IN the life of a typical business start up, often the first 12 months are challenging and daunting for the owner. But not all startups are typical, nor their owners easily fazed. As Dianne O'Donnell, founder of music business UK Country Music Management (UKCMM) explains, a wealth of industry experience, her personal strength and determination and a helpful bank provided her with a platform for achieving an impressive first year business performance that she can build on in the future.
"Out of adversity comes greatness": It's an old saying but one that aptly describes country and western singer Dianne O'Donnell's life, or at least the past couple of years of it. Well established on the Canadian concert scene, 10 years ago she married her music producer husband Tony Dallas and moved back to the UK where the couple performed as a duo. When he became very ill and had to leave the circuit, O'Donnell continued to perform as a solo artist until her husband's full-time care needs meant she, too, had to give up performing. But the couple still needed an income, and that was when she discovered her entrepreneurial side.
She explains: "My departure from the circuit created opportunities for others. I was putting out work to friends, some very good singers, who were trying to break into a very tough business, and before long I was getting requests to manage them as an agent. The fact was I had a lot of experience, some very good contacts, and my reputation for placing the right singer in the right type of venue was growing. Although it wasn't something I'd ever planned to do, I realised I had the means to set up an agency business."
Launched at the end of 2011, UKCMM, based in Ollerton in Nottinghamshire, began to expand very quickly. During that first year O'Donnell also got involved with organising country and western concerts, while more and more of the artists she was representing were asking to use the couple's existing recording studios to produce their CDs.
"The CD business was doubling," she says. "The problem was that our studio equipment needed upgrading – music technology is changing all the time – and we had to go digital, and that's where we first realised that we would need some business funding and the help of the bank."
O'Donnell approached Lloyds TSB Commercial to seek support that she wasn't able to get from her existing bank.
She says: "What struck me was its willingness to listen and understand the business and what it was that we needed. That impressed me, and two or three visits later, I felt we had established a good relationship with our local business manager Anne Barnes. She explained the available and most suitable options for securing the finance we needed. For the studio upgrade, a business loan was the best option, while for staging a major concert, which involves a big upfront cash outlay and then several weeks' wait until payment, a short term overdraft facility would be more appropriate. I found it reassuring to have someone from the bank who understood the business, the costs and the cashflow and wanted to support us."
While she admits that her music industry experience has been instrumental to the success of the business, O'Donnell insists there are other skills that she has had to learn that have proved as crucial.
She says: "Keeping on top of your accounts and bookkeeping is a must. When I started the business I knew very little about profit and growth, but with the help of my accountant and Anne from Lloyds TSB I got to grips with it and more importantly, learned the importance of knowing where you stand with your business at all times. I am disciplined, and I monitor the finances on a daily, weekly and monthly basis; that way I can spot immediately any signs of a problem and be in a better position to respond and find a solution. The business has been successful, but I am never complacent."
The rapid growth of the business has also made O'Donnell aware of her own limitations as the overall business manager.
She says: "You need to accept that you can't continue to run every aspect of the business on your own. We have had to segment the company and take on staff, so now I have someone to help me run the agency side and Tony, who is now fully recovered, is looking after the studio and the CD recording and production side, and has taken on a trainee."
The move has freed up her time, which she has used to explore new business opportunities, including plans to expand into music publishing, and to pursue more live events, including a follow on to UKCMM's first country and western music festival held in Nottingham this summer.
She says: "We are getting interest from the US and Canada, due largely to word of mouth recommendations from the artists we represent, and we are considering opportunities to expand into Europe, although probably not for another two or three years. One thing that does give us confidence about fulfilling these growth plans is having the support of the bank. Putting on a big event like the festival requires a lot of upfront costs, so it is very likely that we'll be coming back to Lloyds TSB to talk to our local business manager next year."
There is no question that the music industry is a tough one for a business startup, and given the personal challenges that O'Donnell and her husband were facing a year or so ago, their success is all the more inspiring.
Looking ahead to 12 months of solid bookings she is optimistic, but cautious.
She says: "In starting a new business I did have an advantage with my inside knowledge and experience of the industry, but it was the practical advice on researching the market, knowing who your competitors are, and finding a good bank to support you, that has been the most valuable. To anyone who is thinking about starting or growing their business, if they are
confident about their idea and have done their homework properly, I would say that now is definitely a good time to think about investing."
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