Small Business Inside Track Q&A Colman Keohane, managing director, Keohane Seafoods

Bantry-based Keohane Seafoods was set up in 2011 and now employs 68 people.

What is special about your business? We are a family owned company producing top quality fish products. Our focus is the export markets and the added value segments in particular. My dad and my brother are also in the company and my family has been in the seafood business for more than 30 years. We used all of this knowledge and expertise to set up Keohane Seafoods four years ago. What sets your business apart in your sector? We were the first company in Europe to produce a microwaveable skin film range of seafood products. This means our products can be cooked from fresh or frozen in a matter of minutes without losing any of their flavour. We have just diversified into frozen complete ready meals that combine marinated fish with vegetables and rice. The meals can be cooked from frozen in the pack in under six minutes. The skin film packaging lets consumers see the full product just as if it was a fresh product. That is a major innovation for the frozen sector. What has been your biggest challenge? We have grown very quickly and it's been a challenge to manage that and to make sure that our processes and systems are capable of scaling up and keeping everything running smoothly.

It was also a technical challenge to develop the skin packaging for our products, but we had great support from Bord Iascaigh Mhara along the way. Our third challenge is to supply responsibly sourced fish that is traceable from the moment it's caught to the end consumer.

What has been your biggest success? Being one of the 20 companies selected for the Tesco Taste Bud programme, which is run with Bord Bia. Being listed by Tesco and asked to supply own brand for the UK was our first export business. It brought us to the attention of other retailers. We're now selling into the Dutch market and have also begun exporting frozen product to the US.

What key piece of advice would you give to someone starting a business? Be courageous. Believe in your ideas. Surround yourself with a good team of people that believe in your product as much as you do. Always be upfront and honest.

Who do you admire most in business and why? My father would be a particular inspiration to me and I also admire Alan and Valerie Kingston of Glenilen Farm in west Cork. They have taken a traditional diary business and added tremendous value and become very successful while still remaining true to their roots.

I suppose it’s a bit of a cliché but I also admire Michael O’Leary of Ryanair. He’s ambitious and aggressive and he gets things done. Innovation and thinking outside the box do not come naturally to everyone. I admire people in any business who have theses traits, act on them, and turn their thoughts into thriving businesses.

What two things could the Government do to help SMEs in the current environment? Provide better funding assistance – whether this comes in the form of specific project grants or tax incentives – and provide companies with better international market support. SMEs need all the help they can get to overcome cultural barriers, language barriers and to acquire the specific local knowledge and know-how that's needed for individual markets.

In your experience are the banks lending to SMEs currently? In our experience yes, but I think it's still very tough for start-ups. We have just borrowed a significant sum of money to fund a big expansion and we didn't have a lot of difficulty getting the money because we have good books and a successful, growing business. But it's a different story if you're a new business.

We set up originally with our own funding and it was certainly a challenge to get money from the banks at that point. Banks seem to have become risk averse.

What is the biggest mistake you've made in business? It's not a mistake; it's more to do with the learning curve when you're starting a business. When you're growing very fast it's difficult to find time to pause and think about things – you're just flat out trying to keep up. We entered the export market very quickly and, while it was definitely the right decision to do so, we probably did it a bit soon before we really understood the complexities of what was involved.

What is the most frustrating part of running a small business? The never ending 'to do' list and not having enough hours in the day. This is where prioritising becomes important.

What's your business worth and would you sell it? Keohane Seafoods isn't just a revenue stream, it's a passion, my family's livelihood and part of who I am.

It would be very difficult to put a monetary value on such a large part of my life. I am excited by what lies ahead in terms of growing the business and I am excited to be part of a young, dynamic team focused on the future. So no, I could not imagine selling anytime soon.

– OLIVE KEOGH