When Nairn husband-wife team Stuart and Cath Fox decided to start their own business, they knew they could combine their talents.
After putting their heads together, they built the idea of Highland Fox, a property renovation and improvement firm.
Now in their sixth year, Stuart answered our questions on his biggest achievements, mistakes and more.
How and why did you start in business?
My wife Cath and I worked in corporate jobs for over 15 years.
I’ve always enjoyed renovating my own properties and Cath was keen to help friends and contacts redesign their interiors, so we decided we wanted to follow our passions.
When it came to re-training, I chose carpentry/joinery and Cath pursued space planning and interior design.
We’re both passionate about helping people get the most out of their properties.
We saw the potential of having a combined design and build business to help customers reimagine their homes and put the vision into practice.
How did you get to where you are today?
Deciding to take the plunge was the hardest bit for both of us, especially leaving the certainty of employment and the regular salary.
We decided what we wanted to offer, and on the back of renovating our own house, made a number of trade and other important contacts. Things just grew from there.
Most of our business comes from word of mouth, which is encouraging since we have striven to build a good reputation through delivering quality work.
Who helped you?
We’ve built a good network of other tradespeople who we’ve called upon at various times.
Our families have been very supportive and have often provided an invaluable childcare service at unexpected times, as is often the need when running a small business.
Our membership of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has also been incredibly helpful.
Their general guidance, access to services, and document template library have saved us an enormous amount of time and help maintain a professional edge.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
“If you do what you have always done, you will get what you’ve always got”.
“Never give up” and, importantly for coping with the challenges of running a small business and having young children, “this moment will pass”.
What is your biggest mistake?
We would probably say not taking the plunge sooner.
We knew we wanted to start our own business and had been thinking about it for a while.
However, we had some barriers to overcome first, like moving back to the UK after a period overseas.
What is your greatest achievement?
We worked together on a project that took an uninhabitable old house, with a terrible layout, and transformed it into a fabulous property that was turnkey ready for holiday lettings.
The newly designed spaces really worked, with many guests continuing to comment on how effective our layout and storage solutions are.
What do you still hope to achieve?
We have a vision to create a premises for our business that combines a design studio with opportunities for co-working.
We aim to host meetings, workshops, and other such events, and in relation to our business, display a range of products and provide an environment where other small businesses can network.
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