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Home » Fitness » Fitness buff who started own business with 7,000 now brings in 5million a year – The Mirror

A fitness buff who self-started his own business with just 7,000 in the bank has now turned over an impressive 5million in sales.

Chris Billingham, 34, who lives in Milton Keynes with his partner and baby daughter, has seen his gym equipment company MuscleSquad go from strength to strength since launching in 2017.

Sales have largely been boosted by people working out from home during lockdown, as gyms remained shut for months at a time over the last year because of the coronavirus crisis.

Budding entrepreneur Chris says he always had an interest in fitness and before MuscleSquad, spent ten years working in the gym industry.

He was employed by several large retailers to help develop and create ranges of products, but left to start advising companies on how to build e-commerce businesses.

Do you have a small business that has flourished in lockdown? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk

It was here Chris started to learn more about selling online, and he created MuscleSquad to test and learn theory and strategy of digital sales.

The website initially started off as a hobby but soon saw sales rolling in, and Chris realised he had a serious business on his hands.

After launching MuscleSquad with his own funds - which included 4,000 for a first container of stock, the website for 1,000 and also a down-payment on a storage locker - he was also able to raise 300,000 through the government Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

EIS helps businesses grow by offering tax reliefs to individual investors who buy shares in your company.

He said: What started as a hobby, working with my passion for fitness, quickly accelerated into a full-time business off the back off lockdown.

I locked myself in a room and built the website, created the advertising campaigns, and figured out the marketing philosophy for the business.

When the first of the stock arrived, I added the products to the website and listed them all on eBay.

I still remember the feeling of receiving our first order. Since then, weve continued to push forward and reinvest our profits into bringing a wider range of products to suit our customers demands.

In its first year, MuscleSquad - which operates only online - made 180,000, rising to an eye-watering 5million in the last year.

It has also expanded from a one-man business to a team of 14 and two non-executive board members, with Chris only taking on his first employee in August 2020.

Chris even has a member of staff - a stock controller - out in Australia, after he relocated our there while working for the business.

He said: "Employing people in the early days felt like a massive leap and to be honest was pretty nerve racking.

"I remember saying to Darren, my first employee, I may have a job this month but not sure about the following month. Hardly the most motivating speech for a new starter!"

Chris claims not accepting pre-orders and only sell whats in his warehouse is also part of the reason behind his success.

This ensures customers are not kept waiting for their order, he says, and says "the logistical challenges Covid-19" helped reinforce this strategy.

In terms of the future, Chris hopes to create a MuscleSquad app so people can track their fitness progress and also wants to expand his service into Europe.

Prices for products start from 10 for two 1kg weights, going up to 200 for a 32.5kg adjustable dumbbell.

For larger pieces of equipment, youll look at pay 2,150.00 for a multi-function rack or 1,200 for a bench, barbell and weights package.

As well as selling equipment, MuscleSquad also has free workout plans that you can download online to help you train.

He said: Lockdown has really proved we dont need to all be in one place all of the time. Down the line we also plan to take our brand to Europe.

Were a young company, barely walking when lockdown hit, so its hard to know what normal looks like.

"Weve seen incredible sales growth but wed sooner go slower and maintain our customer rating.

Read more here:
Fitness buff who started own business with 7,000 now brings in 5million a year - The Mirror

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Home » Fitness » Fitness buff who started own business with 7,000 now brings in 5million a year – The Mirror