Name: Ali Bahar

Trading Ward: Keighley

Business Name: E-tyres

Business Address:

49 Victoria Road, Keighley, BD21 1JB

Email: Contact E-tyres

Telephone: (01274) 454031 or (01535) 212750

Background of Business

A punctured tyre indirectly helped  Keighley man Ali Bahar  to make a fresh start as a self-employed mobile tyre supplier and fitter.  The recession caused him to lose his job as an area sales manager, so he decided to become his own boss.    Needing a roadside wheel change he called on-line national service E-tyres, whose fitter not only got him back on the road but told him about franchise opportunities offered by the company.    Ali learned more about E-tyres from their website before contacting the Kickstart enterprise programme for advice and support.

Support Journey

Initial contact with the Kickstart team led Ali to meet business adviser Rav Panesar, who is based in Keighley with Kickstart partner Airedale Enterprise Services.    Ali fully engaged with the programme, attending free Kickstart courses to learn about running a small business, book-keeping and financial management.     To guide him through the legal side of taking up a franchise Rav also arranged for Ali to be given sound advice by a local law firm, whose costs were met under the Kickstart professional services scheme. Only when he was entirely happy with the franchise agreement did Ali sign up to the deal.

Where are they now

Ali is now the accredited E-tyres franchisee in the Bradford and Keighley areas.    He has a fully equipped, branded van and is available round the clock to respond to calls from motorists stuck at the roadside, or at home, with a punctured tyre.    “Most tyre companies required customers to take their vehicle to them but at E-tyres we go out to the customer, wherever they are,” says Ali.    He added:  “I received a lot of useful guidance from Kickstart and am encouraged by the progress I am making.”