South Warwickshire businessman whose success started as a teenager
AN ALCESTER businessman who started his first enterprise while still a teenager, says good advice is the key to growth.
Brendan Mutton, who owns and runs online company Muttons Country Store, has taken on two staff and is now recruiting a third.
Launched five years ago, Muttons sells wire and electric fencing for livestock and birds, plus other rural items such as pest traps and horse grooming products.
The 33-year-old also runs online business Quicktanks, supplying heating oil tanks to rural customers.
But when Muttons grew faster than he’d expected, he said “it all got a bit overwhelming” and he found himself struggling to keep on top of everything.
He’s been self-employed since the age of 17 when, while still a student at Stratford College, he was asked to build and maintain a business website.
He explained: “I’ve always done everything by myself.
“I knew how to grow the sales of my business but found that I didn’t have the experience to implement the right structures to manage its growth, including hiring the right people.”
Business support programme Business Ready and advisor Steve Tipson helped him decide which direction to take his business.
The scheme, managed by the business support team at University of Warwick Science Park, is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Warwickshire County Council as part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Business: Start, Grow & Scale programme.
Mr Mutton said: “It was very useful. Steve helped me understand that my success came from e-commerce, so I should be looking to enhance that rather than start something new and spread myself too thinly.
“He also advised me on the best way to hire a new member of staff to help reduce my personal workload so I could focus on growing the business.”
Thanks to the success of Muttons, Mr Mutton was able to invest back into the business.
His wife of seven months, Sophie, now helps him run the business and the couple have taken on a part-time admin/book keeper and are seeking a full-time warehouse operative.
Mr Tipson said: “When we met Brendan, it was clear he had entrepreneurial flair, but lacked the experience of growing a business.
“Knowing the right way to grow a business properly is not always clear, so we guided Brendan through the process of identifying a clear goal, and working backwards to outline the steps needed to get there.
“For Brendan, it came down to showing him that ecommerce was his strong point, and focusing on that was key to take Muttons to the next level.”
