Tell us about yourself?
My background is in digital marketing with more than 6 years in the field. In this time, I’ve covered a wide spectrum of the industry including, PPC, SEO, Web Development, and Social Media management.
What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?
I think when people think of ‘startups’ they think of the Silicon Valley-type image portrayed by the media. A room full of geniuses coming up with multi-billion dollar ideas and living the high-life! In reality, it’s not quite as exciting, and a lot more like hard work.
If you could go back in time to any moment from your journey, and give yourself one tip, what would it be?
Start earlier! Don’t wait around for the time to be right, just jump in and go for it.
What makes you stand out as an entrepreneur?
My background in marketing allows me to take on all aspects of promoting the business without having to rely on outside help.
What are some of the best working habits you’ve gained over the past couple of years?
Flexibility. As a parent of 2, who spends most of the time working from home, you have to be flexible and able to phase in and out of working in between bottle feeds and nappy changes!
Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?
I’ve been a Liverpool FC Season Ticket holder for about 15 years now and anyone that knows me can vouch for it being a bit of an obsession! I’ve always wanted a way to make LFC and football in general part of my professional life, and be able to make a living doing something I’m passionate about. Founding Anfield Apparel has finally given me this opportunity.
Where do you see your business in five years?
I want Anfield Apparel to be an established name in the industry. I want to see people at the match wearing our clothes and influence fan culture. Our business model allows us to send merchandise across the world so that someone watching the game in Malaysia, for example, can see someone in the ground on TV wearing the same shirt as them.
What do you think the biggest challenge will be for you in getting there?
There’s a lot of competition in the market, I know I’m not the first fan who has had this idea and I certainly won’t be the last. Anfield Apparel needs to stand out from the crowd by continuing to produce products that resonate with the fanbase in a way that other companies might not.
Talk to us about your biggest success story so far?
We’re still a brand new company. At the time of writing this, the website has only been running for just over a month and the idea itself is less than 2 months old. In that time, I’ve created 13 unique designs across 3 product ranges. I’ve built the website from scratch and my marketing efforts have driven over 7,000 visitors and nearly 200 orders. Having done everything myself with no outside involvement, I never expected to do so much so quickly and I’m excited to see what the future brings.
How do clients and customers find you? Are you much of a salesperson for yourself?
My background in marketing definitely helps in this respect. With a mixture of Paid Advertising, SEO, and Social Media Marketing, we’ve been able to raise awareness for our new brand. We hope to gain more from word of mouth as people wear our products out and about.
What one tip would you give to fellow startup founders?
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You’ll definitely make some along the way, just make sure you learn from them. You might waste money on ads that don’t work or spend hours creating products that never sell, but you’ve just got to move on to the next one and don’t let it get to you.
And finally, what do you hope the future brings both you personally, and your business?
I’m just happy to be working on a project I’m passionate about and creating products that people love.
