Chris Bonnett, founder of online garden centre, gardeningexpress.co.uk,

Eureka moment
The idea first came about when I coupled growing plants with selling online in the late ‘90s as a student project - I had a part time job in a garden centre and the internet had just become mainstream in the UK, so it seemed like a good combination.

I started the business in my parents' garage and took over a part of their large garden to grow and sell the plants. It was all done with £3,000 saved from part time jobs - most wasted on costly adverts in magazines that just did not work.

I covered my own costs for the first couple of years, with a part time job at a large DIY store at weekends whilst I was a student, putting every penny back in to the business. My parents were always very supportive giving extra ideas and advice.

Financing

The business has been pretty much self-financing from day one and grown organically, we are now however looking to accelerate our development and bring in external finance.

Regrets

We don't do regrets here, we just learn from the decisions made and move on, all the wiser so as not to cover old ground again in the future. 

What would you have changed?

The only thing that I might have done differently is perhaps gone in to a completely different sector. Unlike fashion, electricals etc, it is taking a little longer for consumers to switch on to the fact that you can actually buy something like plants online and have them delivered.