7th February 2024
Let there be light! In the spirit of Valentine's Day, we wanted to share some love for our returning client Stuart Hewitt. Stuart is the Director of AD 2000 Windows, trading as Trade-Glaze, a family-run, industrially accredited, environmentally conscious window-fitting business.
We opened our doors and sat down with him (virtually) to find out more about his journey as an entrepreneur.
Tell us about your journey before Trade-Glaze.
From a young age, I had always been around the window industry as my parents had a Home Improvement business and after leaving school I naturally joined them. I worked with my parents for 15 years, until I eventually took a role in trade window sales. This spread my wings and took me naturally to all the window companies in the UK to sell them my products and services from 3 or 4 trade fabricators. In this role, I got to meet the owner of Trade-glaze, which is the trading name for AD 2000. They were the Father and son duo Eddie and Adam Beaney, who were great customers until the arrival of Covid-19 and the subsequent sad passing of Eddie Beaney. Over the following months Adam became increasingly vocal about his desire to move to France, and one day he asked, ‘Would [I] like to buy Trade-glaze?’ After a few meetings and a review of his trading and sales, I decided that, yes, I would.
What was your original vision when starting your business?
As my own family business was serving trade and retail, the same as trade-glaze, this was a market I knew and an area I knew I could grow. On the 21st June 2021, I purchased and took full control of the business. From there I set out to make the business Kent’s no.1 Home Improvement company. To make sure this happened, I invested in new web advertising, a new fleet of vehicles and bringing innovative products with a family service to the market, together with my wife and son.
What excites you about being an entrepreneur?
I am excited as I truly believe that success is a journey, the longer the journey, the better the success.
What is something about your business that you are proud of?
I have taken a business in 2 years and grown the sales by over 51% and net profit by approximately 17%.
What makes you stand out from your competitors?
The business has been continually trading for 26 years as a family business.
What do you find most exciting about being an entrepreneur & business owner?
I think that success is a journey, the longer the journey, the better the success.
What is your business’s mission, and what are your company values?
Service, transparent pricing, and family are all at the core of the business.
What appealed to you about working with Crowd2Fund?
Crowd2fund are a big family with the same values as me, and they help find funding for hardworking, growing businesses.
What are you going to use the funds you have raised with us to do?
The market is in a position again where home Improvements is far more affordable than moving. As a result, we are growing in the Warm Room and Kitchen Make-over areas which are at the heart of a home. This allows the homeowner to have the home they dream of at a fraction of the price of moving. ‘Don’t move, improve’.
We are planning to increase marketing on social media and be more visible to the end user.
What is your vision for the future of the company?
Be the go-to home improvement company in Kent, with unrivalled quality and service which all homeowners can afford.
Discover more about this window of opportunity.
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