I thought I’d give you a brief summary of where I’m starting from:
- I’m 42 and I live in North Manchester in the UK.
- I’ve run my own ecommerce business since 2008. It has never really done much apart from pay me a small wage. Since last month things have turned dire I’m not even covering my monthly Adspend, let alone making any money.
- I quit drinking on 1st January 2023.
- In September 2024 I finished paying off £55,000 of loans and credit card debt.
- In January 2025 I had twins, a boy and a girl.
- I currently have £0 to my name. I have a couple of grand in premium bonds but I also have a couple of grand on 0% interest credit cards. I have no other savings or pension.
- I live in my GFs house, pay half of all bills and mortgage and currently cover all baby-related expenses while she is on maternity leave.
- Before living in her house (since 2021) I lived in a rented flat. Before that I lived in a rented house but had to move because I couldn’t afford the rent.
- I currently drive an old (2015) Astra GTC and before that an old (2006) Renault Megane. I soon have to buy an old BMW (2013) as I need something with rear doors. I can’t really afford it.
I’m sick of living this way. I hate not having an money. I’m tired of being in and out of debt, feeling guilty about buying anything and dealing with the stress of running a business that struggles to make any money – every time I have a big bill to pay I feel the anxiety build.
If I was an outsider, reading what my goals are with this project I would think I was crazy. Going from making nothing and having nothing to wanting to create a business that makes £50k a month. It does seem crazy but I think I can do it. I have 17 years experience, I’ve learned a lot of things and I now know where I have been going wrong, what the issues are with my business and what I need to do to build a successful one. There is a saying, “you’re not starting from scratch, you’re starting from experience”.
My business has a lot of limitations which restrict what it can do – I’ll detail them in another post – but within my business I have regularly sold items online for between £1500 and £2500, some going as high as £3500 to £5500. I have done that for 17 years. I believe I just need to take the skills which I used to achieve those sales and apply them to a product that is more scalable and can be advertised in more ways, to more people, and I now believe I have found a product and a brand that will allow me to do that.
If I get old without building a successful business that will be my main regret in life.