UK entrepreneur overcomes adversity to deliver million pound business

British entrepreneur, Tim Hayden, is set to deliver his ambitious target of achieving a one-million-pound turnover by the end of this financial year, just five years after starting his fledgling watch business Hagley West from his Hertfordshire kitchen and despite economic uncertainty and the COVID-19 crisis.

A natural flair for branding alongside complete dedication to studying how others had successfully leveraged social media channels has enabled Hayden to grow Hagley West in record time, since making his first watch sale in 2018. The brand doubled turnover every year, then last year saw record results with nearly half a million pounds achieved. That figure is set to double to more than one million pound in this financial year.

Hayden has now also accumulated nearly one million followers on TikTok and regularly delights fans of the brand with free watch giveaways, providing they can find him! ‘Find Tim’ video releases can generate up to three million views and have already helped him break into the lucrative US market, with more than 796 US sales within the first 60 days of approaching the sector.

Part of the secret to Hayden’s success with Hagley West is his determination and not being afraid to get things wrong along the way. “Our big strapline is ‘love your journey’ and that applies to me and Hagley West as much as it does our customers,” explains Hayden.

“Everybody has a story, everyone has been through something and we as a brand are all about positivity and kindness. We regularly reward our loyal followers and they in turn are great supporters of the brand. I genuinely love what we are doing and the stories we hear every day.”

Hayden himself has already had quite the journey, working in sales and management in his twenties, 18 years of experience in IT services throughout his thirties and early forties to then successfully build the Hagley West brand. Now he’s keen to inspire others who are on a journey and provide entertainment along the way.

“One of the things that I was most proud about was our inspirational women range, we got so much support for that initiative,” continued Hayden. “I think people like humanised, real content. We’re constantly looking at other ways we can work with inspiring people and we should have another exciting announcement soon.”

Tim is now keen to pass on his knowledge, experience and learnings about starting a brand to other people, so that they can go on their own ‘journey’ and find success.

“Times are understandably difficult for a lot of people at the moment and if I can be a source of inspiration for other small businesses on their own journey, I take a lot of personal pride in that. If I can potentially offer any guidance to other fledgling entrepreneurs that would be really rewarding.”

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