Harland Hair and Beauty is a growing North-East business that has won a number of regional and national awards in recent months.

Louise Robinson speaks to young entrepreneur Darren Williams, company director, as he celebrates five years in business.

‘IDON’T think of myself as doing anything extraordinary”, Darren Williams said. “For me, running my own business is about having a passion for what I do.

Getting paid for it is a bonus.

There is nothing like the buzz I get from it. It’s phenomenal.”

From a standing start, Mr Williams has managed to create an international business, with customers across the world.

So how has this young entrepreneur, who was a selfconfessed classroom joker, achieved all that he has in such a short period of time?

“A lot of hard work”, he said, “and a great business partner.”

Mr Williams runs his business, which is on target to double its turnover this year, with fiance Angela Place, who he met in 2002. It was Ms Place who first suggested setting up a hair extensions business, a company that would bring together both of their skills and allow them to trade on a global scale.

“I knew I wanted to make something of myself from a really early age. My dad was a self-employed painter and decorator, and I used to help him out on a Saturday. I always remember asking him if I could work for him when I left school and he said to me: ‘don’t be stupid son, you can do so much more with your life’.

“By the time I met Angela, I had already seen the benefits of business. I was running a website that was attracting thousands of visitors every day, and managing events that were pulling in up to 2,000 people on any one night at venues right across the North- East.”

By 2005, aged only 24, he had built his first online project, Ultimatebuzz.net, into an online network that was capturing the imagination of young music fans all over the region. From a one-bedroom flat in Derby, where Mr Williams was based while working for IT company EDS, he managed the website himself, adding features that would make it more interactive, and helping to unite like-minded individuals with a love of rave music.

After a chance meeting with music enthusiast and event organiser Jason Bushby, Mr Williams was given the opportunity to manage his own raves. Together, the two launched Powerhouse Under 18s Dance Events, using Ultimatebuzz.net to promote them.

“I remember the first Powerhouse event we arranged. I just stood there on the stage and looked out at a sea of people with a huge smile on my face. I had created this. I had finally done something that I was so proud of and, best of all, it had all happened within a few months with no business training, no funding and no written business plan. Just a normal kid off the street given a chance – an extraordinary opportunity.

“Although I didn’t have a written business plan, I knew I wanted to have the biggest and the best event possible. I didn’t dwell too much on the detail. If it worked, great, if it failed, so what. I’d keep on going until something did work.”

It was after meeting Ms Place and deciding to start a business together, that it really did work. With a background in beauty, she brought a wealth of skills that, teamed with his understanding of the internet, had the makings of a perfect package for a successful business.

“Angela had previously worked in the hair and beauty industry and we spotted an opportunity to start up a business together that would make use of both of our skills, and would provide us with a chance to grow a successful business that could potentially develop into something big, going beyond the North-East, beyond the country even. We wanted to trade internationally.”

Spurred on by a visit to a financial advisor, when the couple were told that they were not able to get a mortgage together, they worked long hours, initially from home, buying and selling bonded and clip-in hair extensions, to produce a profitable business that would help them buy their dream home.

After 12 successful months, with the business experiencing significant growth, they decided to take the plunge and import their own products from China.

“It was a really big step to start importing from China.

Until that point, we had the benefit of slow organic growth, giving us time to source the best quality products at the lowest prices.

Investing in our own products, trading with suppliers in China, presented all sorts of challenges, but we persevered and found we were increasing our orders every few months, going from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. Now we weren’t just some kids from a rough housing estate. We were international importers and exporters.”

Since starting up, Harland Hair and Beauty (formerly Hair X-Tensions) has experienced month-on-month growth of nearly ten per cent.

After about three years of running their business from home, the pair invested in business premises, moving on again only six months later to accommodate their growth.

The company now employs six people, and is recruiting a further three members of staff.

“The feeling I get from running my own successful business is hard to describe.

It’s like a huge adrenalin rush with every small advance we make, and that’s what gets me up at 7am and keeps me going way past midnight.

“It is great to work with Angela too. We both have really different skill sets that complement each other well.”

THE couple clearly make a winning team. The company’s website is the top listed retailer of its kind on Google, out of scores of other sites, attracting just under one million visitors over the past 12 months.

And it is this that led to the Seaham-based business beating competition from thousands of firms nationwide to win the Innovation Through Technology title at the national Chamber Awards in November last year.

Harland also won a £10,000 bonus when it was named in bronze place for the overall Outstanding Business Achievement category.

On a personal level, it’s been a great year for Mr Williams, who was named the Young Business Person of the Year at the North-East Business Executive of the Year Awards 2010.

The award meant Mr Williams became the David Goldman Young Entrepreneur of the Year, an award he will collect in March. Meanwhile, Ms Place also won an award for her work with the business, at the 11th annual North-East Woman of the Year Awards 2010 in November.

“We’re both really proud of what we have achieved. When we started the business, we really hoped that we’d have the skills to make it a success, but even we couldn’t have imagined things would be going so well five years on.

“It is touching that after years of hard work, investing any spare time and money into the business to help it grow, we’re finally beginning to reap the rewards.”

And what does the future hold for Harland? “Our plans for the future involve creating more online shops in related industries, acquiring other successful online businesses, and opening a distribution centre in the US.

“We’ve achieved so much, and we’re proud of that. But we want to keep going, and continue to push the business forward here in the UK and internationally.

“And yes, we finally got the house that always reminds me of how lucky we’ve been.

Although I prefer to say, it reminds me of how hard we’ve worked.”