A budding entrepreneur bursting with startup ideas, Gary Baker saw a gap in the market to startup his own online tie selling business. He was an opportunity he could knot refuse. Here he talks to Startups.co.uk about how he’s getting on.

Name: Gary Baker
Age: 35
Business: Tie Warehouse www.tiewarehouse.co.uk
Type of business: Online Men’s Ties Retailer
Start date: 01 January 2004
 
When did you first decide you wanted to start your own business?
I’ve always been doing one thing or another for as long as I can remember. I tend to get an idea and just act on it to see if it has any value. Tie Warehouse is the latest of those ideas, and despite having spent the last 4-5 years developing and managing websites for other businesses, this is my first foray into my own e-commerce venture, so it’s been quite exciting!

Tell us about your business
Tie Warehouse sells men’s ties at discount prices through our website at www.tiewarehouse.co.uk. The range of ties covers everything from plain coloured ties to novelty ties, as well as the hard-to-find items like boy’s ties and bow ties. The prices range from £5 - £20 with free UK delivery, so they’re excellent value, though we’re not trying to compete just on price.

Was it your first business idea and where did it come from?
It was certainly not my first and I doubt it will be the last! I’m constantly coming up with new ideas; some of them I start and then realise it’s not going to work, others I just make a note of in case I need them later! The idea for Tie Warehouse is one of those – I thought of it years ago but e-commerce in the UK was barely a twinkle in the internet’s eye, so I left it. Then, when I wanted to get into e-commerce, I hauled it out of the mothballs and started working on it again.

Was your decision to start a business inspired by any other companies or individuals?
I’m always interested in success stories and what made those people or companies successes, specifically in e-commerce. I think we can learn a lot from them, and be inspired by them, but ultimately you have to get your hands dirty and do it yourself to really know what it’s all about. Obviously people like Sir Richard Branson are a great inspiration, but even family and friends who are successful in their businesses can be an inspiration as well.

What makes you think there’s a market for your business?
No matter how much we want to be more casual in the workplace, a tie is still required for men in most offices, and in most business meetings. At the moment if you want to buy a new tie it’s a bit of a hassle – you have to physically go to a shop like Marks & Spencers or Tie Rack and wade through the ties they have and find one you like. Chances are they don’t have what you want so you have to go to another shop and start again.

Tie Warehouse aims to make it easy with a wide range of ties to choose from without leaving your home or office, as well as lower prices and free delivery. Based on our research, this is exactly what is wanted.

Once you’d decided to start a business, what did you do first?
The first thing I did was to come up with a name that a) was available in both .com and .co.uk, and b) was easy to remember but also described what the site was trying to do. That wasn’t easy – lots of good domain names are registered but not in use, but after a while I settled on tiewarehouse.com and tiewarehouse.co.uk. They summed up the impression I was trying to create of a warehouse full of ties at great prices. I then started looking for suppliers to get costs so I could start doing some research and start on a business plan.

What research did you do?
I first had a look at what other tie websites there were and what they were selling and what they looked like. Although there were a couple of websites in the UK, the US had more of what I was aiming for – a large range of discounted ties. Then I had a look for suppliers – this isn’t as easy as it might seem as they don’t tend to have websites or advertise themselves, so you have to spend a lot of time researching and phoning around, and even now I’m still unearthing specialist manufacturers who can help with new stock.

The most telling research though was an online survey I set up to find out potential customers’ buying habits. There was a good response (offering 3 ties as a prize draw helped) and it certainly made me think a little more about what sort of ties I should be offering.

What advice did you seek?
I asked people I had worked with on other business projects previously for their input, and spent some time reading up on areas of e-commerce and business in general that I was a bit rusty on. I have used Business Link before and still had some of the material and ideas they had given me, and I will probably be chatting to them again during the next few months as I found it useful the last time.

What other help did you get?
Once I had designed the site and set up the first 20 or so ties, I asked for comments in a number of newsgroups and websites frequented by website designers and other online shop owners. The comments were very helpful, and where possible I implemented a fair bit of what they recommended.

Does the government need to provide more help to people trying to start a business?
I think they’re on the right track, but I’m sure some of the red tape could be cut. There does appear to be some difference in quality of service between different Business Links as well which could be improved. I also think that there should really be more tax incentives to start a business – most startups really struggle in the beginning yet there’s no tax relief for them.

The government keeps saying they’re fans of small business but they don’t do much to show it!