An Interview With Jonny Garrett – Founder Of William Wood Watches

Jonny Garrett is the founder of William Wood Watches, a British luxury watch brand dedicated to his grandfather who served in the British Fire Service for 25 years. Jonny creates unique watches made from upcycled rescue service materials and donates a percentage of profits to a firefighters charity. 
 
Jonny is currently working full time in a Commercial Bank whilst building up his watch company on the side. We take a deeper look into how Jonny manages living two different lives, having already achieved admirable accolades such as being awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by Esquire Magazine and set to break the six-figure revenue point in his business. 
 
Hear from Jonny about how to fit as much as possible into your day whilst executing consistent habits that lead to successful outputs. This is a real entrepreneur in the heart of his grind.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS
 
Jonny’s father was very entrepreneurial and his mother was more risk-averse. This had a profound effect on Jonny’s psychology. He has maintained a successful career in finance, while devoting the other half of his life to building his own luxury watch brand.
 
If you have a plan, mission or vision, you should always follow your dreams. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.
 
Sometimes we can learn more from practical experience than we can from higher education. It’s all very well gaining degrees and qualifications, but without the knowledge of how to apply these things to a career, they can be rendered useless.
 
Jonny named his brand, William Wood Watches after his grandfather, who to him, represented leadership, chivalry and quality. Jonny’s grandfather was a firefighter for over twenty-five years. To better represent, and to pay tribute to, firefighters the world over, Jonny’s brand upcycle firefighter equipment into their luxury brand items.
 
A unique selling point is paramount in the luxury market. Jonny’s USP is his story, that of his grandfather, which he feels reflects itself in each and every item he sells. When people buy into the brand, they are buying a piece of Jonny’s story.
 
Jonny describes the period in which he decided to launch his brand as his “Pandora’s Box” moment - a literal time in his life when the cauldron of ideas in his mind was shaking each day. It’s all very well to come up with ideas, but success lies in acting upon these ideas.
 
Jonny does not measure prospective success in terms of money or financial gain, but by time.
 
It’s important to take the leap towards action. Sometimes putting ourselves under the right amount of professional pressure can lead to a self-education that we might not otherwise consider. If our needs are such, then we will often work to meet those needs. But if we keep moving the goalposts, then we will end up procrastinating too much.
 
Marketing takes ingenuity, especially for a fledgeling business. Jonny has researched extensively and has focussed his attention upon the fire and rescue services throughout the UK, contacting them individually, and cleverly targeting their retiring firefighters as potential customers. Again, the importance of the story behind the William Wood Watches brand is the key to appealing to this market.
 
It’s incredibly beneficial to get the advice and support from someone who’s walked the path before you. That’s why mentors can be so important to your journey.
 
The key to sales is to find your highly targeted audience and perfecting your marketing plan.
 
BEST MOMENTS
 
‘Before anyone invests into a brand, they should learn about the people behind the brand’
 
‘I don’t think anything in your background should hold you back’
 
‘It’s more about your willpower than your qualifications or skills’
 
‘The watch market, and the luxury market is very competitive, so you need a USP’
 
‘The exciting thing is, what can I achieve by working on William Wood full time?’
 
‘Having a routine is absolutely key’
 
‘You can’t master something if you’re not measuring it’
 
‘If you want to do something, do it now and do it big’
 
‘Go through the motions, put the hard work in, execute your plan, and the vision becomes the reality’
 
‘You need to show 100% year-on-year growth’
 
‘I am living proof that you can set up your own business while working a full-time job’
 
VALUABLE RESOURCES
 
The Steven Sulley Study Podcast
William Wood Watches
William Wood Watches – Instagram
[email protected]
 
ABOUT THE HOST
 
The Steven Sulley Study is my take on success. My view is you should have multiple focuses to be a well-rounded individual. Success shouldn't be just one thing like money, for example, it should also consist of a healthy fit lifestyle and thriving relationships.
 
As a person who has made a success in life and also made huge cock-ups I feel I can offer suggestions and tips on how to become successful or at least start your pursuit. My 'Study' has taken resources from reading and education plus being around, my perception, of successful people and I, know a lot of successful people from all walks of life.
 
My 'Study' coming from my experiences in business, investing, sales (my core background), training, boxing and education has enabled me to become well rounded and successful and I will help you in these key areas too.
 
CONTACT METHOD
 
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