The Entrepreneurial spirit has not been lost through the pandemic, as our 2nd year A Level student Douglas Hatton explains.
Douglas has started up his own e-commerce business in electric bikes and scooters using his Business, Economics and Spanish A Levels to his full advantage. Here he talks about starting the idea, the growth of the business and how Spanish helped him find suppliers. Here is Douglas’s story:
“I have been wanting to start a business with a real purpose for a long time, once I had found a gap in the market with Electric Bikes and Electric Scooters it was a no brainer for me. I was thrilled with all the teaching I had received at Runshaw and I wanted to put it all to use.
One big goal of mine is to make the UK a more sustainable, environmentally friendly place, so one of the main challenges that first presented itself was finding a reputable dealer who sourced their products ethically. I used what I had learned in Business Studies to research and find them and developed strong relationships with them. All our Electric Bikes are 100% eco-friendly as we want to do whatever we can do to make the UK a greener place by 2030.
I taught myself how to build a website using contacts and videos and also how to create a brand image that appeals to all ages using social media. I used my Spanish skillset to create links and sources with leading hispanic suppliers and even managed to have a conversation with a recognised Argentinian business man who was impressed with my progress.
So far, the business has exceeded all exceptions. We managed to receive 2 orders within the first 4 days of opening. We now have clients from North Shields to Kent and are constantly looking to build relations with new contacts and suppliers.
I personally believe that lockdown has helped make the UK are more balanced place and people have changed their moods on a lot of things, one of them being transport. I want to be a mentor and an inspiration to more young entrepreneurs who want to follow similar footsteps to me.
Electric Pedals was a business started in my bedroom and from now we are going to do everything we can to try and make uphill struggles a thing of the past.”
This is a fantastic achievement – we wish Douglas every success. You can hear more from Douglas now in the video interview below, and you can also visit Douglas’s website here.