PTCC #007: From Part-Time Creator to Dragon’s Den 🐉
PTCC #007: From Part-Time Creator to Dragon’s Den 🐉
CheeseGeek, Alex Hormozi and the importance of trust as a PTC.
In the mail 📧
The story: From financial fund admin to securing £150k from one of the UK’s youngest, most successful entrepreneurs.
Small ideas: Part-time creator ideas to ponder.
Web highlights: Truth bombs, trust and a writing routine.
Read time: 2 minutes
🧩 This week’s sponsor 100,000 Words
👋 Howdy to all 848 part-time creators on this fine Saturday.
THE STORY 📚
Cheese Louise this is a good’un
Edward Hancock worked for 15 years in finance before turning his love of cheese into his own fully-fledged, full-funded cheese empire. But Edward didn’t just jump into cheese (although I wouldn’t mind landing in cheese-filled heaven), no he built his cheese colosseum from his mum’s house.
At the intersection of passion and constraint is innovation
Hancock used to spend £35 a week on cheese. That’s a lot.
In 2014, his favourite cheese shop closed down, his only option was to go online. The trouble was, the cheese came sweaty. Not exactly what you want from your cheese.
So as most stories go, Hancock thought he’d give it a go himself.
Humble beginnings
September 2017, from the first headquarters i.e. Ed’s mum’s house, he received his first subscription order. That started a three-year part-time creator journey.
Hancock would wake up at 4 am to cut cheese in the morning before work. The weekends were grafting too. It would be cut, boxed, and delivered. That on repeat, for years alongside the day job.
And then began the 5-year build.
The 5-year build
The build is so humble, so honest, and so true that I want to run out and buy cheese immediately.
2018 - Employee no.1 plus a Shopify relaunch.
2019 - Extend the subscription service.
2020 - Lockdown and the team hits 12 people.
2021 - Raising money and relaunching.
2022 - Hit the den.
In 2017, Ed is packing orders from his mum’s utility and the Christmas rush equates to 100 orders. By 2020, the month sees a whopper of 11,000 boxes sent out in the month of December. By 2022, they have the happy sexy millionaire himself invested and during the busy season, orders top 6,000, A DAY.
The CheeseGeek is doing big things.
SMALL IDEAS
Don’t quit the day job - it’s a distraction. You won’t magic up an 8-figure business by quitting your day job. Constraints are good.
Fill the holes in the bucket - do the stuff you know you need to do instead of the shiny stuff taking up your attention.
Focus on 1-thing - you won’t get good enough if you focus on 4-things at once. All the other people focusing on 1 will beat you.
WEB HIGHLIGHTS
Alex Hormozi spitting truth bombs for 30 minutes straight.
The importance of trust.
The writing routine has kept me writing for 800 days (it’s actually 900 days).