Denise and John Peesegood, founders of men’s grooming website The Groomed Man describe how redundancy kicked off their business empire, why there are drawbacks to being an ‘online-only’ store and why jumping in with both feet is often the best way to start a business.
• When and why did you first decide to set the business up?
John was made redundant from his job in early 2009. This led to the setting up of WomanlyCharm – a web based retailer of female beauty products. It soon became apparent that the market for male grooming products was bouyant and not well served by either the High Street shops or online retailers.
Therefore TheGroomed man was launched in May 2011 to service this market. Denise took voluntary redundancy from here teaching job to join the business full time later the same year.
• When did the business become a reality?
Our first website, womanlycharm.co.uk, went live in September 2009 alongside sales on Amazon and eBay. A small selection of men’s products was made available and sold well so it was decided that a separate site was required to specialise in these items. www.thegroomedman.co.uk went live in May 2011 with around 100 products available for sale at launch.
• What help did you have in setting up your business?
None really. A long career in the IT industry allowed us to have the confidence to use all available tools and systems to automate as much of the sales and advertising process as possible from the early stages. As an online-only business this was key to our early success as it allowed us to compete with more established players.
• How difficult was it to start as an ecommerce business?
The ecommerce side itself was fairly straightforward. There is a wide selection of software tools and systems available from free open source systems to expensive bespoke tools. It was simply a matter of researching the market and choosing the most suitable and cost effective solutions that would allow growth and meet our needs.
• Were there any hurdles that you had to overcome, and if so, how was it done?
As we were starting from scratch one of the biggest issues was sourcing products and in some cases persuading manufacturers and wholesalers to supply us as on online retailer.
Even today there are a number of top names that we are not able to stock as the manufacturers refuse to supply online only outlets.
Meeting suppliers face to face at trade fairs gives us the opportunity to explain our business model and persuade them that we are reputable and trustworthy, and that selling their products through our website would in no way devalue their brand – which was often their main concern.
• When did you really start to feel like you were taking off as a business?
In June 2012 we purchased a 2000 sq foot warehouse to be used exclusively for our business. The simple fact that such a facility had become necessary in order to house our continually expanding range of goods and to facilitate our picking and packing requirements meant to us that this business was starting to gain a foothold in the market.
• Any advice you would give to people wanting to set up their own ecommerce business?
The only advice I would give would be ‘do not be swayed by flashy salesmen in expensive suits trying to sell you expensive or bespoke ecommerce systems.’ Generally they are no better than many off the shelf or even open source solutions that cost a fraction of the price.
The industry is full of snake oil salesmen that promise the earth with respect to search engine visibility and sales but they rarely deliver on those promises.
• What software did you use when setting up the business?
Our two websites are both based on the open source Zencart solution. Website design is a combination of our own work and a graphic designer.
Order management and stock control for the two websites, eBay and Amazon sales is all handled by Linnworks.
Tradebox and Sage is used for accounting purposes.
• What plans do you have to grow the business?
We are continuously on the lookout for new product lines and manufacturers to add to our existing ranges. One area that is open to us is straight razors and accessories. This is currently under investigation.
• If you could have done anything differently, what would it be?
This business has been grown organically from the ground up and we have learned a great deal along the way. Our initial steps were tentative and perhaps we would have had greater or earlier success if we had entered the market with more confidence and a wider range of products.
Moving into a dedicated facility has significantly improved our efficiency, allowing us time to plan our further expansion more carefully and is probably something we should have done sooner.
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