Johnny Wallbridge is the founder and owner of YakWax, a surf, skate, and snowboarding store based on the island of Guernsey. He tells us how he transformed his lifelong passion into a successful business.

How did you start your business?

The business was born from a growing frustration that there was no supplier on the island who could provide the surf and skate community with specialised equipment and clothing. At the time, the only products that were available were outdated and didn’t fit the needs of the market.

I’ve been surfing since I was young, and the sport has been one of my lifelong passions, so the chance to start a business that would allow me to turn my passion into a career was one I could not pass up.

We founded the store in April 2002 in a modest property that used to be a packing shed for flowers. The original name of the business was ‘The Surf Shop’ and we employed a number of local guys who were all very knowledgeable about their fields, be it surf, skate, or snow.

The philosophy behind the shop was to create a business that provided top-quality products, as well as expert advice and great customer service for an excellent retail experience. As the shop was founded and staffed by people who really cared for the community, we were able to direct our passion into creating a store that we could be proud of.

Surf's up: Johnny Wallbridge likes to walk the walk when it comes to his business (Credit: Rob Tibbles)

Did you face any struggles in the early days of your business?

We didn’t have many problems anticipating what people would want from our business, as we had once been the frustrated potential customer-base ourselves. It was good to already have this insight, as it helped us bypass any problems identifying what essentials we would stock and what might sell well.

While we had an idea of where we wanted to take the store, the issues we faced in those early days were mostly logistical and financial, with problems like stock control and accounting proving to be the biggest challenges. None of us had any real experience in the actual set-up and running of a new business, so there was a very steep learning curve that we had to adapt to if we wanted to survive.

Another issue we faced was deciding how to market the store, which proved to be a tough task as the traditional methods like radio and newspaper were generally out of our budget. With Guernsey being quite a small island, being outpriced by the local newspaper and radio doesn’t leave you with many other options for publicising your business.

However, being part of a small island community can also work in your favour as word gets around fast if something new is going on. A lot of our early customers heard about the store by word of mouth.

Did the contact you already had come in handy?

Being involved in the sports before starting the business was a big advantage, as we were able to build a network of reliable suppliers quite quickly. We knew a few suppliers from our time being customers ourselves, so it really helped that we were able to get in quick contact with those guys and set up healthy business relations. A shared interest in something can go a long way towards building rapport.

Our collective passion for the sports also gave us an edge in finding new suppliers because they could tell that we were serious, and not just doing it as a hobby or purely for financial gain.

As dedicated boarders ourselves, we already had a great deal of product knowledge, which allowed us to have in-depth discussions with suppliers about their products. I think this went a long way in convincing them that, despite being the new kids on the block, they could trust us as a retail outlet for their gear.

Being immersed in the industry as a customer helped Johnny get the business right first time

Is there anything that you wish you had known before?

There are so many things that I wish we knew before we started. Founding a retail business based on a passion gives you an edge in product knowledge and customer service, but there is so much more you need to have to back it up if you want to succeed.

Almost everything we have had to go through in setting up the business and getting it running has been a learning experience. In a way it was similar to when I was learning to surf, where you start by doing everything wrong but improve by learning from your mistakes until you get it right.

What would you do differently if you had to do it all over again?

I would probably advise myself to learn about the accounting side to running a business before taking the plunge. There were so many things that were strange or completely new to deal with, like the various types of legislation or the tax rulings that go along with different types of business. I would also be quicker to get some expert advice from someone outside the business, someone who really knew what they were talking about.

I would also like to have taken the store online sooner. We set up the website in 2008, and we underwent our YakWax rebrand soon after. It was difficult at first, because all of the company’s sales and stock records were paper-based and had to be digitised.

But once we were up and running it really improved the way we did things internally. Like anything new, adapting to the ecommerce side of the business took a little while, but we are doing quite well now and we’re getting our name out there. We’ve been doing such good business ever since the website launched, I wish we had seen the potential for an online market at an earlier point.