Q1: What advice can you offer anyone starting out?

From day one, when I first had the idea to sell Star Wars costumes, I knew that Jedi Robe was going to need an online store. We sold our first few boxes of merchandise on eBay using the PayPal checkout. This marketplace was a very, very good research tool for us. We soon knew which products to focus on and we launched our own retail site.

When you’ve a good idea, put research behind it and believe in what you’re doing. You mustn’t get caught up in the inevitable things all businesses do. Rather than pat yourself on the back for registering the business or opening an online store – which are inevitable events – you should focus your time on customers and competitors. Understand what you want to sell, who else is selling it, and how well they are selling.