From this unusual gift a million pound business grew

www.spinelessclassics.com [1]

Eureka moment
At a friend's printing business I noticed a weird juxtaposition between the huge sheet size and tiny text on architects' drawings.  I wondered what it would look like if the whole page was text and, with some sums on the back of an envelope, came up with 100,000 words per square metre - which is an average novel.  Of course it took seven years for me to realise this was actually a business idea!

Financing

When I decided to launch the business properly, I raided my savings and stopped all my non-essential personal spending, treating the business like a savings account that would bear fruit eventually. This added up to about £15,000 before I was taking money out again, which is an insanely small amount. I economised hugely by bringing my previous experience at retail companies and in software development to bear, rather than spending investor cash left and right on contractors and software packages.

Regrets

It's cliché but I don't regret any decisions, given the tools and information I had at the time.  Some lines have been more popular than others but you never know which loss-making titles persuaded other more prestigious authors to sign a deal.  One of our quietest trade shows gave us one of our most beneficial introductions.

What would you have changed?

I would have prioritised building the team earlier.  It's hard to see past the expense when bringing that first person on board but important to concentrate on making them feel welcome, busy and appreciated. If you don't sign payroll cheques with a smile, you're doing it wrong!