Today is the small business network’s third birthday! Since our launch in 2012 we’ve met hundreds of inspiring entrepreneurs and many of you have written guest blogs for the site, sharing your stories, expertise and tips on best practice.
We wanted to celebrate our third birthday by celebrating yours too. So we spoke to three small business owners with firms that are in their third year. They told us what they’ve learned along the way, and whether they have achieved what they set out to.
The three-year mark is a good opportunity to take stock of your business. David Mellor, business consultant and founder of David Mellor Mentoring, says the benchmarks he looks for as a company reaches its third anniversary include “solid sales and delivery processes”, a “good mix of retained clients and new clients” and “momentum in terms of revenue and profit trajectory”.
Philip Evans, co-founder of The Pelagonia Range
Before we launched our food business Pelagonia, I had already run two smaller businesses, but this venture is bigger and more ambitious than anything that came before.
If I were to share one thing I’ve learned, it would be that we can surprise ourselves with the level of responsibility we’re capable of. My capacity to cope with pressure and stress has increased and I’m able to think even bigger going forward. I’m also running more miles per week and that helps.
Richard Branson has a quote, which I enjoy and fits my experience. He says: “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity, but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!”
I work very closely with my business partner. It’s an intense relationship, but we’ve both learned a lot about each other and ourselves from working together. Hopefully we’ve both become more rounded people as a result.
The business is developing in positive ways. We’ve almost doubled in turnover year-on-year and we’re diversifying in ways we hadn’t planned.
Even six months is a very, very long time in any business and I enjoy tracking and measuring our growth on a regular basis. However, it’s good to sit back from time to time and be content with what you have achieved. But pause for too long and you can lose that momentum you’ve worked so hard to create.
Amy Cawson, founder of Florrie & Bill
I am really happy with how things are progressing. I have achieved more in the last 12 months than I thought I would achieve in three years.
My vintage cocktail chair collaborations with UK textile designers have gained a lot of interest and PR exposure, which increased sales and has helped to raise the profile of my brand.
In March this year, I moved into a large workshop and showroom in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, the heart of the upholstery trade, which will allow me to open up my space to the public so I can increase my offline sales.
I have also started to supply to some small UK independent retailers and I am working with the government body UK Trade & Investment to help export my furniture to overseas retailers.
My lesson to startups is: never give up. If you think something isn’t working, then change it – whether it’s a product design, a process in your day-to-day running of the business or the people you are working with. Don’t be afraid of failure, just embrace change and move forward.
Looking back over the last three years, I can see that learning from my mistakes and admitting my failures has enabled me to become more successful. My business model has grown into something completely different to how I first planned it – including my product offering and the premises I now work in.
It’s also really important to stay positive and surround yourself with like-minded team members.
Chris Billinghurst, founder of Eco Chic interiors
In 2012, at an age when most people are dreaming of early retirement, I was thinking of starting a business. I didn’t consider being in my late fifties a disadvantage – more a plus point.
For several years, I’d wanted to develop an interiors-meets-eco business and when an opportunity arose, I couldn’t refuse. It wasn’t sensible; it was actually slightly insane – but instinct demanded I give it a go.
Call it luck or judgment, the idea that drove me was already beginning to blossom with the eco-living and upcycling phenomenon starting to appear in the media. Long working hours ensued, but by the end of 2013 the business began to gain ground.
Today Eco Chic Interiors has evolved far beyond my expectations: from a small website featuring sustainable products to an emporium for the upcycled home with sustainable style.
We’re about to launch four directories and an online boutique and I’m working on a project with online marketplace Gumtree. I recently visited the May Design Series event and several people recognised me as the eco chic design host of Twitter’s #UpcycledHour, all the hard work paid off that day.
Is your business celebrating its third birthday? Or perhaps you’ve reached another type of milestone? We’d love to hear about what you’ve learned along the way – add your experience to the comments section below
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