Follow Your Passion
Like many in the promotional merchandise sector, Jason O’Connor ended up in it almost accidentally. However, after 20 years as a founder, and now sole boss of Total Merchandise, he heads up an award-winning and growing merchandise business.
Product Media caught up with him to find out what the past two decades have taught him about business and being the boss.
Starting up
At the start, I didn’t really know much about this industry and how it worked – I was very green and sort of fell into it. Gradually that changed but it probably took about 18 months to get a really firm grasp on things.
In some ways though, the industry hasn’t changed much since those days. The product offering is pretty similar and buyers still want the same things. They’re quite conservative in some ways. But it’s a tougher market and there is more choice. We are selling advertising vehicles and it needs to be mass market.
Growth
There wasn’t a big growth plan as such. It was quite amateur in the early days – I remember having a meeting with one supplier in my dressing gown. Things did get more professional as we went along. From working out of home offices, we got our first office, then another, and then ended up in Colchester where we are now.
We obviously had aspirations and looked to companies like 4imprint back in the day, but the growth was organic and we developed as a business quite incrementally.
The fact that we weren’t from the sector proved to be a benefit as we were able to step away from accepted ways of working. We didn’t want a field sales force and saw the internet as crucial to our business model, giving us the ability to set our own prices.
Leadership
I’ve always worked for myself from the age of 16 so I’m confident in that way. My dad ran his own business so I probably absorbed a lot of stuff from him. Ultimately, I like being in control of my own destiny.
I did actually go for a job in a bank when I was younger and was offered it. This was a real fork in the road moment and I could have gone down a more conventional route, but it came at a time when I’d fallen in love with music which became a job and a passion for 13 years and actually led to what I do now.
In my opinion, there is certain skill set that people have and it can’t really be taught. You either have certain things or you don’t – they can’t be instructed.
Technology
We took a purposeful approach to embrace the internet at a time when catalogues were still all the rage. We didn’t have that baggage so we could do it our way, and I don’t think I’d change anything.
People don’t like change and thought that the internet was undercutting the sector but it was always going to happen, and you have to adapt or you are the target. It happens to all industries – Argos got completely screwed by Amazon. Internet selling is now a big part of the industry.
In a weird turn of events, Total Merchandise is becoming more focused on people skills again. It is a very personal business and customers value human input. They’ve probably been asked by their boss to source merchandise and they don’t want to mess it up. We are the experts.
The future
For anyone getting involved in this sector I’d say the most important thing is to carve out your own path in business. Whatever you do, do it with passion and don’t just follow what others have done.
We all take inspiration from someone, but I would feel that I’d faked it if I just copied someone else. I’m glad we had so little outside influence and that we have done this ourselves.
At an industry level I’m slightly concerned that the industry can appear set in its ways. If we are trying to attract new talent into the sector we should ask ourselves truthfully what it is we would offer to an fresh faced 18 year old.
The future is both scary and offers opportunities to us, and we need to be able to face both.
