{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"123 Reg Blog: Small business tips, insight and advice","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog","author_name":"Will Stevens","author_url":"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/author\/will\/","title":"Turning your passion into a business | 123 Reg Blog","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"2LMQsZrpvX\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/online-business\/turning-your-pnto-a-business\/\">Turning your passion into a business<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/online-business\/turning-your-pnto-a-business\/embed\/#?secret=2LMQsZrpvX\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Turning your passion into a business&#8221; &#8212; 123 Reg Blog: Small business tips, insight and advice\" data-secret=\"2LMQsZrpvX\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/www.123-reg.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/123_Reg_John_Westwood_Hill_J_L_9324square.jpg","thumbnail_width":453,"thumbnail_height":453,"description":"When he was made redundant just before his wedding, John Westward-Hill knew he had to cut costs as much as possible. That meant a do it yourself approach. The cake, the invitations and even the hats were homemade. And out of this money-saving project grew the seeds of a new business. John became passionate about millinery \u2013 the craft of making women\u2019s hats- and enrolled in a course to develop his skills further. Upon graduation he launched JWH Millinery and began selling his creations to the world. \u201cI started my own business because when I graduated in millinery, I didn\u2019t want to work for anybody else,\u201d John said. He added: \u201cThe best thing about running your own business is you can do what you want. One day you can decide to bring a new idea into your work and give that a go. If that doesn\u2019t work, you just try again. You can set your own hours and days \u2013 it is one of the best things ever, really.\u201d However, John knew that just starting his business wasn\u2019t enough \u2013 he needed a way to make sure people could see the quality of his work, that\u2019s where 123-reg came in. He said: \u201cIt is incredibly important for a business owner to be online. [My website] is my showcase. I can\u2019t always go around with a logbook. Being online means that anybody from around the world can find me go on my website and find out what I do.\u201d And getting online was nice and easy: \u201cI knew I needed a website and went on to Google, 123-reg came up. I don\u2019t have time, I clicked on the site and everything looked good. I managed to get my website up within a week \u2013 no hassle, just quick and easy. And that suits me fine.\u201d For John, the importance of being online is driven by the fact we live in a digital age \u2013 when people have a need for a product, they search for it online. That means if you\u2019re not online, then you can\u2019t be found by a huge number of potential customers. \u201cMy customers expect me to be online. Everybody is online these days. Anybody that doesn\u2019t have a website for their business is not doing their business well. The first thing you do is go online and do a search for that specific idea or category. It would be stupid for me to not have a website,\u201d John said. But with all businesses clamouring to grab a slice of the online market place, it\u2019s also important to stand out. \u201cMy website is different to others because I look at everybody else\u2019s to make sure that I am not doing what they are doing. So I try and set mine apart, even down to how I stage my mannequins. People do them on models heads \u2013 I don\u2019t. I do all of mine on mannequins \u2013 to set myself apart and be different,\u201d John said. John also makes sure his product itself is suitably different from what his competitors produce \u2013 he has a strong focus on 3D technology and printing and is even looking at introducing wearable technology in a future collection. So what would John say to anyone who is planning on following his example and turning their passion into a business? \u201cThe advice I would give somebody setting up a business would be do your research first of all. Make sure that what you sell people want. Secondly, make sure you get a website because it doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019re offering or selling; you need to let people know who you are and why you\u2019re actually selling it,\u201d he said. Ready to start your own business? You can register your domain name\u00a0right now."}