Stuart Coupland - Sales & Firefighting to The Leather Guy
“By the end of the second month, I’d sold so many products my finger tips were starting to fall off.”
“People will want to help you...unless you’re a knob!”
“I love that I’m creating things. I’ve created work that I could do for a very long time.”
Stuart Coupland in his workshop.
Overview of earlier career.
My dad told me to get a real job at aged 16. He was part of the BNI and one of the members was looking for an apprentice. I applied and was accepted and started my long career in sales. On the Friday of the first week in my new role, someone couldn’t make the networking meeting at BNI so I was the chosen substitute. That’s when I realised the full value of that sort of network and the advice on offer - I’ve been a member of it ever since. I spent my entire career in Business development and sales until recently. I also became a retained firefighter and was on call 90 hours a week.
The trigger for change?
I went on holiday to Turkey and bought a hand-made watch strap and said “I could make this”. So I decided to give it a go.
I bought some scraps of leather from ebay and made some stuff but it was all…awful. Even though I enjoyed it, it wasn’t the right time so I put all the gear in a box and put it away for another time.
Then at the end of 2018, I left the fire-service and the IT company I’d worked for for a long time and moved to a marketing company. I had more free time so I invested a couple of months researching how to make a wallet. I watched Youtube videos and bought some leather scraps from ebay for £20 and made my first wallet. Then I made a gun holster for a friend. Then a knife sheath for another friend. I started doing experiments with different dyes, glues and waxes.
Then a friend asked him to make him an Apple watch strap. I agreed and charged £30. It cost me £40 to make - not charging a penny for labour. After adding a clasp, it was ready. My friend loves it and still wears it today. I made some Christmas presents for family and friends and everyone said I could probably sell them. The sales man in me lit up when I heard that. I kept learning and practising on the side.
Then on 21st Jan 2020, the company I worked for full-time, went in to administration.
First steps
I had four job offers by the end of that week but turned them all down. When I thought about it, I really didn’t want to call all my contacts and announce the new company I was working for. I didn’t want to make someone else money so that they could pay me a salary.
So, I decided to conduct a little experiment. I gave myself 10 days to make enough sales of my leather products to decide whether to give it a go or not. I sold £1,900 worth of goods in those ten days. I’m a sales man and I knew I could make this work.
What Stuart learned
Say “Yes” to lots of things. If you can do it, do it.
You never know what might happen, trying new things is the way you find out what you like and enjoy - and what you don’t. I’ve danced on tv, been a Viking in a show called Kynren, a Marshal arts instructor and a fire-fighter.
I’ve grown the business by helping my network.
For instance, I knew my brother-in-law was a great videographer and was interested in setting up his own business, so I asked him to help me make a video to help with my marketing. He made a stunning video which looks brilliant on my website and linkedin. That video has also become part of his portfolio and helped him get new clients. It wasn’t easy, it took 17hours to do the filming, never mind the editing.
My girlfriend was a keen photographer, so we invested in a better camera and she now takes all the product photos on my website. I know glass workers and wood workers and have collaborated with them to make products for clients.
Talk about your hobby, not your side-business
For the first 18months, my leather work was just an interesting conversation starter and a hobby that I never really pushed.
Because it was just a hobby, I could talk about it all the time without my employer feeling any threat. It allowed me to test interest and even get some small orders for wedding and birthday gifts.
I’m always experimenting.
I do some time-lapse videos and release them on Tik Tok where I’ve had over 85,000 views! I try out new products and create new designs for clients all the time. For instance, I made a golf score card holder for Rockcliffe Hall, a championship golf course and spa in Darlington and they loved it so much that they wanted me to brand other accessories for them. With a bigger, corporate client on board, a bigger picture of my business potential began to appear.
Don’t invest lots of money too early.
I had another business idea where I invested too much money upfront and didn’t use my network to get advice so it failed. I learned a great deal from that experience and will never make those mistakes again.
I turned down my biggest order because my fingertips were falling off.
By the end of the second month, I’d sold so many products my finger tips were starting to fall off because I hand-stitched everything! I received an order for a couple of hundred watch straps but had to turn it down because my fingers needed time to heal. I said “No” but I explained that I’d love to work with them and just wasn’t in the position to at that time and promised to come back to them.
I then went off to explore getting a start-up loan to buy an expensive, high quality sewing machine to speed up my work and allow me to take on bigger orders. I secured a loan and spent £3500 on the best sewing machine I could find...less than a month before lock-down.
People want to help - they’re just waiting to be asked.
So many people have skills that they love to use. Whether they have ambitions to create their own business or not, they’re usually very happy help you by using those skills. Most people don’t like asking for help but that’s a wasted opportunity, in my opinion.
The first thing I do each day is business development.
Sales are the lifeblood of any business so I do it first thing every single morning. When I’ve done that I love the feeling of doing what I can to create some good news each day or put me in the mindset that I’ve done enough to believe that tomorrow might be a great day. Then I can get on with making the products.
Time to rest is really important for me.
In any business, you need to be prepared to put in the hours but I’ve realised that I can’t assemble a stunning wallet that will last a life-time if I’m tired. So, I structure my day to make sure I get enough rest. I do business development first thing in the morning, walk the dog over lunch and then put my music on and start making products in the afternoon.
If I get tired I finish work at a reasonable time but if I’ve got plenty of energy I can keep working late into the evening. Proritising my energy and mindset is something I focus on a great deal more than I used to.
Unrealistic goals really focus my mind
My vision is to be known as the best producer of quality, durable and beautiful leather products. I’ll never do that alone, so I have ambitions to bring on apprentices and give them a career development into management over time - which is something that isn’t often a priority in this industry. This really motivates me.
But small daily targets keep me on track
I have a slate plate in my workshop that says “Have you improved today? today” so I ask myself every single day if I have taken steps to improve my business today.
If your peer group has no ambitions, your business will not grow.
If you know people who want to grow themselves and/or their business, they will help you grow and you can help them. It’s a win-win.
Self-employed is the same as unemployed until you sell stuff and get paid a stable income.
I ask myself every single day if I have taken steps to improve my business today. Every day when I come home, I tell my girlfriend my positive news from the day. If I don’t have positive news, I know that there’s trouble ahead.
Treat business like a game
If business is a game and you are the character in that game, what would your character be prepared to do to succeed? That’s what we need to do.
People will want to help you...unless you’re a knob!
How it feels on the days when Stuart knows she has made the right decision?
It feels incredible!
I love my daily routine. I love that I’m creating things. And helping my network, who are also helping me. I have big ambitions for the future but enjoy each day. I’ve created work that I could do for a very long time.
Regrets?
None!
