Mark Greening

Motivated by wanting to find a way to generate an income that didn’t require all of his time, Mark Greening started looking at new business opportunities. He was about to start building a buy-to-let property portfolio, but still found himself with time on his hands. The problem was, he didn’t know exactly what he was looking for.

When he discovered Platinum Business Partners (PBP), he realised that was it.

What were you looking for in a new business opportunity?

I’ve had businesses before in the retail space, but the return was slow and it took an awful lot of work to generate any income.

But my key motivation was not necessarily financial, it was more about time. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a hard day’s work, but I don’t want to be doing 60 hour weeks or spending all of it away from home.

What interested you about ecommerce?

I wanted to learn about what’s new in business in terms of the online world. A lot of businesses were going online so this was something of great interest to me – it was another form of business that I didn’t have any experience of, but I did know about retail.

It was also important to me, having got children myself, to teach them about alternative ways of earning a living as opposed to just working for money. And this would give me something to teach them and hopefully hand down to them in the future – not just in terms of the money I make, but the business experience too.

I wanted to show them the way that I could do it differently. Hopefully they can learn from my experiences. So, it’s something I can hand down to them, not just in monetary terms but in experience as well.

Why did you decide to join Platinum Business Partners?

I’m a big believer in learning from others who have already been successful in the same sector or market and I understand franchising – you can go from knowing nothing to producing good returns relatively quickly.

So, the fact that PBP was a franchise, in a sector I knew something about and providing me with a model I could follow without taking up all of my time was perfect.

How did you find the product selection process?

I consider myself fairly lucky in that I already knew which market I wanted to sell in. I’ve been fairly passionate about pets for much of my life and I grew up around animals. So, when we learnt that this was a category that would work, it was most definitely an easy choice.

I am a typical consumer of my own products which makes it easier – I find it more enjoyable looking for products and testing them. It’s not a chore.

How did you find the brand development process?

I had in mind what type of business I wanted to operate. I wanted a premium brand with a natural and safe product.

I took long walks with the dog trying to think of brand names and got the family involved in brainstorming. Eventually we came up with something we liked and our brand was born.

I now feel very proud that we are producing a premium product that consumers can trust.

What part has been the most enjoyable for you?

I’ve just enjoyed it all. I’d always enjoyed business generally before, but I always struggled because I lacked a passion for it. It was all about doing well and making money. I remember looking at PBP and knew that was what I wanted. Everyone trips over an opportunity that will change their life, but instead of dusting myself off and walking on, I stayed put.

It just doesn’t feel like work at the moment and hopefully it never will!