Sean Scott - Socks On
Who are you? What do you do? Where do you do it?
My name is Sean Scott and I have a dream, a dream to help people everywhere wear identical socks. The business I started to help me realise this dream. Socks On Limited provides an extremely unique and practical sock subscription service. We send out lovely packs of three pairs of the finest men’s socks on a regular basis for six months or a year. We have just moved into a rather small office space!
Why did you start-up a business?
I started Socks On as a result of wising things could be different and having a spark of imagination. I wished that socks would be easier to find and readily available. I imagined that there was a better way of buying socks – on subscription. All my life i wanted to start a business that caught peoples’ imagination and I believe Socks On achieves this aim.
How (and when) did you start-up a business?
II started Socks On in July 2006. I had thought about the idea for long enough but the timing wasn’t right. In July I found the right people – Paul Matchet (The Designer), Edward Boyes (The Brains) and eventually Daniel Burton (The Business Man). We compliment each other well and all have others interests aside from Socks On, which I think makes it a lot better.
What have been the biggest challenges in running your own business? How have these been overcome?
The biggest challenge I faced was hearing every day that the idea was ridiculous and wouldn’t work. People I didn’t even know would put on a serious voice and tell me quite sincerely yet slightly patronisingly that I was wasting my life. I got round this by acting upon their constructive criticism – making the idea seem a lot more normal and everday, sought the advice of people i knew were very positive and always tried to stick to my beliefs.
What have been your greatest achievements in running your business?
Creating a service from absolutely nothing that is already making hundreds of people happy.
What would be your advice to any young aspiring entrepreneurs?
My advice would be to believe anything is possible. Socks On could have been created by anybody; I’m not special in any way. It’s just down to drive, determination, belief, creative thinking and thinking big, being nice to people, trying to learn as much as you can from others, copying anything good that you see (but don’t do a sock subscription website – there’s too many copy cats already!) and most importantly make sure you enjoy it, don’t ever just do it for the money although this should always be in your mind.