When Jane Gokgoz set up Personalised Gifts Shop in 2011, she did so with just £5.50 to devote towards the business.
Jane wanted to put together a company which would make it easier for people to locate personalised presents, after her own difficulties finding such gifts for her own two children, who both have unusual names.
Fast forward eight years and the online shop Jane set up from her kitchen table has grown incredibly, and is set to hit £7m turnover at the end of this financial year.
At the outset, Personalised Gifts Shop ran just a limited range of gifts which customers could add a personal touch to.
Jane explained that while the initial investment in the company, in building a website and signing up with a supplier were low, she soon realised that the potential was there for significant growth if she invested in the right areas.
She opted to cut out the middle man, dealing with suppliers herself and recruiting a team of in-house designers to create new products.
Mum, 23, reveals how she turned baby clothes business into £1.5million empire
"Cutting out the middle man was the best thing for us. It meant I had complete control when it came to dealing with suppliers and sourcing gifts. Having my own team of designers too has meant we can be quick to market with any new and emerging trends," Jane said.
Personalised Gifts Shop now stocks more than 14,000 different items which can be personalised, from chocolate bars and wine bottles to cheese boards and cufflinks.
While the business had a humble beginning in terms of financing, this had significantly changed by the time Jane opted to move everything in-house.
While this gave her the control she craved, it came at a cost.
She said: “Financially, that was a difficult time. I had to remortgage and borrow as much as I could, while at the same time developing a whole new product range.”
The gamble paid off though, to the point that the business has grown from a team of two in its early days up to 40 members of staff currently. In fact, Personalised Gifts Shop has employed ten new staff already this year, with further recruitment planned over the coming months.
When the business was first set up, interest was very seasonal, with clear peaks around times like Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
However Jane said this has changed, to the point that personalised gift buying has become less seasonal and more of a regular occurrence.
She explained: "Customers buy to mark the arrival of a new baby, a christening, engagement and wedding. They shop for graduations, children starting school and teacher gifts."
Jane notes that customers have become more discerning too, making a point of researching a company and reading reviews before opting to use them.
She adds: “They also expect complete transparency on everything including dispatch time and delivery costs. We've always been very upfront with information like that and our customers reward our honesty and integrity with their repeat business.”
