I’l preface this post by saying it was never my intention to sell supplements… it just happened.
But anyway… it started with whey protein…
To enable me to hit my own protein targets, I realised I needed to use a whey protein powder – there were a ridiculous amount on the market and I made the mistake of trying the cheap ones first… big mistake!
To say I had the sh*ts would be a huge understatement, clearly the amount of additives, sweeteners and flavourings weren’t being received well by my G.I. and not only did I have the squits, I was bloated, gassy and uncomfortable… so I changed tack.
I went high-end, I moved to whey isolates and hydrolysates… these improved things from a digestion perspective, but after a while, they started to hit me hard in the pocket, I couldn’t sustain them.
So I reverted back to whey concentrate and chose a better quality product, I narrowed it down to 2 companies… Scitec and Per4M – both powders tasted fantastic and digested well, but Scitec were based in Hungary and shipping (especially during Covid) became an issue – so I opted for Per4M (and I’ve been with them now for 2 years).
After a while, a few friends and a couple of clients asked me to get tubs for them along with my order, this wasn’t a problem, I just tagged their stuff on with mine – a few became a lot, and it just made sense to speak to the wholesaler and sort out a deal.
Full transparency, I make very little on a 2kg tub of whey – certainly not enough to call it a business. ????
From a coaching perspective however, I get peace of mind knowing that my clients are consuming a quality product at a good price, and from a meal plan standpoint I can factor in certain flavours with certain meals. I can now cover all the angles.
Now… here’s the interesting thing… ????
I have never ever taken a penny in profit for myself since day one…
What started with a couple of tubs here and there has just been profit reinvested into more stock, over the course of a year, a small amount of stock has grown – and this has enabled me to venture into other supplement areas.
I now stock multivitamins, omega oils, magnesium, vitamin D3, pre/intra/post workout formulas – and all still with the same approach – if I wouldn’t use it myself – I don’t stock it.
‘Quality over everything’
The cool thing is, my daughter is currently taking ‘Enterprise’ for GCSE’s… she has seen me grow the supplements side of things from nothing – with zero marketing, no paid adverts, no retail premises, no real effort, just word of mouth – and it’s definitely whetting her entrepreneurial appetite as to what’s possible with a bit of planning and passion.
No end goal really here other to provide the locals of the Isle of Man, decent quality supplements, at internet competitive prices.
No hidden agenda whatsoever, other than to give people what they need, and at a price they can afford.
If you live on the Isle of Man, and would like to know more about stock that I currently carry, click on the ‘Supplements’ tab, and check out ‘Vitalise.im’. ☺️
Steve