Graham Brown travels to events throughout the country – equestrian, hunting, shooting and fishing events, and all the big country fairs – “with a big marquee and a lorry full of wellies”.
Less than a year before, he and his partner had been working in the theatre.
Now they are about to cap off an amazing, life-changing year by getting married at the end of March.
Make sure you find the right business, and once you have found it – go for it
Graham Brown, Wellington boot retailer
The couple, who have been together 12 years, started their search for a business to buy in March 2005, having grown despondent about their previous careers.
Graham explains: “We worked in theatre all our lives. We weren’t acting, but working back stage – set building, lights, sound, etc.
“We felt like we had worked for a lot of people who didn’t really know what they were doing. A lot of the organisations were charities and we found this to be incredibly frustrating at times.
“We just thought: ‘This is mad, we can do this ourselves’.”
Once the couple had made the decision to go it alone, finding the right business was a slow process.
Addictive
“We were looking for 12 months trying to find something that would suit what we wanted. We really wanted to stay in Lincolnshire so we needed something that wasn’t focused on one place. Apart from that, we didn’t really have any parameters.
“We looked at all kinds of businesses: care homes, a shed building business and all kinds of internet businesses.
“One of the frustrations of searching for a business was that some publications come out weekly, but with BusinessesForSale.com you know new businesses are added daily. I was on the site every day looking for them – it got quite addictive.
Graham says they eventually found their future business almost by accident.
“We saw it was based in Herefordshire, and almost dismissed it out of hand. We just glanced over it and as soon as we noticed there were no physical premises we realised it could be based anywhere, and so it was perfect for us.
“We have spent our working lives in the dark, inside theatres. This business provides a great opportunity to work outdoors and travel around to some spectacular places.”
Although Graham admits he and his partner didn’t do a lot of research into buying a business before taking the plunge (“traditional advice avenues,” he feels, “weren’t necessarily geared towards our unique business”), the previous owners were an invaluable source of support.
“We met them many times and since we bought the business we have become great friends.
“They still run The Welly Shop, a mail order and online business. They were fed up with the marquee side of things – trudging round wet fields, etc – and so decided to sell up.
“We really fell on our feet – they have been fabulous.
“We now support each other: if we’re low on stock they help us out, that kind of thing. We speak almost weekly.”
In the theatre world, every production is like a mini business venture, so Graham and Leslie’s previous life prepared them for becoming business owners.
