As expense-account politicians and the directors that brought some of the UK's leading banks to their knees came in for generous helpings of criticism last week most people running small firms were probably too busy dealing with the recession to pay much attention. Anecdotal accounts suggest that for all the public money that has been pumped into the banking system to try to get the wheels of commerce moving, firms are still struggling to get funding on affordable terms. Those that want to refinance existing borrowings, in particular, will have a tough job, however much potential their business may have. But as this week's SME Focus shows, some bank managers are still prepared to get their cheque books out for people with big ambitions. Name: Adrian Searle. Age: 40. What is your business called? Freight Design. Where is it based? Glasgow's Merchant City, in one of the oldest commercial properties in the city, a former corsetry. What does it produce; what services does it offer? Freight is a graphic design consultancy involved in developing brands and corporate identities, literature, websites, signage and packaging. To whom does it sell? A mixture of large public sector bodies like Scottish Water, University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University and Glasgow Housing Association; blue-chip private sector companies like Scottish Power, Whyte and Mackay and Taylor Wimpey; premium brands like Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles; third sector organisations like Poppyscotland and AIDS charity Waverley Care; and arts companies like Citizens Theatre. What is its turnover? Last year, around £760,000. How many employees? Seven. When was it formed? 2001 - although a management buyout took place in February 2009. Fellow director Davinder Samrai and I came to a six-figure agreement with the previous directors of the group company, of which Freight was a trading division. This was to cover a purchase agreement of assets and work-in-progress. Why did you take the plunge? Having helped run Freight since founding the business with Davinder, when we got the chance to buy, it was too good an opportunity to turn down. The previous directors had been looking to retire for some time and, with the advent of the credit crunch, an MBO was the most likely deal to be done. We knew the finances inside out and recognised it as a robust company with an excellent team. What were you doing before you took the plunge? Running the business since 2001, although I took a year out between 2005 and 2006 to be the first communications director of the National Theatre of Scotland. Although I had a great time, I was delighted to return to the relative sanity of Freight, having learned a great deal (and been involved in some fabulous theatre). Prior to Freight, I worked for several successful design agencies, spent two years at Scottish Enterprise as their first dedicated creative industries economic developer and four years as marketing controller of a 600-shop retail chain. How did you raise the start-up funding? It was tough - slap bang in the middle of the credit crunch, exactly when the real damage to the banks was being revealed on a daily basis. We spoke to a number of potential investors, most of who complimented us on our business plan but told us they were liquefying their assets, not investing. At the same time we were talking to several banks, some of whom were excellent, some had other things on their mind. What was your biggest break? Two separate investors advised us not to give away equity and do the deal ourselves with bank backing, even if it hurt in the short-term. That was by far the best advice we received. The support we received from our bank, HSBC, then made it happen. What was your worst moment? Trying to get bank support during the worst financial crisis in 80 years. What do you most enjoy about running the business? Being creative and working with very talented people, both our designers and often our clients too. The variety is hugely enjoyable as well. We gain insight into so many contrasting businesses - it's fascinating. What do you least enjoy? Losing creative pitches. Even though experience tells you to not get emotionally involved it's always tough after you've put in lots of effort as a team to then get the email or phone call saying you've not been successful - although it's amazing the lengths some clients will go to not even to let you know. There is so much in the pitch process that you can't control, and it's difficult to know that sometimes the criteria for selecting the winner is less than objective. But if someone did a better job that us we'll take it on the chin. What is your biggest bugbear? The iniquitous creative pitching process where there's an expectation that, to win a project, we will undertake design work for free in competition with other companies. Many clients, particularly public sector clients, who should be supporting the creative industries, see it as their right and part of best value for the taxpayer, whereas in reality they are extracting valuable services for nothing. It's detrimental to the design process, devalues what we do and costs the industry a lot of money. What are your ambitions for the firm? Creatively, we want to continue producing better and better work. Financially, Davinder and I would like to grow the business organically to around double its present size over the next three to five years. What are your top priorities? Continually improve the quality of our creative work - it's the life blood of the business.

Also, further develop the client base nationally and internationally. We've worked extensively in London in the past and are starting to work in the Irish Republic. In the short-term, the current weakness of sterling presents a real opportunity.

Maintain and increase profitability, to protect jobs and help us expand.

Develop bigger and better non-commercial projects. A key part of our philosophy has been to invest in challenging design projects where we are our own client. It's a reward for the designers and gives us something interesting to show others.

We have our own publishing imprint and previous projects include award-winning books (for example, the first ever anthology of Scottish football fiction, The Hope That Kills Us), a collection of porridge recipes and a collaboration with a sound artist all about hair! We are also currently working on a graphic novel, a literary magazine and a book of recollections from women migrants in Pollokshields in Glasgow. What could the Westminster and/or Scottish Government do that would help? Fundamentally, keep the economy as healthy as possible in this time of crisis. My instinct is that, looking back to Roose-velt's New Deal, opting to spend in order to keep the economy from slipping into coma is our best bet - although it's clearly high-risk and very dependent on what happens elsewhere in the world. What was the most valuable lesson that you learned? Stick to your principles and you'll succeed. How do you relax? I spend time with my family and I also write fiction. I recently completed a two-year Masters in creative writing at Glasgow University and have had a number of short stories published, including one in The Herald.