Running both a wedding media company and online necktie business for the past year and a half is harder than I imagined. My romanticized vision of laying out in the Mediterranean sun all afternoon sipping a cold beverage, while my online business somehow manages to run itself, has so far failed to materialize.
I’m not giving up on this fantasy … just saying, it hasn’t fully happened yet!
I thought I would start my wedding necktie blog resurgence with a reflective story. I know, I know, lame stories from a founder can be a real snoozefest. But, I want to let you know that there is a real person behind this business who works hard every day to try and make your ‘groom experience’ the best it can be.
Online business from a Portuguese Beach
I struggled with what to call this post for all of 30 seconds. After all, it really doesn’t have much to do with the inside secrets of running an online company from a beach in Portugal. I will have to leave those juicy details for another day, once I figure out exactly what those elusive secrets entail!
Nonetheless, I did find myself managing my meager wedding necktie empire from a pristine sandy beach in the southern Algarve region of Portugal. It just so happened that my wife and I now live over in Europe (for the foreseeable future) and found ourselves without an abode for 5 weeks this past November. So, we saddled up our horses and high tailed it to a more temperate climate to escape the Irish cold and rain for awhile.
The Wedding Necktie Road Less Traveled
If someone had told me two and a half years ago (has it been that long?) that it is a hard road to make a living as an online necktie salesperson. Well, I am not sure what I would have said because I hadn’t ever met a necktie salesperson.
And then it happened.
Circumstances conspired for me to briefly be associated with a friend of a friend – a guy from Las Vegas who does in fact own an online necktie company.
I thought to myself, “Hey, if he can do it why can’t I?”
My fiance at the time had just started her online wedding veil business and I thought it would be a nice idea to use my newly acquired knowledge of importing/exporting to start a complimentary wedding industry business.
After all, how hard could it be to sell a few pieces of nicely woven lengths of material?
But business is never that easy. There is always a tuition cost to pay when entering an unfamiliar arena. Turns out my less than miniscule knowledge of the wedding industry meant I had a lot of catchng up to do.
I learned as much as I could about neckties, while at the same time trying to learn about WordPress, programming in PHP, SEO, and all the other talents one must acquire to become a jack of all trades online entrepreneur this day and age. It is hard work, which I can’t complain about one bit. The rewards, skills gained, and positive outcomes far outweigh the time spent building something from scratch and not seeing much monetary return.
The Wedding Necktie Road Ahead
That’s why this wedding blog has been so empty the past year. I’ve been busy with other wedding stuff – learning, building, planning, and understanding all things wedding.
Yes, I did get to bring my laptop to the beach in Portugal and work for awhile. Perks of the business I suppose!
However, it isn’t all about sipping cocktails and romantic beach escapades. Check out my travel blog for a deeper understanding of living a minimal nomadic life while trying to eek out a living online.
As I said above, this is just a way for me to say to you, “Hey! I’m here and ready to help you with your groom needs!”
Drop me an email or use the contact page if you need anything.
I look forward to further growing, building, and serving you for years to come.
Cheers,
– Andrew
Founder of Groomties.com