Dominic Nowell-Barnes is 25 and owner of the Poshflooring.co.uk. Dominic started the business seven years ago while he was still at school and it has since become one of the top ten online flooring retailers in the UK.

First steps

My first taste of doing business and trading online came at the age of 13. I was lucky to be in the first generation of teenagers with easy access to the internet and as a result I discovered eBay. I sold the things I no longer wanted and bought the things I did.

By 16, I was infatuated with making money online. The problem I faced was finding a product and when a family friend had financial difficulties selling wood flooring, I took down some of the names of products and did some research to see if I could make a profit… And I could!

It was a slow start at first but I pushed ahead. After six months working seven days a week, I had saved enough money to source a continued supply.

Education

Despite gaining a place at Kings College, London, to study Business & Economics, I saw potential in what I was doing and I wanted to grow the business. Against my parents’ wishes, I decided to take a gap year and see how things went and as the business grew, university went on hold.

I firmly believe that success relies on taking the time to grow yourself on a daily basis, developing your skills and becoming the best possible version of yourself. This can take place both inside and out of university and with the internet now providing endless knowledge for those who want to find it, it’s never been truer.

Growing the Business

Although business on eBay was running brilliantly, I decided to set up the Posh Flooring website. But despite a constant flow of sales, in 2011, at 21 years old, I was forced into bankruptcy due to a few accountancy errors. I learnt a lot from this time in my life and it uncovered the areas in business where I was weak, but I went to work on those flaws and turned things around.

I remember some of my close family telling me not to start again and that maybe business wasn’t for me, but that created enough drive and determination in me to be absolutely certain I would reset, prove everyone wrong and ensure the mistakes I made previously wouldn’t happen again. It wasn’t long until I was back on track. The business has now grown at 200% a year for the last 3 years, with revenue now exceeding a £3.5m turnover per year. Click here for more information on business management and starting a business. The internet has lots of advice on business start-ups and the Government also has a dedicated web page on how to start a business.