Sean Thompson has always had an entrepreneurial spark, but it was a chance remark from a friend plus the solid support from his family that led to him taking a leap into business ownership with Geraldton Party and Event Hire.
While working as a postie in the Mid West City of Geraldton for the last ten years, Sean Thompson had a yearning to own and run his own business in the future. His first investigation into purchasing a fast food business proved fruitless, when he faced barriers raising the significant funds needed to buy into the franchise. Unperturbed, Sean kept his entrepreneurial dreams alive until a conversation with a friend revealed an opportunity.
“I was catching up with a good mate, who said that he was on the lookout for a new job because the owner of the event hire business he worked for wanted to retire and was going to close down soon,” said Sean.
“I asked if instead of shutting it down, the owner might be interested in selling to me. A few months later, I was the new owner of Geraldton Party and Event Hire!” he laughed.
The challenge of raising finance
While the journey to taking over the established 30-year-old business was swift, it wasn’t always smooth. With no significant credit history behind him or track record in business ownership, Sean again found securing the finances to purchase the business quite challenging.
“Being a young bloke and not having a background in business, the bank wasn’t necessarily too keen to open a loan for me to buy out the existing business owner,” explained Sean.
“The delay in securing funds did make me a bit anxious, because I was keen to learn what I could from the previous business owner before he retired and also keep the goodwill and returning clients of the business that had been built up over three decades.”
Secret weapons for success
Luckily, Sean had some secret weapons in place to meet his financial institution’s requirements: Firstly, he sought free guidance from his SBDC Regional adviser who reviewed Sean’s comprehensive business plan and worked with him to develop a rigorous cashflow forecast to approach his financial institution with. Secondly, Sean’s mum, Tracy, a former bank manager, was able to assist in collating the financial information and security the bank required as proof to reassure them that Sean meant business.
With this information in place, Sean was finally able to raise the funds required to purchase his new business from the founders so they could retire.
Support crew behind him
Having the backing of both parents, Tracy and James, both in moral support and labour, has also helped to make the business a reality. “Mum has been running the office, while Dad is part of the warehouse and setup crew,” said Sean. “I’m not sure they knew exactly what they were signing up for when they gave me their backing, but I know they were really looking forward to their holiday on the east coast by the time we got through the wedding season!”
Counting his SBDC Regional adviser in the Mid West/Gascoyne among his support crew has also helped the young business owner get up and running quickly. Sean sought guidance on a wide range of business processes besides business planning, from employing staff to getting online.
“Being a new business owner, having that source of information about all the aspects to do with running a small business has been excellent,” said Sean.
“My adviser really helped me in the areas I am not familiar with, particularly getting my online presence sorted, as that’s such a big aspect of doing business these days and really important in a visual field like parties and events.”
“The fact that the advice was free, while I’m being very careful to balance outgoings with income, was more than helpful.”
Evolving and enjoying as he goes
While the business had a strong reputation and returning clientele, Sean has made some significant changes while making Geraldton Party & Event Hire his own. One of his first moves was refreshing the business brand, via a local marketing business. He also engaged complimentary businesses in the Mid West, including event staging companies, and formed a great working relationship with specialist marquee suppliers in other states, to keep his stock in top notch shape. Moving the business from paper records to an online quoting and invoicing system, while a big task, has also streamlined business processes.
Under Sean’s ownership, Geraldton Party & Event Hire has successfully undertaken its first wedding season and supplied events as far away as Leinster in the Goldfields, more than 600km from Geraldton, and supported the unveiling of the world’s largest tractor, a new tourist attraction in Carnamah, about 180km south of the city. They have also recently been confirmed as providers to the Karijini Experience 2025, an iconic arts and cultural festival connecting attendees with the indigenous culture and homelands of the Banjima people and the landscape of Karijini National Park.
In the first six months as owner, Sean lists his favourite aspects of running a small business as:
- Being able to provide someone with a job they love and have a lot of fun doing
- Helping bring clients visions to life, and
- Learning on the job as he gives the new business his all, whilst having a great time.
He sums up his new experience as a small business owner simply - “I set parties up for a living, what more could you ask for!”.
More information
- Visit Geraldton Party & Event Hire online
- Find out about the free small business assistance available from SBDC Regional for businesses in regional WA, and the SBDC for Perth metro businesses.
- Learn about buying a business and business finance and loans
- See our range of low cost workshops on topics including ecommerce, online marketing and finance
- Read more WA small business stories
