Nick Cooper (six foot nine and with size 15 feet) couldn’t find stylish, affordable clothes for himself anywhere on the high street.
So he founded Big Tall Order, the online clothes store for bigger or taller men. I asked Nick about how he turned his business idea into reality, what advice he took along the way, and whether he had any tips for budding online retailers.
What was the incentive to go into business?
“I’d given up asking about clothes on the high street in my size. I knew there was a market niche ready to be filled, because I was in it!”
What sort of research did you do?
“It took me 18 months to research the market. I discovered that there were clothes for larger men sold online, but they were overpriced, the range was poor, and the fit never quite right.”
How did you start trading?
“We used the kids’ playroom as an office to start with, and all the stock was in the garage! Things developed fast, and soon I had six large containers filled with stock in secure compound nearby.”
What’s the secret of a successful online store?
“People think they’ll become overnight millionaires if they buy an e-commerce package and bung some products online. There is a lot more to it than that, believe me.
You need to get your stock package right. Then get people to find you… and buy from you.”
So how do you get found online?
“If you don’t appear on the first page of Google for an important search term no one will find you. We did a lot of work on keyword analysis. You really need to get into the mind of your customer, and work out what words he uses when searching for your kind of products.
Once you know your keywords, embed them into the copy on your site. In time, Google ranks you.”
What about Pay Per Click?
“Yes, we also run AdWords campaigns. You bid for the terms you want, and only pay when someone clicks through to your site. It can be expensive, so it’s a case of working out the return on investment.”
Did you get any advice or help along the way?
“A friend recommended BRAVE, the Bristol enterprise agency. All the advice I received was free — amazing. And it was from some top people, people who’ve been involved in business themselves, or were bank managers and so on. They’d seen more businesses fail than I’ve had hot dinners.”
What sort of support did they give you?
“I went on a short course all about starting a new business. There were maybe 20 or 30 of us there and we were all asked us to explain our business idea. I said I was setting up a clothes service for bigger and taller men. The trainer pointed at me and said ‘Great idea!’ That gave me a huge boost of confidence — I’ll never forget it.”
What is the most important thing to get right for a new business?
“Cash flow forecasting. It might sound boring, but if you don’t manage your cash from day one, you are finished.”
What obstacles does a new online store face?
“Trying to get suppliers to talk you is tough. Without a trading history, in most cases they will only deal on a ‘pro forma’ basis. It basically means you have to pay upfront. So, all the money is going out, and there are no sales to speak of. It can get tense!”
So how get suppliers?
“You need to sell them your vision so they understand and trust you. The best suppliers gave us a small credit line, maybe £1,000. I can’t tell you how much that helped. Guess what? We are still dealing with those guys five years later.”
Any other tips for people thinking about new business?
“Take expert advice early, and outsource the bits you can’t or shouldn’t do yourself. For instance, I used a professional bookkeeper from the start. Network and ask for help. Meeting the right people early on can be the difference between success and failure. It certainly was for us.”
What’s in store for Big Tall Order?
“We just launched a new site — 7foot7.com — exclusively for tall men, in partnership with Neil Fingleton, Britain’s tallest man, so that’ll keep me busy.”
The secret to Big Tall Order’s success seems to lie in getting the basics right:
- Focus on a niche
- Get good advice early
- Manage cash flow
That’s why Big Tall Order stands out in the crowd today.
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