Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2012; the figures it cites for stores, retailers and revenue, as well as the recently redesigned website, are from 2011–2012.
Brothers Shep and Ian Murray, an advertising account executive and a public relations executive respectively, had spent more than 10 years working for various companies. Shep had been telling his brother for some time that the monotony was “killing” him and that, despite having a successful career, he didn’t feel fulfilled. That was when he decided to go after a very common dream in the United States: having his own business.
At first, the Murray brothers swapped their formal suits and ties for more colourful, eye-catching ties. If you remember those casual ties with Bugs Bunny on them, they were probably designed by these brothers.
The story goes that one morning they called each other to quit their respective jobs and max out their credit cards, since that was the first capital they started the business with. They knew how hard it is to bring a new product to market, and harder still to sell such colourful ties in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district.
They needed quick sales to make their credit card payments, so, they say, they set out to sell the ties in bars, on beaches and on boats. In a week they sold only 800 ties, but that was enough to meet the first payment. They bought a few men’s and women’s swimwear items so they would have a broader catalogue. They had contacts made over many years at their companies, so it didn’t take them long to close their first deal with one of the companies that had been one of Shep’s clients.
The first sales push
In the second month they opened their first office, a small unit with no presence for the public, but ideal for designing and storing their designs (a warehouse). They hired a few salespeople on commission and began getting into clothing shops in the area. They say the retail sales work was very tough, and cold-selling on the coast or in a bar was tougher still, but they knew it was necessary and that it would only last until they had raised their first capital.
See also: Amy Andersen: how to build a million-dollar business around offline dating
“If customers don’t come to you, you have to go after the customers.”
The first shop window
Alongside the sales work, they built a simple website to sell online, vineyardvines.com, although, according to them, the website didn’t have the success they expected, since they weren’t very up to speed with new technologies.
Once the model works, it’s time to talk to the bank
You could say growth was fast. In less than six months they already had their first premises fitted out, an in-house designer and a factory with which they reached a flexible payment agreement. They drew up their business plan, showing month-on-month sales growth and how profits were rising with practically no increase in costs or excessive hiring. The bank granted them a loan to open a first shop on a central street.
They say they weren’t worried about the bank saying no, because they had talked to an investment group that would have had no problem investing in their business idea.
Turning your idea into a brand
By the end of the year they already had their own line of accessories: men’s and women’s swimwear, ties and the odd other accessory. Their products were sold in more than 25 shops and, best of all, people liked them. The website took off, and they had to restock the shops every week with products that were now selling easily. They already had a profitable business.
Grow or be overtaken
The most original product these entrepreneurs had was their ties, so they knew it was only a matter of time before another company copied the design, just as they knew that their swimsuits were being put on the market by the very factory that made them. They say it was a very hard moment, seeing the damage competition can do. Their solution to this problem:
“To keep the giants from beating you, you have to become a giant.”
They hired new designers, opened new shops and created two business lines, one focused on price and the other more on quality design. That way they would be competing with themselves.
Today, these two plain, ordinary entrepreneurs, with a humble website that was redesigned relatively recently, have 18 shops of their own, and their product lines are available in more than 500 stores, bringing in annual revenue (as of 2011) of a little over $100 million.
Note: I’m sure that, reading this story, starting a successful business may have seemed relatively simple: told this way, all you have to do is quit your job and follow your dream. The truth is that it basically is that, of course… but I’d like you to read between the lines, because these brothers’ story is nothing other than a story of:
“A lot of passion and a lot of initial effort that few people would be willing to make, a carefully studied strategy and, as in a game of chess, an alternative strategy already prepared in case the opponent made a move. Someone who tells everything to go to hell and takes risks like this is usually someone who knows there is only one possible outcome: getting it right, because if the result isn’t what they expected, they’ll work a little harder to achieve it.”
Further reading
- How to start a business with no money
- Why new businesses fail
- What the Mafia teaches us about business
- Extreme ways to raise money for your business
- Donald Trump for entrepreneurs: the keys to success
Featured image: Michael Kopatz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
