Business Hour
Paul Capstick of Clearly Interiors Burnley chats to Gail Bailey about his career journey and exciting plans for the future
Born and bred in Burnley, businessman Paul Capstick credits the success of his business, Clearly Interiors, which he founded with co-director Adam Schofield, to being a ‘grafter’, spotting an opportunity and having the confidence to seize it.
Following his education at Townley High School, Paul completed an apprenticeship as a joiner at a local college and worked initially in his father’s business: “My dad had a building contractors’ company and having him as a business role model and seeing the work and hours he put in was an inspiration and the grounding to my own business ethos,” explains Paul.
After perfecting his trade in his father’s business for a number of years, Paul took the plunge and decided to go it alone: “It just felt like the right time to set up on my own. I had gained a great deal of knowledge and experience and I was just ready and eager to create my own success.”
Paul went on to have a shop fitting business, working nationally for Heritage Bathrooms, where he gained additional experience in the sector.
“I gained the further skills and product knowledge I needed about the installation and retailing of bathrooms, before having the opportunity to begin Clearly Interiors with Adam where we expanded this into kitchens and bedrooms,” he says.
In 2010 the company was launched and quickly developed from a small business into one with a healthy turnover and occupying a 12,000 square foot showroom: “My business ethos is to work hard, always strive to be the best and to stay customer focused with quality at the core,” says Paul. “Taking advantage of opportunities has been key to the company’s success and along with being a grafter this has been integral to what we have achieved.”
The hard work has continued to pay off and Clearly Interiors has been selected by Germany company The Bauformat Kitchen Family as their sister store in the UK: “This was a proud accolade for us as were chosen out of all the other UK retailers and are now Bauformat’s main outlet, and also have a training centre on our site.”
Working hard leaves little time for leisure but when he has the opportunity Paul is a keen skier and mountain biker: “People who know me will laugh if they hear that as it’s something I seldom have had time for recently, but when I have the chance there’s nothing I enjoy more than getting out in the fresh air on my bike, or holidaying on my skis.”
Being a lifelong Claret fan being based in Burnley and supporting the local economy is important: “We do work nationwide but most of what we do is within 50 miles of Burnley and whilst we have projects for many high calibre clients, what is important to us is that we provide the best product and service to a wide range of customers.”
Never satisfied to stand still Paul is in the process of expanding his business portfolio with a new venture, which will be launched early in 2022, ManageMe Pro: “At the beginning of the pandemic we couldn’t find a platform that suited all our management needs – so we decided to develop our own!” he says.
“We needed a platform to help support us to deal with enquiries, sales and installation along with the day to day running of the business. The software we have created has not only helped us manage our company, it’s saving us time and money too!”
Exciting times ahead and testament to the fact that hard work, grit and determination pay off.
