Keith Gallacher – Director – Complete Weed Control
What does your company do?
We provide ground maintenance and weed control along highways, construction sites, parks and other public areas throughout the Central Belt. Complete Weed Control is now an active partner with South Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Scottish Borders, West Dunbartonshire and Falkirk Councils. Our work includes the maintenance of grass and hedge cutting along the verges of rural roads throughout local authority areas and, as well as weed control, we also provide ground maintenance, winter road maintenance and tree-cutting services. We are active also in clearing non-native species weeds, such as hogweed and Japanese knotweed, from construction sites.
What do you do there / what is your role?
Director
If you started the company, what was the aha moment that led to the company founding?
Ever since I was a small boy, I wanted to run my own business. My Dad started, then sold successfully, a plant hire company before going on to start-up a civil engineering business and I wanted to emulate him.
After quitting university at 19 I took up a franchise, Complete Weed Control. I was familiar with the agricultural world and one thing I knew, and know, is that weeds are always with us. I liked the sound of it; it was practical and hands-on, so I took the plunge. It helped that our sector is not the most competitive. So, there were opportunities to grow. We have been helped also by my fondness for quality kit, so we have invested in new, efficient, and reliable tractors and other vehicles. This, in turn, has given us an edge in productivity compared to our competitors.
Where did you get assistance when you started?
I applied for and was awarded a Business Gateway grant of £1k. Shortly thereafter I secured a £5k loan from the Prince’s Scottish Youth Business Trust. As well, I had some savings and support from my family. I secured a further £2k when I won the PSYBT Regional Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2009.
Give us a brief history of the growth of the company
We secured our first Highways Servicing contract for the Scottish Trunk Road Network in 2008. It was the first time I had submitted a tender and I think we won it because of the price, which was acceptable to us, and, probably, some fresh ideas. This is a contract we have retained throughout the life of the business, despite some difficult operating conditions. It is hard to under-estimate the impact this win had on us: it gave us credibility in the sector and allowed us to put in place processes which have stood us in good stead ever since. From then on, we have slowly but surely secured contracts throughout south east and south west Scotland, adding steadily to our team numbers as new contracts have come along or have been renewed.
Have you taken any external funding? If so from who and when?
We have used hire purchase agreements to fund acquisition of our fleet of vehicles and tractors. Otherwise, the business has been funded by internally generated cashflow.
So, what does it look like now with regard to staff and turnover?
There are fifteen in the team including me.In our last financial year, it was £950k; we hope to break the £1m turnover mark in the current year.
What’s the difference between when you started and now in your marketplace?
It has become more competitive and public awareness over use of glyphosates herbicides has intensified. We are members of The Amenity Forum – the registered charity dedicated to promoting safe and sustainable practices – Complete Weed Control has been certified by the newly-launched Amenity Standard. The scheme has been formally recognised by both Governments and is focused on integrated approaches that balance chemical and non-chemical methods to get the desired outcomes with minimal environmental impact. In addition to weed control, we also provide ground maintenance, winter road maintenance and tree-cutting services. While there are others who do what we do as a kind of add-on to their bigger operations, we concentrate solely on the most effective and economical methods to achieve the best results.
What is your target market – Who is buying your product / service?
To local authorities, also businesses, principally those concerned with maintenance of the highways sectors. We do not tend to get involved in the domestic sector.
What is your background?
Growing up in the Clyde Valley, I worked in the agricultural sector, doing Saturday work in the school holidays, for farmers from the age of around 9 or 10. When I was 17 I left Lanark Grammar School for Edinburgh University to study software electronics but though I enjoyed my time there, I lasted only one year. I found the cost of living too high and missed the good, regular money I had been earning when I was at school, even though I worked in the cash office at a Home Base store in Edinburgh on Saturdays. I secured a place at Strathclyde University but while I was waiting to start the semester I spotted, with my Dad, an advert for a Complete Weed Control franchise for south west Scotland.
What are your goals for your business?
To continue to grow and to become known as the go-to people in our sector. To survive and prosper we are steadily becoming more resilient, steadily expanding our contracts, our kit and our people whilst always keeping an eye on the numbers. We have invested in a first class, full-time financial director, Kirsty Stewart- Brown, whose contribution makes my life much easier by providing us with accurate up to date financial information on which we can make informed business decisions. My top priorities
are to maintain, sustain and further both the size of the business and our accreditations. We believe we are competitive, not just on price but also on service, we are a service-led business, and I want us to be the number one contractor in our industry.
What are your biggest current challenges?
Emerging as strongly as possible from the COVID-19 pandemic. We adhere strictly to the rules but the gradual return to more normal working conditions has meant that there is a huge backlog of work to get through before this winter’s frosts arrive. We have been working at weekends to meet demand and have had to hire two additional team members to cope with our workload.
What has been the biggest challenge so far?
Well, it was my biggest challenge at the time. I walked away from a big contract which looked great on paper, but, I judged, was not going to make us any money. I had to retrench the entire business and cut back on overheads for a period. In the end, I am relieved to say, it was the right call since, later, everything came right. We had stepped backwards to take two steps forward.
What do you do outside work?
Spend my time with my family; my wife Helen and my children, Grace, 5, Struan, 3, and Murray, 8 months. I have got the rest of my life for hobbies.
What do you know now that you wished you had known earlier?
How to value my own time. It seems to me that too few owner-managers o so adequately. Also, understanding that joy of being successful: at first, for me, it was mostly about bringing in the money then, gradually, an appreciation that it is important to get the right life/work balance. I enjoy winning tenders then delivering to the highest standard we can.
What is the secret to good leadership?
Understand that you cannot fulfill your aims without a great team behind you, so find a way to afford a good, experienced accountant. Why should you struggle with a finance-related matter that will take you ten hours to resolve when someone who looks after financial issues for a living can do it in one hour? And that goes for all aspects of the business.
Where do you see the company in five years?
My top priorities are to maintain, sustain and further both the size of the business and our accreditations. We believe we are competitive, not just on price but also on service, we are a service-led business, and I want us to be the number one contractor in our industry.
How can the Scottish start-up/entrepreneur landscape be improved to help more businesses start up and grow?
For my business it would be to stick with their future pesticides strategy, be supportive of our industry; listen to the science and keep emotion out of it. More generally, I think the UK Government has done an acceptable job in helping us get through the COVID-19 pandemic.
