copies. But Steve remains as driven as ever.
Alongside his current financial services business F-Works, Steve’s latest project is not-for-profit company DO SMITH – an organisation that harnesses entrepreneurial talent for the benefit of social enterprises.
At DO SMITH events entrepreneurs get together to brainstorm issues faced by social enterprises and offer targeted support and advice. The community of entrepreneurs has already helped Bristol businesses Frank Water, Happy City and most recently the SOFA Project.
“I have always been motivated and driven by a desire to innovate and create – I’m constantly looking to generate effective and efficient solutions to problems that businesses face,” says Steve. “It comes naturally to me and to lots of the entrepreneurs I know – it’s this natural flair for commercial strategy that DO SMITH harnesses.
“Social enterprises appeal to me because, unlike charities – whose income comes largely from donations – these enterprises generate their income from commercial activities.
“The more profit they make, the more society benefits and it occurred to me that they could achieve so much more with an entrepreneur’s skills and know-how.”
Steve named the company DO SMITH because it reflects entrepreneurs’ ability to get things done – these are experts skilled in ‘doing’, generating concrete solutions to inhibiting challenges.
Steve’s advice for budding entrepreneurs emphasises the social responsibility that innovators bear.
“When you create something new – whether it’s a business, a service you’re offering, or a product – it has to have value,” he says. “You have to ask yourself: is this going to improve someone’s life?
“Then expect a great deal of trial and error as you adapt your product to the market. I think people tend to underestimate the learning process that starting a business involves.
“But most importantly, keep your greater purpose in mind, keep faith in your dream and don’t give up.”
The next DO SMITH event is on February 29 at Source Food Hall and Cafe in St Nicholas’ Market, Bristol. To join the community of entrepreneurs or to request help for a social enterprise, contact Steve King or Antony Clark on 07766 263 991 or at mail@do-smith.co.uk.
