After holding senior management roles in a multi-branch dealership group for 20 years, Tim Lane realised a personal ambition by starting his own turf machinery sales and service business, ATH Machinery, in the heart of Hampshire focussing on the golf course and professional users.

 

That was August 2019, and he spent the following winter equipping his workshop facilities and contacting potential customers ahead of the 2020 season.

 

Within months, he had to rip up his business plan as the pandemic hit and the Prime Minister ordered a lockdown.

 

In the latest episode of Inside Agri-Turf podcast he talks to Chris Biddle about the initial shock and impact on the fledgling business and of putting a Plan B into operation.

 

“Starting out, initially, as a one-man band is challenging enough,” he says, “but to have your potential market virtually disappear overnight is a whole new ‘ball-game’.

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Two years on he reflects on progress, talks about issues of finding franchises, gaining LTA accreditation through BAGMA, adding to his staff, and some initial ‘wins’ for the business alongside mistakes made. “Like everyone embarking on a new business venture, I’m enthusiastic and ambitious, but I’ve learned that everything takes longer that you originally thought”.

 

He says, for a new business, keeping overheads as low as possible is essential – and that every ambition he has for the business in the future has to be matched by the funding available.