The last 12 months have been tougher than I could possibly have expected – and have tested me in many ways. I've learnt so much since becoming Co-Owner of C&M Travel Recruitment, with many wonderful highs but also some lows and real challenges.
I was a shareholder here for many years, but nothing can really prepare you for what it’s like to own a business. It's now suddenly all on you – you’re responsible for everything…
It's actually happening!
My amazing Co-Owner Duncan Tingle and I had been in talks to buy the business from C&M’s Founder, Angus Chisholm, for over ten years, but the timing was never right until around August 2024. Labour had just come into power and we knew their Budget on 30th October could impact things a lot, so we wanted to finalise it all by then…and we finally got the deal done at 11.50pm on the 29th!
The highs of getting the deal done lasted a few days at most. When we announced it, the amount of support and love that we got from business partners, clients, the team and friends was wonderful. It was truly lovely.
But almost straightaway the realisation came that we needed to get straight back to work – "Oh s###, now we’ve got a business to run!"
I like to think that no-one internally really noticed any changes because both Duncan and I had been with C&M for more than 25 years – so there were no new and unusual faces for the team to deal with or anything like that. They were incredibly supportive and excited about the buyout and we were totally transparent and honest with them about it all.
Costs…SO many costs
Cash flow for the first few months was always going to be a concern, so we were really careful in managing our costs. As a shareholder, I knew we had to pay for corporation tax, VAT, the HMRC etc, but only when you're a business owner do you understand how much everything costs! It was a real shock to the system. I hadn’t realised how much cash you need to run a successful business.
In the first few months, Duncan and I were logging in and checking the banking app every single day! We’re getting a little bit more relaxed with it now, but we still check two or three times a week, just because we want to be really hands on.
We scrutinised everything and tried to run the business the way it should be run. We looked at every single supplier, cost and penny – we switched phone and tech platforms, adjusted advertising and sponsorships, and even found new accountants and outsourced our finance functions.
We’re a very ambitious business with two very ambitious Directors - and we want to be as profitable and successful as we can be while delivering the very best service out there.
Learn to trust
Buying a business was new territory for us so we had to trust the people we were working with and the advice we were given. Whether you’re buying a business or just trying to lead a team day-to-day, trust is key. These people are there because of their knowledge and experience and that’s why you’re working with them.
That’s one of the main reasons we wanted to buy C&M. We believe in the business, the brand, the values and the culture – and we know what a fantastic team we have here.
Ask for help
It's now a different dynamic with Duncan. We’ve been working together for many years, but I’m no longer his boss; I’m now his business partner and we’re answerable to each other. But because we’re open and honest, it hasn’t caused problems. It's not easy - we’re still learning to run a business together and we're working to each other’s strengths, which dovetail perfectly with one another, but we both know we’ve got a long way to go.
Because we’re both new to this, we're now starting to work with a Business Advisor to help form our new strategy. Rather than focusing just on sales and job placements, we’re now working collaboratively to create a plan that will set the company up for the future.
It’s fantastic to work alongside Duncan, but adding a Business Advisor is a game-changer - like having an extra board member who challenges us, introduces new ideas, and keeps us focused on the future. If we could do it again, we'd have brought them in from day one.
Take time out
It’s incredibly satisfying to know that we’re now running a very profitable business. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to employ and pay your wonderful team every single month.
However, alongside buying C&M, personal issues have made the last year particularly challenging, and one thing I haven’t had a chance to do is truly sit back and reflect on how far we've come. It’s easy to constantly be on your phone, wanting to have up-to-the-second info and trying to fix problems instantly.
But that isn’t healthy. And it isn’t sustainable.
It's so important to have time out and trust in the other great people that we have at C&M – that’s a huge lesson learnt. And it’s something I’m planning to do next month on the beach in Mexico!
Future plans
It would have been lovely to buy C&M ten years ago, but I’ve learnt so much from being Managing Director and guiding the business through Covid, which was the toughest 18 months in the company's history. The buy-out had to be at the right time for everyone – and 2024 was that time.
A year on, it’s been a true learning curve, and Duncan and I now know so much more about how to run a company - and we're working brilliantly as business partners. This is a new start for us all and we don’t want to carry on doing the same things we’ve always done, so we have very exciting plans lined up which will hopefully take C&M in a new direction in 2026 – watch this space!
By Barbara Kolosinska, Co-Owner and Managing Director at C&M Travel Recruitment