Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Cory’s Highland venture is a lifesaver

Cory Jones
Cory Jones

Each week, we ask small businesses some key questions. Here we speak to Cory Jones, who runs training venture Outdoor First Aid in Gairloch, Wester Ross

How and why did you start in business?

I have always loved the outdoors and made outdoor education my career, starting as a field studies instructor and acquiring mountain leadership qualifications along the way.

I became self employed by accident about 10 years ago. I had decided to take a year off – a premature mid-life crisis – and spent six months managing a rainforest survey project in the Philippines. I then returned to the UK, picked up small pieces of work and started working for myself. I love the flexibility of being my own boss.

People in my line of work have to update their first aid qualifications every three years and I found that while some trainers were good, many were very poor. When I went to update my qualifications after returning to the UK the training provider liked me and invited me to join their first aid trainer team, which I did on a self-employed basis. I specialised in outdoor first aid training courses in remote upland areas.

How did you get to where you are today?

My partner, Mandy, and I moved to the Gairloch area three years ago, setting up Outdoor First Aid before the move. I had identified gaps in the market that ideally suited my skills and approach, and the business has proved very successful.

I aim to provide practical, hands on and realistic courses, tailored to customers’ needs, whether they be stalkers, ghillies, mountain bikers, kayakers, mountain guides, school group leaders or sports coaches. I also do courses for businesses.

I rely heavily on personal recommendations – customers enjoy my courses, see their value and recommend me to their friends and colleagues.

Who helped you?

When I started out as a first aid trainer I worked with an inspirational guy called Ian Moore, who quickly became my mentor and role model. He showed me the ropes and advised me on how to get my message across to audiences.

I joined the Federation of Small Businesses at the same time and have benefited greatly from their member services ever since. Its free business banking has saved me a great deal of money over the years.

What has been your biggest mistake?

Getting the work/life balance wrong. Customer service is really important to me and I like to reply to emails and calls as soon as they arrive, which makes switching off very difficult.

What is your greatest achievement?

Great customer feedback. When I started out I won a business development award, which was very reassuring because it meant that an outsider thought I was doing a good job.

However, my greatest pleasure comes from the emails I receive from people who have been on my course and then saved lives because they put what they had learned into practice. I know from this that my training is effective and that I am saving lives – and what could be more of an achievement than that?

If you were in power in government, what would you change?

We have a Westminster government that likes to say it is cutting red tape, which in the training sector means deregulation. This might work in some sectors but in mine it means more people carrying out poor training. We want better regulation rather than deregulation.

Faster broadband in the rural Highlands is also essential. It is undoubtedly the biggest barrier to the growth of my business and its absence is delaying me taking on staff. Sadly, when fibre broadband does come to my area it is likely that my community will be too far away to benefit and I am not alone.

What do you still hope to achieve?

As the business grows I am finding both managing it and providing the training a struggle, so I am training up a couple of first aid trainers to run courses while I develop the business.

What do you do to relax?

Sea kayaking. Paddling off the west coast is amazing, with gannets diving, seals bobbing, otters swimming in the surf and quiet sandy coves, long beaches and miles of sea cliff to explore. Scotland is a world-class sea kayaking venue.

What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on the TV?

Homeland, though once again they seem to be stringing it out too far.

What do you waste your money on?

I love travel and am lucky to be able to run some training courses overseas – for example, skiers’ first aid in the Alps and raft guide first aid in Norway.

When I can’t go through work I have to pay, which is sad but true. Mandy and I are off to Greece soon to run a marathon.

How would your friends describe you?

Friendly and supportive.

What would your enemies say about you?

Life is too short to worry.

What do you drive and dream of driving?

I recently bought a new Vivaro van and have kitted it out as a home on wheels – a practical vehicle that can be a work van one day and a weekend holiday home the next. Who needs more?