Names: Moyra and Allan Ramsay.
Ages: 51 and 54 respectively.
What is your business called?
Customized Choppers.
Where is it based?
Haddington, East Lothian.
What services does it offer?
We sell motorcycle parts and accessories to customers worldwide and offer custom motorbike building, servicing, MOTs and repairs. Things can be quite hectic, particularly during the main biking season as we always have a variety of bikes on the go. In the quieter winter months, Allan tends to undertake more time-consuming projects like custom builds and restorations. The mail order side involves dispatching orders, re-ordering stock and dealing with customers in person, on the telephone or online. We sell in five languages and four different currencies, and dispatch all over the world.
To whom does it sell?
We have a strong local and growing base of motorbike enthusiasts for the workshop side of the business. This is boosted by selling mainly online through our own website although we also take orders by telephone, as well as on Amazon and EBay.
What is its turnover?
£350,000 to £500,000.
How many employees?
The two of us plus one seasonal employee.
When was it formed?
12 years ago.
Why did you take the plunge?
Allan ran his own haulage company for 24 years but was becoming increasingly fed up with it and decided he wanted to do something different. He’s always been into motorbikes and the inspiration for Customized Choppers came after a trip to Daytona Bike Week in Florida and during the process of building his own custom bike. We ran both businesses side by side for a few years which made the transition easier when Customized Choppers got to a stage we had to focus on it full-time.
What were you doing before you took the plunge?
I spent nearly 20 years working in marketing. My previous job came to an end unexpectedly and since I already felt there was an opportunity to sell the parts and accessories online, I decided to pursue that instead of immediately looking for another job. Allan has always been into anything mechanical, whether it be cars, trucks or motorbikes. Between us our experience set us up perfectly to run the business.
How did you raise the start-up funding?
We have been mostly self-funded but used an interest free loan from East Lothian Investments when we set up the MOT centre.
What was your biggest break?
We’ve grown steadily over the years but our biggest expansion came once we added our MOT centre. Having MOT customers that also use us for servicing and repairs has contributed significantly to our growth. We started Customized Choppers at the height of interest in custom bike building thanks to TV shows like American Chopper and Biker Build-off. To an extent that marketplace has moved on and these days we undertake more modifications than complete builds.
When I joined full-time I realised that going online would have huge potential for us. However the E-commerce marketplace is constantly changing and you have to keep up with developments such as the growth of people shopping using mobile devices. That’s why we wanted support in this area and recently benefitted from Business Gateway’s DigitalBoost programme. This allowed us to refresh our website in order to enhance and improve our online presence. As we can ship to any country in the world, we need to make sure people can find us through search engines and once they visit our website we wanted it to be easy to navigate, modern and informative. Making these changes will lead to additional sales and help us to expand.
What do you most enjoy about running the business?
Working for yourself is ultimately the most satisfying experience. It was great when the kids were younger since I could work from home if necessary and I enjoy the flexibility and challenge.
What do you least enjoy?
The downside is you are on call 24/7 - we aim to respond to all emails within 24 hours, seven days a week.
What was the most valuable lesson that you learned?
Work hard, enjoy what you do and don’t be afraid to try.
How do you relax?
I’m halfway through getting my full motorbike licence. I also enjoy taking our dog for a walk.
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