Case Study: Bay & Moor

We asked Andrew from Bay and Moor, a business in Buckfastleigh, to share his story.

"We started our business in 2017, laser cutting and engraving. Initially we worked with the creative industries, but it has since grown to marine, aviation, medical, civil engineering and luxury goods, to name a few. We can now engrave on virtually any material and the metal engraving in particular is a growth market for us.

• Company Name: Bay & Moor
• Website: www.bayandmoor.co.uk
• Products / Services Offered: Laser Cutting, Engraving, Marking and design service.

What do you enjoy most about your business?

I really enjoy the variety of products and industries we work with, finding solutions to produce high quality long lasting engraved or etched finishes.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?

Due to the versatility of the laser, we can take on work with products that some other methods of engraving are not suitable for - this provides challenges we enjoy finding solutions for.

Why have you joined the Growth Support Programme?

After moving to Devon in 2016, we had no contacts here so whilst networking has been key for us, we also needed to find a business adviser who has great local knowledge.  Business Info Point (BIP) has been a great resource. Our adviser, Jane, has been absolutely instrumental in helping us build our business.

Is the programme proving useful to you?

Every aspect of the of support we have had from BIP has helped tremendously. It’s great to step back from the day to day running of the business to take a look at the overall picture.

What are your key goals to achieve following the programme?

Our key goals are to continue to grow our business in the B2B marketplace now. Our initial business plan was to target the business-to-consumer marketplace as we felt this was where our main demand would come from. But BIP helped us see that there’s a lucrative market in the business-to-business marketplace too.

What's the best piece of business advice you've ever been given?

Believe in what you do and be persistent and determined. You need to have passion for your product or service, as without this, you can’t make a business work really well, if at all. Also create a product or service that is what people want or need, not what you want to sell to them. I carried out a lot of research before we started Bay & Moor, so I have always been confident that I can offer our target market what they want.

What do you think are the biggest challenges for the future generation in business?

The biggest challenge is probably raising finance when starting up or developing a new product or service. It is increasingly hard to gain loans from banks now. There seems to be a trend of looking for other methods of borrowing such as crowd funding, or starting online businesses that don’t require a large sum of up-front capital.