Succes Stories : I quit my job – Nico Clerget
It’s time to kick off our new series – “Success Stories – I quit my job”. As a part of this series, we will bring to you some of the most interesting and inspiring stories of Zilers like you who made it big. Your fellow Zilers are just like you – they are driven by the same motivation, face the same problems, have the same goals and are a part of the same community called Teezily. So why not make the most of this opportunity to not only draw inspiration but also to pick up on inside tips and tricks which you might not have thought of!
Our first article of the series features an interview with a French seller Nico Clerget who has been using Teezily for almost 2 years now and has sold more than 35,000 products. Read on to find out how he got here!
- What made you quit your job and work with Teezily instead?
I did my higher studies in mechanical engineering, but after having worked for only a year in a company, I decided to quit my job and “make my millions” online.
I started off by doing some online marketing in 2009 and later opened a small-sized pizza business on the side in 2012. But my main income was from eBay: I had a drop shipping business there and it was my gold mine. I was one of the top sellers on that platform. Unfortunately, problems with my supplier resulted in a terrible loss for my store and cost me dearly. My clients started to complain and gave me bad reviews for undelivered products. In the end, I had to close my account in June 2015. It was disheartening to see 8 months of hard work amount to nothing. It was during this time that I discovered Teezily and decided to give a try. It was the best decision I ever made!
- How do you organize your work every day?
I start my work at 8 a.m. every day. I follow a meticulous to-do list, and therefore have a road map which guides me through multiple tasks during the day.
- How do you keep your ideas fresh for your market?
Honestly, there is no magic recipe. Everything that I know, I have learnt from the various Teezily blogs and the University Group. The best way is to do a lot of research and then test your new ideas directly with your target audience so as to get a real and reliable response, while hoping that they like it. It is important to remember that the only way out is to be persistent. One shouldn’t hesitate to recycle the old ideas, tweak the ads, improve the design and test again.
- What are your tips for running a successful business?
My motto is: “work like a machine but think like a human”. People need to equip themselves with a heart of steel and have an unbreakable perseverance. One of the biggest obstacles that I faced was a series of failures which lead to demotivation. But when things go downhill, do not hesitate to reach out for help and advice from others. I am glad that at Teezily we have a strong sense of community where we can communicate with each other.
- What part of your business are you the most proud of?
The fact that I built my entire brand from scratch with only my motivation and my perseverance by my side. I never hesitated for a second to put in extra efforts, I learned from my mistakes, I invested in myself and I learnt how to apply all this knowledge and experience that I had developed over the past 7 years to my business. Teezily opened many doors for me, I could finally use all the skills I had just from behind a computer screen. Today, I know the world of online merchandising of T-shirts inside out. Teezily was a true revelation, my business exploded and reached 100K sales in just 6 months, and later 200k in 10 months … It took work, a lot of work. I think Teezily arrived at the right place at the right time to me in my career! Thanks to this online platform, I am finally able to explain to my family and my friends why I quit my job in 2009. It was all worth it!
- What’s next?
Market expansion on an international level was one of my top resolutions for 2017. Lately, I feel the need to get out of my comfort zone in order to conquer a bigger victory. So far, I’m targeting only a couple of European countries like Germany and UK, where the new Teezily products – necklaces, premium and organic products – are doing pretty well, and I’ll continue to expand my business.
I also had this crazy idea recently to create a project called “1 million for Teezily”. My goal is to try and make 1 million in profits before the end of the year and I would like to call on to the other sellers to join me and to share their results using the hashtag #RoadToTheMillion.