🛒 I used to sell washing machines
When I had to pop into our local appliance shop recently to grab some vacuum cleaner bags, it took me back to the time when I was on the other side of the counter.
I’d been made redundant for the second time and was living at home.
We had a local appliance shop that sold washing machines and dryers, but also offered a repair service.
The shop was run by some friends of the family, and one day I was asked whether I could come and help out for a couple of weeks while one of the owners was on holiday.
So began my first experience of retail management.
I’d worked in various shops before, but as an assistant or supervisor, but never running the place! 😧
I looked after the shop, serving customers that came in, ordering stock and booking in repairs for the engineers.
I really enjoyed the experience, and 2 weeks turned into 6 months.
But I then got the opportunity to get back to being a solicitor, a legal advisor at Which?.
I couldn’t really turn that down.
I’d also gained 6 months of experience of consumer law from the trader’s viewpoint, which really set me up for my new role.
This period really gave me an insight into how a small business works, which I have put to good use in the 4 years I’ve been running my business.
So, if you need expert legal advice on your marketing and advertising dilemmas, together with the ability to apply those rules to the real world, you know what to do.