Beer, boutiques and body art
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THE north-east is renowned for being home to a variety of highly successful entrepreneurs, Stewart Milne, Sir Ian Wood and Stewart Spence to name but a few.
A new generation of business minds from the region are being recognised in the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise in this year’s Recognising Entrepreneurship category.
This award acknowledges individuals under the age of 35 who have taken the risks to undertake a business venture that stands out from the norm.
Battling it out for this award are Fraserburgh-based James Watt and Martin Dickie, of micro-brewery BrewDog; Louise Couper of boutique Coco Violet in Aberdeen, and Michelle Moore from alternative fashion, footwear and accessories retailer Retro Rebels, which is also based in Aberdeen.
The finalists have demonstrated the determination and courage it takes to fill what they saw as “gaps in the market”. Having all started their businesses at a young age, full of motivation and enthusiasm, each has shared a different experience on the journey to becoming their own boss and setting up a successful business.
James Watt and Martin Dickie – BrewDog
Originality and an obvious passion for what they do are clearly demonstrated by entrepreneurs James Watt and Martin Dickie of Fraserburgh-based BrewDog. BrewDog is an innovative brewery business which has gone from being Scotland’s newest brewery in April, 2007, to Scotland’s largest independent brewery in less than a year. This is a massive achievement for the business partners, who are both only 25 years old.
Managing director James Watt was also awarded Scotland’s Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007.
He said: “Martin and I have three goals for the business: to completely redefine a genre and revolutionise a market sector, to take innovation in beer to places where it has never before been and to be completely unique and unparalleled in everything we do.
“We want to not only push the boundaries of growth and expansion to breaking point, but to obliterate them entirely.”
BrewDog’s signature brew, Punk IPA, is available in all Scottish branches of Tesco and will soon be launched UK-wide by Oddbins. Wanting to differentiate their products from others in the market, James and Martin knew that brand positioning was vital to develop a strong image.
James said: “The basis of the brand styling was a rough and ready handmade feel to reflect the ‘hands-on’ aspect of the brewery. The packaging has an ‘underground’, edgy vibe to create maximum impact and reflect the nature of the product.”
Within seven months of launch, the duo have secured lucrative contracts with the UK’s major supermarket, won two gold medals at the World Beer Awards 2007 and had BrewDog beers come first, second and third in the 2008 Tesco Drinks Awards.
James added: “This latest award nomination is another feather in our cap and, if we are successful on June 12, picking up the Enterprise award will be fantastic recognition of a very successful year.”
Louise Couper - Coco Violet
Giving up her profession of eight years as a web designer, 27-year-old Louise Couper set up her “unique boutique”, Coco Violet, in June, 2007. A passion for fashion and recognising that Aberdeen was lacking an independent fashion retailer inspired Louise to set up Coco Violet, which sells an eclectic collection of fashion with a 1950s edge.
With turnover exceeding projections, positive customer feedback and having recently set up an e-commerce shop on the website, Coco Violet is developing fast for being less than a year old.
Louise attributes her success to a strong work ethic.
“Setting up the business meant copious amounts of hard work and very late nights, but my business is a lifestyle for me rather than a chance to build a fortune. My social life suffered as I had no time to spare but, against all the odds, I managed to open the shop on time with a successful launch.
“I wanted to offer something different and, above all, provide a completely original selection of womenswear, shoes, bags, jewellery and gifts, some of which cannot be found elsewhere in Scotland – or the UK. I have a passion for supporting new, young and independent labels, and I feel this is reflected in the shop.
“Having been in business for less than a year, I am delighted to have reached the finals of such a coveted award. It would be extremely rewarding to win and show that hard work, determination and a passion for fashion can take you far in business.”
Michelle Moore - Retro Rebels
Michelle Moore, 31, set up Retro Rebels 12 years go at the age of just 19 with the help of the then Aberdeen Enterprise Trust and the Prince’s Business Trust. Since opening the alternative fashion, footwear and accessories store that also provides a body-art service, Michelle has faced many challenges in the setting-up process, from budgeting to legislation and educating herself in web design.
“From starting the company at a young age, I educated myself in so many areas and aspects of the business. As a small business, I realised that growth requires lots of hard work and a good understanding of how to budget. The Retro Rebels website has been running for approximately six years and I had no real training in web design but understood that a lot of maintenance would be done in-house for the site to be financially viable.
“Through educating myself and using local businesses, we now update and develop our website in-house, and it now accounts for approximately 30% of our sales. It is currently undergoing changes to make the site more efficient and sustain growth.
“On the body-art side, I have had to keep up to date with current techniques and legislation. Retro Rebels was the first studio in Aberdeen to be granted a body-art licence, thus adding to our established reputation and keeping us ahead of our competitors.”
In the last two years, Michelle has established her own alternative clothing brand. Using her experience gained through running Retro Rebels, Michelle has created a strong brand image which has proved very successful, landing her several accounts in the UK and Europe and, more recently, a US and Canadian distribution deal.
Retro Rebels has sustained continued growth in turnover since its start in 1996, now employing 12 staff, eight full-time and four part-time. Although well established, the company continues to enjoy growth through changing ways of retail such as e-commerce promotion and product selling.
“It would be an honour to win the Recognising Entrepreneurship award to show what drive and commitment can do in achieving business dreams. Having started the business at the age of 19, I think young entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks to achieve their goals and should continue to be encouraged to do so.”
The awards ceremony will take place on June 12 at Ardoe House Hotel, near Aberdeen. The winners of all of the awards will receive a unique handcrafted trophy, while the winner of the Sir Ian Wood Award will also receive a cheque for £5,000. More information about the awards can be found at www.enetrust.com
The Business Gateway service in Grampian is delivered by Enterprise North East Trust. For more information on Business Gateway services, visit www.bgateway.com, or phone 01224 289725.
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