After spending nearly six years living and working in Dubai and after the birth of his daughter, Steve Rafter decided that the time was right to move back to the UK to raise his family. Being unemployed, Steve started considering self-employment as an option.

While he saw an opportunity to utilise his past experience as a sound designer and integrate his services within Bournemouth’s growing digital and creative scene; he was uncertain about the finer details of running your own business, and lacked the money to get started.

He approached the Outset Bournemouth team who immediately made him feel at ease about the process: “Outset is a great resource for anyone thinking about starting or in the early stages of running their own business. It is a great help to have a team who supports you in your starts and keep mentoring you along your business”.

Steve completed both the Introduction to Enterprise and Business Start Up courses, allowing him to focus on building his confidence, developing his business idea and create a robust business plan.

Having completed the course, this put him in a strong position ahead of his Start Up Loan application. Outset Finance worked with Steve throughout the application process to ensure he had all the documentation needed and that everything adequately satisfied the requirements so that he was able to secure the funding he needed.

“The loan I received from Outset Finance helped me purchase the equipment I needed for my business. There is no way I could have got started without this initial injection of money.”

Steve has now launched BOMO Audio, and is successfully offering his services around Bournemouth, and has ambitious growth plans in mind. He has since worked with Outset Finance’s sister company, GetSet For Growth, to develop these growth strategies and navigate this important next phase of his enterprise journey.

For more information about BOMO Audio, visit their website.