The road less travelled is always the most lucrative
In my experience, the road less travelled is always the most lucrative. In this blog I want to share a success story that all started from this quote in my recent book ”The Real Deal: My Story from Brick Lane to Dragons’ Den”.
Christopher McIntosh and Matthew Massey are two entrepreneurs from Leeds whose passion, hard work and perseverance allowed them to start their own business from scratch.
Started from the idea to provide plugs to plug wearers made by plug wearers, Custom Plugs is now a successful, multi-million pound business selling ear plugs, ear gauges, body jewelry, alternative clothing, and other accessories. Their story goes back to a local restaurant in Leeds, where Chris and Matthew were working a 9 to 5 job together and shared a passion for alternative music and gaming.
As they were not fully satisfied with how their lives were going, they decided to start looking around for new business opportunities. At the time, everyone seemed to be interested in starting t-shirt clothing businesses, crowding the market scene with thousands of similar businesses competing for the same audience.
Chris and Matt were never 100% sold on following trends, and decided to read about entrepreneurship: that is when they encountered my book “The Real Deal: My Story from Brick Lane to Dragons’ Den”. In the book, published back in 2008, I basically tell my own entrepreneurial story, tracing my personal and professional growth throughout the years.
I wrote the book with the purpose of helping and guiding other fellow entrepreneurs in their initial years, by giving valuable advice and sharing my experiences.
One of the most impactful quotes I believe is the one regarding the road less travelled being paved with gold. And this is what stood out to Chris and Matt as they were reading my book, this is what made them decide to do something different and take their chances with a unique business idea.
As plug wearers, Chris and Matt were well aware of the essential characteristics the perfect ear plugs needed to have, and they worked hard to make them become a reality. Having just the basics of coding and e-commerce, they both put hard work into their business and £500 to start with while they continued their full-time jobs.
The road to success was not easy, as the demand was higher than expected and restocking took longer than expected. Chris and Matt had to put extra time, finances and effort to make it all the way to where they are now: they left their jobs and focused 100% on Custom Plugs for one month straight, making £17,000 in the first month, both Chris and Matt were reassured that it was the right choice.
As the years passed by, their business grew in size and they were able to expand their product line to other customized accessories such as body jewelry, alternative clothing and more.
To the present day, Custom Plugs is a successful business with revenues over a million pounds. Gradually over the years, they have built the business up, following trends, developing relationships, overcoming challenges, and building up a strong team. They embraced social media and grew their following on an international scale. What a great success Custom Plugs has been, and continues to!
Stories like this motivate me even more to share my experience and help bright business ideas thrive. This is why I joined the MyVintro community: experience and mentorship are the two most important factors for entrepreneurs in the initial stages of business development.
How can you get experience and quality mentorship during such hard times we find ourselves in?
MyVintro gives you the opportunity to access years of valuable experience and learn from international business leaders. With just a one time investment equal to not even 10% of what you would spend otherwise, you can save up to 5 years of your time and access the right advice and buyers straight away. MyVintro allows you to optimize time and finances in the best way possible, by connecting you with entrepreneurs such as myself, who can provide you with meaningful insights on different industry trends and readily applicable advice to shorten the process of launching a business.
Another valuable option to gain experience and acquire valuable business insights is doing what Chris and Matt did: read and listen to books. In my latest audiobook “Start Your Business in 7 Days”, I focus on providing advice to entrepreneurs to help them make the best possible decisions for their business: how to ask the right questions? How to find the right investors?
Do not miss your opportunity to thrive, follow Chris and Matt’s example and do not be afraid to take the less travelled road to realize your dreams.
