With storm clouds sitting over the UK last week, the Federation of Small Business said research by Bank of Scotland showing that entrepreneurs in Scotland had increased their average working week to more than 50 hours and were working harder than rivals south of the border indicated they would not give up without a fight.

All the same, the organisation felt obliged to add its voice to a chorus of warnings that we could talk ourselves into a recession, suggesting it was concerned by the levels of pessimism in business circles.

In this week's SME Focus, a man who found his business pulled from beneath his feet following a change in the firearms law, provides an object lesson in dealing with personal and business challenges.

Name: Roman Rock.
Age: 47.

What is your business called? The Bedlam Group, comprising Bedlam Paintball, which is Scottish-based, and Nationwide Paintball, a booking service for over 100 paintball sites throughout the UK, including Ireland.

Where is it based? Bedlam has sites to accommodate players in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and between Dundee and Aberdeen in Edzell. Nationwide, we work with over 100 sites throughout the UK and Ireland. Our head office is based in Edinburgh.

What does it produce, what service does it offer? Paintballing is one of the fastest-growing sports in Europe, involving players who are issued with a safety mask, coveralls to protect their clothes, a supply of paintballs and pyrotechnics. Most sites now use pump action or semi-automatic markers (guns) and offer a large number of scenario games.

To whom does it sell? We deliver an adult product - primarily aimed at the 18-to-35 year-old market - which usually consists of large group bookings at the weekends, from stag weekends to football and rugby clubs et cetera. During the week, we also sell two other products, one to the corporate market for incentive days, team-building and hospitality, the other is a product called Game Bedlam, which is tailored to the school and youth market.

What is its turnover? Current turnover is £1.2m and we anticipate a 40% growth in that figure over the next 12 months through significant investment and expansion of our facilities. We are set to make profits of £250,000 this year.

How many employees? Currently 15 full-time staff and 30 to 40 part-time staff.

When was it formed? In 1990.

Why did you take the plunge? I was always selling things at school. I'd buy a packet of cigarettes and go into the toilets and sell them as singles at a profit.

My parents ran a hotel and whenever we went to the cash-and-carry for supplies I'd buy boxes of penny sweets and sell 10p mixes at school.

At one time I was getting pre-orders of £30 in sweets. I was also buying sheets of Tippex at around 10p a sheet which I'd sell at a profit to fellow pupils, who used it to Tippex out the stamp on their lunch card so they could go back and get a second lunch - the school budget for lunches doubled overnight.

After school, I worked in my parent's hotel doing odd-jobs - from chambermaid to bottle-stacker, washing the pans in the kitchen, cooking lunches and serving behind the bar.

Having earned myself a little extra cash, I started my first real business in 1981, when I was 21, Hollywood Videos, a rental shop in Edinburgh, quickly followed by a second outlet on Leith Walk.

This was a cash-based business and it enabled me to buy my first flat, a new car and a Rolex by the time I was 25. As a kid that age I had all the toys. I used to flash the cash and spend three months abroad each year, water skiing, sky diving, scuba diving and skiing in the winter - but I didn't really have a grasp of how to build a bigger business. That meant that when bigger video chains started to open up around me, the business began to shrink.

In response, I introduced one-hour photo labs into the shops and these proved to be a huge source of new business.

Then, when the video rental business began to get tough, I decided to move on and set up Hollywood Sunbeds, delivering sunbeds to homes in and around Edinburgh. I ended up selling this business for £250,000 in 1996 and invested the money in Bedlam Paintball.

I first saw paintball on a TV programme called Nationwide when I was 16 years old but didn't have the money to start the business then.

How did you raise the start-up funding? I had money that I had accumulated over the years from previous businesses.

What was your biggest break? In 1999, Bedlam landed a six-figure contract from Sky TV. This was a retained account to facilitate an ongoing monthly reward programme for call-centre staff organising a series of events, covering everything from paintballing to quad-biking, murder mystery evenings, ghost tours and so on. That account lasted 18 months and really helped establish the business.

What was your worst moment? In 1992, when paintball guns were deemed illegal under Section 5 of the Firearms Act. I lost £160,000 overnight and effectively had to shut down my business for four years. Fortunately, the situation has since changed.

Today, the Home Office does not consider paintball markers to be firearms because they fire frangible ammunition, which breaks up on contact rather than inflicting a penetrating injury. The paintball industry uses the air weapons section of the Firearms Act to regulate the sport.

For a paintball marker to be classed as an air weapon, and therefore not require a licence, it must fire under 350 feet per second.

If a marker fires above these limits they will then come under the Firearms Act and require a licence or be classed as a prohibited weapon.

Paintball markers must also only fire approved paintballs. Paintball markers must not be fully automatic, meaning that when pulling the trigger once, two or more paintballs must not be discharged.

I had to find an alternative source of revenue and so I established Bedlam Bungee Jumping.

I launched the business in Leith Links during the Edinburgh Festival and in 14 days made more than £75,000 in profit. I traded my way out of the ban and then relaunched Bedlam in 1996.

What do you most enjoy about running the business? Marketing - and watching the phone line light up with people wanting to book a day at Bedlam Paintball.

What do you least enjoy? I'm not one for administration (probably because I'm dyslexic) which is why I always surround myself with good people to help me.

Dyslexia has arguably made me a better communicator because it forced me to ask questions until I fully understood something - and it taught me not to be afraid of asking for help. It took time to overcome, but now I always ask for help and it's amazing how many people will help you.

What are your ambitions for the firm? My two main medium-term business objectives are to open a Bedlam site in every key location throughout the UK and to take Bedlam Paintball and Nationwide Paintball booking service to the USA, where I believe the business potential to be huge.

What are your five top priorities? In no particular order: to become the brand leader in my sector throughout the UK; financial freedom; the health and happiness of family and friends; to look after my staff and to have fun working hard and playing hard.

What single thing would most help?My new booking and epos (electronic point of sale) system, which should be in place within the next few months. This will increase our efficiency considerably.

What could the Westminster and/or Scottish governments do that would most help? The best thing ministers could do is to keep the firearms regulations under the control of the central government because the Scottish government seems to be seeking an overall ban on airguns which would have devastating ramifications for paintball operators throughout the country.

While I would support a ban on paintball markers being sold to members of the public, I see no problem with paintball markers being used for fun in a secure and controlled environment. That's why we've invested so heavily in our sites, facilities and training to ensure that our customers can enjoy a safe and fun day out.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned? Finding the right people to work with me to help build the business was one of the most important lessons I've learned. Another important lesson is learning how to meet head-on all the various challenges that arise each day and learning every day how to overcome these challenges. I'm a firm believer that there are only "solutions" to problems.

How do you relax? Lunchtime drinks in good company in the sun. I also like to indulge my love of the outdoors and adrenaline-rush pastimes through scuba diving, bungee jumping and snow and water ski-ing.

I'm also heavily involved in charity work and once walked the Namibian desert for the Maggie's Cancer Centre. Relaxation is not really a part of my vocabulary.