British Council-e Business
Transcript of the podcast
I’d been making wooden toys for my family and friends for quite some time. It was just a hobby at first, but then it started to take over my life. So many people were asking me to make specific things, like a doll’s house for a birthday present, that I began to wonder if I could make a living out of it. I approached some shops and department stores, but they weren’t interested in stocking my toys unless I could guarantee a regular supply, and I just couldn’t produce them quickly enough
I think it was my son who first suggested I set up an internet shop. I hadn’t a clue how to go about it, so I started by looking at existing sites selling handmade toys. There were some great sites by people doing a similar thing to me. I wondered if there was something not being provided that I could do, a niche market I could develop. I thought about what people usually asked me to make and I realised that a lot of people wanted a customised toy. They asked for their child’s name painted on it, or wanted it painted particular colours. I hadn’t seen anyone offering this kind of service
The next step was to think of a name for my business. By then I had read quite a bit of advice about setting up internet companies, and I knew I would have to register a domain name. I got all my family involved, trying to think up a name that would be easy to remember. Every time we thought of a good one I searched for it on the internet and sure enough, someone had already got it. I was getting quite frustrated when my sister suggested tree2toy.com. I checked and to my amazement it hadn’t been registered. I tried several searches on the internet – after all I didn’t want to discover that another company had the same name – they could take legal action against me. Then I registered the domain name and I was ready to start designing my website
Answers
as a hobby | Anthony started making wooden toys |
to sell them in the shops | He couldn’t make the toys quickly enough |
that he sold the toys online | His son suggested |
customised toys | Anthony decided to make |
the name tree2toy.com | Anthony’s sister suggested |