Stories of rags-to-riches entrepreneurs are fairly common in a society that has, despite the current recession, been gripped by consumerism for many decades. Arguably one of the most remarkable of all such stories is that of 57 year old businessman, Chris Dawson. Growing up in his home town of Hooe in Plymouth, it became evident at an early stage that Dawson’s youth would not be spent following a traditional academic route. Indeed, Dawson left school at 15 without any qualifications in order to follow in his father’s footsteps as a market trader. Undoubtedly, the lack of formal qualifications did not hinder his early successes on the market stalls.

After several years as a street trader, Dawson was making in excess of £10,000 each week. These figures are fairly difficult to contemplate for the majority of the UK workforce. If the national median salary for graduates is somewhere in the region of £25,000 per annum, the fact that an unskilled and uneducated market trader from Plymouth could make around half a million pounds in the same period whilst still only in his early twenties raises an important point about successful entrepreneurs.

Indeed, the likes of Chris Dawson are not bound by conventional norms when it comes to making money. School leavers, college leavers and graduates can all expect to enjoy relatively successful careers, which will often consist of working their way up corporate ladders or educating themselves into lofty positions. However, even the CEO of a relatively successful company or the director of a national bank would struggle to match even a fraction of the wealth generated by the elite of our entrepreneurs. Such people are possessed by an inherent quality or trait that enables them to fully appreciate a market and where it could be heading. Moreover, entrepreneurs are able to influence the market rather than be swept along by it, which is a skill that many business owners simply do not possess. Whether these traits can be learned by others remains to be seen, but in the case of Chris Dawson they are undoubtedly innate.

Part of Dawson’s early success could be attributed to his innovative trading methods. In a recent interview, Dawson explained that whilst his fellow traders would be content to pack up their stalls on a miserable day, he would instead create a warm and inviting atmosphere that could continue to draw in the masses. As such, Dawson learned at an early age to think very much “outside of the box” – to do what everybody else was doing but in a different, more inventive way. Something that would stand out from the crowd in order to draw the attention and interest of potential customers.

Following his considerable success at market trading, Dawson organised the necessary funds to launch The Range in 1988. Featuring a superstore that comprised some 15,000 square feet of retail space, The Range quickly became a popular outlet for just about everything – DIY tools, toys and other household and gardening related items. Despite the decidedly shoddy surroundings of its first store, The Range hit a turnover of £1 million within just four months and managed to accrue a profit of £250,000 in its first full year of trading. Just a couple of months later, Dawson expanded his new business interest by opening up another The Range store in Exeter. Nowadays, there are 38 operational The Range stores across the UK and the company employees more than 2,300 nationwide and turns over £190 million each year. Chris Dawson, as founder and CEO, receives a generous annual income from the business that is thought to be in the region of 9% or £17 million.

The entrepreneurial acumen of Chris Dawson is such that his sights, although firmly set on steering The Range through a difficult recession, will often wander in the direction of other opportunities. Indeed, Dawson, true to his market trading roots, has recently purchased the entire stock of failed furniture retailer, MFI. Worth around £68 million at typical retail prices, Dawson no doubt snapped up the stock at a fraction of wholesale cost, although he has understandably proved unwilling to discuss precise numbers. Filling some 2,400 articulated lorries, the former MFI stock will be sold online via tradingbargains.co.uk, which may be seen as an attempt by Dawson to venture a little further into the world of e-commerce. Even if this website proves unsuccessful, in The Range Dawson has a perfect outlet for the stock, so this move can only be seen as a win.

Dawson also branched out into the finance sector towards the end of 2008 with the introduction of a prepaid MasterCard for The Range customers, which will not offer credit but can be used to purchase goods up to the value of money pre-loaded onto it. The idea behind this card service is to enable customers to keep track of their spending habits whilst providing a convenient method of payment. Furthermore, from Dawson’s point of view the card will be seen as a risk-free baby step into the complex and often treacherous world of finance, which will no doubt help pave the way for a future credit lending service should it be considered viable. Whilst he may be regarded as something of a “Del Boy” from Plymouth, Chris Dawson is a wheeler dealer with a difference – he is now conservatively estimated to be worth around £150 million.

Dawson’s story should inspire all of us as affiliates to look hard at our own market place and to consider how we can approach it “with a difference”. With mounting pressure in both PPC and natural search, affiliates who are able to deeply understand their target markets and to create the online equivalent of Dawson’s warm and inviting market stall will surely be among those to thrive over the next few years.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

You might also like to read...