Andrew Wood (25 January 2017)

Andrew Wood gave an informative and inspirational talk to budding entrepreneurs of all ages and backgrounds. His vintage collectibles family business Little Wheels launched in 2011 and with 18,000 registered customers selling approximately 400-500 collectibles per week, it’s hard not to listen attentively when he speaks.

Andrew began by giving a brief history of his early career, disclosing the highs and the lows of working his way up the retail ladder in places such as BHS where he worked during the 1970s-80s. However, being more of an entrepreneurial spirit, he soon found out that retail was not what he wanted to do long term and ended up starting up his own business where his first clients were former employers!

Andrew’s first business ORIS (Oxford Retailer Information Service) managed to get contracted by corporate giants such as New Look, Phone House and more. It was just a small business with little manpower at the time, and so he found working with these big corporations to be tough. He detailed that big companies such as these have so many people to see and so many people working for and with them that it’s easy to feel more like a number than a name. He then encouraged his listeners to “choose your clients carefully”.

Due to his past experiences with such companies, his home-based business Little Wheels prides itself on providing and maintaining a high level of customer service where today it boasts more than a 100% growth year on year and receives fifteen new customers a day.

Based on a report by Jordan Amadi-Myers