A shop aimed at fishermen within a mile of the sea on every side seems bound
to succeed, but when Harding ,41, moved in, its turnover was low. “The
shop was off the main street, so I did simple things like putting a board on
the corner advertising all-day opening hours.

“I found it very frustrating, because most shops in St Anne [the island’s
only town] still close for lunch, shut at five and have half-day closing on
Wednesdays, which limits the time that people come to shop. I spread the
word that we’re open all day.”

Alderney’s main source of income is tourism but the season is short and
concentrated on the summer holidays. Harding knew he had to make an effort
to market the shop to visiting fishermen. “We put leaflets in every
self-catering property, made sure our poster was in all the B&Bs and
advertised in the tourist centre,” he said.

He made contact with the charter companies running angling trips to Alderney
from the south coast, going to the harbour every morning to sell tackle and
bait. His shore guiding sessions expanded the potential market for the shop. “I
run two-hour lessons by the breakwater teaching kids to fish – they’re
hugely popular, and in the summer I could be out there three times a day.
Another session is aimed at people with a little experience who want to
improve their casting and presentation.”

In 2006 Harding moved his business to the main street. “Takings increased
by 20pc almost immediately. The premises were larger, and we’d ploughed all
the profits back into increasing our stock.”

Last year Harding diversified into B&B, decorating three bedrooms in the
flat above the shop with a nautical theme. “Visiting fishermen kept
asking about where to stay, so it made sense to use the space here. It means
we can offer them a better service because when the shop is closed there’s
time to talk tactics and give advice.”

From the start Harding has had a website with local fishing news and
conditions and – the most popular page – his fishing diary. The mail order
section even attracts customers from Australia and Canada. “Our prices
are very competitive because there’s no VAT, and we have lower overheads
because there’s no company tax. ”

The holiday “staycation” syndrome, supposedly benefiting UK
destinations, has affected Alderney less than other places because the only
commercial transport to the island is a 16-seater plane. “Getting here
is expensive,” admitted Harding, “but if you want seclusion you
have to pay for it.” But his specialist B&B business is
flourishing, with bookings from April to December, and he and his partner
Fieona Cosheril, from an island family, have all-round plans for expansion.

“We’re moving the fishing tackle business to a shop on the harbour,
keeping the sports and leisure side in town – and hopefully adding another
bedroom for fishing visitors. But the main focus will be on expanding mail
order including introducing a basket system on the website.”

Running a niche business in a community of just 2,000 people has challenged
Harding to discover ways of extending the holiday season and find a global
market.

RECESSION TOOL KIT

 Keep your prices competitive, and consider reducing your mark-up to
keep goods turning over.

 If one area of your business is hit by the recession, concentrate on
making up the sums elsewhere. Our income from charter boats was hit because
people were cutting down on that type of holiday, but we worked hard at
increasing B&B and mail order.

 Be prepared to work harder than ever, particularly at customer
service. People will remember, when the recession is over, and keep coming
back.

STARTING OUT

DO

 Listen to what your customers want and do your best to deliver

 Explore every avenue to find business opportunities. I realised that
there was a ready market for fishing tackle among the charter boats coming
into the harbour, so I’m moving the business to be on the spot.

DON’T

 Hold back from trying something new. I’d never run a shop but in my
30s decided to go for it and turned my hobby into a business.

This guy followed his passion, even though he had $20,000 debt, started his business and grew from there using social media and smart networking tactics. If he can do it, so can you.