Husband and wife Melissa and Alistair Rogerson were keen to set up a business together, so when they finally came up with the right idea – an online anniversary present service – it was all go from there. They reveal how they’re getting on so far.
Company name: The Anniversary Present
Website: www.theanniversarypresent.com
Founders: Melissa & Alistair Rogerson
Age: 33 & 35
Based: London
Staff Numbers: 2 (Founders)
Date started: 11.04.07
Tell us what your business does
We offer a carefully chosen range of gifts, cards, hampers and fresh flowers so that customers can buy everything they need without having to race around the shops or surf lots of different websites. It’s also ideal for guys who want to be romantic, but don’t feel confident expressing their caring side in public!
Where did the idea for your business come from?
We had real problems finding really great gifts and ideas when we celebrated our own wedding anniversary so we decided to go ahead and create our own website which would showcase everything in one convenient area.
What were you doing before starting up?
I’m (Al) the only one who works for the business full time and before that I was working in facilities management. Prior to that I worked in customer services and sales. It was difficult to make the decision to leave my job, but we knew that we would need to give 200% in order to offer the high levels of customer service that we wanted to guarantee. Mel works on the business in the evenings and at weekends. It’s pretty much constant in our household!
Have you always wanted to run your own business? We have always been keen on running our own business together – both for the challenge and the independence.
How did you raise the money?
We funded the company using our own savings.
How did you find suppliers?
We visited trade fairs, checked out magazines and top UK shops to source our products. Most of our suppliers are based in the UK; they don’t sell on the high street and have a high attention to quality and service.
What has your growth been like?
We’ve only been trading for a couple of months, but we have already met our targets. We expect to go into profit in the next six months.
What’s the impact on your home life been like?
It hasn’t made a huge amount of difference. We’ve always enjoyed setting ourselves challenges and this has been hard work, but also a great learning curve for both of us.
What would you say the greatest difficulty has been in starting up?
Making the leap. We had a comfortable lifestyle before we started the business so it took a bit of courage to change direction. Faith drove us forwards though.
Where do you want to be in five years’ time? Do you have an exit plan?
We’d like a lot of satisfied customers and happy marriages!
