Case Studies

Sorted

Lorne Thomson, who is from Banff in Aberdeenshire, started working in hospitality when he was just 14 years old, working in catering and as a function waiter before working up to ‘head waiter’. His experience in hospitality gave him a good grounding for customer service and made him see, first hand, how difficult it was for customers to source goods for their events.

With an unstable economy, Lorne noticed that many customers were trying to keep costs down by organising events themselves. One element that he observed from his customers, was the difficulty in sourcing goods locally from trusted suppliers; as a result, the concept of ‘Sorted’ was born. Lorne decided to do it himself and started making plans for the business in summer 2011.

Sorted caters for all types of events, including weddings and corporate functions by supplying everything possible from chair covers to centre pieces. A popular demand for the business thus far has been the demand for retro sweet bars and candy bars, particularly for Weddings. These form nostalgic and fun pop-up bars with sweets and candy and are supplied fully decorated and colour coordinated to suit any event.

Lorne commented: “Setting up this business has been a great experience and I was very lucky to get support from PSYBT and Business Gateway when I started. It was a big step to take, but I have no regrets and I am amazed at how business just seems to be taking off. I am really into customer service and the best thing about running my business is seeing just how happy my customers are when they come in and see the room for the first time; it is so satisfying and hugely rewarding.”

Lorne secured a small marketing test grant of £250 from PSYBT to help him research his idea further before going ahead. He used this money to pay for travelling costs for market research and some marketing costs to test the demand of the market. This gave him the confidence and reassurance he needed to get started. He now runs the business from an office in Banff, covering the whole of Grampian and Inverness.

Keith Hewitt, PSYBT Regional Manager of Grampian commented: “It is great to see what a relatively small amount of funding can do to kick start a business. The PSYBT market test grant has been very popular in Grampian and can often sway a business one way or the other. In Lorne’s case, it has been a great success and the stimulus behind the launch of Sorted.”

For more information on Sorted contact Lorne Thomson:

07833 465 892 or visit http://www.sortedscotland.co.uk.