Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Martin Skallerup, Owner of Bandageshoppen, located in Køge, Denmark.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is based on an eCommerce store where we provide products that can increase the quality of life. This is through products that can prevent injuries, support when having injuries, reduce pain, and so on. Examples of our products include ankle braces, knee protection, crutches, canes, exercise equipment, and much more.

Tell us about yourself

I've always been interested in web development, so I built my first website when I was around 12 years old. I sat in my room, and back then, I just had Notepad to write some basic HTML and CSS code. Combining coding and trading was a perfect combination, so I started my first e-commerce store a few years later. What motivated me the most was seeing how much I learned because I had to take care of many interesting topics like sales, taxes, import, marketing, support, hosting, and web development.

Meanwhile, I started studying Web development and got a job at a payment gateway company right away. This job gave me an opportunity to become a customer of this company, so I started Bandageshoppen.dk. This was the end of the year 2018, as a hobby project, that has grown to become a full-time job for me beginning of the year 2022, and now with employees.

What motivates me is to see customers get help from us and then hear back from them about how happy they are for the help and product. People have been telling us that now that they sleep better at night, they can run or bike again, and so on. Besides helping customers, I see my job as building a big lego house. I love to build and develop a business, and seeing its growth is a big motivator as well.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment was to quit my safe, well-paid job and go full-time on my own business. Secondly was hiring my first employee.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

There are many hard things. The daily concerns with my financial situation can be tough when I'm losing money for some time. Otherwise, I have had to fire a salesperson since it just didn't work out. But I calm myself by thinking about my own development, that I will learn a lot from all these situations.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Find a partner to do your business with. My motivation and growth have not been better since I asked a good colleague to join my company. It's important to have good people around you when things get tough.
  2. You need to take risks. I recommend you to do research about the product that you want to sell, but try not to go into too much detail. It's better to fix your mistakes on the way than rather make no mistakes.
  3. Focus on the journey rather than the goal. It needs to be fun while building your company. For some people, money is a great goal, and it works for them. I can tell that I love my job, and I wouldn't change it for stress and sad days. I could sell my company and get a fair amount of money, but I have bigger plans.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: http://bandageshoppen.dk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bandageshoppen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bandageshoppen.dk/


If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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